The husband and wife quickly got to work separately. Mingxi sent a discreet message to Zhenbei Wangfei. Since things weren’t yet fully verified, she didn’t explain much — but the meaning was clear.
There was no reply, but Mingxi soon heard news that Zhenbei Wangfei had suddenly fallen seriously ill. She knew then: the plan had worked.
Zhenbei Wangfei’s illness came on fiercely. They sought out doctors everywhere, and Zhenbei Wang himself even went into the palace to beg the imperial physicians for help. This caused such a stir that the Emperor ordered the head physician of the Imperial Medical Academy to personally go to the manor for treatment.
Meanwhile, Mingxi quietly spread the news, and soon many noble ladies heard that on Zhenbei Wang’s wedding day, several Wangfeis wouldn’t be attending.
This made Qi Wangfei nearly jump with rage. What was the meaning of this?
If others weren’t going, should she still go?
Unable to decide, she went to discuss it with Qi Wang.
Unfortunately, Qi Wang was already frustrated. He was hoping to emulate Duan Wang by taking up a post in the Six Ministries, but the Emperor showed no sign of granting it. In his foul mood, he was curt when Qi Wangfei came to him with this.
Qi Wangfei, who had never been one to suffer grievances even in her maiden home, immediately quarreled with him.
In the end, she cried out of anger and rode back to her natal home in a carriage.
Qi Wang’s face darkened, and he too stormed into the palace.
Consort De never expected her daughter-in-law to be so headstrong — quarreling with her husband and running back home. How could a couple live together like this?
Almost immediately, Consort De had her attendant, Zhuo Momo, send a message to Xingqin Marquis’s household: if Qi Wangfei missed her maiden family so much, she might as well stay there for a few more days.
This message made Qi Wangfei’s face turn green, and even the Xingqin Marquis Madam looked embarrassed.
When the news reached Consort Shu, she said to Hu Momo, “Out of all the daughters-in-law in the royal family, only this one jumps around like a flea.”
Consort Shu hadn’t forgotten that Xingqin Marquis’s wife and daughter were unfriendly to Mingxi.
Hu Momo, knowing that Consort Shu disliked Qi Wangfei, smiled and said, “Qi Wangfei is too headstrong. I’m afraid she’ll suffer in the future.”
“Exactly. And look at Qi Wang — spoiled by Consort De, he’s never suffered a hardship in his life. Even after marrying, he still tries to act naïvely cute in front of His Majesty. Isn’t he afraid of becoming a laughingstock? This pair really deserves each other. Let’s watch.”
The mockery in Consort Shu’s eyes was practically overflowing.
“In the past,” she said, standing up and looking at Hu Momo, “I even tried to hint to Consort De — but now, I don’t even bother.”
“Niang Niang, you were kindhearted, but others might have thought you had ulterior motives.”
“Exactly.” Consort Shu sighed, then laughed. “Back then, tensions were so high among the four consorts. Of course they would guard against me.”
Consort Gui and Consort De had sons first. The Empress, feeling threatened, went through many treatments before finally giving birth to the Crown Prince. After that, Consort Shu and Consort De also gave birth to sons.
But once there were too many sons, their value diminished. The Crown Prince, born of the Empress, became the most precious.
The Emperor cherished the Crown Prince. Although Consort Shu was unwilling, she couldn’t say it was unfair.
The legitimate heir of the central palace — it was the most rightful.
But the Empress and her son could never tolerate others.
They wanted her and her son dead — was she supposed to willingly hand over her life?
What a joke.
“Niang Niang,” she said, “look now — our Wangye has been raised so well by you. Compared to Qi Wang, Consort De must be tearing her hair out in regret. If she had listened to you back then, things might have been different.”
“You spoke well, but you can’t persuade a fool,” Consort Shu agreed. “If Consort De comes here, tell her I’ve gone to rest.”
She couldn’t be bothered to waste words with Consort De. That woman always wanted to take advantage while still pretending to be virtuous. Now that her daughter-in-law had caused such a scandal, she must be hoping to rope her in to help figure something out. No way was she going to make a fool of herself alongside her.
Even if she helped Consort De, there was no guarantee Consort De would appreciate it. Why bother?
Hu Momo still thought Niang Niang might be overthinking it — surely Consort De, for the sake of saving face, wouldn’t actually show up. But just then, Nan Jiao came in to report that Consort De had indeed arrived.
Hu Momo immediately went out to meet her. Their Niang Niang was truly brilliant — she could even predict things like this.
Leaving aside how Hu Momo dealt with Consort De, meanwhile in Kunde Palace, the Empress was nursing a headache as her sister-in-law, Duchess Cao, was sobbing her grievances.
“Your Majesty, how could they bully us like this? Just as the son is about to marry, Zhenbei Wangfei suddenly falls ill — and so seriously too? Can it really be such a coincidence?
You must stand up for Peilan! She hasn’t even married into the family yet, and they’re already putting on airs. What will happen once she’s there? Who knows how much she’ll be mistreated?”
The Empress’s temple throbbed as she looked at her sister-in-law and said coldly, “Even the Head Imperial Physician personally took her pulse. Are you suggesting he would dare deceive the emperor?”
Duchess Cao was startled by the Empress’s rebuke and quickly said, “But… but are we just supposed to accept this? The wedding is just a few days away!”
Recently, everything had been going wrong for the Empress. Outwardly, it seemed the emperor still protected the Crown Prince, but she alone knew that things were different now.
In the past, after every court session, the emperor would often summon the Crown Prince to test and guide him. Now, it had been more than half a month without a single summons.
It was a bad sign.
The death of Jin Wangfei had only added to her troubles.
At such a sensitive time, her own family couldn’t behave sensibly and still dared come weeping to her, asking her to slight the Zhenbei House. Did they have no sense of priorities?
The Empress’s head throbbed even harder. In a cold tone, she said, “Do you even realize what time it is? Even if you can’t help me, you should at least not cause trouble. Go back and tell Peilan: once she marries into the Zhenbei House, she had better behave herself. If she stirs up any trouble, don’t blame me for showing no mercy.”
Duchess Cao turned pale with fright and protested, “Your Majesty… how could we just let Peilan suffer such grievances?”
“A daughter-in-law must be respectful and dutiful to her in-laws — in every household!” the Empress said sternly. “The Zhenbei House isn’t a minor family. If things fall apart and there’s no way to fix it, don’t say I didn’t warn you.”
Hearing this, dissatisfaction flickered in Duchess Cao’s eyes, and her tone grew a bit harsher. “Your Majesty, Peilan was practically raised under your watchful eye. How could you bear to let her be bullied? If things were to end like this, the marriage shouldn’t have been arranged in the first place!”
The Empress’s expression turned sharp, and she stared at her sister-in-law. “What did you just say?”
The Empress’s gaze was so piercing that Duchess Cao’s knees nearly buckled. She almost knelt down in fright, cold sweat pouring down her back as her face drained of color.
Seeing this, everyone else in the hall discreetly withdrew, and the doors to the hall slowly closed.
The Empress stepped forward, staring down at her sister-in-law, and said word by word, “Does she not want to be wronged? Fine. If she has the ability, tell Peilan to kill Zhenbei Wang. Can she do it? If not, then stop talking nonsense!”
The Empress had long grown sick of the stubborn old Zhenbei Wang. Forcing his second son to marry Li Peilan had already cost her immense effort, and now her sister-in-law dared to come complaining.
Did she want them to try to please Zhenbei Wang?
If anything, she couldn’t wait for the old man to drop dead.
