Chapter 1646: Chapter 1646: Mislead (1)
Yang Ruxin scoffed, âThis connection is hidden deeply enough. If no one investigates, who would have thought of it?â
âItâs said that the Crown Prince dotes on Lady Feng immensely, practically fulfilling her every request, even to the point of neglecting the Crown Princess Consort,â Du Man pursed her lips. âRumors in the Palace even say that if the Crown Princess doesnât get pregnant soon, they might let Lady Feng have a child firstâŠâ
Yang Ruxinâs eyes sparkled momentarily. What a level of favor this is! You should know that while in this era, polygamy is the norm for men, the distinction between legitimate and illegitimate children is extremely significant. Within a family, the eldest son is expected to inherit the family business, unless the elders in the family are particularly biased and indifferent to othersâ opinions, or the eldest son is genuinely incompetent; only then might another child take over the family line.
Thus, under normal circumstances, the legitimate wife is supposed to bear the eldest son or eldest daughter first. Only after the legitimate wife gives birth are the concubines allowed to bear children.
This is precisely why Gu Qinghengâs stepmother went to such great lengths to eliminate him after his mother passed away, when his father remarried. With him present, even if Zou Qiuyueâs son is also a legitimate child, he wouldnât be the eldest son and thus wouldnât qualify to inherit the family business.
And within the royal family, this is considered even more crucial. The Crown Prince must be born of the legitimate wife. If the legitimate wife hasnât given birth, even if the concubine becomes pregnant, the child must be aborted.
Yet now rumors are spreading about letting Lady Feng bear a child first. If this is true, then Lady Fengâs status must be extraordinary.
However, isnât the Crown Prince already twenty-seven? Theyâve been married for two years. Of course, before this, there were women around him, yet there doesnât seem to have been any pregnancies.
One woman without children might be an issue with the woman. Two women without children could be coincidental. But for all the women around him to be childless, not even pregnantâthis likely points to the Crown Prince himself. Could it be that the Crown Prince is infertile?
Is infertility really so common in this era?
Should she step in to treat the Crown Prince, and use the opportunity to strengthen ties with the Crown Princess Consort?
This idea is good, but it wouldnât be easy to implement, so she decided to set it aside for now.
âBut by this calculation, the Crown Princeâs connections with the Meng Family are far weaker than King Yunâs. While sheâs a concubine, she still counts as King Yunâs in-law. So why are the rumors saying that the Crown Prince is their supporter?â Yang Ruxin smacked her lips. âAnd if you consider it closely, the Meng Family even has ties with King Han. After all, Meng Keqing was originally chosen by King HanâŠâ
Du Man nodded, âThatâs true. Gu Ming casually forged a link with one of the Meng Familyâs coachmen, and outwardly, the Meng Family has intentionally or unintentionally associated themselves with the Crown Prince. Yet, they completely ignore mentioning connections with anyone elseâŠâ
Yang Ruxin frowned slightly. Her intuition told her that something was off. For a family involved in overseas trade, those who can make smooth round trips are bound to collude with pirates on nearby islands. The pirates provide escort services for trade ships, and the families in turn supply resources to the pirates. Sometimes, they even facilitate their raids ashore.
The Meng Family would naturally be no exception.
However, despite having some wealth, the Meng Family is just an ordinary merchant family. They wouldnât have such significant influence on their own. This requires tacit approval from the Governorâs Office, and the individuals involved must have military authority or control over the local military.