The eldest daughter's scheming, the crown prince's exclusive favor to the venomous concubi

Madam Zhang smiled and said, "Since you've said so, then I understand. This master has really gone too far. Putting aside everything else, the Third Miss hasn't even passed her forty-ninth day memorial yet, and he's already taking a concubine. Doesn't he know that funerals and weddings can't be held together?"

This third young lady is unlucky; she was harmed by that vile woman. Heaven has eyes and will surely not let her off the hook. Eldest sister, don't be sad. The eldest young lady is already sick; if you get sick too, won't this family be taken over by that Jiang family?

"Look at her, she's practically strutting around like she's about to force you to leave, and yet the master hasn't said a word to her. Even if it's because of the Jiang family's power, they can't let eldest sister lose face, can they?"

As Zhang spoke, she glanced at Sun out of the corner of her eye, then smiled and said, "Never mind, I won't say any more. Eldest sister, you are a smart woman, you understand everything clearly. Whether I say it or not, you know. But if you want to make a move, you should do it as soon as possible. That Jiang woman is no pushover, and her daughter, for some reason, has been acting strangely these days. I wonder what kind of trouble she's causing behind the scenes."

Madam Sun nodded: "I understand. Thank you for your hard work. I'm too busy to manage everything in the manor, so it's fortunate that you're here to keep an eye on them."

Zhang hurriedly said, "What's so tiring about it? Isn't it all for our family? I'm just keeping an eye on one person. Eldest sister has done much more. It's getting late, so let's leave now. Take care, eldest sister."

As Zhang spoke, she curtsied to Sun and quickly left. Sun watched her retreating figure and snorted coldly. Her maid, Liuyun, stepped forward and said, "Madam, the Second Madam also seems to have ill intentions."

Madam Sun sneered: "In this family, who is easy to deal with? She gave birth to the eldest son, so naturally she has high aspirations. How could she be satisfied with her current position?"

Zimin is coming back soon. This family can't continue to be in chaos. Find a time to tell the old lady what has happened recently. If she doesn't care, don't blame me for being ruthless.

"The servant understands."

Qiu Zhenzhou failed to accomplish what he had promised to do. When he returned to his study and saw Xiao Rou, he immediately felt embarrassed. Xiao Rou saw Qiu Zhenzhou's expression and understood what had happened.

She wasn't stupid; she didn't think that just because Qiu Zhenzhou agreed, the matter could be accomplished. She had been with Qiu Lingfeng for more than a year, and she knew exactly what kind of person Sun Shi was, and what kind of women in the Qiu family were.

Therefore, she was not disappointed when Qiu Zhenzhou returned. She slowly said, "Master, don't be sad. Xiao Rou has said before that as long as she can serve you, she would be willing to stay here for the rest of her life."

Qiu Zhenzhou felt a pang of resentment. He said angrily, "Even a tiger fallen into the plains is bullied by dogs. I never thought that I, Qiu Zhenzhou, would be threatened by a woman in the inner quarters. This is an utter disgrace."

How could he not be angry at Jiang's words? But now, he had no way to refute them.

As for the Sun family, things have reached a stalemate because of Qiu Lingfeng and Sun Shixin's affair. It has become difficult for them to control the Crown Prince through the Sun family. Moreover, Qiu Lingfeng has lost her chastity, which will make his future even more difficult.

Therefore, at this moment, no matter how insignificant the force, as long as it is on his side, he cannot touch it. Every little bit counts; as long as there is something, there is hope of turning the tide.

The chaos in the Qiu family was enough to bring them together. Besides Jian Yue being happy to see it happen, there was another person who followed Qiu Zhenzhou and Sun Shi with excited eyes.

This man was Qiu Zhenqi from the third branch of the Qiu family.

After returning from Sun's place, Zhang secretly went to the third house and spent some time with Qiu Zhenqi. She then told him about what had happened that day. Qiu Zhenqi was not angry at all; instead, he laughed heartily.

Seeing this, Zhang scolded, "How can you still laugh? Your elder brother is so disrespectful to his elders. Does he really want the Qiu family to be in such a mess?"

Qiu Zhenqi shook his head and said, "No, no, the chaos in the Qiu family is actually very beneficial to us."

Zhang frowned: "What benefits? Is there something more important than our son's reputation?"

"Of course it is."

Qiu Zhenqi smiled and said, "Back then, when my father chose Qiu Zhenzhou as his heir, it was only because he was the only legitimate son, while the rest of his sons were all born to concubines."

In the end, they even killed all of Qiu Zhenzhou's sons, leaving only me, an incompetent playboy, alive. At that time, I wanted to see what would happen to the Qiu family after it was handed over to Qiu Zhenzhou.

Unexpectedly, it's only been a few years! And things have already started to fall apart? Good thing, only in chaos can the old lady come out, and only then will our Ziming have a chance.”

Zhang asked in bewilderment, "What good will it do us if the old lady comes out? She's not your mother. Even if she comes out, she won't kill her own son to serve you."

"What I want is not her assistance, but the appearance of that old geezer, who will be angered to death by Qiu Zhenzhou. Only then will the Qiu family have a chance to fall into my hands."

Upon hearing this, Zhang suddenly laughed sarcastically and said, "That's a naive idea. The old lady is very healthy and strong. How could she die from a little anger? Besides, is that Sun woman easy to deal with? She even gave me a warning today."

If it weren't for the current chaos among the legitimate daughters, Madam Jiang would probably be in serious trouble today. But I'm curious, why did this young lady return looking so distraught after her trip? My maid even said that some of the maids in her room said she almost strangled the First Madam.”

Qiu Zhenqi shook his head and said, "Why do you care so much? Just stay on the sidelines and observe how things develop. When the old lady shows up, you'll know why. Right now, your priority is to protect yourself."

As Qiu Zhenqi spoke, he chuckled and was about to lie down to rest, but Zhang Shi pounced on him relentlessly, saying, "Tell me, what are you planning? I know about taking over the Qiu family, but I think you have other ulterior motives. Let me tell you, I've done so much for you, and if you forget my kindness in the future, I won't forgive you."

Upon hearing this, Qiu Zhenqi took the opportunity to pin Zhang down and said jokingly, "I can't possibly wrong anyone but you. Don't worry, I'm still waiting for Ziming to call me 'Dad' properly."

Alright, alright, forget about plans. We don't have any plans, we'll just watch. What's that called? It's called "when the snipe and the clam fight, the fisherman benefits!"

Time flies by. After the heavy snow, the New Year is just two months away. The farce in the Qiu family continues. The fact that Qiu Zhenzhou was hiding someone in his study could not be kept secret. The old lady took action herself and dragged Xiao Rou out. However, although the person was found, she could not be punished.

Xiaorou is pregnant, and the doctor said it's likely to be a boy.

The old lady immediately took the initiative to keep the person and settled them in her Buddhist shrine.

For no other reason than that the Qiu family was considered to be small, and it wasn't until Qiu Zhenzhou that they had a few more offspring, but there were only three sons. Therefore, even though the old lady didn't like the baby in Xiaorou's belly, she still valued it very much.

When Madam Sun learned that the maid who had angered Qiu Zhenzhou to the point of wanting to take a concubine was actually the maid she had given to Qiu Lingfeng, and that she was pregnant, she was so angry that she spat out a mouthful of blood on the table and couldn't get up for a long time.

When Qiu Lingfeng heard that Xiao Rou had climbed into her father's bed, she thought of Jian Yue again, and then she remembered the scene of being violated by Sun Shixin. Suddenly, she went berserk, smashing everything in the room and almost strangling her personal maid. All the maids were so frightened that they all left her room and stood guard outside, not daring to go in.

At this moment, Madam Sun was too weak to get up and comfort her daughter. Because of her illness, she was unable to devote herself to the affairs of the inner quarters. With a single order from the old lady, she actually handed over the power of the inner quarters to Madam Zhang. As a result, Madam Sun's status in the Qiu family plummeted.

Predictably, just as the old lady was about to deal with Xiao Rou and they were about to sit idly by, the old lady also learned about what had happened to Qiu Lingfeng. Immediately, she abandoned both Sun Shi and Qiu Lingfeng.

However, due to the unclear intentions of the Crown Prince, coupled with the status of the Sun family and the eldest son Qiu Zimin, the position of Sun's principal wife was not taken away.

No matter how much trouble the Qiu family caused, Bai Jianan was still nowhere to be found on Jian Yue's side, but she received the letter she had been waiting for.

Looking at what was written in the letter, Jian Yue felt a sharp pain in her chest and her eyes stung.

Then, Murong Yan suddenly summoned her. When she arrived at the Princess's residence, she saw Murong Yan hurriedly saying, "Things happened a bit suddenly today, so I'll keep it short. Your marriage to Nan'er must be held immediately, on the first day of the eleventh lunar month tomorrow."

Jian Yue was slightly taken aback and asked, puzzled, "Why? This haste makes it impossible to prepare for many things, which is unreasonable."

Murong Yan rubbed her temples wearily, her face cold as she said, "Don't worry about so much. If we tell you to get married, then get married. Do you think the Qingyan Marquis's mansion would mistreat you? Or are you dissatisfied with this decision?"

Murong Yan's words were somewhat irritable and impatient, even containing a hint of reproach and anger that Jian Yue couldn't understand. Jian Yue immediately fell silent, and then Murong Yan continued, "Here is your wedding dress. You can take it back. The Qiu family's dowry and betrothal gifts will be delivered to you tonight. I have also informed the people from the General's Mansion. You just need to prepare everything first thing tomorrow morning and wait for Nan'er to come to the mansion to fetch you."

"Yes, I understand."

Jian Yue lowered her eyes and responded, waving her hand to let Xiao Cui pick up the wedding dress. She turned to leave, and Murong Yan watched Jian Yue's back. Just as Jian Yue was about to walk out of the princess's residence, Murong Yan suddenly shouted, "Shangguan Jian Yue, I only hope that you will not let Nan'er down, otherwise I will definitely have your entire family executed."

Jian Yue did not stop. When Murong Yan called out, she only paused slightly before continuing her journey and quickly left the princess's residence. The round trip took less than half an hour.