Chapter 226: Volume 1, Chapter 226 — Must Not Let Rong Dai Become Princess Consort Qi

"Rest assured, Noble Consort Ming." Rong Luoge smiled and nodded. "When the time comes, if you take a fancy to any young gentleman, you can tell me. Though I dare not promise I will definitely be able to manage it, I will still do my best to intercede before His Majesty."

Noble Consort Ming understood Consort Rong's meaning—it seemed Consort Rong had indeed come with ill intent; this was about making a deal with her.

She felt that her son had not caused any trouble recently; he stayed in the mansion all day like a fool and never went out, had not violated any of His Majesty's taboos or been an eyesore to him, so this was not about her son.

After thinking it over, she felt it might have something to do with Di Yue Nu.

It was also a coincidence that she could use this matter to test Consort Rong, so she simply said directly, "This child is too naive. I raised her with little cunning, and I just hope she can find an honest and good-natured husband's family who will accommodate her to some extent."

"How can you say such a thing, Your Highness? Zhaoqing is a princess—marrying into any family would be their honor. She need not wrong herself like this," Rong Luoge said earnestly.

Noble Consort Ming sighed upon hearing this. "There's no helping it. If she had even a bit more cunning, I wouldn't say such things. Look at what she's done. His Majesty was gracious and did not restrict her, so she went to visit her brother, only to be bewitched by Rong Dai's few words and ended up clashing with her sister-in-law. It angered me so much I blacked out before my eyes, and I wished I had never given birth to her. Truly, children are all debts."

Rong Luoge was indeed a little surprised and turned to look at Princess Zhaoqing. Back when the Late Emperor was still alive, she was the apple of the Late Emperor's eye, and with everyone humoring her in whatever she did and Noble Consort Ming watching over her, no one dared to scheme against her so blatantly. It seemed she had simply suffered too few losses—once she had suffered enough, she would learn how to deal with people.

"You are angry over this, Your Highness?" Rong Luoge smiled. "Your Highness, even I have suffered losses at Rong Dai's hands. Her Highness the Princess grew up in the palace—how could she have so many twists and turns? She was probably taken advantage of due to a momentary kindness. She'll just have to learn her lesson for the future."

Zhaoqing blushed fiercely, feeling utterly humiliated before Rong Luoge, and simply lowered her head without speaking.

Noble Consort Ming sighed deeply. "Consort Rong, I heard from Zhaoqing when she came back—the Protector Duke wants to marry Rong Dai's birth mother as his principal wife. Is this true?"

Rong Luoge felt that Noble Consort Ming's acting was far superior to Princess Zhaoqing's, so she nodded. "Yes. Your Highness has long resided deep in the palace and may not yet know—Rong Dai's birth mother, Di Yue Nu, is the blood sister of the current ruler of Qingxuan. In the letter of surrender requesting peace submitted by the ruler of Qingxuan this time after their defeat, there is the intention of reuniting the sister with her husband's entire family."

Noble Consort Ming put on a look of surprise. "Then what about the Duchess Who Guards the State? She bore the Protector Duke two sons and one daughter."

Rong Luoge followed with a sigh. "Your Highness, not long ago Rong Dai was still scheming against the marriage of Ling Shan, the daughter born to the Duchess of the State. You have probably heard of it—she insisted on forcing Ling Shan to marry Lin Gao Xuan. Lin Gao Xuan once schemed against Rong Yan on Rong Dai's behalf and got his leg broken. The Duchess Who Guards the State has had a bitter time of it, racking her brains to protect her daughter, and now that mother and daughter have their eyes on her position as principal wife—who knows how things will turn out?"

Hearing the implication in Consort Rong's words, Noble Consort Ming's heart jolted, and she asked probingly, "I knew the news of the Lin family proposing marriage with the Zhen Guo Gong Fu, but I didn't know it was Rong Dai plotting behind the scenes. Is this true? If it is true, then it is truly too vicious."

"Naturally it is true. How could I speak so carelessly about such a matter? After all, this also concerns Rong Dai's reputation. Furthermore, Rong Dai is still only a side consort of Prince Qi—strictly speaking, I shouldn't say such things. But considering that Your Highness, in the palace, may not know of matters outside, and now that Princess Zhaoqing has been deceived by Rong Dai, I felt I should still speak the truth."

Princess Zhaoqing could no longer concern herself with saving face at this point. She had never expected Rong Dai to do such a thing, and in her astonishment blurted out, "Why would she do such a thing? What benefit does it have for her?"

Rong Luoge looked at Princess Zhaoqing and said unhurriedly, "Why? You would probably have to ask Side Consort Rong about that—after all, an ordinary person truly could not do such a thing. However, as far as I know, Rong Dai's days at the Qi Wang Fu are not easy. Princess Consort Qi is on bad terms with her, so she probably wanted to find someone to help her. If Ling Shan married Lin Gao Xuan, given Lin Gao Xuan's devotion to Rong Dai, it would be equivalent to Rong Dai holding Ling Shan in the palm of her hand. Controlling Ling Shan would then allow her to threaten the Duchess of the State into doing her bidding. At the very least, if the Duchess of the State were willing to stand up for her, her days at the Qi Wang Fu would improve, and Princess Consort Qi wouldn't dare target her too much, wouldn't you agree?"

Princess Zhaoqing's expression was extremely unpleasant. She had previously heard that the Zhen Guo Gong Fu had erupted in conflict over Rong Ling Shan's marriage, but she hadn't known that the mastermind behind it was Rong Dai. So she really had been used by Rong Dai, hadn't she?

Princess Zhaoqing was so angry her face alternated between dark and pale, and the hatred in her heart was simply impossible to contain.

Noble Consort Ming's expression was equally unattractive. She looked at Rong Luoge and said, "When Feng'er insisted on bringing her into the mansion, I absolutely refused to agree, but I still couldn't stop him. I knew she was a scourge, a home-wrecker."

Rong Luoge thought to herself that Noble Consort Ming's words were indeed true—after all, this one had once, in order to prevent Rong Dai from entering the household, gritted her teeth and agreed to let the soft-natured original host enter instead to serve as a buffer.

"Your Highness, I came today also to give you a reminder. Di Yue Nu is Rong Dai's birth mother, and she is coming aggressively this time, determined to marry Rong Heng as his principal wife under the pretext of the letter of peace between the two nations. Once she becomes the Duchess Who Guards the State, Rong Dai will have someone to back her, and I fear that at the Qi Wang Fu she will seek to avenge her past humiliations—after all, she suffered quite a lot at Princess Consort Qi's hands. When that time comes, the Qi Wang Fu will no longer be peaceful," Rong Luoge said slowly.

Noble Consort Ming's vision went black. She gripped the armrests of her chair tightly and said through gritted teeth, "She can forget about it!"

Rong Luoge smiled. "Prince Qi is deeply devoted to Rong Dai. I have also heard that after he returned from the imperial mausoleum, Princess Consort Qi has not dared to confront Rong Dai directly, suppressing her only by virtue of the title of Princess Consort. If Rong Dai were to gain Di Yue Nu's backing and then bewitch Prince Qi into divorcing his wife and elevating her to the principal position, Your Highness wouldn't think such a possibility doesn't exist, would you? After all, there are precedents—Di Yue Nu has set a fine example for Rong Dai, and as far as I know, she is about to succeed."

Noble Consort Ming now understood the gravity of the situation. If things really went as Consort Rong said, and the Qi Wang Fu was thrown into chaos by Rong Dai, then by the time she could go to the Qi Wang Fu to live out her later years, wouldn't even she have to bow her head to Rong Dai?

That would be simply a dream.

"Since Consort Rong speaks so frankly, then why don't you tell me what plan you have. If there is anything you need my help with, just say so." Noble Consort Ming made up her mind—absolutely must not let Rong Dai become Princess Consort Qi.