Chapter 396 Zhu Liangdi, Do You Know Your Crime?
Wuxin found His Highness the Crown Prince in the Taihua Palace. "This servant greets His Highness the Crown Prince."
Xie Shang had been busy all day and, seeing that no one was in the mood to come, said, "No need for formalities!"
After getting up, Wuxin asked again, "Why is Your Highness still in the palace?"
Xie Shang said calmly, "I am busy with official duties and do not have time to take the Crown Princess out of the palace. Let's do it another day!"
"But the Crown Princess has already left the palace. She asked me to tell His Highness that she would meet him at Hundred Flowers Lake! I thought the Crown Prince knew." Wuxin already knew the whole story from Granny Wang.
Xie Shang said in a deep voice, "She left the palace. I was angry here all day. She left the palace alone. Who accompanied her? When did she go? Why didn't anyone come to report?"
Jiang Fenghua possessed a waist token bestowed by the Emperor. As the Crown Princess of the Eastern Palace, she had considerable freedom of movement in and out of the palace with this token.
Wuxin said, "Didn't His Highness order me to prepare this? I didn't know His Highness was angry... What is he angry about?"
Xie Shang didn't know what he was angry about; he was angry that Jiang Fenghua didn't understand his feelings and only knew how to distort the truth.
At this moment, Zhu Zhenzhen arrived again, requesting an audience outside the palace.
Wuxin said, "This servant will go and welcome Consort Zhu in, and also send someone to inform the Crown Princess to invite her back to the palace!"
Without giving Xie Shang a chance to react, Wu Xin left. He had deliberately invited Zhu Xiaozhu, as the Crown Prince and Crown Princess were angry because of Zhu Zhenzhen, and he wanted her to walk right into the line of fire.
They just wanted to provoke His Highness the Crown Prince and let him know that he was the kind of person the Crown Princess had described.
Xie Shang didn't say anything, only waiting for Zhu Zhenzhen to slowly walk in. "This concubine greets Your Highness the Crown Prince." She knew that the Crown Prince and the Crown Princess had quarreled, and then the Crown Princess left the palace in anger. Eunuch Wuxin gave her an idea, telling her to seize the opportunity to win over the prince's heart. At this time, men are most likely to fall into the arms of other women, and they can cry and complain about any grievances they have.
Now, as Xie Shang looked at Zhu Zhenzhen, Jiang Fenghua's words kept replaying in his mind: Zhu Zhenzhen, relying on his support, was becoming increasingly temperamental. Just like now, without being summoned, she could enter Taihua Palace as if it were her own territory.
Suddenly, he slammed his fist heavily on the table and said in a deep voice, "Is Liangdi feeling any better?"
"I am much better. Thank you, Your Highness, for inviting the imperial physician to treat me." What's wrong with Your Highness? Why are you pounding the table?
"What brings you to Taihua Palace, Lady Consort?" Xie Shang asked softly.
Zhu Zhenzhen said, "It's getting dark, and Your Highness has been busy all day, so I made some pastries for you to try." She came to offer her warmth and comfort.
She had dressed up specially for this occasion, her makeup was exquisite, and with her slender fingers she opened the food box, took out a plate of pastries, and handed it to the Crown Prince, "Your Highness, please try some..."
Her skin had a faint, pleasant fragrance that was refreshing. She deliberately brought her hand close to the Crown Prince's face, knowing that His Highness would surely like it.
Xie Shang was sulking because Jiang Fenghua had misunderstood him when Zhu Zhenzhen came and confirmed his accusations, which was unacceptable to the Crown Prince, who believed he deeply loved the Crown Princess.
Xie Shang smelled a fragrance and suddenly grabbed her fingers. Zhu Zhenzhen's eyes were alluring, her gaze full of affection as she looked at Xie Shang and said gently, "What's wrong, Your Highness?"
"The Crown Princess has never liked putting such disgusting stuff on her body, so don't do it again." Xie Shang coldly shook off her hand and added, "I don't like pastries."
Zhu Zhenzhen was stunned. His Highness had never spoken to her like this before, nor had he ever complained about the fragrance on her body, and he even ate her pastries.
Does the Crown Princess not like incense?
Her eyes were slightly red, and tears seemed to be glistening in her eyes. For a moment, she didn't know how to react. Did he find out that she was faking her illness?
But when the imperial physicians came to treat him that night, the crown prince was right there and didn't say anything.
"Your Highness, have you heard something that has misunderstood me?" Zhu Zhenzhen asked cautiously. Had the Crown Princess said something?
Xie Shang's lips curled into a playful smile. "What misunderstanding? Is there anything that I don't know that I need the Crown Princess to tell me?"
He hesitated for a moment, then deliberately said, "Today, the Crown Princess mentioned Consort Liang's illness..."
Zhu Zhenzhen thought that Jiang Fenghua would definitely say that she was faking illness that night, but His Highness was also present!
"Perhaps the Crown Princess doesn't like me, and neither does the Empress, because I suffered a miscarriage and have been unable to conceive since." She feigned pitifulness again. The Empress did indeed only favor consorts who were pregnant with the Emperor's child, which was why she gave the position of concubine to Tang Qianran. Had His Highness forgotten his promise to bestow the position of concubine upon her?
Xie Shang slammed the pastries she had brought in front of her and said coldly, "The Crown Princess and the Empress Dowager have never said they disliked Consort Zhu. They only told Consort Zhu to take good care of her health and conceive a royal heir as soon as possible. Yet you slandered the Crown Princess and the Empress Dowager in front of me. Consort Zhu, do you know your crime?"
Zhu Zhenzhen was so frightened that she knelt on the ground. "Your Highness, that's not what I meant."
"That's not what you meant. What do you mean? Or are you trying to sow discord between me and the Crown Princess?" He became even angrier when he thought of Jiang Fenghua saying that Zhu Zhenzhen had a temper in front of her. "The Consort comes from the Imperial Censorate. She must have learned the etiquette of respecting superiors and inferiors. The Crown Princess is the mistress of the Eastern Palace. It is the rule that the ladies are under her discipline."
Zhu Zhenzhen's face turned pale with fright, and tears streamed down her cheeks. "I was also feeling unwell, which is why I got up late. The Crown Princess also said that I would be exempt from paying my respects." She never expected that Jiang Fenghua would say one thing to her face and another behind her back. She said that she would be exempt from paying her respects every day, but then she complained to the Crown Prince behind his back.
When Xie Shang heard about this, he realized that it was no wonder Ruan Ruan was angry. Had she become so arrogant and spoiled?
She must have known that the Crown Princess had left the palace, which is why she came to him again to curry favor. However, Ruan Ruan was still waiting for him at Baihua Lake.
He was overwhelmed with mixed feelings and filled with guilt.
Before leaving, he added, "Go back and copy the palace rules a hundred times and give them to the Crown Princess to review until she is satisfied. The Crown Princess will always be my legal wife."
Zhu Zhenzhen's face turned deathly pale, and she looked pitiful. Her shoulders were trembling as she quickly replied, "Yes, I remember."
She originally wanted to faint, but she was afraid that people would use this as leverage to say that she was unwell, and she was even more afraid that these things would reach her father's ears. What she needed most was the support of the Zhu family. She was the eldest daughter of the Zhu family, and she was married into the royal family.
What if she can't have children, her father abandons her, and even lets Zhu Yiyi, the illegitimate daughter, into the palace?
Zhu Zhenzhen became increasingly flustered and completely lost.
At this moment, Wuxin walked up to her and said, "What did you do to upset His Highness the Crown Prince? What a rare opportunity this is!" You can't even compare to a hair on the Crown Princess's head when it comes to competing with her.
Zhu Zhenzhen grabbed Wuxin and stammered, "I don't know why Your Highness got so angry today."
Wu Xin didn't say a word, indicating that he didn't know either. Anyway, there were plenty of concubines who fawned over him, and he only passed on the message to Concubine Zhu because Zhu Zhenzhen offered him many benefits.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
