The story of a bullied daughter's rise to power

"Your Majesty, you're joking. I naturally obey your every word," Tantai Wuyue quickly replied, but his words lacked much credibility. He raised his teacup, looked at Xiu'er, then at the Queen, and spoke slowly and casually, "Your Majesty, I already have quite a few idle servants in the Crown Prince's Mansion. Adding one more isn't a big deal, but Your Majesty, you want this Miss Xiu'er to take over the mansion. This isn't a good idea. The Crown Prince's Mansion already has a Crown Princess, and letting a woman who's not even a concubine take control of it is bound to attract criticism."

"Hmph! This woman?" The Queen's rage rose. She looked at Situ Yaorao with disdain, "She never comes home all day, and I don't know where she got this little bastard from. She's only been married to you for a short time, and she's not even pregnant. She's running the Prince's Mansion like a nobody. I think it's better not to use her."

The queen waved her hand and directly convicted Situ Yaorao.

Tantai Wuyue couldn't help but frown upon hearing this: "Mother, please be careful with your words."

"Be careful with your words? Who in the capital doesn't know this? Why doesn't the Crown Princess manage the Crown Prince's Mansion properly, but runs business outside? She hangs out with others every day, it's really hard to say what to say! Tell me, are these things true?" The Queen glared at Situ Yaorao and questioned.

Situ Yaorao's mouth twitched, and she was speechless at the sight of the Queen's furious expression. This woman had indeed come prepared. If Xiu'er wasn't kept, she would probably continue to scold him until she knew when.

However... this Xiu'er wanted to come in, but she absolutely couldn't. Thinking of this, Situ Yaorao smiled at the Queen and said respectfully, "Your Majesty, you're joking. I'm the Crown Princess, how could I do something that would attract criticism? I'm leaving today just to hand over the shop I used to run when I was a daughter of the Situ family to someone else. As for this kitten?" Situ Yaorao smiled sweetly, "It was given to me by the Crown Prince."

This one sentence stunned the queen who had just called Xiao Hei a little beast.

So embarrassing.

"Mother, it's enough for her to manage this mansion. If you want to send your adopted daughter to my Prince's mansion, that's fine, but it will have some impact on her reputation. It's rare for you to have someone so caring, so you don't want her to be infamous."

Tan Tai Wu Yue said slowly from the side.

If Situ Yaorao is a hedgehog, covered in thorns and with words like sharp swords, then Tantai Wuyue is a seemingly harmless big cat. But once his fangs are bared, he's sure to kill. His words, too, may seem harmless, but they're actually sharp.

Tantai Wuyue's words made the Queen's expression even uglier. Looking at the Crown Prince, her expression darkened: "So, you don't want Xiu'er to stay?"

"I wonder what identity the Queen Mother wants her to stay in?" Tan Tai Wu Yue asked back.

"Of course she's a concubine in the palace. Don't worry about the prince laughing at you, Xiu'er was originally the maidservant of the Crown Princess in your palace. I just took her away because I liked her. She regards the Crown Princess as her own sister. Although there are some misunderstandings between the two, Xiu'er still hopes to come back and stay by the Crown Princess' side. I'm angry because I'm disappointed with Xiu'er."

The Queen was very shrewd. Seeing the two people's obvious attitudes, she changed her tone and looked helpless. On the side, Xiu'er also had tears in her eyes. She looked at Situ Yaorao and called softly, "Sister."

"Cousin." Situ Yaorao smiled, but deliberately emphasized the word "cousin" to remind her that she and she were real cousins. Xiu'er's face froze when she heard this, but she quickly returned to normal. She looked at Situ Yaorao and whispered, "Sister, Xiu'er knows that you hate Xiu'er because Xiu'er took the initiative to accompany you to marry, but Xiu'er really just wants to stay by your side."

"My sister is already an adult and she should get married. As her elder sister, I can't ask you to come to the prince's mansion to be a concubine, right?" Situ Yaore looked helpless.

"The Empress has agreed. As long as sister agrees, Xiu'er can be a concubine. Then, Xiu'er will definitely be able to stay with sister all the time." Xiu'er said hurriedly, looking like she really wanted to keep Situ Yaorao company.

If Situ Yaorao didn't know Xiu'er's true nature too well, and if she hadn't been tricked once before, she would have believed it a little. After all, this woman was really good at acting.

"Crown Princess, Xiu'er has good intentions, so please keep her in the mansion." The Queen spoke calmly, double-teaming Situ Yaorao. If she didn't relent, she'd be accused of jealousy. But if she really had to keep Xiu'er in the Crown Prince's mansion, Situ Yaorao was a thousand times unwilling.

No one wants to have someone who is always spying on their husband by their side! Even Situ Yaorao is the same.

Just when Situ Yaorao was feeling troubled, she heard Tantai Wuyue suddenly say, "Isn't it possible that your Majesty Queen is confused? The position of concubine in my son's house is already full."

Tantai Wuyue said this with a helpless look on her face. However, this was the truth.

The Prince's Mansion had a total of six concubines. Ever since Situ Yaorao married him, the Empress Dowager, and even the Emperor, had quietly added people to the mansion. The number of concubines was already full.

However, because Situ Yaorao rarely paid attention to the problems in the Prince's Mansion, she never knew about it.

Those women were also placed in the backyard and were ordered not to come near Situ Yaorao.

The moment Tantai Wuyue said this, the Queen instantly felt awkward. She had indeed sent people to the Prince's Mansion before. But she had never expected to meet Xiu'er later. For a moment, she was completely bewildered.

"Mother, this Miss Xiu'er is the Crown Princess's cousin, and out of sisterly love, she became a maid in the dowry. Her feelings are understandable, but unfortunately, the number of concubines in this palace is already full. If we add more, I'm afraid it will make my father suspicious. After all, only my father can have more than six titled concubines."

Tan Tai Wu Yue's attitude of "I want to help, but it's against the rules" really made the Queen hate him to death, but she could do nothing about it because what he said was true.

Tantai Wuyue had recently angered the Emperor and was sent to Jiangnan. During that time, the Empress reflected on herself. The concubines in the harem were all agitated. Every last one of them was a riot. Even those who enjoyed favor were practically crawling onto her lap. And all this was simply because she had lost the Crown Prince.

Now, the queen doesn't want the prince to take risks anymore.

But turning around, seeing Xiu'er's aggrieved look, and Situ Yaorao holding the cat hatefully, the Queen gritted her teeth and said, "Since I can't be a concubine, why not just be a concubine?"

"what?"

"no!"