Chapter 148 The Emperor Plots to Murder His Wife!
In the imperial court, the crown prince had already gained considerable power, and his disciples and old friends were deeply entrenched, so that a single move could have far-reaching consequences.
Even though the emperor is the supreme ruler, it is by no means easy for him to eliminate these forces quietly in a short period of time. If he is not careful, it will cause turmoil in the court and even drive the enemy to desperation.
But the harem is different.
The imperial harem was an area under the absolute control of the emperor.
Here.
He is the sole ruler, with life and death at his command, all within his grasp.
The Empress is the mother of the nation, and is of unparalleled nobility, but her honor is entirely dependent on the Emperor.
Here, there are not so many entrenched vested interests, nor so many powerful courtiers to weigh and consider.
The Empress is the easiest target for him to strike at this moment, and the one that can most directly hit the Crown Prince's sore spot.
The air inside Kunning Palace was filled with the fragrance of incense, yet it could not dispel the invisible oppressive atmosphere.
The Empress sat upright on the soft couch by the window, holding a book in her hands, but her gaze remained fixed for a long time.
The spring sunshine outside the window was just right, and the peonies in the courtyard were in full bloom, but their dazzling colors could not penetrate her heart at all.
How could she not feel the emperor's growing indifference and coercion?
What does Consort Yan's reinstatement mean? Having been immersed in the inner palace for over twenty years, how could she not understand?
The personal maidservant carefully brought over a cup of ginseng tea and whispered, "Your Majesty, perhaps..."
The Empress raised her hand, stopping her from speaking.
She saw it clearly.
The emperor's suspicion had eroded his reason like poison.
He felt that the crown prince had become the biggest threat!
Consort Yan's resurgence was nothing more than a clumsy trick of "using a concubine to control the wife".
Using a concubine who can only be completely dependent on the emperor to counterbalance the empress, not only reduces her power but also focuses the attention of the harem and even the court on new struggles, thereby alleviating the situation where the crown prince's faction is too dominant.
The emperor was warning her, and also warning the crown prince: "Your positions are not unbreakable; I can give them, and I can take them back."
"He's... going to make an example of me." The Empress closed her eyes and took a deep breath.
A suffocating pain shot through my chest.
They were husband and wife for decades, together raising the prince, supporting each other through thick and thin.
In the end, it couldn't overcome the suspicion brought about by that supreme power...
Even during that nearly year-long period of exclusive favor, the Empress treated him as her husband, not the Emperor!
A profound sense of powerlessness gripped her.
Within these square palace walls.
No matter how noble and precious you were, or how virtuous you were as the empress, your ultimate fate is determined by the whim of the king.
She can endure being ignored, she can endure humiliation...
But she could not stand idly by and watch the Crown Prince be driven into a corner step by step by his own father.
Therefore, the Empress is uniting with her father and the previous dynasty!
She's about to make her move too.
Between her husband and her son, there was nothing to hesitate about...
She will definitely choose her son!
Meanwhile, the situation was quite different at Consort Yan's place.
Consort Yan was doing her makeup in front of the mirror. The woman in the mirror still looked charming, but the corners of her eyes and brows could not hide the vicissitudes of life and a hint of ruthlessness that came with the great changes she had experienced.
She knew better than anyone what the emperor's "favor" meant at this moment.
She was nothing more than a knife, a knife that the emperor used to deal with the empress and to check the crown prince.
But Consort Yan was willing to be that knife.
Her son had been banished, and her greatest hope in life had been shattered. Now, all she had left was resentment and deep hatred for the Empress and her son.
So even if it costs me my life.
She won't let the Crown Prince and the Empress have an easy time either.
"Your Majesty the Empress..." She looked in the mirror, silently curving her red lips into a cold smile, "The wheel of fortune turns, we'll see."
No.
The atmosphere in the imperial court grew increasingly strange.
Officials from the Crown Prince's faction became increasingly cautious, carefully choosing their words when presenting memorials, lest they be caught making any mistakes.
Under the emperor's deliberate suppression.
There were other princes and officials who supported them, and occasionally a few impeachment memorials would appear that were not very serious against the officials under the Crown Prince.
There are always people targeting the crown prince.
Regardless of who is right or wrong, the Emperor will severely punish the Crown Prince's faction!
This emboldened the princes and officials who were at odds with the crown prince.
However, the Crown Prince's current strength is indeed not something the Emperor can easily do.
Even the Xie family and the Zhenguo Marquis's mansion, which he had always relied on, were gradually leaning towards the Crown Prince's side.
The Emperor Xie can understand.
After all, Qian Yueqiu had given birth to two sons for the Xie family.
But the Zhenguo Marquis's Mansion?
The Emperor truly cannot understand why they would turn against him.
All of this is thanks to Qian Yueshu.
Because Lady Li was her mother, and she and her brother-in-law completely controlled the Zhenguo Marquis's mansion.
When it really came down to choosing sides, Li naturally sided with Qian Yueshu.
The Li family has always prioritized their own interests.
The reason she didn't side with Qian Yueshu in her previous life was because she couldn't control the entire Zhenguo Marquis's mansion and needed to curry favor with her husband.
But in this life, her brother-in-law is her devoted follower, so she will naturally choose her own daughter!
After all, the plan is to stick together through thick and thin...
The emperor could not tolerate the fact that the two most trusted factions had sided with the crown prince, so he decided to take his anger out on the empress.
He's going to kill his wife!
When the news reached Kunning Palace, the Empress's teacup trembled slightly, and the scalding tea splashed onto the hem of her phoenix robe.
"He finally...couldn't hold back anymore." The Empress murmured to herself, her voice tinged with weariness, but even more so with a resolute determination.
She stood up, walked to the window, and looked at the sky, which was divided into squares by the palace walls.
Dark clouds are gathering on the horizon, heavy and ominous, foreshadowing an approaching storm.
She had long known that the royal family was ruthless.
But when this ruthlessness truly descends upon you, the bone-chilling cold is still unbearable.
The emperor had already raised his sword, and the first target to fall was his wife, whom he had married.
Inside and outside the Kunning Palace, all was silent.
The palace servants walked with light steps, even their breathing was careful.
Everyone felt the oppressive atmosphere, like a storm brewing.
The fate of the empress, the fate of the crown prince, and even the direction of the entire court all hinged on the emperor's ever-deepening suspicion...
Actually, in my previous life.
The empress also died around the same time.
At that time, the Crown Prince always believed that his mother's death was caused by Consort Yan.
But perhaps because he had more contact with Qian Yueshu, he also learned about the dark side of human nature and developed a ruthless and calculating side himself.
Therefore, he suspected that his father, the emperor, might have been behind his mother's death!
In my memory.
On the night of his mother's death, the emperor did not immediately summon the imperial physicians. Instead, he stayed alone in his mother's bedchamber for half an hour before ordering someone to announce that the empress had "suddenly fallen ill."
Shortly after his mother's death, the emperor swiftly purged all her confidants from the palace and sent them to various imperial palaces.
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