Chapter 98 · if: Tyrant x Imperial Concubine (Part 1)
In May, with the Dragon Boat Festival approaching, Jianye City was bustling with activity and a scene of prosperity.
However, the situation was quite the opposite in the Hua family, the Minister of Personnel. The entire mansion was shrouded in gloom, and there was not a trace of joy in sight.
Just two days ago, someone in the court proposed to hold a talent selection to choose consorts for the new emperor and enrich his harem.
This new emperor is an unpredictable figure. His throne was obtained illegitimately, so he should be more benevolent, accept advice and seek out talented people, and be a wise ruler.
But the truth is, since he ascended the throne, there has not been a single day of peace in the court. Ignoring the objections of his ministers, he enfeoffed the nineteen-year-old general Yin Zejing as the Marquis of Pingyang and appointed his younger sister, the Ninth Princess, as the Prince of Chen. Anyone who dared to oppose him was either demoted or fined, or even beheaded. He was extremely tyrannical and cruel.
So the person suggested that the new emperor fill the harem, with a very simple intention: Your Majesty, stop tormenting us and go and torment your harem instead.
The Minister of Personnel recorded that their emperor remained calm at the time, nodded to the person who made the suggestion, and demoted him again and again.
Then, he nodded at him, who was watching the drama unfold.
"I've heard that the Hua family has a daughter who is exceptionally beautiful and talented. I wonder if the rumors are true or false?"
The Minister of Personnel knelt down with a thud.
His Majesty smiled enigmatically: "My dear minister, why don't you speak?"
He trembled: "My daughter is of humble appearance and has only a slight knowledge of poetry and literature. How could she possibly deserve Your Majesty's praise..."
"Can't you bear the responsibility?" His Majesty asked.
The Minister of Personnel was on the verge of tears.
His Majesty, having had his fill of his disheveled state, rose with a smile and casually waved his hand: "Whether he can bear it or not, let me see for myself."
And so, the decision to have Hua's daughter enter the palace as a concubine was hastily made.
Hua Deng comforted her parents: "You don't need to worry. His Majesty was just saying it casually. He'll probably just make me a concubine and leave me in the harem. He won't have time to care about me."
Even so, she was still very puzzled. She had known Shen Zhou since childhood and knew his wickedness and unpredictable moods best. He wanted her to enter the palace, so it couldn't be anything good. Why didn't he tell her beforehand?
Thinking of this, Hua Deng's expression dimmed slightly.
In fact, they hadn't seen each other for four years.
Four years ago, the Great Wei suffered a defeat in a battle with the Li Kingdom. The Great Wei ceded territory and paid reparations, and sent its seventh prince, Shen Zhou, as a hostage to the Li Kingdom in order to seek peace.
Shen Zhou spent three years there without any news. Hua Deng could only learn from occasional conversations with others that he was not doing well.
She tried many methods, but her status and position meant she could not communicate with Shen Zhou. Otherwise, as the daughter of the Minister of Personnel, sending a letter to the State of Li would be a capital offense of treason.
She thought she would never see Shen Zhou again in this lifetime. What's more, more than two years ago, the late emperor had issued an imperial edict, ordering her to become the next crown princess. Once the wedding was completed, they would be enemies.
The turning point came a year ago when the Li Kingdom was in turmoil. The seventh prince took the opportunity to escape, leading fifty personal guards to break through the encirclement and rush to Yangguan. He then joined forces with General Yin Zejing to launch a rebellion and attack Jianye.
Six months ago, when the enemy was at the gates, the seventh prince stormed the palace, murdered his father and brothers, and usurped the throne.
Soon after, a new emperor ascended the throne, changed the era name and established a new system, and purged the court in blood. The atmosphere inside and outside the court was tense, and everyone felt insecure.
As for Hua Deng, this unfortunate former Crown Princess was clearly being targeted by His Majesty the Emperor.
Her mother, with tears in her eyes, said, "My dear daughter, the palace is full of ruthless people. If you leave, we won't even have the chance to collect your body!"
Hua Deng: "...Mother, can you say something auspicious?"
Her father sighed, "Why did His Majesty choose you? It's all because I'm handsome and I gave birth to you, making you as beautiful as a flower, which spread your good name and made His Majesty's heart flutter!"
Hua Deng: "Dad, can you look in the mirror? How do I look like you?"
Her fourteen-year-old brother sat beside her, sobbing uncontrollably, clearly frightened by his mother's words.
"Waaah, I don't want my sister to die! She gave me the biggest red envelope during Chinese New Year, waaah..."
Her mother suddenly said, "How about we have your younger brother dress up as a woman and go to the palace in your place?"
Hua Deng: "Mother! Calm down! Deceiving the emperor is a capital offense, don't even think about such a thing!"
She rubbed her temples, and her vision went black again and again.
Finally, she slammed her hand on the table and said, "His Majesty and I grew up together. I don't believe he would kill me. Stop crying now. It's not too late to cry if I really die!"
Parents and younger brother: "...Oh."
Back in my room, after washing up and lying in bed, I still felt like everything that had happened today was a dream.
What would His Majesty be like now?
Everyone said he was crazy, a complete tyrant, but when she thought of the boy who once rode his horse and picked flowers for her, a voice in her heart always said: No, he's not like that.
Hua Deng buried her head in the blanket and sighed deeply.
Speaking of her ill-fated relationship with Shen Zhou, it's impossible to count when it started. It was around the age of seven when she entered the palace for the first time as a princess's companion and accidentally pushed the prince into the water.
At that time, the Seventh Prince was not favored. He was born to Consort Zhang and was shy and mild-mannered. He had always been disliked by the late emperor, so the matter was left unresolved and Hua Deng did not receive any substantial punishment.
However, she always felt guilty about it, and even more so because she didn't receive much punishment.
So the second time she entered the palace, she specially brought gifts to apologize to Shen Zhou.
He was holding his four-year-old sister, Shenxi, as they sat in the courtyard reading, looking very well-behaved. From time to time, the sound of Consort Zhang coughing could be heard from inside the room, the fragrance of medicine permeating the entire palace.
Hua Deng lowered her head and apologized to him, begging him to accept the apology gift. He didn't show much expression and asked Chen Xi, "Does Xi'er like it?"
Shen Xi nodded and said, "I like it! I like everything about it!"
Shen Zhou chuckled lightly, placed Shen Xi aside, and calmly rose to return the greeting. He accepted her gift and apology, stating that the matter need not be mentioned again in the future.
Just then, the palace maid finished preparing the medicine for Consort Zhang. Seeing Shen Zhou looking over, Hua Deng tactfully took her leave. As expected, Shen Zhou did not try to stop her. He returned to his room and personally served Consort Zhang the medicine.
From then on, whenever Hua Deng bumped into Chen Zhou, she would greet him. He seemed a little surprised, but ultimately didn't refuse her kindness, and they gradually became friends.
At that time, in her mind, Shen Zhou was just an ordinary boy, and he did not show any special qualities.
He would deliberately provoke her when he asked her out, then bring out a gift he had prepared beforehand to coax her. He would also go around buying strong crickets after losing a cricket fight to Yin Zejing, and insist that she watch the fight from the sidelines.
She preferred being with Shen Xi; at least Shen Xi was quiet, unlike the two of them who were annoying.
Everything was wonderful back then.
Until Shen Zhou was twelve years old, Zhang Meiren passed away. For more than half a year after that, Hua Deng never saw Shen Zhou again.
One theory is that Consort Zhang did not die of illness, but was murdered by Consort Chen, who had been childless for many years and wanted to raise the seventh prince herself.
Hua Deng couldn't possibly know the specifics. The only thing she knew was that less than a year after Shen Zhou moved into Consort Chen's palace, Consort Chen died suddenly, enraging the late emperor and causing rivers of blood to flow.
After a three-month investigation, the culprit was revealed to be the late Empress Li. The late emperor, mindful of the crown prince's pleas, spared Empress Li's life but stripped her of her title and banished her to the cold palace. He then thoroughly investigated the Li clan, drastically suppressing their influence in the court, and even the crown prince's position was nearly jeopardized.
When Hua Deng saw Shen Zhou again, he was still the same as before, but she knew that something had changed.
The cold-bloodedness and ferocity he had suppressed gradually surged from his bloodline, but he remained unchanged towards her, so she pretended not to know.
He would still hunt snow foxes for her because she was afraid of the cold, and have them made into a cloak for her.
He would still sneak over the wall in the middle of the night, carrying her favorite snacks, and deliver them to her through the window.
He remained the least noticeable prince in the eyes of the ministers. People mostly described him as aloof, cold, and dull-witted.
But Hua Deng never thought that way.
She believed that Shen Zhou was the mastermind behind it all, first killing Consort Chen, and then using the Emperor to bring down the Empress in order to avenge his mother's death, even though he was so young at the time.
She also believed that he truly had no interest in the throne; otherwise, he wouldn't have kept a low profile for so many years, unwilling to attract attention.
She could also understand why he was attacking Jianye and ascending the throne.
Because he was supposed to be a carefree prince, his wish to travel and enjoy life was not fulfilled, and the late emperor forced him to go on a mission to the State of Li as a hostage, which meant that he was abandoned by the entire Great Wei.
Upon receiving the news, Hua Deng, for the first time, disregarded the rules and the admonitions of her parents and husband, rode her horse out of the city, and tried to see him one last time.
Unfortunately, she didn't get to see it.
She remembered it was a cold winter day, the end of the year was approaching, and everyone was preparing for the new year. But the boy she wanted to see left without saying a word, leaving this familiar land alone for a distant place where life and death were uncertain.
Four years have passed since that day when I left without saying goodbye.
Four years is too long, long enough that the clay figurine he left behind has faded, long enough that she doubts whether she can still recognize him.
Once, while attending a palace banquet, she overheard the Crown Prince and others discussing him, all of whom made mocking and contemptuous remarks.
She stared at the wine glass for a long time, pondering how to splash the wine on the prince's face without punishing her family.
She couldn't figure it out, but luckily someone did it for her.
On that day, Yin Zejing and the Crown Prince got into a fight. After receiving his punishment, Yin Zejing, still recovering from his injuries, stormed off to seek refuge with his uncle in Yangguan, where he was stationed to guard the border for the Great Wei.
With the Ninth Princess Shen Xi relaying intelligence from within and the Jin family providing support from the outside, and Yin Zejing's 30,000-strong army from the outside, it's no wonder that Shen Zhou was able to fight his way to the foot of Jianye in just half a year.
As for Hua Deng, she thought that this man summoned her to the palace most likely to take revenge on her. After all, the year after he left, she received an imperial decree to become the fiancée of his most hated elder brother, the Crown Prince.
Sigh, Hua Deng closed her eyes wearily, thinking, "Whatever, I'll find out once I get to the palace."
With the Empress Dowager's harem empty after the day's end, she'll most likely be a Beauty or a Consort this time; they can't give her a higher title than the former Crown Princess.
With this in mind, Hua Deng calmly went about her business.
Three days later, the imperial edict finally arrived.
After the eunuch finished reading the imperial edict, he smiled and congratulated Hua Deng.
She was dizzy and it took her a long time to come to her senses.
"The Imperial Concubine?!"
[Author's Note]
I'm secretly adding some sister-in-law literature to give everyone a surprise.
This premise feels like it could be the start of its own novel, doesn't it? [doge emoji with rose in hand]
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