When Shu Chengfeng was very young, he actually had a pretty good life.
Although her father did not favor her, he had many princes and was sometimes too busy to attend to them all.
He didn't care.
The mother favored her elder brother more, but he was the eldest son of the legitimate wife and was destined to become the crown prince, so it was only right that he was favored.
Even his maternal grandparents were closer to his brother and only treated him with politeness, but he didn't care.
He doesn't care about this family.
On the contrary, his elder brother treated him the best. Although there were many princes, he could tell that his brother loved him from the bottom of his heart, but his love for the other princes was different.
He also liked to be with his older brother. Until his brother left the palace to get married.
My sister-in-law is from the Cao family, and I've heard she's incredibly beautiful. She'd be a perfect match.
He was happy for his brother. He was still young then and thought that it was good if the girl was beautiful.
On the day his elder brother got married, he also went out of the palace to offer his congratulations. The eldest prince's residence was decorated with lanterns and colorful streamers, creating a very festive atmosphere.
He also got to see the bride as he wished. Although he was still young and his concept of beauty might not be fully developed, he could still acknowledge that his sister-in-law was indeed beautiful.
After that, he saw that his older brother was happy every day, and he enjoyed a period of carefree life.
It will take about seven or eight months.
Back then, my mother often said things like, "When your eldest brother has a legitimate son, this and that will happen."
The Ye family is already preparing to submit a petition to request the establishment of a crown prince.
After all, the eldest prince was already seventeen years old and married.
Actually, this isn't the first time I've requested this; it's happened many times over the years.
He will always remember that year; it was autumn, just after the Mid-Autumn Festival. The weather wasn't cold yet.
He was studying at Fengxiang Palace when a palace maid rushed in, saying that His Majesty had summoned the Crown Prince's Consort alone, and that she was currently in Beichen Palace, and that everyone else had been removed.
The Empress immediately threw down her teacup and rushed to the Beichen Palace, but was stopped.
On this day, the Crown Prince's wife was unable to leave the palace.
The next day, before the eldest prince even entered the palace, a pregnant concubine died in the harem.
Immediately, the evidence pointed to Fengxiang Palace.
The Empress was both shocked and furious, and the Ye family was also greatly shocked.
Shu Changfeng entered the palace, but before he could even look for his wife who hadn't returned home that night, he faced the serious crime of his mother being falsely accused.
Even the empress cannot escape punishment for plotting against concubines and imperial heirs.
Empress Dowager Jiang also expressed her dissatisfaction with the Empress at the opportune moment.
The women in the harem all agreed.
Shu Chengfeng could hardly remember how he had weathered that turbulent autumn and winter.
My older brother is sick.
A new concubine, Zhen Gui, has entered the palace.
The Empress Dowager also fell ill, and the court officials submitted memorials every day.
Shu Changfeng's illness worsened day by day.
He was only seventeen years old.
I simply cannot accept that the world has become so filthy overnight.
His respected and admired father, and his beloved and revered wife, were somehow intertwined.
He seemed to suddenly realize that the political situation in the court was changing because he was the eldest son and had grown up.
His mother, Lady Ye, married him when His Majesty was not yet the Crown Prince; she was his first wife…
His father was still young, so he was unwilling to make him the crown prince.
His wife, however, had her eye on his father, the emperor.
He was a gentle person by nature, and he really couldn't accept this outcome.
He finally fell ill and passed away.
There was so much resentment, so much humiliation and anger, but in the end, I still couldn't hold on.
When I finally went there, I neither saw my mother nor my younger brother.
He simply sent a message through his personal maid to Shu Chengfeng: "Brother is incompetent; I hope my younger brother will step up. For myself. For our mother."
He didn't utter a single word of hatred before he died, but all his hatred was deeply rooted in Shu Chengfeng's heart.
The late emperor was still young at that time.
They underestimated the capabilities of their veteran advisors.
This move was a mistake.
He severely underestimated the power of Duke Ye, who was furious. At that time, there were even some of his former subordinates in the army.
A group of ministers stood on his side; they all still remembered the late emperor's crown prince.
What kind of person was he? Far beyond what Shu Zhongjing could compare to.
Under the leadership of Duke Ye, not only is the cause of Shu Changfeng's death to be thoroughly investigated, but also the cause of death of the former Crown Prince and his two sons.
For a time, the court and the country were truly in turmoil.
The princes who are still alive are also eager to make their move.
Even the Tuotuo people made a move.
Shu Zhongjing was furious, but since things had come to this point, appeasing the court officials was the priority.
He issued an imperial edict overnight to "investigate" the cause of death of the concubines in the harem, and decisively punished a concubine of low rank, thus removing the empress from the list of those responsible.
But it was no use.
Duke Ye refused to give up.
There were also unusual movements within the military.
Shu Zhongjing had no choice but to compromise again, making Shu Chengfeng the crown prince. He also posthumously conferred upon Shu Changfeng the title of Prince of Qin.
The King of Qin held the highest rank among the royal titles.
Only by bestowing the title of Crown Prince and posthumously honoring the eldest son of the Emperor could the anger of the Duke of Ye's faction be appeased.
Who could have imagined that the position of crown prince, which the seventeen-year-old eldest son had been unable to obtain for many years, would fall into the hands of the fifth prince?
From that moment on, Shu Zhongjing and Empress Ye became complete strangers and never shared a bed again.
Consort Zhen began to gain favor and became the most favored concubine in the harem.
Shu Chengfeng was already disliked by Shu Zhongjing, and after being forced to make him the crown prince, he disliked him even more.
So what if he doesn't like it? With the Ye family protecting him, he has been unable to depose the empress or the crown prince for many years.
They could only treat the precious concubine with arrogance, which made Empress Ye and the Crown Prince feel uncomfortable.
But what truly upset Shu Chengfeng was never this matter.
He was heartbroken because his beloved older brother was gone.
He comforted his mother when she was most heartbroken and told her, "Mother, you still have me."
However, he received a slap from his mother, who told him that he should never try to replace his elder brother's position.
He can never compare to his older brother.
He later became the crown prince, which should have been a victory.
But his mother drank a lot of wine and looked at him with a complicated expression.
In the end, you did replace my Changfeng. But you are not him, and you can never become him.
She probably forgot those words after she sobered up.
Or perhaps they haven't forgotten.
But he never said it again after that.
From then on, she was a good mother, loving her younger son. She only often missed her older son.
The phrase he said most often to his youngest son was, "You must avenge your elder brother."
It must be said that Shu Chengfeng is not a particularly warm or outgoing person.
He endured many hardships, rising from a child prince to a young adult prince, and finally seizing the throne from his father and brothers.
He became His Majesty.
He believed he had developed a heart of stone.
So even in the dead of night, he can still remember that slap from back then.
And back then, he had wanted to tell his mother with great joy, "I'm here now, I'll protect you, and I'll avenge my brother."
But in return, her mother said, "You will never be him."
My mother only has eyes for my brother.
But it doesn't matter. How much familial love can there be in the royal family? Now that he's grown up, he no longer needs his mother's love.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
