"Your Majesty, whether you bestow upon me the title 'Chen' or elevate my rank, I cannot accept it. Consort Yun has had a hard time these past years, and there has been much ridicule of her throughout the palace. Everyone says that she is noble, but she is no match for me, a woman from the Jianghu."
"As you know, I'm a straightforward person. Whenever I hear these kinds of things, I'll definitely reprimand them severely and tell them not to spread them anymore. But people can't always speak for themselves, and there's no guarantee that many unpleasant things won't reach Sister Yunfei's ears. It's only natural that she'll be angry with me."
“I have already taken your favor from her, and now even A Yao is living in my palace. If I were to surpass her in rank, wouldn’t that be an even greater embarrassment to her?”
"Sister Yunfei has finally managed to reconcile with me, and I don't want to become estranged from her again because of Your Majesty's actions."
Gu Jiangli sighed repeatedly upon hearing Consort Yu's words.
In this world, especially in the deep palace, there are truly few women as righteous as Consort Yu.
No wonder the young emperor was close to her; being around such a person made him feel very comfortable.
Because Consort Yu always considered other people's feelings in everything she did.
She could tell that she had already gained a lot and would not covet anything more.
The young emperor's kindness is probably largely due to the influence of Consort Yu.
At this moment, the late emperor also sighed, then looked at the young emperor hiding behind Consort Yu, shook his head, and sighed again:
“Alright, since A-Yu has said so, then I won’t take the title of Imperial Concubine. But…” he changed the subject, “If you’re not promoted, then I’ll just give you the title of ‘Imperial Concubine Chen’ on your own, that should be fine, right?”
Consort Yu rolled her eyes. "Your Majesty, so you didn't understand a word I said. The character 'Yu' in my name has a very good meaning. Is 'Consort Yu' so unpleasant to hear? Do you have to bestow the title of Consort Chen to show off Your Majesty's culture?"
"Alright, alright, let's not talk about it anymore. When did I ever say that the character '毓' was bad? You can't misunderstand me like that."
Consort Yu glanced at him from head to toe. "Alright, take that imperial edict away. It's too conspicuous to look at."
The late emperor shrugged. "Well, what fine silk paper, what a waste."
"Still talking?"
"I'm not going to say anything more, don't get angry, be careful of the child. Ah Yao, you stay with Consort Yu, I'll be leaving now."
The late emperor strode away.
Only when he could no longer see his back did the young emperor peek out, look at Consort Yu, and ask earnestly:
Has Consort Yu truly forgiven my mother?
Consort Yu looked at him in surprise, "Why do you ask that, Ayao?"
"Because I heard that my mother did some very bad things to Consort Yu before, and that she also said some very bad things at the banquet that day."
Consort Yu waved her hand, "Actually, this can't be blamed on your mother."
"Yeah?"
“Hmm. Ayao, if your father had only ever loved one woman and been devoted to only one woman, your mother wouldn’t be the way she is now. And I am the beneficiary of this relationship, so I have even less right to speak ill of your mother.”
"But Mother has indeed made Father and you unhappy."
Consort Yu chuckled, "If I were your mother, I'm afraid I would have gone even further than her."
The young emperor asked, bewildered, "So, Mother Consort did nothing wrong?"
Consort Yu fell silent, stroked his head, and sighed, "To be honest, I don't know either. No matter whose side I'm on, I think their actions are right, so I can only try my best to do what I think is right."
"Ayao is the same; just do your best to do what you think is right."
"I see."
The young emperor looked bewildered, as if he understood but also didn't.
He may have learned about his mother's hardships from Consort Yu, which is why he frequently returned to Consort Yun's side after that day.
Consort Yun would also occasionally appear with him in Consort Yu's palace.
They chatted and laughed as if no dispute had ever occurred before.
But Gu Jiangli became increasingly terrified.
Given Consort Yun's personality, she wouldn't do anything meaningless.
Especially since she hated Consort Yu so much, she must have been disgusted by sitting at the same table and dining with Consort Yu.
When Consort Yu gave birth, she was extremely busy taking care of everything, and even the palace servants in Consort Yu's palace said that she contributed a lot.
When the twins were born, the late emperor both cried and laughed, weeping with joy.
The young emperor was both nervous and excited. Like the other princes, he stretched his neck out longer than a giraffe, eager to see what his younger siblings looked like.
Gu Jiangli felt a pang of bitterness and mixed emotions.
It's heartbreaking to see the little emperor looking so alive now.
What worries her even more is that the birth of these two new lives means that someone will die soon.
Consort Yun had been waiting for an opportunity, and her opportunity had finally arrived.
When the twins, a boy and a girl, reached their one-month milestone, Consort Yun suggested holding a banquet.
Consort Yu was not fully recovered, and since each of her previous children had been celebrated in a grand manner, she said that a simple meal with just the few of them would suffice.
Consort Yun smiled and agreed, and the Emperor also consented.
Dark clouds filled the sky, and Gu Jiangli had a bad feeling, as if something big was about to happen.
Consort Yun was busy preparing dishes in Mingyang Palace. She had prepared all the dishes on the table, and the palace was filled with the aroma of cooking, which whetted everyone's appetite.
The Emperor and Consort Yu had no doubts about this sincerity.
The young emperor was also at the table, and he picked up his chopsticks without hesitation.
The remaining princes and princesses ate with great relish, repeatedly praising Consort Yun's culinary skills.
The young emperor thoroughly enjoyed the full moon banquet.
This was the first time in his life that he had eaten dinner at the same table with all his relatives.
Gu Jiangli's heart pounded; the little emperor's joy seemed bittersweet to her.
She could not empathize with the young emperor's joy, because she knew that this blissful scene was all an illusion fabricated by Consort Yun.
She kept wondering if Consort Yun had put poison in the food.
But she saw that Consort Yun herself was eating, and she ate every dish, so it didn't seem like there was any poison in the food at all.
Until the end of the meal, apart from Consort Yun frequently drinking tea, there was nothing else unusual.
This time, however, Consort Yun made a request she had never made before.
She wanted to rest for the night in Mingyang Palace.
Consort Yu naturally did not refuse and readily agreed.
The emperor stayed directly in the palace and did not return to Jinghe Palace.
late at night.
The Mingyang Palace was pitch black. Gu Jiangli looked at the dark scene and knew that something bad was about to happen.
Even at midnight, candles would burn all night in the inner palace, but that night, Mingyang Palace was as dark as Jinghe Palace twenty years later.
The young emperor was fast asleep when a hand shook him awake in the darkness.
He opened his sleepy eyes and recognized the person in front of him. "Mother? Aren't you asleep yet? What's wrong?"
"Consort Yu has fainted. You should go and see her quickly."
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
