The mistress has no feelings, why do you provoke her?

Consort Chun hadn't intended to faint, but after hearing her son's words, she was bound to faint even if she didn't want to.

It's so embarrassing.

Who would believe that a noblewoman like her could be starving?

But what could a woman like her do?

She lost her husband, and her son was only thirteen years old.

She had a child late in life, and her health deteriorated day by day after giving birth.

The fiefdom was harsh and cold, with a vast area but a sparse population.

In that godforsaken place, she couldn't even squeeze money out of the people if she wanted to.

Although they opened shops, they all went bankrupt due to poor management.

All of my health has been ruined by this over the years.

In addition, the expensive medicine she took dragged the royal palace down with it.

Even that Ganoderma lucidum was something she bought with a heavy heart, spending several hundred taels of silver to nourish her body.

Unexpectedly, all her belongings were ridiculed as worthless.

Consort Ning grew increasingly angry and finally fainted.

"Mother, Mother, what's wrong?" The young prince Xiao Qi cried out in fright, and everyone in the hall panicked.

The Empress Dowager, in particular, nearly fell off her throne, but fortunately a palace maid caught her.

With trembling hands, she said anxiously, "You fools, why don't you quickly help the Empress Dowager to the side hall and ask the imperial physician to come and take a look?"

The palace servants then hurriedly stepped forward and helped Consort Chun away.

Consort Ning blinked innocently, "I didn't say anything. How can this person be so petty? She fainted from anger."

The Empress Dowager glared at her: "Shut up."

Consort Ning hummed twice, unconcerned, and said, "Fine, shut up then."

The banquet ended unhappily. Xiao Ji reached out and pulled Consort Ning away, lowering his voice to say, "Stop talking and let's go."

"You good-for-nothing, it took my intervention to protect you, otherwise your wife would have bullied you terribly today." Consort Ning glared at Xiao Ji with displeasure. "When others bullied your wife, you didn't even utter a sound?"

Xiao Ji looked aggrieved: "I'm a man, how could I argue with a woman? If we're going to fight, let's fight for real. Besides, I've done more than I should. Tian Qi has already succeeded."

Consort Ning looked bewildered: "What did you send him to do?"

"Of course, we should ransack my aunt's house! She's openly defecating on my Chu Prince's mansion, how can I tolerate that?"

Consort Ning gave him a thumbs up: "You're so cunning."

"Mother, is that a compliment?"

"Pretty much." Consort Ning pinched Yan Yan's little face and taught him, "If anyone bullies your mother again, spit on them."

Song Wenjun: "..."

Good heavens, what kind of grandmothers and fathers are these?

Where do you teach children like this?

Aren't they royalty, who are supposed to be very particular about etiquette?

It feels like a bandit's den.

Xiao Ji gave Song Wenjun a wink, signaling her not to ask any more questions.

When it was time to leave the palace, Consort Ning refused to let Yan Yan go back, and she took her back to the palace.

The couple sat in the car, and Xiao Ji smiled apologetically at Song Wenjun: "Are you trying to ask why Mother Consort has a bandit-like air about her?"

Song Wenjun nodded, noticing that Xiao Ji seemed to have a story to tell, and asked him, "Could it be that your mother wasn't born into a prestigious family?"

"He wasn't from a prestigious family. Back then, my maternal grandfather was a bandit leader who routed the government troops and even dreamed of becoming king himself. To appease him, my father had to lower himself and recruit him, agreeing to take my mother as a concubine. Only then did my maternal grandfather submit."

Song Wenjun was taken aback. No wonder Consort Ning dared to talk back to everyone; she was actually the daughter of a bandit.

She gave an awkward smile: "Father is really good at being flexible and adaptable."

“I can be flexible too. My mother told me that a real man stands between heaven and earth and doesn’t need to care about those damn rules. Women may be weak, but they are not necessarily inferior to men. If my maternal grandfather hadn’t listened to my father’s words and accepted the emperor’s offer of amnesty, she would have declared herself queen by now.”

“Over the years, no matter how big a mistake she made, Father Emperor would not dare to punish her. If Mother Consort got angry, she would probably tear down the palace.”

Song Wenjun's eyes lit up as she listened, never expecting her mother-in-law's background to be so bizarre.

She took Xiao Ji's arm and pressed him for an answer, "Tell me quickly, what happened?"

Xiao Ji showed no embarrassment, but rather a hint of smugness: "It's all because Father Emperor was young and impetuous. Although he married Mother Consort into the palace, he imposed many restrictions on her. Mother Consort, who was used to being wild, couldn't stand these restrictions, so she had a big argument with Father Emperor, saying that he shouldn't try to restrain her with these palace rules, and that if Father Emperor didn't like her, they would get a divorce. He could find his concubines, and she would find another suitable husband to marry. Father Emperor was so angry that he almost vomited blood."

"How could Father Emperor tolerate such treasonous words? He immediately put on his imperial airs and wanted to banish Mother Consort to the Cold Palace. Unexpectedly, Grandfather Emperor refused to accept this and directly summoned his subordinates outside the palace. If Father Emperor really banished Mother Consort to the Cold Palace, he and his bandit brothers would surround the capital city."

Song Wenjun listened attentively, and Xiao Ji continued to tell her: "When Father Emperor first ascended the throne, his position was unstable. He dared not confront his maternal grandfather directly, so he temporarily confined Mother Consort to her quarters. He originally planned to ease the situation and find an excuse to release her, but Mother Consort had a fiery temper and could not stand such treatment. So she set fire to the palace, almost burning down the Empress's palace as well."

"The Empress Dowager was so angry that she said she would punish my mother. The Empress also ran to my father and cried and begged to banish my mother from the palace."

"My father only said one sentence: Whoever can subdue my maternal grandfather will be granted these conditions."

Song Wenjun couldn't help but laugh out loud: "Mother-in-law is awesome! And what happened next?"

"There was no later. Father apologized to Mother and begged for her forgiveness. Mother didn't want to pay attention to him, but she didn't expect to be pregnant with me. At that time, she had packed her things and was ready to run away at any time, but then she found out that she was pregnant."

Xiao Ji's tone was somewhat disappointed: "If it weren't for me, my mother wouldn't have stayed in the palace."

Hearing this, Song Wenjun understood a little. No wonder the Empress Dowager and the Empress did not dare to confront Consort Ning head-on.

It turns out she has a strong family background.

Such a free-spirited woman was willing to be confined to the deep palace for the sake of her child; she was truly remarkable.

"Then, were Mother and Father truly in love?" Song Wenjun asked again.

Xiao Ji shook his head: "My mother told me that the life she wanted was not like this. She longed for a free and unrestrained life. So all these years, she has never cared whether I compete for the position of crown prince. She probably wants to go to the fiefdom with me and live a carefree life. So whether it is for my mother or for you, I will not care about that position."

Song Wenjun breathed a sigh of relief; her thoughts coincided with Xiao Ji's.

She feared the intrigue and backstabbing within the palace, and that her children would spend their lives surrounded by conspiracy.

She only wished for their safety, health, and happiness.