Golden Branch

"Is there such a thing?"

Wang Heng had just returned to the Duke of Qi's Mansion and hadn't even finished her cup of tea when she heard the latest gossip from the Prince Rui's Mansion.

She played with the teacup, not knowing whether to laugh or be angry.

After a moment, she slowly said, "Princess Rui is a straightforward person!"

Baizhi, Baiwei and other personal servants all lowered their heads and hands, and did not respond to their master's words casually.

If Wang Mian was present, he would definitely tease him: Ajiu, you curse so dirty.

But there is not a single dirty word!

The last person who was treated like this by Wang Heng was Madam Dugu.

Wang Heng "praised" her for her innocence. Well, a person in her forties who could be a grandmother, but was as foolish as a child, which was just adding to her age!

This time, Princess Rui, the mistress of a royal palace, was even praised for her frankness. What does frankness mean? It means being straightforward, brainless, reckless, and impulsive!

In the Changle Marquis Mansion, Wang Heng witnessed the "evil mother-in-law", and Princess Rui's actions made Wang Heng feel like "a small witch meeting a big witch".

Compared to this brainless, furious fool, the Marquis's wife seemed amiable.

"Shisanniang just gave birth, less than three days later, and she can't hold it back like this?"

How disgusting and cruel is it to cause trouble for a daughter-in-law who just gave birth to a child?

Yang Shou had no shortage of concubines.

Zheng Shisan has never been a jealous person.

Princess Rui still did this for one reason only: she simply wanted to embarrass Zheng Shisan.

"Go, send someone to the Rui Palace to ask Shisan Niang if she needs me to help her."

Although Zheng Shisan is not as important to Wang Heng as Wang Mian.

But, a concubine’s best friend is still a best friend.

The companionship of several years is more like an investment, and Wang Heng will never let Zheng Shisan suffer any injustice.

Moreover, Wang Heng had reason to believe that Princess Rui dared to treat Shisan Niang in this way, perhaps with the intention of "testing" her, Princess Langya.

Lou Yu was "exiled", and the fake princess Wang Heng was only favored by her mother, the imperial concubine.

But this kind of pampering is too empty.

Without real power, it is impossible to bring tangible benefits to the Rui Palace.

Yang Shou held an empty position and lived a life of idleness and waiting to die in the capital.

How could Yang Shou, who had already tasted the sweetness of "gilding" once, be willing to give up?

Before, Zheng Shisan had used the eastern expedition to Goguryeo as bait to lure the entire Ruiwang Mansion.

But then, accidents happened frequently in the capital. First, Queen Li became seriously ill, then the Crown Princess was poisoned, then the Emperor's eldest grandson was assassinated, the Sage was assassinated, and the Crown Princess died... For more than half a year, the Sage had no intention of sending troops.

Yang Shou's opportunity to achieve great things was thus shelved.

If going out to "gild" your career doesn't work, it's okay to get a real job temporarily.

If all else fails, he can also send more troops to the northwest and serve under Xiao Wuji to gain military merit.

Coincidentally, Xiao Wuzhi's wife is also Zheng Shisan's close friend.

Yang Shou had a new goal, so he made various explicit and implicit hints in front of Zheng Shisan.

Zheng Shisan: ...Haha, you wish!

There are only so many favors you can get, and each time you use them, it’s one less!

She is about to have her own child, and she doesn't want to waste her limited favors on a scumbag.

If it was a daughter, it would be fine, but if she could get a son in one fell swoop, not to mention the opportunity to make great achievements, she could even give up Yang Shou, the prince of the palace.

Zheng Shisan had her own plans and was unwilling to let the bastard who had already been sentenced to death by her get away with anything.

Zheng Shisan pretended not to understand and just focused on taking care of the fetus, ignoring Yang Shou.

Wang Heng might not be able to fully understand Zheng Shisan's thoughts, but she did understand some of them.

As a close friend, Wang Heng understands and supports Zheng Shisan.

Therefore, even if Wang Heng could find a job for Yang Shou, she would not help.

A few months passed, and although the Rui Palace seemed calm, it was actually already turbulent.

Zheng Shisan gave birth to a daughter and failed to give birth to a son for the Rui Palace, which was not so unforgivable.

But it gave the Rui Wangfu a reason to get angry - there are three unfilial acts, and the worst is to have no descendants.

As the legal wife, Zheng cannot give birth to children, so another woman should be allowed to give birth.

Princess Rui's move was to establish her authority, "punish" Zheng Shisan, and also to teach him a lesson.

If you want to continue living comfortably in Prince Rui's Mansion, you must plan well for your husband!

In the inner courtyard, the mother-in-law has plenty of ways to torture her daughter-in-law.

Wang Heng: ...No wonder! Prince Rui was considered a founding father, yet he's fallen on hard times. It's not because he chose the wrong side, but because he's just too stupid!

A saint is not a narrow-minded person who cannot tolerate others.

If the confidants of the former emperor and the King of Chu are capable and know how to adapt, he can also make use of them.

Prince Rui is still a member of the Yang royal family. If he wasn't so stupid, the saint wouldn't have ignored him like this!

"Yes!" Bai Zhi agreed and went back to make the arrangements.

An hour later, two of Wang Heng's servants came to the Rui Palace on the pretext of delivering something to the Rui Crown Princess.

Zheng Shisan had already packed up, changed into clean underwear, and was half lying on the bed, watching the wet nurse feeding her daughter.

Zheng Shisan was indeed disappointed that he couldn't have a son.

But her daughter is also her own flesh and blood, born after ten months of pregnancy and one day of birth.

He is connected to her by blood and is her first blood relative in this world.

She was born in a humble family, her mother died early, and although her scumbag father is still alive, he might as well be dead.

She was lucky and knew how to get along with others, which is why she had two close friends, the princess and Wang Mian.

But, close friends are just "friends" after all, and are different from relatives.

It’s different with my daughters; they have the same blood flowing in their veins.

She and she have a natural closeness, and the blood bond will last a lifetime.

"Little thing, red, wrinkled, and ugly!"

After the wet nurse finished feeding the baby, she followed Zheng Shisan's instructions and put the baby in Zheng Shisan's arms.

Zheng Shisan stretched out a finger and gently poked the red, wrinkled little girl with vernix caseosa in her hair.

"Oh, six pounds and seven ounces, you're really a fat girl!"

"In order to give birth to you, I, your mother, suffered for a whole day and night."

Zheng Shisan spoke words of disdain, but the kindness and doting in his eyes almost became tangible.

She was disappointed that she couldn't have a son, but she didn't despise her daughter either.

She herself was a poor little girl who did not have a rich life or the love of her parents.

Now that she has a daughter, she will make up for everything she lacks in her daughter.

Her daughter is luckier than her.

She was born as the eldest granddaughter of the royal family and was the apple of her eye.

As for whether Princess Rui and Yang Shou favor her, it doesn’t matter. She will make her daughter the most noble girl in the Rui Palace!

"Princess Consort, the servants accompanying Princess Langya are here!"

Just when Zheng Shisan was thinking about how to plan for his daughter, the maid's voice was heard outside the door.

Zheng Shisan was stunned at first: The princess just left!

Why did you send someone again?

Immediately, she thought of the outrageous actions of her good mother-in-law.

A pair of charming eyes flashed with emotion and guilt——

She was moved by the fact that the princess must have heard about what Princess Rui had done, and was worried about her and felt sorry for her, so she sent someone here specially.

What made her feel guilty was that she was already a mother, but she still had to let the princess work hard for her!

As expected, a reliable master is more reliable than anyone else.

"Take the young lady down with you."

Sitting up straight, Zheng Shisan called the wet nurse and others and asked them to take his daughter to the side room.

The servants around her were very perceptive. When they saw Zheng Shisan's expression, they knew that she was going to meet a guest.

They hurried forward to help Zheng Shisan tidy up his hair and put on his outer robe.

After everything was packed up, Zheng Shisan nodded and said, "Please let them in!"

Soon, Baiji Baishao came in.

Baiji held a box and bowed, "Greetings, Crown Princess! This is top-quality donkey-hide gelatin, perfect for replenishing blood. The princess specially ordered this servant to bring it to you!"

Although Zheng Shisan didn't get out of bed, he still straightened up and half-bowled: "Thank you, Princess, for the reward!"

While paying his respects, Zheng Shisan did not forget to wink at the servants around him.

The servant hurried forward, raised her hands, and respectfully took the box.

"Does the princess have any other instructions?"

Zheng Shisan knew that the princess sent someone to deliver donkey-hide gelatin just as an excuse.

"Reporting to the Crown Princess, the princess said that you just gave birth and need to rest. If you have any worries, just tell her."

For example, if something bad happened in Prince Rui's Mansion, as long as Zheng Shisan spoke up, Wang Heng would stand up for her.

Zheng Shisan pursed his lips, not wanting to trouble the princess.

However, thinking that he had given birth for a day and a night, Yang Shou did not stay with the baby all the time.

It was only after his daughter was born that Yang Shou hurried over, took a look, said "thank you for your hard work", and then left in a hurry.

Such indifference and disloyalty really chilled Zheng Shisan's heart.

She knew that there was not much true love between her and Yang Shou, but they were husband and wife after all.

But Yang Shou is still like this——

Zheng Shisan knew that Yang Shou did it on purpose.

He also wanted to "punish" her for not being virtuous enough -

Oh, if I can't help him build his future, I'm not a good wife?!

The man is as heartless as iron, so don't blame her for disregarding the relationship between husband and wife.

Don’t you want a real vacancy?

Don’t you want to achieve great things?

Okay, I’ll help you!

Zheng Shisan really doesn't have any skills and can't accomplish anything on his own.

But she can do bad things!

She thought for a moment and finally made up her mind.

She raised her head, looked at Baiji, and said softly, "I don't want to trouble the princess, but I am too useless. I can't help the princess with her worries, and I can't help my husband."

"My husband, of noble birth, is a young hero, determined to join the army and fight on the battlefield. Whether in the northwest or southwest, I always hope that he will have the opportunity to show his strengths!"

Zheng Shisan spoke in a subtle manner, but his words were suggestive.

Baiji might not understand, but she would tell Wang Heng everything in detail.

"Regardless of northwest or southwest?"

After listening to Baiji's report, Wang Heng grasped the key point.

She already knew Zheng Shisan, and after hearing her hint, she understood what she meant.

Princess Rui was disgusted with Zheng Shisan, so Zheng Shisan turned around and plotted against her husband's family.

"What a good Thirteenth Lady! She still refuses to suffer any loss!"

"However, the Rui Palace is indeed filthy and deserves some punishment!"

Wang Heng thought of the letter she had received from Lou Yu two days ago. In the letter, Lou Yu told her that the matters in Yongzhou had been handled.

However, in order to better control Yongzhou and the entire southwestern border, Lou Yu submitted a memorial, suggesting that the court establish a Southwest Protectorate.

With a new government office, there will naturally be many vacancies.

The positions of Sima and Zhongdudu in the Protectorate were both positions with military authority...