Chapter 53 "And what about the real Princess Weiyang...?"

Chapter 53: Awake==

"What did you say? The Emperor has woken up?" In Kunning Palace, the Empress's expression changed drastically, and she slammed her hand on the table.

"Yes." Granny Gui's face was ashen. She didn't know how to persuade the Empress. His Majesty was unwell and unconscious, but the imperial physicians hadn't yet determined that he had contracted the plague. Prince Cheng and Consort Gui went to the Hall of Mental Cultivation immediately, but the Empress and the Crown Prince chose to protect themselves from the start, as if His Majesty couldn't hold on. Now that His Majesty had woken up, he must already know what the Empress and the Crown Prince had done. Being disheartened was secondary; what she feared was that His Majesty would suspect the Empress and the Crown Prince of treasonous intentions, which would truly leave her helpless.

The Empress's face flushed and paled in an instant. The Emperor's recovery was undoubtedly a joyous occasion, but before that...

"Granny Gui, I was out of my mind the other day and didn't listen to you. What do you think I should do now?"

The Emperor has already woken up and may soon summon her, the Empress. She can't just sit here and wait to die.

She still needed to come up with a plausible excuse, to show that she was uninvolved and that this matter absolutely could not implicate the Crown Prince.

As someone close to the Empress, Granny Gui was naturally concerned for her. She advised the Empress, "This servant thinks that Your Majesty should not panic. Since Your Majesty already knows that His Majesty has woken up, you should go and pay your respects to His Majesty first, instead of waiting for His Majesty to summon you."

If the Empress went to pay her respects first, it would at least tell the Emperor that she knew she was wrong. If she waited for the Emperor to summon her, wouldn't that mean that the Empress didn't even realize what she had done wrong?

The Empress did not go to take care of the Emperor because she thought that if the Crown Prince ascended the throne, she could become the Empress Dowager. However, Granny Gui did not know where the Crown Prince's confidence came from. During the six months of confinement in the Eastern Palace, the Crown Prince had not made any progress at all.

Granny Gui sighed. "Your Majesty, shall I go and invite His Highness the Crown Prince to the palace?"

The Empress and the Crown Prince were truly foolish in this matter. Their intentions were good, but the Emperor is not dead yet, and now he is going to settle scores later.

"You should accompany me to the Hall of Mental Cultivation first, and I'll sound out His Majesty's opinion." The Empress still harbored a sliver of hope that His Majesty was unwell and might not have time to attend to her and the Crown Prince. But the Empress forgot one crucial thing: the Emperor's keen perception.

The Empress usually disliked Consort Qin's delicate and weak demeanor, but in order to appease the Emperor, she deliberately removed two phoenix gold hairpins to make herself look as frail as possible.

At the entrance of the Hall of Mental Cultivation, the Empress spoke gently and gracefully to Eunuch Zhou, "Eunuch Zhou, I heard that His Majesty has awakened, so I came to visit him."

Eunuch Zhou, with a stern expression, said politely, "Your Majesty, Prince Cheng and Lord Xie are inside. Perhaps you could come another day?"

The Empress's expression changed. Could it be that the Emperor had truly grown tired of her and the Crown Prince?

Just as she was about to question him, Granny Gui quickly stepped forward and pulled the Empress aside, intending to remind her. The Empress took a deep breath and warned herself that a small act of impatience could ruin a great plan[1]. At times like these, she must not lose her composure. “I am relieved that Your Majesty is in good health. I will come to see Your Majesty again tomorrow.”

Eunuch Zhou said with a smile, "Your Majesty, please take care."

If the Empress and Granny Gui had observed carefully, they would have noticed that Eunuch Zhou's expression was off and his smile didn't reach his eyes.

Halfway through the journey, the Empress spoke up: "There's no need to summon the Crown Prince to the palace yet. Let's wait until His Majesty's anger has subsided."

"Yes, Your Majesty." For some reason, Granny Gui had a bad feeling.

Meanwhile, in the Hall of Mental Cultivation, the Emperor, lying on his dragon bed, was pale and nearly breathless. "Minister Xie, is this matter truly true?"

"Your Majesty, after my personal investigation with Lord Zhou, it is confirmed that the well water of the family that was first infected with the plague was indeed problematic. After learning of this, I ordered my men to retrieve the water upstream, and they did indeed find a dead body." Xie Cheng said calmly, without even flinching.

The Emperor understood perfectly well that Xie Cheng's words were true; he simply couldn't believe it. He couldn't believe that his favored son would do such a thing. Was he truly unafraid of the empire being destroyed in his hands? No wonder he had been staying in the Eastern Palace these past few days, refusing to leave. It turned out he already knew how the plague had started. It wasn't enough that he had harmed the people of the capital; he also wanted to kill his father, the Emperor, to take his place. And the Empress... they were already hoping for his early death, preparing to become Emperor and Empress Dowager.

The Emperor suddenly sneered. If he hadn't been bedridden, he would have applauded the Crown Prince. "Well, my son has truly surpassed his father. He's planning to personally destroy my Northern Li kingdom."

"Your Majesty's mood." Inside the inner hall, apart from the outstanding Prince Cheng, everyone else knelt down.

"Yu'er, draft an edict for me." The Emperor opened his eyes and looked at the bright yellow curtain, then closed them slightly. Perhaps he was wrong from the beginning. The Crown Prince was not suitable to be the heir apparent. He had repeatedly forgiven the Crown Prince in order to balance the situation in the court. Even Heaven could not stand it anymore, which is why he suffered such a great retribution. Even if he did not want to admit it, he had to admit that he was somewhat powerless.

Parting the clouds and mist, spring branches emerge.

A phoenix perches on a parasol tree.

King Cheng's ascension to the throne was the popular choice, and Queen Cheng was destined for greatness, but Xie Cheng still couldn't fathom the meaning of "seeing through the clouds and mist."

The two imperial edicts were drafted at midnight in the sixth year of the Dingyuan era. Due to the epidemic, the capital was not as lively as in previous years. The emperor looked at the two imperial edicts in his hand and said weakly, "The imperial edict on the left of Yu'er shall be proclaimed to the world immediately. The imperial edict on the right of Yu'er, Zhou Yongsheng, you shall personally deliver it to the Eastern Palace at dawn tomorrow."

"Yes, Your Majesty." Eunuch Zhou accepted the two imperial edicts with trepidation. His arms were trembling as he took them. The world in the capital was about to change completely.

It was the New Year of the sixth year of Dingyuan. The Prince Cheng's mansion was brightly lit. Although there were no fireworks as in previous years, a group of maids were talking to Su Wanyue. Su Wanyue had already asked the steward to distribute the rewards. The Prince Cheng's mansion was filled with joy and harmony.

Eunuch Zhou immediately sent a eunuch to Prince Cheng's residence to report the good news. Upon hearing the news, the steward was overjoyed and went briskly to Zixia Palace. "Your Highness, congratulations! His Majesty has appointed His Highness as Crown Prince."

Everyone was initially surprised, but then hurriedly congratulated Su Wanyue, "Congratulations, Your Highness."

Although Su Wanyue had already guessed it, she didn't expect it to happen so quickly. She raised her eyebrows slightly, revealing her red lips and white teeth, and asked the housekeeper what was going on.

Yesterday, Zhou Heng came to the Prince Cheng's residence. Everyone in Zixia Palace knew that the plague was caused by the Crown Prince. Chunzhi said, "Your Highness, His Majesty must already know what the Crown Prince has done, which is why he has deposed the Crown Prince from his position as heir apparent."

“The Crown Prince has already done so many wrong things, and this time he doesn’t even care about the lives of innocent people. If His Majesty continues to protect the Crown Prince, what will become of the country?” Xia Tang echoed indignantly. “However, our Princess Consort will be the Crown Princess from now on.”

The chatter among the crowd left Su Wanyue somewhat exasperated. After sending them off to collect their rewards, Su Wanyue asked the steward in a low voice, "Where is His Highness?"

"His Highness will be handling memorials for His Majesty these few days, so he won't be returning," the steward said with a smile. "However, His Highness said he will return tomorrow at noon to dine with the Princess."

The mere mention of meals made Su Wanyue feel unwell. She rubbed her slender wrists. If she didn't feel better in the next two days, she would have to ask Physician Zhang to check her pulse once the epidemic was over.

"Then this old servant will take his leave."

===

That night, everyone in the capital had their own thoughts. The most anxious were the Empress and the Crown Prince. The Empress even went to the Hall of Mental Cultivation late at night, but the Emperor did not see her. Xiao Ruofei wanted to enter the palace, but the palace gates were already locked, so he could only wait until the next day.

When Eunuch Zhou read out the decree deposing the Crown Prince in front of everyone in the Eastern Palace, Xiao Ruofei's face turned ugly and embarrassed. He murmured dejectedly, "Impossible."

As he spoke, Xiao Ruofei laughed, “I am the Crown Prince of Beili, a highly respected prince. My father would never depose me from my position as Crown Prince. Someone must be trying to harm me. It must be Xiao Yu.”

"Yes, he must have deliberately slandered me to Father. I demand to see Father." Xiao Ruofei's effeminate face looked extremely terrifying as he paced back and forth in the hall. "Prepare the carriage."

Eunuch Zhou looked at Xiao Ruofei with a hint of pity. Throughout history, it was rare for a prince from the Empress's palace to be deposed while the Emperor was still alive. But the current Crown Prince had committed so many wrongdoings. First, he sold smuggled salt, plotted against other princes, and used his own child to frame others. Then, he won over ministers and harbored rebellious intentions. Now, he even dared to scheme against the country and the people. If the Emperor were not a muddle-headed and incompetent ruler, he would surely have deposed the Crown Prince.

To put it bluntly, the reason why the crown prince ended up like this was his own fault, and he had the talent to become the heir apparent.

Eunuch Zhou handed the imperial edict to Lin Ruohan, offering a meaningful reminder, "Your Highness, His Majesty has asked this old servant to ask you a question: When Your Highness plotted against the common people, did you ever consider that you are the Crown Prince of a nation? Did you ever think about the fate of the country and its people? Did you ever consider the destiny of the Northern Li Kingdom?"

Fortunately, Lord Xie uncovered the truth about the epidemic; otherwise, the Northern Li kingdom would have truly been destroyed by His Highness the Crown Prince.

Xiao Ruofei gritted his teeth, his whole body trembling, and looked at Eunuch Zhou in disbelief, "Father Emperor knows?"

Eunuch Zhou nodded, "His Majesty instructs His Highness the First Prince to take heed of this."

Xiao Ruofei's muscles tensed, and his face turned pale instantly. He was still unwilling to accept defeat. He was about to ascend the throne, how could this happen? He only made one wrong step, and he was about to lose his position as crown prince.

Seeing this, Eunuch Zhou didn't plan to stay any longer. He still needed to go to Prince Cheng's residence to tell Princess Cheng the good news. Prince Cheng had become the Crown Prince, so Princess Cheng would be the Crown Princess. It was hard to say whether Prince Cheng or Princess Cheng was more fortunate. In any case, Princess Nanqiong had become the Crown Princess, so Beili and Nanqiong would surely enjoy peace for the next hundred years.

Xiao Ruofei couldn't hear anything at the moment, but Lin Ruohan was the first to come to her senses. She still maintained a gentle and graceful demeanor, saying, "Then, Eunuch Zhou, please take care."

Perhaps having anticipated this day, Lin Ruohan appeared very composed, while Princess Zhaoning was already crying uncontrollably.

Wait, who said only he caused a huge disaster? Didn't Xiao Yu also cause a huge disaster? Using Xiao Yi's death to frame him, he doesn't deserve to be the crown prince. Does that mean Xiao Yu does deserve to be the crown prince? And Princess Cheng, she's not the real Princess Weiyang at all, she's an imposter. How can such a woman become the crown princess? Xiao Ruofei suddenly grabbed Eunuch Zhou's wide sleeve, "Eunuch Zhou, wait a minute."

"Eunuch Zhou, I need to see my father, the Emperor, because it concerns my third brother and his wife."

Eunuch Zhou was puzzled, but although Xiao Ruofei had lost his status as crown prince, he still held the status of the eldest prince, and he still reported everything to the emperor in detail.

Just as Eunuch Zhou returned to the palace, Xiao Yu had already returned to Prince Cheng's residence. The Emperor sneered, "He hasn't even punished him yet, but he's already come to see his father, the Emperor."

The Emperor ordered Eunuch Zhou to help him change his clothes. Xiao Ruofei was overjoyed to hear the Emperor's summons and rushed to the Hall of Mental Cultivation, saying, "Your subject pays respects to Your Majesty."

The Emperor's gaze fell on Xiao Ruofei. He used to indulge this son the most, and loved him the most. Now, however, he felt only a estrangement from him. The Emperor's attitude was indifferent, his voice somber, "What do you want to say to me?"

He thought Xiao Ruofei was trying to plead with him.

Unexpectedly, Xiao Ruofei kowtowed to the ground and said righteously, "Father, I have clear evidence that my seventh brother is not dead. His 'death' was orchestrated by someone behind the scenes to frame me."

Eunuch Zhou suddenly looked up at Xiao Ruofei.

The Emperor was both surprised and suspicious, clearly not believing him. "What evidence do you have?"

"If Father doesn't believe me, you can send someone to bring Seventh Brother back. He's currently staying in Yunshan, Fuzhou." Xiao Ruofei's eyes were filled with madness. He knew he was powerless to change the situation, so he wanted to bring everyone else down with him. "There's one more thing..."

Thinking about what he was about to say, Xiao Ruofei's heart pounded with excitement. This couple had wronged him so badly, and since they wouldn't let him have an easy time, he naturally wouldn't let them have an easy time either.

The Emperor's face was stern, his brows furrowed. "What is it?"

"Father, do you know that my third sister-in-law is not the real Princess Weiyang, but the daughter of the Prince of Nanqiong? The real Princess Weiyang is still in Nanqiong."

Upon hearing this, the Hall of Mental Cultivation fell silent, and even Eunuch Zhou was so shocked that his face changed color.

Princess Cheng is not Princess Weiyang. The real Princess Weiyang is still in Nanqiong. How could this be?

The Emperor rebuked him sternly, then coughed sharply, "What did you say?"

Seeing this, Xiao Ruofei became even more excited. "The witness, Bai Shuang, has been escorted back to the capital. If Father Emperor does not believe it, he can summon the witness to the palace."

"This is a painting that was once left in the hands of Miss Bai Shuang. The person in the painting is none other than Master Huiyuan." Xiao Ruofei pulled a painting out of his sleeve, and Eunuch Zhou took it with trepidation and unfolded it for the Emperor.

It was a painting of plum blossoms being brewed in winter snow. To the left of the incense burner, a respected old man was playing chess. The old man had wise eyes and was clearly a wise man. He must be Master Huiyuan. On the other side, a young man and a young woman were brewing tea. The young man had a gentle and refined appearance with a hint of a smile in his eyes, while the young woman had a charming smile and bright eyes. Her appearance was seven-tenths similar to that of the current Princess Cheng.

Grandpa Zhou could barely breathe; how could this be?

The official document brought by the envoy from Nanqiong stated that the woman to be married was Princess Weiyang.

The Emperor slammed the painting to the ground, his face as terrifying as a dark cloud. "Nan Qiong has quite the nerve."

"Xuan Bai Shuang entered the palace."

The first thing Xiao Yu did upon returning to the Prince Cheng's residence was to bathe and change his clothes. Just as he was talking to his wife, Eunuch Zhou rushed over and said, "Your Highness, Your Highness the Crown Princess, His Majesty summons you to the palace immediately."

At this time...

Xiao Yu paused slightly, his jade-like face indifferent. He looked down at his wife in his arms and said, "Wait for me to come back at the manor."

It is only natural for His Highness the Crown Prince to care for His Highness the Crown Princess, but this matter is related to His Highness the Crown Princess. Eunuch Zhou glanced at Su Wanyue discreetly. Regardless of whether His Highness the Crown Princess is Princess Nanqiong or Princess Nanqiong, he admires her greatly. However, if she were not a princess, things would not end well today. "But His Majesty has decreed that His Highness the Crown Princess should go along."

What Eunuch Zhou didn't mention was that at this moment, in the Imperial Study, besides the Emperor and the First Prince, all the concubines of the six palaces, Duke Xie and Duke Zhou, Princess Huiyang and the Right Chancellor had been summoned by the Emperor, and Lord Zhou of Nanqiong was already on his way to the palace.