Golden Branch

"……knew!"

Concubine Jiang's mind moved slightly. Why did the princess call me for what?

The princess and she, as well as her wives and concubines, lived in harmony. They moved from Yizhou to Pingcheng, and then from Pingcheng to Chang'an. Over the years, they could not be said to be as close as sisters, but they lived in peace.

The Princess of Qi was of noble status and was deeply respected and loved by the King of Qi, but she never took advantage of her status to be mean or abuse his concubines.

Concubine Jiang was extremely beautiful and was favored by the King of Qi, but he never took advantage of his favor to be disrespectful to the princess.

They... are all smart people!

The clever Concubine Jiang was tidying up her appearance in front of the bronze mirror while her brain was working quickly.

The princess would definitely not look for her for ordinary matters concerning the inner chamber.

Thinking of the turbulent situation in the capital and the court, Concubine Jiang's eyes narrowed slightly, and her heartbeat quickened a little.

Is this starting?

The situation of Prince Qi’s Mansion is not very good?

Or does the King of Qi want to "burn his boats"?

Concubine Jiang had many guesses in her mind. She took a deep breath to make sure that nothing unusual appeared on her face or in her eyes, and then she slowly stood up.

Just as she left the bedroom, Concubine Jiang seemed to have thought of something. She turned to the maid and said, "It's been very hot recently. Ask the kitchen to make some bean soup."

"Yes!"

The maid bowed and responded, and after sending Concubine Jiang away, she went back to the kitchen to pass on the message.

After giving the order, Concubine Jiang walked towards the main courtyard on the central axis.

The Prince of Qi's Palace is extremely large, covering an area of ​​more than 500 acres.

The palace is filled with courtyards, pavilions, towers, waterside terraces and lakes, all arranged in an orderly manner, with a new scene at every step.

The Haitang West Garden where Concubine Jiang lived was more than a dozen courtyards away from the main courtyard, and it would take fifteen minutes to walk there.

At other times, when Concubine Jiang came to pay her respects to the princess, she would ride in a sedan chair.

However, today, it was the princess who summoned her, but Concubine Jiang chose to walk.

Concubine Jiang was wearing a long dress that dragged on the ground. The gorgeous hem of the skirt created beautiful ripples on the bluestone floor, making her figure more graceful and slender.

Concubine Jiang is already in her thirties, with fair and firm skin, and not a single wrinkle at the corners of her eyes or mouth.

The collagen on the face began to disappear, but the perfect bone structure gradually became apparent.

It has lost some of the childish innocence and gained more mature charm, but it is still breathtakingly beautiful and incomparable.

She has a stunning appearance, but her temperament is cold and elegant, not vulgar, but noble like the moonlight.

Following Yang Chong for many years, the stable and peaceful life made her more elegant.

Despite the hot summer weather, Concubine Jiang did not sweat too much while walking all the way. When she arrived at the main courtyard, she was still absolutely beautiful, without any abnormality.

"Greetings, Princess!"

Concubine Jiang bowed and saluted, showing the same respect and humility to Princess Li as she was used to.

"No gift!"

Princess Li is Yang Chong's cousin, one year older than Yang Chong. She is already in her forties and has white hair on her temples.

She was noble and dignified, gentle and kind, and treated Concubine Jiang, a "favored concubine", with no jealousy or resentment at all, but with joy and appreciation.

Top-notch facial features, everyone loves to look at them.

Especially women, they actually prefer beauty.

Li was more than ten years older than Concubine Jiang, and they were almost of the same generation.

In Princess Li's eyes, Concubine Jiang is just a child.

She still remembered that when Concubine Jiang first entered the palace, she was twenty-three or twenty-four years old, young and tender. Although she was already a mother, her face still had a childishness.

She is timid and well-behaved. She can maintain the coldness and arrogance of a stunning beauty towards Yang Chong, but in front of her, the princess, she is as dependent and docile as a child.

Outsiders all said that Jiang was a favored concubine, but in fact, Yang Chong did favor Jiang.

However, Jiang never became arrogant because of her favor.

She treats her mistress with more courtesy and respect than she treats her husband.

Li is probably a senior face control freak in nature. He likes beautiful women. When he meets a stunning beauty who is so obedient and smart, he is naturally happy to get close to her.

With the help of Princess Li, Concubine Jiang quickly gained a foothold in the inner house of the Yang family.

Immediately afterwards, Concubine Jiang's daughter, who stayed at her ex-husband's house, contacted Concubine Jiang.

Concubine Jiang started a business. She did not bypass Li, but gave the largest shares and profits to Li.

Li came from a prominent family and married into a family of military honors, so she had no shortage of money.

But who would complain about having too little money?

What's more, with the rapid development of Yang Chong's power, more and more soldiers and horses need to be supported, which means more silver, food, medicine and other supplies are needed.

The business of Princess Li and Concubine Jiang can greatly make up for this need.

They already liked each other and now had tangible benefits, so Princess Li and Concubine Jiang really had a "harmonious marriage" as countless men imagined and hoped for.

To be frank, I'm not afraid of upsetting men. Perhaps, in Princess Li's heart, she trusts her "rival in love," Concubine Jiang, more in certain matters.

For example, at this moment, Princess Li began to make preparations and called Concubine Jiang over.

"...Ajiang, I remember your ancestral home was Tianshui, and later moved to Jingzhou?"

Princess Li did not beat around the bush but asked directly.

Concubine Jiang's expression remained unchanged, but her brain began to work rapidly again.

When Princess Li asked about her "hometown", she meant it in a more than literal sense.

Concubine Jiang's mind raced as she suddenly remembered something. She feigned nostalgia and said, "Reporting to the Princess, it has been twenty years since I left my hometown in Jingzhou. I really miss it!"

A smile flashed across Princess Li's lips, and she knew that Jiang was a smart person.

She can understand the elegant meaning of many things just by listening to the music. She can understand them without having to say them too clearly.

"It's natural to miss your hometown! By the way, do you have any relatives at home?"

This is definitely a question asked despite knowing the answer.

Concubine Jiang has been in the Yang family for seven or eight years, and except for one daughter, no other relatives have come to visit her.

There were occasional letters from her ex-husband's family, but Concubine Jiang ignored them.

My mother's family seems to have long been "extinct".

Princess Li was in charge of the entire mansion, and she knew everything about the correspondence and the guests who came to visit.

For several years, Concubine Jiang stayed quietly in the inner courtyard, without any contact with relatives or old friends.

"There is still a widowed mother and an older brother at home, but due to the turmoil of the previous dynasty, the family was separated and they haven't been seen in the past ten years. Perhaps they have returned to their ancestral home in Jingzhou."

Concubine Jiang's words were half true and half false.

It’s true, she had long lost contact with her family.

The lie was that she had no idea whether her family members were alive or dead, or where they were. "Returning home" was just her wild guess, following the princess's wishes.

"Is there such a thing?"

Princess Li seemed not to have heard Concubine Jiang's "maybe" and had already determined that Concubine Jiang's family was in her hometown of Jingzhou.

She then said softly, "A Jiang, you are now the concubine of the King of Qi. You haven't been back to your homeland or seen your family for many years. It's time to return home in glory!"

Princess Li's voice was gentle, but her eyes revealed an irresistible strength.

Concubine Jiang said to herself, "As expected."

She quickly echoed Princess Li's words and said, "Princess, you're right. I had a dream a few days ago about my relatives in Jingzhou!"

"Since you miss me, then go ahead. Prepare plenty of gifts and bring a few more people with you!"

Princess Li is still so gentle.

Concubine Jiang, however, understood the key point: “bring more people with you.”

Who are you bringing?

Princess Li wanted to send a few people away urgently.

Concubine Jiang raised her head and looked deeply at Princess Li.

A pair of peach blossom eyes, sparkling like autumn water, lively and charming, but at this moment so clear and pure.

Her eyes seemed to speak: Madam, has it really come to this?

Are you going to take action?

As the original wife, Li was bound to live and die with Yang Chong.

Li was decisive in killing and was not afraid of death.

However, no matter how strong a woman is, she still has love for her son.

Not to mention, as the mistress, she also had to find a way to leave a bloodline for the family.

In the eyes of outsiders, Concubine Jiang was a favorite concubine, and Li, as the principal wife, naturally had a bad relationship with the favorite concubine.

I guess even Yang Chong couldn't understand the friendship between the two women.

No one could have imagined that at this critical moment, Princess Li would entrust her orphan to her love rival!

"Yes! Madam, please be at ease!"

Concubine Jiang knelt down and bowed deeply.

When Princess Li heard Concubine Jiang call her "Madam", she understood what she meant: Madam is the mistress and a good sister, and she will never let her down.

"...By the way, do you have any wishes before you leave?"

It can be considered a "farewell". Even Princess Li is not sure whether it will be successful this time.

If I fail, my husband, myself, and my older sons will all cease to exist.

Concubine Jiang and her children will probably have to flee everywhere, with an uncertain future and no idea whether she is alive or dead.

Concubine Jiang didn't have to take such a risk. For a stunning beauty like her, it wouldn't be difficult for her to remarry even at her age.

But Ajiang still chose to obey her orders and was caught up in the storm. Princess Li felt that she should help Ajiang fulfill his wish.

When Concubine Jiang heard what Princess Li said, the first thing that came to her mind was her daughter.

But soon, Concubine Jiang thought of the letters she had received in recent years: her daughter was doing well.

Although he was "exiled" to Zhuangzi, he had no worries about food and clothing and could do whatever he wanted.

She lived a more comfortable life than many other young noble ladies in the capital.

Wang Lin is unreliable, but his daughter still has Lou Yu.

Lou Yu has grown up and is able to protect Jiu Niang.

Behind Lou Yu is the Anguo Mansion.

If the Prince of Qi's Mansion were defeated, the Duke of Anguo's Mansion would not be affected, and Jiu Niang could still maintain her wealth and safety.

The only thing she could do for her daughter was...

Concubine Jiang looked at Princess Li and said slowly, "Princess, Wang Lin and I have a connection after all. He really wants to return to the capital, so I'll just grant his wish!"

Princess Li's eyes flickered. What a great A Jiang! At the "last moment", she still wanted to take revenge on her scumbag ex-husband.

Wang Lin originally had the imprint of the Prince of Qi's Palace. However, at the critical moment when the Prince of Qi was fighting with the Sage and the Prince of Chu, the Prince of Qi transferred Wang Lin back to the capital in a high-profile manner and arranged a very important official position for him. No matter who thought about it, they would believe that Wang Lin was the Prince of Qi's loyal confidant.

The sage, the King of Chu, wanted to weaken the power of the King of Qi, eliminate his followers, and kill the chicken to scare the monkey. Wang Lin was the most suitable "chicken".

"Ajiang, are you sure?"

Should she use this favor to take revenge on her ex-husband instead of finding a way out for her daughter?

Concubine Jiang's eyes were blazing, "Princess, please grant me your blessing!"

Her daughter has grown up and is ready to get married. She doesn't need to be burdened by a greedy, selfish and cold-hearted father.

In the past, when her daughter was young, Concubine Jiang couldn't bear to let her become an orphan.

Now... the day has finally come, Wang Lin can die!

Seeing Concubine Jiang's firm attitude, Princess Li nodded slightly.

Okay, she agreed!

It so happened that the capital had been in turmoil recently, and many vacancies had appeared in the three provinces and six ministries. Without Yang Chong's presence, Princess Li could secretly operate and transfer Wang Lin from Yizhou to the capital!

boom!

Princess Li raised her hand and swept everything on the table to the ground.

"Jiang, you are so outrageous!"

"You are just a concubine, yet you dare to take advantage of your husband's favor and act recklessly. And you even dream of returning home to visit your relatives?"

"What are you going to do? Who do you think you are? A concubine? Humph, a concubine is still a concubine. As long as I am still here, the Prince Qi's Mansion will not tolerate your presumptuous behavior!"

Princess Li shouted angrily, with the dignity of a wife, but also with a bit of helplessness and resentment towards the concubine.

After the angry rebuke, a certain charming woman's enchanting tone followed: "Can't you tolerate my presumptuousness? My dear Princess, this is the only time I will be presumptuous!"

"Not only do I want to visit my parents, but I also want to do it with great fanfare and splendor, so that everyone knows who my husband truly loves and cherishes in Prince Qi's mansion!"

"Jiang, how dare you? Are you going to ruin my husband's reputation? Are you going to make people think that he's blinded by lust?"

"...Thank you, Princess, for your kind words. I have no talent or virtue, and only a bit of 'lust'!"

The wives and concubines quarreled so fiercely that some spies lurking in the corners heard it all clearly!

……

Yizhou, the governor's office.

Wang Lin didn't know that he was about to be "promoted" when he received a letter from the capital.

The Cui family, the Xie family...all sent people!