Bai Chuxiao took out the scroll from her bosom and waved it, raising an eyebrow as she asked, "Guess what His Majesty's last imperial edict said?"
Yu Fengyang, Zhan Chi, and the others looked over in surprise. "The Princess Consort just went to retrieve the imperial edict?"
Bai Chuxiao nodded with a smile. Emperor Wenxuan wouldn't have asked her to keep the late empress's portrait safe without a reason; there must be something fishy going on.
Yu Fengyang raised an eyebrow and said, "I guess it's nothing more than the Crown Prince ascending the throne; it won't be of much use to us."
Bai Chuxiao said with a smile, "This princess thinks there might be a pleasant surprise."
Without further ado, he took out the bright yellow scroll from the painting and began to examine it. After reading it, everyone's eyes flickered slightly.
Yu Fengyang said with a faint smile, "It was worth it for the Princess Consort to risk her life to see His Majesty."
Bai Chuxiao raised an eyebrow. "For those who plot to usurp the throne, murder their fathers, and kill the emperor, this imperial edict is clearly no better than a piece of waste paper."
Yu Fengyang said with a smile, "Your Highness has thought this through. You must have already experienced the malice of those pedantic scholars. If this edict falls into the hands of upright scholars, they could verbally abuse Prince Qi and Prince An to death."
Bai Chuxiao smiled and said, "Well, His Majesty has done a good thing. In that case, let's just wait and see. Leaving the capital shouldn't be a problem."
Tonight, the capital city is brightly lit, filled with the sounds of battle. Every household's doors are tightly shut, all proclaiming that the master of this imperial city is about to change. The Yan Prince's residence is no exception. Bai Chuxiao has no intention of participating in tonight's struggle… Chu Tianze's background means that whoever ascends the throne will be his adversary…
Bai Chuxiao, who had just stepped into Qichi Courtyard, was taken aback. "Mother hasn't rested yet..."
Consort Jing smiled and said, "I've been waiting for you..."
Bai Chuxiao stepped forward to help her into the room, when Consort Jing suddenly spoke up, "Does Xiaoxiao know something?"
Bai Chuxiao paused, "What do you mean by 'mother'?"
Consort Jing turned her head and said calmly, "Ze'er's background..."
Bai Chuxiao hesitated for a moment, then nodded helplessly, "How did Mother know..."
Consort Jing gripped her hand tightly and said in a deep voice, "Don't tell Ze'er. Your maternal grandfather and I don't intend to tell him about this."
He then chuckled, "If you hadn't known something, Chu Wenxuan wouldn't have died so quickly, would he?"
Bai Chuxiao was speechless. If Chu Wenzheng hadn't revealed this secret, she certainly wouldn't have watched Emperor Wenxuan die like that tonight. "Mother, do you hate him?"
"Hate? Do you know what Fusang Pavilion has the most of?" Consort Jing made no attempt to hide her feelings.
Bai Chuxiao shook her head.
Consort Jing said calmly, "It's poison. You know I'm a skilled physician. For decades, I've wanted to poison him every single moment, but I've always managed to restrain myself."
Bai Chuxiao said in a deep voice, "It's for Tianze..."
Consort Jing stared blankly at a spot, lost in thought, before slowly speaking, "My life was saved by the Duke of Dingguo's mansion. I love medicine, so the Duke of Dingguo's mansion gave me the freedom to study under the best doctors. For those ten-odd years under the protection of the Duke of Dingguo's mansion, I lived a very happy life..."
A look of sorrow crossed her eyes as she continued, "After the world was at peace, Miss became Empress. Everyone thought life would get better and better, but for some reason, she couldn't conceive. Miss loved Chu Wenxuan very much back then, and she hoped to have a child with her lover. The harem was full of intrigue and backstabbing, so the Duke of Dingguo sent me to the palace as a maid, hoping I would secretly help Miss recuperate… One day, by chance, Chu Wenxuan got drunk and forced himself on me… He even gave me the title of a palace maid. Miss didn't say anything when she found out. She felt there was no hope of having children and hoped I could give birth to a child, so that the bloodline of the Duke of Dingguo's family could continue."
Consort Jing turned her head and smiled, "But then an accident happened..."
Bai Chuxiao slowly said, "All the men of the Duke of Dingguo's mansion died in the north..."
Consort Jing gave a self-deprecating laugh, "Yes, back then, Miss and I felt like the sky was falling. Miss sent all her protectors to the north to investigate, as did your maternal grandfather and General Wan. We didn't believe Wei Junyan's story, much less that the Duke of Dingguo would suffer such a crushing defeat, with everyone killed in battle... But fate is fickle, and then Miss and I discovered one after another that..."
Pregnancy, and in the following months, setbacks came one after another...
Bai Chuxiao held her hand tightly, offering silent comfort. Consort Jing then spoke softly, "Miss's previous lack of pregnancy was not fate, but rather the result of human intervention..."
Bai Chuxiao recalled Emperor Wenxuan's dying words and asked in a low voice, "Was it His Majesty who did it?"
Consort Jing chuckled softly, "Indeed, isn't it ridiculous? Miss helped Chu Wenxuan conquer the world and accepted his harem, yet in the end, this man who should have been her most trusted bedmate wouldn't even let her conceive... The Duke of Dingguo's mansion in the capital was left with only one female member. How could the old lady bear such a blow? She fell ill and never recovered. When we were about to give birth, the old lady was on her last breath. Naturally, Miss had to go back to see her mother one last time. At that time, although the investigation in the north hadn't yielded any results, Chu Wenxuan clearly didn't want Miss to give birth to the child. After much consideration, Miss decided to leave the palace, because leaving the palace at least gave the child in her womb a glimmer of hope. Staying in the palace would only lead to death..."
Bai Chuxiao couldn't help but sigh. "One general's success is built on the bones of ten thousand." Emperor Wenxuan was obviously afraid that the late empress's child and the power of the Duke of Dingguo behind her would threaten his throne. Even after all the male members of the Duke of Dingguo's mansion had died, he still didn't want to let them go. After all, there were still the Wan family and the Murong family...
Consort Jing said calmly, "Giving birth outside the palace and immediately sending the child to my palace was something Miss planned before leaving the palace. She had a premonition that she wouldn't be able to return to the palace alive. She was heartbroken by Chu Wenxuan and had long been determined to die. However, she still had some hope that her child could live and grow up under the love of a father and mother..."
Bai Chuxiao's expression hardened slightly, "Mother, your child..."
Consort Jing said indifferently, "I don't love him, nor do I want to have any children with him. I don't care about that child. I only want to fulfill Miss's wish and raise her child to grow up well. That was also Miss's last request to your maternal grandfather..."
Consort Jing paused, then continued, "I didn't really care about that child at first, but when I saw him, I felt a pang of reluctance. However, Chu Wenxuan was conducting a massive search in the city, and countless infants suffered. If things continued like this, it was inevitable that the investigation would reach the palace. After thinking about it, I decided to send him away. The child resembled Chu Wenxuan, and only in this way would Chu Wenxuan not become suspicious... and those innocent infants wouldn't be implicated and lose their lives..."
Bai Chuxiao felt a pang of regret. Emperor Wenxuan died too easily; she should have finished him off. Just because of those vague suspicions in her heart, she had caused the deaths of so many people, including so many who had helped him… How could she have calmly gazed at the portrait of the late empress and reminisced… She wondered what her true intentions were…
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