The Empress Dowager slowly sat back on her phoenix chair.
The Empress Dowager's gaze fell on the Emperor, and she gave a bitter smile. "I once liked Consort Chen very much. She was proficient in all the arts, including music, chess, calligraphy, painting, poetry, and songs. She was beautiful and had a good temperament. I was satisfied with her in every way. But I should never have let you two brothers fall in love with her."
Eunuch Yuan stood aside. He knew that if he stayed in the palace, he would definitely hear something shocking, but he never expected that Prince Cheng had liked Consort Chen twenty years ago.
Didn't Prince Cheng like Empress Song?
Prince Jin is almost certainly Prince Cheng's child. Princess Shouchun is unaware that Empress Song is pregnant with Prince Cheng's child again...
They're already pregnant with two or three children. Heaven knows how many times they've been having affairs behind the scenes. In the end, Prince Cheng's favorite is Consort Chen. Eunuch Yuan really wants to know if Empress Song knows about this...
Even Eunuch Yuan was so shocked, let alone the Emperor.
The Emperor never imagined that Prince Cheng would like Consort Chen, and that he had liked her for twenty years.
The Emperor's face was as cold as frost. "The Empress Dowager knew about this twenty years ago?"
The Empress Dowager said, "How could I not know? At the late Emperor's birthday banquet, Consort Chen performed a dance. The next day, Prince Cheng told me that he wanted to marry Consort Chen. I was already satisfied with Consort Chen, so how could I refuse? But I didn't expect that you also took a fancy to Consort Chen and even asked the late Emperor to grant you a marriage. When I went to find the late Emperor, the imperial decree for the marriage had already been sent out of the palace."
The royal family values the eldest son, while the common people cherish their youngest.
This was especially evident in the late emperor and empress dowager.
The late emperor valued the current emperor, and the father and son had a closer relationship. The empress dowager, on the other hand, favored Prince Cheng more. Therefore, when the current emperor had something to do, he would go directly to the late emperor, while Prince Cheng would go to the empress dowager.
The Empress Dowager liked Consort Chen and was willing for her to become her daughter-in-law, but no mother would want to see her two sons wanting to marry the same woman.
Because she had praised Consort Chen many times, the late emperor knew she wouldn't object. In addition, Grand Secretary Han intended to ask Consort Chen to marry his son and frequently came to propose marriage. Grand Tutor Yan was on the verge of approving the marriage. The emperor was urging him to do so, so the late emperor didn't consult with the Empress Dowager and directly issued an imperial decree to grant the marriage.
By the time the Empress Dowager helped Prince Cheng go to the late Emperor to request a marriage decree, the imperial edict bestowing the marriage upon the Emperor and Consort Chen had already been sent out of the palace. The Empress Dowager arrived too late and didn't even have a chance to stop the edict.
The marriage was decreed by imperial decree, and the Empress Dowager could not ask the late Emperor to rescind it. Besides, it was the Emperor who had asked the late Emperor for this marriage. All the Empress Dowager could do was advise Prince Cheng. There were so many noble ladies in the capital, some of whom were no less than Consort Chen. The Empress Dowager still remembered how disappointed Prince Cheng was at the time.
Although royal family ties are weak and the princes are rife with intrigue and deceit, the Emperor and Prince Cheng are both sons of the Empress Dowager, so their relationship is naturally different from that of the other princes.
The Empress Dowager thought that Prince Cheng had given up hope, but less than half a month after the late emperor bestowed the marriage, she realized that she had oversimplified the matter.
The emperor, while taking Chinese medicine, had intimate relations with his cousin, the niece of the Empress Dowager.
At that time, the Empress Dowager did not know that it was Prince Cheng who was behind it. Someone was plotting against the Emperor. The Empress Dowager was determined to find out the truth. This time it was an aphrodisiac, but what about next time?
But the Empress Dowager's investigation eventually led back to Prince Cheng.
King Cheng readily admitted that he was the one who did it.
When the Emperor ascends the throne, he will be able to rule the world. Both he and the Emperor are born to the Empress Dowager. He doesn't want anything else; he only wants Consort Chen.
This was also the reason why the Empress Dowager favored Prince Cheng more. The Empress Dowager and the late Emperor placed high hopes on the Emperor. Prince Cheng was their second son, and with his elder brother already in power, he had no chance of getting the throne. So the Empress Dowager wanted to spoil him more so that he could become a powerful prince in the future, which would actually be more comfortable than being the Emperor.
King Cheng only wanted Consort Chen, and given that the incident had already occurred, the Empress Dowager could only be led by the nose by King Cheng.
The Duke of Mao's family did not agree to their daughter becoming the Emperor's concubine, nor did the Empress Dowager agree. Even if she became a secondary consort or a future imperial consort, it would only sound better; in reality, she would still be a concubine.
The Empress Dowager first approached Grand Tutor Yan. Although Grand Tutor Yan did not want to annul the engagement, the Empress Dowager made it clear that the Emperor needed to give his niece an explanation. Grand Tutor Yan was also unwilling to wrong his daughter by making her a concubine, and he was even more afraid of offending the Empress Dowager. Even if she eventually married into the royal family as the principal wife, she would still suffer. So he agreed.
The Empress Dowager persuaded Grand Tutor Yan before going to see the late Emperor. Seeing that they had reached an agreement, the late Emperor agreed to withdraw the imperial decree of marriage, but the current Emperor disagreed.
He never intended to marry his cousin. He was tricked because of his carelessness, but he wouldn't agree to have the engagement broken off like that.
Then things just stalled.
The Empress Dowager spoke with Consort Chen and made it clear that she had no complaints about her, but as a mother, she did not want to see one son marry a woman that another son also liked, thus sowing the seeds of fratricide.
The Empress Dowager wanted Consort Chen to give up the Emperor's idea of marrying her. Consort Chen did not expect that Prince Cheng also liked her. The Empress Dowager had some concerns and asked her to break off the engagement. What could she do?
Consort Chen agreed to the Empress Dowager's request. She told the Emperor that she had someone she admired. She hadn't dared to speak of the marriage arranged by the late Emperor, but now that the Empress Dowager wanted to annul the engagement, she hoped the Emperor would grant her wish.
Consort Chen did not reveal who her beloved was. When the Emperor asked her if he was Grand Secretary Han's son, Consort Chen remained silent.
Without saying a word, the emperor assumed that he had guessed correctly.
Even so, the emperor did not want to let go. Back then, the emperor was extremely troubled by this matter and could not find the person who poisoned him. Otherwise, he would have wanted to whip the corpse.
When Prince Cheng saw that the Emperor insisted on not breaking off the engagement, he frequently went to the residence of Grand Tutor Yan to see Consort Chen. In order to win Consort Chen's heart, Prince Cheng decided to use the "hero saves the beauty" strategy.
Prince Cheng sent the Emperor away, causing Consort Chen's carriage to go out of control. However, the Emperor, who had been sent away, suddenly returned for some reason, even before him. In order to save Consort Chen, the Emperor broke his arm.
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