At night, Zhaochen Palace was brightly lit.
Consort Gu, dressed in luxurious robes, reclined on the couch. Listening to Liu Qingxi report the affairs of the Prince's Estate one by one, her eyebrows and eyes were as cold as frost: "She is actually that stubborn?"
Not only did she dare to embarrass the Fifth Princess in public, but she also completely disregarded the people she had personally arranged to be sent there.
"Imperial Concubine Mother, I did not lie to you, did I?" Sitting to the side, Rong Jinyue interjected impatiently, as if to prove she had not lied, "The Princess Consort Zhan is so arrogant. Not only did she have her father impeach the Ninth Imperial Brother, but she also embarrassed me, a princess, in public and threatened to send me to marry into a foreign royal family... She truly does not know her own worth, thinking that a crow flying onto a branch makes it a phoenix."
Liu Qingxi knelt on the ground: "This servant is incompetent and failed to see the Prince. I ask Your Ladyship to pardon my crime."
Consort Gu said coldly: "Indeed incompetent."
Liu Qingxi's complexion turned slightly pale. She raised her hand and slapped herself twice, then knelt apprehensively on the ground: "I beg Your Ladyship to calm down."
"Prince Chen went to the Vice Minister's Estate today." Consort Gu closed her eyes slightly, her bright and moving eyebrows and eyes flashing with a cold luster, "He said that the Princess Consort Zhan agreed to let Chu Yun Jiao enter the estate as a concubine. Tomorrow, a sedan chair will carry her into the estate, but Chu Yun Jiao is injured and may need to rest and recuperate at home for two days."
Liu Qingxi hurriedly said: "Whatever instructions Your Ladyship has, this servant will definitely handle them properly and will never let Your Ladyship down again."
Consort Gu closed her eyes in thought, her brow seemingly covered in a layer of frost.
The palace servants were all as silent as cicadas, lowering their heads in silence; even Rong Jinyue did not dare to speak casually.
Time passed bit by bit. Liu Qingxi's complexion grew paler and paler, yet she knelt without daring to move, and fine cold sweat gradually seeped out on her forehead.
"There are two things you must accomplish." Consort Gu's voice rang out coldly, seemingly carrying a death threat, "First, personally serve the medicinal soup to Prince Zhan, and second, ensure Chu Yun Jiao enters the estate smoothly tomorrow and has the opportunity to get close to Rong Cang."
Liu Qingxi did not dare to argue and hurriedly agreed: "Yes."
"Chu Yun Jiao is indeed injured, but this Palace worries that long delays will lead to trouble." Consort Gu lifted her eyes and glanced at her lightly, "Therefore, Chu Yun Jiao must appear at Prince Zhan's Estate tomorrow. Do you understand?"
"Yes."
"Leave."
As these words fell, Liu Qingxi felt a sense of relief and hurriedly took her leave.
Consort Gu slowly sat up from the couch. A palace maid nearby quickly handed her a cup of hot tea. Taking the tea with her slender, jade-white hands, she gave a cold snort: "This Palace is very curious, where does the daughter of a mere Third-Rank Attendant Official get such great courage?"
Although Chu Yuanzhong was someone she supported, it still could not change the fact that he was currently only a Vice Minister of Revenue.
Compared to the Princess Consort Chen, who was the legitimate daughter of the Prime Minister's Estate, Chu Yunfei's background was not worth mentioning. If it hadn't been for the fact that she was Chu Yuanzhong's daughter, she would never have agreed to let her marry Rong Cang.
However, this was not important.
What was important was that Chu Yunfei actually dared to go against her, her mother-in-law. Was she truly not afraid of death, or did she think the identity of Princess Consort Zhan was her protective talisman?
"Your Ladyship need not take it to heart." The personal nanny walked over, meticulously massaging her shoulders and neck, "The more impulsive and impatient the Princess Consort Zhan is, the easier she is to manipulate. It is those who are calm and composed in the face of trouble, and whose actions are always flawless, who require more thought to deal with."
Consort Gu lowered her eyes and remained silent, as if pondering her words.
"Moreover, Prince Zhan is currently resting and recuperating in bed and still needs the Princess Consort to take care of him. If Your Ladyship makes things difficult for her at this time, it would instead make other ladies in the palace laugh, saying that Your Ladyship is using all your thoughts to deal with your own daughter-in-law."
"Presumptuous." Consort Gu was displeased, "How are you speaking?"
"This old servant deserves to die." Nanny Ji hurriedly apologized and made a gesture of slapping herself, "What this old servant said were all heartfelt words. Prince Zhan is already under control. Your Ladyship should think more about how to win over people's hearts for His Highness Prince Chen; that is the real priority."
Rong Jinyue nodded repeatedly: "Nanny Ji is right. Mother, there is no need to be angry with a woman who does not know the immensity of heaven and earth. At worst, summon her into the palace, have someone torment her, and punish her by making her kneel for two or three hours; then she will know her own identity."
"You still have the nerve to speak." Consort Gu looked at her coldly, "A dignified princess being driven out of an estate—you really aren't ashamed."
Rong Jinyue's little face changed slightly, and she hurriedly hugged her arm to beg for mercy: "Mother, please calm down. Who knew Chu Yunfei would be so tough today as if she had taken the wrong medicine? I didn't prepare well when I went to Prince Zhan's Estate and only brought a few guards, but the estate had so many people. If I had gone head-to-head with her, wouldn't I have clearly been at a disadvantage?"
"She actually dared to use force against you?"
"Who knows if she dared or not?" Rong Jinyue's expression was gloomy and cold, "In any case, the face I lost at Prince Zhan's Estate today, I will definitely get back twofold in the future."
She wanted to make Chu Yunfei kneel before her, crying and begging for mercy, and make her regret her disrespect today.
Consort Gu was silent for a moment, then spoke faintly: "Has Chu Yunfei really changed so much from the past?"
"It's like she's a completely different person." Rong Jinyue nodded, "I suspect it must be the stimulation from the letter of divorce."
"Letter of divorce?"
"Yes, the Imperial Brother seems to have given her a letter of divorce early this morning, but Chu Yunfei refused to accept it, saying that this marriage was approved before the Father Emperor and was also recorded in the Imperial Family genealogy, so the Imperial Brother has no right to divorce her." After Rong Jinyue finished speaking, she gritted her teeth and added, "I also heard that Chu Yunfei was so angry that she slapped the Ninth Imperial Brother twice. She is simply daring!"
Consort Gu's complexion stiffened: "Slapped Rong Cang twice?"
"Yes."
"She truly has the guts of a bear." Consort Gu narrowed her eyes coldly, "Do you think she refuses to accept the letter of divorce because she is reluctant to give up the identity of Princess Consort Zhan, or because she is reluctant to give up Prince Zhan?"
"Probably both." Rong Jinyue curled her lips with a bit of disdain, "A daughter of a mere Vice Minister—if she were divorced and kicked out, she wouldn't be able to live for the rest of her life. The gossip of the powerful and influential families alone would be enough to drown her."
Consort Gu did not speak, secretly guessing that this was the real reason.
Chu Yunfei did not want to be divorced and kicked out, because being divorced meant she would have no way to continue living and would become a joke to everyone.
Therefore, she did not hesitate to force her father to impeach the Prince before the Emperor, and even if it meant falling out with Rong Cang, she had to keep the identity of Princess Consort Zhan.
Consort Gu lowered her eyes to hide the cold light at the bottom of her eyes. Chu Yunfei was indeed an anomaly, but if she could not be used by her, then there was no need for her to live in this world.
"Mother, tomorrow I will go to Prince Zhan's Estate with Liu Qingxi." Rong Jinyue snuggled up to her and said in a sweet voice, "I will call the Sixth Imperial Brother's Wife along as well to see how much tougher that Chu Yunfei can be."
Consort Gu pondered slightly and slowly shook her head: "You don't need to rush to Prince Zhan's Estate tomorrow. Let Chu Yun Jiao go and cause a scene on her own."
Rong Jinyue frowned: "She is just a small Concubine's Daughter; how could she be Chu Yunfei's opponent?"
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