Priceless: A widow with a baby asks the prince to marry again

In the province of Yu, in the heart of Daxia, there is a vast and luxurious mansion where many high-ranking officials and dignitaries are staying these days.

However, no one thought they were adding glory to the mansion, because the owner of this mansion was a supremely noble person! Anyone with royal blood was considered a noble, not to mention the eldest son of the late emperor, Prince Kang Chu Shikun, who was born to be able to call the wind and rain?

The high-ranking officials who were staying at the Prince Kang's Palace were only afraid that it would be inappropriate for them to stay there for a long time... The minor officials and clerks had already found various excuses to find accommodation nearby outside the Prince Kang's Palace.

The only ones who remained as guests in Prince Kang's mansion were a few important ministers and their families.

However, even if he was in a high position, he was still a minister, and it was not appropriate for him to live in Prince Kang's Mansion for a long time. The Minister of Personnel and the Minister of Revenue were still okay, as they had daughters married into Prince Kang's Mansion and they also had grandchildren, so they were more or less relatives.

The Minister of Rites felt a little embarrassed. Prince Kang still refused to come out to meet him. Due to the distinction between superiors and subordinates and the need for female relatives to avoid suspicion, the princess and concubines in Prince Kang's mansion could not entertain unrelated foreign guests every day.

The strength of his Shen family and the power he possesses as the Minister of Rites are the forces that Prince Kang's faction needs under the current situation, so naturally no one will say anything.

But to be honest, he, a minister of rites, was not indispensable to the Shen family. Moreover, he only chose to join King Kang later, and even King Kang himself had not yet given his approval...

The longer the Minister of Rites stayed, the more uneasy he became. He needed to make a greater effort than the Ministers of Personnel and Revenue, otherwise, if Prince Kang ascended to the throne, he would not be able to maintain his position. Moreover, if Prince Kang was so depressed, how could he ascend to the throne?

After thinking about it for several days, in addition to letting his female relatives make friends with the concubine from the Zhang family, a declining noble family in the Kangwang Palace, the Minister of Rites decided to use a surprise tactic that day!

The death of an emperor was a national mourning, requiring citizens to observe mourning for seven days and prohibiting weddings or other entertainment for a hundred days. The saying "the emperor is far away" was not empty talk, and was usually only strictly followed in the capital. For more remote or isolated areas, it depended on whether local officials had the same resolve.

Officials in Henan Province issued a decree for national mourning, but now seven days have passed and the hundred-day period is almost over, and the public has basically returned to normal.

At this time, a group of people in mourning appeared on the broad road in front of Prince Kang's mansion, immediately attracting the attention of many people...

It was the Minister of Rites who took the risk and brought his subordinate officials and clerks with him, making a big gesture to leave an indelible mark in the book of merit on the side of King Kang!

"The previous emperor was a man of great virtue, both civil and military, but he suddenly passed away! Now the eighth prince has disregarded the order of seniority, usurped the throne, and murdered his brothers!"

"Prince Kang is extremely filial, living in seclusion in his palace, mourning for the late emperor! The late emperor's eldest son, Prince Kang, resembles his father in appearance and is also virtuous. Over the years, he has governed his fiefdom in an orderly manner, ensuring the people live and work in peace and contentment!"

The Minister of Rites gave an impassioned speech outside the gate of Prince Kang's mansion, but the common people could hardly understand it. After all, only a few people had read books, and the Minister of Rites had to be very cautious, so his words were inevitably flowery.

But since this was going to happen, the Minister of Rites naturally made all the necessary preparations. The people he had planted among the people began to speak out: "During the years that Prince Kang has been in his fiefdom, the people's lives have obviously improved a lot. If anyone is to become emperor, it should naturally be Prince Kang!"

The people around them thought back to their lives over the years, and it seemed that life had indeed gotten better.

In recent days, the people have been spreading rumors about the Eighth Prince's misdeeds. At this time, Tuoer emphasized: "If the Eighth Prince firmly sits on the throne, the people will surely suffer in the future!"

After the guidance and explanation of the envoy, the people roughly understood that the meaning was to implore King Kang to stop mourning for the late emperor, stand up, defeat the forgetful Eighth Prince, and shoulder the burden of Daxia.

The atmosphere was so intense that a group of people in mourning knelt down and shouted, "We implore King Kang to take on the important task of Daxia!"

People tend to follow the crowd. Seeing those senior executives and dignitaries making such gestures, and people around them also kneeling and shouting, many ordinary people who were just watching spread the word, and then ten to a hundred, and then they knelt and shouted outside Prince Kang's Mansion one after another!

Originally, the custom of alternating the old and new customs of repeatedly urging and requesting the new emperor to ascend the throne was to reflect the wishes of the subjects. The emperor was sought by the subjects, and the Minister of Rites directly confirmed this!

Seeing that things were going smoothly, the kneeling Minister of Rites could not help but feel pleased with himself. There is a saying that heroes are made by the times, but the times can also be made. Now that there is such a momentum, as the planner, he naturally has a contribution!

Soon, the women in the depths of the mansion also got the news.

“You really know how to do things…”

Princess Kang and the women from her family were enjoying tea and the view in the backyard. Upon hearing the news, she couldn't help but frown. The Ministry of Rites had already thought of this attempt to take credit for something. They'd recently been on good terms with the Zhang family concubine, and she hadn't failed to notice, but had simply ignored it for the time being...

"Do we need to let the Ministry of Revenue report to His Highness this time?" The wealthy old woman held the hand of Princess Kang, implying that the concubine of the Ministry of Revenue had successfully entered the Yaque Palace last time. Although she failed to persuade Prince Kang to go out, it also gave the Ministry of Revenue enough face, proving that their Ministry of Revenue had a say in front of Prince Kang.

The Kang Wang Consort was only able to be the principal wife because she entered the Kang Wang Mansion a few days earlier. Even the daughter of the Minister of Revenue was qualified to be the mistress! While the Kang Wang Consort's residence appeared harmonious on the surface, there was no shortage of strife behind the scenes... and this was related to the conflict of interests between the Ministry of Personnel and the Ministry of Revenue within the Kang Wang faction.

Although this was initiated by the Ministry of Rites, whoever presents the news to King Kang might also gain some say...

After hesitating for a while, Princess Kang made up her mind.

After changing into plain clothes, she was escorted to the covered bridge outside the quiet waterside pavilion. When Princess Kang saw that the concubine from the Ministry of Revenue had also arrived, she couldn't help but think, it's a good thing that she arrived in time, otherwise the concubine would have to be embarrassed again!

"Thank you for your hard work last time, sister. This time, I will report to the prince." Princess Kang glanced at him with a half-smile, then adjusted her demeanor, trying to make herself look as haggard as possible...

"Then...I'll have to trouble you, sister." The concubine of the Ministry of Household Affairs sounded somewhat reluctant and slowly stepped aside.

The maidservant beside the concubine stepped forward to support her, but was waved away by the concubine. The concubine stared at her and the maidservant suddenly remembered that the concubine had ordered them to conceal the fact that they were injured in the Crow Palace last time...

Princess Kang was unhappy because she thought that the concubine had missed the opportunity to gain credit and gain honor, and she was determined to enter the Yaque Palace!

After a brief rest, Princess Kang ran towards the covered bridge of the waterside pavilion!

The guards outside the covered bridge naturally had to perform their duties loyally, and two embroidered wooden sticks crossed to block the way!

"My Lady, the Master's orders have not been changed. No one is allowed to enter the Crow Palace without being summoned."

Princess Kang naturally knew that these guards would not agree on the surface, so she said coldly: "I have something important to tell the prince!"

After saying that, she reached out to push the stick away, wanting to force her way in like the concubine did last time!

However, the guards' sticks were not immediately removed. The guards looked at each other. Last time, King Kang had indeed not punished them as the concubine had said, but he had sent a beautiful woman to pass on the order, asking them to be on high alert and not to commit the same offense again...

Last time, the concubine went in, but she didn't. Princess Kang couldn't help but feel embarrassed. She immediately frowned and scolded: "How dare you block the way? If you delay something important, can you afford it?"

The guards were torn. They understood the situation; Prince Kang's confinement in the Crow Palace wasn't good for them in the long run. But what if they disobeyed their master's orders and angered him, leading to his execution?

"The master has been feeling better these days, so he should be fine..." a guard whispered to the guard holding a stick.

Princess Kang also vaguely heard this, and with even greater confidence, she immediately said nothing more and charged forward once more! The guard holding the stick, listening to the others, relaxed his force, allowing Princess Kang to push the stick away...

After entering the covered bridge, just like the concubines did last time, two weak beauties stepped forward to block them, and Princess Kang, as seen last time, pushed them away and walked towards the waterside pavilion!

But the beauties seemed to have received orders from King Kang last time. Even though one was pushed down, the other one still pulled at the sleeve of Princess Kang's wife and refused to let her in!

Princess Kang was immediately enraged. How dare these concubines be so rude to her!

"Snapped!"

The beauty herself couldn't hear the slap that hit her face, she only felt a numbing pain...

The loud sound could be heard outside the covered bridge. One could imagine that the slap was delivered without mercy.

The concubine on the shore couldn't help but smile, which made Princess Kang's people feel uneasy. However, since things had come to this point, they couldn't remind Princess Kang who had already entered the waterside pavilion...

Inside the waterside pavilion, Princess Kang headed straight for the prince's usual room. Several beauties followed anxiously behind her, but having just been beaten, they didn't dare to intervene. They couldn't speak, so their beautiful eyes turned red with anxiety...

Princess Kang successfully met Prince Kang. In the room where she usually stayed, all the jade pieces, big and small, were broken into pieces and now were placed in piles...

A man sitting casually on the ground was trying to glue a broken jade screen back to its original shape...

Naturally, the man in the Crow Palace was none other than King Kang.

The concubine did not mention what she had seen and heard in the Yaque Palace last time. Princess Kang was stunned for a moment, but the hurried footsteps of a group of people had already caught the attention of Prince Kang. She turned around and looked...

Seeing Prince Kang's gaze fall on her, Princess Kang could only suppress her uneasiness and bowed: "Your Highness, I greet you."

She lowered herself, and King Kang saw the beauties behind her.

Those beautiful eyes filled with anxiety and shame, and a face swollen and red with finger marks...

The man, who had calmed down considerably, suddenly became furious: "I have already said that you cannot punish them privately!"

Prince Kang had always been gentle. This was the first time Princess Kang had seen him angry. She immediately knelt in panic and hurriedly explained the reason for her visit: "Hundreds of subjects and common people are kneeling outside Prince Kang's palace, unable to get up, begging His Majesty to take on this important task! I was anxious for a moment, and I hope Your Majesty will forgive me!"

However, these words made King Kang even angrier!

"I told you to be quiet for a while! Are you turning a deaf ear to my words?!"

The man shouted angrily, but suddenly laughed to himself: "Hahaha, you're using the people's support to pressure me?! If you want me to move forward, I have to move forward! I can't move left or right, not even pause! Am I supposed to be an emperor, or a donkey pulling a millstone?!"

Princess Kang was terrified, but she didn't understand what Prince Kang was angry about...

"If they want to kneel, then kneel! I will decide when to leave!"

Chu Shikun's anger suddenly subsided, and he said in a cold voice, "And you, how dare you break into the Crow Palace without permission and punish those around me! Hand over the affairs of the palace to the Qian family temporarily, and confine them for a hundred days!"

Princess Kang's face turned pale! This punishment was even worse than a beating! Managing the palace was the responsibility of a princess! And Qian was a concubine appointed by the Ministry of Revenue! Even if she still had her title as princess, it was clear that she no longer had the emperor's favor!

Even though she hadn't yet entered the imperial palace, the struggle for the harem had already begun. It wasn't just recently, but since the day of Prince Kang's wedding. After all, everyone knew that Prince Kang was destined to fight for the throne...

Princess Kang suffered a great loss, but it was not a complete failure. At least Prince Kang asked the beauty to pass on the text of the punishment for Princess Kang, and tacitly allowed people outside to send messages in. Finally, the voice of Prince Kang was heard in the Crow Palace.

However, the people from the Ministry of Rites who were kneeling outside Prince Kang's palace were still in trouble. Prince Kang simply ignored them, but they had already knelt down. Could they just stand up like that?

The Minister of Rites was in a difficult situation. He was struggling between the future prosperity of the Shen family and the physical pain. He knelt until nightfall and only stood up when the onlookers had gone home and most of the people around him were his own people.

The official was able to sit in this position, and the Minister of Rites was not one to give up easily. He had already knelt for a day, so he had to see things through to the end! The next morning, when it was still dark, he brought a group of people to kneel and ask for mercy again, as if he had not left to rest the night before!

However, this matter seemed to be an invisible struggle. The Minister of Rites and his followers came to kneel every day, but King Kang still ignored them, as if whichever side compromised first would lose something...

However, the Minister of Rites, who knelt day and night, naturally found it even more difficult to persevere. Even a young man might not be able to endure such kneeling, let alone he was already nearly sixty years old. The perseverance he had in his youth to study late into the night was now fragile, and he couldn't help but start to weigh the pros and cons. Should he just give up?

Fortunately, just when the Minister of Rites was about to give up, a turning point came.