Tianliangyuan

Chapter 252 Jiang Ning is Pregnant

The Yunqi Mountain Villa in Lantian County is under construction, isn't this a living example?

King Zhong was a clever man and quickly grasped the key point. He began to think of ways to gather a private army under the guise of recruiting laborers.

In fact, nowadays, any private soldier who is strong and able-bodied can be considered a success after a little training, as long as they are obedient and capable of killing.

However, if you want elite troops, it will take a lot of money and resources to train them.

For example, weapons alone are divided into different grades, and which one is free?

The best weapon, a Mo Dao (陌刀), could be equivalent to a year's worth of food for an ordinary family.

Zhao Yue smiled and hinted, "The Jiang family is clearly on the decline. Whether they can turn the tide cannot be determined solely by Consort Jiang in the palace. However, we still need to maintain good relations with Grand Tutor Jiang and Lord Jiang. This will not prevent you from using the Deng family."

Training a private army is something that King Zhong could not possibly do personally, otherwise he would be doomed.

The Deng family?

The Prince of Zhong's brow twitched, and he immediately understood.

Even if things are exposed later, there will be someone to take the blame.

The Deng family still has some money to spare, and Madam Jiang is the Deng family's niece. Given this relationship, it's perfectly normal for the Deng family to help Madam Jiang manage the family business.

Therefore, the matter of raising private soldiers cannot be attributed to the Prince Zhong's mansion.

"The princess is indeed intelligent and wise."

Zhao Yue smiled but remained silent.

If the Loyal King succeeds in his great cause, the Zhao family will naturally have contributed to his rise to power, and the Jiang and Deng families will also be promoted as a result.

But so what?

Even if the Zhao family doesn't get involved in this deadly plot, the Prince of Zhong will still reward them handsomely afterwards.

This is the source of Zhao Yue's confidence, given her prestigious family background.

The Zhao family has provided a lot of financial support to Prince Zhong, but the Zhao family is shrewd and, because of their deep-rooted resources, they always follow legitimate channels and won't give anyone any leverage over them.

However, King Zhong did indeed benefit from the Zhao family.

Based on this alone, King Zhong dared to look down on the Zhao family.

But Jiang Ning is different.

Her status in the Jiang family is not what it used to be. While the Jiang family is still somewhat useful, she should make the best of it.

Jiang Ning's dowry included some properties in Suizhou.

Suizhou is quite far from the capital, and the Deng family had already established some business there before. This time, we can make good use of the Deng family's resources.

The Loyal King and his advisors quickly figured out the key point. On the bright side, this could be seen as helping the Deng family out of their misfortune and giving them a way out.

But in essence, it's just about making use of waste.

In any case, I can't be of much help in the court, but I can manage to get things done in other matters.

Jiang Ning couldn't think that far ahead. When she learned that the prince was willing to help her maternal grandparents' family, she naturally assumed that this was a sign of his affection for her.

After their intimate moment, Jiang Ning whispered, "My period is seven or eight days late. Could you please have the family physician come and take my pulse tomorrow?"

In fact, Jiang Ning had already consulted a doctor outside today, and it was confirmed that she was pregnant.

But she didn't say it because she thought she could take this opportunity to show weakness in front of the prince, as if she had suffered a great injustice in the prince's mansion.

When King Zhong heard this news, he was naturally overjoyed.

As a man, especially a prince, he naturally cared deeply about having offspring.

Last year, Princess Zhao Yue, the wife of Prince Zhong, gave birth to his legitimate son.

So if Jiang Ning could give him another son now, that would be perfect.

The Prince of Zhong has many wives and concubines, but he only has one legitimate son. According to the usual practice of noble families, if the principal wife has not borne any children after three years of marriage, the birth of illegitimate children will be permitted.

The royal family naturally had no such concerns, otherwise he wouldn't exist as the eldest son born out of wedlock.

However, since he was the one who proposed to Zhao Yue, he took the initiative to make such a condition in order to show the Zhao family his sincerity. Therefore, no matter how much he doted on other women before Zhao Yue gave birth to a legitimate son, he would not allow them to become pregnant.

Previously, a concubine, relying on her beauty and favor, secretly vomited up the contraceptive soup she had drunk. After doing this several times, she successfully became pregnant.

However, she did not receive any pity from the Prince of Zhong; instead, he ordered his men to force-feed her safflower.

I can no longer get pregnant after that.

And naturally, she fell out of favor.

This incident had a tremendous deterrent effect within the inner quarters of the Prince Zhong's residence.

Zhao Yue was extremely satisfied with this, which is why she wholeheartedly planned for the Prince Zhong, hoping that he could have a better future.

The next day, after being examined by the imperial physician, it was confirmed that Jiang Ning was pregnant. Upon hearing this, Zhao Yue simply sent someone to deliver some tonics.

As the matriarch of the household, she would not be foolish enough to tamper with these supplements. Besides, everything is clearly visible. For example, bird's nest is right there. How could she possibly tamper with it?

The news of Jiang Ning's pregnancy still surprised Xu Zhaozhao.

She thought Zhao Yue wouldn't let Jiang Ning get pregnant, after all, Jiang Ning had a powerful backer.

If Jiang Ning were to give birth to a son, there would be a lot of competition later on.

But she didn't expect Zhao Yue to be so generous.

Did they simply not take Jiang Ning seriously, or was there another reason?

The news of Jiang Ning's pregnancy was kept secret throughout the Zhongwang Mansion, and no one was allowed to disclose it. This was mainly because she was less than three months pregnant and it was not advisable to alarm too many people.

As for Princess Zhao Yue, she looked at him with a mocking expression: "Let her be smug for a few days, after all, the prince still intends to use her."

As half a month passed, Jiang Ning began to experience morning sickness symptoms. She also did not encounter any schemes or plots against her in the Prince's mansion, which made her feel a little more at ease.

At the same time, she also heard that in the backyard, besides herself, there was another concubine who was also pregnant, but because of her lowly status, she was just a maidservant.

Jiang Ning thought that the princess already had a legitimate son, and perhaps that was why she had relaxed her control over the women in the palace. She wondered whether the concubine was carrying a boy or a girl.

Seeing that Zhao Yue had not made a move against Jiang Ning, Xu Zhaozhao could roughly guess that the Prince Zhong's Mansion must have other plans.

After some investigation, they learned about the movements of certain members of the Deng family.

"The Duke of Su's mansion has a new heir. I wonder if they plan to support a different young master?"

Xu Zhaozhao finished speaking and suddenly smiled.

The world is a bustling place, everyone is driven by profit!

She refused to believe that the Duke of Su was truly so firmly bound to the Prince of Zhong's mansion.

Consort Jiang in the palace fell ill for several days. Firstly, she was heartbroken because her nephew had passed away, and secondly, she was worried about her ailing father.

However, as the emperor's woman, she could not leave the palace at will.

Consort Jiang's complexion was deteriorating day by day, so a female official suggested, "Why don't we invite Lady Jiang to the palace to keep the Consort company? I've heard that the two have always had a close relationship, which might help the Consort to feel better."