Chapter 30 Acting
"Back then, it was clearly Tongjia who wanted a child and plotted to get me into the palace. After I gave birth to Yinzhen, she successfully adopted Yinzhen, but she allowed outsiders to say that I sold my child for personal gain, and even fueled the flames. Wasn't she just trying to deliberately sever the relationship between me and Yinzhen?"
Yongzheng's pupils dilated slightly. Is that so? For so many years, he had believed that the Empress Dowager had truly sold her son for personal gain, but why hadn't she told him?
Zhu Xi also asked this question, "Your Majesty, why have you kept this from the Emperor all these years, and forbade me to tell you?"
Uya sighed softly and said bitterly, "You've been saying this for so many years, not to mention whether the fourth prince will believe it. He already has a rift with me, his birth mother. If he really believes it and discovers that his adoptive mother wasn't pure either, how heartbroken he will be... Anyway, my image in his eyes is already bad, so let Tongjia be a little more perfect. At least when he looks back, the fourth prince will still have a good mother..."
"Your Majesty, you must be so wronged..."
Yongzheng put his hands behind his back, veins bulging, and Su Peisheng shook his head at the sight.
It has to be said that the Empress Dowager is truly exceptional; the previous champion of palace intrigue is no ordinary woman. When she makes a move, she strikes with deadly precision, instantly seizing upon the Emperor's Achilles' heel.
"What's so unfair about that? Aren't these kinds of things common in the palace? But what I hate most about Lady Tongjia is that she won't let me see Yinzhen. That tiny little bundle of a baby, he was taken away from me from birth, and I can't even take a peek at him..."
The sound of Uya's sobbing came out, and Yongzheng felt a tightness in his chest.
Completely unaware that Su Peisheng behind her was excitedly saying, "It's time for a crying scene! Time for a crying scene!"
All the ladies of the harem should learn from this. Just how amazing is the Empress Dowager's crying scene, where you can hear her but not see her? It's incredibly moving, and her words are spoken perfectly.
“I sent the little clothes I made inside, but I never saw Yinzhen wear them. Every time, I could only hide in a corner and steal a glance at him. He was my son, yet he was guarded by other women like a thief, and they wouldn’t let me get close. How could I not resent him? How could I not hate him…”
"Your Majesty, since you care so much about the Emperor, why did you treat him like that after he returned to your side...?"
"Heartless, is that it?"
"That's not what I meant. I just don't understand why Your Majesty, who clearly loves your son so much, never expresses it?"
Yongzheng was deeply moved. So his mother loved him after all? But Zhu Xi's words also stirred up his deepest doubts and disappointments.
Behind him, Su Peisheng clenched his fists, listening intently. The climax was coming!
“How could I dare to reveal it? I came from a humble background, and I raised Yinzhuo with utmost care until he was six years old, yet a mere cold could take his life. From that moment on, I knew that having children meant not only giving birth to them but also raising them, and I lacked the ability to protect them…”
"Your Majesty..."
"So, from that time on, I hardened my heart and sent Wenxian to be raised by the Empress Dowager so that she could protect him; I also hardened my heart and stopped paying attention to Yinzhen so that he would love Tongjia wholeheartedly. Only in this way would Tongjia wholeheartedly treat him well and protect his life."
"After Lady Tongjia passed away, Yinzhen returned to my side, and at first I was happy. But being the child of the late emperor's cousin is different from being the child of a bondservant. Before, because Yinzhen was raised by Lady Tongjia, the late emperor still paid some attention to him, but after he returned to my side, the late emperor seemed to no longer see him. How could I not be heartbroken? So I thought of a way..."
Emperor Yongzheng was deeply grieved; the truth was right before his eyes, about to be revealed.
“Only if I am unkind to Yinzhen, so unkind that everyone knows it, will the late emperor show him more affection. With this attention, Yinzhen will be able to have a smoother path in the future. This is the only thing I, as his birth mother, can do to help him.”
"But Your Majesty, your reputation..."
"Reputation? Ever since the news of my selling my child for personal gain spread, what reputation do I have left? Besides, what does a little useless reputation matter as long as it helps my child?"
"Your Majesty, you have done so much for the Emperor, but you don't say anything. You only compensate the Fourth Prince. How will the Emperor know? Now that the Emperor holds great power, you can explain it clearly."
"What explanation? Even if there are many reasons, didn't I do those things that alienated Fourth Brother and deliberately favored Fourteenth Brother in front of him? Wasn't Fourth Brother heartbroken? A broken mirror can't be mended, let alone the bond between mother and son?"
"Besides, I should be satisfied with things as they are now. Aren't I already the Empress Dowager?"
"Your Majesty the Empress Dowager!"
"Alright, Zhuxi, there's no need to persuade me anymore. This ambiguous relationship is just right now. It won't put the Emperor in a difficult position, and the Uya and Ulanara clans won't dare to cause trouble in my name. There are already enough matters in the court. I can't help the Emperor much, but at least I can't let my maternal family hold him back."
"This servant understands, but it is Your Highness who has been wronged."
“I’m not aggrieved. Seeing the Fourth Prince now is like seeing Yinzhen when he was a child. I have someone to rely on, so what is there for me to be aggrieved about? But you’re right, we can’t let the Fourth Prince become a target in the harem. Go to the storeroom and select another batch of things for the Third Prince and the Fifth Prince…”
Upon hearing this, Yongzheng decided not to listen any further. Not knowing how to face the Empress Dowager, he staggered away from Shou Kang Palace with Su Peisheng. Before leaving, he warned the servants of Shou Kang Palace not to tell the Empress Dowager that he had been there.
The moment Yongzheng turned around, Su Peisheng's face showed worry. He followed behind him cautiously, wondering how he should behave when he got back. The Empress Dowager was making a series of moves; he was almost overwhelmed by this grand performance.
...
Unbeknownst to Yongzheng, the moment he left Shou Kang Palace, the two servants inside, filled with sorrow, instantly changed their expressions. Zhu Xi glanced outside and nodded, signaling the Emperor to leave.
Uya threw down the handkerchief in her hand and let out a cold laugh: "Putting aside everything else, the fourth prince's habit of eavesdropping after becoming emperor is exactly the same as the late emperor's."
Of course, she could manipulate the fourth prince just as easily as she manipulated the late emperor. In fact, because of her understanding of the fourth prince, manipulating him was even easier for her.
She was unwilling to do it before, but now that she has ulterior motives, it's just a performance. She's been doing it for decades, first for the late emperor, and now for the fourth prince. It's no big deal.
"Your Majesty, you're doing this on behalf of the Fourth Prince..."
After Zhu Xi finished acting in cooperation, a rebellious thought came to his mind.
Uya smiled and said, "It's a blessing for the Fourth Prince to be like the Sixth Prince. Why shouldn't Zuo'er be able to shoulder the responsibility of the throne?"
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