The cousin's family is extremely wealthy; she deserves to be a concubine.

In her view, there are countless beautiful women in the world, and no lecherous man would be so fixated on one woman.

Take Lord He for example. He values ​​Consort Shui, but over the years, he has slept with many other women as well.

Moreover, he was destined to become the supreme ruler.

Without Hua Sirong, wouldn't there be Li Sirong, Zhang Sirong, and Meng Sirong?

Can Zhuzhu handle it?

At this moment, Madam Shen was also feeling a bit exhausted. She supported the distraught He Zhizhu and scolded, "Zhuzhu, can you calm down?"

"You are destined to be the Empress, how can you act so desperately just because His Highness has fallen in love with someone else?"

He Zhizhu tried to explain to Shen Shi, "She is different, Hua Sirong is different."

Madam Shen, though not angry, exuded an air of authority. "How is she different? She was a second-time bride, yet she was immediately made Empress, or her son became the Crown Prince? Or perhaps she rose in status because of her son, and became the Empress Dowager?"

He Zhizhu stared wide-eyed at Shen's aggressive demeanor in disbelief.

Madam Shen's heart skipped a beat. "Tell me the truth, what exactly happened after Rong'er entered the palace?"

He Zhizhu guiltily avoided Shen's staring eyes, and after a long while answered, "I... I am a wronged soul who died unjustly, and I cannot approach the palace."

"I only heard about my cousin's affairs in the palace through hearsay."

After piecing together the information, I felt that my cousin must have been favored; otherwise, why would she, a woman who had been married twice, be made a concubine?

Madam Shen breathed a sigh of relief and touched He Zhizhu's face. "That's all? You're so worried about just being made a concubine?"

Every year, countless women are made imperial concubines in the palace. But how many of them can truly have the last laugh?

These days, you've been learning from Granny Li. Don't you understand that in the imperial palace, beauty and status are the easiest things to obtain?

Similarly, it's also the easiest thing to lose, isn't it?

"Zhuzhu, remember this: as long as you guard your heart, safeguard your position as the legal wife, and protect your legitimate son as he grows up, you'll be guaranteed a win in the second half of your life."

Although He Zhizhu felt that what Shen said made sense, she still had an inexplicable natural fear of Hua Sirong.

"In my past life, I knew very little about my cousin after she entered the palace."

But for some reason, when I think back on it now, I always feel that my cousin lived a life of wealth and luxury, reaching a level I could never achieve in my entire life.

She, the former legitimate daughter of the Marquis's mansion, was forever abandoned at the foot of a cliff far from the capital, where she suffered endless humiliation, was left naked, and her body was left to rot in the wilderness...

Hua Sirong, a woman who had been married twice, was high and mighty...

How could she be willing to accept this?

Shen could sense He Zhizhu's helplessness and resentment, but she didn't know how to comfort her.

Let's just take a strong remedy: "Since you're worried that Rong'er will ruin our plans in the future, then let's take advantage of the plum blossom viewing banquet at the Jiang residence and see if the Second Prince will take a liking to Rong'er."

"If those two really get together, your mother will definitely help you eliminate this threat."

He Zhizhu excitedly grabbed Shen's sleeve, "Mother, really? You're really willing to sacrifice my cousin's life for me!"

Shen nodded decisively, "Of course. My goodwill towards her is based on the premise that your and your brother's interests are not affected."

"If anyone threatens you and your brother, even your father's children, I will not show any mercy."

He Zhizhu leaned against Shen's chest, expressing her gratitude to her mother.

After Shen returned to Yimei Garden, she immediately summoned He Zhizhang.

She stated bluntly, "Your sister is not suitable for entering the palace. I still prefer to send Rong'er directly to that person as a concubine."

He Zhizhang was taken aback. "Why did Mother suddenly change her mind? Does Zhuzhu know?"

Zhuzhu probably doesn't know, otherwise she would go crazy.

He Zhizhang asked again, "But what happened that forced Mother to change her mind?"

After all, if Zhuzhu gets that position, she will definitely be on our side.

As for my cousin Rong, that's another story.

He Zhizhang still had some selfish motives; on countless nights, he imagined Wenqin's face as Hua Sirong.

But the truth is, the two of them don't resemble each other at all.

During this time, Yuan Tiaotiao was pregnant, so he couldn't pamper his two maids too much. He used the excuse of living in the front yard to frequently go out drinking and carousing with his colleagues.

By chance, he met a woman who resembled Hua Sirong in some ways, but that was a second-best choice; he had not truly given up on Hua Sirong.

Shen was unaware of He Zhizhang's true thoughts, and simply assumed he was stating the facts.

Shen then told He Zhizhang everything He Zhizhu had said and done that day.

He Zhizhang frowned. If it weren't for the fact that his only sister from the same mother was He Zhizhu, he would have really wanted to find a smarter one to support.

"Granny Li was chosen by my mother through my aunt, so she must be quite capable."

Let's not jump to conclusions yet; let's give Zhuzhu another chance.

"I've thought it over carefully. Let's plan according to Zhuzhu's wishes first."

"If Zhuzhu falls out of favor or loses her position, we can always push Cousin Rong forward to solidify her position."

After considering He Zhizhang's proposal, Shen realized that it satisfied Zhuzhu's wishes while also protecting the interests of their Marquis's mansion, making it a win-win situation.

However, "By the time Zhuzhu gets married, Rongjie will have long passed the age for marriage."

If it weren't for her father's dying words, I could have kept her by using the excuse of mourning.

But I already said I'd find a husband for Rong-jie. We can't keep searching for years without finding a suitable one, can we?

"In the long run, it will also be detrimental to the reputation of our Marquis's mansion."

He Zhizhang has been observing Yuan Tiaotiao's attitude towards Wenhua and Wenqin these past few days and has begun to understand her personality.

It's unrealistic to bring my cousin Rong into the Mixiang Garden.

After careful consideration, he decided, "Then let's do as my cousin said and find her a poor scholar who's easy to bully."

Shen was puzzled; what kind of solution was this?

On He Zhizhang's dignified face, a calculating side was revealed: "There are thousands of scholars in the world, but how many of them can actually make it to the capital?"

How many people can truly stand out from the crowd?

My cousin married a scholar, who didn't have any extra requirements like being wealthy. Finding someone like that would be a piece of cake.

Mother only cares about finding someone greedy and cowardly. If Zhuzhu ever becomes unhappy in the palace, we can simply give her some money to put some pressure on her future husband, and she'll be able to find someone else.

Only then did Madam Shen understand He Zhizhang's carefully laid plans. "But, as a remarried woman, she is no longer of pure birth. How can she enter the palace to receive the emperor's favor?"

He Zhizhang smiled and said, "Didn't Zhuzhu say that he likes married women?"

With the current emperor's favored concubine, the celestial sage, setting an example, it's not unreasonable for members of the royal family to have some peculiar tastes.

Shen believed that He Zhizhang's words made sense.

"Alright, I was originally concerned about my reputation and didn't want to hire some poor and incompetent people to fill the positions. But with your words today, I can go ahead and do it with peace of mind."

He Zhizhang nodded upon hearing this, "Mother, once you've chosen the people, remember to give me the list to review first, just to be on the safe side."

Shen naturally agreed.