From then on, the Empress Dowager truly stopped interfering in Song Lingxi's affairs. Song Lingxi's pregnancy went very well; she had a rosy complexion and a good appetite.
It was three and a half months before the Emperor spread the news. To avoid controversy for Xi'er, he deliberately claimed that she was only three months old. This caused a huge uproar in the court!
Among them, the most affected were the eldest princess's faction. Almost as soon as they received the news, the mother and son's expressions became increasingly grim.
...
The Princess's Residence.
The two people in the main hall had their brows furrowed, and there were many people guarding outside the door, indicating that they were discussing something important, and the atmosphere was tense.
The eldest princess's face was ashen: "Heng'er, are you sure this news is true?"
Xiao Heng's face was also very ugly. He wished the news was false, but it came from the palace. Only after Eunuch Li gave the gospel could they find out.
However, the Empress Dowager's birthday is in a few days, and a palace banquet will definitely be held then. If this news is true, then we can start making plans.
"Mother, don't you think this date is too coincidental?"
Xiao Heng knew the inside story. He knew that in order to keep him in the capital, his mother had presented the emperor with a beautiful woman, who was none other than the current Consort Ling.
The emperor was not interested in women. When he finally met someone he liked, he forced his original husband to propose a divorce and made her a concubine. His mother had told him this before.
While doing so spared him from suffering, it inadvertently created a powerful adversary for himself.
Thinking of this, Xiao Heng couldn't help but complain, "Mother, why didn't you give that lady the herb that would kill her offspring, so as to prevent future troubles?"
The princess was already feeling annoyed, and hearing Xiao Heng's words was like stabbing her in the heart.
"What, are you blaming your mother?"
The princess glared at the other person with sharp eyes. Because she had injured her body when she gave birth to Xiao Heng, she would never be able to have another child in this life.
Furthermore, because Xiao Heng had been raised in the palace since childhood, she always felt indebted to him and therefore doted on him. She went to great lengths to keep him in the capital, but unexpectedly, he started to criticize his mother!
"Xiao Heng, answer me!"
With a stern face, she slammed her hand on the table with a loud "bang," causing the twelve-tailed phoenix hairpin on her head to sway incessantly, and the pearl earrings to swing back and forth beside her ears, demonstrating her fury.
The princess's stern rebuke instantly made Xiao Heng realize that he had said the wrong thing: "Mother, I was wrong."
He quickly stood up, lifted his robe, knelt down, and kowtowed to the princess. He deserved to die; his mother had done so much for him, yet he was ungrateful.
Moreover, Xiao Heng thought that he did not yet have real power, and it was precisely the time when he needed the Princess to help him overcome all difficulties. How could he be so anxious and restless?
"Mother, your son deserves to die! I know perfectly well that you have exhausted yourself for me and tried everything you could, yet you still recklessly blame me. I am an unfilial son, and I beg you to punish me!"
After Xiao Jin finished speaking, he kowtowed deeply. His forehead hit the ground with a loud thud, and his temples turned red, making him look quite pitiful.
"Sigh, Mother is a little anxious too. It's not your fault. Get up quickly."
The eldest princess sighed, glanced at her son who sincerely admitted his mistake, quickly helped him up from the ground, and then said with some self-reproach.
"The situation was too urgent at the time. It was Mother's fault for not thinking things through. After all, you know that it's not easy for people in our royal family to conceive. And I was only thinking about you. How could Mother have thought of so many things in such a short time?"
"Do you still remember that back then, the old imperial uncle had more than eighty wives and concubines, but he didn't have a single child. Father Emperor had three thousand concubines, but only Mother had me and the emperor."
The princess had only said these words on a whim, but Xiao Heng had taken them to heart.
He had already had some doubts, and now, the princess's words conveniently confirmed his thoughts.
"Mother, don't you really think the timing is too coincidental? Even you yourself said that the royal family doesn't have many heirs, but Consort Ling became pregnant as soon as she entered the palace. Isn't that too much of a coincidence?"
Although Xiao Heng's suspicions were bizarre, they weren't entirely unreasonable, causing the Eldest Princess to begin to wonder: Could it be that the child in Consort Ling's womb wasn't the Emperor's?
"I know the Emperor's character. If he is not absolutely certain, he will definitely cause Song to miscarry, and will not allow her to have the opportunity to give birth to an offspring of illegitimate blood."
"Moreover, royal affairs are of great importance, concerning the legitimacy of the royal bloodline. How can the Xiao family's empire be taken away by others? I think it's impossible."
The eldest princess, accustomed to the emperor's cold and ruthless demeanor, refused to believe that Xiao Jin would be willing to make such a self-sacrificing act, unless the sun rose in the west!
Seeing that his mother didn't believe him, Xiao Heng could only suppress his doubts for the time being. However, the seed of doubt had already quietly taken root and sprouted in his heart.
But there's something more important right now: the Empress Dowager's birthday banquet is in ten days. Why don't they take this opportunity to do something?
"Mother, at the maternal grandmother's banquet, could we just take action and kill that unborn child directly..."
Seeing his position threatened, Xiao Jin couldn't sit still any longer. Now that he had the chance to make his move, wouldn't it be even better to have the project die in its infancy?
"Be careful what you say, Heng'er. You must never have such thoughts again. If the emperor finds out, our good days will be over!"
The eldest princess quickly scolded him, saying that the child was probably possessed. Had he forgotten what kind of person Xiao Jin was? If the emperor found out, his entire family would be executed.
After all, three years ago, corrupt officials were executed along with their entire families simply for selling official positions, and the stench of blood permeated the vegetable market for a whole month, making people nauseous.
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