"The Concubine, I don't care if her reputation will be damaged. It's within the scope of what our family can bear. If she can't get married because of this, it doesn't matter... I can support her for the rest of her life."
Mrs. Shangguan stared at Concubine Wu. The moment their eyes met, Concubine Wu's lips raised a contemptuous sneer.
"Really? How many things have you prepared to provide food and clothing for your daughter for the rest of her life?"
Mrs. Shangguan smiled softly, straightened her back, and said with a soft smile: "When I got married, my mother-in-law's family prepared ten miles of red makeup for me. Naturally, they have also supplemented some household expenses over the years, but the rest... is enough for Ning'er to have enough food and clothing.
worry."
The Shili Hongzhuang mentioned by Mrs. Shangguan is the real "Shili Hongzhuang".
Back then, she was the eldest daughter of the Yiyong Hou family, and it was the time when the Zheng family was at its peak. In order to make her proud throughout her life, her parents gave her a generous dowry.
Concubine Wu looked at Mrs. Shangguan's confident look, lowered her eyelids and snorted coldly.
"Are you saying this too soon? Aren't you afraid that if there is a disaster in Shangguan's family, everything you have will be burned down?"
"As long as the concubine is here, I believe that such a thing will not happen."
Mrs. Shangguan was a little excited and her fingers were trembling slightly.
She didn't want others to see her inner thoughts and timidity, so she took her hands back and hid them in her sleeves.
"My dear concubine, Ning'er is my husband's only child. Even if he is... hypocritical to me, the love of flesh and blood will never be completely broken. If you really hurt Ning'er, aren't you afraid that he will hate you?"
Concubine Wu's movements paused, and her eyes suddenly turned sharp as she looked at Mrs. Shangguan.
"It seems...the Ai family has underestimated you."
Concubine Wu put down the cup in her hand and snorted heavily, with a hint of sinisterness in her bright face. "When did you find out?"
"I already knew the princess the first time I saw her."
Mrs. Shangguan's eyes were red and covered with a hazy layer of tears.
Over the years, countless people have envied her for having an infatuated and dedicated husband. He holds a high position and has only one concubine in the family besides her.
And this concubine was forced to marry him under the pressure of his mother.
However, only Mrs. Shangguan knew in her heart that deep in her husband's heart, there was always someone she could not replace.
In the past long years, Mrs. Shangguan had seen a treasured portrait in Shangguan Yue's study.
The woman in the portrait has bright eyes, white teeth, and innocence.
It was a painting painted by Shangguan Yue himself, and there was a sentimental poem beside it.
Mrs. Shangguan did not expose it, but put the painting back in the distance. She always played the role of a good wife and enjoyed the affection her husband pretended.
She thought that it would be good to live such a life for the rest of her life. She even thought that the woman in the painting might no longer be alive.
Until she followed Shangguan Yue and others to flee to another place, and met the graceful Concubine Wu.
Everything suddenly became clear.
At this point, Mrs. Shangguan didn't say anything.
However, her daughter is her final bottom line.
"Since you already know, why... don't you question? Why don't you expose it?"
"What's the point of questioning? What's the point of exposing it? Nothing can be changed." Mrs. Shangguan even had a hint of fantasy.
She imagined that her husband had forgotten about Concubine Wu and that the family would not be disturbed.
"Mother Concubine, please let Ning'er go. As long as you come into contact with her engagement with the prince, I will take Ning'er away from the capital and never come back in this life. I...will make it possible for you and him."
Concubine Wu's eyes gradually dimmed.
In fact, deep down in her heart, she was very jealous of the woman in front of her.
Because she replaced her own happiness, and half of her life was gone.
"The Ai family and him don't need you to help." Concubine Wu's voice was cold, "Go back. The Ai family can't decide what you said."
After saying that, he stood up and left.
"Mother Dowager," Mrs. Shangguan immediately stepped forward and knelt at Concubine Wu's feet, "Mother Dowager, please, please let us mother and daughter go... I beg you..."
Mrs. Shangguan burst into tears.
Now that she no longer has her mother's family as a backer, she never imagined that protecting her daughter would be so difficult.
"You don't need to say anymore, Shangguan Wan Ning must marry Ming'er. This is also the agreement made by the Ai family and him. When Ming'er succeeds to the throne, your daughter will be the queen of the world, isn't it good?"
Not good! Not good at all!
Mrs. Shangguan knows very well how sad it is to spend her whole life guarding a person who seems to be incompatible with her but is distant from him.
She knew her daughter could never bear such grievances.
"Empress Dowager..."
Concubine Wu no longer gave Mrs. Shangguan a chance to speak and walked away.
Mrs. Shangguan fell to the ground and burst into tears.
She endured all the hardships and begged her love rival to let her daughter go, but in the end... nothing could be changed.
Mrs. Shangguan's whole body seemed to have fallen into an ice cellar, and she was shivering all over.
She returned to the Prime Minister's Palace with a pale face and fell ill that night.
She didn't let anyone tell Shangguan Wan Ning, fearing that her daughter would worry about her.
At night, Shangguan Yue returned to the room and saw her leaning on the bed alone, as if she had aged by more than ten years.
Shangguan Yue's heart ached a little, after all, the two of them had lived together for so many years.
He picked up her decoction on the table, walked to the bed and sat down. After a slight hesitation, he held her hand. "Why are you bothering?"
Mrs. Shangguan slowly turned to look at him, her lips trembling and she couldn't say a word.
"I know what you are worried about. You can rest assured that after Ning'er marries Prince Ming, Prince Ming will love her well. Relationships can be cultivated, and I will not harm my daughter."
Shangguan Yue fed the decoction to Mrs. Shangguan's mouth.
Mrs. Shangguan snatched the bowl and threw the entire bowl of soup on her husband's face.
She could no longer control her suppressed emotions. She raised her hand and slapped her hard again, roaring hysterically: "Get out! Get out! Shangguan Yue, you pushed your own daughter into the fire pit. I will never let you go."
."
This is the first time that Shangguan Yue has seen his wife lose such a temper in so many years of marriage.
He knew he was in the wrong, so he didn't say anything more. He stood up and walked out the door. His wife's voice came from behind him.
"Shangguanyue... From now on, our relationship as husband and wife will be severed. We will not have to share the same acupuncture point after death. On the road to Huangquan, by the Naihe Bridge, we will never see each other again in our lifetimes."
Shangguan Yue was stunned.
He looked back at his wife, his eyes filled with determination that he had never seen before.