Rebirth and Marriage: I am the Mistress of the Palace

Granny Chang smiled and said, "The Second Young Master and Second Young Mistress didn't mean anything by it. The young couple are so loving that it's only natural for you to ask for tea trees. But the fact that you asked for three at once has surprised this old servant! When you were asking for your dowry, you only asked for one tree, not many at all. The Prince wouldn't give you any last time, so he must be heartbroken this time!"

"Humph, he deserves it!"

Madam Gu was quite indignant: "He treats another man's daughter like a treasure, even digging up his most prized tea tree and having Pei Yingzhu bring it to the capital to drink! I think he's getting more and more brainless, he's almost forgotten his own son, and is just raising someone else's daughter!"

Granny Chang didn't really understand what the Prince was thinking. He doted on Pei Yingzhu to an extreme degree, even more so than on his own son, Pei Lin'an. She had never seen him give Pei Lin'an a purple-leaf tea tree.

"Perhaps, it's because the young prince was sent to the capital at a young age and his health has always been poor, so the prince and the young prince are not very close. On the contrary, Miss Pei is always by the prince's side and shows filial piety every day, so it's understandable that the prince favors her."

Madam Gu listened with sadness: "Lin'an was sent to the capital, but who was it because of? Wasn't it all because of his father? He came to the capital as a hostage, not to enjoy a life of luxury. If it weren't for my care, it's hard to say whether he would have survived to this day."

"Yes, it's because the young prince and his wife are so considerate. Otherwise, he would have had a much harder time in the capital all these years."

“My brother is utterly hopeless. I don’t know what kind of spell that mother and daughter have cast on him. He’s willing to give Pei Yingzhu his entire fortune. When Pei Yingzhu got married, he gave her most of the Prince’s estate as her dowry! Even so, he still feels indebted to her because I didn’t let Qian Ling marry Pei Yingzhu!”

"Madam, did the Prince specially summon Miss Pei to the capital to visit you this time in order to grant her wish? Could it be that Miss Pei has already been married once, yet she still has her heart set on the eldest son?"

Madam Gu was furious when she thought about it: "My Qianling is so good, there are few in the world who can compare to him! Besides, Qianling will definitely inherit the Duke's mansion in the future, so what's so strange about Pei Yingzhu having designs on him?"

"What's hateful is my stupid brother, who actually betrayed his own family and tried to harm his own nephew! If my Qianling really marries Pei Yingzhu, his life will be completely ruined!"

"That Pei Yingzhu is just like her mother. She looks gentle and kind, but she's actually cunning and scheming. She loves to climb the social ladder by relying on men!"

“Pei Yingzhu even followed her mother’s example, divorced her husband, and prepared to marry someone better!”

Granny Chang couldn't help but say, "Then why don't we just kick her out of the manor? Otherwise, if she continues to live under the same roof as the eldest young master, who knows if she'll resort to any tricks? It would be troublesome if the eldest young master fell into her trap."

Madam Gu frowned deeply: "Do you think I don't want to get rid of her? But if I really get rid of her, what about my reputation? What about the reputation of the Duke's Mansion?"

“We’re already in the eye of the storm because of the Meng family, so we need to keep a low profile. If we drive Pei Yingzhu away at this critical juncture, how will our Duke’s Mansion maintain its standing in the capital?”

"That Pei Yingzhu, she really knows how to pick her time! She's definitely doing this on purpose!"

After thinking for a moment, Granny Chang came up with another idea: "How about we have Miss Pei stay with the young prince temporarily? They are still siblings on the surface, so it would be reasonable for her to go to the young prince's place."

"No way! This is even worse!"

Madam Gu immediately rejected the idea: "Lin'an is already sickly and simple-minded. Sending Pei Yingzhu to him would be killing him. You must understand, once Lin'an dies, everything in the Prince's mansion will belong to Pei Yingzhu!"

"What should we do? Keeping him is not an option, nor is driving him away. Your Highness, you have really brought us a huge problem."

Madam Gu was extremely annoyed: "I really want to rush to Hengzhou and slap my brother's head open to see what's inside. Does he think things aren't chaotic enough here? He doesn't consider me at all, he only cares about Pei Yingzhu and her daughter!"

Granny Chang had another idea: "How about this, we can send someone to escort Miss Pei back to Hengzhou, and tell everyone that Miss Pei is homesick! That way, no one will gossip!"

Madam Gu's eyes lit up: "You know what, that does seem somewhat feasible! However, we can't send her away so soon; let her stay a few more days!"

"Yes! Miss Pei is new here, so I'm sure she won't do anything too outrageous. Staying for a few days shouldn't be a problem."

“Yes, it’s better to have her living under my nose than to let her out. But we can’t let our guard down. My brother was taken advantage of by Pei Yingzhu’s mother right after his queen died! Send a few clever maids to keep a close eye on her. If she does anything suspicious, report to me immediately!”

"Yes!"

"By the way, there's one more thing."

"Madam, is there anything else?"

"The marriage in Lin'an has always been a worry for me. Have you made any progress on the suitable girls I asked you to select?"

Granny Chang gave a wry smile: "My lady, we've already looked through the daughters of all the prominent families in the capital five or six times, but you haven't taken a liking to any of them! If we keep looking, we'll only be able to choose little maids who haven't even reached the age of marriage yet!"

Madam Gu shook her head: "A girl who hasn't reached marriageable age is definitely not suitable. Firstly, the age difference is too great, and she won't know how to be considerate. Secondly, Lin'an's health might not be able to wait for the little girl to grow up."

"No, that's all. You've already picked out all the girls you could think of. Either you think they're too assertive, or you think they're too delicate, or you think they're not good-looking enough to match the young prince's demeanor."

Madam Gu had a headache: "But Lin'an is indeed not suitable for someone who is too strong, nor can it be too weak. I have to make sure that the wife I marry for him can not make him feel bad, can support his family, and can give birth to a son or daughter for him."

Granny Chang sighed, "But...but everyone in the capital knows about the young prince's health. I'm afraid this will be difficult."

Madam Gu was well aware of the difficulties.

Putting everything else aside, the imperial physicians at the Imperial Medical Academy had said that Pei Lin'an wouldn't live past twenty, but now he's already nineteen.

What decent family would marry their daughter to him? Wouldn't that leave their daughter to live a life of widowhood?

Madam Gu frowned, "There are so many troubles this year. Could it be that this year is just unlucky for us? Should we go to Fazhen Temple to burn incense and pray to Buddha?"