Chapter 177 The Crown Princess Is Not Favored by the Crown Prince?
It had only been a year since Lu Chen had returned to the East Palace. For the wedding, many eunuchs and imperial maids were transferred to the East Palace.
Tonight, the news that the Crown Prince and the Crown Princess didn’t sleep together had immediately been spread out by the snoops of different powers.
Soon almost everyone in Chang’an knew that the Crown Prince and the Crown Princess didn’t sleep together on their wedding night.
Li Lingling got the news early in the morning. Then, she hurriedly asked a maid to fetch the gold hairpin that she had just bought from Jewelry Pavilion at a high price and went to the imperial palace to watch the fun.
Qiao Jinniang woke up in the morning, refreshed.
Little Lu Xi on her side woke up early and was playing with a Luban lock.
Imperial maids came in one after another to wait on Qiao Jinniang.
The day after her wedding, according to the rules, she should go to salute the Queen and all the imperial concubines.
Qiao Jinniang had to put on the clothes that were about twelve layers again.
At this time, Lu Chen came in and said, “Fortunately, you are thin.”
Qiao Jinniang was used to it, and said to Lu Chen, “Are you going to see Her Majesty with
me?!
According to the rules, Lu Chen didn’t have to go with her.
But since Qiao Jinniang had asked him, he didn’t mind going with her.
Although he had a fifteen-day holiday for his wedding, at this time, the Emperor asked someone to call over Lu Chen, and he could only go to the Taiji Palace.
Qiao Jinniang took Little Lu Xi’s hand and went to the Queen’s palace together with him. She had thought that she came early.
However, the palace was already full of imperial concubines, as well as the princes’ consorts.
When Qiao Jinniang entered, she saluted the Queen. “Mother.”
The Queen smiled and said, “Jinniang, you must have been tired yesterday. Come, take a seat.”
Li Lingling raised her eyebrows slightly and said, “The Crown Princess didn’t have to serve His Royal Highness last night. Why did she still get up so late?”
For a while, Qiao Jinniang didn’t realize that Li Lingling was laughing at her because Lu Chen didn’t sleep with her last night.
She just thought that Li Lingling was mocking her for being too late.
So Qiao Jinniang said, “I was making breakfast for Mother, so I am late. Please forgive me, Mother.”
The maids behind her took out the breakfast she made one by one and placed them in front of the imperial concubines and the Queen.
Qiao Jinniang smiled at the consorts and said, “Sisters-in-law, I didn’t expect you to come so early, so I didn’t prepare breakfast for you. Sorry.”
She didn’t come too late. It was just that the consorts came too early. They came as soon as the gate of the imperial palace opened.
Seeing Qiao Jinniang neither nervous nor annoyed, Li Lingling said to the Queen,
“Mother, now His Royal Highness has been married, but he refused to sleep with the Crown Princess even at their wedding night. This is not good for the continuation of our royal family.
“It’s a beautiful spring day today, and all the flowers in the imperial palace are in full bloom.
“Tomorrow is His Royal Highness’ birthday. Why don’t we invite the daughters of a few ministers to enjoy the flowers and celebrate his birthday?”
Qiao Jinniang smiled.
Li Lingling asked Qiao Jinniang, “What are you laughing at?”
She just said to the Queen, “Mother, I thought of a folk joke, but it’s a little vulgar, so I won’t sully your ears.”
The Queen said, “It’s okay for you to say it. We want to listen to folk jokes.”
Qiao Jinniang glanced meaningfully at Li Lingling and said,
“There was once a scholar in Yangzhou who was old enough to get married. The scholar lost his mother when he was a child.
“So his elder sister-in-law found him a wife and handled his wedding for him.
“The scholar’s sister-in-law paid a whole tael of silver as the dowry gift, so she was very distressed.
“On the wedding night, the scholar’s sister-in-law took the scholar’s elder brother to eavesdrop outside the scholar’s room.
“But their neighbors saw them and reprimanded them for being shameless, but the scholar’s sister-in-law said loudly, “I spent a whole tael of silver to get him this wife! Even a copper coin falls to the ground, and I can at least hear the sound.”
“I can’t spend the money for nothing! Not only I, but my whole family also has to hear the sound!”
The crowd burst into laughter, and Imperial Concubine Jian covered her lips with a handkerchief and said, “That scholar’s sister-in-law is really ridiculous.”
Qiao Jinniang said, “Your Highness, she is not ridiculous. After all, someone didn’t even pay a penny for her brother-in-law’s wedding but still pries into the sexual life of her brother-in-law!
“This kind of deed would be despised even by commoners. Eldest Sister-in-law, you’re from Earl Cheng’en Mansion. How can you act like a countryside woman? Don’t disgrace the Empress Dowager!”
Hearing her words, the Queen said to Li Lingling, “Consort Huai, you really went a bit too far. How can you pry into and direct the affairs of the East Palace? As a punishment, I order you to transcript the Buddhist scripture a hundred times. Do you accept it?”
Not daring to disobey the Queen, Li Lingling could only salute and accept the punishment. Anyway, she could have her maids transcript the Buddhist scripture for her.
However, Qiao Jinniang tried so hard and finally married into the East Palace, but the Crown Prince didn’t even sleep with her on their wedding night. How pathetic she was!
After Qiao Jinniang returned to the East Palace, Lu Chen hadn’t returned from the Taiji Palace yet.
She ordered someone to call over Gu Ming, the chief butler of the East Palace and other officials of the East Palace.
Gu Ming was Lu Chen’s close servant and the chief butler of the East Palace.
The East Palace was divided into five bureaus, namely, the Dianshan Bureau, the Yaocang Bureau, the Neizhi Bureau, the Dianshe Bureau and the Guanmen Bureau.
They respectively corresponded to the Shangshi Bureau, Shangyao Bureau, Shangyi Bureau, Shangshe Bureau, and Chengmen Lang in the imperial palace.
However, unlike the bureaus in the imperial palace where there were many female officials, most members of the bureaus in the East Palace were eunuchs and imperial maids.
There were nine hundred eunuchs and imperial maids in the East Palace in total.
With the officials, counselors, soldiers and secret guards, there were as many as 1,200 plus people in the entire East Palace.
Before Qiao Jinniang got married, she had heard from Qingmo about the various official positions in the East Palace.
With so many people in the East Palace, Qiao Jinniang would be exhausted if she tried to manage the East Palace meticulously like managing a restaurant.
Thus, she could only keep an eye on those officials of rank.
Gu Ming came to visit Qiao Jinniang together with the directors who were respectively in charge of the Dianshan Bureau, the Yaocang Bureau, the Neizhi Bureau, the Dianshe Bureau and the Guanmen Bureau.
Gu Ming knelt on the ground but Qiao Jinniang didn’t let him get up for a long time, and beads of sweat fell down from his forehead one after another.
He had been serving the Crown Prince since he was a child, except for the few years when the Crown Prince disappeared. Normally, even the high-ranking noble ladies were very polite to him.
Unexpectedly, the Crown Princess dealt him a head-on blow at their first encounter.
Qiao Jinniang said slowly and solemnly, “Is this the way you manage the East Palace? Why did the whole Chang’an know what happened in the East Palace last night?”
“I’ll give you half a month. If there is still anyone who pries into and delivers information for others in the East Palace half a month later, all of you will be replaced.”
Gu Ming hurriedly kowtowed. “Yes, Your Highness.” After they left, the director of the Dianshe Bureau whispered into Gu Ming’s ear,
“This Crown Princess is really an ignorant countryside woman.
“Eunuch Gu, no matter where you go, you’re respected by everyone. How could the Crown Princess look down on you!
“Fortunately, she is not favored by His Royal Highness. Otherwise, I can’t imagine how arrogant she will be!”
Gu Ming sneered. “The Crown Princess is not favored by His Royal Highness?”
