The Prince of Xiaoyao and his wife returned to their palace, but instead of resting early, they waited for news from the palace. Song Yaozhu had a feeling that Prince Jing was going to do something.
Inside the palace, the singing and dancing had ended, and the palace servants were cleaning up the messy banquet hall. In a side hall, the emperor held his forehead with one hand, his face extremely gloomy.
His two sons and the Imperial Concubine knelt before him. Prince Yong looked utterly bewildered and terrified, his handsome face streaked with tears and snot. Prince Jing remained relatively calm, kneeling with his head bowed, saying nothing. The Imperial Concubine had already gone through shock, disbelief, fear, and finally, acceptance.
The entire side hall was so quiet that one could almost hear the snow falling outside. After a long while, the imperial physician came out from the inner room, took a deep breath, and said, "Your Majesty, Consort Zhaoyi has experienced a miscarriage and there are signs of miscarriage. I have prescribed a prescription to protect the pregnancy. Your Majesty needs to rest in bed and should not overexert yourself."
After the imperial physician finished speaking, Prince Yong and the Imperial Concubine both breathed a sigh of relief.
At this moment, Prince Jing said, "Father, it was my fault for failing to keep an eye on my younger brother. Please punish me!"
Prince Yong looked at his elder brother and felt a metallic taste in his throat, as if he had drunk some kind of poison.
He had soiled his clothes that night and came with his brother to change. However, because he was quite drunk and because Prince Jing was his brother, he was not on guard and was thus led to the side hall where Song Wenyue was resting.
He didn't know what was wrong; he only knew that his body was burning hot. Seeing a woman on the bed, he became lustful. How could a drunkard like him recognize that she was his father's woman? The woman resisted desperately, and in a fit of rage, he slapped her twice, causing her to faint.
At this moment, a eunuch entered and saw him attempting to force himself on Song Wenyue. A scream startled the emperor.
When the Imperial Concubine found out, Song Wenyue had already started bleeding. Fortunately, it was discovered in time, and the child was barely saved. If the child had been lost, Prince Yong would have been completely finished!
"This matter has nothing to do with you, you may leave now!" Yuwen Wuji's voice was full of authority, causing everyone in the hall to tremble.
King Jing paused for a moment, then silently bowed and withdrew.
Yuwen Wuji waved his hand and said, "All those who serve Consort Song, be beaten to death!"
Everyone gasped. Even though they had already guessed this outcome, they still couldn't help but tremble with fear as they faced it, afraid that they would be next.
Soon, the sounds of palace maids and eunuchs being flogged came from outside. The screams and cries for mercy fell on Prince Yong's heart like drumbeats. With each sound, his body trembled.
He was going crazy. He couldn't understand why the person in the palace was Consort Song. Why would his own brother harm him? Weren't they brothers?
His mother had taught him since childhood that in the future, the elder brother would be the most respected, and he, as the younger brother, should wholeheartedly assist him. Now, only the positions have been reversed, so why can't the elder brother be like him!
"Is there anything else you want to say?"
Soon, someone came to report that all of the dozen or so palace maids and eunuchs who served Song Wenyue had been executed.
Yuwen Wuji sat at the head of the table, a jade walnut twirling in his hand, his voice deep and resonant like a thousand-year-old icy pool.
"Is there anything else you want to say?"
Prince Yong trembled all over, prostrating himself on the ground. After a long while, he finally stammered, "Your subject... Your subject..."
"Since there's nothing more to say, go to your fiefdom tomorrow!" Yuwen Wuji made the final decision. He walked out, and the Imperial Concubine crawled a few steps to plead for him, but when she met Yuwen Wuji's gaze, she ultimately said nothing.
She knew this child held special significance for Yuwen Wuji; since his poisoning, this was his only offspring. Even after the joyous news spread, he planned to hold a grand selection in the spring to enrich his harem. Who knows, he might have a dozen or more children next year.
Consort Gao did not want to see this situation, but she could not stop it. In order to consolidate her position, she could only try to get the Emperor to quickly make her son the Crown Prince.
But her eldest son was embroiled in a scandal, and her third son, while drunk, forced himself on a concubine, nearly endangering the imperial heir. She no longer had many options.
Gao Ping was helped out of the main hall by Eunuch Gao, and her expression seemed to have aged ten years in an instant.
She looked up and saw her eldest son standing under the eaves not far away. Suddenly, she was filled with rage and took a few steps forward, raising her hand to slap him, but Prince Jing grabbed her wrist.
"Mother, what do you mean by this?"
Gao Ping glared at her son and demanded, "That's your brother! How could you lay a hand on your brother!"
Prince Jing curled his lips in disdain. "Mother, I don't understand what you're saying. My younger brother did something wrong, and it's my fault as the older brother for not keeping a close eye on him. But isn't it you, Mother, who failed to teach your son properly? How could you let him covet his older brother's things?"
Gao Ping's body slowly grew cold in the darkness. She, a traitor, actually hoped that her son would be a kind and respectful brother.
Her gaze gradually sharpened.
"How did you become like this?"
"It was my mother who taught me that if I become useless, you will abandon me. In order not to be abandoned by you, I can only leave you with no other choice."
Without Prince Yong, Gao Ping had no way out; she could only help him and assist him in ascending to the throne.
"Mother, instead of being sad for someone who is leaving the capital tomorrow, you should spend more time thinking about how to please Father. After all, Father will be holding a general election after the New Year, and there is no one in charge of the harem yet. Who do you think will get that power?"
The imperial concubine chuckled, her laughter growing louder and louder, sending chills down everyone's spines.
That's just like her son, who climbs up the social ladder by any means necessary. The process doesn't matter; what matters is that they eventually get what they want.
Gao Ping was exhausted from laughing, and tears even welled up in her eyes. Prince Jing simply watched her quietly. Her hands rested on Eunuch Gao's arm, her fingernails digging deep into his flesh through his clothes.
"Good, good, good." Three consecutive "good"s seemed to express all the affection between the mother and son.
"Mo Yu is now in Xie Liwei's hands. I want to see her alive or dead."
This was her consideration regarding her son.
Prince Jing said lightly, "Mother, just wait to collect the body."
King Jing was also quite annoyed. This trusted confidante had fallen into the hands of others, and so much time had passed. Who knew what she might say that would be interrogated? How had she been sleeping all these days?
Watching Prince Jing's departing figure, Gao Ping felt as if all her strength had been drained away.
Eunuch Gao supported her body, calling out, "Your Majesty! Your Majesty!"
Gao Ping's tears flowed uncontrollably. Imperial power was supreme, but it was built upon piles of human bones.
She had no way back; she could only go down one path to the very end. It was either to ascend to that supreme position or to die.
She didn't want to lose, and she couldn't afford to lose!
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