The Black Chamber Dream: Daiyu's Revenge

The emperor, delighted, immediately reached out and picked her up.

Little Fatty held a melon in his hand and brought it to the emperor's mouth: "Eat, eat."

This made the emperor even happier.

Chapter 190 Family Bliss: The Imperial Concubine Makes a Foolish Move

The emperor held his granddaughter, who was dressed in pure green satin without any embroidery, so that it would be comfortable and soft against her skin.

Jia Yue had always been well cared for. She had a chubby little face with rosy cheeks, long eyelashes, and big eyes. She smiled at the emperor, which awakened the emperor's grandfatherly love. He even picked up the child, lifted her up, and spun her around twice.

Jia Yue is very brave; she giggles when she's lifted up high.

The Empress then picked up Princess Yongjia and teased her, "Do you want your father to lift you up high too?"

Princess Yongjia, on the contrary, was much more timid. Although she envied Jiayue being lifted up high, she was afraid. When she heard the Empress ask this question, she shook her head like a rattle drum.

Guo Zhaoyi couldn't help but shake her head, saying, "This child is really timid."

"What's wrong with that? Children are all different by nature." The eldest princess liked little girls, especially cute ones, but then she looked at Daiyu, "It's just a surprise that the third prince and Yu'er's daughter has such a lively personality, completely different from the two of them."

Seeing that the emperor had eaten the gourd in her hand, Jia Yue then held up half a walnut pastry in her other hand and fed it to the emperor. The emperor ate it all, which was very polite. Hearing what the princess said, he immediately laughed and said, "This child is probably just like your personality, elder sister."

To everyone's surprise, Gao Xin immediately started to whine and say, "Grandma always says I'm a little rascal. I know now, I'm just like Grandma too, so Grandma was a little rascal when she was little too."

The emperor laughed heartily upon hearing this, and the eldest princess couldn't help but laugh as well.

"Eldest sister hasn't been to the palace for several days. Is there anything you need today?" The emperor sat down on a chair nearby, holding the child.

The eldest princess had no ulterior motives regarding Xichun's matter, so she openly stated her purpose in coming to see the Crown Princess. The Emperor was somewhat surprised to hear this: now his eldest sister actually liked to play matchmaker.

"His Majesty secretly went to the mountain villa to escape the summer heat that year and even saw that girl," the eldest princess brought up.

The emperor then remembered that it was several years ago, when there was a little girl, but he hadn't paid much attention to her.

"Liu Jishan is indeed a good man, but the Ministry of Personnel has already reported that he will be going to Suzhou to serve as the Assistant Magistrate in two months," the Emperor told the Princess.

"Isn't that perfect? ​​If both sides are interested, they can get engaged first, and then get married in two years. At that time, he will have a wife to accompany him to his post." The princess thought, "He can become a sub-prefect in just a few years. He must be really capable."

At this moment, it was announced that Consort Wu and Consort Xu had arrived. The emperor originally wanted to say something, but he didn't, and the smile on his face faded.

While waiting for the two to come and pay their respects, the Emperor played with Jia Yue in his arms, while the Empress fed Princess Yongjia perilla water with a small spoon.

Consort Wu and Consort Xu both felt a pang of bitterness upon witnessing this scene. Consort Wu thought that even though the second prince also had a daughter, the emperor seemed oblivious to her existence, showing only unwavering favoritism towards the daughter of the third prince and his wife. Consort Xu, on the other hand, lamented that it would have been a pity if Chunmei's child had been a boy. Even more tragically, Chunmei was no longer with them.

When the emperor saw that the two women had strange expressions, he was immediately displeased and asked them with a cold face if they had something to say.

Consort Wu quickly smiled and said, "Your Majesty, I have come to see the Empress."

But the emperor insisted on asking her what business he had with the empress.

"Welcoming the concubine at Prince Rui's residence..." Consort Wu didn't actually have anything important to do. She had just heard that the Emperor, Empress, and the Eldest Princess were all in Wuling Garden, and she also heard that the Crown Princess was there. So she had the idea of ​​spying on them, which is why she came. Now she could only use this matter as an excuse.

But as soon as she opened her mouth, the Emperor became even more displeased: "A concubine is not the principal wife. The Imperial Household Department knows how to handle this. If they can't even handle this kind of thing, then wouldn't my Imperial Household Department be useless?"

Consort Wu truly couldn't understand why the Emperor reacted this way the moment she spoke, when he had been perfectly fine just moments before.

The emperor has always been like this; he is extremely generous and fond of those he trusts and likes. Today, the emperor was enjoying family time when he was interrupted by Consort Wu and the others, which made him somewhat unhappy.

Moreover, regarding the matter of arranging a concubine for Xiao Tingkai, the Emperor originally did not choose Prince Teng's daughter, but after Consort Wu repeatedly expressed her opinion, the Emperor finally complied with the wishes of the mother and son.

Now that Consort Wu is bringing this up again, the Emperor thinks she's really being greedy.

Consort Wu was so frightened by the Emperor's words that she quickly knelt down to beg for forgiveness. Jia Yue was startled by the Emperor's cold face at this moment. Her dark eyes stared at the Emperor without moving. After a while, she surprised everyone by reaching out her chubby little hand to grab the Emperor's beard.

The empress panicked and quickly tried to stop him, but the emperor burst into laughter: "You naughty boy!"

The Emperor's expression softened, and he said to Consort Wu and Consort Xu, "If there's nothing else, you can both go back. I still have something to say to my elder sister."

Consort Wu was so angry that her head ached. When she returned to her Phoenix Palace, she became angrier and angrier. She tried every means to find out what the Princess had come for. She finally found out that the Princess was going to arrange a marriage for Liu Jishan. She remembered that her son had told her that he wanted to use the marriage relationship to win over Liu Jishan.

"Whose family is Xichun from?" Consort Wu did not recognize Xichun.

"Your Highness still remembers the former Ningguo Duke's Mansion? This Xichun is a legitimate daughter of the Ningguo Mansion. Now that the Ningguo Mansion has fallen, its mansion has been reclaimed, and she lives in the Rongguo Mansion. By the way, she is Jia Zhaoyuan's cousin and also the Crown Princess's cousin. I heard that she has a very good relationship with the Crown Princess." Granny Yuan told Consort Wu everything she had found out.

The Crown Princess? The Eldest Princess was already biased towards the Third Prince and his wife, so Consort Wu immediately said, "I suppose it's either the Eldest Princess who wants to arrange a marriage, or it must be the Crown Princess who wants to use her cousin to win over Liu Jishan for the Third Prince."

After thinking for a moment, Consort Wu asked again, "Does His Majesty know?"

Granny Yuan shook her head: "This old servant doesn't know. I suppose His Majesty doesn't know, otherwise wouldn't that be openly trying to win over court officials? If His Majesty knew, he would naturally be unhappy."

If you don't know, it's easy to handle. Consort Wu felt that she could take two approaches at once. She immediately ordered someone to summon the second son and his wife to the palace. The eldest princess wanted to marry off the Jia family's daughter. As long as the Jia family disagreed, that would be fine.

However, when Consort Wu mentioned this matter to her son and daughter-in-law and told them her plan, she decided to send a message to the Jia family through Jia Yuanchun, expressing her disapproval of the girl marrying Liu Jishan.

Xiao Tingkai shook his head after hearing this and said, "Although this girl lives in the Rongguo Mansion, her brother Jia Zhen is the one who calls the shots. Jia Zhen is quite shrewd. If we can use his sister to get close to his brother-in-law Liu Jishan, I'm afraid he would be very happy to do so."

Upon hearing this, Song Huilan had an idea.

Chapter 191 The plan to split up fails

Song Huilan immediately suggested, "In that case, why don't we see if there are any suitable people among these aristocratic families who are on good terms with us? We can take the initiative to suggest to Jia Zhen that the Fourth Miss get engaged first. In this way, the plans of the Eldest Princess and the Crown Princess will fall through."

Consort Wu immediately agreed: "That's a good idea, but we don't know if there's a suitable candidate for the time being."

Xiao Tingkai thought for a moment: "I do have someone in mind. Would it be appropriate for Mother Consort to speak on my behalf?"

Then Xiao Tingkai brought up the Han family of the Marquis of Jinxiang: "The Han family has a second son, Han Ling. He is about the same age as that girl. Now that the Ningguo Mansion has fallen, the Marquis of Jinxiang Mansion is a good choice for them."

Judging by the name alone, the Marquis of Jinxiang's mansion is certainly much better than Liu Jishan's family. However, the Marquis of Jinxiang's mansion is not as good as it used to be. Moreover, Han Ling is the second son and has no share in the title. He is also a person who does not like to study and only enjoys pleasure. But the descendants of these meritorious ministers in the capital are all like this.

"That sounds good. If that's the case, we must hurry and make it before the Princess appears. Otherwise, just for the sake of the Princess, I'm afraid Jia Zhen will agree to her request." Consort Wu knew very well that the Princess had an extraordinary status. There were so many noble families and relatives in the capital, and even if they tried, they wouldn't have a way to get on her good side.

"Not only that, we should also take a two-pronged approach. As for Lan'er, we should quickly invite Liu Jishan's sister-in-law. If the Liu family has already arranged the marriage, then the Princess will have no choice but to accept it," Consort Wu added immediately.

Song Huilan and Xiao Tingkai readily agreed, and after exchanging a few words with Consort Wu, they took their leave together.

The Prince Rui and his wife, who had just come out of the Wu Palace, naturally acted quickly. Xiao Tingkai immediately invited Jia Zhen to drink. The Prince Rui was interested and Jia Zhen was interested. When they were drunk and in high spirits, they brought up the marriage proposal. Seeing that Jia Zhen had no objections, Xiao Tingkai even took the initiative to suggest that they organize another gathering and invite Han Qi, the son of the Marquis of Jinxiang, and his younger brother Han Ling to drink with Jia Zhen.

Although Jia Zhen, who was half-drunk, verbally agreed to Xiao Tingkai's request, he thought about it after returning home and still called You Shi over. After all, Xi Chun was a young lady, and it was more appropriate for her sister-in-law to discuss such matters.

Upon hearing this, Lady You recalled that Jia Zhen had also considered using Xichun to solidify their relationship last time. At that time, it was Lady You who thought it was unreliable and passed the message to Xichun.

Several years have passed, and things have changed. Now, their family no longer owns the Ningguo Mansion and lives in a small courtyard, but their lives are not as good as before.

The Han family of Marquis Jinxiang used to have dealings with the Ningguo Mansion, but those ties were severed long ago after the incident. Therefore, Madam You was worried that the Marquis of Jinxiang's household might not be willing to form a marriage alliance with them: "The Han family might not be willing, would they?"

“The dignified Prince Rui wouldn’t try to fool me with this,” Jia Zhen shook his head and said. “It won’t do us any harm anyway.”

After hearing Jia Zhen's words, Lady You thought for a moment and then passed a message to Baochai of the Rongguo Mansion. Now that Baochai's wife was in charge, she would naturally ask permission from her master before making a trip.

However, Lady You was cautious: Baochai was always cunning, so she shouldn't make a fuss before things went well. She had experienced firsthand how formidable Xichun was, and if things didn't work out, she would be utterly humiliated.

So she prepared a few things, and only said that she wanted to go and see Xichun.

Baochai had considered trying to win over Xichun, especially after learning that Xichun was highly regarded by the Eldest Princess. However, Xichun's sharp tongue quickly dissuaded Baochai from pursuing the idea: "This Fourth Miss is wholeheartedly devoted to the Crown Princess."

Although Baochai disliked Xichun, she didn't stop her sister-in-law You from coming. After all, Lady Wang had appointed Ying'er to help manage the household, and the competition between the mother-in-law and daughter-in-law, and between the master and servant, had taken a lot of effort from Baochai. She couldn't spare the time to deal with Xichun's affairs for the time being.

Baochai immediately agreed to the maid sent by You Shi, but Ying'er overheard and said, "I'm afraid Madam Zhen will have to come a few days later. Fourth Miss is not at home now. The Princess sent someone to pick her up yesterday and she went to the Princess's residence."

What? She didn't even know about this? Baochai was immediately displeased. After the maid sent by You Shi left, Baochai's face darkened: "Such a big thing, why didn't you tell me?"

Other maids and servants would be startled by Baochai's expression, but Ying'er, having served Baochai for many years, was already used to it. She spoke slowly and deliberately: "Yesterday, when Second Mistress went back to her uncle's house, the people from the Princess's Mansion went to pay their respects to Madam. Madam made the decision on this matter."

Upon hearing Ying'er mention Lady Wang, Baochai had no choice but to shut up, but in her heart she held a grudge against Ying'er.

Because Xichun had been taken away by the Princess, Jia Zhen had no choice but to truthfully report to Xiao Tingkai.

Xiao Tingkai had no choice but to quickly have his wife invite Liu Jishan's widowed sister-in-law.

What the couple didn't expect was that when the Princess went to the palace to inquire about the situation from Daiyu, the Prince Consort Gao Zhen had already made an appointment with Liu Jishan.

Liu Jishan certainly remembered Xichun, after all, he had seen the girl at the Princess's Yingshui Villa and the Crown Princess's Wanmei Villa.

But that's all that's left to learn.

Since Liu Jishan was given an important position by the emperor, many people have tried to win him over, including several families who wanted to arrange marriages with him, but he refused them all.

But this time is different. This is the residence of the Eldest Princess. The Eldest Princess and her husband have no need to win over a lowly official of humble origins like him. As long as the current emperor is on the throne, the status of the Princess's residence is very secure. Moreover, both of the Eldest Princess's sons are successful, and the next emperor will probably have to treat this aunt with great respect.

Moreover, the girl mentioned was not related to the Princess at all. Liu Jishan was astute; ultimately, it was only because the Princess thought the girl was nice and felt sorry for her that she sent her husband to speak up.

"I am honored that the Prince Consort thinks so highly of me, but I come from a humble background. I'm afraid this young lady from the Duke's mansion will not be happy with me," Liu Jishan said, cupping his hands in greeting.

The prince consort laughed and prepared to go back to report to his wife, but Liu Jishan added, "I have something else to tell you, prince consort."

Gao Zhen looked at him, waiting for him to speak.

"My sister-in-law raised me. She is like a mother to me. She worked hard to provide for my food, drink and education. Now that I am an adult, it is only natural that I should take care of my nephews and nieces." Liu Jishan said this frankly.

After hearing this, Gao Zhen thought even more highly of him: "If you don't forget your roots, you will surely achieve great things in the future."

“Such purity and filial piety is only right.” Gao Zhen happily went back and mentioned the matter to the princess. At the end, he also praised Liu Jishan, “This man is very upright. I think he will definitely be extraordinary in the future.”

Meanwhile, Daiyu inquired about Xichun's thoughts and asked someone to inform the Princess.

Upon learning that Xichun was also willing, the Princess sent someone to the Rongguo Mansion to bring Xichun to the mansion, and also sent someone to invite Liu Jishan's sister-in-law.

Chapter 192 The Widow's Wife is Wise and Cherishes Spring's Lament

When Liu Jishan's sister-in-law, Luo, received the invitation from the princess's residence, she was greatly startled.

Although Luo was illiterate, she was a hardworking and sensible woman. Since arriving in the capital, she had maintained some contact with the wives of several officials who had passed the imperial examinations with Liu Jishan, and thus had heard of the name of this Princess Protector of the Nation.

I've heard that the eldest princess is the late emperor's most beloved daughter and the current emperor's most trusted elder sister. In the capital, she's all very powerful. Not to mention ordinary officials' wives, even princes and princesses have to treat her with utmost respect.

Although Luo was illiterate and did not know the specific contents of the invitation, the nanny from the Princess's residence clearly stated that she was invited to bring her children to the Princess's residence as guests.

Luo was quite uneasy, wondering who the princess was that would send her an invitation.

When Liu Jishan returned from the yamen, Luo quickly handed him the invitation. Actually, both her daughter and son were literate, but her son was at school and her daughter was still young, so Luo didn't know what was written inside. She decided to wait for Liu Jishan to return and let him see it first.

Liu Jishan took it and roughly understood what it meant without even looking at it, but to be on the safe side, he opened it first.

Just as she had expected, after reading it, Liu Jishan returned the invitation to his sister-in-law and then said, "Sister-in-law, do you remember when I mentioned to you a few days ago that the prince consort came to me about marriage?"

The saying "an elder sister-in-law is like a mother" is truly true in the Liu family. Liu Jishan's parents died early, and his older brother also passed away later. He was raised entirely by his sister-in-law, so he would tell her about everything, big or small.

Upon hearing this, Madam Luo nodded, and roughly understood. Although she was illiterate, she was quite worldly-wise, so she asked, "I heard you say that the girl has also lost her parents, so I'm afraid the Princess also invited the girl's sister-in-law?"

Liu Jishan thought to himself: I heard that the girl doesn't get along with her brother and sister-in-law. She was raised in the Rongguo Mansion since she was a child. The Princess invited her sister-in-law over. Although I don't know which one she will be seeing, it is still from that side.