The maid's road to success

In early March, the Queen Mother held a flower-viewing banquet in the harem and invited the women in the inner house to come and enjoy the sight of the first batch of blooming flowers.

Wen Niang was also among the invited guests. She hurriedly learned etiquette for a few days before entering the palace with the women of the Duke of Huguo's Mansion.

"Niang Wen, do you know that when Luo Xi was trying on her wedding dress yesterday, she was laughing like a fool?"

Chen Luolan pulled Wen Niang to talk about Chen Luoxi's embarrassing incident. Bai looked at the women around her and seeing that no one noticed, she turned her head and looked at Chen Luolan sternly.

"Be careful what you say in the palace!"

Chen Luolan lowered her head and didn't dare to say anything more. The old ancestor patted Bai's hand.

"It doesn't matter. Her aunt is in charge of the palace. Let the children be happy."

The ancestor had experienced a lot of things. Her own family fell into decline, her husband's family prospered and then was exiled. She returned to Kyoto at such an old age and became one of the best among the female family members.

She just felt that it would be better to live a more relaxed life now.

There are only a few children left in the Chen family. They have all experienced many hardships. Now that they have finally reaped the rewards of their hard work, they should stop feeling restrained and live their lives the way they are happy.

"There are too many people watching in this palace. I'm afraid someone with ulterior motives will find a handle on me."

The old ancestor comforted Bai, who had been restrained.

"It doesn't matter. Her great aunt lived a much easier life than I did in the past few decades. Let her worry about the rest of her life. We just need to be comfortable."

Only then did Bai laugh. The Huaiyuan Marquisate had sacrificed too much for Prince Li in the past. They wanted Prince Li's wife not to worry so much that her illness would not get worse.

Even if the ancestor had some doubts, he never said a word to Princess Li.

She was asked to work comfortably in the backyard of Prince Li's mansion because Princess Li was in poor health. She gave up the secret protection for Chen Luoan's troubles and Princess Li's health improved.

Life is getting better and better. Now that he has returned to Kyoto, the old ancestor seems to have let it go. He asks the Empress Grandma to make decisions on everything and doesn't want to worry about anything at all.

"If my aunt knew, she would be very sad."

The old ancestor smiled secretly when he thought of his sister's current appearance.

"She is now the mother of the country. If she doesn't take care of these things, who will?"

As they were talking, they had already arrived at the Central Palace. Bai supported the old ancestor and walked in front to talk.

Chen Luolan was whispering to Wen Niang behind her.

"The old ancestor also said that everything depended on my aunt. My aunt felt sorry for my grandmother's old age and rewarded her with a sedan chair in the palace. She was afraid that others would use this to accuse my aunt of favoritism, so she always walked in by herself."

Wen Niang also smiled and whispered.

"The old ancestor just wants the queen to focus on the younger generation to relieve the oppression in the deep palace. He is also seeking more benefits for the Protector of the Country. Only the children that the queen has worried about can be remembered by the queen."

Chen Luolan nodded. They actually knew all of this. Otherwise, they would often find some interesting items to send to the palace to entertain the Empress on behalf of their ancestors.

Walking into the main hall of the central palace, the spacious hall does not have many luxurious furnishings. Instead, it is very simple, with moon-white curtains and many paintings hanging on the walls.

"Please feel free to go ahead, old ancestor. The Queen is still changing her clothes. The other ladies are in the Flower Pavilion. Wait until the Queen is done changing and then go to the Flower Pavilion together."

The old ancestor nodded and sat down with the female relatives. The palace maids brought the latest fruit tea.

"This is the fruit tea newly brewed by the Tea Bureau. Please enjoy it."

Wen Niang looked at the fragrant and sweet fruit tea and the delicate and soft snacks at her side.

I couldn't help but think of Bihe, she also likes to study these things.

While waiting, Wen Niang and Chen Luolan had already drunk half a cup of tea and eaten two pieces of snacks.

There are a lot of people here today, so forget about filling your stomach. You can only take this opportunity to eat something.

After the Queen came out in her bright yellow palace dress, she exchanged a few words with everyone and then set off for the Imperial Garden.

"Linjing collected a lot of the first batch of rare species that bloomed and sent them here, so I held this flower viewing banquet."

The ancestor was directly helped onto the sedan chair by the people in the Queen's Palace. He had no way to refuse and could only sit on it.

The Bai family members did not dare to act recklessly and just followed on both sides.

"You never like this kind of occasion. How are you going to hold a flower viewing banquet this year?"

The old ancestor knew very well that his sister always liked quietness.

"The emperor has ascended the throne, but the officials have not yet fully returned to their loyalty. He wants to use the marriage alliance to help them settle down and also to demonstrate the majesty of the royal family."

The old ancestor nodded. Since Prince Li felt that he had no chance of becoming emperor, he has been living a leisurely life.

Anyway, with the military power in hand, no one dared to act rashly, and the Princess of Li was also well protected.

Now that she has become the mother of a country, she naturally cannot be as carefree and lazy as before. She has to step in and take charge when it’s time.

"The Crown Princess is already very gracious, let her help you more."

After all, the emperor has already decided that the eldest son will inherit the throne. The prince is also a virtuous and kind person. He treats his younger siblings well and is calm and measured without lacking in means.

Prince Li had experienced how brutal the fight for the throne was, and he himself was also a victim of the fight for the throne.

Naturally, he did not want his descendants to encounter such a situation, so after he ascended the throne, he directly appointed the crown prince and crown princess.

Even if the crown prince is not around, the eldest grandson will inherit the throne, eliminating the possibility of other heirs succeeding to the throne. The situation of killing brothers and fathers in order to fight for the throne will no longer occur.

"It's usually her and the other wives who help me out. Otherwise, my old bones wouldn't be able to bear it."

As they said this, they had already arrived at the Imperial Garden. Many women dressed in gorgeous clothes and wearing the uniforms of ladies of honor had already walked out of the two-story flower pavilion by the lake and knelt on the ground to greet them.

"Everyone, please stand up. Today is just a flower viewing party, so please be casual."

The Queen was supported by the Crown Princess and the Second Princess as she walked into the Flower Pavilion, where she sat on the second floor and chatted with several ladies.

"Princess Hejia, the third lady."

Wen Niang and her younger generation were all admiring the flowers in the corridor when suddenly a few women came and greeted the two of them.

"This is the daughter of the Minister of Personnel, and this is the niece of the Crown Princess..."

Chen Luolan introduced everyone to Wen Niang one by one. Wen Niang greeted them and said nothing more.

It was obvious that these people were here specifically to look for them, so it would be better for them to wait for them to make their intentions clear.

"Princess Hejia is indeed a wonderful person. The dress she is wearing seems to be the bamboo silk brocade that was presented as tribute this year."

Wen Niang raised her eyes and looked at the woman in the green dress who was talking behind her.

She has fair skin, bright eyes and light red lips.

What a beautiful lady, but the words she said were unkind.

This bamboo silk brocade was a new tribute from the southwest. It had only been in the palace for a few years, so Chen Luoxi asked for it to make a few dresses.

The same thing happened to Chen Luolan. The two of them were dressed like real sisters. This was also what they had agreed upon.

But that person only talked about himself and didn't mention Chen Luolan, obviously targeting him deliberately.

"This lady has good eyesight. This is a gift from the Empress. Our ancestors told us sisters to wear it. It looks neat, but it is not more graceful than the light veil on this sister."

There were faint laughters coming from several young ladies around. The young lady who had just targeted Wen Niang was the eldest sister of the prince's new wife, Wu Liangyuan.

Now in the Eastern Palace, apart from the Crown Prince and the Crown Princess, this lady is the only one who can be included in the Imperial Book of Rites.

This young lady and her sister Wu Liangyuan are both famous beauties in Kyoto, otherwise they would not have been able to enter the palace and become the prince's concubines after the emperor had already named them the crown prince.

Now that the emperor is old, the crown prince has a good chance of ascending the throne, and the emperor has cut off the chances of the other princes to compete for the throne.

As long as the prince does not do anything stupid or make any serious mistakes, he will surely ascend the throne in the future, and Wu Liangyuan will become a high-ranking concubine in the harem.

As the Wu family's wealth rose, the price of other unmarried daughters in the house also increased.

Although the Wu family is not very prosperous, this pair of daughters who are as bright as pearls are very precious.

Wu Liangyuan was only sixteen years old, and marrying the prince who was already in his forties was actually not a good match. However, because of this, the Wu family became a popular family for marriage in Kyoto.

The only remaining pearl could not be chosen casually, so the Wu family's initial idea was to let the youngest daughter marry into the Duke of Protectorate's mansion, and then when the prince became emperor, one would become a favorite concubine in the harem, and the other would borrow the Duke of Protectorate's influence outside the palace.

Only then can the Wu family be included in the threshold of a first-class family.

What a pity, the plan was good, but in the end the Chen family didn't agree, and they were left embarrassed.

So I came here today specifically to see what kind of person Princess Hejia, who is engaged to the Duke of Huguo, is.

But this Miss Wu is also a fool. Even though everyone knows that today's palace banquet is an opportunity provided by the Queen Mother for everyone to see each other,

Those who came were all from prominent families, and all of them were ladies who had been immersed in the inner chambers for many years.

Miss Wu wore a thin gauze in March, showing off her good figure and dressed exquisitely.

All these ladies can see what the plan is.

The Wu family has indeed married the prince now, but the behavior of this second young lady is far inferior to that of Wu Liangyuan.

Wen Niang didn't take her to heart, but she couldn't just allow others to be bullied at the beginning. Did she really think that she had no one to rely on and was easy to bully?

"Sister Wu is not feeling well. I will take you to the East Palace to rest for a while."

The Crown Princess's niece watched the Wu girl doing something stupid, but had to step in to help her out.

Wu Liangyuan is very much loved by the prince. If she were to suffer too much injustice here and report it to Wu Liangyuan, wouldn't that be causing trouble for her aunt, the crown princess?

Chen Luolan pouted as she watched the people walking away, and pulled Wen Niang to sit by the lake.

"I just despise those who can't wait to show off right after climbing up."

Wen Niang took the fish food brought by the palace maid and fed the koi in the lake bit by bit.

"Is this Wu Liangyuan very favored? I think the Crown Princess's niece is very cautious with her. Let's not cause trouble for the Crown Princess."

Chen Luolan rolled her eyes.

"Don't worry, the Wu family can't do anything. Wu Liangyuan was brought into the Eastern Palace by the Crown Princess. The Crown Princess was injured when she gave birth to the Crown Prince, and she is old, so it will be difficult for her to have children."

"That's why I decided to select a few young and beautiful girls to serve in the East Palace. But they want to win favor and use the favor to step on the head of the Crown Princess. Don't even think about it."

"Not to mention that the Crown Prince is the Crown Princess' biological son. The Crown Princess's family is also a famous and prestigious family, which is not comparable to the Wu family. And the Crown Prince made a lot of trouble in order to marry the Crown Princess. Even though the Crown Princess is old, she still has a special status in the Crown Prince's heart. Don't even think about making trouble."

Wen Niang then nodded in relief, looking at the young lady, who was dressed very beautifully today, and was heading to the island in the middle of the lake together.

"In the Wenchang Pavilion across the street are the young masters invited by the prince. They want to get closer to each other so they can see each other better."

Wen Niang pulled Chen Luolan and signaled her to speak more quietly, saying that even if everyone knew the truth, they should not say it out loud.

Chen Luolan didn't care at all and pulled Wen Niang back to the flower pavilion. It was still a bit cold after sitting outside for a long time. She didn't know where those young ladies got the energy to go to the island in the middle of the lake against the wind.

"Princess Hejia, this is the milk ginger tea given by the emperor."

As soon as Wen Niang sat down, a person dressed in high-quality palace maid's clothes handed her a cup of hot ginger tea.

Chen Luolan seemed to know this person. She smiled like a fox, took Wen Niang's hand and poured her a glass.

"Don't worry, drink it. This is my uncle's personal maid. There's no danger."

Wen Niang couldn't help but have a headache. Chen Luoxi actually ordered the emperor's personal maid to bring milk ginger tea and snacks.

It seems that he is really favored.

The other female members of the family were busy trying to please the Queen and find their good men, so Wen Niang at least had some quiet time until she left the palace.

After this flower banquet, people could clearly see the Queen’s love for Princess Hejia and the protection that the Duke of Huguo’s Mansion gave her.

Fewer and fewer people wanted to look at her ironically.