If not abolished

Chapter 186 Everyone has their own agenda

Concubine Guo

"Mother." Zhu Zhanjie came to Concubine Guo as soon as the class was over.

Concubine Guo hadn't seen her son for a long time and missed him so much that she hugged him before Zhu Zhanjie even bowed and greeted him.

"Let mother see quickly, my son has lost weight." I'm afraid that all mothers in the world will feel that their children whom they haven't seen for a long time have lost weight. This is probably one kind of thinness, that is, your mother thinks you have lost weight.

Zhu Zhankai immediately said, "Mother has not seen her son for a long time, so she has this illusion. Maybe he lost some weight this summer and wore less clothes, so mother thinks he has lost weight."

"Your Highness is right. I noticed that the little prince's face was rounder. I'm afraid he was greedy because of the Crown Princess." The palace servant beside her immediately smoothed over the matter.

"Well, my sister-in-law treats me very well, and so does my brother." Zhu Zhankai's eyes gleamed when he thought of his days in Qingyun Palace.

"This family is good at winning people's hearts." Concubine Guo said in a low voice when she heard her son praising Zhu Zhanji and his wife.

"What did mother say?" Zhu Zhankai didn't hear clearly.

"Nothing. By the way, your mother has asked someone to get your things from Qingyun Palace. You've been tired after attending classes for most of the day. Go and have a rest first." Concubine Guo said as she asked someone to take him downstairs.

Zhu Zhankai had originally wanted to get closer to his mother, but since his mother said so, he couldn't stick to her anymore. Anyway, he could be with his mother now, and there was a long way to go.

"Then my son will take his leave first."

"Well, let's go."

After Zhu Zhankai left, Concubine Guo thought about what her son had just said, and the more she thought about it, the angrier she got. "Look, it's only been a short time, and my own son is already speaking in their favor!"

"My queen, you have just been confined to your room. We should be careful with what we say and do. The little prince is still a child. He just thinks whoever treats him better today is better. It doesn't mean anything. Besides, it's not a bad thing that the little prince has a good relationship with the Crown Prince. Even if we take a step back, you are the little prince's mother. In his heart, you are definitely the best. No one else can compare to you."

"You're right. I have to keep my composure this time. Last time, I didn't keep my composure and fell into the trap of that little bitch Qingluan." Concubine Guo came to her senses after being under house arrest for these days. It seemed that the Crown Princess had done nothing, but it was she who deliberately chose the place where Qingluan lived, and he was the one who condoned the little quarrels between them. In the end, he found an opportunity to magnify everything.

"It's good that your Majesty understands. His Highness is only lifting your house arrest because of the upcoming Mid-Autumn Festival family banquet. If you still can't stand the house arrest, you must not go against Qingluan this time. After all, you are a concubine and she is just a concubine. It's not worth it to accompany you to prison for such a small character."

"I understand. Speaking of which, there is another thing that surprised me this time. As for my house arrest, it is something everyone knows. The people below are very likely to change their attitudes according to the situation. But this time, I was under house arrest, and there was no difference in my food and other things. Although it may be that the Crown Princess did it deliberately for His Royal Highness the Crown Prince to see, after all, she has always been virtuous in His Royal Highness's heart. But think about it, if I have the chance, I will probably get rid of her as soon as possible." Concubine Guo felt that the Crown Princess was being extremely hypocritical this time, and on the other hand, she thought that if it happened to her, she would probably behave differently.

"Your Majesty..." The maid was also surprised by what she said.

"By the way, in which palace has the Crown Prince stayed most during this period?" Concubine Guo immediately asked another question.

The maid quickly replied, "During this period, His Royal Highness the Crown Prince has been more at the Crown Princess' place, and the other ladies have been there as well. However, His Royal Highness the Crown Prince has been busy with affairs during this period, and he has been in the main hall most of the time."

"You mean to say that Qingluan went to great lengths to confine me, but in the end, His Highness never favored her at all?" Concubine Guo almost laughed out loud when she heard this.

"It seems so. His Royal Highness the Crown Prince has never been to her place. Originally, Concubine Li had a child, so she was favored. But now it is much less." The maid told what she had learned.

"Then Li must hate her to death. To tell the truth, Li has always been on the same side with the Crown Princess. Now the Crown Princess has given her such a big hot potato. If nothing happened, it would be fine. But now it has directly affected His Highness's favor. What if the two of them turn against each other? Wouldn't it be..." When Concubine Guo thought of this, her mind immediately became active.

"Your Majesty means..."

"In this palace, there are no eternal enemies or friends. There are only common interests. Even the Crown Princess has to rely on the favor of His Royal Highness the Crown Prince to gain a firm foothold in the palace. Is Li willing to always be behind the Crown Princess?"

"What is your Majesty going to do?"

"The most important thing right now is to regain the favor of His Royal Highness the Crown Prince. If I want allies, I have to let people see my strength, right?"

Concubine Li

Qian'er, the maidservant beside Concubine Li, looked at the busy people coming in and out of the side hall next to her and was puzzled, so she asked, "What are you busy with, sisters? Do you need help?"

"Ah, thank you sister Qian'er for your concern. It's nothing. We can take care of it." It was obvious that he didn't want them to help. Qian'er naturally wouldn't make herself unhappy, so she turned around and went back.

"Sister Qian'er, these people are obviously doing something."

"You don't even need to tell me. Everyone can see it. The important thing is what she is doing. She is so secretive. I'm afraid she is going to do something big. I'd better go and tell the concubine first."

When Qian'er and others entered, Concubine Li was playing chess with herself, and their entry did not disturb her.

Qian'er was used to her master's Buddhist attitude. Other concubines tried their best to win favor, but what about the one in front of her? She spent her days reading books and writing, or arranging flowers and playing chess. She had no intention of competing for favor in the harem.

"Your Majesty, my dear Queen, look at the concubine Qingluan next to you, she is very busy now, and all you do every day is play chess." Even though Qian'er was used to seeing it, she still couldn't help but say it.

When Concubine Li heard her words, she finally raised her head and asked, "What did you just say?"

"I heard that everyone in the side hall is busy, but you are still playing chess here."

"What are you busy with?"

"I don't know, I just saw them going in and out very busy." Qian'er told her what she saw, thinking that the Concubine would not be too interested. Unexpectedly, she suddenly heard Concubine Li say: "Go and find out what they are doing?"

"Ah? Your Majesty, you finally got it. I sent someone to find out." Qian'er thought she was hallucinating and was so excited that she couldn't help asking, "Why are you suddenly interested in this matter today?"

While collecting the chess pieces, Concubine Li said, "You think too much. I'm curious about this not to win favor." Concubine Li knew what she was thinking from her tone. If the Crown Princess hadn't arranged such a person for her to be by her side, she would not have bothered with these things.

"Ah, I thought you finally figured it out? Then why are you suddenly curious?" Qian'er didn't seem like that.

"Why do you think the Crown Princess placed this Qingluan here in my palace? One reason is that it is close to Guo's place, and the other reason is of course that it is convenient for surveillance." Concubine Li cleared up her doubts.

"Surveillance? Why would the Crown Princess want to monitor Concubine Qingluan for no reason? Is she afraid of having her favor taken away? But that's not right. Judging from this period of time, although the Crown Prince gave this Concubine Qingluan a position right from the beginning, she has not received any favor, and the Crown Prince has not visited her. Not only has he not visited her, but it has also affected your favor. The Crown Prince has come to visit several times with great difficulty, and you have specially called Concubine Qingluan to serve you at meals one out of three times. As a result, the Crown Prince has visited less frequently these days?" Qian'er complained. She was a little angry when she thought of what had happened before.

"I'm not angry at all, so why are you so angry? Besides, I don't care about the prince's favor. It's more relaxed if there are fewer people coming." Concubine Li put away the chessboard and said indifferently.

"Your Highness, you really are. Even if it's not for yourself, you should at least think about the little prince. With the favor of the Crown Prince, our little prince will be able to..."

"You are thinking in the wrong direction. Zhan Jun and the others will be vassal kings no matter what the future holds. They will not have the opportunity to move forward. I do not have such great ambitions. It is good for them to live in peace and prosperity. They have already been born in the best place in the world. It is good to be content."

"You are the only one who is open-minded. Look at Concubine Guo's ambition..."

"She..." Concubine Li shook her head, "One day she will be retaliated against."

"Your Majesty, I heard that Concubine Qingluan is preparing a program for the Mid-Autumn Festival family banquet, so she is busy preparing clothes and other things, including fabrics and pearl hairpins." The palace maid who went to inquire came back.

"The show is quite fresh. No one has done this kind of thing in previous years. If the performance is good, it might really surprise people." Concubine Li commented after listening.

"It seems that Concubine Qingluan is planning to show off her skills at the Mid-Autumn Family Banquet so that His Royal Highness will remember her."

"That should be the case. But wait, she's going to have a performance at the Mid-Autumn family dinner. Why haven't I ever heard the Crown Princess mention it before? It's impossible that she didn't even tell the Crown Princess and then caught her by surprise. That's too rude. No, I have to tell the Crown Princess." Before she could finish her words, Concubine Li hurried out.

"Hey, Your Majesty, please slow down. It won't take a moment." Qian'er and the others hurriedly followed. Their Queen was concerned about the Crown Princess and could not be delayed for a moment. It was more urgent than the affairs of the few little princes.