Pregnant Before the Royal Marriage

Chapter 527: Taken Advantage Of?

Upon closer inspection under the lamp, Jiang Yi, dressed in a pink court lady’s attire, looked stunning if one could ignore his sulky expression.

Jiang Ning looked at him and burst into laughter.

Jiang Yi snorted, “I’ve suffered a lot to see you. If anyone sees me like this, how am I supposed to get by in Chang’an City?”

“Suffer?” Jiang Ning held back her laughter, “Did some Eunuch take advantage of you? Tell me who it was, and I’ll castrate him… oh, he’s already been castrated.”

“You little girl, really…” Jiang Yi was almost angered to the point of being unwell. He waved his hand, “Enough of that, let’s talk business. I haven’t had dinner yet, give me some… hey, why do you smell like alcohol?”

He noticed the smell of wine as he reached out to grab his sister’s mooncake.

Jiang Ning said, “I had a few drinks with the Emperor.”

“You drank with the Emperor?” Jiang Yi laughed, “We all thought you were locked up in the East Palace and were worried about how sad you were. Who would’ve thought you could get around so well? You even managed to drink with the Emperor. As far as I know, it’s rare for the Imperial Concubines to see him. You have quite the prestige as a Princess Consort.”

“What prestige do I have?”

Jiang Ning poured him a cup of tea, “It’s Concubine Jin’s prestige, our mother’s prestige, and the prestige of our father and uncle.”

As Princess Consort, she relied completely on the power of her family to get her position, which allowed her to run rampant in the Harem.

Without the support of her family’s influence, how could she possibly have Gucheng as her personal guard and have the freedom to move within the Harem?

How could the other concubines in the Harem be like mice seeing a cat when they saw her?

Jiang Ning was self-aware.

After Jiang Yi ate the mooncake and drank half a cup of hot tea, he felt warm and content inside, then laughed, “I rarely get to taste your cooking since you entered the palace.”

“Don’t even mention it, if it weren’t for my cooking skills, I wouldn’t have been caught and become a suspect in poisoning Concubine Jin.” Jiang Ning grumbled.

She paused and looked at Jiang Yi, “Third Brother, this matter… it wasn’t done by our Jiang Family, right?”

Jiang Yi was startled, “What, you suspect our family is behind this without your knowledge?”

“I know it’s impossible for it to be our family, but… I find the Emperor and Li Hongyuan’s attitude a bit off.” Jiang Ning frowned, “They keep saying they believe me, but they’re still cautious about me. I have a feeling they suspect our Jiang Family.”

Jiang Yi’s expression also turned serious, “Oh? Do you have any basis for that?”

“No evidence, just a feeling. However, tonight I heard the Emperor say something.”

“What?” Jiang Yi couldn’t help but lean in closer, lowering his voice.

This made Jiang Ning tense up and follow suit, lowering her voice, “At the time I was pretending to be drunk and grumbling, and I heard him say that if I kept talking nonsense, he would have a reason to cause trouble for the Jiang Family. Brother, do you think the Emperor has taken a disliking to our family?”

After a moment of contemplation, Jiang Yi laughed, “Don’t scare yourself. Just as you had no reason to harm Concubine Jin, what reason does the Emperor have to cause trouble for the Jiang Family?”

However, Jiang Ning couldn’t bring herself to laugh, “Brother, don’t be so sure, our Jiang Family can’t cover the sky with one hand. Take our father, he has many old rivals in the Imperial Court. Is it possible that someone else harmed Concubine Jin and framed our Jiang Family?”