Persuasion

In the palace, Noble Consort Cen also offered the same advice to Madam Cen.

After saying that, she added, "Sister-in-law, don't we women just want our families to be safe, sound, and harmonious? Even though my brother is no longer in his original official position, so what? The family hasn't lacked food or clothing, and we're less at risk of having our property confiscated by the emperor. In my opinion, this is still a good thing."

Even if he no longer holds those positions, my brother is still the uncle of Prince of An and Prince of Qi, and I am still alive. The Cen Family should enjoy no less wealth and honor than before. What more could my brother possibly want?

Madam Cen sighed and said, "That's true."

As a woman, she had little ambition. Unfortunately, the men in the Cen Family didn't think the same way.

"Furthermore, brother, you should abandon the idea of choosing Cen Family girl as Little Five's concubine. Even if Little Five were to recover, his marriage would still be decided by the Emperor, regardless of his current condition."

Noble Consort Cen grasped Madam Cen's hand, her face full of sincerity. "During this rebellion, the Emperor was wounded by his sons and was in a bad mood. It was Mister Kumu who comforted him. Minister Lord Wu of the Ministry of Personnel also played a significant role in investigating and confiscating the property of corrupt officials. Now, the Cen Family is forcing someone to be Little Five's concubine, and even wants her to enter the family with Zhiwei. Isn't this a slap in the face to Mister Kumu and Lord Wu?"

"So many powerful families have fallen, yet the Cen Family still stands here intact, only because the Emperor is showing mercy to me and the two princes. But if we offend Mister Kumu, and he just smirks at the Emperor, with Minister Wu pulling strings behind the scenes, what do you think the consequences would be?"

Upon Noble Consort Cen's words, Madam Cen broke out in a cold sweat.

She was Cen Peixuan's biological mother. In fact, she was the last person who wanted to see Cen Family girl marry Xiao Lingyan as a concubine.

If Little Five really has a chance to ascend the throne in the future, and the branch of Twelfth Lady rises to power, their branch will have to abdicate and live at the mercy of others.

She'd rather be the head of a chicken than the tail of a phoenix.

"Don't worry, I'll go back and talk to the master." she said.

Noble Consort Cen nodded and said, "Miss Xuan has always been strong-willed and proud. She didn't treat Zhao Zhiwei well before. Sister-in-law, you should persuade her. How can it be that she doesn't even get close to her own family, and instead pushes them away?"

Madam Cen was present when the conflict arose on the Emperor's birthday. She witnessed firsthand that Zhao Zhiwei was a formidable woman, and she knew her daughter's temperament all too well.

She nodded repeatedly, "Your Majesty, don't worry, I will definitely persuade her. This child has been spoiled by her father and me since she was little, and she doesn't know any better. Now that she's a mother herself, it's time for her to be more sensible."

Noble Consort Cen knew that this was the end of the matter. Times had changed; even if Cen Peixuan herself didn't understand, her parents and Second Brother would make her understand.

She smiled and served tea to her guest as they left.

After leaving the palace, Madam Cen did not go home, but went straight to Prince of An's Residence.

"Mother, what brings you here?" Cen Peixuan was sitting lazily in the courtyard, basking in the sun.

"Come inside, Mother has something to tell you."

Cen Peixuan, however, was too lazy to move and said, "It's alright, let's just talk here."

Seeing her like this, Madam Cen sighed and could only lower her voice to ask, "Is His Prince of An feeling any better? You still seem so downcast?"

Cen Peixuan frowned, annoyed, and said, "Why are you asking this? What else can be done?"

Originally, Xiao Lingpu needed to rely on the Cen Family's power to seize the throne, so he was willing to spend time and effort to coax Cen Peixuan.

But now that he has no hope of seizing the throne, he no longer needs the Cen Family's power. In addition, he has fallen from grace and is in a terrible mood, so he naturally doesn't want to deal with Cen Peixuan, a woman he doesn't like.

He himself wasn't fond of women, and since Cen Peixuan was carrying his child, he didn't say anything inappropriate. He didn't touch the maids who came close to him, and he just ignored Cen Peixuan.

Even this was not enough for Cen Peixuan.

Upon seeing this, Madam Cen understood what had happened and gave her daughter a good talking-to.

She then recounted the story of the Cen Family's demotion, saying, "If Prince of Qi can be reinstated, he will have a chance to ascend to that position in the future. Besides, Zhao Zhiwei herself is not without backers; Mister Kumu is someone who can influence the Emperor's thoughts. If he were to express dissatisfaction with our Cen Family, a few words from him, coupled with Minister Wu of the Ministry of Personnel's intervention, would mean that your father and uncles would be in a very different situation."

"You shouldn't have targeted Zhao Zhiwei a while ago. Now our Cen Family is not as powerful as before, and Prince of An is like this. If you don't learn to keep a low profile, I think you shouldn't go out anymore, lest you cause trouble. I'll go and talk to Prince of An myself later."

Cen Peixuan was initially somewhat unwilling, but upon hearing her mother's words, she was greatly surprised and quickly said, "Mother, please don't tell the Prince. I won't provoke Zhao Zhiwei anymore, okay?"

"Not only should you not provoke her, you also need to maintain a good relationship with her," Madam Cen said seriously. "Don't forget that Prince of An no longer needs to rely on the Cen Family. If he is dissatisfied with you and wants to neglect you, taking concubines and favoring other women, your father and I won't be able to help you. Your aunt is also very unhappy about your actions towards Zhao Zhiwei."

Cen Peixuan twisted the handkerchief in her hand and said reluctantly, "Alright, I'll do whatever you say."

Madam Cen knew her daughter was a bit spoiled, but she wasn't brainless. She just couldn't accept it right now. Once she figured it out, she would know what to do.

Thinking of this, she breathed a sigh of relief.

She thought this was for the best. Otherwise, if Prince of An smoothly ascended the throne and become emperor, and her daughter had become empress, given her personality, she would definitely have caused trouble.

Once Xiao Lingpu will likely be to weaken the Cen Family's power. Cen Peixuan will be an excellent pretext for him. He only needs to set a trap to lure Cen Peixuan into it, then seize the opportunity to depose the empress and suppress the Cen Family.

She felt that it would be better for the Cen Family and her daughter to be in such a state as they are now.

As for Zhao Ruxi, she didn't care about the Cen Family and Cen Peixuan's affairs.

Because she knew the Emperor wouldn't let the Cen Family off the hook. Once the Cen Family lost power and Xiao Lingpu became crippled, Cen Peixuan would lose her pride.

Furthermore, given the Emperor's wariness of the Cen Family and Xiao Lingyan's affection for her, the Cen Family's attempt to force the girl onto Xiao Lingyan as a concubine would not succeed.

Therefore, she was unwilling to spend points to have the system inquire about the Cen Family.

During this time, besides visiting Xiao Lingyan in the palace and practicing calligraphy and painting, she also looked at the various dowries prepared for her by the old lady and Lady Zhu. In addition, she symbolically embroidered two stitches on the wedding dress that Lady Zhu had chosen for her.

The court gradually returned to calm, and Xiao Lingyan gave everyone a pleasant surprise—he could speak.