0p0 Chapter 706 The Undercurrents Among Women!
Chapter 706 The Undercurrents Among Women!
Sitting with several princesses, Mu Xin Nuan felt considerable pressure.
After all, apart from herself, the other three had all been married into the royal family for many years. For example, the Crown Princess was already about to become a grandmother. She was probably no match for them in terms of cunning.
Mu Xin Nuan understands this point very clearly, so she adheres to the principle of saying and doing less.
As long as she doesn't stand out, she'll naturally be safe.
One Crown Princess and three Princesses are now all sitting in the Crown Prince's Eastern Palace.
They said they came to pay their respects to their elder sister-in-law, but in reality, it was just that Princess Ming and Princess Kang had returned to the capital and were visiting the Eastern Palace to see the Crown Princess's celebration.
Now, everyone in and around the capital knows that the Crown Princess has completely fallen out of favor in the Eastern Palace.
However, even though the Crown Princess has fallen out of favor, her position as Crown Princess remains very secure.
Who can blame her for giving birth to the eldest grandson of the emperor? Besides, with the Xie family supporting her, the Crown Princess won't fall anytime soon.
Princess Ming and Princess Kang had a simple thought: they just wanted to see if the Crown Princess was in a hurry.
However, they were clearly somewhat disappointed.
Upon arriving at Yichun Palace, where the Crown Princess resided, she still radiated glory and seemed to be in a good mood.
"We heard that Princess Consort An is pregnant. We originally planned to make a special trip to the Prince An's residence to see her, but since we've just returned to the capital, it's more appropriate for us to come and visit my sister-in-law first."
Princess Kang's words were very appropriate. Knowing that Princess An was pregnant, it wouldn't be appropriate for the elders to go directly to Princess An's residence. Therefore, they sent the gifts to the East Palace first, and let the Crown Princess decide what to do.
For the noblewomen of the capital, the most troublesome thing was deciding what gift to give to a pregnant woman.
If I send health supplements, I worry that someone might tamper with them and then blame me for it.
If you're giving jewelry as a gift, it can't be too low-end.
But if it's too precious, there are many intricacies involved. What foods are good for health, what foods are good for pregnancy, what foods are incompatible with certain zodiac signs, and so on—it's all very complicated.
Mu Xin Nuan was much less worried in this regard because she had Aunt Fang by her side, who was of great help to her.
Aunt Fang immediately packed away the top-quality bird's nest and several jade pendants that the Empress had previously bestowed upon her. Since these were gifts from the Empress, there was naturally no way there could be any mistakes.
The three of them entered the palace today, and they even had the gifts examined by the imperial physician. Such a safe approach was naturally to avoid getting themselves into trouble.
Whether or not these things should be sent to Princess Anjun is none of their business.
In any case, after returning to the manor, the three of them still had to prepare another set and have someone send it to Princess Anjun.
“You’re so kind. Ever since she got pregnant, this child has become so picky about food. If she doesn’t like something, she’ll vomit nonstop. She’s really quite a handful.”
Mu Xin Nuan lowered her head and remained silent, simply drinking her tea quietly.
Princess Kang smiled and said, "This is a good thing. Who knows, the one who's been through so much might just have a son."
These words truly struck a chord with the Crown Princess. "Look at what my third sister-in-law is saying. I don't care whether it's a boy or a girl, as long as they are safe and sound, that's all that matters."
"What the Crown Princess says is true. Whoever is pregnant wants the child to stay peacefully in the womb until delivery? It's just that some people inevitably have some wicked thoughts. If you ask me, such people are truly hateful. What do you think, Eldest Princess?"
Princess Ming's words were veiled and insinuating.
If Mu Xin Nuan hadn't heard about the affair between the Princess Consort of Ming and the Crown Princess before, she probably wouldn't have been able to sense the tension in it. Now that she knows, she naturally understands it.
Mu Xin Nuan tilted her head slightly and glanced at Princess Kang. She saw that the corners of her lips were slightly curved, indicating that she knew something about what was going on between them.
The Crown Princess's expression remained unchanged, though her eyes held a slightly gloomy look.
“What Princess Ming said makes sense. However, my daughter-in-law is quite good. She is lucky. Consort Sun has a good personality; otherwise, she wouldn’t have been using the contraceptive soup so diligently until she became pregnant. So, people should first understand their own status and position before saying anything else.”
Princess Ming's hand tightened noticeably, and she sneered, "What my sister-in-law says is true. Consort Sun isn't stupid either. If she had given birth to the eldest son of a concubine early on, I'm afraid it would be another matter whether she could raise him properly."
These words displeased the Crown Princess.
Isn't this a blatant indication that things aren't peaceful on the Crown Prince's side?
"Second sister-in-law, be careful what you say. Princess An is the legitimate daughter of the Duke of Ying. I've heard that she's always been a gentle and kind person. Even if Consort Sun gives birth to the eldest son of a concubine, Princess An won't do anything excessive."
The two of them, working together in unison, were clearly trying to provoke the Crown Princess.
The Crown Princess looked displeased. These two were playing good cop and bad cop, did they really think they couldn't tell the difference?
"Why isn't your fourth sister-in-law saying anything? You've been sitting quietly ever since you came in."
Mu Xin Nuan realized that the Crown Princess was not going to give them a hard time directly, so she changed the subject to herself.
"Listening to my sisters-in-law chatting so enthusiastically, I, who am not good with words, naturally couldn't join in. Besides, all three of my sisters-in-law have very pleasant voices, so I was happy to enjoy them."
As she spoke, Mu Xin Nuan took another sip of tea. "The tea here, Eldest Sister-in-law, is truly of the highest quality, so refreshing and delightful. Would you two sisters-in-law like to try some?"
Princess Ming and Princess Kang exchanged a glance, realizing that it was about time, so they nodded slightly, smiled, and began to sip their tea.
Finally, we can have some peace and quiet.
“It’s rare for all three of my sisters to come today. They can have lunch here with me in a little while.”
"Thank you for your kind offer, Eldest Sister-in-law, but it's not necessary. Tomorrow is the Mid-Autumn Festival banquet, and we still need to go back and prepare some things."
"What? It's already this late, and you're still not ready to come out?"
As the Crown Princess spoke, her eyes turned to Mu Xin Nuan, "Fourth sister-in-law, you were the first to arrive in the capital. Have you prepared everything? You're not allowed to leave anytime soon; you'll have your meal here."
"Thank you for your kind offer, Eldest Sister-in-law. However, there is still little Zonghua at home. If I don't go back, I'm afraid the Prince won't be able to take care of him alone. So I'll have to trouble you, Eldest Sister-in-law."
The Crown Princess said with some envy, "Look at you two, you're so loving. Well then, I won't insist that you stay any longer."
"Everyone says that Prince Chang Le dotes on his wife, and today I've truly witnessed it firsthand," Princess Kang said with a light laugh, covering her mouth.