Chapter 105: Father and son fall in love with the same woman...
Consort Xian of Zhongcui Palace, Meng Chiyuan, was the eldest daughter of Meng Shao, the Earl of Wenyang.
The year Meng Chiyuan was born, the current emperor was still the crown prince in the Eastern Palace. Unlike her sisters, Meng Chiyuan scoffed at the stories of talented men and beautiful women in books from a young age. When she saw "The Romance of the Western Chamber" or "The Peony Pavilion," she would just cover her mouth with her handkerchief and laugh: "Foolish men and resentful women, pretentious and affected writing, it's so cheesy! What's more reassuring than holding real gold and silver in your hands? These frivolous books on romance are truly a disgrace to the eyes and ears of a fine young lady!"
Before entering the palace, Meng Chiyuan harbored a long-held ambition: to become the most noble lady in the capital, marry into a prominent family, and one day manage the household affairs, completely controlling her husband and the inner quarters. She also aimed to rise through the ranks thanks to her husband's family, bringing glory to the Meng clan. Driven by this ambition, Meng Chiyuan mastered the arts of music, chess, calligraphy, and painting; she was also diligent in needlework and household management. Compared to her sisters Meng Chiying and Shi Mingrui, Meng Chiyuan was far more purposeful. She cultivated her beauty and refined character, all for one purpose: to marry into a higher social class.
When Meng Chiyuan was fifteen, Mrs. Shi asked her, "My dear girl, what kind of life do you want to live in the future?"
Without hesitation, Meng Chiyuan declared: "A life where I wear gold and silver, wield power, and can control others, not be controlled by others."
Mrs. Shi then smiled.
Meng Chiyuan continued, "My future husband must come from a better family than ours. He doesn't have to be handsome, but he must have regular features; he doesn't have to be outstanding in his studies, but he must be decisive and good at socializing; he doesn't have to be noble in character, but he must uphold his principles."
Mrs. Shi asked her, "Just now, all your sisters said they wanted to find a husband who only has eyes for them. What about you?"
Meng Chiyuan thought for a moment: "If he is devoted to me, I will be devoted to him. If he is not devoted to me, I don't need to be devoted to him. I will just focus on winning over his family's money and power and use it all to enrich our Meng family."
"You naughty little hussy! When has our family ever lacked you food or clothing?" Mrs. Shi laughed and tapped Meng Chiyuan's forehead. "Why do you value money and power so much?"
“How can it not be important?” Meng Chiyuan said anxiously. “Without money, how can I wear these bright clothes? Without money, where can I find ice to cool off in the sweltering heat, or charcoal to keep warm in the freezing winter? Without power, how can I have people fawning over me and respecting me? Without power, how can I have these servants who are so obsequious?”
"Yuan'er, what about love? Love is also extremely important."
"If there is love, that's the icing on the cake, it's wonderful. If there's no love, I can still live well. At worst, I can wear a brocade robe, eat delicacies and wine, and shed tears: 'Why is no one loving me?' But if there's only love, without money and power, that's truly pitiful! In summer, I'll be covered in heat rash, sticky and uncomfortable to death. In winter, my hands will be covered in chilblains, and I might not even have medicine. Do you think a few kind words will stop the itching and pain of the chilblains? Will my stomach stop being hungry? Will my body stop being cold? Will I not have to do all the chores?" Meng Chiyuan said firmly, "Besides, even if no one loves me, I love myself, I have my parents, my older brother, and Ying'er who love me, isn't that enough?"
Mrs. Shi continued, "In that case, your father and I will find you a suitable marriage, perhaps even one with a slightly less prestigious family than ours. Wouldn't that be better?"
Meng Chiyuan shook her head: "The higher the rank, the more servants one has; the wealthier the family, the stronger its ability to withstand internal and external troubles. Throughout history, how many great families, except those that committed unforgivable crimes, have all fallen because of money? If I marry into a family worse off than ours, I'll have to help them climb the social ladder, and even have my parents and brothers scheme for us so that I can finally enjoy a life of luxury in my middle and old age. Mother, why can't I enjoy a life of luxury from beginning to end? I was born into a family like ours, why should I suffer even a little bit in this life?"
Meng Chiyuan always believed that she was born to enjoy life, and that she was born to stand at the top. She could live without love, but she couldn't live without a good life.
Two years later, the emperor issued an edict to select candidates for the imperial concubine selection, and she voluntarily entered the palace. That year, Meng Chiyuan was seventeen years old, while the emperor was forty-two.
Meng Chiyuan, newly arrived at the palace, held the rank of Cairen and resided in Zhongcui Palace. After her first imperial favor, the emperor embraced Meng Chiyuan and, as usual, uttered sweet words of love to win over the heart of this seventeen-year-old girl. Meng Chiyuan covered the emperor's mouth and said, "Your Majesty, if you feel that I have served you well tonight, how about rewarding me with more things tomorrow?"
The emperor, unusually intrigued, asked, "What? You don't like me talking to you?"
Meng Chiyuan's cheeks flushed with spring, and she slowly scanned the emperor's face with her charming and affectionate eyes: "Your Majesty, I dare not say."
"Hahaha!" The emperor clapped his hands and laughed. "You clearly dare to speak, but you're afraid I'll anger you, so you deliberately said this to get me to give you a get-out-of-jail-free card before you'll talk, is that right?"
"Your Majesty is wise." Meng Chiyuan smiled and hugged the emperor's waist tightly.
"Speak. I will not be angry with you."
Meng Chiyuan then said, “From the first time I saw Your Majesty until now, it has only been two or three hours. In just two or three hours, has Your Majesty fallen in love with me? If so, with so many beautiful and talented women in the harem, Your Majesty must love them all. If you divide them equally, it seems that there isn’t much left for me. Since there isn’t much, I think it would be better to exchange it for something more worthwhile. Your Majesty could bestow upon me a few more bolts of fine fabric, and once I have new clothes made and dress up beautifully, wouldn’t Your Majesty be even more pleased?”
The emperor exclaimed in surprise, "You are only sixteen or seventeen years old. Don't you want my favor?"
"How could I not want it? But if Your Majesty is unwilling to give it to me, I understand. I only ask that Your Majesty remember to come and stay with me for a few nights each month, and I will be very satisfied."
"You're quite strange. When other concubines were your age, they wished I would love them more, but they would never mention anything about their intimate moments. How can you be so shameless?"
“Even if I can’t win His Majesty’s favor, I still have myself to love, and I have my parents, brothers, and sisters who love me. Of course,” she smiled mischievously, “the more people in the world who love me, the better!”
"There's a second question you haven't answered."
Meng Chiyuan lay lazily in the emperor's arms, her slender fingers twirling a strand of her hair: "I can't explain it. It's just that doing these things with Your Majesty makes me feel happy, and I like that I'm happy. Your Majesty, what about you? When you make love with me, are you happy?" She turned her face and looked up at the emperor.
The emperor, who was over forty-two years old, was visibly taken aback when asked such a question by a woman for the first time, and his face turned slightly red.
Meng Chiyuan rested her head on his arm and said earnestly, "If you're unhappy, just tell me, and next time we'll try a new method. It has to be something that suits both of us."
The emperor finally took a good look at Meng Chiyuan. This young girl was bold, unrestrained, and shameless, but she was also bright, vibrant, and full of love.
She doesn't lack love. This is a very important quality. The emperor knows that there are many women in the six palaces waiting to share his love. Today he loves this concubine, tomorrow he loves that Zhaoyi. He has to love them all and serve them, which is really tiring. But Meng Chiyuan in front of him can love herself and love herself very well. He doesn't need to give her extra love. In fact, she can even nourish the love he lacks.
In his youth, the emperor had this thought: throughout history, favored concubines have mostly been women with exceptionally strong vitality. Because of his position as emperor, governing the country and balancing the world consumed too much of his energy, he could only extract the vitality of these women to replenish his own. Therefore, this is a major reason why beautiful women have often had tragic fates throughout history.
Upon seeing Meng Chiyuan, the emperor suddenly felt that she was very suitable to be a favored concubine.
Within two years of entering the palace, Meng Chiyuan had completed a three-stage promotion from talented woman to beauty and then to concubine.
Meng Chiyuan was truly a perfect favored concubine. She loved to please and disliked empty formalities, so the emperor would always reserve a special portion of the tributes from various regions for her. She didn't like to talk sweet nothings and was always more practical. For example, in bed, Meng Chiyuan didn't mind exploring ways to make the two of them feel good together with the emperor.
Therefore, the emperor grew increasingly fond of her, even to the point of adoring her. However, the emperor also gradually developed anxieties. He was slowly approaching old age, while she was just beginning to blossom. Sometimes, gazing at Meng Chiyuan's young and beautiful face, the emperor wished he could age more slowly.
He reduced the number of times he visited Zhongcui Palace, but still gave Meng Chiyuan the same respect. He thought Meng Chiyuan would be saddened by his absence, but he forgot that Meng Chiyuan had already told him: she didn't lack love, she only wanted a lifetime of wealth and honor.
He could no longer live without her. He would visit Meng Chiyuan at least once a month.
In the spring of her third year in the palace, Meng Chiyuan turned twenty. Because she was too young and had no children, she remained Meng Jieyu.
The peach blossoms in the Imperial Garden were in full bloom, a sea of pink blossoms. Meng Chiyuan sent someone to invite the Emperor to stroll in the garden, while she herself changed into a newly tailored spring dress and climbed a tree. She gathered countless petals, tucking them into her skirt. As the man in deep purple brocade approached, she called out crisply, "Your Majesty," and then peach blossoms rained down from the sky. She sat on a branch, her laughter echoing down with her own.
The Third Prince, Li Zhun, looked up and saw a fairy-like figure sitting amidst a cloud of flowers on a tree. She had willow-leaf eyebrows, a lotus-like face, and black hair like clouds, her eyes filled with affection. Petals fell from the sky, drifting gently into his heart.
This was the first time he had ever seen such a beautiful woman, and also the first time he had ever seen such a vibrant woman. He liked Meng Jieyu, the kind of liking that made him want her to be his woman. He thought Meng Chiyuan would like him back, after all, he was younger and more handsome than the emperor.
What he didn't know was that Meng Chiyuan had no shortage of such affection. She could give it herself, her family could give it, and even the emperor could give it. After two years of their courtship, he finally began to understand her nature—a worldly, even mundane one, not at all like a "fairy." But Li Zhun was not disappointed; he loved her even more.
However, Meng Chiyuan still refused him. Li Zhun thought she was afraid of the emperor's power.
That evening, he stopped her: "Why can't I?"
“Because you are not the emperor,” Meng Chiyuan said sincerely.
"What if I become the crown prince?"
She smiled slyly: "Then, in order to avoid being buried with you, I might just come and beg you." She laughed heartily, then turned and left.
Li Zhun suddenly grabbed her wrist: "I met someone the other day who has some connection with your maternal grandparents' family."
Meng Chiyuan said coldly, "Say what you want to say."
Li Zhun said, "Your third aunt married into the Liang family, the former Grand Secretary of the Wenyuan Pavilion, right?"
"so what?"
"Grand Secretary Liang had a favorite student named Xue Yin, who served as Sima in Jinling."
"Then."
"The Sima is in charge of local military and political affairs and military equipment. Xue Yin is in charge of the military and political affairs of Jinling, which is also the location of the Southeast Army. Now the entire military and political affairs of the Southeast Army are under his control."
"What exactly are you trying to say?"
"Yuanyuan." Li Zhun held her wrist tightly. "In less than three months, the Southeast Army will be under my command. The position of Crown Prince will be mine sooner or later, and the Emperor's throne will also be mine. Father will not let you become Empress, but I can."
Meng Chiyuan hadn't expected him to be so serious, and she quickly broke free from his hand: "Your struggle for the throne with the Second Prince is your business, it has nothing to do with me!" She hurriedly ran out of the artificial hill and headed towards Zhongcui Palace.
Just past the artificial hill, the emperor stood with his hands behind his back at the corner of the stone path, staring intently at Meng Chi Garden with a somber expression. He extended his hand to her: "Finished talking? What did Zhun'er say to you?"
*
Shanhe stood there stunned.
Meng Chiyuan's story came to an end, and she was nearing the end of her life. She was still smiling, but very weakly: "After that, I never saw Li Zhun again... Not long after, he entered Chonghua Palace and was demoted to a commoner. I continued to be a concubine. His Majesty often said that I was the best concubine he had ever seen. I know that he no longer loves me; he only likes my body and my youth..."
"Actually, I feel a bit lost. After all, I once felt his love... the love of the supreme ruler, above all others. It's something comparable to wealth and glory... Lady Xue, it was only then that I realized that besides material things, people also need love, I mean, love that comes from within. My parents are outside the palace, they can't give me that. In the entire palace, apart from those two," Consort Xian looked at the two weeping palace maids kneeling on the ground, her brows furrowing slightly, "no one else loves me."
Shanhe bit her lip and sobbed, "Your Majesty, many people love you. I imagine His Majesty treats you the same way."
“No…” Meng Chiyuan said, “He only used me as a vessel to fulfill his desires. Xue, love involves respect; it means treating people as human beings, not as objects… I can feel that since then, he has never treated me as a person… just a pretty object…”
"I can feel my life slipping away, little by little, through my fingers..."
Suddenly, the palace doors were pulled open from the outside, letting in a flood of firelight. Meng Chiyuan slowly turned his face and asked in a doubtful voice, "Is it...dawn already?"
A man in a deep purple silk robe walked in. He first looked around Zhongcui Palace before strolling over.
Meng Chiyuan smiled at him: "Li Zhun...you're here."
"Yuanyuan." Li Zhun stood by the bed, looking down at her, his voice slightly choked.
"Can I ask you a few questions?" Meng Chiyuan's voice grew softer and softer.
Will I become empress?
"Won't."
"Did you want me to die?"
"Yes."
"One last question..."
"Yuanyuan." He turned his head to look at the baby in Shanhe's arms. "I will let Liang Shao take your child away from the palace. He will not die."
"Okay... Lee Joon, thank you, thank you so much."
*
On the Zhenping Road leading from Shanglin Garden back to the Imperial Palace, three Akhal-Teke horses galloped like arrows.
The emperor whipped his whip like rain, wishing he could sprout wings and fly to Zhongcui Palace immediately.
Since the news of Consort Xian's difficult childbirth came from the palace, he had been extremely anxious. At this moment, sweat was beading on his forehead, and he still regretted that his horse's hooves were too slow.
As the emperor approached the city gate, a roadblock suddenly appeared before him. He reined in his horse and demanded, "Who is on duty at this gate tonight as I return to the palace?!"
Beyond the roadblock, a white horse slowly emerged. The tip of its red-tasseled spear gleamed coldly, radiating a chilling killing intent. Liang Shao slowly raised his eyes, looking at the emperor, and said in a calm voice, "This humble general, Liang Shao, is here by order of the Third Prince of Chonghua Palace to escort Your Majesty back to the palace!"
-----------------------
Author's Note: The Emperor's feelings for the Virtuous Consort:
At the beginning: Yuanyuan, I want to give you something nice.
Later: Consort Xian, you did a good job, this is a reward for you.
So, sisters, you need love, and you also need money and power! [Rabbit head with upright ears]
The brothers' showdown is here!
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
