Chapter 3 Recognizing a Thief as One's Mother
The following day, the imperial procession returned to the capital in a grand procession.
Liu Yan, still recovering from serious injuries, completely lost consciousness, so a carriage had to be prepared to take him back to the capital.
Consort He rode in the phoenix carriage, while Liu Xi could only follow behind on foot.
"The princess is seriously ill. If she were to pass on her illness to Ayan and delay his recovery, the princess would not be able to bear the consequences."
The imperial concubine looked down at him with disdain.
Liu Xi continued to put on a submissive act, appearing completely obedient and helpless.
"Your Majesty is absolutely right."
Despite saying that, Liu Xi was not prepared to go through the trouble of walking back to the palace.
She had Zhixiang jog a few steps to catch up with Huo Lin ahead and handed him a few words.
Immediately afterwards, Huo Lin rode up to the emperor's side.
"Your Majesty, the Fourth Princess is frail. If she walks back to the palace with the entourage like this, I'm afraid she won't be able to hold on."
"The Fourth Princess?"
The emperor turned around in confusion.
"Yes, the Fourth Princess is the Fifth Prince's elder sister. She stayed up all night to take care of the Fifth Prince and has become quite haggard."
To cover up his disdain for Liu Xi, the emperor coughed awkwardly.
"Why isn't the princess getting on the carriage?"
Huo Lin read Liu Xi's prepared explanation verbatim to the emperor.
"The princess has caught a cold from working all night. In order not to pass on her illness to the Fifth Prince or the Imperial Concubine, she requests to walk behind and follow."
The emperor couldn't help but nod, "The princess's filial piety is truly admirable."
"How can we allow a princess, who is of noble birth, to endure her illness and travel such a long distance?"
Huo Lin tentatively guided the emperor to make a decision.
"With departure imminent, there's no time to hastily arrange for a carriage."
"How about this, let the Consort go through the trouble of moving into the Fifth Prince's carriage so she can take good care of him along the way."
"Your subject obeys."
Huo Lin bowed deeply, then rushed to the imperial concubine's carriage and relayed the emperor's decree to her verbatim.
The imperial concubine suddenly ripped open the curtain, her eyes wide with fury.
"What did you say! His Majesty ordered me to abdicate in favor of that little wretch!"
"I urge Your Highness to be careful with your words."
The imperial concubine's bright red nails gripped the carriage window frame; she had never suffered such humiliation.
Seeing that the Imperial Concubine hadn't moved for a while, Huo Lin gloated and urged her on.
"Your Majesty, if we don't act quickly, delaying His Majesty's return to the capital is a minor matter, but missing the best time for His Highness the Fifth Prince's treatment is a major one."
Upon hearing Liu Yan's name, the Imperial Concubine could only suppress her resentment and step down from the carriage, lifting her skirt.
As Liu Xi stepped out of the carriage, supported by Zhi Xiang, she came face to face with the Imperial Concubine.
The imperial concubine narrowed her eyes and spoke through gritted teeth.
"Good, very good. Wait until we get back to the palace and see how I deal with you."
Liu Xi didn't speak, afraid that she wouldn't be able to stop herself from laughing out loud.
After helping Liu Xi into the carriage, Huo Lin mounted his horse.
"keep going!"
The Imperial Concubine was still some distance from Liu Yan's carriage when the procession began to move forward, and she could only call out and jog to catch up.
Liu Xi parted the curtains and peered out through the gap, taking in the concubine's disheveled appearance.
Zhixiang was somewhat surprised by the princess's change, but mostly she was happy.
"It's good that the princess is finally no longer willing to be bullied."
Liu Xi breathed a sigh of relief, recalling her past life, she realized she had done too many foolish things.
"Don't worry, Zhixiang, this is just the beginning."
"The Imperial Concubine? I will strip her of her pride sooner or later."
After the imperial procession arrived at the gates of the capital, they dispersed. The carriage carrying Liu Yan headed straight for the Imperial Medical Bureau, while the Phoenix Carriage took Liu Xi directly back to Yi Huai Pavilion.
The sheer scale of the event drew the attention of everyone in the palace.
Huo Lin arranged for the imperial physicians to examine Liu Xi, and also, on His Majesty's orders, sent a continuous stream of tonics to Liu Xi's palace.
"Is he trying to turn me into a walking pharmacy?"
Liu Xi was both amused and exasperated. She wondered how much Huo Lin had exaggerated the situation to make the imperial physicians at the Imperial Medical Bureau take her typhoid fever so seriously.
That night, Liu Xi lay in bed and had a strange dream.
In her dream, she returned to Laifeng Palace and lay in a pool of blood.
To destroy the evidence, Liu Yan set the palace ablaze.
In an instant, the palace was thrown into chaos. One man, disregarding the agony of the flames licking his flesh, ventured alone into the inferno and found Liu Xi's mangled body.
The scene before her eyes shifted amidst the flames. Liu Xi saw a man dressed in a magnificent black robe, wielding a long sword, storming into the emperor's bedchamber like a god of death. At that moment, Liu Yan was having an affair with Xu Zhaozhao.
This time, Liu Xi saw the man's face clearly.
That was Huo Lin, weathered by time and etched with weariness.
He pierced Xu Zhaozhao's chest with his sword, then grabbed Liu Yan's long hair and cleanly severed his head.
Suddenly, lightning flashed and thunder roared. Huo Lin, carrying the emperor's head, walked into the rain and stood in the center of the imperial city.
"Xi'er, I've come to pay my respects to you."
Liu Xi suddenly woke up. The scene in her dream was so real that she almost became immersed in it, unable to distinguish between reality and illusion.
She held her forehead and breathed heavily, her clothes soaked with sweat. Occasionally, a cold autumn night breeze would sneak in through the window, and Liu Xi couldn't help but shiver.
Huo Lin's face remained etched in her mind, especially his expression of fearlessness when he slit his throat with his sword, which sent a chill down her spine.
"General, I can never repay your kindness."
Liu Xi closed her eyes and listened to her heart pounding like a drum in her chest.
When she opened her eyes again, only determination remained.
The Dingyuan General's Mansion had been entrenched in the previous dynasty for many years and was deeply rooted in the government. With the current power of the Huo family, it was simply a pipe dream for Huo Lin to investigate from the outside in.
If Liu Xi can break the connection between the Imperial Concubine and General Dingyuan, she can dismantle the He family's power from within.
This can be described as killing two birds with one stone.
It can both repay the kindness of Huo Lin in his previous life for collecting his body and avenging him, and also cause the big tree that Liu Yanpan relied on to collapse.
By the moonlight, Liu Xi took out paper and pen and began to write and draw on them.
"He kept saying he didn't want to acknowledge a thief as his mother, but he wished he could actually crawl into the belly of the imperial concubine."
“Brother, is there anyone in the world more hypocritical than you?”
In his previous life, although Liu Yan showed off his talent to the emperor during the autumn hunt, he was not considered a threat by the other princes because he had been out of favor for many years.
Taking advantage of this, the imperial concubine secretly helped Liu Yan.
He benefited from this, using the power of the imperial concubine to recuperate and build up his strength. When everyone finally focused their attention on him, Liu Yan had already become a powerful beast.
If given a second chance, Liu Xi would never let such a good opportunity slip away.
The former dynasty's forces are now divided into four factions: one led by General Dingyuan's Mansion, the second by the supporters of the current second prince, and the third by the former dynasty's loyal ministers who have followed the emperor for many years.
The fourth share is in the hands of the current Empress Dowager.
Liu Xi drew two bright red circles around this part; this was the best place for her to place her piece.
If you want to grow in the shadows, you should first ask Liu Xi if she agrees.
Early the next morning, Liu Xi arrived at the entrance of Shou'an Palace, only to be turned away by the Empress Dowager as expected.
Aunt Wen stood in the courtyard and loudly relayed a message to her, ordering her to leave.
"Your Highness, please return."
"The Empress Dowager is so worried about Princess Ning'an that she can't eat or sleep, and has no mood to see you."
Princess Ning'an is the current emperor's younger sister and the empress dowager's biological daughter.
Two years ago, war was imminent on the border. In order to appease the three northern kingdoms, the emperor had no choice but to arrange for Princess Ning'an to go and marry a foreign ruler.
The Empress Dowager felt sorry for her daughter and wanted the Emperor to fill in two lines on Liu Xi's age so that she could marry in her place.
At that time, Liu Xi defied orders to stay in the palace to take care of her younger brother, and even secretly ordered someone to send the princess's portrait to the Northern School, which changed her fate.
It was from this time that Liu Xi and the Empress Dowager began to have a falling out.
Liu Xi had come here today prepared to risk everything.
She was willing to sacrifice her pride and dignity; her current forbearance was for a greater plan in the future.
Liu Xi took a deep breath and shouted loudly into the hall.
“Xi’er knew she had no face to ask her grandmother for love again, but her fifth brother’s life was in danger to save their father, and no matter how many famous doctors in the Imperial Medical Bureau were helpless.”
“But last night, my grandson dreamt of a god or Buddha who gave him some advice, saying there was a way to save my fifth brother.”
"Grandson looked closely and saw that it was the Empress Dowager, bathed in Buddha's light, with miraculous healing hands."
"After waking up, Xi'er was filled with mixed emotions and finally mustered up the courage to kneel down and thank her grandmother for her kindness."
These words were not entirely fabricated. Liu Xi knew that the Empress Dowager had many capable confidants in the Imperial Medical Bureau.
After her words, she was certain that the Empress Dowager would be moved, as the old lady was a devout Buddhist and her ancestral hall was filled with Buddhist statues that she worshipped every day.
Liu Xi compiled a dream claiming she had become a Buddha, which must have been unbearable for the Empress Dowager.
As expected, the Empress Dowager's voice drifted from inside the hall, beckoning her to speak in the main hall.
Liu Xi brushed her face with her sleeve, seemingly wiping away tears, but in reality, she used the shadow to conceal her triumphant smile.
Inside the main hall, the Empress Dowager sits on a high seat in the main hall.
She is over fifty years old, but she has not a single gray hair on her head, which shows that she lives a life of luxury.
The Empress Dowager ordered someone to invite Imperial Physician Wang. While waiting, Liu Xi sat quietly to the side, silently reciting Buddhist scriptures and praying for blessings.
The Empress Dowager was slightly surprised by Liu Xi's earnest and devout appearance.
Her tightly furrowed brows showed signs of easing, and she couldn't help but nod slightly.
All of this was taken in by Liu Xi out of the corner of her eye.
Instead of striking while the iron was hot, Liu Xi knew when to stop. When Imperial Physician Wang rushed over, she happily knelt down to thank the Empress Dowager for her kindness and then slowly withdrew from Shou'an Palace.
You can't get fat in one bite; if you want to make the most of the Empress Dowager's move, you can't rush it.
Later that evening, news came from the spies that Liu Xi had arranged in advance that Physician Wang had taken over the Fifth Prince's medical case and was doing his best to treat him.
The Imperial Physician Wang always took the Empress Dowager's pulse; this was a fact known to everyone.
Now, Liu Yan first returned to the palace in glory on the imperial carriage, and then, exceptionally, received personal treatment from the imperial physician Wang, a trusted confidant of the imperial physician.
Anyone with eyes can see that the Fifth Prince's status is no longer what it used to be.
Liu Xi found some unremarkable palace servants and began to spread rumors in the palace that the Imperial Concubine intended to take the Fifth Prince under her wing, and that the Fifth Prince had risked his life to save the Emperor during the autumn hunt.
Within a few days, the news that "the Imperial Concubine's excellent parenting skills have led to the Fifth Prince regaining His Majesty's favor" spread throughout the palace.
The Jinle Palace, where the Imperial Concubine resided, was bustling with activity, with people openly and secretly congratulating her, saying that her future was looking increasingly promising.
To avoid the limelight, the imperial concubine could only feign illness and dared not even see the emperor.
Liu Xi was laughing so hard inside the house that she almost fell over. If this continued, the Imperial Concubine might be forced to adopt Liu Yan as her godson to end the situation.
My dear brother, you can only pin the blame for recognizing a thief as your mother on yourself.
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