Chapter 172 The Sixth Prince Cries and Pleads with His Mother...
"Your Highness...is there some conspiracy or misunderstanding involved?" Xiao Dezi hesitated for a long time, frowning as if he couldn't believe it.
The wet nurse, Liu, who had been hastily summoned, was also trying to recall: "In previous years, Consort Xian had never spoken to us... nor had she had any interaction with our Consort Hua, nor any conflicts over who would share her spoils."
Qi Chengming knew nothing about this virtuous concubine, so he could only ask Liu, the wet nurse, an old palace woman, for help: "What else can you remember, wet nurse? Anything will do."
"It is said that Consort Xian comes from a very good family. Everyone says that even if she hadn't given birth to the eldest princess, given the circumstances of those years, she could have been made a consort much earlier," the wet nurse Liu recalled. "But since I entered the palace to serve her, Consort Xian has been quietly recuperating, not caring about anything, and His Majesty doesn't go there much either. I heard that it was the same when she gave birth to the eldest princess."
Qi Chengming understood.
Consort Xian comes from a good family, so her position in the palace is that of a high-ranking concubine; she can't possibly be much lower. This is because she acts in a way that appeases the power behind her.
However, he himself might not be favored by Emperor Hongren, so they only maintained a basic relationship and didn't visit each other often. Whether or not there was a princess, Emperor Hongren's attitude remained the same.
Judging from this timeline, it seems that the Empress Dowager lost the eldest princess before the original owner of this body was born.
"Let's report it first, and then secretly investigate the reactions from all sides," Qi Chengming decided.
He didn't voice his suspicions.
If the original owner's birth mother had previously harmed Consort Xian or had some kind of conflict with her, then this current situation might have some basis in fact. Otherwise, if the culprit is a palace lady with whom she has never had any dealings, it is most likely a deliberate attempt to mislead and divert attention.
The news that Qi Chengming was "seriously injured and unconscious on the ship" has been spreading uncontrollably back to the capital in recent days. This incident has caused quite a stir, and he is determined to find the culprit, teach him a lesson, and give him a warning before he goes to the capital.
Now that the arrow is on the bow, it must be released; this is the only report we can give for now. We'll observe the reactions of other personnel during the process, and expose any suspicious activity. It would be even better if Emperor Hongren's men could find a flaw in this.
At least Qi Chengming was ambivalent about the fact that Consort Xian was the mastermind behind it all, and did not quite believe it.
News from this period of more than a month gradually reached the palace.
Contrary to his previous rage, Emperor Hongren silently suppressed the memorials, his demeanor eerily calm, as if he knew nothing. He neither appeased his second son nor punished the true culprit who had reported the matter.
His unfathomable demeanor silenced the court officials, who felt a unique sense of oppressive power emanating from the Emperor. Those in the inner palace were even more tormented, filled with unease, their hearts pounding as if a cleaver was raised high but would never fall.
In the shadows, someone nervously whispered to their personal maid, "His Majesty is acting very differently than before... I'm really worried. You must quickly write home and try to find out His Majesty's thoughts..."
The question is whether the attack on the anxious prince will spread to their own family. In recent years, the people in the harem have become increasingly unable to understand His Majesty's intentions.
Some people also kept their palace servants under control, making everyone more alert and cautious, not daring to even breathe loudly in such an extraordinary moment, trying to protect themselves.
Meanwhile, the foolish concubine, unable to see the bigger picture, secretly rejoiced and gossiped in her palace: "Look at them, they're all so worried about the Second Prince's return! We don't even know if he's still conscious, and His Majesty hasn't reacted at all. I think Your Highness is worrying too much."
In her opinion, His Majesty disliked the Second Prince before and sent him far away early on, so how much could he love him now? The Sixth Prince in the palace is the most sought-after legitimate son of the Empress, with a noble status and upright character!
This indicates a tendency to seek refuge with someone else.
The last group of people... were those who, in a panic and desperate situation, were forced to take the risk of recruiting students.
That day, the sixth prince saw the chief eunuch Mi Mao, who was in contact with his maternal grandfather's family, hurriedly walk out of the palace. He paused, remembering the oppressive majesty under his father's calm face these past two days, which made it even harder to breathe. He and his personal eunuch lowered their heads and entered the palace.
"What's wrong now?" The Empress was still uneasy, but she still managed to ask with concern.
These past two days, the Empress has been suffering from a sore throat, with several blisters appearing on her lips. She and Emperor Hongren have been husband and wife since childhood, and they know each other very well. This time, she sensed something ominous, and the feeling was unbearable.
Unlike usual, the Sixth Prince didn't storm into the chair, nor did he throw a tantrum or whine about his rivalry with his brothers. Instead, he looked around with a stern face, then waved for the servants to leave so the mother and son could have a private conversation.
The Empress composed herself, signaled for someone to go out and stand guard, and then carefully examined her son. The more she looked, the more surprised she became. She realized something was amiss, but her tone was one of relief: "My son has become much more composed lately... Is there something you want to say that you have to keep to yourself?"
In recent months, the Empress has been exhausted by the matter of the Cold Palace, and her energy has been focused on worrying about His Majesty's suspicions. Only now does she belatedly realize that her son has never shown such a calm and silent demeanor before—this appearance is more like that he has suddenly gone through something without her knowledge, and has finally made up his mind.
The Empress felt both gratified and heartbroken.
She considered herself to be cautious and prudent in her actions, never daring to be too arrogant or act rashly. She also raised her sons without leaving their care to herself. In the harem, she simply watched as Consort Shu and Consort Rong fought back and forth, while she remained unscathed, never suffering any losses. It was only because her son was young and not as cunning and experienced as his two older brothers, and was too straightforward, that he had fallen behind in many ways in recent years and had not been favored by His Majesty.
The Empress did not see this as a weakness—just a few years ago, the eldest and third princes were all the rage, but now they have fallen from grace. As long as the Empress and her son remain stable, there will always be a time when others will benefit.
She was only occasionally worried that her son's impetuous and naive demeanor, even if she helped him defeat his brothers and ascend the throne, would allow him to suppress those cunning and treacherous former court officials.
She couldn't possibly act like Consort Rong, who was already so old, yet still meticulously instructed the prince on every little detail of how to do things. Didn't she see that after offending the same taboo, the eldest prince, who had been dormant for two years, had now risen again, while the third prince seemed to have been forgotten by his sovereign and father?
One is simply heartless, while the other is completely irresponsible and seems like they haven't been weaned.
But I never expected... Had she neglected to discipline him during this time? Why has my son suddenly changed his personality?
The Empress was still lost in thought, and wanted to get to the bottom of things.
The sixth prince, however, disregarded everything and knelt down, kowtowing fiercely before raising his face and asking earnestly in a pleading tone, "Mother, today I only want to know one truth... Was it our palace that did the dirty work on my second brother?"
The Empress was startled, but then breathed a sigh of relief: "What are you saying? How could Mother Empress do such a heinous thing as murdering the imperial heir?"
The sixth prince, kneeling on the ground, relaxed his shoulders slightly, finally losing some of his tense expression. Hearing this, he remained silent for a while, speechless. After a long pause, he finally managed to utter a single sentence:
"I just saw Mi Mao heading out of the palace... If we don't have anything to do in the palace, we mustn't get involved anymore. The more we do, the more mistakes we make, okay?"
The sixth prince, now a thirteen-year-old adult, knelt before the empress as if he were a child, pleading with her and revealing some of his true feelings: "Mother, Father is serious this time... I'm a little scared."
No one knows how much suffering the Sixth Prince has endured during this period.
His mother didn't want him to know about the dirty deeds he had done, so as her son, he could only remain silent and pretend not to know. But the more he observed his father's suspicion of his mother and his actions, the more afraid he became. He couldn't tell anyone about this torment.
When he heard his teacher praising his eldest brother and his father lavishing praise on his second brother at school, he no longer felt angry or jealous. Compared to this potentially fatal incident, the Sixth Prince felt that everything else was trivial!
He was terrified. During this time, he focused solely on being a good son and a good brother, forgetting all about being the legitimate heir or the throne. He didn't ask for anything else, only to try his best to make amends in some way through his actions. As for what he could make amends for... he himself couldn't say for sure.
Now, my second brother has been attacked again on his way back to Beijing.
The sixth prince was genuinely afraid that his mother was behind this, but fortunately, judging from her reaction, it wasn't.
He was practically begging his mother not to do anything more, even if his father was about to discover something amiss in the Cold Palace. They couldn't be forced into doing something wrong and adding more evidence to their crimes.
The Empress stroked her son's thin back, feeling even more heartache, and softly replied, "Your Majesty knows. The original purpose of sending Mi Mao out of the palace was to clean up the mess and extricate herself."
"This time when the Second Prince got into trouble, many people in the palace weren't the ones who actually did it, but they all helped to let it happen. Our palace is the same..."
Such things were not considered a crime by the Empress, as this was always the way things were in the palace. They would fawn over the powerful and trample on the weak, readily pushing down those who were on the verge of collapse.
When the second prince came of age, he made a mistake and was banished to be a prince in a vassal state. It was because several palace maids were spreading rumors behind his back that she publicly disciplined the palace servants, fulfilling her duties as empress. But when the rumors first arose, didn't the empress immediately intervene?
That wasn't her own son; she didn't need to go to such lengths for him. Having one less prince to inherit the throne was ultimately to her advantage.
Such "fueling the flames" often occurred in the palace, and it couldn't even be considered a dereliction of duty by the Empress. This was a common tactic used by those in the harem: to disappear without a trace, so that if they fell, no one else could be blamed.
The sixth prince had just breathed a sigh of relief when he heard this and tensed up again: "This...!"
“Normally this wouldn’t be a big deal, and your father knows that, but this time… I guess no one can escape it.” The Empress admitted that this was what was troubling and worrying her.
The shocked sixth prince slumped to the ground, feeling a sense of relief, as if a huge weight had finally been lifted from his shoulders.
He grasped his mother's robe with a sigh of relief and continued to plead, "Mother, we must stay calm. It's alright to be punished or scolded. As long as... there is still hope."
The sixth prince swallowed his words. He even thought about how his father would eventually punish his mother for plotting against the imperial heir. As long as she was still alive, that was the worst that could happen. So no matter what, he had to keep things stable from now on, no matter how many wrongdoings were uncovered.
The Empress chuckled slightly, now completely relieved. She gently stroked her son's head, giving him a few more gentle rubs as if he were a baby, before releasing him. With a sense of peace, she replied, "Mother understands. My son... he's grown up. From now on, I'll listen to you. Let's stay calm."
It's funny, really.
A few years ago, the Empress desperately tried to persuade her son to calm down, becoming extremely anxious. Now, the tables have turned, and it's the Sixth Prince who has calmed down and is now anxiously advising her.
...It was this kind of personality that truly put her at ease.
In just a few days, the people sent out from the inner palace seemed to have vanished without a trace, and even Mi Mao from the Empress's palace never returned. This caused a great deal of unsettling commotion and unease. What they received, however, was an imperial edict from the Grand Eunuch.
The usually smiling father-in-law, Zhao Fuman, had a stern face this time, clearly indicating that he had come with ill intentions.
After coldly observing and gathering clues about those restless individuals, Emperor Hongren has finally reached the point where he can take them all down and openly launch an attack!
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Author's Note: I've been moving for almost two weeks... finally finished! Updates have been sporadic lately, it's been really tough, but I'll try my best to resume updates! Anyway, this book will definitely be completed on schedule!
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