143 Living Together
“You call it lucky? Do you know how many daughters the Zhao family has? Do you know how many concubines Marquis Zhao Hongwei has? What was the difference between marrying into the Zhao family and entering the den of tigers and wolves? There are so many women and countless schemes. Everyone in Jing City knows that the Zhao family is a mess. Even the Old Madam of the Zhao family can get pregnant. If you marry into such a family, aren’t you just waiting for death?” Someone could not stand it and retort. Everyone thought about it and shivered.
“With the Zhao family’s situation, how powerful of a woman must she be to marry into the family to be able to control them? Jiang Xi looks delicate and weak, and her family background is not that good. If she married into the Zhao family, wouldn’t she be eaten alive? Sigh, it seems that even if she isn’t killed by General Zhao Ruifeng, she can still be tortured to death by the women in the Zhao family.” Some people sighed. Zhao Ruifeng’s father, Zhao Hongwei, was a playboy, and Jiang Xi’s mother-in-law, Xiao Meili, was a cruel and merciless woman. In addition, there were a bunch of aunts and unmarried sisters-in-law there. This would be a living hell, right?
All of a sudden, the girls looked at Jiang Xi with sympathy. When Zhao Yingying heard their words, she only wanted to say, “You guys are too naive! Do you think my sister-in-law is that weak?!”
Soon, at the palace gate, all the girls participating in the selection of concubines entered the palace. Everyone was living in the Flower Stream Palace Hall. Zhao Yingying looked at the majestic palace, and her heart could not help but be stained with a touch of sorrow again. It could not be helped. Too many things had happened here in her previous life. This was also the turning point of her marriage to Jiang Si in her previous life. She remembered that Jiang Si seemed to have reached some kind of agreement with the Xiao family back then. He had married her even before he had taken the imperial examination. At that time, the person who came into contact with Jiang Si was Lord Xiao, who was Xiao Meili’s father. However, Xiao Meili was not recognized by the Xiao family and was not on the genealogy. Otherwise, with the power of the Xiao family, they would not have made Xiao Meili Zhao Hongwei’s mistress.
For this selection, the Xiao family also sent a few daughters. At this moment, they were all surrounding Zhao Panpan, probably wanting to bask in her glory.
“Yingying, can I stay with you? Mother said that you rarely interact with others and asked me to take care of you.” Zhao Panpan politely rejected the other girls’ invitations and asked Zhao Yingying in front of everyone.
The surrounding girls were a little envious of Zhao Yingying. Zhao Panpan was familiar with the palace, and entering the palace was like entering her own back garden.
“Then I’ll stay next to Sister Panpan.” The round-faced girl who had been flattering Zhao Panpan said innocently.
Zhao Yingying touched the silk bag on her chest and calmed herself down. Everything that was happening now was the same as in her previous life. It was inevitable that she would overthink it. However, she still agreed to Zhao Panpan’s request. Zhao Yingying, who had received Zhao Panpan’s nod, immediately smiled.
There were quite a few people who wanted to curry favor with Zhao Panpan, so she did not even need to do anything before the girls took the initiative to clean up the house. In Flower Stream Palace Hall, there was a special place for eating and drinking. There were also strict old nannies teaching them the rules. Although there were many rules in the palace, it was still something people yearned for. After all, this was a place where power gathered.
“Sister Panpan, after dinner just now, Miss Cen seemed to have been called by the empress dowager. When she came back, her face was full of joy. Do you think she will be betrothed to the crown prince by the empress dowager?” The round-faced girl’s name was Tong’er. She opened her eyes wide and said to Zhao Panpan in a mysterious manner.
Zhao Panpan’s brows furrowed as she heard this. She was a little frustrated. In her hand was the secret letter that her mother, Xiao Meili, had risked her life to send in. She was very confused. Zhao Panpan had been taught by the empress as the crown princess since she was young. Although it was not explicitly said, she understood what the empress meant. She even revealed that as long as the crown princess died, Zhao Panpan would immediately take over the position. Even the crown princess who had yet to be married to the crown prince would not be able to leave behind a son or a daughter. Zhao Panpan also thought so. However, her mother asked her to give the emperor more hints. The emperor did treat her a little differently some time ago, but the emperor also gave her time to think about whether she should move into the Eastern Palace or the harem. After all, the emperor had watched her grow up all these years. When she went back and told her mother about this, her mother only told her not to be anxious, not to give the emperor a reply, but also not to give the emperor the cold shoulder. However, it seemed that her mother was doing this on purpose, or was she deliberately luring them?