My stepsister tried to steal the prince's hand in marriage, but little did she know I had been

"My queen, please calm down!"

At this moment, the only one who dared to speak was Consort Zhang's personal maid, Yun Que.

She had an ordinary appearance, but her voice was extremely pleasant to the ear.

Consort Zhang paused for a moment upon hearing this.

Seeing that it was Yun Que, she suppressed her anger and asked in a low voice, "Haven't you noticed that His Majesty is paying less and less attention to me?"

Everyone says she is favored, but only she knows that in His Majesty's heart, she is not even worth a hair on the Empress's head!

The favor bestowed upon me over the past decade or so is like a cloud floating in the sky—it seems grand, but in reality, it's so light and weightless.

Thinking of this, Consort Zhang couldn't help but hold Yun Que's hand tightly.

"what should I do?"

In such a panicked moment, only the lark could offer her solace.

Yun Que grasped her hand in return and whispered, "Your Majesty, there is no need to panic. The Emperor and Empress are deeply in love, something you already knew before you entered the palace."

Consort Zhang closed her eyes: "When I entered the palace, I thought of finding a way for my family to survive. With my beauty, I was sure I could give birth to a prince, but more than ten years have passed..."

"My beauty has faded." She gently touched her face, and the image that came to mind was Wen Shuyao, whom she had seen that morning.

"Between me and Princess Jing...who is more beautiful?"

Her voice was light and airy, but the murderous intent in her tone made the palace servants around her lower their heads.

Yun Que's face turned cold, and she immediately dismissed the palace servants: "You may all leave."

After all the palace servants had left, she warned in a low voice, "Your Highness, are you afraid that no one will be able to see your feelings for Prince Jing?"

Upon hearing this, Consort Zhang chuckled softly.

"I have hidden it best. Everyone thinks that I despise Prince Jing."

"But that was before Prince Jing's marriage!" Even the most melodious voice of the skylark turned shrill at this moment. "Your Majesty! You have overstepped your bounds!"

In Consort Zhang's eyes was a desperate madness: "Then what should I do? In this deep palace, I only have His Majesty's favor, but this favor is just a passing fancy, like how His Majesty treats cats and dogs. Who knows when this favor will disappear?"

“Besides…” she looked up, tears glistening in her eyes, “when I did that thing, you didn’t stop me, did you?”

Yun Que suppressed her anger and said, word by word, "Everything I have done is for Your Highness. It is not enough for you to rely solely on His Majesty's favor. Only by finding a way out can you save your life."

“And coincidentally, the Second Prince is deeply in love with Your Highness. He has not married for so many years, all for Your Highness’s sake. Such a person is the easiest to control.” Yun Que calmly analyzed, “If he ascends the throne, Your Highness will still be a noble concubine with countless honors.”

Consort Zhang's smile was bitter. In front of Yun Que, she made no attempt to hide her thoughts: "Is there any glory or wealth in the world? I only fear that... beauty will fade and love will wane."

As she spoke, her hands clenched tightly, and her eyes were filled with coldness.

"If I can't have it, no one else can either."

Upon hearing this, the lark's heart sank.

"Going against Prince Jing now is not a good decision," Yun Que gently reminded him. "Prince Jing seems to value Princess Jing exceptionally much."

As soon as she spoke, Consort Zhang's face darkened.

As if she hadn't noticed, Yun Que continued, "Your and the Second Prince's power is not yet strong enough to be a match for Prince Jing. If you put yourself in danger because of a moment of anger, it would not be a wise move."

Consort Zhang's face turned pale and then white, then pale and then pale again.

She looked up coldly at the lark.

Yun Que said without fear: "Your Majesty, for the sake of the great cause, you must endure this grievance."

Consort Zhang's face turned ashen, and finally she said coldly, "You've said everything you could want to say, what else can I say?"

“Wen Shuyao…” she murmured the name, then snorted softly, “There are people in this world who want to get rid of her more than I do.”

However, after a moment's thought, Consort Zhang made up her mind.

The lark turned a blind eye to this.

……

That night, Wen Shuyao stayed in the warehouse.

She spent the entire night taking stock of her dowry and betrothal gifts. Holding the list in her hands, she blinked her beautiful eyes repeatedly, still feeling that it was all a bit unreal.

"Is all of this really mine?"

The magpie chuckled and said, "Miss, of course it's all yours."

Granny Qi, who was standing outside the storeroom, also smiled.

This princess is wonderful in every way; even her love of money is uniquely endearing.

She carried the tea and went into the storeroom.

"Your Highness, please have some tea to soothe your throat."

Granny Qi was always exceptionally gentle with Wen Shuyao.

Si Qing, standing to the side, was dumbfounded. Was this really the Qi Mama he knew?

"Are your eyes twitching?"

Si Qing couldn't help but speak up, but Granny Qi rolled her eyes at him and walked directly to Wen Shuyao's side.

"Besides these, there are many other good things," Granny Qi said softly. "This old servant will take the Princess to see them later."

"As for those estates..." Granny Qi pondered for a moment, "it would be better to wait until the Prince returns before inspecting them. It would be bad if someone were to offend the Princess Consort."

Upon hearing this, Wen Shuyao nodded.

“What you say is absolutely right. There’s no rush. We can make a decision after the Prince returns.”

It's just a few estates; her dowry and betrothal gifts are much more valuable.

Seeing Wen Shuyao's smiling face and sincere eyes, Granny Qi couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief.

Although he had a good impression of Wen Shuyao, she was, after all, a noble lady from a prominent family, and inevitably had some temper. Fortunately, this princess was indeed a reasonable person.

If it were someone else, they might think they were making things difficult for her and deliberately preventing her from taking over the affairs of the Prince's mansion.

Thinking of this, Granny Qi poured Wen Shuyao another cup of tea with extra sincerity, and even gave Magpie a share.

This was the first time Magpie had ever met such a kind old woman. She held her tea, glanced at Granny Qi, and pondered to herself.

After Granny Qi and Si Qingyi left, she whispered to Wen Shuyao, "Miss, this Granny Qi looks familiar, but I don't know..."

"Don't worry." Wen Shuyao stretched and said calmly, "She's good to us, so we'll just accept it."

“She is the prince’s wet nurse, and the prince respects her greatly. In this mansion, her words carry considerable weight.” Seeing the magpie’s puzzled expression, Wen Shuyao patiently explained, “However, this has nothing to do with us.”

"Our task is to take good care of these dowries."

Wen Shuyao's eyes lit up at the mention of her dowry.

Upon hearing this, the magpie nodded repeatedly.

"This is your lifelong support!"

"Do not."

Under the magpie's puzzled gaze, Wen Shuyao smiled and looked at the gold and silver.

"This is my reliance for making a comeback."