Yan Wan is reborn as a legitimate wife: Curing Ruyi's Douyi syndrome

After the marriage was bestowed, the Imperial Household Department became extremely busy. As the top female official in the palace, Wei Yanwan was so busy that she wished she could be split in two.

Fortunately, the examination for female officials had ended before the imperial examination. The female officials performed their duties and, although busy, managed to handle things in an orderly manner.

First, there was the matter of the Noble Consort entering the palace. The Emperor granted her residence in Qixiang Palace, and the Imperial Household Department renovated and decorated Qixiang Palace in an effort to make it as perfect as possible. They also prepared the investiture ceremony as instructed, and were only waiting for the fifteenth of March.

Later, there was the marriage of Grand Princess Hengchu to a prince consort, and the marriage of the Seventh Prince to his wife. With the Empress Dowager overseeing Grand Princess Hengchu's affairs, everything was meticulously handled, and the Imperial Household Department naturally paid even more attention to her.

If one cannot treat everyone equally, and one side is favored, then another will be neglected. For this, Consort Mei was very indignant.

But the one who dared to challenge her was none other than the Empress Dowager, who had been supporting her all along! No matter how dissatisfied Bai Ruiji was, she could only keep it to herself.

Fortunately, Jingqin did not completely ignore the Seventh Prince. She not only ordered the Imperial Household Department to build a Prince's Mansion for him, but also bestowed upon him the title "Xuan" and agreed to Prince Xuan's petition to bring Bai Ruiji back to his mansion.

Bai Ruiji was no longer angry and happily followed Prince Xuan back to his residence.

Bai Ruiji came from the Southern Mansion and knew nothing about housekeeping, so the responsibility of housekeeping naturally fell to the wife of Prince Xuan. In return, the wife of Prince Xuan would give Bai Ruiji a share of any good things she received.

Bai Ruiji was also very happy. Although she was arrogant and rude, she was not an unreasonable person. She was naturally happy that the wife of Prince Xuan treated her well.

Seeing that the mother-in-law and daughter-in-law got along well, Prince Xuan felt relieved. He knew Bai Ruiji's personality very well; if they were to quarrel, she would fight even if she was unreasonable.

The current emperor values ​​family harmony very much. Two months ago, he issued an imperial edict to severely reprimand the consort who had quarreled with Princess Jingshu (Aruo's daughter), and also bestowed a man upon Princess Jingshu.

Since it was a gift from the Emperor, it could not be disposed of arbitrarily. Princess Hemu immediately brought the man to her residence and settled him properly, then submitted a memorial requesting that the man be officially appointed as a concubine. Princess Hemu's husband then threw a tantrum and refused to go to the princess's residence again.

Last month, Princess He Mu was diagnosed with pregnancy. She immediately requested permission to divorce her husband and appoint a concubine as her new husband.

The former prince consort, who had been clamoring that the princess couldn't have children and wouldn't allow him to take a concubine, was struck dumb. He rushed to the princess's residence to request an audience with Princess He Mu, but it was too late; the princess's residence was no longer a place he could freely trespass.

The former prince consort's reputation was ruined, and no one was willing to remarry him. Not to mention the daughters of high-ranking families, even the daughters of minor officials in the capital avoided him like the plague. Thanks to the former prince consort's vigorous promotion, the news that he was infertile has now spread throughout the capital.

Princess Guren Hemu's Mansion

Jing Shu gently stroked her belly with a smile.

Aruo was overjoyed, but also said angrily, "That bastard dared to fight with us, mother and daughter. If it weren't for the Emperor Emeritus's insistence on the marriage, how could my Shu'er have run into such a scoundrel?"

Jing Shu comforted him, "It was Mother Consort who had the foresight to help the Emperor so early on. If it were still Father Emperor... I don't know how much longer I would have suffered!"

Compared to Jing Shu's restraint, A Ruo was much more shrewish: "It's all his fault! The prince consort I favored, he insisted that he wasn't good enough for you and insisted on choosing a relative of the emperor for you."

"I've already made my choice, but of all people, I chose this scoundrel! He's incompetent himself but can't stand seeing his wife succeed. He wants to take a concubine and then tries to ruin your reputation! Luckily, the Emperor has ascended the throne now. If it were still your father, I don't know how much longer my Shuer would have suffered..."

Jing Shu comforted her, "Don't worry, Mother, I didn't suffer. He was just drugged."

A'Ruo laughed and said, "Yes, yes, that medicine was specially prepared by the imperial physician. He can forget about having any more children!"

After talking with Jing Shu, A Ruo felt much better and stopped thinking about the former prince consort, focusing all her attention on Jing Shu.

Speaking of Jing Shu's marriage, it was also a tragic fate. Jing Yan, Jing Yan, and Jing Shu were of similar age and had grown up and gone to school together since childhood. Jing Yan and Jing Yan were gentle and virtuous, unlike Jing Shu who was straightforward and strong-willed.

Therefore, when choosing a consort, Hongli selected his trusted ministers, the Gao family and the Fucha family, for Jingyan and Jingyan, but for Jingshu, he chose Tongjia Yixing, the grandson of Tongjia Kuadai.

The reason was that after Tongjia Qingfu was punished for his defeat in battle, Tongjia had been living in fear and repeatedly tried to curry favor with Hongli. For political reasons, Hongli thought of appeasing Tongjia.

However, Hongli was wary of the Tongjia clan. After all, the Tongjia clan was not as favored by the emperor as the Gao family or the Fucha family, and their abilities were also insufficient. Hongli did not want to entrust them with important responsibilities, so after thinking for a long time, he came up with the idea of ​​marrying a princess.

Emperor Qianlong's own daughter married a member of the Tongjia clan, which naturally made his stance clear. The Tongjia clan's acceptance of the princess's marriage also served as a form of appeasement, and they no longer carried out their duties with trepidation.

However, given the precedents of Princess Wenxian and Consort Longkodo, Hongli was very uneasy about the Tongjia clan and chose Jingshu, the most temperamental of his three daughters, to marry into the Tongjia clan.

Hongli had a keen eye; Tongjia's contempt for women was ingrained in her bones. Even when she needed something from the princess, she only pretended for a short while, and in less than a year, Tongjia had changed her tune.

Jing Shu was straightforward and easygoing, but her husband Yi Xing preferred alluring and gentle women. The couple were incompatible, and the husband would avoid going to the princess's residence if possible.

Prince Consort Yixing endured it for only a year before demanding to take a concubine because the princess had no children. The Tongjia clan truly lived up to its reputation for being able to tolerate the forced taking of the father-in-law's concubine and the abuse of his first wife.

Even though the princess was a pardon obtained by the Tongjia clan through various means, the Tongjia elders still insisted on the princess's consent to Yixing taking a concubine, citing filial piety.

How could Jing Shu possibly tolerate this? Not only did she reject the consort outright, but she also went to the palace to complain, which angered Hongli so much that he issued an edict reprimanding Tongjia.

After Hongli issued the decree, the consort dared not cause any more trouble. However, in private, the elders of the Tongjia clan resented Jingshu for disrespecting their elders, and the consort Yixing resented Jingshu for not allowing him to take a concubine. Yet, they could not make a scene in public, so they could only keep Jingshu at arm's length.

When Hongli's son-in-law mentality took hold, although he tacitly allowed Jingshu to suppress her husband's refusal to take a concubine, he absolutely refused to agree to Jingshu divorcing her husband. Seeing this, Tongjia became even more arrogant.

How could A'Ruo tolerate this? With Hongli's tacit approval, A'Ruo tried every means to prepare a barely noticeable infertility-inducing drug. Jing Shu, without hesitation, immediately administered the drug to her son-in-law.

Prince Consort Yixing would never return to the Princess's residence unless there was something important to do, and Lady Tongjia tacitly allowed him to keep a mistress in the residence. As a result, the prince consort disliked Jingshu even more, and the discord between the couple was already out in the open.

Jing Shu didn't mind, and the couple lived happily in separate residences. When Jing Qin was selecting concubines, she asked the other sisters if they wanted a concubine. Jing Yan, Jing Yan, and Jing Se were shocked, but only Jing Shu readily agreed and petitioned the emperor to grant them a marriage.

When the princess requested permission to take a concubine, the court was in an uproar. The ministers were so angry they wanted to drown Jing Shu in their spittle, especially her husband's father, Tongjia Fuming.

Jingqin knew that Jingshu was helping her share the blame. With the princess taking a concubine first, she, as the empress's consort, was no longer the one to be criticized.

Upon hearing this, Jingqin sneered, "Others may be one thing, but Fuming, what face do you have to object? Only your Tongjia clan would help your son support mistresses outside the brothel."

"Given her family's scholarly tradition, one wonders if Hesheli, who was turned into a human pig, will resent her own blood relatives for siding with outsiders instead of helping her in the underworld?"

Jingqin's few words sent chills down the spines of the Tongjia clan. The Emperor's words about their family's scholarly traditions meant that it would be even more difficult for the men of the Tongjia clan to find wives in the future!

The Tongjia clan already suffered from infamy because of the Longkodo Li Si'er incident, so they rarely married women of higher social standing, and even when they married women of equal social standing, no one cared. They all married women of lower social standing, which made women in the Tongjia clan look down on them even more.

Tong Jia Fuming immediately slid to his knees and said, "Your Majesty, please forgive me. I know I was wrong! I will go back and have that rebellious son send the person away to apologize to Princess He Mu."

Jingqin was unmoved by his rhetoric and immediately issued an edict reprimanding the Tongjia clan, ordering Tongjia Fuming to be flogged ten times for lax discipline. After the imperial concubine selection, a son was bestowed upon Princess Hemu.

Not long after, Princess Hemu divorced Tongjia Yixing. The capital was full of sycophants, and with increasingly worse in-law relationships and a more chaotic family atmosphere, the Tongjia clan never regained its former glory.