Although Cai Die gave birth to a daughter for Yun Zhihong, she was still Han's servant and had no official status.
As for Yunyan, although her surname is Yun, she should have been a young lady in the mansion, but she was reduced to a servant girl of Yun Jinxiu from a young age.
Yun Zhihong and his wife Han's attitude was a weathervane. Cai Die and Yun Yan's status in the mansion was even lower than that of ordinary maids, and anyone could bully them.
The mother and daughter relied on each other to survive, and Yunyan gradually grew up.
During this period, Yun Zhihong's extramarital affairs became more and more frequent. As his official position rose higher and higher, his fear of Han Shi lessened, and he openly took several concubines.
Han gradually became indifferent from her initial hysteria, but she did not allow any of her concubines to give birth to children that would affect her two children.
The once-envied love story in the capital eventually became no different from that of any other ordinary couple; their affection was gone, and all that remained was a bond of interests.
Therefore, by a twist of fate, apart from Han's two children, Yunyan was the only one in the household who unexpectedly survived.
Yunyan was fifteen years old. At this time, Yun Zhihong had already been appointed as the prime minister, and even princes had to address him respectfully as Prime Minister Yun.
The mother and daughter have had a slightly better life in recent years. They are low-key, obedient, and never seek the limelight. Madam Han is busy guarding against her young and beautiful concubines and has gradually forgotten about them.
In addition, Yun Jinxiu had already reached marriageable age last year. As the eldest daughter of the Prime Minister's family, coupled with her reputation as the most beautiful woman in the capital, the young masters of noble families in the capital were lining up to visit her.
Han was busy choosing a husband for her daughter and had no time for anything else, so Cai Die and Yun Yan had a few rare days of peace and quiet.
In the simple servants' quarters in the backyard, Cai Die looked at her daughter, whose beauty could not be concealed even in coarse linen clothes, and felt an overwhelming pang of sorrow.
Her daughter, Yan'er, had reached marriageable age three months ago, but apart from her, her mother, no one noticed.
She is clearly the daughter of the Prime Minister's family, but she has never enjoyed a single day of being a young lady. It's all because her mother is incompetent.
But in this male-dominated era, what could a slave girl like her, whose indenture was held by the madam, possibly do?
Raising her daughter alone was already the result of her desperate efforts.
Cai Die wept bitterly, "Yan'er, it's all my fault. I'm incompetent and couldn't find you a good husband."
The girl who was massaging her shoulders rolled her eyes: "Oh dear, here we go again. What's so good about getting married? Men are all the same. It's safer to rely on yourself."
She paused, then said in a low, sarcastic tone, "Even our very, very Grand Chancellor is no exception. Don't you know what kind of bastards men are?"
"Shut up, my ancestor."
Cai Die smacked her on the head. What would happen if someone overheard what she said?
Yunyan smiled mischievously, squatted down and lay on her knees, and said seriously:
"Mother, don't feel sorry for me. I have absolutely no interest in getting married. I just want to save enough money to take you away from here. With your embroidery skills and my medical expertise, we can support ourselves anywhere."
Cai Die sighed helplessly. This girl, she didn't know how she grew up to be such a freak.
A girl who disliked knitting and embroidery, and disliked dressing up, was inexplicably obsessed with medicine.
The money that the mother and daughter had saved up was basically all used to buy her medical books.
Having suffered so much since childhood, and always pretending to be meek, weak, and easily bullied in the mansion, who would have known that inside he was actually a heartless and audacious person?
In public, he would tremble at the mention of the prime minister, but in private, he would call him "dog prime minister" with great enthusiasm.
Cai Die dreams of escaping the cage that has imprisoned her for her entire life, but will she ever be able to wait until that day?
His Majesty is now over fifty years old. In his youth, he was a wise and diligent ruler who loved his people, but in recent years, as he has aged, he has become increasingly senile.
Even emperors fear death, and he was no exception. He became obsessed with cultivating immortality, spending his days searching for Taoist priests and immortal masters to preach and refine elixirs.
The Dacheng Dynasty had not yet established an heir apparent. The emperor had a total of five sons. Except for the second prince, who was born to the empress, the other four were born to concubines.
As is well known, although the royal family also distinguishes between legitimate and illegitimate children, in the struggle for the throne, it can only be said that legitimate children have a slightly greater advantage.
Until the very last moment, no one can guarantee who the final winner will be.
However, the other three princes were all born to palace concubines and each had a powerful backer, but the third prince, Yuan Bai, was an exception.
He was born to a palace maid whom the emperor favored on a whim. After giving birth to him, the palace maid was only given the minor title of "Consort," and the mother and son suffered endless humiliation and cold treatment in the palace.
When Yuan Bai was eight years old, his mother died of illness. Just when he was about to be bullied to death by the eunuchs, the Empress appeared.
After that, he was adopted by the Empress, and his life became a little better.
The Empress adopted him solely to find a loyal dog for her own second son, so that she could eventually step on him to ascend the throne.
Yuan Bai thought the same way she did. Since childhood, he had been the most loyal lackey of the Second Prince Yuan Feng. He always rushed to Yuan Feng's aid in everything and acted as if he was the master.
Once, when Yuanfeng was out playing, he encountered an assassin. He bravely took three blows for Yuanfeng and then lured the assassin away by himself. If it weren't for good luck, he would have almost died.
At the age of fifteen, Yuan Bai knelt before the Empress, his face full of sincerity and his words earnest.
"Mother saved my life and raised me to adulthood. My life, Yuanbai's life, belongs to you and my second brother. My second brother is the rightful heir. Even if it costs me my life, I will make sure that Mother and my second brother get what they want."
The Empress nodded in satisfaction: "Good child, I haven't spoiled you in vain. Your second brother... will certainly not mistreat you in the future."
Yuan Bai kowtowed to express his gratitude, but once he left the palace, his sincerity vanished, replaced by sarcasm on his face and ambition and hatred in his eyes.
He is determined to obtain the throne.
Once Yuan Bai ascends the throne, the first thing he will do is kill this wretched mother and son to avenge his mother.
In recent years, the princes have been vying for power, turning the capital upside down, while the old Emperor Yuan has been focused on cultivating immortality and has turned a blind eye to the situation.
He was quite open-minded; after all, he had fought his way out of a mountain of corpses and a sea of blood, and he never dreamed of the royal family being able to have brotherly harmony.
Fight as you please, compete as you please, it's all about vying for the throne, isn't it all about life and death?
Since there can only be one heir, whoever is left in the end will be the heir.
Moreover, in his view, the ultimate victor in such a brutal struggle for the throne is often the one most suitable to become emperor.
As for being ruthless?
The throne is not something that kind and weak people can covet; otherwise, they would be devoured by vassal kings and ministers in no time.
Five years have passed, and of the five princes from that time, only the second prince Yuan Feng and the third prince Yuan Bai remain. The others are either dead or crippled, and have all lost their eligibility to compete.
By this point, it was already quite obvious who the final winner would be, since the Third Prince Yuan Bai had always presented himself as an appendage of the Second Prince Yuan Feng.
However, in the back-and-forth struggles over the years, he always had moments when he slipped up, and some people had already seen through his true colors.
That was the champion of the previous tournament – the old emperor.
Because he was also someone who pretended to be weak to actually achieve his goals back then.
Only by revealing all their trump cards could they finally defeat the other princes, severely weakening the Second Prince's faction.
Just when the Empress and the Second Prince were convinced that the throne was secure and were waiting for Emperor Yuan's decree to establish the Crown Prince...
The old emperor made his move. Instead of establishing an heir apparent, he bestowed titles of nobility upon both of his sons: the second prince, Prince Feng, and the third prince, Prince Yin.
He demonstrated through his actions that the competition was not over yet, and Yuan Bai was also among his choices.
At the same time, everyone finally realized that they had underestimated the Third Prince.
The Third Prince, Yuan Bai, is a hidden tiger, just like the meaningful title bestowed upon him by the emperor.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com