July
Linghu Ning had miraculously survived and was now standing under the eaves, watching a group of palace servants teasing the Seventh Prince.
The seventh prince stumbled and walked unsteadily, a few small teeth showing when he opened his mouth. He smiled innocently and harmlessly. He fell to the ground with a thud, but did not cry. Instead, he propped himself up and swayed to his feet.
The palace servants nearby clapped and cheered.
Linghu Ning's gaze fell on the Seventh Prince, who was fair-skinned, chubby, and adorable. Her eyes softened, and a smile unconsciously appeared on her face.
A young eunuch led two palace servants in, carrying a basket of grapes, some green and some purple, each one plump and full.
It was enormous and looked incredibly tempting.
"This was sent to you by order of the Emperor."
Linghu Ning glanced at him and nodded, then asked, "Has Your Majesty been very busy these past two days?"
After a moment's hesitation, the young eunuch nodded: "The 50,000 troops in the southern border are constantly harassing the frontier, and His Majesty is busy dealing with this matter."
Linghu Ning understood and didn't press the matter further. She told someone to put the grapes down and continued to stare at the Seventh Prince. Chan'er came to her side and said, "Your Highness, you've been taking care of the Seventh Prince for almost two months now, and he's almost forgotten about that place."
"Which way is that?" Linghu Ning turned her head and looked at Chan'er with a puzzled expression.
Chan'er suddenly realized she had said the wrong thing and tensed up: "This servant deserves to die. This servant spoke too quickly."
There is an order in the palace that the Seventh Prince was born to Linghu Ning, and no one is allowed to discuss it, otherwise it would be a crime of deceiving the emperor. If Linghu Ning were to ask the Emperor of Dongying a few questions, Chan'er would surely die.
Fortunately, Linghu Ning didn't press the matter further. She yawned, casually sat down in her chair, and leisurely stared at the Seventh Prince while resting her chin on her hand.
The seventh prince looked at her and mumbled "Mother Consort" indistinctly.
Linghu Ning grinned.
Chan'er was so frightened that cold sweat broke out on her back. She was also relieved that Linghu Ning hadn't asked anything. She secretly made up her mind that she would never speak carelessly again.
August heat
Several ice basins were placed in Jingyang Palace, spaced far apart, for fear that Linghu Ning would get cold.
That day, she held the seventh prince while reading and learning to read.
Chan'er rushed over, her face filled with barely concealed excitement: "Your Highness, the Empress, the Empress has been in trouble."
"Shh!" Linghu Ning put her index finger to her lips, glanced at the Seventh Prince in her arms, and Chan'er fell silent. She waited for the wet nurse to lead the Seventh Prince outside before she was allowed to speak.
"The Empress's father and brothers have caught the Zhenbei Marquis's family treasonously. The Emperor is furious and wants to depose the Empress. Today, the entire Zhenbei Marquis's family has been imprisoned." Chan'er was extremely excited. With the Empress gone, the harem would belong to the Imperial Concubine.
She was favored and had a prince by her side.
The blessings they will have in the future are simply unimaginable.
But Linghu Ning showed no joy whatsoever, and simply said, "I understand." Chan'er was taken aback:
"Your Highness, don't you want to be Empress?"
"What's so good about being an empress?" Linghu Ning said dismissively, holding the book and turning to another page. She leaned back in her rocking chair with a nonchalant expression. "After all, the empress has been with the emperor for many years and has two princes. The emperor will give the empress a dignified life."
No sooner had he finished speaking than the gates of Jingyang Palace were kicked open.
A loud bang.
aggressive.
Linghu Ning turned her head to the side.
The person who came was the Empress. She was wearing a dress with a phoenix and peony pattern. She walked in with a gloomy face, followed by dozens of palace servants.
Chan'er sensed something was wrong and shielded Linghu Ning behind her, looking very wary.
"Your Majesty, I pay my respects."
The Empress pushed Chan'er aside and stared intently at Linghu Ning: "Noble Consort, I would like to have a private conversation with you."
Linghu Ning smiled.
Everyone was taken away, and the Empress stared directly at Linghu Ning: "You didn't lose your memory at all, did you? You were faking it!"
Unexpectedly, Linghu Ning smiled slightly at the Empress: "Your Majesty is exceptionally intelligent."
The Empress raised an eyebrow, unable to contain her anger, and said, "Why did you..."
"My father and brothers died on the battlefield. Your Majesty, you must remember this blood feud, right?" Linghu Ning's face turned cold, and her eyes were no longer innocent, but filled with hatred: "All the men of the Linghu family died on the battlefield!"
"Swords have no eyes; they can only blame themselves for being less skilled," the Empress said coldly, raising her chin.
Linghu Ning sneered: "The Zhenbei Marquis's mansion plotted for many years, sacrificing two legitimate sons to secure your Empress's throne. Climbing to the top by stepping on the flesh and blood of your own family, doesn't Your Majesty have nightmares every night?"
The Empress's expression changed slightly: "What nonsense are you spouting!"
"The Marquis of Zhenbei's mansion switched two children, both under a year old, with the eldest son of a noble family in Northern Chu. One became the eldest son of the Liang family in Liangcheng and married Liang Ying. And the other one is the fourth brother I've been calling for ten years?"
Linghu Ning's eyes were bloodshot, and she gritted her teeth: "The real Linghu Xuan died long ago. He was killed by the people of your Zhenbei Marquis's Mansion. When he was sixteen, he went to the battlefield with his grandfather and father. In just half a year, the Northern Chu army suffered repeated defeats. It was this beast who stole the border map and gave it to the Zhenbei Marquis's Mansion, colluding with the Eastern Ying. If it weren't for this, how could the Linghu family have lost a single male member?"
Linghu Ning thought of her beloved grandfather, father, and brothers, tears streaming down her face: "Linghu Xuan caused the deaths of all the men in my Linghu family. He survived and returned to the capital, but was then found to have colluded with the enemy and betrayed the country. The Northern Chu Emperor secretly dealt with the women of the Linghu family. If it weren't for the *** exonerating the Linghu family, the Linghu family would still be bearing the infamy and being pointed at by others. The Empress's throne, which was built on the lives of more than a hundred people, is it really a place that Your Majesty can sit with a clear conscience?"
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