Chapter 164 Imperial Schemes 02
"Haha, I don't need your life. You can save your life to give me a grandson to hold."
The mother and daughter became increasingly inappropriate in their conversation, leaving Yun Jing and the others standing by feeling quite helpless.
In the end, Yunli couldn't help but advise, "Your Highness, the princess is still young, this matter is far too early. Aren't you thinking about this too soon?"
The princess is so young, why is Your Majesty already thinking about her marriage?
“That’s right, Your Majesty, you’re thinking too soon,” Yun Su chimed in, echoing Yun Li’s words.
Only Xizhu understood what her mother meant by those words.
It seems that in this matter, the Emperor used his own marriage to make the Empress Mother the one to take the lead.
It's her fault. If it weren't for her noble mother, how could she have suffered such injustice?
well.
Xizhu knew that she was adopted by the Noble Consort, while her birth mother was Consort Dong. She had met Consort Dong quite often, but her jade tablet had been changed, and she could be said to have severed her mother-daughter relationship with Consort Dong.
Even so, her mother did not hide it from her, nor did she want her to hear about it from elsewhere. So, after she became sensible, she told her about her background.
Consort Dong also said that she is the daughter of the Imperial Concubine, while she is merely a stepmother.
"It's not too early, it's not too early. It's only ten years. Even if I wanted to keep Xizhu for a few more years, I can't let such a good young man slip away." The Consort didn't think it was too early at all; it's better to do something sooner rather than later.
She needs to have her family search carefully for talented young men in the capital and prepare a suitable match for Xizhu as soon as possible.
Kunning Palace.
As soon as the Crown Prince finished school, He Yuzhu told him that the Empress Dowager wanted him to return to Kunning Palace. He also knew that he had upset the Empress Dowager a few days ago, but his little tantrum hadn't reached the point where she had to ask him to come back.
This time, sending me back is probably going to be troublesome.
So he led his men back to Kunning Palace.
"Your son greets Your Majesty." Upon returning, he learned that His Majesty was waiting for him in the study, so he came straight over.
"You're back. Are you hungry?" Fanghua was writing. She glanced up at him and then lowered her head to continue writing, just to ask if he was hungry.
Chengren stood up and walked forward. After seeing the words written by his mother, he said in a steady voice, "I am not hungry, Mother. Is something wrong?"
I've been studying with the Master all day and I'm still unaware of what's happening outside.
"Yes, something happened."
He had no reservations about his reborn son, Fanghua, and immediately recounted the events of the past few days.
After speaking, Fanghua looked at Chengren seriously and said, "What do you think about this matter?" After all, it was his biological father's scheme, and he should be allowed to make his own decision.
Chengren gave a bitter smile. "I thought that by hiding my talents in every way, I would be different in this life. I never expected that I would still be scheming in every way, just like in the last life. Your Majesty, I don't want to be someone else's knife, nor do I want my elder brother to be a pawn."
He had suffered enough in his previous life, and in this life, he was determined not to let anything that happened in his previous life repeat itself.
"Empress Mother, your son wants to send my elder brother away from the palace." The palace, a golden nest of wealth that everyone longs for but cannot attain, but he knows that it is a cage that devours people without spitting out their bones.
His elder brother should be soaring through the heavens and earth, not confined to this small palace and becoming a pawn in someone else's hands.
He had endured that kind of suffering and pain his whole life. Now that he had the chance to choose again, he naturally didn't want his loved ones to suffer like that again.
"Empress Mother, my elder brother has his own mission." At this moment, he couldn't worry about too much; he also needed to have a proper talk with his Empress Mother about the Dragon Spirit.
Fanghua never inquired about Longling's affairs. Ever since she learned that Longling had signed a contract with Chengren, she never asked Xiaofeng to ask about it again.
As long as Chengren is well and Longling is genuinely helpful, she will give him all the choices.
What she didn't expect was that Long Ling would tell Cheng Reng about Cheng Hu's mission after defying fate, and Cheng Reng was actually willing to help his older brother.
"Alas, how could I not want to, but it is not easy for a prince to leave the palace." She had thought about it, but in the end she did not choose to send Chenghu away.
Firstly, she herself was reluctant to part with him, and secondly, Chenghu was too young, and she would worry about him leaving the palace.
Another point is that princes and nobles are not allowed to leave the capital without imperial decree, let alone young Chenghu, who would find it difficult to even leave the palace.
Normally, he had to ask Emperor Kangxi before he could even visit the Hesheli family's residence.
She didn't want the emperor to become suspicious too early, so she never dared to let Chenghu get too close to the family's children, for fear that the emperor might do something to Chenghu.
Now that the crown prince has been established, apart from her uncle Suo'etu, she doesn't dare let the two children get too close, not even to their maternal grandfather.
They were afraid that Emperor Kangxi might be wary of them, which would implicate their parents.
“Chengren, although we don’t know what your father is planning, your mother thinks he might use your elder brother as a whetstone.”
To put it nicely, it was a whetstone; in reality, it was a balancer of imperial power. If one wasn't careful, one could become a victim of imperial power.
She didn't want her son and his brothers to fight each other.
"Don't worry, Mother Empress, your son will not let such a thing happen." Although he is young, with his experiences from the previous life and the help of his mother in this life, he is no longer a pawn to be manipulated.
"Empress Mother, I'll say it again: since my elder brother has no interest in the court, let him stay away." There was one more thing he didn't dare say: he wanted to ascend to the throne as soon as he grew older.
Only in this way can he protect the people he wants to protect.
Otherwise, the people he cares about will become the Emperor's weapon against him, and he doesn't want that to happen.
Thinking about Suo'etu's fate in his previous life, he felt a pang of heartache.
That was one of the only people who truly cared for him.
“Although Chenghu is your elder brother, he is not yet ten years old. Do you think your father would agree to let him leave the palace?” She also thought about it, but this matter was not easy to handle.
"Don't worry, Mother Empress, leave this to your son." He should go and have a good talk with his elder brother.
Fanghua was worried, but considering Chengren's background and the fact that she couldn't let the two brothers escape the Emperor's watchful eye, she thought it better to let Chengren try. If his method didn't work, she would have a way to cover for him.
At worst, I can take over the position ahead of schedule.
Both mother and son were afraid that their horrifying ideas would frighten each other, but unexpectedly, they came up with the same idea.
"Alright, then give it a try. But discuss it with your elder brother beforehand. Your mother doesn't want him to feel uncomfortable." Both of them are her sons, and she doesn't want external forces to cause internal strife instead of destroying them.
"My son knows this and won't upset his older brother." He also cherishes his older brother and would never hurt him.
"That's good, that's good." Fanghua patted Chengren's head, a relieved smile on her face.
That very night, Chengren went to find his elder brother.
Fanghua didn't know what the brothers talked about, but from that day on, the two brothers became increasingly close.
She did ask, but unfortunately, neither of them told her the inside story, so she had no choice but to stop asking.
A few days later, an unexpected person arrived at Kunning Palace.
Fanghua never expected the Second Princess to come to her place. Usually, the princess and her prince would come to pay their respects, but since they were both busy with their studies, she decided that the princess and her prince would only come to pay their respects on the fifteenth of each month.
Today is not the fifteenth, and considering the previous incident with the Imperial Concubine, she didn't think the Second Princess would come to pay her respects at this time.
"Let her in." Fanghua slowly finished her breakfast before going to the front hall to greet the Second Princess.
The second princess had been there for quite some time and had eaten a lot of tea and pastries, but she hadn't seen the empress yet. She wasn't in a hurry and waited patiently.
Accompanying the Second Princess was Su Jing, a servant of the Imperial Concubine. She was also an old servant of the Imperial Concubine and knew some of the inside stories between her mistress and the Empress.
She wasn't angry that the Empress didn't receive her princess immediately.
She knew that her mistress using the Empress as a pawn would definitely displease the Empress.
It's better for Her Majesty the Empress to vent her displeasure than to bottle it up.
Fortunately, the princess was well-trained by the queen and was patient.
"Her Majesty the Empress has arrived."
The second princess quickly got up, and when the Empress came out, she immediately bowed respectfully.
"Greetings to the Empress Dowager, may the Empress Dowager enjoy boundless blessings and peace."
Fanghua didn't make things difficult for the second princess, after all, she was angry at the imperial concubine, and there was no need to take it out on a child.
"Get up. What brings you to visit me today? Is there something you need?" Fanghua asked gently, her face adorned with the most benevolent smile.
The second princess stood up, her face full of smiles, which were mostly genuine. "Your subject hasn't seen Your Majesty for a long time, and I missed you, so I came here."
"Xizhu is so sweet-talking, unlike your eldest brother who has a younger brother who is the Crown Prince, and they are all so annoying." Fanghua was indeed comforted by the Second Princess.
She watched this child grow up since she was little. Regardless of whether she meant it sincerely or not, at least the mother-daughter bond between them still exists.
"Empress Mother." The Second Princess stepped forward and came to the Empress. "Empress Mother, please don't let my elder brother and younger brother, the Crown Prince, hear what you said, or they'll cause a ruckus." Thinking of the two of them, the Second Princess's smile became even more genuine.
In addition, after hearing her mother call her Xizhu, she knew that her mother was not angry with her.
So she resumed their previous way of getting along.
“Last time, I only received an extra reward from the Empress Dowager, and my younger brother, the Crown Prince, pestered me for several days, insisting on taking back the warm jade that the Empress Dowager had given me.”
Speaking of this, the second princess couldn't help but look aggrieved.
Although warm jade is precious, the Empress has quite a lot of it, and people and children she likes can receive it as a reward from her.
She herself had quite a few coins, some big and some small, but she wore one close to her body, which kept her warm and comfortable all winter.
"That brat, only you're willing to let him have his way. If it were your older brother, he wouldn't have. Now you regret it, don't you?" Fanghua laughed; she really didn't know about this.
Last time, Xiaofeng produced a lot of warm jade. Seeing that they were all different sizes, she took some out and had them made into jade pendants, which she then gave to the children.
Unexpectedly, Chengreng actually asked Xizhu for a piece. It seems he got the smallest one. That kid is very possessive of his food.
"I don't regret it. It's not like I'm giving it to my younger brother, the Crown Prince. Besides, all the good things I have are bestowed upon me by my mother. I would never be stingy with my elder brother and the Crown Prince."
The young girl has some of the temperament of a noble concubine; she's quite dignified.
"You..." Fanghua wasn't angry to begin with, but now that Xizhu had coaxed her like this, she could barely keep up the smile on her face. "Your Majesty still has a lot of good things here. We'll take them back later. We can't let that brat find out about them again."
"Okay, Xizhu won't tell anyone, she'll keep it to herself."
The two chatted happily for a while before Xizhu revealed the purpose of her visit.
"Your Majesty, please don't blame Mother Consort. She had no choice. It was all for Xizhu's sake. Otherwise, Mother Consort wouldn't have dared to scheme against Your Majesty."
There were no outsiders left in the main hall. Xizhu knew how safe Kunning Palace was, so she didn't hold back her words.
"Empress Mother, please forgive Mother Consort." Xizhu tugged at the Empress's sleeve and shook it, as if she wouldn't let go until she was forgiven.
This made Su Jing, who was standing to the side, feel extremely uncomfortable. She wondered who her princess had taken after, being so shameless.
"Alright, stop shaking me. If you keep shaking me, my bones will fall apart." Fanghua held her little hand. "Why doesn't your mother do it herself? What, is she afraid I'll eat her up?"
She had already realized it.
Besides Xizhu, probably no one else could force the Imperial Concubine to act this way.
I just don't know what conditions the Emperor promised her.
“Possibly, after all, Mother Consort is usually quite afraid of the Empress Dowager,” Xizhu replied sarcastically.
"Oh, how come I didn't know she was afraid of me? Be careful, or your mother will punish you when you get back." This child really knows how to coax people; no wonder the Imperial Concubine dotes on her so much.
The fact that she dared to plead for the Imperial Concubine shows that she is a very competent adopted daughter.
"No way! My mother loves Xizhu just as much as the Empress Dowager does, and she would never bear to punish her."
Fanghua looked helpless.
"Alright, alright, I'm not angry anymore. Tell me, what conditions did your father promise your mother to drag me down with him?" Although she didn't want to offend the bondservant, she wasn't someone she couldn't afford to offend.
Xizhu straightened up and said with a serious expression, "My mother said that Father Emperor has allowed her to leave me in the capital." She spoke very softly, so softly that only the two of them could hear her.
Fanghua felt relieved.
If it were her, she would have done the same.
"I understand. Go back and tell your mother that I have forgiven her for this, but there won't be a next time, otherwise I won't be so easily appeased."
Her forgiveness wasn't cheap, so it's best to make things clear.
So that others won't think she's easy to bully.
"That's right, the Empress Dowager is the most precious and noble, she's not so easy to coax. This time, the Empress Dowager gave Xizhu face, and Xizhu remembers the Empress Dowager's kindness." Xizhu threw herself into the Empress's arms, just like when she was a child.
Fanghua also likes children to be close to her, saying, "Alright, you're all grown up now, why are you still acting like a child?"
"Qiaoling, go and bring my ruby hair ornaments to your Princess Xizhu. We can't let her go back empty-handed, or she won't come to see me next time."
After saying that, Fanghua burst out laughing, feeling extremely happy.
Qiaoling and the others knew that the Empress was happy at this moment, so they went down to get the things.
"Yes, this servant will go and get it right away."
Xizhu quickly expressed her gratitude, saying, "Thank you for the imperial favor, Your Majesty."
After Xizhu left, Qiaoling asked softly, "Your Majesty, is the Emperor planning to make the Consort choose sides?" She didn't understand; the princes were still so young, wasn't it a bit too early for the Emperor to make such a plan?
"Perhaps it is, perhaps it isn't. He's just setting up bait; it's uncertain who will take the bait," Fanghua said, picking up her teacup and taking a small sip.
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