Chapter 84 Mother and Son, Mother and Consort, You Are Not My Only Child
In Yongning Palace, Consort Jia sat on a daybed, with a bowl of peeled grapes beside her, which she did not touch.
She stared blankly in the direction of the palace gate, waiting for that familiar figure to enter.
After an unknown amount of time, Prince Ning's tall figure appeared outside the palace gate and stepped steadily into the palace.
The palace gates slowly closed behind him, and he was led into the room by a palace maid, where he bowed respectfully to Consort Jia as always.
Consort Jia nodded, waved for everyone in the room to leave, and then beckoned after the door closed, "Come, sit down next to your mother."
Prince Ning sat down as instructed, and was about to ask her about the matter in the letter when he saw her raise her hand to touch her cheek, frowning as she asked, "Why hasn't this injury healed after so long? Does it still hurt?"
"It doesn't hurt anymore, only the bruises haven't completely faded," said Prince Ning. Then, impatiently, he asked, "What did you mean by what you said in your letter... that everything is planned and I only need to go to the palace and wait?"
In her letter, Consort Jia said she had arranged everything properly, and the Xie family had also sent word that he should not do anything unnecessary to avoid arousing suspicion and preemptive measures. She also urged him to enter the palace immediately, saying that he must be the first to reach the Emperor's side in a crucial moment, lest someone else seize the initiative.
She wrote only a few short sentences, without any details, yet it made Prince Ning realize that his mother seemed to know everything about what he and the Xie family had done.
But this did not frighten or unsettle Prince Ning. After all, she was his biological mother, the Xie family's daughter. Even if she knew, she would never harm them.
Moreover, judging from the tone of his mother's letter... it seems she did something for him in the palace.
If the mother could intervene in the palace and prevent the father from governing and commanding the troops in the capital, it would be a great joy for them.
Prince Ning was delighted, but unsure if it was true or not, which is why he was eager to ask.
Consort Jia smiled and pushed the teacup on the kang table toward him: "You must be hot from rushing all the way here. Have some tea first."
Prince Ning had no interest in drinking tea, but seeing that Consort Jia had pushed the cup to his side, he picked it up and took a few sips.
After he put the cup down, Consort Jia asked, "Has something happened at the Yingzhou iron mine?"
Prince Ning was startled: "How did Mother Consort know?"
Consort Jia sighed: "How could I possibly know? It's just a guess."
"You and your maternal grandparents tell me nothing, so I can only guess while I'm in this palace. I guess what you've done, what you've hidden from me. The more I guess, the more likely I am to be right once or twice, no matter how inaccurate I am."
"I guess this time... Last year, Liu Yuan's embezzlement case implicated the Yingzhou Guard Commander's illegal sale of military rations and weapons. Although you managed to take over the case and prevent the iron mine from being exposed, you still got anxious and ordered the mining efforts to be intensified, right?"
Prince Ning's expression darkened slightly: "Your subject had no choice. Although I suppressed the case and concealed the iron mine matter, it still involves many people. Once it is unearthed and the mine is sealed off, who knows when a new iron mine will be found."
"Instead of doing that, we should mine everything that can be mined as soon as possible. That way, even if the mine is discovered in the future, our losses will be smaller."
Consort Jia laughed again, but this time with a hint of mockery: "You think you've done a good job, you all think you've done a good job. But if that were truly the case, how did the mine affair get discovered now?"
"I said before that this matter couldn't be rushed. It's better to stop for a while than to make too much noise and attract attention. Yingzhou is rich in iron ore. Even if this mine is closed, we can find other mines. If all else fails, we can report some losses from the government-run iron mines, which will be enough for us. But what did you do? You agreed on the surface, but secretly you kept mining, which gave people a handle to use against you! Now look at this. If this news reaches your father's ears, can you handle it? Can the Xie family handle it?"
Prince Ning frowned: "Mother Consort, are you saying that Seventh Prince learned about my iron ore mining because of the Liu Yuan case, which is why he sent Lu Heng to Yingzhou to investigate?"
"Seventh Prince, Lu Heng," the Imperial Concubine murmured, "did they discover this?"
"It was Shen Mingshan and Gao Pei who first discovered Liu Yuan, which then led to the investigation of military affairs in Yingzhou. Now it's Seventh Brother and Lu Heng again... What is this all about? Are we, mother and son, destined to be ruined by them?"
Shen Mingshan is Shen Yan's father and Gao Pei's good friend. It was they who joined forces to bring down Liu Yuan, which eventually led to the investigation of the Yingzhou Guard Commander and almost exposed the Xie family's illegal iron mining.
The emperor was furious and intended to hand the case over to the crown prince. However, Prince Ning devised a plan to implicate one of the crown prince's subordinates, forcing him to recuse himself and ultimately taking over the case himself.
Fearing the emperor would become suspicious, he ruthlessly dealt with all those openly involved in the case, but concealed the iron mine affair. He even left a hidden trail, implicating the He family, so that if an investigation were to occur later, the blame could be conveniently placed on the He family and on the sixth son, claiming that they were the ones mining the mine.
But before these hidden agents could be put to use, he himself was exposed, and the reason for his exposure was none other than Lao Qi and Lu Heng!
But what does her mother mean by this? She doesn't know what happened outside the palace, nor does she know that it was Lu Heng who broke into the mine.
Prince Ning suddenly stood up: "Mother, what are you talking about? Why did you summon me to the palace?"
Consort Jia looked up at him, her gaze complex: "You were the one who organized the spring banquet at the Marquis of Cheng'an's residence. You were the one who had Lady Shen and the Seventh Prince locked up together. There were so many noble ladies attending the banquet that day, yet you chose Lady Shen alone. Because you were angry with her, you felt that it was her father who caused the Yingzhou mine to almost be discovered, and that it was her father who caused you to lose so many subordinates. Coincidentally, you wanted to get rid of the Seventh Prince, so you chose Lady Shen, intending to send them both on their way."
"So what if I chose her? What's wrong with that? She's the right person! Besides, her father really got in my way, so it's only right that I take my anger out on her!"
Prince Ning roared loudly, revealing his true nature in front of Consort Jia, no longer displaying his usual dashing demeanor.
"Where did you go when you left the palace banquet in the first month of the lunar year, and who were you with?"
Consort Jia suddenly changed the subject and asked this question.
Prince Ning was taken aback, his previous arrogance vanished instantly, and a flash of panic crossed his eyes.
"Are they concubines in the imperial harem?"
Consort Jia pressed for an answer.
Prince Ning hurriedly shook his head: "No!"
"That must be the minister's wife."
Consort Jia said.
Prince Ning lowered his eyes and remained silent. Consort Jia asked again, "Was this only once, or have you done it before? Was it only with that one person, or more than one?"
Upon hearing this barrage of questions, Prince Ning became annoyed: "Mother, what's the point of asking these questions now? The iron mine has already been discovered! Father will find out soon! I have many important matters to attend to; I don't have time to chat with you here!"
After saying that, he turned to leave, but as soon as he took a step, he felt dizzy and almost fell.
He staggered back onto the couch, and after the dizziness subsided, he looked at Consort Jia in disbelief, then at the cup of tea he had just drunk from: "Mother, you..."
Consort Jia looked sorrowful: "Hao'er, you shouldn't have kept it from me."
Prince Ning was furious and gritted his teeth, saying, "I didn't want to hide it from you, but what's the use of telling you? You always say it's not the right time, not the right time. When is the right time? Is it when Father Emperor passes away and the Crown Prince ascends the throne? In terms of talent, appearance, literary skills, and martial arts, I am no less than the Crown Prince. Why can he do it but I can't?"
"And now?" Consort Jia asked, "You've done so many things behind my back, what good have they done besides prematurely revealing our purpose?"
Prince Ning: "This was an accident..."
"Accident"
Consort Jia smiled.
"Throughout history, a coup d'état has either resulted in a fatal blow or left with no trace. An unexpected event means... failure at the last minute."
Looking at his mother's increasingly calm face, Prince Ning was suddenly filled with immense panic, and all his previous bravado vanished. He knelt down and grabbed the Imperial Concubine's sleeve, pleading, "Mother, how will we know if we don't try?"
Consort Jia looked at him and gently held his hand: "Hao'er, if you were my only child, I would definitely take the gamble with you, no matter life or death, I would never leave you. But... I have more than one child, and I cannot abandon your younger brother and sister for your sake. And you... you shouldn't have given that handkerchief to your sister back then."
Prince Ning's heart sank, and before he could say anything, Consort Jia had already withdrawn her hand.
She gazed at the sunlight streaming through the window, her usually pretty face now cold and stern: "You can abandon your sister, but who knows if you won't abandon me or your brother in the future? Just like today, if I hadn't summoned you to the palace, would you have remembered to take me and your siblings with you after things failed?"
She turned her gaze back to her son, whom she had always been proud of, and said with certainty, "You won't."
“If you die, that’s fine, but if you live and have a chance to escape, you will definitely abandon us, mother and children, and leave the capital with the Xie family. And we will have to bear all of your father’s wrath.”
When she learned that Prince Ning had given the handkerchief to Qi Yunying, she knew what choice he would make.
Consort Jia took a deep breath and slowly exhaled after a long while: "Don't worry, I have indeed made arrangements for things outside the palace. The Xie family has received your message, and everything will proceed according to your plan."
“If things succeed, your brother will ascend the throne. If things fail… let’s work together to save them both.”
She closed her eyes briefly and called out, "Granny Chang."
Granny Chang, who had been waiting outside, pushed open the door and entered, followed by two tall eunuchs holding long sticks.
Prince Ning looked at them in horror, instinctively trying to dodge, but he was too weak from the drugs he had taken, and after struggling for a while, he could only shrink back.
Consort Jia's eyes were slightly red, but her voice was firm: "Let's do it."
Granny Chang glanced at Prince Ning, who was slumped on the bed, and steeled her heart, ordering someone to pull him up.
Before long, the cries and pleas for mercy from Prince Ning could be heard from inside the room.
With a powerful blow from the long stick, Prince Ning's legs broke, and he collapsed helplessly to the ground, unconscious and silent.
Tears welled up in Consort Jia's eyes, and she collapsed onto Granny Chang, sobbing uncontrollably.
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