Chapter 80 The Concubine (First published on Jinjiang Literature City)
Fu Mingzi knew his worries and sighed inwardly. However, there was nothing he could do about it, so he could only smile and change the subject: "Speaking of which, if Consort Wan's request really comes true, wouldn't I become His Highness's uncle in the future?"
Upon hearing this, Zhou Xiaoyan's face immediately turned bright red: "You're just spouting nonsense like your mother."
Fu Mingzi chuckled lightly: "I was just telling a joke, why is Your Highness taking it so seriously?"
Zhou Xiaoyan bit his lip and said in a low voice, "Is this something you can just spout nonsense about?"
Fu Mingzi said nonchalantly, "So what? Once Mu Xueqing enters the Chu Prince's mansion, won't I also become the Fourth Prince's uncle? So, in a way, I'll be related to His Highness..."
"Enough!" Zhou Xiaoyan interrupted him as he spoke increasingly inappropriately, "What would it look like if others heard this!"
Seeing Zhou Xiaoyan's fierce but cowardly appearance, Fu Mingzi smiled and decided not to provoke him further. Instead, she said, "If Your Highness doesn't want me to say, then I won't. But was the maidservant in front of Consort Wan someone Your Highness had given to me before?"
Upon hearing this, Zhou Xiaoyan's expression softened slightly, and he nodded: "It is indeed her. She is quite clever, and now she is the most trusted person by Mother's side."
"What about Wang Chunlai?" Fu Mingzi asked curiously.
Zhou Xiaoyan's eyes darkened: "That guy surnamed Wang has finally figured out the situation and is going to turn a blind eye and let it go."
"That's good," Fu Mingzi said with a smile.
Zhou Xiaoyan sighed: "Let's go, let's leave the palace. We've done everything we could in the palace. The rest is up to Father Emperor."
Just as Zhou Xiaoyan and Fu Mingzi left the palace, news of what had happened in the Imperial Garden reached the Emperor.
The emperor frowned when he first heard this, but as he listened, he began to look thoughtful.
Zhao Defu, the chief eunuch in charge of the emperor, roughly understood the emperor's intentions, so he spoke while observing the emperor's attitude, being very careful.
When he finally finished speaking, the entire imperial study fell silent.
After a long silence, the emperor finally spoke: "Is the Prince of Chu alright?"
Zhao Defu thought to himself, "As expected, the emperor is most concerned about the fourth prince."
“His Highness the Prince of Chu is fine and is currently resting in a palace near the Imperial Garden. His Highness the Crown Prince has personally led many imperial physicians to visit him,” Zhao Defu said cautiously.
The emperor's expression remained unchanged; he simply nodded and said, "The Crown Prince is always thorough in his actions."
Although these words sounded like praise for the Crown Prince, Zhao Defu felt a chill run down his spine.
"Although the Xia family's daughter has behaved improperly, she is still born into the Xia family, and the fourth prince saved her life. So let's betroth her to the fourth prince as a concubine."
The emperor spoke lightly, but Zhao Defu broke out in a cold sweat. Clearly, someone was plotting against the Xia family's daughter, yet the emperor said that the Xia family's daughter had acted improperly. In the end, the Xia family's legitimate daughter, who originally had her sights set on the position of the Sixth Prince's consort, was casually given to the Fourth Prince as a concubine. Where could he go to seek justice for this?
"Yes." Although Zhao Defu had many thoughts in his mind, he still maintained a humble appearance: "Your Majesty is kind and benevolent, and I believe the Xia family will be grateful for Your Majesty's kindness."
The emperor tapped the table nonchalantly: "Take that bottle of Jade Dew Pill that I kept before to the fourth prince. He was already in poor health, and now that he's caught a cold, I don't know what illness he might develop."
Zhao Defu's heart tightened. That bottle of Jade Dew Pills was made with countless precious medicinal herbs and took a whole year to prepare. There was only one bottle in the entire palace. The emperor usually only used one a month. Now, he casually bestowed a bottle upon the fourth prince. It seems that the emperor really cares about the fourth prince.
"Oh, right," the emperor added, "send it over privately, and don't let anyone find out."
Zhao Defu bowed in response, but his heart was filled with coldness. Everyone said that the royal family was heartless, but who knew that the current emperor was not only heartless, but also ruthless. Those princes who were originally thought to be favored were actually just stepping stones for the fourth prince.
Zhao Defu didn't dare to think too much about it and left.
Seeing Zhao Defu leave, the emperor's previously relaxed expression tightened. He hadn't expected that the fourth son would actually make contact with the Xia family's daughter. Although this action could strengthen the ties between the fourth son and the Xia family, it also completely bound the Xia family and the fourth son together.
However, he did not want to see the powerful families grow too strong. He could not tolerate the fact that his fourth son would become a puppet of the Xia family after ascending the throne. Therefore, he could not give him the position of principal wife. Even if it offended the Xia family, he could only give him a concubine.
However, it's unlikely that a family like the Xia family, which is driven by profit, would care. After all, all they want is wealth and prosperity for their family to continue. Besides, this incident was partly the fault of the Xia family's daughter. The fourth son saved her life, so even if they feel aggrieved, they probably wouldn't dare to say anything.
As for other hidden dangers, they will all be resolved once the fourth prince ascends the throne.
The emperor believed he had thought things through thoroughly. With the Xia family in charge of civil affairs and the Mu family in charge of military affairs, and with Zhao Guodong's granddaughter growing up, the central government's purists would also be tied to the fourth prince. This was truly foolproof.
The emperor, feeling confident in his flawless plan, finally smiled slightly. He said that he owed this matter to the fifth prince; if the fifth prince hadn't had his ulterior motives, the fourth prince wouldn't have had this opportunity.
Indeed, the emperor, like the fourth prince, blamed the incident on the fifth prince. However, in his view, this was not a big deal. He would only feel uneasy if the fifth prince was as obedient as he appeared. Such a little bit of scheming and manipulation was nothing to him.
However, if the fifth brother had succeeded today, he wouldn't have given away the Xia family girl so easily.
The emperor paused, then picked up the book he had been reading, and his mood returned to calm.
**
Early the next morning, news came from the palace that the emperor had bestowed the Xia family's daughter upon the fourth prince as a concubine.
As soon as this news came out, the Xia family became the laughing stock in the capital. Their legitimate daughter ended up as the concubine of the fourth prince, an unfavored prince. It was an utter disgrace.
As for what happened in the palace, no news of it was leaked out due to the emperor's covert suppression.
The Xia family was shocked when they heard the news. It wasn't until the eunuch who delivered the decree left and the messenger sent by Consort Shu came to explain that they learned what had happened in the palace.
The Xia family patriarch sat in the main hall with a furrowed brow, his expression shifting between light and shadow.
Xia Zezhen said angrily, "The Fourth Prince is being far too unkind. How could he do such a thing? And the Emperor is the same, only giving her one concubine. What's wrong with my sister? Doesn't she deserve to be the Princess Consort of Chu?"
The Xia family patriarch gave Xia Zezhen a stern look, and Xia Zezhen hesitated for a moment before sitting down awkwardly.
The Xia family patriarch then slowly spoke up: "The emperor is wary of us. The aristocratic families have already been in a difficult situation these past few years, and now your sister has caused such a mess. The emperor's actions are a warning to our Xia family not to overstep its bounds."
Upon hearing this, Xia Zezhen fell into deep thought.
The Xia family patriarch glanced at Xia Zezhen. This son of his was originally the one he had the most faith in, but now it seemed that he still needed to be tempered.
"Then what should we do?" another member of the Xia family asked dryly.
The Xia family patriarch glanced at him and said, "What else can we do? Since the emperor has granted us this marriage, we should happily make preparations. Besides, we originally wanted to rely on the Fourth Prince. Now that Yan'er has married into the Chu Prince's mansion, it can be considered as strengthening our connection with the Chu Prince, which is also a benefit."
Xia Zezhen had figured it out by now. Although there was still some resentment in her eyes, she didn't say anything to complain.
"Then what about the Sixth Prince...?" There's nothing else to worry about, but I'm afraid the Sixth Prince might become estranged from the Xia family.
The Xia family patriarch sighed: "The Sixth Prince never liked Yan'er to begin with. Now that this has happened, you should try to win him over these next few days and make sure he doesn't cause any more trouble."
Xia Zezhen nodded, suppressing his resentment.
At this moment, the Xia family patriarch chuckled softly: "If I'm not mistaken, the Fourth Prince will definitely come to our door at the earliest tonight, or at the latest tomorrow morning."
Xia Zezhen was taken aback and looked at the Xia family patriarch: "He still dares to come?" His tone was still full of resentment.
The Xia family patriarch glanced at his son and sighed, "You are far inferior to the Fourth Prince. No matter what, this matter has wronged Yan'er. With the Fourth Prince's smoothness, he will definitely come to apologize. At that time, none of you are allowed to mistreat the Fourth Prince. On the contrary, you should be grateful to him. You have already taken ninety-nine steps. You cannot miss this last step."
Xia Zezhen was furious when he heard this: "It's one thing to not give him face, but to expect him to fawn over him? How could our Xia family be reduced to this!"
"This is the predicament our Xia family is in now!" The Xia family patriarch said sternly, "It is difficult for aristocratic families. Whether it is the emperor or the civil officials, they are all wary of us. As the head of aristocratic families, if the Xia family wants to regain its former glory, it can only swallow its pride now. If you have any dissatisfaction with my arrangements, you can go elsewhere. The Xia family cannot afford to support a big shot like you."
These words were extremely harsh, and Xia Zezhen was frightened. He dared not say anything more and could only meekly agree. In his heart, however, he was thinking that when the Xia family rose to prominence in the future, he would make Zhou Xiaoheng taste the humiliation he had suffered today.
Regardless of Xia Ze's true intentions, the situation at the Prince of Jin's residence is quite different now. Fu Mingzi looked at Zhou Xiaoyan with a smile on his face: "Your Highness truly understands His Majesty's thoughts perfectly. Indeed, we don't need to do anything; His Majesty will still suppress the Xia family."
Fu Mingzi originally planned to find someone to find fault with the process of calculating the birth charts in order to suppress the title of the principal wife, but unexpectedly Zhou Xiaoyan directly rejected the plan, saying that the emperor would never let the Xia family be satisfied.
Fu Mingzi had some doubts before, but she never expected it to actually come true.
Zhou Xiaoyan didn't even raise an eyebrow, only saying, "If you think about it carefully, his little schemes are really just this limited in scope."
If you want to take something, you must first give something. If the emperor doesn't give, but you want to get something for nothing, even if you can get what you want now, there are still some hidden dangers. Zhou Xiaoyan wants to see if the emperor can really be satisfied this time.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
