Rebirth and Marriage: I am the Mistress of the Palace

Qionghua Courtyard.

After Shen Wantang returned with Gu Qianhan, she asked him, "Is it really alright for Mother to ask the Prince for three purple-leaf tea trees?"

Gu Qianhan was taking a hot towel and carefully wiping Shen Wantang's hands: "No problem. Although Mother is using your name, Uncle isn't stupid. He must know that Mother is deliberately competing with Pei Yingzhu. Once the tea trees arrive, you can just focus on making and drinking the tea. As for the rest, let the two siblings fight it out."

Shen Wantang nodded: "It's quite surprising that the Prince dotes on Miss Pei so much."

"If you had met Pei Yingzhu's mother, you wouldn't be surprised."

"Oh? Why do you say that?"

"Her surname was Qin, and she did not come from a high social class. Her father, Qin Duo, was only an eighth-rank county magistrate, and her mother was the daughter of a scholar. However, Qin was quite talented from a young age, proficient in music, chess, calligraphy, and painting. She was also quite beautiful, and in addition, she was extremely tactful in her dealings with others, which won the hearts of many men, both young and old. It is said that the men who pursued her back then could line up from the mouth of the Hengzhou River to the tail of the Hengzhou River."

"so smart?"

"Not only that, she would also get to know men of higher status through those suitors, and then through these men she would continue to get to know even more powerful people, until she met my uncle, the Prince of Heng'an."

Shen Wantang asked curiously, "Then why didn't she marry the Prince from the beginning?"

“Because my uncle already had a princess at that time, he fell in love with her at first sight and wanted to take her as a concubine, but she refused, saying that she would not be a concubine. Then, she turned around and married the prefect who was twenty years older than her, becoming the prefect's second wife, and gave birth to her daughter Pei Yingzhu the following year.”

"Then why did she divorce him later? Was it because the prefect treated her badly?"

"On the contrary, the prefect treated her very well. He not only granted her every request, but also promoted her father to county magistrate. Her brothers and sisters also benefited greatly from this."

"Then why did you divorce?"

"Because my uncle's wife died, the position of mistress of the Prince's mansion became vacant."

Shen Wantang was stunned. This is possible?

She couldn't help but ask, "Was it Qin who proposed the divorce?"

"Of course it's her."

"Then the prefect agrees?"

"Of course he disagreed, but my uncle pressured him, and he had no choice but to agree."

Gu Qianhan put down the handkerchief, held Shen Wantang's hand, and said calmly, "Moreover, the prefect thought that Qin was forced to marry my uncle as his second wife, and he was so heartbroken for her that he fell ill."

In order to ensure that Qin could gain a foothold in the Prince's mansion, he gave her most of his private property as dowry.

"When Qin married into the Prince's Mansion for the second time, it was several times more glamorous than when she married into the Prefect's Mansion for the first time. Her dowry was so large that the Qin family's courtyard could not hold it all, and they even had to borrow a neighbor's courtyard."

Shen Wantang didn't know what to say for a moment.

She used to think that Chu Yanluo was quite remarkable, able to firmly hold onto Xiao Qingyuan's heart and even make him willingly commit suicide for her.

I never imagined there were mountains beyond mountains, and people beyond people!

This Qin family member is incredibly shrewd! Not only did she marry well the second time, but more importantly, after all these years, she has managed to keep the Prince's affections solely for her. Moreover, his love extends to her daughter, who has become the Prince's darling.

“Pei Yingzhu’s grandmother disliked her daughter-in-law, Qin, fearing that Qin would corrupt her daughter, so she raised her herself and strictly forbade the mother and daughter from seeing each other.”

"Unfortunately, her son fell ill after Qin divorced him and remarried, and died a year later. She was so heartbroken that she followed him in death."

"So Pei Yingzhu was taken to the Prince's Mansion by the Qin family and her surname was changed. From then on, she became my uncle's daughter. My uncle loved her far more than he loved his own son."

"Therefore, my mother disliked Pei Yingzhu and Qin Shi. However, she didn't care too much at first, until one day, my eldest brother came back and said that he wanted to marry Pei Yingzhu. My mother was furious and sent Pei Yingzhu back to Hengzhou."

"And now, Pei Yingzhu has also divorced. Coincidentally, my elder brother's father-in-law's family has run into trouble, and Meng Yunlan and my elder brother have also developed a rift."

Shen Wantang blinked: "The life trajectories of that mother and daughter seem strikingly similar. Could it be that Pei Yingzhu came here this time because she wants to..."

She didn't say what she was going to say, but Gu Qianhan understood what she meant. He smiled faintly and said, "That's right. Pei Yingzhu wants to replace Meng Yunlan and become the eldest daughter-in-law of the Duke's mansion, and the next mistress of the Duke's mansion."

Shen Wantang shook her head slightly: "Mother probably won't agree. It will be very difficult for Pei Yingzhu to follow in her mother's footsteps. After all, my elder brother is different from the Prince. In this Duke's mansion, my elder brother doesn't have the final say. He and Meng Yunlan haven't divorced."

Gu Qianhan pulled Shen Wantang to sit down on the chaise lounge and picked up her Hundred Flowers Cream to wipe her hands: "Their affairs have nothing to do with us. Anyway, from now on, Mother, Meng Yunlan, and my elder brother will no longer have the time to bother you."

"And then there's Pei Yingzhu. She knows that I secretly helped her get here, so she won't go looking for trouble with you. She's probably a bit smarter than Meng Yunlan."

"You can stay here peacefully for a while longer. Once I've finished my business, we'll move to another place."

Shen Wantang was relieved. He had done all this to keep the main branch of the family busy, and it was clear that he did it all for her sake.

She leaned back in her chair, sunlight streaming through the window and bathing her in its warmth.

Gu Qianhan carefully applied Hundred Flowers Cream to all ten fingers, and both hands gleamed with a lustrous sheen in the sunlight, clearly showing her pampered lifestyle.

She looked at Gu Qianhan's handsome face and smiled slightly: "Thank you, my husband."

Gu Qianhan didn't know if she was thanking him for washing and wiping her hands, or for finding things for the eldest son's family to do. Perhaps she was thanking him for both.

It had been many days since she had smiled at him like that, and now that she was finally being nice to him, it was truly a rare treat.

He held her soft hand, his voice softening: "You're not angry with me this time?"

Shen Wantang replied, "I'm not angry anymore."

"So, will you still make me sleep in the study from now on?"

"We're not in a hurry anymore."

Anyway, she won't rush him now, but if he makes the same mistake again, she'll have to rush him again.

Just then, Qin Xin's voice came from outside the door: "Young Madam, Qi Yu's younger brother, Chen Xiaowu, has been released. He learned that you saved him, so he came to kowtow and express his gratitude. He's waiting at the second gate right now! Do you think we should let him in?"

Shen Wantang perked up: "He's been released so quickly? Let him in!"