Her hands, clutching the embroidered handkerchief, twitched back and forth. These days, more and more women were entering the textile factory, and although Princess Tianfu had a poor reputation among the high-ranking officials and nobles, she had earned a great reputation among the common people.
"It's only one or two taels of silver a month. The girl is young and doesn't understand. The parents are also foolish. They don't care about their reputation for a little money."
“What kind of good person is Princess Tianfu?” Meng Ruoyun said disdainfully, “She’s just trying to gain fame and reputation. She does all these things to consolidate her power.”
Her eyes were full of arrogance: "Her methods can only fool these common people."
"If it were me, I would rather starve to death than dishonor my integrity."
Behind her, her maid, A-Lian, lowered her head slightly, a hint of mockery flashing in her eyes: "Yes, what kind of integrity does Consort Yun possess?"
Standing atop the mountain, all she could see was the beautiful sunset; she could no longer see the frozen bones in the snow below.
She thought one or two taels of silver was too little, but she didn't know how difficult it would be for the parents of her maid Ah Yin, who died for her, without one or two taels of silver as their monthly allowance.
Ah Lian said softly, "Your Majesty, the princess is currently favored by His Majesty... If I may presume to say something, it seems that His Majesty's health is not good lately."
"Given the princess's current power, we probably have to avoid her."
In the imperial court, it was always a case of the East Wind prevailing over the West Wind, or vice versa.
As the textile factories prospered and the princess's power shifted further upwards, it also meant a loss of influence for Prince Duan and other ministers in the court.
Meng Ruoyun clenched her fists: "My son is the only crown prince of the Southern Dynasty. How can he avoid a vicious woman like Tianfu?"
Wouldn't avoiding such a ruthless woman lead to the deaths of even more innocent people?
Isn't Young Master Jin innocent?
Isn't her brother Meng Abao innocent?
Now that she holds power, she and Meng Huaiyi are running rampant and domineering. If this continues, who knows how badly she will corrupt the court!
"I cannot stand by and watch her wreak havoc on the court!" Meng Ruoyun's eyes darkened, and she strode forward.
A-Lian followed Meng Ruoyun's footsteps, a hint of mockery flashing in her lowered eyes: For a fool, having ideas is wrong.
...
Inside the Imperial Study.
Bai Qing was feeling much better these past few days. He was looking at the memorials when the chief eunuch stepped forward and said, "Your Majesty, Consort Li brought you some tonic soup."
Bai Qing raised an eyebrow. "This girl, she goes out of the palace to do things on her own, but she still has to ask her mother to keep an eye on me."
Bai Qing was in poor health, so Bai Yan searched all over the country for medicines to nourish his body and personally wrote out a prescription for Consort Li to brew for him to drink every day.
The chief steward smiled and advised, "The imperial physician said that the princess's prescription is effective. Don't you also feel much more relaxed lately?"
"The princess is concerned about you. She's so busy with work, yet she still goes to the Imperial Hospital every day. She's lost a lot of weight from exhaustion."
Bai Qing smiled for a moment, then worried: "This girl always takes advantage of her youth and doesn't take good care of herself. I'll have to talk to her about it later."
"If Your Majesty cares about the princess, then quickly summon Consort Li. Otherwise, seeing that you are not taking your medicine, if the Consort complains, the princess will immediately storm into the palace."
Bai Qing said helplessly, "But a maid has managed to keep her father in check."
In the end, it was Consort Xuanli who entered the Imperial Study.
Consort Li greeted him and placed the food box on the table. "Your Majesty, it's been hot lately, so today I specially gathered lotus seeds to make lotus seed soup. Would you like to try some?"
Bai Qing nodded, and Consort Li presented it to him.
Bai Qing took a few bites and thought it tasted good: "I'll send some to Tianfu later too—" Before he could finish speaking, a trace of bright red blood spilled from the corner of his lips.
The chief eunuch exclaimed in surprise, "Your Majesty!"
Bai Qing coughed up another mouthful of blood, and weakly closed his eyes in front of Consort Li's horrified gaze.
"Your Majesty, Your Majesty!"
Before Consort Li could even stand up, the door to the Imperial Study was pushed open from the outside, and a column of Imperial Guards rushed in, forming two lines on either side.
Meng Ruoyun, dressed in her finest attire, entered through the main gate, her gaze falling upon Consort Li's panicked eyes.
She curled one side of her lips and whispered, "Guards, Consort Li is plotting against His Majesty. Execute her immediately."
Consort Li's beautiful eyes flashed with both panic and anger: "Consort Yun, although you have received His Majesty's decree to become Imperial Noble Consort, you have not yet been formally conferred the title. My rank is above yours, so what right do you have to strangle me?"
"Because I am the birth mother of the young prince!"
Meng Ruoyun's eyes were sharp and cold: "You, a remnant of the Southern Yue, and your daughter have been stirring up trouble in the harem and the court. Now, the lotus seed soup you presented is poisoned. How can you and your daughter be worthy of His Majesty's favor?"
"Bewitching the emperor and disrupting the court, they deserve to die! I will naturally purge the court of corrupt officials!"
Without giving Consort Li any time to argue, Meng Ruoyun loudly ordered, "Take her away and strangle her!"
Her gaze was icy: It's only right that a ruthless woman like Tianfu should also taste the bitterness of losing a loved one!
...
That night, chaos reigned both inside and outside the palace. His Majesty was unconscious, while Princess Tianfu, who held power, and her mother became rebels.
The only prince who could inherit the throne was still a child, so his birth mother, Consort Yun, had to manage everything on his behalf.
It wasn't that no one suspected the strangeness of the emperor's illness, but Consort Yun's target was Princess Tianfu...
Princess Tianfu, who holds power, is not on the side of these clans and officials. If they do not meet her expectations, the officials in Jiangnan who met their demise serve as a cautionary tale.
She wields too much power; if she were allowed to remain in power, officials would have no choice but to obey her every command.
This chapter is not finished, please click the next page to continue reading!
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
