Chapter 368 Heartless and Loveless
“Young Master,” Lin Yu blurted out, “I wish Jiang Fenghua could become that carefree and unrestrained Young Master Ruan outside the palace.”
"I can only be the Crown Princess." Jiang Fenghua's eyes were icy cold. Having come this far, even if Xie Shang had doubts, she would not give up. She had not done anything wrong.
She sat firmly in her position, watching the entire Su family be wiped out. Even if she didn't avenge herself and the Jiang family, she thought that what she did was acting on behalf of Heaven.
“Do you know that Xie Shang already suspects me? If you come to the palace like this, he will definitely find out and investigate you,” Jiang Fenghua said.
"It's clearly him who wronged you. What does he suspect you of? He suspects you of helping him in every way." If Xie Shang dares to do anything to harm Jiang Fenghua again, she will release that Hu prince and support him in seizing the throne and rebelling. If the Hu tribe attacks the Great Zhou again, his throne will not be secure.
She will not let anyone bully her.
All of this depends on Xie Shang's attitude towards Jiang Fenghua.
“He is the emperor. Have you ever seen an emperor who would feel guilty for wronging his concubines?” she said softly. “Ayu, you don’t understand the palace, that’s why you think that way. It’s the coldest and most ruthless place. If I ever have the thought that he has wronged me, I’ve already lost. I’ve said I am who I am, and I won’t change. I have my own plans, so don’t worry!”
Lin Yu understood, which is why she said she would never fall in love with Xie Shang, or anyone else. Everyone needs to be loved, to love, and to dare to love in order to live a fulfilling life. Yet she forced herself to live as a heartless and loveless puppet.
Lin Yu didn't tell her that Ji Chen was also alive and had even obtained the identity of a Hu tribe prince, because she already had a perfect plan in mind to avenge Jiang Fenghua. She only needed to sit firmly in the position of Crown Princess and wait for Xie Shang to ascend the throne and make her Empress.
She would avenge the Su family.
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At the same time, Xie Shang was on his way from Chenxi Palace to Taihua Palace when he encountered Zhu Zhenzhen, who was dressed up.
Zhu Zhenzhen bowed respectfully, saying, "This concubine greets Your Highness the Crown Prince."
"No need for formalities," Xie Shang said in a deep voice. "What is Zhenzhen doing here?"
"I am here to wait for Your Highness. I have made some pastries and thought Your Highness might like them, so I wanted to bring them to Your Highness to try." She did not attend the New Year's Eve celebration because she had already received instructions from her father. The reason why the Crown Prince told his father about his plan was because his father was now the Crown Prince's right-hand man.
Xie Shang glanced at her. "Come with me! I'm hungry too."
Zhu Zhenzhen smiled and said, "Yes."
At this moment, she suddenly stepped forward and grabbed Xie Shang's hand, her voice gentle, "I would like to ask Your Highness to grant me one more request, I wonder if that is possible."
A flash of disgust crossed Xie Shang's eyes, but he still didn't let go of her hand. "What is it?"
"On the Lantern Festival, would Your Highness be willing to take me out of the palace to enjoy the lanterns?" she asked, her voice sounding almost coquettish.
"Is the Lantern Festival almost here?" Xie Shang asked deliberately. "I've been busy with court affairs, and I didn't expect that the Lantern Festival would be here again so soon."
"I'll escort you to the Imperial Censor's residence to pay your respects to your mother on the Lantern Festival!" He had already forgotten his promise to Jiang Fenghua to spend the Lantern Festival with her.
"Really? Will Your Highness accompany me back?" Zhu Zhenzhen was overjoyed, gripping his hand even tighter. Occasionally, she leaned close to Xie Shang, as if the two were whispering secrets: "Zhenzhen is very happy."
The two walked together toward the Taihua Hall, one in front of the other.
Zhao Yuntong, another concubine of the Crown Prince, watched from afar, observing their every move. Zhao Yuntong had not yet been summoned to the Crown Prince's bedchamber, but she was also trying to find an opportunity to let the Crown Prince see her.
However, the Crown Prince never went to the residences of the concubines in the Eastern Palace. If they wanted to be seen by the Crown Prince, they had to go to places he frequented. The Crown Prince had just come out of Chenxi Palace when Zhu Liangdi intercepted him.
She twisted the handkerchief between her fingers; she had to come up with a solution.
So Zhao Yuntong went to Chenxi Palace to pay her respects to the Crown Princess.
As soon as she arrived at the entrance of Chenxi Palace, she was stopped. "The Crown Princess is resting. Consort Zhao, please come another day!"
"I really have something to report to the Crown Princess, and I would be grateful if you could be lenient with me, Granny." Zhao Yuntong knew the saying that money can make the devil turn the millstone. When she entered the palace, her family gave her a lot of money to take with her. There were many things that needed to be taken care of in the palace, so she was told not to be stingy, especially to the servants in the Crown Princess's palace.
Zhao Yuntong had given a bit too much money, so the nanny gritted her teeth and stuffed the silver into her purse. "Please wait a moment, my lady. I will go and inform Steward Lianye. If the Crown Princess wishes to see you, I will come and invite you. If she does not see you..." She would not return the silver.
Zhao Yuntong nodded, "I understand, thank you for your trouble, Granny."
Lianye saw Consort Zhao standing outside from afar, so she went to the main bedroom to report, "Your Highness, Consort Zhao requests an audience."
Seeing that Lin Yu was all ready, Jiang Fenghua said, "Have Aoxue escort Lin Yu out of the palace."
"yes."
As Lin Yu left, she gave Zhao Yuntong a deep look. The young ladies of the Zhao family were all formidable. Among the noble ladies in the capital, who could compare to Jiang Fenghua? They were all just ordinary beauties. Xie Shang really had the heart to do that.
Zhao Yuntong noticed someone was looking at her and glanced back. She felt that the person in front of her was very familiar, as if she had seen him somewhere before.
Lianye said, "Please, Miss Zhao. The Crown Princess is waiting."
Zhao Yuntong nodded. She dared not offend anyone from the Eastern Palace, and quickly said, "Thank you, Steward Lianye."
"This concubine greets the Crown Princess." Zhao Yuntong bowed respectfully.
Jiang Fenghua said gently, "I heard that Consort Zhao has something to report to me. What is it?"
Zhao Yuntong glanced around, but Jiang Fenghua didn't dismiss the others for her. She had no choice but to bite the bullet and say, "I just saw Consort Zhu and His Highness the Crown Prince holding hands as they went to Taihua Palace."
Jiang Fenghua's gaze darkened slightly. "What is Consort Zhao trying to say by coming to me about this?"
Zhao Yuntong's heart trembled. She only wanted to rely on the Crown Princess and hoped to gain the Crown Prince's favor like Consort Song and the others. She really couldn't find any other reason.
Zhao Yuntong immediately knelt on the ground, "Please forgive me, Your Highness. I may have been too busy and lost my composure for a moment. It is not my place to discuss the good relationship between His Highness and Consort Zhu."
Zhao Yuntong was originally a pawn chosen by Jiang Fenghua to enter the palace. The Zhao family was generous, and this concubine's daughter entered the palace with the same air as the legitimate daughter. It is understandable that Xie Shang would prefer Zhu Zhenzhen more in his spare time. Now the whole court is working together to investigate the Su family's affairs.
Jiang Fenghua personally helped Zhao Yuntong up. "You're too kind, Miss Zhao. If you want to gain the Crown Prince's favor, you'll have to rely on your family. Even if I wanted to help you, I can't cook without rice."
She wanted the Zhao family to make a mistake, even if the Zhao family had made a mistake before, but it hadn't been made public.
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