"Mm." Shen Junru gave a faint nod, her face betraying no emotion as she glanced at her reflection in the mirror before rising, "Well then, let’s call it a night."
"My lady, that woman from the western chamber has gone to deliver bird’s nest congee again. It seems the Crown Prince was delighted and even gave her a reward. To be honest, that Feng Liangdi is getting way too arrogant," Yin Hua couldn’t help but grumble, "Relying on her youth, she doesn’t take our main hall seriously. Whenever there’s a chance, she’s always cozying up to the Crown Prince..."
"Yes, the day before yesterday His Highness rewarded her with a Luminous Pearl, and today a batch of Cloud Brocade. By tomorrow, when she sees us, she’ll probably be looking down her nose..." Jinhua added with a sneer.
"You all..." Shen Junru chuckled, "I’m not angry, so why are you?"
"It’s because Your Highness is compassionate that you don’t get angry, but it just doesn’t sit right with us," Yin Hua pouted, "and besides, the Crown Princess Consort doesn’t seem to fight for..." Wouldn’t it be nice to also send some food and drinks to His Highness?
"Just remember, apart from me, all those others are concubines. And what are concubines? They are nothing but playthings," Shen Junru said with a light smile, "As long as the Crown Prince holds me in his heart, and as long as the Emperor and the Empress Dowager recognize me, nobody else can stir up any trouble. Besides, no matter how they behave, they still have to pay their respects to me when they see me, right? It would be beneath us to squabble with a plaything."
Jinhua and Yin Hua exchanged glances, still seeming somewhat dissatisfied.
"But, my lady, even though you’re right, if His Highness continues to dote on them, what if they give birth to a Little Prince before us?" Yin Hua said with a worried expression.
Shen Junru’s brows finally furrowed slightly; indeed, this was also her concern. She involuntarily touched her own stomach; it had been a year since her marriage and still no sign of pregnancy. Although she was still young, perhaps... perhaps it was really time to have the Imperial Physician take her pulse.
Seeing this, Jinhua stealthily nudged Yin Hua and gave her a glare as if to say she had brought up the very thing that should not have been mentioned.
Realizing she had spoken too much, Yin Hua quickly lowered her head, "My lady, this servant..."
"What you said is true, but..." Shen Junru glanced at herself in the mirror, "children are a matter of fate..."
Jinhua and Yin Hua fell silent. In truth, they were also worrying too much. After all, there were many women in the Crown Prince Residence, and the earliest had been with the Crown Prince for three years, yet still no child. Therefore, the Crown Princess Consort probably didn’t need to hurry.
"Let’s go to sleep early. In the morning, we have to enter the palace to pay respect to the Empress Dowager..." Shen Junru got up and walked towards the luxurious bed, adorned with dragons and phoenixes.
Setting aside the overt and covert struggles of Beijing for the moment, let’s turn to Dapu East Village.
Yang Anshi got up early to tidy herself up and went to knock on her younger son’s door.
"Mother." Yang Baixiang opened the door to see Yang Anshi and couldn’t help but pause, "Is something the matter?"
"Fifth, don’t always be so critical of your mother," Yang Anshi gave her son a sideways glance, "Saying I don’t care about the people of the main branch. Even though they are unfilial, they are still members of the Yang Family after all. How could I possibly not care about them?"
Yang Baixiang was confused, "Mother, what do you mean?"
"What I mean is that I’ve already started to look out for Dani," Yang Anshi couldn’t help but raise her voice, "From now on, don’t look at your mother like she’s your enemy." With that, she turned and walked away.