Chapter 12 The Frustrated Emperor Hongren
"Bang!"
Another crisp cracking sound rang out, and the last intact ice-patterned teacup on the imperial desk was violently thrown to the ground, shards scattering everywhere. The people kneeling on the ground were covered in sweat, not daring to dodge.
"Outrageous!" Emperor Hongren hadn't been this angry in a long time. His chest heaved violently, his eyes were bloodshot, and he glared at the group of people with a fierce expression.
The tattered, blood-red figurine, exuding an ominous aura, and the expensive fabric stained with blood, were all brought out and placed on the table. The adulterous eunuch and palace maid, their faces ashen, knelt on the ground, trembling like leaves, too weak to even lift their heads. The Third Prince's head palace maid, Hua Mian, knelt obediently beside them; she was the one who had started this whole affair.
"Look at you all...! One by one, you've caused such a mess, have you no shame at all?" Emperor Hongren pointed at them with his finger, utterly exasperated. From the Empress to the Third Prince, "And you, all you think about is highlighting your brother's mistakes and spreading them around—he's your own brother!"
The Empress's face was very ugly, but she was still trying to maintain her composure. She bowed her head and readily admitted her mistake: "It is because I failed to manage the palace properly... that these shameful things happened. I will accept any punishment from Your Majesty."
Putting aside the illicit affairs between the eunuchs and maids in her palace, the fact that such terrifying things as witchcraft and sorcery had resurfaced in the harem... she couldn't escape responsibility for this oversight. The Empress had no choice but to accept it, swallowing her pride.
The third prince knelt beside his mother, Consort Rong, looking aggrieved and resentful.
The Empress's palace ran into trouble, and he stumbled upon it. Was he supposed to help cover it up? The Sixth Prince does nothing and yet his father protects him—it's truly biased. If it were just an affair today, that would be one thing… he could indeed secretly use it as leverage against someone and not expose it; he could keep it a secret.
But that was a scourge of witchcraft.
It's something that's about to unleash a new wave of bloodshed!
If the adulterous couple hadn't discovered it, and the Third Prince had only found out, he might have been able to use it for some other purposes in secret. Unfortunately, Hua Mian and the two of them discovered it together—now neither side could hide it from the other, and they had no choice but to report it.
The results were not good, and the Third Prince felt both resentful and aggrieved.
He had indeed considered it... that losing face for the Empress would be far better than directly harming her son, the Sixth Prince. But hadn't he said anything? On the surface, this didn't involve the Sixth Prince. How could his father so easily smear someone's reputation?
Emperor Hongren's face was ashen. He gave the Third Prince a deep look and coldly rebuked him, "You know perfectly well what I'm saying. Go back and look at the map of the entire city!"
His third son.
He was known for his exceptional talents, both academically and in martially, which made him proud. But when he was truly disappointed in him, he was also furious… He was stupid and petty! Even his academic and martial talents couldn't save him.
Did he really think he couldn't see the schadenfreude and anticipation on the other's face? The Third Prince was practically waiting for him to reprimand the Empress, which would make the Sixth Prince lose face as well! It would be best to hand over the power of the Empress to his mother, wouldn't it?
The Third Prince's face turned pale.
Look...look at the map? He snapped back to reality as if he'd been doused with cold water.
He naturally assumed that, given his favored status, he would remain in the capital, like the eldest son. But did his father mean...? How could he possibly suffer the same fate as the second son?!
Sending someone to a fiefdom outside the capital is worlds apart from being sent to a remote and harsh place like Lingnan. But the Third Prince was struck dumb, completely oblivious to the difference. To him, leaving the capital to go to his fiefdom meant the complete destruction of his hopes for the rest of his life, and he would be in unbearable pain.
You absolutely must not do that!
The third prince knelt and took a few steps forward, trying to hug his father's legs and cry out. Consort Rong's expression changed drastically. She stopped her son's attempt, then suddenly threw herself to the ground, revealing her beautiful profile, and softly pleaded:
"Your Majesty, please calm down! My son has no ill intentions... But this is a matter of witchcraft! If it is allowed to continue and is concealed, the harem will be in chaos. He heard what Hua Mian said and probably has no idea what to do. In his haste, he can only rely on you, his father!"
Consort Rong possessed an exquisitely beautiful face, and despite the constant influx of new concubines into the harem over the years, she remained a favorite of the Emperor. Everyone praised the Emperor for his fondness for the past, but they were also envious of her enduring popularity.
Seeing her pleading with tears in her eyes, Emperor Hongren's expression softened considerably, but he did not retract his words. He coldly waved his hand, not even glancing at the Third Prince: "Go!"
“…Yes.” Even if the Third Prince had low emotional intelligence, he knew from his mother’s desperate winks that he shouldn’t continue begging.
He bowed listlessly, his eyes brimming with tears, and retreated.
"Hoo..." Emperor Hongren took a deep breath after seeing that one of the guys who was giving him a headache had left. He turned around, his face still grim.
His anger today wasn't about trivial matters like the Empress's poor management of the harem or the Third Prince's foolish and scheming nature. Rather...
The man in the dragon robe looked at the little witch doctor on the table, his expression shifting between light and dark, as if he were lost in memories.
This unexpectedly discovered sorcerer had actually been performing rituals since the Second Prince was born over a decade ago. Thinking about it this way, none of this was an accident; it was a conspiracy specifically targeting him! A conspiracy against the Earl of Weiyong, Consort Hua, and the Second Prince's faction.
At the beginning of the month, the silk dresses...
A familiar face that he thought he had long forgotten resurfaced clearly from the depths of his memory.
Consort Hua.
The fact that he was able to obtain this title proves that the person in question was once greatly favored by him. When the Second Prince was born, he was overjoyed and, without thinking, sent him the rarest piece of cloth from his treasury, wanting his beloved son to have the best of everything and not suffer the slightest grievance.
Then……
And then...
Consort Hua died of postpartum hemorrhage, just as the news of the Marquis of Weiyong's defeat arrived. The newborn Second Prince was also sickly… and then several other things happened in succession, what was it again?
"A jinx."
In short, this idea slowly and deeply took root in Emperor Hongren's mind, and he no longer liked or wanted to hear the baby's movements.
He knew this was misplaced anger, but what could he do? Consort Hua was gone forever.
But now... what if all of this was a deliberate scheme?
Emperor Hongren recalled the imperial physician's diagnosis that Consort Hua's pregnancy was fine and stable. Even the delivery was smooth, but she died of postpartum hemorrhage without warning, and the second prince was born looking like a frozen kitten... These doubts resurfaced now.
Thinking of this, the Second Prince's face fell.
Emperor Hongren's habitual aversion over the past decade made him unwilling to think much of the thin, frail boy he saw; he only wanted to get rid of him as quickly as possible. But what if all of this was a conspiracy, deliberately orchestrated?
So who exactly orchestrated this witchcraft scare that deceived him for over a decade?
Emperor Hongren was greatly displeased with suspicion.
He considered himself the Son of Heaven and would never tolerate anyone daring to offend his divine authority, fool him, or scheme against him.
Is this matter... directed at the Empress, who has the deepest control over the harem? Is it Consort Shu, who gave birth to the eldest prince in such a glorious moment and doesn't want to be overshadowed? Or is it Consort Rong, who is already pregnant and wants to eliminate her rivals?
The clues are insufficient; we need to dig deeper.
As Emperor Hongren pondered, the palace was quiet, so quiet that even breathing was barely audible. The Empress and Consort Rong sat quietly with their heads bowed, their eyes closed, seemingly absorbed in their own thoughts, able to see only a small area in front of them. The dragon boots twirled in front of him, as if troubled by something.
"..." The Empress's face remained expressionless, but cold sweat gradually seeped out from her back, making her feel like she couldn't hold on any longer.
Her senses were always acute, and she could feel a scrutinizing, icy gaze sweeping over her and Consort Rong, sending chills down her spine. What was the Emperor thinking?
The Empress could actually guess what was going on; she, Consort Rong, the Third Prince, and Hua Mian had all been questioned more than once. The Emperor was very concerned about the origin of the witchcraft and the villains, and was furious. But the Empress couldn't explain that this matter truly had nothing to do with her.
Everyone witnessed how favored Consort Hua was back then.
The Empress herself had also felt jealous, resenting that she had no son and her position was unstable, and resenting that her eldest son was healthy and that the Emperor would not allow her to adopt Consort Hua's unborn child. She heard that Consort Hua had begged the Emperor to refuse.
The Emperor might therefore suspect that she was jealous of Consort Hua and had done these things. After all, it was only by chance that the maid and eunuch who had been having an affair found the witchcraft doll today. The Emperor wouldn't think she was innocent just because they were from her palace.
Now that things have come to this, we need to think of a solution.
The Empress bit her lip and calmly said, "Your Majesty, let's put aside other matters for now. There is an important matter within my duties that I must report first."
"What?"
"This whole affair is a tangled mess, and the investigation may take a long time, but I believe there is one person who needs to be appeased the most right now," the Empress said candidly, bowing her head.
"...You mean, the Second Prince?" Emperor Hongren's anger had indeed subsided somewhat, but what followed was a sense of bewilderment.
He was silent for a moment, then waved his hand: "Zhao Fuman."
The plump, white eunuch emerged silently from the shadows, his sudden, beaming presence startling everyone: "This servant is here."
"Take some things from my private treasury that the Second Prince might need and send them over." Emperor Hongren's mind was in a mess, and he instinctively avoided thinking about the Second Prince. So he simply waved his hand, signaling the Grand Eunuch to take care of the matter for him.
This was his initial tactic of appeasement.
Once everything is cleared up, he will think carefully about how to treat his second son, or... how to make amends.
"Yes," Eunuch Fuman replied with a smile and left.
As the Emperor's most trusted confidant, Zhao Fuman naturally didn't perceive this as the Emperor still disregarding the Second Prince. There might still be unspoken issues between father and son, but the Emperor was clearly concerned. Wasn't this precisely the time for Eunuch Fuman to shine?
The plump, white eunuch solemnly went to the private treasury, rummaged around for a while, and then had a flash of inspiration. Finally, he smiled and led a line of junior eunuchs out.
He assured him that the Second Prince would like him—no, the gift from the Emperor.
A note from the author:
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Emperor Hongren is currently in a period of rational struggle and tug-of-war. On one hand, he is rationally aware that he has mistreated his second son, while on the other hand, he is emotionally swayed and wants to maintain the status quo and continue to dislike it (because he finds it difficult to face his own mistakes).
He was furious about what happened to Consort Hua, the Second Prince, and the Earl of Weiyong back then. But human nature dictates that his first reaction was that he, the Emperor, had been fooled for over a decade, which was utterly shameful. So he wanted to find those people and tear them to pieces in a fit of rage.
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