The Crown Prince had taken a new consort. Although the two got along amicably, Chen Mingzhu soon grew dissatisfied because the Crown Prince doted too much on his eldest daughter, Zhongli Yaxian.
Chen Mingzhu was a few years older than Zhongli Yaxian and had been the apple of her family's eye. Seeing the Crown Prince's favor towards his eldest daughter, she gradually became resentful. Though she didn't dare to do anything openly, her private remarks were often offensive. The Duchess of the State - assisting Duke advised her to first give birth to a legitimate son for the Crown Prince.
After all, no matter how favored the eldest daughter was, she would get married sooner or later.
Zhongli Yaxian had lost her mother's protection, but fortunately, she was valued by the Emperor, so her days weren't too difficult. Seeing that her step - mother was indifferent to her, she gave up the idea of getting close to her.
However, the other concubines' daughters tried their best to curry favor with the new Crown Princess. Only Li Liangdi, who had given birth to a concubine's son, felt uneasy every day.
She was afraid that the Crown Princess would take a dislike to her and her son.
In the Crown Prince's Mansion, the peace of the past was long gone.
Although Chen Mingzhu came from a good family, she was still young. She had grand ambitions of becoming the mother of the nation, but unfortunately, the Crown Prince was indifferent to her.
After Wanwan and Yu Keran received the Empress's imperial edict, they were overjoyed! This day had finally come. They had thought they would spend the rest of their lives in the Prince Yu's Mansion in Liuzhou City.
But the Empress had remembered them.
So when they appeared in front of the Prince Yu's Mansion in the capital, Song Jinyu, who was watering the medicine field, was stunned for a moment.
"Come in," she said. After all, it wouldn't be good to let people laugh at them if they stood at the door.
"Crunch!"
The medicinal herb in her hand was broken. Niaoniao didn't dare to look at her face, knowing it must be very ugly.
Wanwan and Keran formally paid their respects to Song Jinyu. They eyed the Princess enviously, seeing her radiant face, and knew that life in the mansion was good.
Wanwan remembered that she was the governor's daughter who had once appeared in the Liuzhou Mansion.
She just hoped that the Princess wouldn't remember.
Unfortunately, Song Jinyu was too lazy to pay attention to them. Originally, she was supposed to have the tea - drinking ceremony with the concubines, but she firmly refused. "There's no hurry. You may go and rest first."
When these two didn't appear in front of her, she didn't know how she felt. But now that they were here, she realized that his concubines truly existed.
Song Jinyu silently locked herself in the room.
Niaoniao and Micui waited outside the door, listening for orders.
One hour passed, then two.
She didn't come out until Zhongli Mingye returned from outside and learned about this.
"It's my fault for neglecting this!" After returning to the capital, he and Song Jinyu had been deeply in love, completely forgetting about his concubines in Liuzhou City.
Now, they had been sent to the capital.
No wonder Song Jinyu was angry. He originally thought he would face a storm of anger, but unexpectedly, the woman was lying on the bed fully dressed, sound asleep.
Who said she was so sad that she didn't leave the room for several hours?
As long as she wasn't angry, that was good. Zhongli Mingye didn't go to see the two concubines and directly left the mansion. Micui and Niaoniao couldn't figure out what was going on.
When he returned, Song Jinyu had already woken up. The couple had dinner, and then Song Jinyu went to the pharmacy to get busy.
She didn't mention this matter at all.
Micui glanced sideways. "Are they pretending not to see these two?"
Or did they have other plans? It had to be said that the personal guards of the Prince Yu's Mansion were very fond of gossiping. Qingfeng laughed. "I'm afraid they're both holding back!"
Zhongli Mingye didn't say anything, and Song Jinyu didn't ask. It was a matter of who would lose their patience first! So Micui, Niaoniao, Xingjian, and Qingfeng started a gambling game.
"I bet the Princess can't hold it in!"
"Humph... Our young lady can hold it in. I bet the Prince will lose!"
When they went to the full - moon banquet of the little princess of the Prince Yong's Mansion together, they still couldn't decide the winner. It seemed that they didn't care about the two concubines at all.
Although there was no obvious change in their behavior, Song Jinyu was really annoyed.
She would never drink the tea from the concubines!
So, every time the two concubines wanted to offer tea to her, Song Jinyu found excuses to turn them down.
As long as the Princess didn't drink the tea, their status would remain unrecognized.
Suo Li felt much better after giving birth. Now, Zhongli Mingxi treated her better, but the hurt in her heart remained. Therefore, no matter what, Suo Li always treated him indifferently.
Now that she had a daughter, she was content. She no longer cared where this man beside her would sleep at night.
After Song Jinyu saw the little princess of the Prince Yong's Mansion, Suo Li smiled and said, "Would you like to be her godmother in the future?"
"If it weren't for you, my daughter and I would have suffered a lot."
Knowing that she was still bothered by what happened on the day of giving birth, Song Jinyu advised, "A mother is strong. Your Highness should look on the bright side."
Yes, it was precisely because a mother was strong.
Suo Li had seemingly forgiven Zhongli Mingxi on the surface, but she would never forgive him in her heart.
Perhaps forgiveness would take time.
The Prince Yong was very happy to have a little princess and held a grand banquet, inviting all the nobles in the capital. When the banquet ended, it was almost midnight.
Grateful for the help of the Prince Yu and his wife that day, the Prince Yong offered Zhongli Mingye a few more cups of wine.
On the way home, Song Jinyu still felt very uncomfortable. On the one hand, it was because of Suo Li's words. If Zhongli Mingye hurt her like that, could she forgive him? She thought she couldn't.
Lost in thought, she didn't expect Zhongli Mingye's face to suddenly get closer. "My love... What are you thinking about?"
She moved away from him. He was drunk again! He smelled of alcohol. Although the sandalwood had diluted the smell, it was still very strong.
She didn't want to talk to him.
The man was dissatisfied, and his eyes grew darker. "Why are you so cold to me? Hmm..." He reached out and pulled her over,
put his arm around her slender waist. He adored this startled look on her face. His big hand slid over her clothes and landed on a certain place. His gaze became even hotter.
"Get off me!"
Song Jinyu struggled to break free from him. She was still angry. This man... Didn't he know what time it was! He always liked to bully her in the carriage.
The commotion in the carriage was quite loud, but fortunately, the sound of the carriage wheels covered it up.
"Don't move!"
This bastard!
When everything finally calmed down, the carriage had been parked in front of the mansion for some time.
Song Jinyu's face was still flushed, which made people's imagination run wild. When she got off the carriage, she could hardly stand. Fortunately, Zhongli Mingye picked her up and carried her all the way to the bedroom.
She hurriedly pushed him away and ran into the bathroom. Niaoniao and Micui chased after the flustered footsteps and looked at each other in surprise.
What was wrong with the Princess today?
While taking a bath, she was filled with anger. Drunk Zhongli Mingye was so annoying! In the future, she would never ride in the same carriage with him again.