Chapter 947 I can't afford to lose face like this.
Jiang Fenghua was surprised that Xie Hongrui was willing to go with Qin Yunyan after only meeting her for the first time. She was usually lenient with the imperial heirs and never criticized them. She tried her best to be a proper stepmother, and almost no one could find fault with her in these aspects.
Xie Hongrui's eyes were full of defensiveness, as if he was very afraid of her. A child's eyes don't lie; he was afraid of her.
Seeing this, Xie Shang said to Xie Hongrui, "Rui'er, come to your father."
Xie Hongrui ran towards Xie Shang very affectionately, "Father, Rui Rui wants to go find Mother Consort. Rui Rui misses Mother Consort. Father, please take Rui Rui to find Mother Consort. Rui Rui will always be good and will even recite poems for Father."
When Song Qing was mentioned, Xie Shang's eyes flashed with anger, but the child in front of him was still young, so he did not vent his anger on the child. "When Rui'er and the Empress Dowager return to the palace, Father will listen to Rui'er recite her lessons whenever he has time. Rui'er should be an obedient child, and then Father will like Rui'er."
"Why can't Rui Rui be with Mother Consort? I want to find Mother Consort." Xie Hongrui's eyes were filled with tears.
Qin Yunyan slowly walked up to the Emperor and said gently, "It's natural for a child to miss his mother! The Second Prince is still so young, it's only natural for him to miss his mother."
Xie Shang didn't even glance at her. His peripheral vision unconsciously drifted towards Jiang Fenghua, wanting to see what her expression was. But he was disappointed; she remained calm and composed.
"You are my prince, and princes are not allowed to shed tears." Xie Shang's tone was filled with an unyielding authority.
Xie Hongrui was startled. "Rui Rui, be good. Father Emperor, please don't dislike Rui Rui. Rui Rui, don't cry."
For a moment, Jiang Fenghua didn't understand the Emperor's meaning. Did he want Xie Hongrui to return to Kunning Palace with her? Did he want her to support Xie Hongrui? What about Gao Qingtong then?
She said, "Let the Second Prince and the Imperial Concubine return to the palace. After all, the Second Prince will be living with the Imperial Concubine from now on, so we need to let him get used to being by her side."
Last night the Emperor issued an edict for Consort Gao to take care of her, and today she was sent to Kunning Palace. What will the other concubines in the harem think of Gao Qingtong?
Besides, she didn't have the energy to take care of so many children. Fortunately, her children were carefully cared for by Lianye and others, which saved her a lot of worry.
Xie Shang said, "Can the Consort take good care of the Second Prince? You'er and Yan'er have been well raised by the Empress. The Second Prince is very smart, and I believe the Empress can also raise him to be a talent. If he is sent back to Consort Song's side, given Consort Song's current situation, she will be even less able to take care of the Second Prince."
Jiang Fenghua thought to herself: Does the Emperor know that Song Qing has gone mad?
Qin Yunyan watched from the side, thinking to herself: So the Emperor is quite nice to the Second Prince. If the Second Prince could come to her side, would she be able to see the Emperor more often?
Qin Yunyan suddenly said, "I also studied the Four Books and Five Classics at home. Why don't I help the Empress take care of the Second Prince? I think the Emperor and Empress are busy with state affairs all day long, so they shouldn't bother with the Second Prince. He is still so young. I will do my best to take good care of him. It seems that the Second Prince likes me quite a bit."
She's not afraid of making a fool of herself by saying that. What kind of person is she to be able to support a prince? She really has her desire to seduce the emperor written all over her face.
Gao Qingtong quickly replied, "Your Majesty, I will definitely teach the Second Prince well. It's good that the Second Prince and the Second Princess are together, so they can keep each other company. I have already had people start preparing the Second Prince's study and bedroom. I guarantee that what happened today will not happen again."
If the Second Prince gets into trouble again, the Emperor will definitely not forgive her. According to Gao Qingtong's idea, she is unwilling to raise Song Qing's child, but she also cannot let the Empress be overworked, nor will she give other women the opportunity to get close to the Emperor and make the Empress sad.
Incredulity flashed in Xie Shang's eyes as he saw Bai Zhiyan's face full of flattery and ingratiation. Ever since she approached him as a member of the Bai family, she had never hidden her intentions.
Since regaining her memories, Ruan Ruan has started deceiving him again. She regained her memories on the day a flower mark inexplicably appeared between her eyebrows. She also had no physical problems. Even the birthday gift she gave him was so perfunctory.
Xie Shang was filled with disappointment. Even if he made her empress, could she still not forgive him? Or did she have someone else in her heart? Was that person Xiao Yu?
Xie Shang said, "Then let the Second Prince hand it over to Miss Bai to take care of for now."
"Your Majesty, do you know what you're saying? What is her status? How can she keep the Second Prince by her side? I disagree." Jiang Fenghua was shocked, her voice revealing a hint of disappointment and confusion. He clearly knew her true identity.
"I first ordered the Empress to take him back to the palace, but she refused." Xie Shang was seething with anger, and his attitude suddenly turned sour.
Jiang Fenghua paused. She had refused because she wanted Gao Qingtong to take him back. "The Second Prince's disappearance is not entirely Consort Gao's fault. Xie Hongrui secretly left Yongle Palace while the palace servants were not around. It was raining so hard outside that everyone was hiding indoors to avoid the rain, which is why they couldn't stop him. The Emperor punished everyone in Yongle Palace without investigating the matter thoroughly."
Since Bai Zhiyan saved the Second Prince, why did she send him to the Imperial Study instead of returning him to Yongle Palace? Or did she have her servants inform me, and then she went directly to the Imperial Study?
On her way here, she asked someone about Lianye. Lianye's people around her had inexplicably fallen asleep in the palace, clearly because Bai Zhiyan had drugged them.
Gao Qingtong said, "Your Majesty, I will take the Second Prince back with me. I will take good care of him. Please trust me."
Xie Shang looked at Jiang Fenghua, as if in a fit of pique, "My mind is made up. Let Miss Bai take her with her for now."
Jiang Fenghua straightened her back and looked back at Xie Shang. She couldn't understand why Xie Shang would agree to hand over the Second Prince to Qin Yunyan. At that moment, she was very disappointed with the Emperor's decision.
She even forgot to bow and turned around to leave the imperial study.
All that could be heard from inside was Xie Shang's furious roar, "If you fail to take good care of the Second Prince, I will hold you all accountable. All of you, step back!"
Soon, Gao Qingtong was also kicked out. A loud bang came from the sky, and the rain didn't stop. She braved the rain to catch up with the Empress: "Why did Your Majesty leave so suddenly?"
Jiang Fenghua suppressed her anger and said calmly, "Staying here will only cause more arguments. I can't bear to lose face in front of outsiders."
"Your Majesty has never seen the Emperor and Empress quarrel. The Emperor has never even said a harsh word to the Empress. What's wrong with the Emperor this time? Why did Your Majesty compromise so easily this time? If you really hand over the Second Prince to Bai Zhiyan to raise, with all her wicked intentions, wouldn't you just be helping her win over His Majesty for nothing? Your Majesty, think it over carefully. Bai Zhiyan is obviously trying to seduce the Emperor."
“If the Emperor doesn’t want her to seduce him, he won’t have the chance. The key is whether the man himself wants to or not,” Jiang Fenghua said in a deep voice.
Gao Qingtong added, "Your Majesty, think of a way to get rid of her, or execute her directly."
Jiang Fenghua was just wondering if Qin Yunyan, who became Xie Shang's favorite concubine in her previous life, would also become Xie Shang's favorite concubine in this life after going through all sorts of twists and turns. Their fates were already intertwined, and they couldn't escape it no matter how things changed.
It seems she's walking the same path as Su Tingwan. Is it possible that none of them can escape the arrangements of fate, and that the Great Zhou will perish sooner or later?
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com