Time flies, and by February, most of the snow in the capital city had begun to melt. The thick snow on the walls of the imperial palace was gone, leaving only watermarks from the melting snow on the red walls.
Chengcheng led his troops to patrol the inner palace. Ever since he was promoted to commander of the Imperial Guards, some of his subordinates did not submit to him, but he subdued them all.
After all, it's a military camp, where everything is decided by force.
Of course, there are also people who do bad things behind his back, and he will not show any mercy to them. He will not leave any future trouble for those who kill him.
"Commander, the Imperial Noble Consort wishes to see the Emperor."
"Go ask the Emperor, why are you asking me?" Chengcheng thought this Imperial Guard was a bit dim-witted.
The imperial guard scratched his head and ran back towards the Qiankun Hall.
Ever since he tamed the Imperial Guards, the guards of Qiankun Palace have been replaced, with those bribed by Lu Yinghong replaced by new guards.
Lu Yinghong was furious. If she had been more assertive and less sentimental back then, and had led her people to force Yuwen Wuji, she might be the Empress Dowager now!
But it's too late for regrets. The Prince Yong chosen by the Lu clan leaders has already been deposed, and now, for Lu Yinghong, the only option left is the Sixth Prince.
These days, unable to see the Emperor, she summoned Song Wenyue to her side to torment her. After Song Wenyue came twice, she took the excuse that it was inappropriate for the Emperor to be interrupted while he was praying for blessings, and thus stayed indoors in her palace.
She then had someone drug her food, but somehow nothing happened to her.
Lu Yinghong stood in front of the Qiankun Palace carrying a medicinal meal, but several imperial guards blocked her way. In the past, she would never have been stopped.
Several of the people she placed in the Qiankun Palace were expelled on the grounds of making mistakes. The rest were relegated to serving in side halls, unable to know the Emperor's current situation immediately.
Even though it was already spring, the wind outside still felt like it was wrapped in knives. Lu Yinghong had only stood there for a short while when her cheeks began to ache.
Just as she was filled with resentment, the door of the Qiankun Palace opened a crack, and Li Wei walked out.
He bowed respectfully and said, "Your Majesty, the Emperor just took his medicine, and now the effects are kicking in. He doesn't want to see anyone."
Upon hearing this, Lu Yinghong's anger surged. This was already the umpteenth time she had been blocked in front of this door!
"How dare you! Is it that His Majesty is unwilling to see me, or that you, you insolent servant, are deliberately obstructing me!"
She should have killed that eunuch earlier, and all this trouble wouldn't have happened today.
Li Wei remained meek and humble, saying, "This servant dares not; this servant merely relayed His Majesty's decree."
Seeing his completely unmoved expression, Lu Yinghong felt even more frustrated.
"Since His Majesty does not wish to see me, then please bring the medicinal meal that I prepared for His Majesty to him."
"Your Majesty, His Majesty's diet is overseen by the imperial physicians. I fear that Your Majesty may not be able to enjoy your good intentions."
"You dog of a servant! Although you are a eunuch serving the Emperor, I am still your master! You must do whatever your master tells you to do!"
Li Wei bit his lip before taking the tray from Granny Lu's hands.
Lu Yinghong returned to her Yikun Palace in a huff and sat down, feeling sullen.
"Has there been any news from Lu Rui yet? Didn't he say he would come up with a plan to sow discord between the Emperor and that Cheng Cheng? Look at Cheng Cheng now, he even dares to act arrogantly in front of me!"
Granny Lu was helpless. Ever since Chengcheng took over the Imperial Guards, the entire palace's defenses had become as solid as an iron barrel. Last time, she tried to find someone to help deliver a message. She had only handed the letter to the eunuch who was out procuring supplies when a member of the Imperial Guards came in person and gave it to her. They warned her that they could turn a blind eye the first time, but the second time would be dealt with according to palace rules.
Granny Lu's eyes flickered, and she said, "Now that the harem is being monitored by this Chengcheng, if he dares to touch the emperor's women, then no matter how much the emperor favors him, he will probably lose the emperor's favor."
Lu Yinghong gave Granny Lu an approving look. "Granny is right, what a great idea! Many of the young ladies selected in the previous imperial concubine selection haven't even received the Emperor's favor yet; they don't even know what the Emperor looks like..."
Not long after he finished speaking, several eunuchs arrived at the entrance of Yikun Palace with some things.
"Greetings, Imperial Noble Consort. His Majesty says your soup is as delicious as ever and has specially bestowed these ingredients upon you."
Upon hearing this, Lu Yinghong's lips curled into a smile.
The emperor used to love her soup the most. Her mother had said that if you could capture a man's heart with his tongue, you could win half of his heart. Whenever the emperor drank her soup, he would naturally remember her goodness.
"What has that bitch Song Wenyue been doing these past few days?"
"Consort Zhen has been copying scriptures for His Majesty in the palace recently. Consort Shu said that Consort Zhen is very sensible and is also copying scriptures with her to pray for His Majesty's well-being!"
"Hmph! It's all just a show!" Lu Yinghong scoffed. "Put all the ingredients in the small kitchen. I need to think about what kind of soup to make for His Majesty tomorrow."
"The Emperor drank her soup?" Song Wenyue raised an eyebrow slightly upon hearing the palace maid's report. "Heh, I never considered myself smart, but she is certainly much dumber than me."
"Your Majesty, shall we...?"
"No need," Song Wenyue sneered. "When the Emperor was seriously ill before, she couldn't wait to take control of him. With our Emperor's temper, he won't let her off so easily. I understand now why Consort Shu said those things to me back then."
The Emperor hated anyone encroaching on his power, not even his wife. What Lu Yinghong did while he was in a coma had already enraged him.
Previously, when he prayed for blessings at Huangjue Temple, Lu Yinghong made frequent moves to try and get the Lu family to mention it.
Every single thing they did touched a nerve with Yuwen Wuji.
The women in the harem fought and vied for either the emperor's favor or power. Yet, all that they had worked so hard for their entire lives was merely a matter of a single, casual remark from that man.
A woman regards her husband as her heaven and her husband as her supreme authority.
But those women who lost their husbands, aren't they still living their lives? Aren't they still doing just fine!
If Lu Yinghong could kill that man, she wouldn't be so afraid as to grovel and beg Song Yaozhu for help.
If their son were to inherit the throne, wouldn't the Xie family be able to rise again?
The more Song Wenyue thought about it, the better she felt this idea was. The Xie family had been suppressed for so long, how could they not want to rise again?
"Someone, please take some things to my sister. She's about to give birth, and she's probably missing a lot of things."
“Go and bring the Sixth Prince over. I suppose His Majesty has been recuperating for so long and must miss the Sixth Prince.”
A short while later, the wet nurse carried the sixth prince into the room.
Looking at her exquisitely beautiful face, Song Wenyue couldn't help but sneer, "She's really lucky."
She risked her life to give birth to a stillborn child, only to have that lowly servant's child benefit from it.
It doesn't matter, as long as she's the Empress Dowager.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com