Chapter 164 A Swift and Decisive Approach Inside Yongshou Palace, Cheng Qianyue looked down at the people standing below…
Inside Yongshou Palace, Cheng Qianyue looked at Liu Mama standing below. Liu was the head maid of Yanxi Palace, serving the Dowager Consort Tongjia. She asked, "I heard the Dowager Consort is ill, but she refuses to see the imperial physician?"
Granny Liu knelt down with a thud and kowtowed, saying, "We servants are useless and could not persuade the Imperial Concubine. Please forgive us, Your Highness."
Cheng Qianyue lowered her eyes and said, "The Empress Dowager's illness was so sudden. Did she catch a cold? The weather is getting colder, and you servants should advise her not to stay outside for too long."
After crawling on the ground for a long time, Granny Liu finally said "yes".
Cheng Qianyue continued, "How can you not see the imperial physician if you're sick? I understand that the Empress Dowager doesn't want people to worry, but she can't ignore her own health. If the Empress Dowager insists on refusing medical treatment, wouldn't that make the Emperor and me worry?" She continued in a deep voice, "When you go back, you should persuade the Empress Dowager to stop listening to outside gossip and focus on recovering. Otherwise, the more anxious she becomes, the more unsettled things will be outside the palace."
After Granny Liu left, Cheng Qianyue looked to the side and asked, "Weren't we supposed to keep the news from the outside world? How did Consort Tongjia still find out?"
Lin Quan'an hurriedly stepped forward and replied with a bitter face, "This servant has reminded the palace servants in Yanxi Palace and the surrounding area. This servant is also puzzled as to where the Noble Consort got the information."
Cheng Qianyue thought for a long time before finally saying, "Never mind, there are too many people and too many eyes in the palace, and some things are hard to hide." Moreover, there are some old people from the late emperor's time in Yanxi Palace, so not everyone listens to her. She raised her head and said, "Go to the Imperial Hospital and select a few skilled imperial physicians to treat the Dowager Consort."
After giving these instructions, Cheng Qianyue reached out and rubbed her forehead, thinking that the Dowager Consort Tongjia must have known about Longkodo's imprisonment.
This whole affair has quite a stir. First, someone accused Longkodo of favoring his concubine over his wife, then someone else impeached him for corruption and bribery. Yinreng ordered an investigation and imprisoned Longkodo. But not long after, something shocking happened: Longkodo's son, Yue Xing'a, personally submitted a memorial confirming his father's various crimes. A son accusing his father—this is truly a rare and extraordinary event.
Cheng Qianyue wasn't too concerned about the case itself; what she was interested in was whether Longkodo had also interfered in the previous petition to establish a crown prince. Things outside the palace had been quite turbulent lately, with countless people imprisoned and their homes confiscated, but none had been as sensational or attention-grabbing as Longkodo's case.
The situation outside is turbulent, and things are even more difficult in the palace. With such a predicament befalling the Tong family, it's no wonder that Consort Tongjia has fallen ill. She's probably holding a grudge, but Cheng Qianyue can't let her remain ill like this. After all, the Consort Tongjia served the late Emperor and is their nominal elder; therefore, while the Tong family is in trouble, the Consort Tongjia in the palace cannot be allowed to suffer any mishap. Otherwise, wouldn't that be seen as them neglecting the late Emperor's widow?
Just now, Cheng Qianyue was having someone remind the Dowager Consort not to make the wrong decision. Longkodo of the Tong family may have perished, but other members of the Tong family are still alive. If the Dowager Consort persists in her ways and angers Yinreng, the Tong family will be in even worse shape than they are now.
A day later, upon hearing that Consort Tongjia of Yanxi Palace had finally agreed to take the medicine, Cheng Qianyue breathed a sigh of relief. But no sooner had one matter been settled than another arose: Yinreng actually ordered the Eighth Prince's son, Hongwang, to take care of Consort Hui.
Cheng Qianyue: ? ? ?
She was a little confused at the time: Consort Hui had her own grandson, so how come the task of taking care of the Consort fell on the Eighth Prince Hongwang?
Yinreng continued, “Consort Hui is getting old, and I was thinking of asking her to leave the palace to live out her retirement before the end of the year. Although Hongyu is Consort Hui’s grandson, his father is, after all, the Prince Zhi who was imprisoned by the late Emperor. As the son of a disgraced official, it is not appropriate for him to take care of the Consort. I thought that Consort Hui had raised the Eighth Prince in the past, so it would be better to let Hongwang take care of him instead.”
Cheng Qianyue felt that his words really sounded like he was nitpicking. After Yinreng ascended the throne, he restored the title of the First Prince, Prince Zhi, and even arranged a marriage for Hongyu to show the new emperor's leniency. But now, when it comes to supporting the Dowager Consort, it's inappropriate to say that Hongyu is the son of a disgraced official. If Hongyu is the son of a disgraced official, then what is Hongwang? Wasn't the Eighth Prince also a traitor who disobeyed the late emperor's golden words?
However, these things were not within her consideration. She would simply do as Yinreng said, so she said, "Should we inform the Eighth Prince's residence and ask them to make preparations in advance?" As she spoke, she inevitably thought of the Eighth Prince's wife and realized that she truly disliked seeing her. In recent years, apart from the funerals of the Empress Dowager and the Empress, the Eighth Prince's wife had never appeared in the Forbidden City. She wondered if her temper was still the same as before.
Yinreng shook his head and said, "I have decided to confer upon Hongwang the title of Beile and grant him a separate residence to support Consort Hui."
Huh? Cheng Qianyue was stunned again.
With the Eighth Prince still alive, Hongwang wants to establish his own residence? Moreover, the Eighth Prince is still a bald prince, and now his son's title is even higher than his own. This is truly a slap in the face.
Cheng Qianyue snapped out of her reverie and, after a moment's thought, asked, "Has Your Highness decided on the location of Prince Hongwang's residence?" She softly suggested, "How about making it closer to Prince Hongyu's residence?" She felt that if Consort Hui had the choice, she would certainly be happy to have her own grandson care for her, but unfortunately, Yinreng wouldn't allow it. Therefore, she thought it best to have Hongyu and Hongwang's residences closer together. Consort Hui was quite old; it wouldn't be right to place a nearly seventy-year-old woman in the home of a stranger's grandson—that would be too desolate. But if Hongyu and Hongwang's families lived nearby, it would be convenient for Hongyu to visit them in the future.
Yinreng nodded and said, "That's what I think too."
A few days later, he issued an imperial edict, not only bestowing upon Hongwang the title of Beile and granting him a mansion, but also bestowing upon Hongwang's birth mother, Zhang, the title of Consort, ordering her to serve Consort Hui together.
——
Hongwang stood hesitantly at the study door, clenching his fists to bolster his courage. Today was the day he was moving to his new residence, and he should have resigned from his post to his parents. But he didn't know how to face his father, because he felt guilty. Guilty that his title was higher than his father's, guilty that he couldn't disobey the imperial decree to separate the family property.
He stood there for a long time, then took a deep breath, went inside, and knelt down to pay his respects.
Eighth Master was practicing calligraphy at the moment, his brush moving with fluid grace. He looked up at Hongwang gently and said, "Today is your auspicious day for moving, why do you look like this?"
Hongwang murmured, "Father."
“You’ve grown up now, and in two years you should be getting married.” The Eighth Prince lowered his head and chuckled, whether in self-deprecation or something else, it was hard to tell. “The Emperor will find you a good wife then.” After a while, he added, “Years ago I was raised by Consort Hui, so today it is your turn to serve her in my place. When she leaves the palace, you must be extremely careful and not let anyone find fault with you.” Finally, he sighed and said, “Go now, don’t be late.”
Hongwang felt ashamed after hearing such a long speech. He finally managed to utter a soft "hmm" and bowed, saying, "Your son takes his leave." After leaving the study, he breathed a sigh of relief and then said, "To the main courtyard." He had already met his father and now he needed to see his stepmother.
In the main courtyard, the Eighth Prince's wife burst into tears upon seeing him, clutching Hongwang's arm and wailing, "My son, my son!" She cried incessantly, her eyes filled with fear and resentment. Hongwang felt a pang of sorrow at her weeping and was momentarily at a loss for what to do.
After a while, someone suddenly walked in and said, "Princess Consort, Your Highness, Consort Zhang requests Your Highness's presence, saying that it is time to depart."
Upon hearing this, the Eighth Princess Consort's eyebrows shot up immediately. She pulled Hongwang behind her and roared, "Get out! All of you, get out! No one can take my son! No one!" She turned to Hongwang, cupped his face, and said, "Hongwang, remember you are my son, the son of Guo Luoluo Ronghui. Do you understand? Do you understand?"
Before Hongwang could reply, Madam Zhang suddenly appeared in the room and said softly, "Hongwang, it's time. Your mother is here to take you out."
The Eighth Prince's wife glared at her fiercely and couldn't help but curse her: "You wretch."
Zhang's face contorted instantly, but she quickly raised her eyebrows and bowed triumphantly, saying, "Greetings to the Prince Consort. Please be careful with your words, Prince Consort. I am no longer a concubine in this household; I am a secondary consort listed in the imperial register. Please don't act so erratically. If any inappropriate remarks are spread, it may bring trouble upon the Prince."
The Eighth Prince's wife lunged forward to strike Zhang, but was fortunately stopped by someone. She turned around in disbelief, "Hongwang?"
Hongwang's face was contorted with pain as he whispered, "Mother, please stop." He slowly released the Eighth Prince's wife's wrist, took three steps back, and kowtowed three times to her. "Your son bids farewell to his principal mother. Your son kneels in peace." After standing up, he staggered, but did not ask for help, and strode outside.
The Eighth Prince's wife felt like she couldn't breathe and collapsed to the ground. People around her rushed over to help her up.
But Zhang felt no sympathy for the Eighth Prince's wife; instead, she felt extremely pleased. Years ago, when she was pregnant with Hongwang, she had suffered countless torments from the Eighth Prince's wife, both openly and secretly. Although she safely gave birth to Hongwang, the Eighth Prince's wife took him away after only two days. For all these years, the Eighth Prince's wife had treated her like a thief, forbidding her from seeing Hongwang and forbidding anyone from saying that Hongwang's birth mother was someone else. She could only watch from afar as her son called someone else "Mother."
How could she not hate?!
Zhang took a deep breath, thinking that the Eighth Prince's mansion was a den of demons, a living hell. Now that Hongwang and she had escaped, they couldn't afford to have anything to do with it again. After the Emperor's decree was issued, Mao, who had given birth to the eldest princess, immediately came to her side. Wasn't she also eager to leave this quagmire as soon as possible?
Madam Zhang smiled slowly, thinking that after all these years of being cautious and prudent, she had finally seen the light at the end of the tunnel. After a moment, she looked at the maid beside her and said, "The two trunks under my bed are the most important. Are they all packed?"
The maid hurriedly replied, "I saw the box being placed on the carriage with my own eyes."
Zhang's face was gentle and kind. Over the years, every year Hongwang grew a year older, she had made him clothes to measure his size. She thought that once Hongwang saw these things, he would definitely listen to her, he definitely would. She wanted to teach him, to teach him to stay far away from this awful place!
At this moment in the study, the Eighth Prince, having learned of the farce that followed, stopped writing. In front of the servants in the room, he remained as composed as ever and instructed, "Please have the physician examine the Princess Consort." After a short while, once the servants had all left, the Eighth Prince's face suddenly turned as gloomy as a rainy night.
He stared at the calligraphy he had written for a long time, and finally couldn't resist tearing it all up.
The Eighth Prince tore at the fabric while laughing, his laughter escalating from soft chuckles to loud laughter, before he suddenly coughed heavily. He couldn't understand how he had been exposed! No one was more cautious than him, no one. Yet the Emperor seemed to have seen through everything and was using this method to retaliate against him.
Hongwang... Hongwang probably won't acknowledge him as his father anymore in the future. So, does the Emperor feel good about doing this? He probably does, enjoying watching him and Hongwang separated!
The Eighth Prince's eyes were bloodshot; he felt that all his scheming had amounted to nothing, and it all seemed so ridiculous. No matter what he did, no matter how meticulously he plotted, the Emperor could easily overturn everything he had arranged with just a little effort. This feeling of being at the mercy of the Emperor drove him to utter madness.
After a long while, he comforted himself, saying that it was alright, even so, as long as it could sow discord between the Emperor and the First Prince, everything would be worth it.
Yes, it was all worth it. He will never admit defeat, nor will he ever bow his head.
Absolutely not! Absolutely not!
He repeatedly reminded himself of this, and the corners of his mouth gradually curved up, his smile as gentle as ever.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com