In the evening, Princess Chen came back from a visit to the Qin Mansion. She looked not in a good mood. The servants saluted her, but she ignored them and went back to her bedroom with worries.
I stayed in the bedroom for half an hour.
It wasn't until dinner time when the nun in charge of the meal came to ask King Chen whether he should eat alone or with the princess, that King Chen came back to his senses and asked, "The princess is back?"
"yes."
"Where is she?" Why didn't she come to see him when she came back?
"In the bedroom in the main courtyard." Sister Zhangshan replied, "The princess looks a little strange."
King Chen rubbed his brows, ordered people to clean up the study, then got up and walked out.
Princess Chen was sitting in front of the window, meditating.
The two daughters of Prime Minister Jiang's family are good-looking. The eldest daughter Jiang Ying is beautiful, gentle, dignified and virtuous. She has been carefully taught by the Prime Minister's wife since she was a child, and she is a qualified virtuous housekeeper.
The first thing that princes look for when marrying a princess is not their appearance, but their family background, because a powerful family is a help that cannot be ignored for princes.
Secondly, look at the woman's temperament and upbringing. Marry a good wife and prosper for three generations. This principle also applies to the royal family. At least there is no need to worry about the wife causing trouble to her husband outside.
Appearance is the least important factor.
But as a man, who likes ugly women?
Therefore, Jiang Ying, who had a distinguished family background, dignified temperament and beautiful appearance, became King Chen's favorite wife.
Until now, he is satisfied with this princess.
King Chen stepped through the door and saw that Jiang Ying seemed to be in a daze. He walked over and slowly held her in his arms: "What did Miss Qin say to you?"
Princess Chen came back to her senses and turned to look at him: "Your Majesty."
"Yes." Prince Chen kissed her cheek, which made Jiang Ying's cheeks heat up. "Your Majesty, it's still daytime..."
"I know." King Chen sighed softly, "I am just in a bad mood."
Jiang Ying pursed her lips: "Because of Qianqi?"
"Qianqi is missing."
"Missing?" Princess Chen's face changed in shock, and she subconsciously turned her head to look at him, "How could such a good living person disappear?"
King Chen let her go and sat down with a gloomy face: "After much thought, there is no other person except Rong Cang."
Princess Chen looked uneasy: "Then what should we do?"
"I have sent people to search. If we can't find it during the day, we can only think of a solution at night." King Chen sighed deeply, with anxiety on his brows. "If Rong Cang takes action, things will be much more difficult."
Princess Chen was worried: "Your Majesty, don't you have any countermeasures?"
"I don't know how to deal with it yet." King Chen closed his eyes with a gloomy look on his face, "I never thought that Qian Qi would disappear, but now it seems that he was probably killed as early as ten days ago People are targeting him, and he has been winning in the gambling house for so many days just for this one."
Princess Chen was silent for a moment and then said in confusion: "If it is true that the King of War took Qianqi away, he would have just sent people to Changlefang to get him. Why would he deliberately set up a trap to let him win so much money?"
King Chen looked ugly: "I can't figure it out either."
Princess Chen sat aside, with an inexplicable look on her face. She didn't know how the situation could become like this. The struggle for power between men was always life-and-death, and a stay-at-home woman like her could only serve as the prince's help.
But it's just a little help.
Many times she doesn't know how to judge or make decisions, and is even unwilling to help at all...
Although she knew that both husband and wife would be prosperous and suffer losses, and if something happened to the prince, she, the princess, would not end well, but some things were really difficult to do.
Jiang Ying calmed down and brushed away the unnecessary emotions from her heart: "When Ninth Brother stayed at the border and did not come back, everything was under control. But since he came back, everything seems to be out of control, making people overwhelmed."
Before Rong Cang came back, the imperial concubine was the most favored concubine in the palace, and Prince Chen was the most prestigious prince in the court, and his succession to the throne was just around the corner.
She always thought that she was the confirmed crown princess and would become the empress in a few years.
But since Rong Cang came back, since he got married, everything has become different.
King Chen didn't want to think about the unpleasant things anymore and asked calmly: "What did Miss Qin say to you?"
Princess Chen's heart sank. Thinking of what Qin Zhilan said, she narrowed her eyes and said, "Qin Zhilan said that the queen sent invitations to some official ladies in the capital, inviting them to the palace to attend the flower appreciation banquet."
"Flower viewing banquet?" King Chen sneered, "As soon as the mother-in-law was punished by her father, she couldn't wait to hold a flower viewing banquet. Did she want to reveal her identity as queen to the civil and military officials of the dynasty? Want to tell others that she, the queen, was back in power? "
What if a queen without a son comes to power?
"Not only that." Princess Chen spoke in a low voice, "Miss Qin didn't know where she learned that the flower viewing banquet was actually just an excuse, and the real purpose was to select concubines for the princes."
"Choose a concubine?" King Chen frowned, "Prince Yu, I, and Rong Cang all have their first concubines, so what concubine should we choose?"
Princess Chen said: "The seventh brother and the eighth brother don't have the main concubine yet, the ninth brother doesn't have the concubine, and Princess Chen still has one less concubine."
King Chen was silent for a moment, thinking thoughtfully: "Then for this flower viewing banquet, do you want to choose the main concubine for the seventh brother and the eighth brother, or choose the side concubine for us?"
If we just choose the first concubine for the seventh prince and the eighth prince, it won't be a big problem. After all, the two princes have already grown up, but they were just crowned kings this year. Their mother-in-law has a low status, so it is reasonable for the queen to take care of it for them. .
But other princes who have three main concubines do not need to make such a big deal about choosing side concubines. If they do, they must be trying to arrange something through the selection of side concubines.
King Chen thought in silence, and for a moment he was a little confused about his intentions.
"What Miss Qin means is that she can be the prince's concubine." Princess Chen suddenly spoke. Although she was reluctant, she still took Qin Zhilan's words into consideration. "She said she would rather be the prince's concubine than the seventh prince. Be the royal concubine with the eighth prince."
King Chen was surprised: "Qin Zhilan?"
"Um."
Qin Zhilan told her some things, why she was willing to be King Chen's concubine, and the benefits that King Chen could get after the marriage between the two houses.
Princess Chen naturally hopes to get help from the Tutor's Mansion, but from a woman's perspective, she doesn't like Qin Zhilan because he is too ambitious, aloof and aloof. Such a woman is generally not willing to be a concubine.
She is so willing to compromise, and she will definitely ask for something that matches her ambition in the future.
If King Chen really ascends the throne, she will be his biggest opponent.
But now Prince Chen's Mansion is in a bad situation.
Princess Chen did not dare to easily reject the sincerity offered by the other party.
"If the Qin family really means this, we can be even more powerful." King Chen didn't seem to notice the change in his wife's face, and there was a bit of excitement in his eyes, "The Taifu is highly respected, even the father respects his opinions. If With his support and affirmation, my father will definitely look at me differently."
After saying that, he stretched out his hand to hold his wife's hand: "Don't worry, Ying'er, no matter who comes into the house in the future, I will only have you as my first wife, and I will never let anyone override you."
Princess Chen hid the gloomy look in her eyes, forced herself to smile, and nodded slowly: "Yes."
