"So you think you're definitely suited to be the ruler of a country?"
Shen Mingzhuang found Song Yi's question amusing. She didn't know what he was thinking, that he would say such a thing. Hadn't Jiang Wang done enough in the past few years? Under the oppression of Yin Rong, he was able to achieve great things with limited resources, which was already quite remarkable. Yet Song Yi could still say such a thing. She would never believe it if he wasn't acting out of selfish desires.
Seeing the fleeting sarcasm on Shen Mingzhuang's face, Song Yi suddenly leaned closer and said in a deep voice, "What? He almost killed you just to have a child, and you're still so focused on him. Aren't you afraid of repeating the same mistake?"
"I don't think it's your place to lecture me on what's between him and me. No matter what, the Emperor and I are husband and wife, and our grievances are none of the business of outsiders."
"That doesn't necessarily mean they'll be husband and wife for life." Song Yi raised a contemptuous lip. "The country and the beauty belong to the virtuous."
With just one sentence, Shen Mingzhuang's heart sank into an icy abyss.
It seems that what she thought was true. Song Yi's ambition had never disappeared. As long as Song Yi was around, that catastrophe might be repeated. No matter what the final outcome was, a war would be enough to destroy Jiang Wang's efforts this year.
She didn't want to see that scene.
"Song Yi, who is suitable to be the ruler of a country and who is not is not up to you to decide, but up to the people of the world. Everything is peaceful now. If you give up a good life and insist on going down a dead end, what good result will await you?"
Song Yi narrowed his eyes slightly, a dangerous glint in them.
In all his life, no one had ever spoken to her like that. Who did she think she was?
With a slight twitch of Song Yi's fingertips, Shen Mingzhuang dodged like a flash of light, and a dart "clicked" into the bookshelf behind Shen Mingzhuang.
"It's always good to reach out like this. No wonder you were able to sneak into Cixi Palace so quietly. If I'm not mistaken, the theft of the Empress Dowager's private treasury is also related to you, isn't it?"
Shen Mingzhuang didn't even blink, sneered twice, and mimicked Song Yi's response, saying, "Where would I have such ability? The young master overestimates me."
"You overestimated me?" Song Yi raised an eyebrow, staring at Shen Mingzhuang. "If it weren't for you, very few people could have done it."
His eyes held a probing look, and he wanted to ask her several times who she was, but he swallowed the words back.
Who she is is unimportant, whether she is the real Ninth Miss of the Shen family is also unimportant. What is important is that she is now the Empress, the ruler of the CCP, and the current Crown Prince is her son.
“Shen Mingzhuang, a good bird chooses a good tree to perch on. Even if you don’t think about yourself, you should think about Jiang Xuan. Jiang Wang’s lifespan is already short. He is now just a grasshopper in autumn.”
Song Yi stopped there, and that was the end of it.
Not long to live?
Shen Mingzhuang felt as if he had been pricked by a needle, and his heart involuntarily ached.
She realized she hadn't seen Jiang Wang for days, assuming he was busy with important matters, so she didn't think much of it. Who knew Song Yi would say something like that?
Since he dared to say such things so openly, it must not be without reason. What happened to Jiang Wang? Why is his lifespan so short?
"Can you tell fortunes or read pulses? You're just spouting nonsense without any evidence. I used to think the heir of the Duke of Wen was a young prodigy, but now I realize he's just a smooth talker. His Majesty is in good health and shows no signs of premature death."
Song Yi chuckled and turned to sit down in the chair. "Although Jiang Wang is not suitable to be a ruler, he is a devoted lover. You may not know this, but he used his own heart's blood to make medicine for you, which greatly damaged his vital energy. His hair and beard have all turned white, and he has become the way he is now. He has been dragging his exhausted body through the years, and he doesn't have much time left to live."
As Shen Mingzhuang listened, she felt a lump in her throat, as if something was blocking it. She knew that on the day she gave birth to her son, Jiang Wang had fed him some kind of pill—heart's blood. She thought it was just a gimmick, but she never expected…
She didn't want to say anything more, and turned and left the Duke of Wen's mansion in a flash.
Song Yi stared at Shen Mingzhuang's retreating figure, lost in thought for a long time.
This kind of woman should be his.
A look of determination flashed in his eyes, but when he thought of the Crown Prince's wife, he couldn't help but let out a long sigh.
She resembled her so much, yet she was never truly herself. Now that she had awakened, she would eventually be hers.
As for An Wanqing, he felt somewhat annoyed whenever he thought about her wanting a child.
Now is not the time to have a child. His great cause is not yet accomplished. If he has a child now, wouldn't that give others a weakness to exploit? If he succeeds, will there still be someone in the harem who will give him a son? If he fails, what use would it be even if he had a child? He would still be implicated and die. What good could that possibly be?
Shen Mingzhuang went straight back to Jiaofang Palace, where she tossed and turned all night without sleeping.
At midnight, she simply got up and went to the Hall of Diligent Governance.
Outside the Hall of Diligent Governance, guards stood on both sides. No one expected that someone from the inner palace would come. Upon seeing that it was the Empress, the guards quickly made way. Soon, Tan Yonglin jogged out.
"Your Majesty, what brings you here at this hour?"
When Shen Mingzhuang saw his tired face, she knew that Jiang Wang probably hadn't slept all night. Thinking of what Song Yi had said, her heart sank, and she asked Tan Yonglin, "What is Your Majesty doing?"
Tan Yonglin smiled and replied succinctly, "His Majesty spent the entire night reviewing memorials."
He thought that the Empress would at least feel sorry for the Emperor, but to his surprise, the Empress's face darkened, and she walked towards the Hall of Diligent Governance, as if she had come to interrogate him!
Upon seeing this, Tan Yonglin quickly turned around and followed.
Jiang Wang, with his snow-white hair loose and wearing a black brocade robe with gold dragon patterns, sat at a desk with a thick stack of memorials piled up in front of him.
He leaned slightly forward, and when he heard Shen Mingzhuang approaching, his weariness immediately eased. He looked up and saw that Shen Mingzhuang had an angry expression on his face, which startled him.
Seeing this, Tan Yonglin quickly retreated behind the pillar. Shen Mingzhuang looked at the tired-looking person in front of him and felt a pang of pain in his heart.
"Why are you staying up all night? You're wasting your health like this. How many days do you have left?"
She blurted it out, and as soon as the words left her mouth, her heart was already numb with pain.
All the servants in the Qin Zheng Hall consciously withdrew; there were certain things the couple said during their quarrel that they shouldn't listen to.
"What have you heard?"
Jiang Wang stood up with a smile, looking completely nonchalant.
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