After hearing what the new emperor said, Princess Kaiyang suddenly burst into a hearty laugh. The exaggerated laughter echoed in the empty hall, as if it were about to break through the roof.
After a while, Princess Kaiyang stopped laughing, a cold smile on her lips, and said, "Hahaha... Your Majesty, you have really misunderstood. My sister has no affection for him whatsoever. I wish he were dead! My so-called 'protection' for him before was just for show for the Prince Consort."
Upon hearing this, the new emperor's eyes widened in disbelief as he stared at Princess Kaiyang, seemingly trying to ascertain the truth of her words.
After a long while, the new emperor confirmed that his sister's words were true, and then muttered to himself, "So that's how it is... I protected him to show the world; while you protected him to show the prince consort. Haha, I never imagined that our true thoughts were both that we wanted him dead!"
"That's right, I've always wanted him dead!" Princess Kaiyang said with a gloomy expression, making no attempt to hide her feelings. "All of Prince Lu's assassins were provided by me. Over the years, the assassins have never stopped hunting down that little bastard."
Her voice was cold and resolute as she spoke of her irreconcilable hatred for that so-called "little bastard."
"Not only that, but when I first arrived here, I dispatched a large team of secret guards to kill him and the Lin family."
Princess Kaiyang flattered the new emperor, saying, "Your Majesty, I am helping you retrieve the Imperial Seal."
The new emperor smiled with satisfaction: "That would be best, I will certainly reward you handsomely."
Princess Kaiyang smiled with triumphant satisfaction at her scheme's success. Then, recalling some past events, her smile vanished, and anger flashed in her eyes.
She continued through gritted teeth, "I will make sure that little bastard dies without a burial place!"
Faced with his sister's deep hatred, the new emperor suddenly recalled some of Princess Kaiyang's past.
When Princess Kaiyang was fourteen years old, she happened to meet Liu Shen, the most handsome man in the world, at a palace banquet.
From that first glance, she was deeply attracted by Liu Shen's stunning beauty and secretly vowed that she would marry no one but Liu Shen in this life.
Princess Kaiyang then summoned female officials and officials from the Court of Imperial Clan Affairs, instructing them to go to the Liu family to propose marriage.
To everyone's surprise, Liu Shen rejected the marriage proposal without hesitation.
"I am truly unworthy to be the prince consort, and I am already engaged. I hope Your Highness will find another suitable husband." Although Liu Shen's words were tactful, his refusal was all too clear.
After being rejected by Liu Shen, Princess Kaiyang felt a surge of hatred welling up inside her. She gritted her teeth and said, "Dare to refuse my marriage proposal? I will kill the entire Liu family!"
Princess Kaiyang shouted, "Guards..."
The head maid standing to the side quickly stepped forward to comfort her, saying, "Your Highness, while it may have been satisfying to kill Young Master Liu, this action is likely to cause a huge uproar and damage your reputation. Why don't we think of a way to get rid of his fiancée and then take him away?"
Princess Kaiyang's eyes lit up after hearing the palace maid's suggestion; she thought it was a brilliant idea.
Princess Kaiyang pondered for a moment, then came up with a plan and instructed the head maid to carry it out.
A few days later, a palace maid from the Eastern Palace came to the late Crown Prince and said with a fawning expression, "Your Highness, there is an official named Bai in the Imperial Academy. He has a daughter who is extremely beautiful and skilled in all the arts, including music, chess, calligraphy, and painting. If she could accompany Your Highness, it would surely be a wonderful thing, adding fragrance to your life!"
Upon hearing this, the former crown prince's heart stirred, and he quickly asked, "Oh? Is this woman already engaged?"
The palace attendant hurriedly replied, "Your Highness, this Miss Bai is only fourteen years old and has not yet been betrothed. Her father has always wanted to send her to the Eastern Palace to serve Your Highness."
After hearing this, the Crown Prince nodded in satisfaction, thinking to himself: Such a beauty is worthy of being brought into the Eastern Palace. I have been wanting a beauty to accompany me.
So he said to the palace servants, "In that case, let the Court of Imperial Clan Affairs step in and propose marriage with the rites due to a concubine."
The Crown Prince married the beautiful Consort Bai. He was very fond of Consort Bai, who was beautiful and gentle. Consort Bai, who was his favorite, became pregnant after a few months and gave birth to a son ten months later.
Princess Kaiyang not only successfully married Liu Shen, who had lost his fiancée, but the couple were also very loving and had two lovely sons.
However, Prince Consort Liu harbored resentment towards the former Crown Prince who had taken away his fiancée.
Therefore, after the incident at the Eastern Palace, he never gave Zhao Canchen, the son of the former Crown Prince and Lady Bai, a kind look.
Nevertheless, Princess Kaiyang showed her protectiveness towards Zhao Canchen in front of her husband.
Her purpose in doing so was obvious: to let the prince consort know that his marriage was not broken up by her, but that Bai had married into the Eastern Palace to curry favor with the powerful and treacherous.
The princess wanted to make the prince consort hate Bai Shi, the former crown prince, and their illegitimate son Zhao Canchen forever.
Thinking of this, the new emperor couldn't help but admire Princess Kaiyang's methods: "My dear sister, you are truly cunning; you can even deceive your own husband."
Upon hearing the new emperor's praise, Princess Kaiyang burst into hearty laughter once again. However, the laughter quickly ceased, like a snapped string, and was replaced by her words filled with hatred: "How dare he refuse me! From that moment on, I have hated him to the core."
The new emperor was stunned. He never expected that his sister would be so treacherous and cunning. On the surface, she and her husband were very affectionate, making people mistakenly believe that they were a loving couple. In reality, she was secretly sleeping with her husband and had given birth to two sons.
Not only that, the princess could also handle the new lovers of the prince consort in public as if nothing had happened, and she didn't care at all about the prince consort's romantic affairs.
This made many people sympathize with the princess, saying, "The prince consort is so disgraceful, keeping a mistress outside the marriage and getting her pregnant. The princess is so pitiful."
Sometimes the emperor would stand up for the princess, saying, "I'll help you get revenge, my royal sister."
The princess refused, saying, "Your Majesty, my sister deeply loves the prince consort and does not want him to suffer."
She added, "Which man doesn't like new women? I understand."
Princess Kaiyang's hypocritical behavior was something almost no one could do, not even the new emperor himself. He couldn't help but marvel at his sister's shrewdness and cunning, while also secretly feeling some disdain for her actions.
But the new emperor praised the princess, saying, "My sister is so shrewd and calculating!"
Hearing the new emperor's praise, the princess felt a surge of pride, and a subtle smile crept onto her lips. This smile held many unspoken secrets, the true meaning of which only she herself could truly understand.
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