The Eldest Daughter Reborn: She Provoked the Obsessive Crown Prince and Couldn't Escape

Fu Ling smiled and said, "The Prince of Yan mentioned to you before that he has his own method of brewing wine."

"His mother, Consort Su, was a female official in the Imperial Brewing Bureau, so this statement is probably true."

"Otherwise, why would the Emperor have renamed him 'Jiu' when he made him Crown Prince?"

Fu Luan's face darkened, and she sighed, "I'll accept the osmanthus wine, but... there's no need to see him!"

"Huh?" The servant who came to report was slightly taken aback.

Since Yuan Jiu risked his life to save Fu Luan at the alliance ceremony, although their relationship has not been explicitly stated, everyone knows that it is now confirmed.

Now that Prince Yuan Jiu of Yan has personally come to visit, Fu Luan has declared that he will not see him, which is truly puzzling.

"Go now, as instructed by your great-aunt!" Hua Luo urged.

Although she said that, she didn't really understand what Fu Luan meant.

Hua Luo said softly, "Grandma, are we really not going to see His Highness Prince Yan? He seems very worried about you..."

Fu Ling tugged at Hua Luo's sleeve and pointed to her face;

She whispered, "My aunt's scratches on her face haven't healed yet. How can she possibly see the Prince of Yan now?"

Hua Luo asked in confusion, "But doesn't His Highness Prince Yan love our aunt very much? He's even willing to give up his life for her, isn't he?"

"How could it be because of the injury on your face..."

Fu Luan laughed and said, "His affection for me is mostly due to 'lust at first sight,' and now my 'appearance' is damaged."

"If I were to rush to see him with these scratches, even if he didn't notice at the time;

"Even after these scratches heal, I'll still feel disappointed."

Hua Luo nodded as if she understood, "In that case, it really is better not to meet!"

Yuan Jiu ultimately did not send anyone to question or urge him, nor did he barge in; he simply left silently.

He looked back every few steps, gazing at the majestic gate tower of the Marquis of Chang'an's mansion;

She could only console herself, "Ah Luan is at home, she's doing well..."

Fu Luan stood at the window of the pavilion, looking at Yuan Jiu's lonely figure, feeling a thousand heartaches.

But for the sake of the plan, they had no choice but to harden their hearts.

Only after Xiao Jiu's figure had completely disappeared did Fu Luan open the osmanthus wine, which naturally had a delicate osmanthus fragrance.

However, it is more refreshing and has a richer flavor than ordinary osmanthus wine.

Fu Luan knew that Yuan Jiu was sending her the wine to tell her that he hadn't forgotten what the two of them had discussed earlier.

Although Fu Luan did not see Yuan Jiu because of the scars on her face, she was still worried and wrote a letter.

While expressing concern, they also asked some questions about the wine.

Besides her personal seal, the letter also bore the seal of the Lady of the County...

Looking at this mark, Fu Luan truly felt that she was now the Lady of Langya.

Upon receiving Fu Luan's letter, Yuan Jiu's worries vanished, and he immediately wrote back.

He did not press Fu Luan in his letter about why she would not see him; instead, he answered her questions in great detail.

Although the "Osmanthus Wine" is named after osmanthus and does indeed have the flavor of osmanthus, it is not actually brewed with osmanthus flowers.

Instead, it was brewed using a type of grain called "Osmanthus Glutinous Rice" produced in Jiankang.

His birth mother, Consort Su, was from Jiankang; after she entered the palace, she brought the method of brewing this wine into the court.

The emperor took only one sip and then demanded to see the female official in charge of brewing the wine.

This meeting was originally intended to discuss wine;

But when the emperor saw Su, who was then just a female slave in a government office, he was immediately struck by her beauty...

This "osmanthus wine without osmanthus flowers" transformed Su from a "female slave of the Imperial Kitchen" into a concubine of the emperor;

After going to the Liangyi Hall, Lady Su did not return to the Siyun Division, but instead became "Lady Su".

She gradually became "Su Gengyi", "Su Liangren"... until she became "Su Meiren".

She continued to receive favor, but her rank was never promoted again.

From then on, Consort Su was always a person of "low rank but great favor" in the palace;

No one knew why she wasn't promoted again, not even Xiao Jiu...

Was Su Meiren's promotion from a fifth-rank female official to a sixth-rank beauty a true "promotion"?

Fu Luan sighed and picked up her pen to reply. In the letter, she didn't forget to instruct Xiao Jiu to bring the osmanthus wine to the Emperor to try…

Yuan Jiu did as instructed, and specially chose to send the osmanthus wine to the palace on the occasion of Consort Su's death anniversary to present it to his father, the Emperor.

Sure enough, a few days later, three pieces of news came from the palace—

The good news is that the Emperor was moved by Prince Yan Yuanjiu's filial piety and posthumously conferred upon his deceased mother, Consort Su, the title of Second Rank Imperial Consort and bestowed upon her the title "He".

The second piece of good news was that the Emperor was saddened by the passing of Yuanjiu's birth mother and adoptive mother, as well as the undeserved calamity he had suffered earlier.

He complied with the request and allowed Consort Li Qingluan to "adopt" him.

The third piece of good news followed immediately: Li Qingluan was promoted from a fourth-rank Noble Consort.

Because he adopted Prince Yuan Jiu of Yan, he was promoted to the rank of Xiuyi, a fourth-grade official!

The bad news was that the Emperor bestowed two more concubines upon Yuan Jiu...

Upon hearing this news, before Fu Luan could say anything, Hua Luo angrily said:

"The Emperor is really something, knowing full well that our aunt is going to marry the Prince of Yan in the future;

"And they even bestowed upon him a concubine and rewarded him with maids!"

Fu Luan laughed and said, "Who said I would definitely marry him?"

"I don't even know who I want to marry, so you'd better decide for me!"

Fu Ling pinched Hua Luo's cheek, "This little girl is spoiled rotten by her aunt."

"They even dare to discuss it now! After what happened at the Prince's residence last time;"

"Don't you know what the Emperor is thinking about our aunt?"

"He'll be happy if his aunt doesn't have an easy time by Prince Yan's side from now on!"

Yuan Jiu had already moved back to the Prince of Yan's residence, which was not far from the Marquis of Chang'an's residence;

However, Fu Luan still hasn't seen Yuan Jiu these days, and only wishes to exchange letters with him.

Even though Yuan Jiu missed Fu Luan to the core, she couldn't force her to come out if Fu Luan wouldn't.

It arrived that day along with Yuan Jiu's letter;

There was also a letter that appeared to be unsigned, but the messenger only said it was sent from the palace.

Fu Luan guessed that it was probably a letter from Consort Shu, and when he opened it, he was right!

It turns out that one major event after another has occurred in the palace recently, and the news has spread to the common people like a tidal wave:

Consort Mei lost in the palace intrigue, which angered the emperor and caused her to fall out of favor, resulting in her being demoted to a fifth-rank lady-in-waiting.

Consequently, the nineteenth prince was adopted into the imperial family and was barred from inheriting the throne.

How good was Consort Shu's relationship with Consort Mei before? She even hit Consort Mei because Fu Luan tried to sow discord between her and Consort Mei!

But once Consort Mei falls out of favor—or even if there were only slight signs of her decline at the beginning—

Shu Guiyi then stood by and watched, completely absolving herself of any responsibility!

Now that "Consort Mei" has become "Lady Mei," her son has no chance of becoming the crown prince, let alone ascending the throne.

Shu Guiyi didn't even glance at her! She began to regret it;

She regretted not listening to Fu Luan and even hitting her! She also mocked and ridiculed her sister!

Now Li Qingluan has benefited greatly, not only gaining a son for nothing;

And because of this adopted son's promotion, he was about to surpass his own rank!