Chapter 70 The Imperial Decree Arrives
The sky was gloomy and the wind was cold. It had only been three days since Zhu Wenqin left, but these three days felt like a long time. Jing Siye could no longer suppress his longing for her, so he decided to go to Chilianya himself.
Jing Siye was tightening his cloak and was about to step out of the mansion.
At this moment, a sharp voice came from outside the mansion gate:
"The imperial decree has arrived—"
Jing Siye's heart suddenly tightened and he looked in the direction of the voice. He saw Eunuch Zhao, the steward of the Queen Mother, hurried over in small steps, followed by several guards with stern expressions.
Jing Siye's heart skipped a beat and a chill ran up his spine.
He took a deep breath, suppressed the uneasiness in his heart, slowly knelt down, folded his hands, and waited respectfully for the decree.
Eunuch Zhao cleared his throat and said in a shrill voice:
"According to the Queen Mother's decree, Wang Zhiyan, the daughter of Minister of Rites Wang Qi, is dignified, elegant, virtuous and kind, and is specially granted to the Third Prince as a concubine. The marriage will be completed in three days, without any mistakes!"
Upon hearing this, Jing Siye's eyes instantly became sinister, his back teeth clattered, and his aura was so cold that it made people feel scared.
The Queen Mother actually interfered in his marriage and gave Wang Zhiyan to him as a concubine.
"What a 'dignified, elegant, virtuous and kind'!" Jing Siye sneered, his tone full of sarcasm.
"The Queen Mother is really worried!"
Jing Siye's mother was the daughter of the Grand Tutor. That night, Emperor Decheng was drunk and forcibly took possession of her.
Afterwards, in order to save the face of the royal family, Emperor Decheng announced to the public that it was she who seduced him.
This distortion of right and wrong not only ruined her reputation, but also caused her to bear endless humiliation and infamy.
Not long after, she discovered she was pregnant. Under pressure, Emperor Decheng had to take her as his concubine.
However, this so-called status did not bring her any dignity or happiness. Emperor Decheng had no feelings for her and was even indifferent to the child in her womb.
After Jing Siye was born, Emperor Decheng was extremely cold to him, as if the existence of this son was just the result of his momentary indulgence, rather than a blood-related flesh and blood.
His mother lived in obscurity in the palace and died of depression soon after.
Jing Siye grew up in this cold environment. Although he was a prince, he had never felt the warmth of fatherly love.
For the Queen Mother, the inheritance of the royal family is the top priority. Like Emperor Decheng, she doted on Crown Prince Jing Sixuan and believed that the throne belonged to him.
However, the Crown Prince and the Crown Princess had been married for ten years but still had no children, which became a huge burden on the Queen Mother's heart.
Jing Sirui has been demoted to a commoner. The only ones who can continue the royal bloodline are Jing Sixuan and Jing Siye. Although Jing Siye is not favored, he is still of royal blood.
The Queen Mother thought about it and suddenly had an idea: If Jing Siye could give birth to a son and adopt him as the Crown Prince, it would be considered as continuing the legitimate bloodline of the royal family.
Someone whispered in the Empress Dowager's ear that Jing Siye was a homosexual who only liked men and had no interest in women.
Upon hearing this, the Queen Mother became extremely anxious and became restless.
She was afraid that the throne would have no successor and the royal family's bloodline would be cut off, so she immediately decided to interfere in his marriage; on the other hand, she also prepared to select a concubine for the prince.
Jing Siye was extremely disappointed with everything in the palace, but he was not fully prepared at the moment. If he openly disobeyed the order, it would only do him harm and no good.
He suppressed his anger and temporarily accepted the imperial decree.
Wang Zhiyan was whipping the maid Mei Xue with a whip in the firewood room of the Shangshu Mansion.
On the birthday of Minister Wang, someone saw Mei Xue heading towards the firewood room of Zhu Wenqin Pass. Minister Wang tortured her a little and Mei Xue confessed.
Mei Xue simply couldn't stand the fact that Wang Zhiyan didn't treat her as a human being and was just seeking revenge.
Because Zhu Wenqin had an accident in the Shangshu Mansion, according to Jing Siye's personality, everyone in the mansion would have to be buried with her.
Originally, she could be handed over directly to Jing Siye, but Wang Zhiyan was mean and domineering, so she insisted on torturing her before handing her over.
At this time, Ruolan came to tell her: "Miss...Miss, you have been given to the Third Prince as a concubine by the Queen Mother."
Upon hearing this, Wang Zhiyan suddenly paused with the whip in her hand, and then it fell to the ground with a "snap". She stood there in a daze, her eyes a little dull, as if she couldn't digest the news for a while.
After a long while, she slowly came back to her senses and then burst into laughter. The laughter was crisp and loud, carrying an unconcealable sense of pride and joy.
"Miss, are you...are you okay?" Ruolan looked at her worriedly, afraid that she might have been stimulated.
"It's okay! I'm just too happy!"
"I can finally hold my head high, hahahaha..."
Seeing her so excited, Ruolan couldn't help but laugh:
"Yes, Miss, this is a great joyous event! You will soon become the Third Prince's...concubine."
Ruolan said it quickly, sensing that this sentence might anger Wang Zhiyan. After all, what she had always wanted was the position of the queen.
As expected, Wang Zhiyan stopped laughing, glared at her, narrowed her eyes, and said word by word: "So what if I am a concubine? As long as I am in Zhaonan Palace, who else can sit on the seat of the main wife?"
"Humph, Zhu Wenqin, a man wants to fight with me."
After saying that, Wang Zhiyan combed her hair and held out her hand, "Come on, Ruolan, help me go back."
"Yes, ma'am."
——
On a cold winter night, the wind scrapes across your face like a knife, and the biting cold invades from all directions, as if freezing your bone marrow.
Chilianya had neither the warmth of a royal palace nor the warmth of an underground dragon. There was only a lonely brazier that could barely dispel the chill.
Zhu Wenqin stretched out her hands slightly towards the dancing flames, thinking that the prince had already ordered people to burn the earth dragons before winter even arrived.
In his life, apart from his mother and uncle, he is the only one who cares about him like this.
But that day, I wasn't even given a chance to explain.
At this moment, Zhu Wenqin's heart seemed to be pulled by something, and it hurt so much that she couldn't breathe.
He lowered his head, looked at the gradually dimming charcoal fire in the brazier, and murmured:
"The prince must be very sad... Is he thinking about Qin'er now?"
"The prince must be angry, otherwise he wouldn't have come to see Qin'er in the past seven days..."
"Does the prince really not want Qin'er anymore?"
Thinking of this, Zhu Wenqin's tears fell down and she couldn't help sobbing with her head down.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
