The Prince Regent's Violent Medical Consort

Murong Jie saw the look of despair on Nanny Sizhu’s face and was hit with a sense of unease. “Servants!”

“Present!” A guard emerged from behind him.

“Keep a closer eye on the Dowager Noble Consort. Report to me immediately if you discover anything strange,” Murong Jie ordered.

“Yes!” The guard accepted the order.

...

The night of the second day of the eighth month.

Tomorrow would be the joyous occasion of the wedding between the Prime Minister of Great Zhou, Xia Huaijun, and Ximen Xiaoyue, the granddaughter of Duke Guo of Jin.

According to the laws of Great Zhou — The Laws of Zhou. Chapter of Family Register, the section on marriages, the men of Great Zhou were only permitted to have one wife. A co-wife might be considered a wife, but her position was similar to a concubine. Therefore, a co-wife was merely a different and more respectful form of address for the citizens. Their positions were still similar to a concubine. For this reason, the marriage ceremony between a co-wife and an official wife had some differences.

First, co-wives were not allowed to wear bright red bridal robes. They had to be dressed in pink or colors that were similar to red. Second, the bridal sedan was prohibited from stopping at the main gates and had to enter through the side gate. They were also not allowed to roll out the red carpet and light long firecrackers at the main gates. Third, since there was no such thing as two wives, the co-wife must serve tea to the official wife. Only then would the ceremony be considered complete.

However, Ximen Xiaoyue received the honorary title of Madam by an imperial decree from the Empress Dowager on the first day of the eighth month. With this title, she was allowed to enter through the main gates on her wedding day with a red carpet and long firecrackers were allowed to be lit similar to the official wife. Furthermore, she would be dressed in a phoenix coronet and an embroidered tassel cape, and seated in a bridal sedan carried by eight people.

On top of that, Ximen Xiaoyue had also said that Lady Yuan was not allowed to be in the mansion on the day of the wedding due to their conflicting zodiac signs. The Eldest Lady and Second Lady of the Prime Minister’s mansion were also required to kneel before her, serve her tea, and address her as their mother in front of the guests. In other words, she wanted to enter the Prime Minister’s mansion like the Prime Minister’s Madam.

Xia Wan’er did not care about serving tea to Ximen Xiaoyue. After all, her birth mother was just a concubine, it was no loss for her to do so.

However, Xia Zian was the eldest daughter of the first wife. Her mother was the Prime Minister’s Madam. According to etiquette, she did not need to kowtow to the co-wife, serve her tea or address her as mother. The position of the eldest daughter of the primary wife was higher than a concubine and a co-wife.

There was also another thing; Ximen Xiaoyue had sent her servant to have a look at the Prime Minister’s mansion and had decided that Summer Solstice Park would be the most suitable place for her stay in. However, since Summer Solstice Park was simple and crude, she would be staying in Madam Linglong’s former residence temporarily after the wedding. She decided to change Madam Linglong’s former residence’s name to Full Moon Pavilion. Once renovations at Summer Solstice Park were completed, she would move there, and Full Moon Pavilion’s signage would be replaced with Summer Solstice Park.

With her title conferment, all laws could be deliberated. All these only depended on the Prime Minister’s mansion’s approval. The Prime Minister’s mansion quickly agreed to Ximen Xiaoyue’s request. Moreover, they even increased the number of betrothal gifts requested. This greatly pleased Duke Guo of Jin and Ximen Xiaoyue.

…

Duke Guo of Jin’s mansion.

It seemed that no one would be sleeping in the mansion tonight.

Old Madam Ximen invited the ‘good luck woman’ from the city to comb and style her hair. At this time, all the women in the family had arrived in the mansion.

The situation of the Ximen family was like this; Ximen Xiaoyue was a trump card for Duke Guo of Jin’s family. She was a martyr’s wife, and the former Emperor had previously granted her the title of a second-rank officer’s Madam by Imperial Mandate. Currently, she had been promoted to a first-rank madam. Although first and second-rank madams were only one rank apart, they were as different as heaven and earth.

There were many second-rank officer’s Madams by Imperial Mandate, but only three to four who were first-rank madams. Even Duke Guo of Jin’s Madam was only a second-rank madam.

It seemed like Duke Guo of Jin’s granddaughter had a bright future ahead of her. She was conferred with the title of a first-rank madam and had established an alliance with the Prime Minister’s mansion. All these were a great honor to Duke Guo of Jin’s mansion. After all, the Ximen family did not have any promising descendants for a long time now.

Old Madam Ximen personally visited Ximen Xiaoyue’s room and dismissed everyone around so she could speak to Ximen Xiaoyue privately.

“The Prime Minister’s mansion has agreed to our conditions but don’t think that the Prime Minister’s mansion holds you in high regard. They’re more interested in your grandfather’s influence. I’m going to warn you now; once you’re married, Lady Yuan can’t be allowed to stay. Her influence is too great. Although she has fallen on tough times now, there’s a possibility that Xia Zian, her daughter, would be married to the Prince Regent. The Prince Regent has never liked your grandfather so Xia Zian will not be our ally. Therefore, you must think of a way to get rid of Lady Yuan.”

Ximen Xiaoyue nodded. “Don’t worry, grandmother. I have a plan.”

“Mm. You’ve always been a clever child. I’m not too worried about you. One more thing, although Chen Linglong is currently neglected by the Prime Minister’s mansion, she hasn’t been cast out yet. Xia Wan’er will be married to the Crown Prince soon. This means there’s a chance that Chen Linglong will rise again. You must nip this in the bud as well and stop her from rising back to power. You must understand that death is the only way to ensure that a person is no longer a threat.”

“Whom do you think I should attack first, grandmother? Chen Linglong or Lady Yuan?” Ximen Xiaoyue asked humbly.

“Chen Linglong won’t be able to cause too much trouble for now. However, Lady Yuan and Xia Zian are different. It won’t do you any good to provoke them now. You might end up becoming a target from other people’s manipulation instead. It’s better if you deal with Chen Linglong first. The Prime Minister’s mansion has tried time and time again to get rid of Lady Yuan by destroying her reputation, but they’re always thwarted. It’s obvious she’s exceptionally intelligent. You shouldn’t underestimate her daughter as well. However, there’s one person who may be of use to us...”

“Who?” Although Ximen Xiaoyue had not married into the Prime Minister’s mansion, she had heard about Lady Yuan. She could not allow someone like Lady Yuan to live lest she became a threat to her in the future.

“The Prince of Anqin.” The Old Madam coughed. “Up until now, the Prince of Anqin hasn’t been able to let go of his feelings for Lady Yuan. He has remained unmarried because of her. Your grandfather has some dealings with the Prince of Anqin and can subtly mention Lady Yuan’s situation in the mansion when they’re conversing. You can pretend to be friendly with Lady Yuan while dealing with Chen Linglong and tell her about the Prince of Anqin’s devotion to her so that she’ll be moved.”

Ximen Xiaoyue shook her head. “I refuse to flatter Lady Yuan. I don’t like her. Moreover, we’ve also demanded that she can’t stay in the mansion during my wedding. Do you think she’ll trust me after all that?”

Old Madam Ximen said indignantly, “I’ve just praised your cleverness, but it seems like you’ve become stupid. Prohibiting her from staying in the mansion tomorrow is simply to show her your strength. You need to use kindness as well at the correct time. Do you understand? I didn’t ask you to flatter her, I asked you to pretend to be friendly with her. Talk with her once in a while. It’s best if you can tug on her heartstring. If you can’t, make her feel uneasy. This will make it easier for us to deal with her in the future.”

Ximen Xiaoyue mulled over her grandmother’s words before she said reluctantly, “It’s not that I think I’m better than everyone else, but it’s beneath me to even try to be friendly with Lady Yuan. Although her influence is great, I think it’s just an exaggeration. If she’s as great as they say, why is she under Chen Linglong’s thumb for so long? She could not even get herself out of that predicament. It’s clear that there’s nothing remarkable about that woman.”

Old Madam Ximen’s expression darkened. “You couldn’t be more wrong. There must be something remarkable about Lady Yuan for her to have such influence and reputation even to this day. After more than ten years, her reputation has remained unchanged. This is something that you cannot achieve. Your reputation may be good, but that’s only because of your husband’s death. She’s in a different league compared to you. If you allow yourself to be consumed by pride, you’ll only be defeated by her.”