Chapter 132: Chapter 132 She Doesn’t Mind Being Unclean
The Empress was consud by jealousy.
She was the Emperor’s principal wife, married to him even before he ascended the throne.
In their early years, they shared enviable affection, a loving couple indeed.
She toiled in the harem, always clinging to that bit of affection.
Led by her son’s guidance, she saw through it all, no longer craving the ager affection from the Emperor. All she cared about now was power, supre power.
Only if her son beca the new Emperor and she the Empress Dowager, could her family’s position be secure.
Clearly, she was the Empress of the Central Palace, and her son the Legitimate Son. He should have already been appointed the Crown Prince, shouldn’t he?
Laughably, she had always considered Noble Consort Qi and the Eldest Prince her enemies, yet she was unaware of the Emperor’s deceit all these years.
His hopes of watching her struggle against Noble Consort Qi for his own benefit was just a big joke!
Initially, she harbored guilt deep inside for using Noble Lady Hui to harm the Emperor’s health, but now she only wished she had killed him!
But if she had killed him then, how would she have known that the woman who held his favor was Consort Jing?
As soon as the Second Prince left, the Empress imdiately dispatched her trusted followers to contact the informants in the Cold Palace.
There were palace maids and eunuchs in the Cold Palace loyal to her. Jingan Palace was very close to the Cold Palace, and since no one had taken Consort Jing seriously over the years, naturally no one had been watching Jingan Palace.
But tis had changed, and the Empress desperately wanted to confirm if the facts were as she and her son suspected.
Days passed, and everything in Jingan Palace seed normal.
Just as the Empress began to wonder if the Emperor only cherished the Third Prince and did not like Consort Jing, the Second Prince entered the palace again and placed a map of the Imperial Palace in front of her.
“What is this?”
“Mother, my subordinates have found an old craftsman from the previous dynasty. In his family, there’s this map of the palace from the previous era. Look here…”
The Second Prince pointed to the location of Yangxin Hall: “This line here, is a secret passage!”
The Empress couldn’t believe her eyes as she followed the line from Yangxin Hall, which ultimately led to… Jingan Palace!!
“No wonder! No wonder!”
The Empress laughed wildly a few tis and then sneered repeatedly.
No wonder all their watching had turned up nothing; beneath them lay a secret tunnel!
No wonder the Emperor had placed Consort Jing in Jingan Palace!
How ridiculous, utterly ridiculous.
Her years of strife with Noble Consort Qi and the other concubines in the harem were nothing but a farce!
After all, a woman who neither fought nor vied had won the Emperor’s complete favor.
No, that was favoritism!
Because he cared for Consort Jing, he did not wish to involve her in the palace won’s conflicts.
Because he cared for the Third Prince, he deliberately created a formidable opponent in the Eldest Prince for the Second Prince.
In the end, after the Eldest Prince and the Second Prince had fought each other, both tigers wounded, the Third Prince would simply return to the capital to claim the position of Crown Prince.
“Mother…”
“I’m fine!”
The Empress’s gaze was cold, as if poisoned.
“He wants Consort Jing to be uninvolved in worldly affairs, but I refuse to grant her wish! She likes to pray to Buddha, doesn’t she? The Empress Dowager is right here in the palace, so let her transcribe sutras for the Empress Dowager!”
“Mother, be careful not to let Father Emperor discover our plans; we must not make him wary.”
The Empress narrowed her eyes: “Don’t worry, I know what I’m doing. He’ll just think it’s a case of jealousy. He has always respected the Empress Dowager, he probably won’t ask her for soone!”
The Second Prince nodded: “Mother, Father Emperor truly doesn’t care about Noble Consort Qi; there’s no need for you to contest with her anymore. You keep Father Emperor and Consort Jing tied up in the palace, and I will find a way to kill the Third Younger Imperial Brother at Yingtian Academy.”
“Just make sure not to leave a trace.”
“My son knows that it’s easier outside the capital than within; my son does not wish for him to live even a mont longer.”
To say I do not hate would be impossible; the Second Prince’s hatred in his heart is hardly any less than the Empress’s.
He used to revere his father, the Emperor, and yearned for his favor. However, an excellent Eldest Imperial Brother constantly overshadowed him, preventing the Emperor from seeing his rits.
Therefore, he always regarded the Eldest Imperial Brother as his greatest enemy, never expecting that both he and the Eldest Imperial Brother were rely pawns of the Emperor, pawns to clear the way for the Third Prince.
He could not accept this.
The Third Prince was of diocre talent compared to the Eldest Imperial Brother; the difference was imasurable. How could he willingly assist the Third Prince to ascend the throne?
Moreover, his mother is the Empress, with a powerful family behind her. If the Emperor wished for the Third Prince to beco the Crown Prince and later the Emperor, he would certainly have to eliminate both him and his backing forces.
The Emperor never really considered leaving him a way out.
It was the sa for the Eldest Imperial Brother.
Otherwise, the Emperor wouldn’t have let the Eldest Imperial Brother, known as a War God, be disfigured and disabled.
Upon returning to the Prince’s Mansion, the Second Prince made arrangents and then went to see Yun Weiwei.
After receiving treatnt from Murong Jiu, and taking dicine for several days, Yun Weiwei’s complexion appeared much rosier, although she still seed rather fragile.
However, he had already summoned the Imperial Physician to check her pulses; her cousin’s heart ailnt had been completely cured, though her weak constitution required gradual recuperation.
“Cousin, why have you co!”
Yun Weiwei looked up to see him, her face lighting up with surprise.
“Weiwei, I am here to discuss sothing with you,” he said.
“What is it? Cousin, just say the word.”
“Would you be willing to marry ?”
At these words, Yun Weiwei blushed with both shyness and excitent, her soft voice trembling as she fiddled with the handkerchief in her hands, “Weiwei would of course be glad to marry you, Cousin.”
“Good, I will enter the Imperial Palace tomorrow to seek the Emperor’s decree to take Manman as my principal wife, and to make you my concubine.”
Concubine?
Yun Weiwei suddenly lifted her head, the joy on her face vanishing completely.
“What’s wrong, Weiwei? Are you not pleased?”
“No, it’s not that, I’m certainly happy, it’s just… why are you taking Murong Man as your principal wife? The Yongning Marquis Manor cannot provide you with any support,” she queried.
Furthermore, Murong Man, clad in her bridal gown, had already gone through the wedding ceremony with the Ni family’s Ni Yuanshan. How could such a woman be fit to be the principal wife?
“My maternal family wields great influence, and only by marrying a woman like Murong Man can I avoid the Emperor’s suspicion.”
Initially, the Second Prince indeed hadn’t been too keen on marrying Murong Man as his principal wife, and was prepared to offer her the status of a concubine.
But, on learning about the importance of Consort Jing and the Third Prince to the Emperor, he changed his mind.
If he married a woman with a strong family background as his principal wife, the Emperor would definitely be suspicious.
Even if the Third Prince was soon to die, he could not afford to be too high-profile.
In this way, the declining Yongning Marquis Manor beca the best choice.
Once he beca the Crown Prince, what kind of woman would he not have at his disposal?
In the future, when he beca Emperor, who he wanted as Empress would rely require his say.
For so reason, thinking of this, he suddenly rembered Murong Jiu’s beautiful pale face.
If Murong Jiu had not been defiled by a beggar, he wouldn’t mind granting her the position of Empress to fulfill the role.
What a pity…
But still, as long as Murong Jiu was willing to give herself to him again, he wouldn’t mind her unclean past.
After all, there were few won in the world as beautiful as she.
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