In Wanchun Palace, Fu'er breathed a sigh of relief: "Your Majesty can finally rest assured, this matter has been successfully completed."
Consort Xiang lay there looking unwell. Even though the abortion was timely, it had still taken a toll on her health. Now, even the slightest movement caused her a dull ache in her abdomen.
"My efforts were worthwhile."
“Yes, you had been preparing in the Lotus Garden for a while, but I didn’t expect that Xichun would be given to Consort Chen. I thought it would be Consort Jing’s place. After all, that place is very luxurious,” Fu’er said.
"It doesn't matter who it is. The important thing is that the Empress now treats it as a golden baby." Consort Xiangxian sneered, "Since I can't keep this pregnancy, then no one should worry about it."
“But what about Consort Jing…” Fu’er said.
"It's alright. The tighter the Empress Dowager watches, the less likely His Majesty will choose Consort Jing's child as the Crown Prince. Besides, she's unlikely to conceive anytime soon." And she's not favored by the Emperor.
"Yes, Your Majesty is wise. The arrangements outside are very tight. Even if the Gu family members reveal a single word, it all points to the Duke of Cheng'en (Duke of Ningguo)'s residence. Even if His Majesty investigates, that's all he can do. After all, it's not good to touch the Ning family now," Fu'er said.
Consort Xiang smiled and said, "Go ahead, I'm going to sleep for a while."
"Yes, Your Highness, I will go and check on your medicine."
Fu'er left happily.
When the Empress Dowager made her move, she cut off the Empress's future.
This is exactly how our Empress operates.
A while after Fu'er left, Lingjiao came in.
She thought the Empress was asleep and only came in to keep an eye on things.
Unexpectedly, Consort Xiangxian was leaning against the soft couch, looking at her with her eyes open.
"Your Majesty."
"Fu'er hasn't been feeling well these past few days, please take good care of her."
Lingjiao lowered her head: "This servant understands."
"You are a good person. I have had high hopes for you ever since I entered the palace. You have been very helpful over the years," Consort Xiangxian said with a smile.
"This servant would never dare to fail Your Majesty's kindness. I am willing to go through fire and water for Your Majesty," Lingjiao said, kneeling down.
"Get up. Know what you should do and don't talk too much. I know your good points," said Consort Xiangxian.
Lingjiao got up and came over, saying, "Your Majesty's health is important; you should rest well."
Consort Xiangxian naturally closed her eyes this time.
That night, Shu Chengfeng came to visit Xichun Xie.
"Your Majesty is no longer angry?" Yan Nangui looked at him, but did not smile.
"I'm angry? I think you're angrier than me." Shu Chengfeng's expression wasn't good either. He snorted and sat down.
“Oh, then I was wrong,” Yan Nangui said.
“You’re wrong? Haven’t you ever felt you were wrong even once?” Shu Chengfeng said.
"Then punish me?" Yan Nangui sat down.
"Yan Shi, you are too sharp-tongued. Is that a good thing? Everything that is too rigid will break. Do I have to tell you this principle?" Shu Chengfeng frowned.
Yan Nangui leaned closer and took his hand: "You couldn't hold it in, could you?"
"As a concubine, you lack the necessary patience. You have a large family standing behind you. Yes, I know you don't care about them, but does that mean you can act recklessly?"
"I really know now, I was wrong, I just couldn't help myself at the time. Your cousin is so annoying." Yan Nangui snorted.
"You're even trying to sow discord in her eyes?" Shu Chengfeng laughed.
"Why would I need to do this? Don't you know she's brainless?" Yan Nangui sighed. "I'll definitely be more careful in the future. It's just that things happened so suddenly today, otherwise it wouldn't have been good if everyone had pulled me aside to say that." Yan Nangui softened his stance.
"Alright, just remember that. You need to balance strength and gentleness; you're too strong. Be gentler in everything you do, and speak more tactfully." Shu Chengfeng took her hand.
"Oh," Yan Nangui responded, but couldn't help but say, "The problem is, you don't like those who can talk well either. The Murong family is so good at twisting words, why don't you like them?"
"How do you know I don't like it!" Shu Chengfeng glared at her.
"...You like it? You like it my ass." Yan Nangui rolled her eyes.
Shu Chengfeng was too lazy to refute her.
He just shook his head and went to drink his tea.
“What happened today is none of your business. You don’t need to take it to heart,” Shu Chengfeng said.
"Yeah, I didn't care. They weren't even after me." Yan Nangui leaned against him. "Anyway, there's no way the harem won't fight. It's good enough that I didn't get involved."
Shu Chengfeng put his arm around her: "As long as you behave yourself, no one will dare to harm you."
Yan Nangui snorted but didn't say anything.
On that day, Shu Chengfeng naturally stayed at Xichun Xie Li.
Jin Shiyu, who was thrown back to Suning Palace, couldn't sleep all night. After entering the palace, she was also indignant about her rank.
But thinking that at least there was a prince, things would be alright no matter what.
But now, even the princes no longer belong to her. Life is becoming increasingly difficult.
I don't know what will happen in the future, and I'm worried about whether I'll be killed.
Even if Consort Chen promises to help, will she really help?
She thought about it a lot, and the more she thought about it, the more afraid she became.
The next day, after finishing his business, Shu Chengfeng asked Yun Ji, "How's the investigation going?"
"Your Majesty, the men I sent out said that the person who delivered the silver to Gu San was probably from the Duke of Cheng'en's mansion. Although they went around in circles before returning to report, they still saw Gu San's nephew following behind."
"So, this is the Empress praying for a child?" Shu Chengfeng sneered.
He didn't say whether he believed it or not.
"I don't know, but that's all I found out. The Gu family accepted the money, which meant they accepted the hostage situation. If Gu San hadn't done these things, his whole family would have died anyway. Gu San has been just hanging around in this lotus garden all these years, with no skills or future prospects. So he just agreed. This happened six months ago. So it's certain that it has nothing to do with Consort Chen," Yun Ji said.
"Naturally, it has nothing to do with her. When has she ever looked up to the Jin family?" Shu Chengfeng scoffed.
"Six months, a good tactic."
Yun Ji also said, "Yes, it was only after you ascended the throne that you began to renovate this Lotus Garden. Since it's being renovated, it must be for people to live in. Presumably, Gu San was chosen because his family is from the capital. The person who designed it doesn't know who Xi Chun Xie is staying in. But it doesn't matter, it's just a temporary arrangement."
Shu Chengfeng hummed in agreement: "There's no need to investigate for now. Since the Empress is raising the Second Prince, let her take good care of herself. The Empress's health isn't good, so let her use the sachets she needs."
Yun Ji was taken aback: "Your Majesty...this...the Empress has miscarried three times, if we were to use this..."
"The Empress prayed for a son, and her prayers were answered," said Shu Chengfeng.
"Yes, Your Majesty, I will take care of it immediately." Yun Ji replied, thinking to himself that His Majesty had given up.
It seems we really can't get a legitimate son through begging.
This time, it was the second prince who benefited.
She rose from humble beginnings to become the Empress.
Even adopted sons are respected.
Tsk, what was the Empress trying to achieve by orchestrating this? She cut off her own escape route.
However, Yunji wondered, what does this have to do with me?
Tsk, off on your business.
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