Royal Harem

  After several days, Wu Minghao's wheelchair had not arrived yet, but Chunxiang came to tell Xiao Zongrong a piece of bad news.

  Her Majesty the Queen's birthday is next month, and a banquet will be held in the palace to celebrate. The wives of all civil and military officials are invited to join in the celebration.

  At the time, all the ladies sang and danced with their skills in music, painting, poetry, and calligraphy. Regardless of age, everyone could show off their talents. The winner could get a treasure chest, which was said to contain not only rich jewels and ornaments but also the phoenix crown and auspicious headdress worn by the empress when she got married. It was said that whoever possessed these items would be blessed with good fortune from the empress, and such wealth and glory would be the greatest honor.

  Xiao Congrong raised an eyebrow slightly: "What does this have to do with me?"

  "Of course it has something to do with us! I heard that the Empress Dowager is ostensibly celebrating her birthday, but in reality, she's selecting consorts for the Fourth and Fifth Princes. If the Fourth Prince chooses someone else, it doesn't concern us, but if the Fifth Prince selects another woman, what will you do, Miss?"

  Xiao Congrong broke out in a cold sweat, silently staring at Chunxiang. In terms of status, she was still Wu Mingyuan's concubine, so how could she think of marrying her off to the Fifth Prince? Was this maid's thinking even more progressive than hers, a 20th-century person?

  "So, miss, don't delay any further. Once the old master returns, have him go to the Third Prince's residence... let the Third Prince dissolve... your engagement!"

  Chun Xiang was somewhat embarrassed, those two words "break off the engagement" couldn't be spoken, thinking of something, she twisted her fingers, worriedly muttering to herself: "Miss, you are still a virgin, the Fifth Prince shouldn't mind, right?"

  Xiao Congrong couldn't help but laugh at the simplicity of Xiao Yatou's thoughts! However, the Wu family is a martial arts family, and regardless of whether she was innocent or not, simply because she had been the concubine of the Third Prince, the Wu family would never allow Wu Minghao to marry her again!

  Bi Wu Ming Hao seemed to be unclear every day, changing his tricks to send her supplements and small toys, as if making up for the guilt of not being able to help her out. In just a few days, he had made it so that even the lowest-ranking servants in the Xiao Fu knew that the Fifth Prince was trying to curry favor with her, and their attitude towards her was no longer as cold as before.

  Choosing a consort? Xiao Zongrong sank into deep thought, guessing that the legendary stern and powerful Empress Dowager had already found out about this Fifth Prince's 'outrageous' behavior, this was a warning to her!

  Xiao Congrong thought it was necessary to keep a distance from the Fifth Prince, lest the Empress Dowager became unhappy and accused her of "seduction" again, which would cost her life!

  So when the Fifth Prince personally brought over the wheelchair, Xiao Zongrong accepted the gift but solemnly said to Wu Minghao: "Fifth Prince, Rongrong is injured like this, thank you for your kindness, sending me so many gifts, a simple 'thank you' is too light! I will remember this kindness in my heart, never forget it! However, there are too many gifts, please don't send me any more gifts in the future, and also please come to Xiao Fu less often!"

  Wu Minghao was stunned and subconsciously asked: "Why?"

  Xiao said calmly: "I have a bad reputation, and I'm still the concubine of His Highness the Crown Prince. If he comes to the Xiao Mansion every day to deliver so many gifts, others will spread rumors again! I don't care, but as a prince, you can't tolerate being slandered, so it's better to reduce our interactions!"