Chapter 30 Covet
His Majesty's sudden vulnerability instantly froze all the resentment and blame Chanzhen harbored, transforming into an endless tenderness and bewilderment. She gently lifted her head from his embrace, her eyes filled with heartache and confusion, and for a moment, she forgot all words. After a long moment, she hesitantly raised her hand and gently patted his shoulder.
"Your Majesty, I do not resent you for this."
Her voice was soft and gentle, imitating the tone His Majesty used to coax her, but a strange sense of satisfaction arose in her heart.
His Majesty was much older than she, and he always appeared strong and mature in her presence, making her unable to help but admire and rely on him. This was the first time she had seen His Majesty so vulnerable, as if she was the one who truly had the upper hand in the confrontation.
Chen Dingyao's body stiffened, and when he raised his head from her neck, he had regained the appearance of a mature and confident emperor, with only a slight trace of the previous expression remaining at the corners of his eyes.
He stared at Chan Zhen's face without blinking, and after a while, he slowly smiled: "Chan Zhen, you are not allowed to resent me anymore."
The memory was still lingering on the impression of him being fragile and crying, but the next moment he approached her forcefully, his tall nose almost touching hers, and he even held her face with one hand to prevent her from taking a single step back.
Zen Zhen stared blankly into his deep eyes, almost falling into them. When he was about to kiss her, she suddenly reacted, pushed him away with a palm, and turned her face away in shame and anger.
"Your Majesty, you lied to me again."
His Majesty had clearly been deliberately showing her a vulnerable side to distress her, and she'd thought, how could such a powerful man as His Majesty shed tears? But it did work. She'd been furious at him for deceiving her before, but now she couldn't get angry at all.
Chen Dingyao grabbed her hand, not feeling ashamed, but rather raised his eyebrows and chuckled at her as if it was natural: "All is fair in war, and I am no exception."
Recalling the feeling of being gently cared for by her just now, he lowered his eyelids slightly, a glimmer of light flashing in his eyes. It turns out that being overly forceful with Zen Zhen doesn't work. The more you push her, the more she resists. On the contrary, showing some weakness can arouse her compassion and love.
Zen really felt that His Majesty was becoming more and more shameless, and she could hardly remember how intimidating he was at the beginning.
"I promise, I will only forgive Your Majesty this time."
Now that she has spoken out with His Majesty, Chanzhen no longer wants to dwell on this matter. The affection between many couples is gradually worn away by trivial matters, and she does not want to reach that point with His Majesty too quickly.
Chen Dingyao pinched her slender fingertips and kissed her lightly on the lips.
"I promise, it won't happen again."
The two of them quickly reconciled, and because of Chan Zhen's in-depth analysis just now, their relationship became even closer than before.
Chen Dingyao took her in his arms and sat down at the desk. He unfolded the memorial on the top shelf and showed it to her. "I am not concealing it on purpose. There is indeed something strange about this matter."
Chan Zhen took a closer look. It was filled with criticisms of herself and her father, including words like "being spoiled by favor," "protecting her father," and "lacking moral integrity." He finally understood why His Majesty had previously been reluctant to read it. These memorials were short of outright calling her a "witch concubine."
She felt a tightness in her chest. She had been studying palace affairs diligently and had never asked the emperor for any rewards on behalf of her family. How could she be called a "witch concubine"?
Noticing the depression on her face, Chen Dingyao sighed and patted her shoulder.
"Everyone in the world is like this. They bully the good and fear the evil, and they are afraid of the strong bullying the weak. If Zen really did this, I would be the culprit."
He had given Chan Zhen the power to do as he pleased, but he was the Son of Heaven, holding supreme power above all others. No one dared to express dissatisfaction with him, and so they could only turn their attacks against the helpless Chan Zhen. She was so pitiful, how could he not protect her more? If he retreated in the slightest due to these public opinions, these hidden and overt attempts at framing her would only intensify.
He must stand in front of Zen Zhenshen. The more intense the public opinion is, the more he must show his attitude of protecting the imperial concubine, so that these people will be cautious and restrained.
"Your Majesty, did my father really use my name to do evil things outside?" Chan Zhen leaned her head on his shoulder. Based on her understanding of her father, he was very likely to do these things.
She regretted her previous indifference and indifference to her family. Actually, the memorials made sense. After all, the Song family was relying on her influence, and it was also true that she had failed to properly control them. Outsiders didn't know the true nature of her relationship with her family, but in their eyes, she and the Song family were inseparable, both in honor and disgrace.
"This matter is still questionable. From what I know, the Song family did use the imperial concubine's name to intercept other people's business, but there were a few unfamiliar faces among those who came to cause trouble that day. I have already ordered people to arrest them and bring them to justice. I believe there will be a result in the next two days."
For an emperor, there were only things he didn't want to know, not things he couldn't. The person behind this framing probably thought he'd hastily close the case by pushing the imperial concubine out for the sake of public outrage, but he was destined to fail. Not only did he want to uncover the truth and clear Chan Zhen's name, he also wanted to apprehend the perpetrator and remove an obstacle for Chan Zhen.
Zen Zhen lowered his brows and said, "After all, it was my father who first took advantage of his power to bully others and intercept their business, which led to all this."
"The Song family is the Song family, and you are just you." He said in a deep voice, "I have never looked down on you because of the Song family's actions. Chanzhen, why should you embarrass yourself because of this?"
Chan Zhen forced a smile. "Your Majesty, that's easy to say. I was born into the Song family and was offered to you by the Song family to serve you. Now the Song family is doing evil because of my favor. How can I be free from this responsibility?"
The Song family is a relative she cannot sever, a burden she cannot get rid of. As long as she is favored by His Majesty, the Song family will benefit from it.
Chen Dingyao turned and smiled at her: "Chanzhen, I said before that I would cut off the trouble with the Song family for you and find you another place to rely on. Now the opportunity has come."
Zen Zhenyang looked puzzled.
Chen Dingyao smiled confidently.
The person behind this can be said to have shot himself in the foot. If this matter is handled properly, he can use it to gain a good reputation for Chan Zhen. Then, without him saying anything, Song Ge will take the initiative to become the stepping stone for Chan Zhen to ascend to the top.
When it comes to manipulating public opinion and stirring up trouble, who can compare with him?
…
"Your Highness."
The servants handed over the intelligence they had gathered to their masters.
Chen Yunyi carefully studied the scroll unfolded on the table. He had recently completed the face of the beauty in his dream. A face of a beautiful woman with sorrow and resentment, and unparalleled beauty, jumped out of the paper, exactly the same as the imperial concubine who had caught a glimpse of her in the palace.
After he returned from the palace that day, he had a dream that night.
The woman in the dream finally walked out of the fog. Her face, exactly like that of the imperial concubine, stared at him silently with tears in her eyes. There was resentment, disappointment, and a hint of resentment in her eyes. He walked forward with a broken heart and wanted to hug her in his arms, but he was disappointed.
When he woke up, his face was cold and he walked into the study as if he had lost his soul, and completed the portrait according to his remaining impressions.
After waking up, he looked at the woman's face in the portrait and suddenly fell into endless panic and confusion.
Why did he have such thoughts about his father's woman after just a quick meeting? She was the imperial concubine appointed by his father himself. According to her status, it would not be an exaggeration for him to call her "Imperial Mother Concubine".
He had always known that he resembled his father, but he had never imagined that he had also inherited his father's way of looking at women. The first time he saw the Imperial Concubine, his heart beat like a drum. At that moment, only her smile remained in his eyes, and only her voice remained in his ears. Even when he returned home, he tossed and turned in thought.
This was wrong, it shouldn't happen. He knew this very well, yet he raised the portrait countless times and put it down again and again.
He couldn't bear to tear up her portrait.
Let this be his only thought, locked away in this dark study along with his dark thoughts.
He used his fingers to flatten the portrait bit by bit, rolled it up carefully and locked it in the cabinet, then took the secret letter from the guard and began to read it with a frown.
The more he looked down, the tighter his brows furrowed.
The guard whispered, "Your Highness, the Concubine Shu also had a hand in this."
Chen Yunyi closed his eyes, put the secret letter aside, and sighed softly.
His mother still wanted to pick a fight with the Imperial Concubine. He didn't want to go against his mother, but he also didn't want to see the Imperial Concubine being attacked by rumors like this. He was really torn.
After a long time, he opened his eyes and finally made a decision.
"Withdraw all the people sent by Mother Consort, and clear up the rumors that were spread."
His mother's greatest wish is for him to ascend the throne. Now that the imperial concubine is not pregnant yet, she poses no threat to him. He just needs to coax his mother more.
He couldn't bear to see the imperial concubine being framed by rumors while he remained indifferent.
She is so weak and has no one to rely on except her father's favor. After being hit by such rumors, will she cry in fear in her father's arms?
The emperor doted on her so much that he never shyed away from it in front of all the ministers in the court. He would patiently hold her and gently coax her. She would smile in his arms and cling to him like a spoiled child...
"Your Highness?"
The servant looked on in shock as his prince suddenly slammed his fist on the table, his face filled with a mixture of jealousy and pain.
"Nothing."
Chen Dingyao tried hard to restrain himself from imagining those scenes, those laughter, tenderness and love belonged to his father, not to a dark villain like him who coveted his father's concubine out of selfish desire.
"There are also the Xianfei and Defei."
The rumor first spread from the palace of the three concubines. He could withdraw his own people sent by Concubine Shu, but he couldn't interfere with the people sent by the other two concubines. If he interfered too much, he was afraid that his father would see through his thoughts, so he had to start with Prince Yu and Prince Zhuang, the ones they cared about the most.
"It seems that I have to find something for my two good brothers to do."
He thought expressionlessly that this might be a good way to divert the attention of the palace. As for what would happen to Prince Yu and Prince Zhuang, what did it have to do with him?
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