“You don’t seem to like this younger sister much—why are you still thinking so carefully for her?” Xiao Muchen chuckled.
“Business is business. This marriage of Duan Huirou’s is partly because of us. Though she will become a Wangfei, she’s marrying as a second wife. And what’s worse, Jin Wang’s manor already has a favored side consort. Her life won’t be easy once she enters. I don’t want to owe anyone anything. At the very least, I want to ensure she keeps her life. As for how she and Jin Wang get along as husband and wife—that’s up to her.”
“Need me to help?”
“Not right now.” Mingxi smiled up at him. “You are the pillar of our family. How can I let you intervene so easily?”
Seeing Xiao Muchen still frowning, Mingxi turned halfway toward him, looked at him seriously, and said, “I plan to secretly give Duan Huirou a hundred thousand taels of silver. Even if she just throws money around, she can buy off half the Jin Wang household onto her side.”
Xiao Muchen: …
“This method may be simple and crude—but it’s effective.”
After all, who doesn’t love money? For servants and stewards, monthly wages were modest at best. Who wouldn’t want a generous mistress?
Suddenly, Xiao Muchen stiffened. That’s right—money!
He looked at Mingxi and said, “The Crown Prince has been frantically hoarding wealth and acting so brazenly in private. What do you think he’s planning? He’s already the heir—why gather so much money?”
Mingxi looked at him in surprise. “The Crown Prince still needs to spend money to win hearts. Even as the heir, if officials can’t get benefits from him, how many would truly be loyal? Apart from a few old ministers loyal to orthodoxy, what about the others?”
Xiao Muchen realized—he had been thinking wrong!
He had assumed the Crown Prince was hoarding money for personal pleasure. But outwardly, the Crown Prince still maintained a righteous image. As the heir, he had the court’s support—yet he had forgotten that not all officials had unshakable loyalty.
“Two days ago, Zhao Mian told me that the Eastern Palace secretly sold two estates,” Xiao Muchen said.
“Sold estates?” Mingxi was shocked. “The Crown Prince has fallen to that point? That can’t be. The Empress’s private treasury is said to be very rich.”
“What if the Empress doesn’t know?”
“Doesn’t know?” Mingxi paused too. “If the Crown Prince secretly sold estates without informing the Empress, what is he planning? Besides, how much can two estates fetch? Registered royal estates definitely can’t be sold—only other private lands. Unless they were premium estates, they wouldn’t fetch high prices.”
In the capital, even the best estates might only sell for tens of thousands of taels. Tens of thousands—what could that really do for the Crown Prince?
Xiao Muchen’s face turned serious. “Before, I didn’t think much of it. I’m not short of money and didn’t give it enough thought.”
As sons of the Emperor, they received salaries, fief incomes, and regular rewards—money was never a concern.
Xiao Muchen immediately stood up, threw on his outer robe, and said to Mingxi, “I’m going to the study to meet with my men. You rest early.”
Mingxi escorted him out and said quietly, “First find out who bought those estates.”
Only by following the trail could they uncover the bigger plot.
Xiao Muchen pressed Mingxi’s shoulder gently. “Don’t go out anymore—get some rest. I originally wanted to spend a good evening with you, but…”
Mingxi lightly pushed him. “We have a lifetime ahead of us. Go.”
Xiao Muchen loved hearing those words. At least Mingxi didn’t threaten divorce anymore. He leaned down, gently kissed her lips, took a deep breath, and strode away.
Mingxi watched his departing figure, remembering the look on his face just now, and couldn’t help but smile.
In her past life, she had stumbled at every step. In this life, she tread carefully—but who would have thought she would end up with such a good husband?
All the bitterness of her past life seemed to have been smoothed over.
***
The two biggest topics in the capital right now were the Qiping Prefecture case and Jin Wang’s marriage.
The position of Jin Wangfei had landed on Duan Huirou’s head—stunning many. No one had expected this outcome.
Dingyuan Marquis family had already produced a Wangfei , and now they produced another one for Jin Wang!
When news from the Qixi Festival in the palace gradually spread, the capital was abuzz with endless speculation. Yet the story of Wangfei facing off against the Empress head-on had become widely known.
Not to mention that Duan Wang kept his promise and was punished by the Emperor to kneel, which made everyone even more envious.
Back then, many noble ladies in the capital were unwilling to marry into Duan Wang’s residence because he was known to be dull, rigid, and always wore a stern face. At such a youthful age, who wouldn’t want to marry someone they loved?
But now, the once old-fashioned Duan Wang, having fallen into Duan Mingxi’s hands, seemed like a completely different person. It was truly maddening.
Before Jin Wang’s wedding, the side consorts for Yu Wang and Qi Wang were already brought into their households. The ceremony for side consorts wasn’t as elaborate. The Empress had once targeted Duan Wang’s household fiercely, but now that it had safely passed, she no longer paid much attention to the affairs of the other royal residences.
As for Consort Xian, she wasn’t particularly enthusiastic about the side consort either. First, Yu Wangfei was pregnant, and second, after dealing with He Wanyi, Consort Xian had little interest left. She simply gave a customary reward to the new side consort and let it be.
It was different with Consort De, though. Disliking her daughter-in-law, she deliberately favored the newly arrived side consort Ming, infuriating Qi Wangfei to the point she nearly fainted.
In the Eastern Palace, the newly appointed Liangdi was generously rewarded by the Empress. Crown Princess Bai Shixi was also magnanimous and gifted generous rewards without caring too much. The only one dissatisfied was Jiang Sujie.
She had barely settled into the Eastern Palace and just recently became pregnant, yet the Crown Prince had already taken in a new woman. How could she swallow this anger? It was said that when Chen Rong entered the palace, Jiang Sujie deliberately tried to trip her up.
However, Mingxi didn’t take these matters to heart. Jiang Sujie’s personality was stubborn and venomous — without full certainty, she wouldn’t dare act against the Crown Princess. As for Chen Rong, Mingxi didn’t bother with her. The Eastern Palace would definitely become livelier in the days to come.
Just then, everyone noticed something odd: Kang Wang’s residence didn’t seem to have a new side consort.
Now, that was truly interesting.
That day, the Empress had been so infuriated by Duan Mingxi that she focused all her attention on Duan Wang and completely forgot about the less favored Kang Wang.
Actually, the Empress had already decided on a side consort for Kang Wang, but in her anger, she forgot. Afterwards, how could she suddenly assign someone else to Kang’s residence? How would she explain it to the Emperor?
She couldn’t possibly tell the Emperor that she had been so angry with Duan Mingxi she forgot about it.
Thus, the Empress had to maintain a smile and explain to the Emperor that Kang Wang’s wedding was arranged on the shortest notice, and his father-in-law, Fengcheng Marquis, was stationed in the capital and had rendered great service to the nation. It would be inappropriate to upset a meritorious official, so the matter of the side consort would be postponed.
The explanation was polite and thoughtful, and she barely managed to smooth things over.
Meanwhile, Kang Wangfei was practically laughing herself silly over tea with Mingxi. “My courtyard was all prepared, but in the end, there was no person to move in.”
Mingxi hadn’t expected such an outcome either — truly a case of “planting flowers deliberately but they won’t bloom, while willows grow unintentionally.”
The happiest person in the capital was probably Kang Wangfei.
