Empress Dowager Zhen nodded thoughtfully.
"Exactly!"
"In the past, I thought Lady Xia’s background wasn’t good enough, and being made a Noble Consort was the highest she could reach! The Emperor would marry a woman from a prestigious family into the palace."
"I never expected..."
"That Lady Xia really had the skills of a seductress!"
"She managed to bewilder the Emperor so much that he made her the Empress!"
"Strangely enough, the civil and military officials in the court didn’t even oppose it!"
Hai Feng curled his lips into a smile.
"Oppose?"
"What’s there to oppose?"
"Her father’s official rank isn’t high, but her brother and her younger brother, one is the Imperial Guards Commander trusted deeply by the Emperor, the other holds a position in the Ministry of Revenue, and is said to be heavily relied upon!"
"Although the family background isn’t high, it is still a literary family!"
A woman from such a family, who also bore the Emperor three sons, and whom the Emperor loves, naturally wants to make her Empress.
How could others possibly stop it?
She isn’t a woman of the dust or the daughter of a criminal or anything like that.
She’s just a bit poor, that’s all.
It’s not worth opposing the Emperor over something so trivial.
If it escalates, one could lose their black gauze cap.
So...
"Mother, don’t think too much about it, we’ll take each step as it comes!"
Empress Dowager Zhen nodded.
"That’s all we can do!"
Having said that.
The two of them chatted about other things for a while, then Hai Feng took his leave.
...
After leaving Ninghe Palace.
Hai Feng, who had been smiling all along, suddenly changed her expression.
"Hmph!"
"The old witch finally came to her senses!"
"All my patient guidance wasn’t in vain!"
The trusted maid behind her flattered in a very low Western Xia dialect.
"The Commandery Princess is wise!"
"As long as we successfully place Xia Ruyi into the Sixth Prince’s harem, all this effort will not have been wasted!"
Hai Feng also smiled.
She looked up at the increasingly brilliant sunshine, and in the same Western Xia dialect, she exclaimed.
"Indeed!"
"With Empress Dowager Zhen in the palace, me in the Fifth Master’s residence, and Xia Ruyi in the future Sixth Master’s residence!"
"The only place I don’t have an insider is by the Emperor’s side!"
The maid added.
"No need to rush, Commandery Princess. There’s a saying in Great Chu: Impatience can’t eat hot tofu!"
"Taking one step at a time, steadily and surely, eventually..."
"Alright, enough!"
"Keep a low profile, don’t always talk about these things. I’m still a daughter-in-law of Great Chu!"
"Yes!"
The maid indeed said no more.
The two of them strolled for a while in the Imperial Garden, then left the palace with their people.
...
In Ninghe Palace.
After Hai Feng left, Empress Dowager Zhen’s expression also changed.
The kind smile vanished, replaced by deep worry.
"Tao Yue, why do I always feel something’s not right?"
"Does Hai Feng have some ulterior motive?"
I can’t shake the feeling that she wouldn’t be this kind without a reason!
Tao Yue frowned thoughtfully, then shook her head.
"I don’t know. By rights... this matter has nothing to do with the Fifth Princess Consort!"
"Indeed, doesn’t it?"
Empress Dowager Zhen nodded.
After pondering without getting an answer, Empress Dowager Zhen waved her hand.
"Forget it!"
"After all, she’s already my daughter-in-law; no matter what schemes she has, what can she do?"
"Let her be!"
"The most important thing now is to find a wife quickly for my Sixth Son!"
"Oh!"
Tao Yue understood this and laughed.
"Since you want to find one, you’d better hurry up!"
"Our Sixth Master is already grown!"
Empress Dowager Zhen then laughed.
"Indeed!"
"In the blink of an eye, both my children are ready for marriage!"
"And I... have already grown old!"
Saying this, she touched her cheek.
Tao Yue hurriedly consoled her.
"Your Highness, what are you saying?"
"You don’t look old at all, perhaps just over twenty!"
"There are many more days to come!"
"You’ll not only see Fifth and Sixth Master get married, but also see them have children, and then see Little Heir get married!"
"In the future, daughter-in-laws, granddaughters-in-law, great-granddaughters-in-law, will all honor you together!"
Empress Dowager Zhen felt flustered by such words.
"You girl, your tongue seems honeyed today!"
"If I were to live that long, wouldn’t I become an old witch?"
"Your Highness, you’re not old at all!"
Tao Yue laughed.
Empress Dowager Zhen wearily waved her hand.
"Enough!"
"No more of this, I’ve been busy half the day, I’m tired, I need a rest!"
"Yes!"
"Rest well, there’s still the matter of selecting a daughter-in-law to deal with later!"
Empress Dowager Zhen nodded at Tao Yue’s forehead.
"You girl!"
"Even though the palace maids under you call you Mistress, you have no steadiness at all!"
"If others see this, they’ll laugh at you!"
Tao Yue giggled.
"As long as it makes Your Highness happy, who cares about being laughed at?"
"You!"
...
In Duanning Palace.