Chapter 363: Spitting in Your Face

Consort Lin finally spoke. "I hear the Princess Consort rejected the marriage proposal to your family today—"

The Guardian Lady whipped her head around to face her and sneered, "Your ears are sharp, Consort Lin. Did you come here in the dead of night just to gloat?"

Consort Lin offered a gentle smile. "Guardian Lady, you misunderstand. I’ve always been very fond of Miss Qingluan. I feel nothing but sympathy for her, so how could I possibly come here to gloat?"

"If you ask me, the Princess Consort’s actions were despicable. For the sake of her son practicing some nonsense technique, she made Miss Qingluan wait until she was eighteen, only to cast her aside now. It’s a truly outrageous insult."

The Guardian Lady snorted. "So, Consort Lin is here to sow discord!"

Consort Lin gave a light laugh. "Guardian Lady, you misunderstand. I came today to ask for your daughter, Miss Qingluan’s, hand in marriage for my son."

The words had barely left her mouth when the Guardian Lady shot to her feet, glaring daggers at Consort Lin. "If my memory serves me, the eldest son of the Prince Mansion has been married before! You’re asking for her to be his second wife!"

"You want my daughter, whom I’ve cherished and pampered her entire life, to be your son’s second wife? Bah!" Without a shred of courtesy, the Guardian Lady spat right in Consort Lin’s face.

’The nerve! A mere concubine’s son from the Prince Mansion dares to covet her daughter, and as a second wife, no less!’

Consort Lin didn’t dodge or flinch. She calmly wiped the spittle from her face and said slowly, "Guardian Lady, please don’t be angry. Just hear me out."

"My Xuan’er is only twenty-one this year, a very suitable age for Miss Qingluan."

"Though it is a second marriage, he has no children from his first wife, so it’s hardly different from a first marriage."

"Besides, while my son may not be the Princely Heir, the Prince has already promised me that he will soon request a noble title for Xuan’er. With that, Xuan’er’s status will certainly be a match for Miss Qingluan."

The Guardian Lady sneered. "A mere title. The Emperor won’t grant him a fiefdom to go with it, so what use is it?"

’It was just like her own situation. Though she had been granted the title of Guardian Lady, an incredibly noble status that came with a monthly stipend, that was all.’

Consort Lin hesitated. She knew that if she wanted to persuade the Guardian Lady, she’d have to offer something truly substantial.

After a moment’s thought, she said, "To be frank with you, Guardian Lady, the Prince has told me in private that he will carve out a fiefdom for Xuan’er in the future."

"Furthermore, I’m not sure if the Guardian Lady has heard, but the Prince Mansion’s shipping fleet is now under Xuan’er’s management. Surely, from this, you can see how highly the Prince thinks of Xuan’er."

The Guardian Lady’s brow furrowed as she listened. Her own family possessed no sea vessels, but she had heard that overseas shipping was immensely profitable.

’Though she was a woman, and while she might not have known the court’s affairs like the back of her hand, she was still well-informed. The annual revenue of the Maritime Trade Office was probably no less than a tenth of the entire nation’s fiscal income.’

’For Prince Qi to entrust something so important to his eldest son showed that this son’s standing in the Prince’s heart was by no means low.’

’It seemed the Princess Consort was useless, then, to let a concubine climb right over her head.’

’This Consort Lin, who never made a show of her strengths, was clearly a force to be reckoned with.’

Seeing the Guardian Lady’s pensive expression, Consort Lin grew more confident. "Guardian Lady, just think. My son will have a noble title, a fiefdom, and control of the shipping fleet. When that happens, can he truly be considered any less than the Princely Heir?"

The Guardian Lady lowered her gaze and said nothing, but she slowly sat back down.

Consort Lin knew the Guardian Lady was tempted. At this point, she just needed to add a little more fuel to the fire to make the Guardian Lady switch her allegiance entirely.

But saying it out loud would be too much of a risk.