Chapter 237 Zhang Guifen's Dominance
Zhao Xing was stunned when he heard this. He was angry that Minglan didn't trust him.
But Minglan said that she didn't dare to say it because she believed Zhao Xing would vent her anger.
Li Liangdi's grandfather was already the Minister of Personnel.
Regardless of whether Li Liangdi was right or wrong, Zhao Xing's punishment of Li Liangdi because of a dowry maid was tantamount to slapping the Li family in the face.
Seeing that Zhao Xing didn't say anything, Minglan thought he didn't believe her, so she said anxiously, "I know that Your Highness treats me well, and I am very happy. If I cause trouble to Your Highness, I will feel bad."
Zhao Xing came back to his senses and looked at Minglan. This time Minglan did not dodge and looked at Zhao Xing.
"Come forward." Zhao Xing said with a smile.
Hearing this, Minglan slowly stepped forward. Zhao Xing put his arms around her waist and pulled her slightly with force. Minglan screamed and fell into Zhao Xing's arms.
"No matter how high the position of the Minister of Personnel is or how much power he has, would I be afraid of him?" Zhao Xing said, lifting Minglan's chin with one hand.
It was his contribution that Li Liangdi's grandfather was able to become the Minister of Personnel so quickly.
After Zhou Yi Zhong died, the position of Prime Minister became vacant.
In order to quell the turmoil as soon as possible, the government directly promoted the former Minister of Personnel to take over Zhou Yi Zhong's position.
Li Liangdi's grandfather became the Minister of Personnel.
Zhao Xing's previous warning made Li Liangdi very obedient and she didn't dare to do anything tricky.
Perhaps he felt that his grandfather had become the Minister of Personnel, which gave him the confidence, so he took action against Minglan this time.
Minglan was in Zhao Xing's arms, and their faces were very close. Minglan blushed as she looked at Zhao Xing and said, "Your Highness is naturally not afraid, but Li Liangdi's grandfather is a high-ranking official, and it's not worth it for me."
"Where is your usual cleverness?" Zhao Xing pinched Minglan's face and said, "You and Rulan have been in the palace for some time, and she has never troubled you. Now she suddenly troubles you because her grandfather has been promoted and has the confidence. But you don't even have a name, if she wants to cause trouble, why doesn't she go to your sister?"
Minglan thought for a moment and said uncertainly, "Your Highness, do you mean that Li Liang Di is testing you?"
"That's right!" Zhao Xing nodded and said, "Originally, I had a good excuse to teach her a lesson and make her behave herself. But you ruined it."
Li Liangdi was not stupid either. Her grandfather's promotion did give her some confidence, but Zhao Xing was the king and her grandfather was a subject.
Zhao Xing cares more about Minglan, but Li Liangdi doesn't know it.
She just thought that Rulan and Minglan were real sisters, and Zhao Xing liked the atmosphere of the sisters being together.
Minglan was just a match after all.
She had shown signs of competing for favor before, but was punished by Zhao Xing.
This time she wanted to use Minglan to test Zhao Xing's tolerance.
Whether a concubine in the harem is favored or not depends not only on whether she can please Zhao Xing, but also on the influence of her natal family.
If Zhao Xing ignored what she did, it would mean that because of her grandfather's promotion, her status in Zhao Xing's heart also increased.
This way, she wouldn't have to be so cautious.
It can be imagined that once Zhao Xing gave her this illusion, the harem would never be at peace.
Minglan hadn't thought so much about it before, but now after hearing what Zhao Xing said, she finally reacted.
She originally didn't want to cause trouble for Zhao Xing, but unexpectedly, she ruined Zhao Xing's plan. She apologized, "Your Highness, this servant..."
"Okay." Zhao Xing interrupted her and said, "Although I have no excuse to punish her, I rushed over so quickly. As long as she is not stupid, she should understand my attitude and it won't be a big deal. On the contrary, I am very happy that you are thinking about me."
"Your Highness." Minglan listened to Zhao Xing's love words, murmured with some emotion, and looked at him in a daze.
Zhao Xing saw Minglan's eyes full of love and bent down to kiss her.
Minglan was startled at first, then she closed her eyes and responded.
In the past, when Minglan was favored by Zhao Xing, she always endured it passively, but this time she was very proactive.
More than half an hour later, the wind stopped and the rain stopped. Zhao Xing called the palace maids to help the two of them bathe.
After sending the maid away, the two of them embraced each other and lay on the bed covered with bedding.
Minglan rested her head on Zhao Xing's arm, leaned against his chest, listened to Zhao Xing's heartbeat, and felt very peaceful in her heart.
Zhao Xing put his hands on her shoulders, rubbing his fingers gently, feeling the silky skin, and said: "I can't give you a name for the time being, you..."
"Your Highness!" Minglan interrupted Zhao Xing, propped herself up, looked at Zhao Xing and said, "Your Highness treats me well, and I am really happy. I am not trying to please Your Highness for the sake of fame."
"I know. Just listen to me."
Minglan propped herself up and the quilt slipped off, revealing a large area of beautiful scenery.
While admiring her, Zhao Xing said, "I don't have many concubines. Your two elder sisters already have official titles, so I can't give you an official title for the time being. When you are pregnant, I can give you an official title. I hope we can be honest with each other, so I'm telling you clearly."
"Your Highness."
Minglan was about to speak when she saw Zhao Xing's eyes looking around. She lowered her head, then quickly lay down, pouting shyly.
Minglan took a deep breath, calmed herself down, and said, "Your Highness is right not to give me a title now. If you do, it will be too much favor to the Sheng family, which is not a good thing. And having a title now is not a good thing for me either."
Minglan hesitated for a moment and told the story of her mother.
If she had a status now, Madam Wang would definitely target her. "I'm glad you understand." Zhao Xing said with relief.
Minglan is sensible and does not become spoiled just because she is favored, which is a good thing.
As for Wei Xiaoniang's matter, Zhao Xing had no way to deal with it.
"I understand. Your Highness, just be nice to me in private, and don't show me too much favor in public..."
That night, the two chatted until late at night before going to bed.
Most of the time, it was Minglan who spoke and Zhao Xing who listened.
Minglan recounted some of the situations that happened at the Sheng family. Her words were very calm and she did not contain much resentment.
…………
Moxiang Pavilion
Li Liangdi was a little sleepless. Although Zhao Xing did not pursue the matter yesterday, she couldn't help but think too much about it when he was able to rush over so quickly.
I was lost in thought until late at night and then fell asleep.
The next day, he was woken up by the old nanny in a daze. After washing up, he went to Chunhe Palace to pay his respects to the Crown Princess.
Jiang Liangdi was already there when she arrived.
Li Liangdi cursed the flatterer in her heart, but she was a little confused.
Jiang Liangdi was always the first one to come and greet the Crown Princess every day. After greeting, she would take her leave. She seldom met Jiang Liangdi at the Crown Princess's place.
But today Jiang Liangdi stayed and sat aside, and no one knew why.
Li Liang Di did not have time to think about it and bowed and said, "Your servant greets the Crown Princess. Best wishes, Crown Princess!"
"Yes." Zhang Guifen nodded slightly and said, "No need to be polite. Please sit down for a while. When the others arrive, I have a few words to say."
"Yes!"
Li Liangdi's heart skipped a beat when she heard this. Could it be because of what happened yesterday?
With doubts, Li Liangdi sat down under the guidance of the palace maid.
As soon as she sat down, Yu Yanran and Rulan also came.
After the two of them greeted each other, Zhang Guifen said the same thing.
Soon Li Liangyuan and Chen Liangyuan also arrived, and now everyone was present.
Shulan was exempted from the greetings because she was pregnant.
"I left you here because I have a few words to say."
Zhang Guifen looked at the people and said calmly, "I heard that there was some conflict between Li Liang Di and the maidservant beside Sheng Cepin yesterday. In the end, the two of them had a quarrel. It was not until His Highness left that the quarrel was dispersed. This..."
"Princess, I am your concubine..."
"Shut up!" Zhang Guifen said coldly, "I haven't finished what I'm saying yet, who allowed you to speak? Considering that this is your first offense, I won't pursue it this time. If you do it again, don't blame me for punishing you."
"It was my fault for being reckless. Thank you for your forgiveness, Princess."
Being scolded in front of so many people, Li Liangdi's face turned blue and red, but she did not dare to lose her temper or talk back.
Zhang Guifen didn't even look at her and continued, "I am the Crown Princess, and I should be in charge of all matters of the Eastern Palace. I came back from the Jinmingchi Villa yesterday and was a little tired, so I took a nap. As a result, Your Highness has to worry about the affairs of the harem, which is my dereliction of duty."
"This matter has passed, and I don't want to bring up the past. I'm keeping you here today to warn you. It's a blessing and fate for you all to be able to serve His Royal Highness the Crown Prince in the East Palace. However, everyone has different temperaments and personalities, and I don't expect you to be harmonious and close like sisters.
I come from a noble family, I have a straightforward temper, I don't like to see quarrels, and I don't want to judge any lawsuit for you.
If you can get along with each other, then get along with each other. If you can’t get along with each other and have different personalities, then just live your own life and don’t visit each other.
If there is another quarrel, I will not ask who is right or wrong, and I will give each of you ten strokes of the cane. If you are not afraid, just go ahead and quarrel."
Everyone was stunned when they heard this. Zhang Guifen’s meaning was very simple. Whenever a quarrel occurred, she would not ask who was right or wrong, and the two of them would clean it up together.
How can you manage a harem like this?
"Why didn't you hear it clearly? Do you need me to repeat it?" Zhang Guifen said lightly.
"I will definitely keep the Crown Princess' words in mind!"
Several people came to their senses and responded in unison.
Zhang Guifen nodded with satisfaction, looked at Li Liangdi, and said, "I heard that Li Liangdi has beautiful handwriting?"
"Replying to the Crown Princess, I do like to practice calligraphy when I am bored. It is barely enough to be presented to others, so it is not that good." Li Liangdi said.
"You were a famous talented woman in Bian Jing before. Being too modest seems a bit hypocritical. The Queen's birthday is in more than a month. I wanted to copy some Buddhist scriptures as a birthday gift for the Queen, but unfortunately my handwriting is not very presentable. Since you have good handwriting, please copy it for me." Zhang Guifen said.
"Yes!"
Li Liangdi felt a little contemptuous, thinking that someone who couldn't manage the harem and whose handwriting was ugly could become the Crown Princess.
"I will have someone deliver the Buddhist scriptures to you soon. Just complete it within a month. There is nothing else to do. You can all go back." Zhang Guifen waved her hand.
(End of this chapter)