They are all concubines, so of course they choose the future emperor.

After Mrs. Fan left, Fan Linling was in a bad mood. She lay on the bed blankly, and her mother's words kept appearing in her mind.

She hadn't thought about these things at first, but after hearing what her mother said, she couldn't help but think about them.

When she thought about the new person about to enter the palace, Fan Linling instinctively felt panic.

She knew that she was not pretty enough and had no talent, and the only reason she became the Crown Princess was because the Emperor trusted her father.

The prince has always been indifferent to me.

He wrote poems for his concubine named Wanxia, ​​but never for himself...

The daughters of officials in the capital can write beautiful calligraphy, compose stunning poems, play the piano and play chess. They must be more pleasing to His Highness than himself.

Fan Linling recalled that when her family first came to Beijing, her mother took her to a banquet. She was even more frightened by the ridicule and mockery of the girls in the capital.

But the imperial physician had warned her that her body was injured and she could not have children within the next two years. If she rushed to get pregnant, she might not be able to keep the baby. Even if she managed to give birth, it would be difficult to raise the baby.

She didn't dare tell this to the prince or her own family.

She couldn't imagine how disappointed her parents would be if they knew. She didn't dare to stop them, wondering if the prince would still behave the same after knowing.

What should I do...what should I do...

She hugged herself with trembling arms, buried her head between her knees, and cried silently.

During dinner, the prince came over.

Fan Linling quickly cheered herself up and forced herself to go out to greet them.

The prince sighed when he saw her forced smile.

"Are you feeling better today? Did you take your medicine properly?"

The prince spoke with concern and pulled the princess to sit on the couch.

He said this out of concern, but Fan Linling felt differently when she heard it.

She felt that the prince was so concerned about her health, just like her mother, waiting for her to recover so that she could get pregnant again.

The Crown Princess bit her lower lip and lowered her eyes.

"I am not feeling well right now and cannot serve Your Highness. I am sorry that Your Highness has been wronged."

She spoke softly, then took a breath, raised her head, and pushed the maid next to her forward.

"Although this maidservant of mine may be of ordinary appearance, she has a gentle temperament. Why not let her serve His Highness for me first?"

The prince was a little puzzled.

Okay, why are you talking about this?

He suddenly thought of Mrs. Fan who had come during the day, and his brows immediately frowned.

The prince's eyes changed, and he stared at Fan Linling for a long time before he asked.

"Is this your idea or the Fan family's?"

His voice was a little cold.

Fan Linling suddenly became nervous.

"Don't misunderstand me, Your Highness. This is my own idea. If Your Highness doesn't like it, I can find a few beautiful women from outside."

The prince looked away.

"No need."

He lowered his head, flicked his sleeves, and his voice returned to calm.

After that, the two didn't say anything else. The prince said, "You have a good rest," and then got up and left.

Fan Linling stared at his back blankly, not sure if what she was doing was right.

It was not until she turned around and caught a glimpse of the maid's cautious look that she came to her senses and frowned.

"What are you still standing here for? Why don't you hurry up and catch up?"

The maid hurriedly bowed to her and then trotted after her.

Fan Linling didn't fall asleep.

By midnight, when she was sure that the maid had been taken in by the prince, Fan Linling breathed a sigh of relief and asked someone to blow out the candles and go to bed.

The fact that the prince had a maidservant by his side was just a trivial matter to outsiders and no one took it seriously.

After hearing this, Jiang Wanyue just smiled and did not comment.

After August, time seemed to pass especially quickly, and soon it started snowing in Beijing.

Although there was no major snowstorm this year, there was little rain this summer and the harvest was poor in some places. It was difficult to survive the autumn but difficult to survive the winter, so many people were forced to leave their homes and become refugees.

The news reached the capital and attracted the emperor's attention. After some discussion, he sent the crown prince and several ministers to provide disaster relief and comfort the refugees.

The prince was gone for more than two months.

When he came back, there was a young woman beside him.

When Fan Linling got the news, she immediately sent people to inquire and learned that the girl was an orphan rescued by the prince on the road, and because the prince had nowhere to go, he took her with him as a slave.

Fan Linling thought it over again and again, and when the prince came to the palace to report, she took the orphan girl back to the East Palace and placed her in the backyard.

She thought the prince would be satisfied with this, but unexpectedly, the prince got angry.

After that day, the rift between the couple grew wider and wider, and the gap between them became deeper and deeper.

And so it was the middle of the twelfth lunar month.

Officials who were sent to other places came to Beijing to report on their work, among them was the King of Dingbei.

This time, Prince Dingbei brought Yunlan with him again and expressed to the Emperor his sister's admiration for the Crown Prince.

The emperor did not refuse on the spot, but said he would consider it.

After sending Fu Nian away, he summoned his ministers to discuss the matter.

This time, there were some who opposed it, but quite a few who agreed.

After Tu Jie surrendered, Fu Nian was no longer the Khan of a foreign tribe, but a prince of the Great Zhou. Yun Lan was no longer a princess, but just the sister of a prince, so there was no need to worry about her identity.

Moreover, the peace treaty between Tujie and Dazhou originally intended to strengthen exchanges between the two tribes and promote intermarriage between the two tribes.

Most people find it acceptable to take a foreign woman as a concubine as long as she is not the principal wife.

Li Ce thought about it, waved Li Chengye to come forward and asked for his opinion.

Li Chengye was silent for a while and accepted the proposal.

So, after the Chinese New Year and the end of the first month of the year, Yunlan and several new people selected from the court entered the Eastern Palace together.

The wind rises in the East Palace.