The Emperor, seeing no objections from the Eldest Princess and her husband, felt even more remorseful and the next day, his rewards for Gu Shengyin were even more generous.
The Eldest Princess and her husband returned to their mansion in high spirits.
As soon as the Eldest Princess returned to her mansion, she called her daughter over and informed her of what the Emperor had said that day.
After she finished speaking, the Eldest Princess Wen Cheng carefully observed her daughter's expression and, seeing her delighted and not at all disheartened, she finally felt completely at ease.
She deeply feared that Ah Zhen would be unable to let go of the prestigious position of Crown Princess Consort and would remain obsessed, stepping into the backstabbing depths of the forbidding palace—having grown up at the imperial court, the Eldest Princess Wen Cheng was all too familiar with the maneuvers within the harem.
Gu Shengyin was naturally also pleased; she had been worrying about how to get out of the marriage arrangement with Ji Ye, but an opportunity had unexpectedly presented itself.
However, this wasn't part of the original storyline, was it? Gu Shengyin called out to the system.
The system flashed once and replied, "Searching... Unable to find, it may be the world's rules automatically compensating. There are no abnormalities; please continue with the task as usual."
Alright, seeing there wouldn't be any result from asking, Gu Shengyin no longer dwelled on the matter.
"This is too good for Jiang Yunsan." Eldest Princess Wen Cheng said indignantly.
A concubine-born daughter able to marry the Crown Prince as a concubine was already an immense honor. The Eldest Princess had no doubt that, with this auspicious sign of the sun and moon in the dream, if not for Jiang Yunsan's birth being too lowly to stand scrutiny, the imperial family would have very likely lifted her to be the Crown Prince's main consort to silence the scholars at the Imperial Court.
Gu Shengyin blinked; favorable? That was not necessarily the case. After all, Ji Ye and Jiang Yunsan were the principal culprits behind the harm done to the Jiang Family. This life, since she had taken over Jiang Lingzhen's body, she naturally intended to repay them in full.
On the other side, Ji Yu, holding a piece of intelligence passed on from his subordinates, smiled lightly, "Having been in this Qianlong Temple for so long, perhaps it's been a long time since I went out. I wonder if those old acquaintances still remember me?
The next day, two Imperial edicts coming from the palace shocked the entire Imperial City.
Both edicts were related to the General's Mansion.
One announced that Princess Lang Hua of the Grand General's Mansion had been graced by a royal decree handwritten by His Majesty himself, elevating her to Princess Qingyang with a conferred domain of Qingyang Commandery!
Princess Lang Hua, now Princess Qingyang, Jiang Lingzhen, became the first Commandery Princess in the history of the Tianqi Dynasty to have her own domain.
The second decree was even more baffling—how could the Great General's concubine-born daughter be welcomed as a concubine by the Crown Prince?
What was the status of the Crown Prince? The future ruler of the Tianqi Dynasty! A concubine was different from other consorts; she held a title and could be listed in the Imperial Family's jade annals. Typically, the concubines of the Crown Prince were the legitimate daughters from top-tier prominent families. How could Jiang Yunsan, a concubine-born daughter, become the concubine of the Crown Prince?
Many people held this doubt in their hearts. Jiang Yunsan had been too low-profile before, and within the Imperial City, how many knew that the General had a highly favored legitimate daughter, the Princess Lang Hua, while as for the concubine-born daughter Jiang Yunsan, who was that? They had never even heard of her!
In Jiang Yunsan's small courtyard, listening to the unceasing congratulations and flattery from her servants, she felt immensely smug and lifted her chin in pride.
Her gaze flickered towards the direction of the Secluded Bamboo Court, where Jiang Lingzhen resided, and she sneered inwardly: What of being the legitimate daughter? What of being a Commandery Princess? After all, aren't you the one whose fiancé belongs to me?
She looked down at the crimson skirt embroidered with butterflies she was wearing—this was tribute satin from the palace, something the former Jiang Yunsan wouldn't even dare to dream of.
No hurry, take it slow. Jiang Lingzhen, I will snatch away everything you have, bit by bit. I will make you taste the bitterness of having nothing at all.