Chapter 203 204: She doesn't want to be a stepping stone for others
Although Concubine Zhuang supports the Queen Mother everywhere, she is still unwilling to be the Queen Mother's pawn.
The queen mother wants to support An Shutong, she doesn't want to be a stepping stone for others.
Mrs. Wang came very quickly, seeing Concubine Zhuang stepping forward to salute, "My wife pays homage to your empress."
Concubine Zhuang personally helped Mrs. Wang up, "Mother, get up quickly. There is no one else here, so don't be so formal, let's sit down and talk."
Mrs. Wang took the seat according to her daughter's wishes, but she still didn't dare to be too casual. Although she was still her own daughter, she was also the emperor's concubine, so of course she couldn't be disrespectful.
"Mother, you came in in such a hurry, do you have something to tell me?" Zhuang Concubine looked at her mother and asked.
Rouge brought tea, and then retreated to serve behind Concubine Zhuang.
Mrs. Wang sighed softly, "Ji Yunting has returned to Beijing."
Ji Yunting?
Concubine Zhuang was taken aback, "Didn't you say you were released? How could you return to Beijing without a reason?"
"This Mr. Ji is really a noble man. He fell ill three times in just a few months after he took office, and his life was almost ruined. The left minister couldn't see it, so he personally begged the emperor to transfer him back to the capital." Mrs. Wang talked about this matter in a calm tone, but she was somewhat disappointed when she listened carefully.
Concubine Zhuang frowned tightly, "What's wrong?"
"Unacclimatized."
Concubine Zhuang: …
Then there is no way.
"You came into the palace and told me about this, does your father have any plans?"
Mrs. Wang nodded slightly, "Ms. Ji invited me to have tea twice, and there is a hint of a marriage between the two families. I can't make up my mind with your father, so I want to ask you."
Concubine Zhuang was very surprised, "Get married? Mrs. Ji has always been above the top. Our family had this idea before, but people looked down on me, but now I am willing?"
Concubine Zhuang was still unhappy when she brought up this matter. Although her father was attached to Prime Minister Zuo, it was not that he didn't have further thoughts after being the Prime Minister for so many years. He used to think of a marriage between the two families.
But Prime Minister Zuo had his own ideas, and only said to ask his father to wait, neither saying yes nor no, just hanging around like this, but her father was firmly in the position of Zuo Xiang, and he couldn't move if he wanted to.
In order to get closer to the two families, her mother had tested Mrs. Ji's intention two years ago, hoping that the two families could get married, but Mrs. Ji treated Ji Yunting like a baby, so naturally she didn't let go.
Now it's ridiculous to turn around and have to discuss marriage with their family.
"Ji Yunting was first divorced by the Ming'an County Lord, and now he has been released and returned to Beijing. It is hard to say what his future will be like, and he may not be able to match his father. Mrs. Ji is afraid that it will be more difficult for Ji Yunting to talk about the marriage, so I can only look down. This is in a hurry." Mrs. Wang said with a sneer.
"Then what do you and your father think?" Concubine Zhuang asked.
"According to my point of view, it is naturally impossible. Your little sister is also mother's heart and soul. With Mrs. Ji's temperament, I am afraid that she will suffer if she marries in the past." Madam Wang sighed, "But your father means that this marriage is not impossible. Now that Ji Yunting is going downhill in the capital, we marrying him at this time is like sending charcoal in a timely manner, and the weight will naturally be different."
But so what, when he went out to be an official in Beijing, he was not acclimatized to the environment, which eliminated the possibility of becoming a big official in the frontier in the future, and he could only climb up step by step in the capital.
With the left prime minister in front, the emperor would definitely not promote Ji Yunting too much, unless the left prime minister becomes an official, then Ji Yunting will have a bright future.
There are pros and cons to this marriage. Since Ji Yunting can't rely on the left to move forward, her father is more likely to go further. It is undoubtedly the best choice for Ji's family to marry their family at this time.
"What does Yunhua mean?" Concubine Zhuang looked at her mother and asked.
"Your sister is naturally willing." Mrs. Wang didn't know what to say when she mentioned this daughter. At that time, Ji Yunting was so talented and handsome that many young girls in the capital secretly agreed.
Concubine Zhuang: …
She shouldn't have asked.
Thinking about her sister's temperament, she also has a bit of a headache.
"I think you should take it easy and wait until you return to Beijing from the palace. You can still wait for Mrs. Ji for a few months." Concubine Zhuang thought about it and said, "Is Ji Yunting coming this time?"
Madam Wang nodded, "Naturally."
"Then you look at these younger sisters, don't let her have too much contact with Ji Yunting." Concubine Zhuang said.
You can't lose the girl's reserve, otherwise Mrs. Ji will only look down on her from the bottom of her heart.
Mrs. Wang nodded, "I know, don't worry, I will watch her. It rained when I first came to the palace. This is really a coincidence. Is there any plan to hold a banquet in the palace after the rain stops? The empress dowager will never be so quiet."
The queen mother brought the girl from Gu Enhou's mansion again. No one could see what was going on in her mind.
Thinking of this, Mrs. Wang remembered what happened at the banquet yesterday, and frowned slightly: "Is Song Zhaoyi okay?"
Concubine Zhuang heard her mother asking questions one after another, and didn't know which one to answer, so she said directly: "I don't know what the queen mother has arranged here, but since An Shutong has been brought here, the queen mother must make plans for her, and we will wait and see."
After saying all this, there was a slight pause, and the tone of Song Yunzhao was much more subtle, "Song Zhaoyi has the emperor personally looking after him. What's wrong with it? This morning, the people around the empress dowager went to visit, but I didn't even see anyone. The emperor is still watching over there."
Mrs. Wang's face was really ugly when she heard the words, "Song Zhaoyi is pregnant, how can she still dominate the emperor like this, think about her actions after seeing the emperor yesterday, I'm afraid she did it on purpose. Such a scheming person, you must be very careful."
"I have an empress dowager in the palace, and I have Song Yunzhao in my subordinates. There are limited things I can do. Speaking of it, I still need to use my strength outside. Song Yunzhao is the only favorite. I think people who have a daughter in the palace may not be willing to spend so much time." Concubine Zhuang looked at her mother and said.
Mrs. Wang understood what her daughter meant, "There are a lot of people coming back to the palace, and there are banquets outside every day. I will let everyone know about it."
As long as the news about Song Zhaoyi's obsession with the emperor during her pregnancy spreads, everyone will be able to become one.
"Don't reveal your whereabouts, and let the emperor hear that it's hard for a daughter to do in the palace." Concubine Zhuang immediately warned.
Madam Wang was also a little sad to hear her daughter say this, "Of course I won't show up, someone will do it." Speaking of which, she looked at her daughter, "There is one more thing. Princess Fukang's son-in-law died of illness."
Concubine Zhuang thought for a while before she remembered who Princess Fukang was.
"Princess Fukang had a decent relationship with the emperor before she got married. Now that the princess' consort is gone, the emperor might send her back to Beijing if he cares about the past," Mrs. Wang said.
(end of this chapter)