The maid's road to success

In the blink of an eye, it was mid-August, and the Ministry of Rites and the Imperial Household Department were preparing for the Mid-Autumn Festival family banquet. In the past, only the royal family and a few favored ministers could attend the Mid-Autumn Festival family banquet in the palace, but this year all officials above the third rank could attend, so the scale was larger. People in the Ministry of Rites and the Imperial Household Department felt a lot of pressure, and they were itching to talk about the Fourth Prince and the Sixth Prince.

The emperor had to mention the family banquet in the court, which had been the same for many years. The officials present were all the loyal ministers of Chen State, and the emperor should host a banquet so that all the officials could devote themselves to everything for Chen State in the future.

The Sixth Prince also agreed with this. The prince himself also felt that it was not impossible. It would also let the officials know that he had changed and was no longer the foolish emperor who was extremely obsessed with women.

It's really like the people above just talk and the people below run around. An Zizhong was recently dragged to the Ministry of Rites to help. There's no other way. Not many people have joined the Ministry of Rites in recent years. Everyone wants to go to the Ministry of Revenue and the Ministry of War. Few people go to the Ministry of Rites, so there are simply not enough people.

This was also done intentionally by An Zizhong. If he did not work with the Ministry of Rites, he would not be able to attend family dinners with his status, so how could he watch so many good shows in time?

The Fourth Prince was sitting in the carriage, and the Sixth Prince's carriage was following closely behind. Thinking about his recent experiences, he hated it so much that the Sixth Prince had taken down so many of his contact points. As a result, he was basically cut off from all news outside of Kyoto. Because of these things, he investigated everyone around him and suspected many people. The one he suspected the most was the Grand Princess. He even wondered if his actions against Baozhu and Bai Shoude had been discovered.

But I still think that it shouldn't happen. After all, I was too cruel at that time. Baozhu is now a useless person who relies on tranquilizing incense every day. Bai Shoude has become a loser who can no longer reproduce. If my aunt really knew, I'm afraid she would completely split with me and become my mortal enemy. But whether it's the Grand Princess Mansion or my aunt and uncle, they just distanced themselves from me, but didn't really give up on me.

The Fourth Prince thought a lot and felt that in recent years, in order to gain control of all power in his own hands, he slowly brought his aunt's people to his side in an attempt to undermine his aunt's position.

And the incident with the Qin family made my aunt very angry, so she dragged the Qin family down from the stage. They had finally climbed up to the third rank, but now they have become a fifth rank Tongzhi, and they are still in a very poor area.

The Fourth Prince had only told the Qin family that they would belong to him in the future, and that even his aunt could not be too harsh on them. As a result, the Qin family started to commit suicide.

Her aunt was furious because she had made Bai Shoude a eunuch herself. But the woman from the Qin family started making trouble again, openly complaining that Bai Shoude could not satisfy her needs like a man and wanted a divorce and compensation.

This was extremely stupid. I had only supported them a few times in order to win over the Qin family. Did they really think that I would unconditionally help them to fight against my aunt? I was not that stupid.

Only the Qin family would really think that their aunt is now a toothless tiger, and it is their turn to act arrogantly. A lean camel is bigger than a horse. Since their aunt has the ability to raise themselves to their current position, she is not an ordinary person. They can only play dirty tricks to weaken their aunt's strength behind the scenes, and they are unwilling to face him face to face.

Unexpectedly, the Qin family acted too aggressively and directly angered my aunt. Not only did they suffer the consequences, but they also implicated the Four Princes' Palaces.

The Fourth Prince still thinks that his aunt used the Sixth Prince to pull out all his secret threads because of the Qin family's affairs to warn him, warning him that the Grand Princess's Mansion still has the ability to make his life difficult.

During this period, he went to see the Grand Princess but was stopped outside the door and didn't even see her. He also sent letters and many other things but all of them fell on deaf ears and no one responded. However, all his energy at that time was spent on finding evidence that the child had a child with the Queen Mother. He really didn't have enough time to have a good talk with his aunt. He just had to wait until he accomplished today's task. When his aunt saw his growth, even if she was angry, she would calm down.

After that, things will be just as he expected. Baozhu and Bai Shoude are now completely hopeless. If he wants them to continue to be the superior people without being laughed at by others, he has to support himself to that position wholeheartedly.

It was really ridiculous. His aunt actually wanted him to take Baozhu into the harem after he became the emperor and give birth to a prince of the princess' bloodline. Isn't it ridiculous? What kind of person is Baozhu now? A fickle and unfaithful woman wants to give birth to a child for him? If it weren't for the chrysanthemum viewing banquet, he might have been able to save Baozhu's life. Unfortunately, that incident made the Fourth Prince realize Baozhu's stupidity more realistically and also dragged down his reputation. He could no longer have any relationship with Baozhu, and it was even more impossible for him to become the emperor in the future. Wouldn't it be confirmed that he had an affair with his married cousin?

The carriage swayed to the outside of the palace. The Fourth Prince got off the carriage and looked at the Sixth Prince's high-spirited appearance. He hated him so much. He was obviously a prince now, but he really thought that his aunt would help him? Ridiculous. His aunt would not help him in the past and would not help him in the future. She was just using him to get angry with her. She would wait for him to overthrow the Queen Mother and let the Emperor suffer a big loss before coming back to settle accounts with him.

The Sixth Prince felt somewhat uneasy when he saw the Fourth Prince's appearance from behind. His recent cooperation with his aunt had basically cut off his contact with the outside world of Kyoto, but the prince was not in a hurry to do anything to recover his losses or fight with him. He seemed to be very busy. What could make the Fourth Prince so busy must be more important than getting rid of his secret spot.

My aunt also said that the Fourth Prince is an extremely selfish person. He will counterattack by any means necessary if his interests are harmed. They had already discussed how to fight back, but he had no intention of taking action at all. This made the Sixth Prince and the Grand Princess very worried. They were concerned that he had other plans that they were not aware of.

Now it is a family dinner, and there are so many people invited to this dinner. The Fourth Prince has mentioned many times that officials above the third rank should also attend. This is not simply to reward meritorious officials. There are not so many meritorious officials who need to be rewarded. It is just to ensure that when something happens, there will be someone present to prevent one party from dominating the party.

Now we can only take it one step at a time and see what earth-shattering things the Fourth Prince is going to do.

Outside the palace, those who were attending the Mid-Autumn Palace Banquet got off their carriages at the palace gate. After being examined by the imperial guards and the housekeeper, they were led to the banquet palace by the young eunuchs. Inside the palace, the Empress Dowager sat in front of the mirror, looking at her weak and listless face. She felt very sad that she had become so old now.

"Chengdong, I'm already this old."

Eunuch Cheng stood behind her and looked at the Empress Dowager in the mirror and said gently.

"The Empress Dowager is very old and has a long life. How can she be old? I can't tell at all. The Sixth Prince still needs your advice. You still have many more years of hard work to do."

The Empress Dowager was in a slightly better mood, but she was very sad when she thought about the Sixth Prince's recent behavior. She raised the Sixth Prince without anyone to take care of him, and helped him become the prince with the best chance to compete for the throne. Later, he was overtaken by the Empress Dowager and her son, but he was also someone who could not be treated casually. However, the older the Sixth Prince got, the more he disliked her nagging, and he didn't want to discuss many things with her. It was really heartbreaking.

Now, because of the matters between the Fourth Prince and Princess Fu'an, he is in contact with Fu'an again, and he goes to see Fu'an more frequently than to come to him. It's not like he doesn't know that his relationship with Fu'an is not good. Although it was he who gave him advice and took the initiative to find Fu'an to deal with the Fourth Prince, now he is not only in the same boat with Fu'an, but also ignores him, his old grandmother.

"The Empress Dowager misses the Sixth Prince. Today is the family dinner and the Sixth Prince will be back. We will have a chance to talk then. The Sixth Prince's Consort will also be here."

Speaking of the Sixth Princess, the Empress Dowager became so angry that she threw a jade necklace heavily on the table, and one of the beads broke at that moment.

Eunuch Cheng mentioned the Sixth Princess deliberately. The Sixth Princess' family and the Empress Dowager's family are related by marriage. The Empress Dowager's maternal family is the Sixth Princess' biological mother's family. The Empress Dowager chose the Sixth Princess and the Sixth Prince to get married. First, she saw that their family had been military generals for generations, holding military power and had a high prestige in the army. Moreover, the Sixth Princess herself was a decisive person, much like herself when she was young. She would either not do it or do it to the extreme. So she took the initiative and asked the Sixth Prince for the imperial decree to grant the marriage. Unfortunately, the Sixth Princess and the Sixth Prince did not live in harmony, although the Sixth Prince was a little amorous.

But all men in this world are like this. Who wouldn't want a concubine if he had some money? What's more, the Sixth Prince is a royal descendant and a prince, so having three wives and four concubines is not excessive. He is just too obsessed with women like Liu Yan. The Sixth Prince's Consort is too arrogant. She disdains to fight with Liu Yan and resents the Sixth Prince's neglect. The gap between them becomes deeper and deeper, and the Sixth Prince's Consort is no longer willing to help the Sixth Prince.

What a stupid woman. If the man is doing well, the woman's status in the harem will be higher. But she got rid of Liu Yan's child out of jealousy. That might be the Sixth Prince's last and only child. Not only did she not do it cleanly, but also let the Fourth Prince catch her and drive the Sixth Prince away to his fiefdom. At least three years of hard work went to waste.

"But I have a question. The Sixth Prince is a man and should be busy with many things. But the Sixth Princess has not come to the palace to pay respects since she returned from her fiefdom. Why is that?"

The Grand Empress Dowager had finished her makeup. She stood up with the help of Eunuch Cheng's hand and went to the inner room to choose clothes for today. She said that since it was a family banquet, there was no need to dress too formally, and the crowns and clothes were too heavy for her to wear now.

"What do you know? The Sixth Princess is complaining that I promised her to the Sixth Prince, and I didn't control the Sixth Prince to make him live with her obediently. I am also short-sighted. I really thought she was a smart person. The Sixth Prince is rebellious at heart. Liu Yan is just a sustenance. How can she influence her? A woman of humble origin, even if the Sixth Prince is willing, I will not watch Liu Yan enter the Sixth Prince's Mansion. She just wants to compete with Liu Yan. As a grandmother, I can give the Sixth Prince a concubine who competes with Liu Yan for favor. It is already too much for me to tie the Sixth Prince to the backyard. But she can't seize such a good opportunity."

The Grand Empress Dowager put on her outer robe, looked at it and was quite satisfied with it before continuing.

"Liu Yan is not that difficult to deal with. All she wants is to be protected by the Sixth Prince and live a life of wealth and prosperity without worries. It won't affect her, the Sixth Prince's Consort, in any way. It's a good thing that she's pregnant. When the child is born, she can take it to the palace. If she wants to raise it, she can keep it. If she doesn't want to raise it and dislikes the child's background, she can give it to the concubine. It's a pity that the Sixth Prince has no heirs. But she just attacked Liu Yan for a little pride, ruining the Sixth Prince's good deeds and helping the Fourth Prince to pass the knife. I really misjudged her. Now she has the nerve to blame me. Who is she? She is ambitious and wants to be a woman who will go down in history. Who else can do that except the Sixth Prince? Who else would marry her? Idiot."

After finishing a long string of words scolding the Sixth Princess, the Grand Empress Dowager felt that the depression in her chest had dissipated a lot, but she was still a little out of breath. Eunuch Cheng brought a cup of tea and served it to the Grand Empress Dowager. It was getting late, so he helped the Grand Empress Dowager get on the sedan chair and walked to the palace where the banquet was held.

Half of the palace maids and eunuchs who served the Empress Dowager personally followed her, and a small number of them were packing up the things they had just done when they changed their clothes in the inner room. Shi Eye did not notice that a young white-faced eunuch took away the cup that the Empress Dowager had just drunk from and secretly hid in the small kitchen to wash it.

"The Queen Mother is here!"

Eunuch Cheng helped the Grand Empress Dowager to sit on the right hand side of the Emperor, while the Empress Dowager stood on the other side to pay her respects to the Grand Empress Dowager. The Grand Empress Dowager especially disliked this woman. She had messed up her own son's harem and now even spared her own son. She didn't even give her a good face and just sat in her seat, making the Empress Dowager's face turn pale and blue. It took her a while to put on a smile again and sit upright in the chair, but the people below saw their expressions were a little strange.

"Grandma is feeling better now than in the past few days. I thought she wouldn't be able to come today."

The Empress Dowager was not young either. She was just looking at the Sixth Prince's position. Why wasn't he here at this time? It was a family dinner after all. How could she dare to be late with so many ministers present? She was thinking about the Sixth Prince in her heart, but dealing with the Emperor verbally.

"Of course I will come to the family dinner, but I am afraid that I will not be welcomed, so I don't want to ask me to come."

The emperor was choked and felt very uncomfortable but he did not dare to talk back to the Grand Empress Dowager in front of others. Fortunately, the Empress was smart and asked people to serve the meal and summoned the people from the music troupe to add to the fun. The Sixth Prince and the Grand Princess had not arrived yet, so although it was rude, it was not right to start the banquet without waiting for them. But it was not right to make everyone else wait either. So they could only serve some food and music first to ease the anger in the palace.