Chapter 748 The Relationship Between Consort Chang and Vice Minister Shu
“You are also a prince. If others can become emperor, so can you.” Consort Chang believed that one did not necessarily need to be capable to become emperor. With the assistance of ministers, one could become emperor. The key was the status of a prince.
Xie Yang said, "Actually, the Emperor doesn't know what his mother did..."
Consort Chang said coldly, "What do you want to do? Pity him? Does he pity us? Or are you scared? If you are scared, why did you kill Shu Xue and cause all this trouble? Why didn't you and Shu Lang hold back back then?"
Xie Yang didn't want to kill anyone, but Shu Xue caught him meeting with Shu Lang and overheard things she shouldn't have. She had to die, and he couldn't control himself.
“Yang’er, there’s no turning back now. Didn’t you hear what Empress Dowager Cheng said? Did she ever respect your mother? Did she ever respect you? If it weren’t for her, would I have brought you to live in the West Palace? The cruelty in the palace is far greater than what you’ve seen.”
All the suffering we've endured is her doing. If Mother hadn't sensed her intentions early on, you and the Third Prince would have been crippled long ago. The Third Prince was born with good legs; it was she who crippled him. The Third Prince's mother was heartbroken because of this and later fell ill and never recovered. Mother survived because she took you with her and escaped. You've forgotten all the things she did to you. If it weren't for her, you would have accidentally killed her..."
Xie Yang roared, "Mother, don't mention that matter anymore."
He felt filthy all over and nauseous. Consort Chang said coldly, "All of this was caused by Empress Dowager Cheng. It wasn't you who wanted to kill them. They were killed by Empress Dowager Cheng. It wasn't our fault."
Xie Yang suddenly lost control of his emotions. The closer Consort Chang got to him, the more nauseous he felt. He turned around and left the West Palace.
Consort Chang said, "Yang'er."
The old woman approached Consort Chang and said, “The Emperor said those things today. I think the Prince still cares about brotherhood. Why didn’t Your Highness give the pastries to Empress Jiang earlier? The people around her are too difficult to deal with. Even I can’t say anything to Granny Wang. Today she took the initiative to come. What a great opportunity! But the Emperor ate a piece.”
“The piece His Majesty ate wasn’t poisoned,” said Consort Chang. “Their sudden visit to the West Palace today shows they’ve begun to suspect Yang’er. Without a foolproof plan, I dare not take the risk.”
"What should we do now? Does the Dowager Consort really want to persuade the Princess Consort to clear the Emperor's name?"
"Of course not. Now that things have come to this, we should tell Shu Lang. There are some things that everyone should know." Consort Chang has endured for decades for this day. She must make Cheng Langjin pay an even more painful price. What she cares about is her son's throne. If Cheng Langjin's secret is revealed to the public, will her son still be qualified to be emperor?
-
After leaving the West Palace, Jiang Fenghua pulled Xie Shang towards the Imperial Hospital.
Xie Shang said, "Let's go back to the Imperial Study first!"
"His Majesty just ate the pastries that Consort Chang gave him. He should go and see the Imperial Physician to take his pulse."
Xie Shang said, "My body is fine, and the pastries are not poisoned. When I was a child, Consort Chang often made pastries for me to eat, and so many years have passed without any problems. If she wanted to poison me, she would have done so long ago."
"You say that, but aren't you just afraid she poisoned the pastry? That pastry was given to me by Consort Chang. How could Your Majesty have taken it and eaten it?"
Xie Shang said, "I ate it and she didn't stop me, which means it wasn't poisoned. I'm afraid someone might harm you. You can't get into trouble. Recently, too many people have wanted to take action against the Jiang family. Only if something happens to the Empress can the Jiang family be shaken."
Jiang Fenghua was quite moved. "You are the emperor, so you can't get hurt either. We must take good care of each other from now on."
Xie Shang said, "Actually, Consort Chang is a very good person. No one in the entire palace is more indifferent to fame and fortune than her. She has lived alone in the West Palace for decades, raising Xie Yang without fighting or competing, and then Xie Yang left the palace to establish his own household and get married."
He put his arm around her waist, glanced at her stomach, and asked, "Are you pregnant again?"
Jiang Fenghua blushed and said, "No, I did it on purpose. Consort Chang kept urging me to eat pastries, so I had to be on guard."
She added, "During the days when I was not in the palace, Consort Shu sent the Emperor some snacks several times."
Xie Shang glanced at Wuxin, then pulled Jiang Fenghua aside to explain, "I can explain what happened last night to you. I didn't eat any of the snacks she sent."
Jiang Fenghua pushed him away and said deliberately, "Your Majesty has no right to interfere with whomever you wish to favor. As long as Your Majesty is happy."
Xie Shangchao said indifferently, "Come and tell the Empress the truth about last night. I told you to dispose of those pastries, why are you still keeping them?"
Lianye waited to the side, also wanting to hear the Emperor's explanation, even though she had already asked Wuxin privately and knew that the Emperor had not favored Shuyan.
Wu Xin said, "Shu Ronghua did indeed sleep in Qianqing Palace last night. This servant used sleeping incense to knock her unconscious. Nothing happened between the Emperor and her. This servant was about to deal with it, but I forgot in my busy schedule."
Jiang Fenghua stopped her, saying, "Don't rush to deal with it. Don't you think the pastries Shuyan sent to the Emperor look very similar to those made by Consort Chang?"
Wuxin said, "It does look quite similar."
Jiang Fenghua thought: Shu Yan is the daughter of Minister Shu. Minister Shu is helping Zhang Yurou and Xie Yang. Could he instruct Shu Yan to harm Xie Shang?
She said, "Go back to the palace first and secretly take the pastries that Shuyan sent to the imperial physician to check if there is anything unusual."
Wu Xin replied, "Yes."
Xie Shang said, "You mean the pastries that Shu Yan sent to the Imperial Study were made by Consort Chang?"
"Go back and investigate who Shu Yan is close to, and we'll find out." Jiang Fenghua said in a deep voice, "If it is confirmed that Shu Yan is connected with Consort Chang, then is Vice Minister Shu also connected with Consort Chang? Zhang Yurou may just be a pawn they are using to deal with the Emperor. What will they do next if they make any moves?"
Xie Shang didn't arrest Shu Lang because he wanted to know who Shu Lang was in contact with. Could it really be Consort Chang?
Jiang Fenghua changed the subject, "Does His Majesty really believe that the Fourth Prince has left the palace?"
Xie Shang frowned deeply. "He didn't leave the palace. He only came to the West Palace to find Consort Chang because he listened to what I said. We entered the West Palace, but he hid, which further proves that he and Consort Chang are indeed very suspicious."
“You just said she was a good person.” Jiang Fenghua continued, “Your mother rushed over in such a hurry. If the Emperor hadn’t happened to be in the West Palace, I bet your mother would have given Consort Chang a good scolding. Your mother is a strange person. Coming here to scold Consort Chang after something like this won’t solve anything!”
"The Empress Dowager's emotions are often unstable. It may be because she has lived alone in the palace for too long, which has led to her developing such a personality."
"What was the relationship between the late emperor and the empress dowager like when the late emperor was on the throne?" Jiang Fenghua asked directly.
Speaking of his father and mother's relationship, Xie Shang felt only bitterness, "It's not good. Their relationship has been bad since I was very young. Some things happened."
Jiang Fenghua stared at Xie Shang with her big eyes. "What is it?"
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
