Hongshi had initially been confident that even if he were demoted to a commoner, he was still the emperor's son and no one would disrespect him. However, a few days ago, when he went to his old friends to borrow some money, he was met with the same response: they all refused to see him. Only then did he see the true colors of these people. They had flattered him before simply because he was a prince, and now that he was a commoner, they naturally had no interest in him.
Hongshi, however, could not adapt to this kind of life and began to drown his sorrows in alcohol again.
These days, news of the fire at the Eighth Prince's mansion has reached Hongshi, making him even more frustrated. Now, there's absolutely no one left to help him.
He never imagined he would end up in this state. He was constantly drinking, and Shuzhen repeatedly advised Hongshi to stop, but he wouldn't listen and continued his daily binge drinking.
Shuzhen was completely disappointed in Hongshi. She never expected to marry such a useless man. If she didn't find a way out, she would starve to death with Hongshi one day.
She originally wanted to ask her family for some money, but the Duke of Yingguo had also run into trouble and was now too preoccupied to care for Shuzhen and the others. Shuzhen had no choice but to write a letter and ask someone to take it to the palace to give to the Empress. The letter described their recent situation and asked the Empress to help them.
After reading the letter, the Empress lit it on a candle. A maid asked, "Your Majesty, are we no longer going to care about the Second Prince and his wife?"
The Empress sneered, "He's no longer the Second Prince. I only wanted to find a backer back then, but I didn't expect Hongshi to be so useless. He almost ruined my position as Empress because of him, and my brother, the Duke of Yingguo, was also punished because of him. Now he's just a commoner, and I have no time to care about him. As for Shuzhen, she was just a pawn, an illegitimate daughter. In my heart, there has only ever been my niece Xueying. I don't care about the others."
The maid said, "But Your Highness, who can we rely on now?"
The Empress said, "I don't rely on anyone. After this incident, I've figured it out. As long as I am the Empress, no matter who becomes the Emperor, I will still be the Empress Dowager and his legal mother."
"Your Majesty, what if the Emperor wants to make Consort Xi the Empress? What then..." the maid said worriedly.
The Empress said, "No, changing the Empress at will would shake the foundation of the country. The ministers would not agree to it, and the Emperor would not take such a big risk for Lanqin."
Shuzhen had not received a reply from the Empress and was very anxious as she watched the household's finances run into deficit every day.
That day, she saw Hongshi drinking again, and Shuzhen could no longer hold back, so she went up and snatched the wine glass away.
"Stop drinking!" Shuzhen smashed the wine glass on the ground.
What are you doing!
Hongshi angrily raised his hand and slapped Shuzhen. Shuzhen was stunned; she hadn't expected Hongshi to hit her.
Shuzhen covered her face and said, "You hit me! You hit me over a wine glass! Look at yourself now, you're not like a man at all."
Hongshi wanted to hit her again, but Shuzhen raised her face and said, "Go ahead and hit me! Even if you beat me to death, you'll never go back to the way things were before."
Hongshi lowered his hand helplessly, and Shuzhen looked at him and said, "Do you know that Ruan Meiying has been released and has returned to her hometown?"
Hongshi said, "What did you say? She harmed me like this, and she went back to her hometown with a clear conscience. No, I have to get revenge. I can't let her get away with this. I'll make sure she dies a horrible death."
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