Husband, please lend me your virtues

"You, don't bother with her."

The Queen's words clearly meant that Zhuang Zijin should not argue with Zhang Jiji, but Zhang Jiji felt unhappy. How could such a good son of hers be regarded as a good-for-nothing in the Queen's eyes?

"Your Majesty is right. I was just talking nonsense."

Zhang Jiji smiled and agreed with the Queen and changed the subject, but she was still dissatisfied with the Queen. Her son could support the Qian family and was capable in business, so how could he not be worthy of Princess Changning?

It turned out that the queen only paid lip service to her life-saving grace, which was actually not worth mentioning. The queen simply disdained to associate with a merchant's wife like her.

Zhang Jiji's thoughts were in turmoil, but she quickly came up with another idea. The royal princess had been spoiled since childhood and could not stand any grievances.

If some rumors spread in the capital, and the young man from a noble family offended the princess, the princess would impulsively do something like she did to her son at the Spring Festival Banquet, and the princess's reputation would be ruined.

Aristocratic families more noble than the Qian family may not necessarily look down on Princess Changning. If any family does, it must be for some purpose. By then, only her son will be left and they know her well. If they choose a son-in-law whose background they don't know and who may hurt the princess, it would be better to choose her eldest son, who knows her well and has her mother-in-law, whom she has known for a long time.

"My lady, I have not seen you for many years. You are still as charming as ever. Even the princess I raised has your former demeanor."

Zhang Jiji changed the subject and took out her handkerchief to touch her eyes, "But I feel sorry for the princess. She is worth a lot of money, but she lost her fiancé first, and now she is being asked to marry by that Beidi."

"The princess is so beautiful, it's really unfair for her to marry into the Northern Di people who eat raw meat and wear linen clothes."

"Your Majesty has really wronged the princess. After all, the princess is your and your Majesty's own flesh and blood. How could you bear to marry her to Beidi!"

The queen felt displeased when she heard what Zhang Jiji said. For the first time, she felt that Zhang Jiji was not the Zhang Jiji she knew before.

If these words were to get out, people would probably think that she was dissatisfied with His Majesty, which was why Lady Weiguo, who was on good terms with her, said such bold words.

"How did Madam Weiguo know that my father would send me to marry?" Zhuang Zijin looked directly at Zhang Jiji, "Could it be that Madam Weiguo had already learned about the news from the emperor?"

"She is truly all-powerful. Even my mother is unsure about this decision, but Madam Weiguo is so sure of it."

When Zhang Jiji heard Zhuang Zijin's words, she no longer cared about her past friendship with the Queen. She could not afford the charge of spying on the Emperor, and neither could the Qian family. She hurriedly stood up from her chair, knelt on the ground, and touched the ground with her head.

What's more, there is an old lady Wen in the palace, and she comes here to snatch her daughter-in-law.

Old Madam Wen would not give her any face. Once she left the palace, she would probably spread rumors about her faults, saying that she was wishful thinking like a toad wanting to eat swan flesh.

"Your Majesty, Princess, I don't know your Majesty's intentions, but I have heard some things from the public."

"I am just an ignorant woman, and my words were purely unintentional. Please forgive me, Your Majesty and the Princess!"

It’s so hateful! How could a gentle and kind queen give birth to such an arrogant princess!

"Rumors? How did they spread?"

Zhuang Zijin was curious. There was still an endless debate about this in the court. Where did Zhang Jiji hear that the emperor wanted to marry a princess?

Or did she deliberately spread it for her own selfish gain?

In the opera, even though she married Qian Xiuyuan, her father never chose a princess from the royal family or a minister's daughter to marry the Northern Di.

"This...Princess, I just heard the servants in the mansion say that. As for the source, I can't find it. I only know that it was spread to the ears of the servants in my house by people outside."

"It is said by the people that His Majesty has been hesitating and has not made a decision for a long time. It is obvious that he wants the princess to marry, but he does not want to hear it from His Majesty's mouth."

As soon as Zhang Jiji finished speaking, he was still kneeling on the ground when he heard a majestic voice coming from outside the hall.

"Really? How come you didn't know that I wanted to send the princess to marry!"

As the emperor entered, all the ladies in the empress's palace knelt on the ground and paid their respects to the emperor.

The emperor woke them all up, sat next to the queen, and looked at the woman who had just spoken so wildly.

Madam Weiguo knew she had spoken out of turn, and she did not dare to stand up. She explained tremblingly, "Your Majesty, it was your humble servant who spoke out of turn. I only heard what the servants in the mansion said, and I did not spy on the emperor as the princess said."

The more anxious she was, the more mistakes she made. She had dared to say this in the Queen's palace originally because she felt that she and the Queen had been friends for many years, and even if she accidentally lost her composure, the Queen would only reprimand her verbally.

Unexpectedly, just as she thought of an excuse to deal with Princess Changning, His Majesty came in person. It turned out that Princess Changning really didn't get along with her. When Princess Changning entered the palace in the future, she would definitely teach this Princess Changning, who had no sense of propriety and was disrespectful to her elders, a lesson as a mother-in-law.

"Madam Weiguo, your father is wise and wise. Dalin has never had a woman marry a foreign prince, so how could you allow Beidi to marry a princess?"

"Since we know that these are just rumors in the market and cannot be taken seriously, why did Madam Weiguo bring these rumors to the ears of the Queen Mother?"

"Could it be that Madam Weiguo wants to use this to irritate my mother, to make her worry about me and lose her sense of propriety, so that you can profit from it?"

"Princess! I have absolutely no such intention! Princess, please do not speculate about me with prejudice!"

The emperor heard Zhang Jiji openly targeting Zhuang Zijin and felt that Zhuang Zijin had harmed her to such an extent. He was displeased and asked, "Are you Madam Weiguo who is on good terms with the queen?"

When Zhang Jiji heard the emperor ask this, she felt a little relieved. Since His Majesty asked this, he would surely forgive her this time for the sake of the Queen.

"I am Madam Zhang of the State of Wei."

"What Changning said is correct. Zhang's words are abominable. She has sowed discord between the Queen and me, failed to discipline the servants, and allowed rumors to spread in the mansion without any control. She is truly unworthy of the position of Lady of the State. I order her to be demoted to a third-rank lady."

"Your Majesty! Your Majesty! I know I was wrong, please give me a chance to reform." Don't decree her!

Zhang Jiji's heart was bleeding when the imperial edict that she was so proud of was taken away. She had obtained this imperial edict by herself, not by relying on her husband or children!

Now that she has been demoted to a lady, she feels really distressed. Her husband is a good-for-nothing, and the title of imperial merchant was gained because of her. Of the two sons, one is a little clever and has a good head for business, while the other is idle and causes trouble all day long!

If she wants to be conferred the title of Lady of the State in the future, meaning her husband and son, she is afraid that she will never be able to regain the title of Lady of the State in this lifetime!

"I know that I have spoken out of turn and failed the Queen's kindness. Please forgive me, Her Majesty."

Zhang Jiji retreated to advance, hoping that the Queen would say something good on her behalf. After all, she was able to become the First-Rank Lady of the State with the help of the Queen. His Majesty was slapping the Queen in the face by doing this.

Her Majesty will definitely not allow His Majesty to slap her in the face like this.

However, to Zhang Jiji's surprise, the Queen did not come to her rescue for the first time. Instead, she sat beside the Emperor and looked down at Zhang Jiji as he knelt down to defend himself.

After Zhuang Zijin and the Emperor refuted Zhang Jiji, the Queen realized that Zhang Jiji had come with bad intentions this time. She was not the close sister who went to the south of the Yangtze River after she separated from her in her memory, but wanted to sow discord between her and the Majesty and spread rumors that were unfavorable to her daughter.

The queen felt upset and even had a hint of disgust towards Zhang Jiji. She had been afraid that Zhang Jiji would not have a good life these years, so she first went against all odds and requested that Zhang Jiji be given the title of first-rank lady of the state so that others would not look down on her and her husband's family would also worship her because of this imperial edict.

Zhang Jiji was far away from the capital, but she never missed giving him the annual rewards, just to let the people around Zhang Jiji know. Even though Zhang Jiji hadn't seen her for many years, she was still Zhang Jiji's supporter.

But Zhang Jiji should never have set her sights on her daughter. She only has three children, and even if they saved her life, he should not have set his sights on her children.

"It's good that you admit your guilt. Your behavior is outrageous. You don't need to enter the palace to meet the queen in the future."

The emperor didn't want to listen to Zhang Jiji's meaningless arguments, so he waved his hand and asked her to leave. "Zhang Shuren, go back to your residence and wait for the imperial edict. Don't kneel in the Queen's Palace without moving."

Zhang Jiji collapsed to the ground, waiting for the imperial edict? Waiting for the imperial edict that she would become a lady?

She looked at the queen for help, but the queen just turned her eyes away and did not plead for her. Zhang Jiji felt disappointed.

She saved the Queen and never asked the Queen to do anything for her over the years. Wasn't the Queen even willing to plead for her?

She is such a good sister to her!

She originally wanted to ask the Queen to intercede and not to demote her. Her glorious life over the years was all thanks to this imperial edict. Her husband, mother-in-law and father-in-law never dared to speak to her loudly. It could be said that she had the final say in the Qian family.

In Jiangnan, even though she was a merchant's wife, the wives of high-ranking officials did not dare to treat her badly. They treated her as an honored guest at every banquet. After all, she was the lady of the state who could be compared with the sisters of the empress.

But thinking of the future of her eldest son and the Qian family, Zhang Jiji endured it and left calmly.

"How come the old lady has time to enter the palace today?"

The emperor changed his indifference towards Zhang Jiji and asked Madam Wen gently, as if he was chatting casually.

"I have heard some rumors recently and I feel uneasy, so I came to the palace."

The emperor became interested when he heard this. It was another rumor. Zhang believed the rumor and gossiped about it in front of the empress and Changning. It happened that today he dealt with those ministers who had connections with the Northern Di in the court.

After coming back from court, he found Zhang's words particularly offensive, so he demoted her to a lady of honor.

Now Madam Wen is spreading rumors again. It must be related to the royal family, which is why Madam Wen is so uneasy. Rumors in the capital spread very quickly. I am afraid that they were spread deliberately by someone with ulterior motives.

"I heard that the princess said to a man who was insubordinate at the Spring Festival Banquet that she did not want to choose a husband and her fiancé was still Wen Shao. I was terrified. Wen Shao was also killed in the battle. I really don't want to delay the princess."

Old Madam Wen said this frankly, and her eyes couldn't help but turn red. If her son was alive and well, and was lucky enough to marry a kind-hearted woman like the princess, he would surely be able to live in harmony with the princess.

What a pity!

After hearing this, the emperor glanced at Zhuang Zijin and saw that her expression had not changed. He knew that Zhuang Zijin was serious this time and not just a childish person who was joking and fighting off the man as he had previously thought.

"Don't worry, old lady. This is just nonsense from others. Don't take it to heart."

"Madam, you must take good care of yourself. General Wen's spirit in heaven would not want your mother to be sad and worried about him every day."

After comforting Madam Wen for a long time, she left the Queen's bedroom. The Emperor dismissed the palace maids, leaving only him, Zhuang Zijin and the Queen.

"Why doesn't Changning want to choose a son-in-law again?" The emperor called Zhuang Zijin to his side and asked lovingly.

"If Changning feels that the candidate for the consort your mother has found for you is not to her liking, Changning can take her time to choose."

"Father, what if I don't want to marry anyone?" Zhuang Zijin tried to ask, leaning on the queen. He no longer had the arrogance he had just shown, only admiration for his parents.

"Silly boy! You are just talking like a child. Which girl in the world would get married?"

The Queen also chimed in, thinking that her daughter was still young and didn't understand the significance of marriage. "When our Changning finds a husband that suits her, she won't think like that anymore. She might even be eager to get married by then!"

"Mother." Zhuang Zijin buried her head in the Queen's arms. She was not as eager to get married as her mother said.

Zhuang Zijin asked tentatively: "This sister of yours does not seem to be as kindhearted as yours truly said. She only cares about yours truly. How did Zhang Shuren save yours?"

This is also what Zhuang Zijin has always found strange. When Zhang married into the Qian family, she was a wealthy lady. How could she be alone in the suburbs of Beijing and just happen to save her mother?

"I haven't seen her for many years. Maybe she has changed her personality because of what happened in Jiangnan these years."

The Queen felt reluctant to say this. Zhang Jiji was in Jiangnan, and the officials' families all respected her. She lived a smooth life. Nothing could change her temperament.

I think she has never recognized Zhang Jiji's true nature. She has taken care of Zhang Jiji for many years, and that is enough.

If Zhang Jiji had not encountered a life-threatening situation, the Queen decided not to interfere, lest she set her sights on Changning again like she did this time.

"When your mother and your father returned to the outskirts of the capital, a group of thieves besieged your father. Your mother was afraid that something might happen to your father, so she transferred the guards beside her to help your father."

"No, when the Queen Mother left a few guards with her, the accomplices of the thieves came out from the woods on the other side. They were no worse than the group that besieged your father."

"My mother and the maidservants around her are in danger. Fortunately, your father has dealt with most of the thieves and sent guards to rescue my mother."

"My mother was being escorted back by this group of guards. Guards around her kept falling, and even a few of her maids were gone. There were only two thieves left on the opposite side."

"At this moment, the Queen Mother was accompanied by only a wounded guard and a few powerless maids. When they came to the river, they ran into Zhang.

"When the Queen Mother was attacked from behind, she was the one who blocked the sword for her. Not long after she fell into the Queen Mother's arms, your father arrived with reinforcements and drove them away."

After hearing this, Zhuang Zijin became even more confused. Zhang Jiji's appearance at the wrong time and place was wrong!