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Chapter 198: Solid Favor
"What does the Pang family do in Shuo Kingdom?" Lu Qing suddenly asked when he heard this.

Zhu Yu glanced at the door. The runes and talismans stood there like two door gods. With them around, no one could easily get close to Prince Shuo's Mansion, which made it much easier for them to talk.

"The Pang family was originally the largest iron casting merchant in the territory of Shuo State, and also had some other industries. After my father inherited the throne, they gradually obtained the qualification to mine iron ore." Zhu Yu's answer was brief, but clear enough.

Lu Qing's eyes were meaningful. He nodded in understanding and looked at Zhu Yu deeply.

Zhu Yu immediately understood from his eyes what he didn't say, and frowned slightly.

If she understood correctly and Lu Qing guessed correctly, then the affairs of Shuo Kingdom were far more involved than they thought.

Originally, they just thought that if they wanted to find out those things, they would naturally have to go through Zhu Cheng, the King of Shuo. Now it seems that it may be more troublesome than they expected.

Yan Daoxin looked at them speechlessly, as they exchanged glances and seemed to understand each other's intentions. He tapped his fingers on the table a few times to attract their attention: "Then I'm a little curious. Since this Princess Shuo's family is quite prominent and powerful in Shuo Country, and she herself has a very domineering personality, and judging from her expression just now, it seems that she usually keeps a close eye on your father, right?

Then...why did your father take concubines and father so many illegitimate children?"

It was really strange that this question came from the mouth of a Taoist priest with a face that looked otherworldly and wearing a Taoist robe.

Lu Qing glared at Yan Daoxin with some disgust, then turned his gaze to Zhu Yu.

Although he despised it, he had to admit that Yan Daoxin had just asked a question that he had a doubt about, and he was quite curious about the answer to this question.

"No matter how insignificant my father was, he was still a vassal king of the Shuo Kingdom. Although he wasn't the most awe-inspiring figure in the four seas and five states, he was at least prominent in this part of the world. Many people wanted to curry favor with him and cling to him."

Zhu Yu was almost amused by their curious expressions. Usually, one of them was nonchalant and the other sanctimonious, pretending to be decent people. But unexpectedly, when gossiping, they were no less outspoken than ordinary people. "Back then, the Pang family made the right bet and rode on my father's influence to rise to prominence. They were unrivaled in the Shuo Kingdom. Naturally, there were some who disliked them and wanted to challenge them.

So when my father was young, I heard that many people wanted to find opportunities to get around him and into Prince Shuo's palace.

No matter how domineering Pang Yuzhen was, she couldn't take care of everything. She was afraid that another woman would be brought into the house by mistake and threaten her position.

So, in order to gain control, she would take the initiative to arrange for her own people to be around her father and serve as his concubines."

She sighed, "Just like my mother, she was originally Pang Yuzhen's maid who came with her as a dowry. She followed Pang Yuzhen and served her obediently. She had hoped that when she got older, Pang Yuzhen would choose a capable servant from the palace to marry her. As long as she served her master wholeheartedly, she could live a stable life in the palace.

As it turned out, man proposes, God disposes. When Pang Yuzhen was pregnant with my elder sister Zhu Ning, people outside became interested and tried to force someone in every few days.

So in order to prevent outsiders from entering the house, she picked my mother, the most beautiful of her maids, and took the initiative to make her a concubine and gave her to my father. My father understood Pang Yuzhen's intention, and after accepting her happily, he also rejected the outsiders' flattery.

After that, Pang Yuzhen would use the same trick every time she got pregnant, which is why we, the concubine sisters, were born."

"Sisters..." Yan Daoxin thought Zhu Yu's words sounded interesting, "Your family doesn't have any illegitimate brothers?" Zhu Yu shook her head: "No, for some reason, only illegitimate daughters can be born healthy.

I heard that several concubines in the past either lost their babies or lost both large and small ones. In short, no illegitimate children were born successfully."

Yan Daoxin sneered and looked at Lu Qing: "I thought the vassal state would not be so bad, but I didn't expect it to be the same as in the palace.

It seems that I have underestimated the abilities of the medical practitioners and doctors in the surrounding vassal states!

They may not be able to cure difficult and complicated diseases, but they are quite good at helping people diagnose whether the baby is a boy or a girl! "

"How many legitimate sons does King Shuo have?" Lu Qing asked.

"Three." Zhu Yu held up three fingers. "Two are a few years older than Zhu Ning and me, and the youngest is not even ten years old this year."

Lu Qing nodded and asked, "What about the Pang family?"

"The Pang family?" Zhu Yu was stunned. She had never really paid attention to these things in the past, but now that she was asked this question out of the blue, she had to think carefully. "They have many children. When you ask me how many legitimate descendants they have, I can't tell you right away. Anyway, they are a prosperous family."

Lu Qing raised his eyebrows, as if this answer was in line with his guess. He changed the subject and asked, "Just now you said that your mother has to go to Princess Shuo's room to serve her every morning?"

Zhu Yu held her chin and sighed. Thinking of her mother, Miao, a little warmth finally arose in her heart, but at the same time, she felt a deep sense of powerlessness.

"Although Pang Yuzhen had placed people she believed to be reliable by my father's side, any concubine who could bear my father's child would be closely watched and strictly guarded against by her.

My mother has been serving Pang Yuzhen for many years, so she naturally knows her personality very well.

Ever since she gave birth to me, she no longer dared to do anything to please or curry favor with my father. She would never do anything that could be seen as vying for favor. She also tried her best to maintain a dull appearance and be submissive in front of my father.

In short, my mother would make herself behave like the type of woman my father didn't like.

In addition, every morning, my father would go to the Armory early, and after he left, my mother would go to serve the princess, just like she was her personal maid before she became a concubine.

After many years, my mother never gave birth to any children except me. My father thought she was dull and boring, and he had no interest in her anymore and ignored her.

But Pang Yuzhen felt much more relieved and no longer kept an eye on her or guarded against her.

Especially later, when my father married me off to Jin State by imperial decree, leaving my mother alone, Pang Yuzhen became even less cautious. Instead, I don't know if it was out of sympathy or pity for my mother, but from the moment I was about to leave, she became much more lenient towards her than usual.

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　　(End of this chapter)