Chapter 9: The Fragrant Pastries Are Done (Third Update)

  There were three imperial consorts in the palace, and Ming's status was no different from theirs.

  The Taiji Palace where she lived was second in scale only to those of Empress Dowager Cixi and Consort Zhen.

  Because Mingfei is the daughter of Mingyuan, the Marquis of Chongtian in the imperial court. Deng Guifei's father was a prime minister, and Guanfei's father was a great general, both having achievements in literature and martial arts.

  However, the power of Chongtianhou Mingyuan cannot be underestimated.

  The Great Zhou has stood for thousands of years, with numerous powerful nobles like hairs on an ox. The Marquis of the Stormy Heavens is one of the most prominent among them.

  Among the three consorts, Mingfei has a gentle and soft personality, with little ambition. She gave birth to Princess Zhoujun and Prince Zhouchong.

  The eldest princess, Zhou Jun, has a gentle and warm personality, similar to her mother. However, the third prince, Zhou Chong, is also ambitious and wants to compete with his brothers.

  Taiji Palace, the main hall. On the throne sat a woman, this woman was elegant and beautiful, but what's even more rare is her gentle and warm temperament, looking very kind.

  It's indeed Ming Fei.

  There stood a man and a woman below, who were none other than Wang Sanzi Zhou Chong, the third son of Ming Fei, and Grand Princess Zhou Jun.

  At this moment, Mingfei was in a dilemma, while Princess Zhou had a bitter smile on her face.

  Zhou Chong hastily said, "Empress Dowager, when Big Brother was young, he was very close to you. Your words, Big Brother will definitely listen to. Just tell Big Brother about the situation and let him acknowledge that Zhou Feng harmed him. This way, I, as the third son, can replace Big Brother and Second Brother, and become the Crown Prince."

  Ming Fei heard the words and suddenly thought of that little Crown Prince Zhou Jian from back then. He was a strange child, always thinking about something in his head, every day tinkering with some strange tools.

  When she was young, Mingfei indeed loved her extremely.

  But after that night, Mingfei never saw Zhoujian again. She had a soft personality, but she was unwilling to disobey King Zhou's intentions and go see Zhoujian.

  In the blink of an eye, more than ten years have passed.

  The poor child has broken his leg again.

  "How did it come to this?" Mingfei sighed in her heart.

  "In this tumultuous autumn, I really don't want to get involved in the matter of the crown prince's position." Mingfei said with a straight face.

  In the palace, with flashing knives and swords, she was indeed a little afraid, although her own family's power was not weak either.

  "Yes, it's better to have one less thing to worry about. You can be at ease, little brother. Anyway, no matter who ascends to the throne, with the influence of our maternal grandfather's family, you'll at least become a vassal king, which is already quite wealthy and noble."

  Zhou Jun also chimed in from the side.

  The daimyo is nothing but a plaything for those who wield power.

  Zhou Chong heard this and curled his lip in his heart, but didn't dare say it out loud. Instead, he turned his eyes and thought for a moment before saying: "Empress Dowager, you also dote on Eldest Brother quite a bit. Now that Eldest Brother has broken his leg, at least his life is saved. But the problem is, if Second Brother or Fourth Brother were to ascend to the throne, they probably wouldn't be able to tolerate Eldest Brother's existence as the eldest son. However, if I, your child, were to ascend to the throne, it would be different. With you protecting me, I wouldn't dare harm Eldest Brother in the slightest. Moreover, I would even confer upon him the title of Vassal King and let him live out his days in peace."

  "Don't mention big brother. As long as I, the crown prince, become the King of Zhou, within the borders of Zhou, no one will be able to bully me. If in the future I become a vassal king, that would mean living at the mercy of others. For big brother's sake, for my own sake, Mother Empress, please take action."

  Zhou Chong sought the Tao.

  "After all these years, even when I was a kid, I loved that child so much, but after going through so many things, the child may not necessarily be close to me."

  Ming Fei's heart was slightly moved by his words, but she still smiled wryly.

  "Try it, try it." Seeing Mingfei relax, Zhou Chong was overjoyed and hastily said.

  "Good."

  Ming Fei nodded after a moment of contemplation.

  Zhou Jun couldn't help but smile wryly at this, thinking that his mother was indeed too soft-hearted.

  Soon after, Mingfei set off with a son and daughter towards Qing Shui Palace.

  Zhou Jian, a fallen crown prince. Because of his position as the eldest son of the king, he became an obstacle to his younger half-brothers.

  More than ten years have passed without anyone asking about it.

  But at this time, because of breaking a leg and grasping some moral weapons, it became popular.

  The originally quiet and serene Kiyomizu-dera Temple also became lively because of this.

  Ming Fei and Guan Fei's carriage arrived almost at the same time, but they were both stopped by Zhou Feng's left-behind guards and Jin Quan.

  "Even the carriage of Princess Lian's mother-in-law was dared to be blocked, it's simply presumptuous."

  In front of the imperial carriage, a palace maid with sharp teeth and a pointed mouth stood with her hands on her hips, scolding Jin Quan loudly.

  "General, our princess wants to see His Highness, you're being a bit too lenient."

  The palace maid in front of Ming Fei's carriage was a bit more gentle, but what she meant was that their princess wasn't easy to mess with either.

  Jin Quan and Zhou Feng's remaining guards were all sweating profusely. Unexpectedly, as soon as they made a move, Ming Fei and Guan Fei also took action.

  This is Princess Zhou Wang, a top-notch existence in the palace, how can they stop her?

  But on the other hand, there was Zhou Feng's order. Jin Quan hesitated for a moment before gritting his teeth and saying, "It's not that I'm blocking you, but Empress Deng has given an order. The emperor is badly injured and needs to rest."

  Jin Quan put it tactfully, but these two palace maids were both Ming Fei and Guan Fei's attendants, how would they bother with this suit.

  The palace maid of Guan Fei scolded: "You only know Deng Guifei, but don't you know our family's Niangniang?"

  Ming Fei's palace maid also sneered, "It is said that in the palace, one family dominates all, the guards, eunuchs, and palace maids only listen to Empress Deng. I used to think it was just a rumor, but today I see that it is indeed true."

  "This."

  Jin Quan's face turned deathly pale, and he was at a loss for what to do. In his heart, he cried out, "Second Prince, something big has happened here! Why haven't you come yet?"

  It's just a small quarrel ahead.

  The big shots in the rear were all motionless.

  Mingfei and her elder sister Princess Zhoujun, Third Prince Zhouchong.

  Guan Fei and her two younger siblings, Zhou Ting and Zhou Fei.

  Both carriages were almost abreast, Zhou Jun, Zhou Chong, Zhou Ting, Zhou Fei and others were all crowded around their mother's carriage, looking at each other's brothers and sisters with cold smiles.

  Ming Fei and Guan Fei both lifted the curtain and looked at each other. Guan Fei sneered, while Ming Fei smiled faintly.

  These two groups of people came not only for Zhou Jian but also did not get along with each other.

  So there was no first move, wanting the other party to take the lead.

  In the end, it was Guan Fei, who had a quick temper, who couldn't bear it anymore and scolded Jin Quan in front of her: "A small imperial guard daring to block my way? You're really asking for trouble."

  "Give way, otherwise the people behind you can't save you either." Mingfei also anxiously wanted to meet with Zhou Jian, so she said lightly.

  At this moment, Jin Quan was really trembling all over.

  Ming Fei, Guan Fei has spoken, even if Jin Quan had ten times the courage, he wouldn't dare to really stop her. Silently mourning in his heart, Second Prince, I've already been loyal, you handle it yourself.

  With a deep breath, Jin Quan bowed and said, "I dare not." Then, he made a gesture to the guards behind him.

  At once, the guards parted to let them through.

  "Hmm."

  Guan Fei, a palace maid of Ming Fei, let out a cold hum.

  After a while, the carriage started again, and Concubine Tong, Consort Ming, the four princes, and the princesses all entered the Qing Shui Palace together.