They are all concubines, so of course they choose the future emperor.

Chapter 135 Missing

Li Chengye couldn't hold his temper any longer.

"What about you? Aren't you worried or anxious?"

I was so anxious that I didn't even care about my usual manners.

Jiang Wanyue raised the corners of her mouth slightly.

"So, we have the same concerns, don't we? In that case, why can't we put aside our prejudices for the time being?"

Li Chengye looked at her blankly.

Only now did he realize what Jiang Wanyue meant.

Cooperation?

He frowned at first, but then began to seriously think about the benefits of cooperation.

My father thinks highly of the Jiang family. He even treats Old Master Jiang with courtesy without bearing any grudges.

The eldest branch of the Jiang family has been developing steadily in the border areas, and the second branch is also gaining momentum in the capital. It is not much worse than the Lu family.

It can even be said that the Jiang family may go further than the Lu family in the future.

You know, there are no outstanding disciples in the younger generation of the Lu family. There are very few who pass the imperial examinations and become officials. Most of them rely on the favors of their ancestors to become officials, and most of them are sent to other places, and there are very few officials in Beijing. Among the Lu family members in Beijing, the highest-ranking official is his grandfather.

But a vice minister of the Ministry of Personnel can only provide very little help.

Li Chengye thought of his father's temper, so he didn't dare to get involved in the military affairs. Besides, he was still young, so he couldn't go out to entertain the wise and the humble and recruit guests.

Plus, I have to observe mourning for three years, so I can’t do many things.

He thought about it for a long time.

Getting help from the Jiang family will always bring more benefits than disadvantages.

Thinking of this, he took a deep breath, his face showing a seriousness far beyond his age.

"If Jiang Liangdi can keep her promise, then I will be happy to do so."

Jiang Wanyue smiled with satisfaction.

"You are a smart child."

It's really different from Li Ce.

This child is very good at weighing the pros and cons at such a young age, and is also very good at using everything to build momentum for himself.

It’s just that he is too young now, and his mind is too shallow. When he has more experience and training in the future, his mind will no longer be impetuous. In time, he will definitely be a formidable enemy.

When dealing with an enemy, it is best to eliminate it before it becomes too powerful.

But Li Chengye's identity was special, and she couldn't deal with him the same way she dealt with the women in the harem.

If a woman in the harem is responsible for one or two murders and plots against her husband to kill his offspring, she is committing a heinous crime.

But the man is not.

When Li Ce was still Prince Jing, he had the power to decide the life and death of everyone in the mansion, let alone now.

As for scheming against women?

That's called wisdom.

Isn’t Ren Wantang a living example?

Even a weak scholar like her father, when he was at the border, faced difficulties from soldiers and used some means to fight back.

To deal with Li Chengye, the worst strategy is to destroy his body bit by bit in secret; the middle strategy is to instigate him and Li Ce, making Li Ce disappointed and fed up with him.

The best strategy...

Is to transfer it to your own camp.

She couldn't do anything to Li Chengye. If anything happened to Li Chengye, she would definitely become the biggest suspect.

If she wanted to go further, she had to protect Lu Qingshuang's two children.

After that, neither of them spoke any more.

The palace maids came in.

Jiang Wanyue stood up immediately.

"Young Master, have a good rest. I'll take my leave now."

She walked to the door, then suddenly stopped, turned around and asked again.

"Those two maids, Mei'er and Zhuang'er, are not suitable to stay with the eldest master. You are still young and in mourning, so you should not indulge in women. I will take them away. If the eldest master needs someone else, I will send two more who are calm and reliable."

Li Chengye was stunned at first and didn't understand at once.

When he realized what it meant, his face turned red instantly.

These two maids were sent by his grandmother, who only said that they were to take care of his daily life. Li Chengye did not think much about it and just thought that his grandmother was worried about him.

No matter how precocious he was, he was only ten years old. He was not yet old enough to understand the ways of the world, so how could he think in that direction?

Now that Jiang Wanyue had exposed the secret, Li Chengye felt ashamed, annoyed and angry. He didn't even want to look at the two palace maids.

"Take him away! Take him away! I don't need any more help. Xiaofu and Xiaoji are enough."

He turned his head, waved his hands repeatedly, and spoke with a sense of annoyance and impatience.

He also had complaints about his grandmother.

Jiang Wanyue smiled, waved to a palace maid, asked him to bring Zhuang'er over, and then brought her and Mei'er back to Yichun Palace.

On the way back, Xiuchun couldn't help muttering.

"What kind of thing did Madam Lu do? The eldest son is in mourning, but she sent two maids over."

Mi Er hesitated: "The eldest master...shouldn't have touched these two little girls?"

"Bah, bah, bah! Mi'er, what nonsense are you talking about! The eldest master is only ten years old! Ten years old!" Xiuchun glared at Mi'er.

Mier shrank her neck.

Jiang Wanyue waved her hand to stop their conversation.

"How could the eldest son make such a mistake while he is in mourning? As for Madam Lu, she was just preparing for a rainy day. She was worried that someone in the East Palace would attack the eldest son and seduce him with women when the Crown Princess was away. But it's obvious that Madam Lu doesn't understand her grandson and is overthinking."

Just by looking at the two maids she chose, both of whom were only twelve or thirteen years old, one can guess what Mrs. Lu was thinking.

If they really want to choose a concubine, they will usually choose someone who is fifteen or sixteen years old and has fully grown.

The purpose of sending these two maids was to cultivate a relationship with Li Chengye. Once his mourning period was over and he was thirteen years old, the two maids would be the right age.

Jiang Wanyue knew that many families did the same with their young masters, preparing them to have a concubine when they were thirteen or fourteen years old, thinking that after having sex with women, their curiosity would be satisfied and they would not be tempted by women.

But this doesn't make sense at all.

Many of them have many wives and concubines at home, and also have affairs outside.

The Jiang family never educates their descendants in this way.

She did not go back to Yichun Palace directly, but went to Li Ce's residence. When she learned that Li Ce was busy, she asked Eunuch Wang to send someone to tell him that she had something to discuss with him.

Eunuch Wang left quickly.

But he came back with a troubled look on his face.

"What's wrong? Your Highness can't get away?"

Jiang Wanyue took the initiative to ask.

Eunuch Wang bowed and said, "Yes, Your Highness is busy and has no time to see you, Lady Liang. I'd like to ask this old servant to tell you to go back first."

Jiang Wanyue has raised eyebrows.

"Is this what His Highness said?"

Eunuch Wang was embarrassed: "This... is what your highness meant."

Jiang Wanyue curled the corners of her mouth.

"You mean this in your heart, but you don't mean this out loud? Tell me exactly what His Highness said. Don't change a single word!"

Eunuch Wang lowered his head and spoke slowly.

"His Highness told you to stay in the inner courtyard. He will summon you if there is anything..."

Jiang Wanyue pursed her lips and her eyes darkened.

But soon her expression returned to normal.

She raised her hand and adjusted the row of golden-winged hairpins on her hair.

"I am meddling in other people's business. Since Your Highness doesn't like it, I won't come here anymore. These two girls will stay here until Your Highness comes back and you can deal with them yourself!"

Jiang Wanyue stood up and walked out.

After taking a few steps, she suddenly stopped and turned back to say something to Eunuch Wang.

"By the way, these two girls were sent by the Lu family. Please treat them well, father-in-law, and don't treat them unfairly."

Eunuch Wang looked confused and was about to ask, but he saw Jiang Wanyue and her men had already walked away.

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Jiang Wanyue walked back angrily.

Along the way, the people who followed did not dare to say a word.

When they returned to Yichun Palace, Mier stopped Xiuchun at the palace gate.

"Sister Xiuchun, what should we do?"

His Highness had clearly said before that the master could come and go freely in the East Palace, but I don't know why he suddenly doesn't allow us to move around freely.

Mi'er was impatient and was afraid that her master would fall out of favor, so her face was full of worry.

Xiuchun patted her shoulder.

"Don't worry, the master will find a way. Take the others down first. Oh, and tell Madam Zhou that His Highness will not be coming. Remove those dishes and replace them with what the master likes."

Mi'er nodded hurriedly and retreated with the other palace maids.

Xiuchun turned and went into the house.

Xing'er is serving Jiang Wanyue.

After taking off her outer clothes and jewelry, Jiang Wanyue kicked off her shoes and leaned back on the couch.

Xiuchun waved to Xing'er, signaling her to go out as well, then walked forward and squatted beside Jiang Wanyue's feet to massage her feet.

"Are you tired after walking so much? Let me give you a massage. Ask someone to get you some hot water to soak in before bed. Relax and you'll be fine tomorrow."

Jiang Wanyue retracted her feet and reached out to pull Xiuchun up.

"Just let others do this kind of thing. You are the head of my palace now. What will it look like if others see you?"

Xiuchun laughed.

"Others can see it, even if you are the boss, I am still your servant! Massaging feet is not a hard job."

Jiang Wanyue let out a long sigh.

"You are the best person in the world to me. You never complain or get angry with me for no reason."

Xiuchun giggled.

"That's right. I grew up with you. How can outsiders compare to that?"

Since entering the Eastern Palace, Xiuchun has always behaved extremely steadily and rarely appears so lively.

Jiang Wanyue couldn't help but laugh.

After laughing, her anger subsided a little and she simply stood up.

"Set the table! You have to eat with me today. I can't finish all the food on the table by myself."

As she spoke, she pulled Xiuchun to the table outside.

The food was delivered one after another.

A full table was set.

Jiang Wanyue had just sat down and hadn't even picked up her chopsticks when she suddenly heard footsteps outside, followed by Lizhi running in.

"My lord, the eldest princess is here."

Jiang Wanyue's eyes were slightly surprised.

She soon understood why Li Chengyu came over and couldn't help but laugh.

"This girl really can't wait even a moment. She didn't even remember what I told her before. Forget it, let her come in!"

Lizhi turned and ran out.

Once Li Chengyu arrived, Xiuchun could not sit down and eat with him.

Jiang Wanyue looked around and ordered three dishes: "These are your favorites, take them down first! Just ask Xing'er to come and serve you, you go back and eat first."

Xiuchun did not refuse. She asked the little palace maid to put the three dishes into the food box and then left.

Xiuchun had just walked to the door when Li Chengyu came in.

She walked in excitedly, holding up her skirt, without noticing the person coming out.

"Madam Jiang, I'm here!"

She ran to the table excitedly, and her eyes lit up when she saw the table full of delicious food.

Jiang Wanyue just found it funny when she called her that.

Before, she called her Jiang Liangdi, Jiang Liangdi and didn't regard her as an elder at all, but now she changed her address to "Niangniang".

In fact, the only person who could truly be called "Empress" in the Eastern Palace was the Crown Princess. However, since the Crown Princess was already dead, no one cared about these titles.

"Sit down! I don't have so many rules here. You can eat whatever you want, but you are not allowed to eat the crystal pig's trotter and the fried duck."

As soon as Jiang Wanyue finished speaking, Li Chengyu's eyes widened.

"why?"

"Haven't you been a vegetarian for a while? Your stomach is used to light food. If you suddenly eat something too greasy, you'll get a stomach upset. That dish is good."

Li Chengyu rolled his eyes and looked at the plate of turtle in the middle, then turned his head and raised his chin towards the palace maid.

The palace maid understood and immediately stepped forward to open the turtle shell that served as a lid, and picked up a piece of meat with chopsticks and put it into the young master's bowl.

Li Chengyu picked up his chopsticks, took a bite, and his eyes lit up again.

"It tastes much better than what I had before! I want more!"

She ate with relish.

Seeing how relishing the meal she was eating, Jiang Wanyue also felt her appetite whetted, so she started to eat.

The two of them sat at separate tables, not talking to each other, and ate quietly. The atmosphere was much more natural.

After the meal, Jiang Wanyue was surprised to find that she had eaten most of the dishes.

Looking again, Li Chengyu was rubbing his belly.

"I ate too much..."

Jiang Wanyue was speechless for a while, then turned around and gave orders.

"Go get two digestion pills."

Xing'er hurried to the inner room and got two pills.

Jiang Wanyue handed two meatballs to Li Chengyu and asked her to choose one.

Li Chengyu picked one up at random and put it in his mouth, chewing it.

Her maid couldn't help but glance at Jiang Wanyue, then quickly looked away.

After Li Chengyu took the digestive pills, he didn't want to move anymore.

"Madam Jiang, can I stay at your place tonight?"

Jiang Wanyue didn't know what to say.

Why is this little girl still pushing her luck?

"No."

She refused outright.

Li Chengyu pouted and muttered to himself: "If it's not possible, then it's not possible. There's no need to say it so directly..."

Jiang Wanyue pretended not to hear, took the tea brought by the palace maid, and drank it with her head down.

Generally speaking, at times like this, people who know what's good for them will take the initiative to say goodbye.

But how could Li Chengyu have such foresight?

She hesitated and refused to leave, and even asked the palace maid for a cup of tea.

Just then, the wet nurses came in carrying Xu'er.

"The fourth young master hasn't seen you much this day, and he has been refusing to rest and insists on coming to see you!"

Jiang Wanyue put down the teacup and hugged Xu'er over.

The little guy was hit quite hard, and originally had sparse eyebrows frowned, but as soon as he saw his mother, he immediately put on a smiling face, grinning so happily and making an "ah ah" sound.

"Mother had something to do today and didn't go to see Xu'er. Xu'er must be unhappy, right?"

Jiang Wanyue rubbed his soft little face.

The little guy kissed Jiang Wanyue on the face, making her laugh non-stop.

Li Chengyu couldn't help but come over.

"Xiao Si has grown so big? I remember he was only this small the last time I saw him!"

She held out her hand and gestured.

"Babies of a few months old grow fast."

Jiang Wanyue replied casually, and seeing Xu'er drooling, she took the soft cotton cloth from the nanny's hand and started to wipe him.

Li Chengyu showed a look of disgust on his face.

"Why is he still drooling? So disgusting."

The nurse at the side hurriedly explained: "My Lady, the Fourth Young Master is teething, so he has a lot of saliva, which is normal."

Li Chengyu still had a look of disgust on his face and even took two steps back.