PFC Chapter 282 The Ruthless and Disabled Crown Prince (182)
Chapter 282 The Ruthless and Disabled Crown Prince (182)
Ji Shumin was actually not entirely sure about this matter.
He also inquired about this matter with Ji Shuqin.
But this usually gentle man was uncharacteristically tough, his brows furrowing with a hint of ruthlessness, somewhat resembling Ji Shumin when he was angry.
He told Ji Shumin very seriously, "I have my own conclusion, so please don't ask me for now."
Ji Shumin could understand the implied meaning in his words.
My mind is made up. No matter what suggestions others offer, he will not take them, nor does he need their input.
Ji Shumin had no intention of discussing this with him. Since Ji Shuqin had voluntarily taken on this responsibility, Ji Shumin did not feel that he should be grateful for it.
If it's between brothers, what's the point of it if things get to that point?
“Then I won’t ask,” Ji Shumin replied casually.
Lu Liruan wanted to ask him, "Are you really so indifferent to what happened to the Empress in the end?"
But I couldn't bring myself to ask that question.
Whether it's good or bad, Lu Liruan felt that something would still linger in Ji Shumin's heart.
Lu Liruan considered herself not to be a petty person, but neither was she to be so humble or broad-minded.
If it were her own situation, Lu Liruan wouldn't know how to react. If the person who treated her this way suffered a terrible fate, but she was her own flesh and blood, would she feel joy or be extremely conflicted about her suffering?
Lu Liruan breathed a long sigh of relief when Ji Shumin decided not to get involved in the matter, and she felt a subtle respect for Ji Shuqin for taking on this responsibility.
The Empress was in the palace, her mind unsettled. She had never felt so uneasy before, as if everything was going against her thoughts and desires.
On the day the Emperor passed away, the Empress knelt before the Buddha statue all night. She neither copied scriptures nor prayed; she simply knelt there empty-headedly, doing nothing.
But when the sunlight shone into the palace the next day, falling on her plain-colored clothes, the empress slowly raised her eyelids and looked at the dust particles dancing in the hazy light. Suddenly, something seemed to burst forth in her heart, making her feel as if she were in a dream.
So many years... I feel a deep sense of loss.
She rose as if possessed, and Granny Ma stepped forward to support her: "Your Highness, go and rest for a while."
"His Highness the Crown Prince just sent someone to ask if you would like to get up... to take a look?"
The Empress glanced indifferently in the direction of the Emperor's bedroom: "I'm not going. Let's rest."
Ji Shuqin never visited her again after that.
The Empress felt that with the passing of the late Emperor, her days in the palace would never be the same again.
Unexpectedly, Ji Shuqin completely disregarded what she said. Not only that, but he also opposed her in everything. She poured her heart and soul into thinking about him, but he simply did not understand her good intentions!
Moreover... the Empress realized that she was not as she had imagined, but was now the most unassailable person in the harem, with a noble status.
Now, everyone in the harem seems to ignore her as the Empress! It's as if they've excluded her and no one cares about her thoughts.
The Phoenix Seal is no longer under her control. The current Empress Dowager, now the Grand Empress Dowager, still holds absolute power in the harem.
It was precisely because of this that the Empress lost her composure and uttered those words of dissatisfaction towards the Dowager Consort when facing Ji Shuqin that day, which she found utterly inexplicable.
Why has everyone praised the Dowager Consort for so many years?
Is it possible that no one can see through the Empress Dowager's thoughts? Is she the only one who can understand them?
Why does everyone praise the Dowager Consort so highly, but no one ever mentions himself?
The Empress was once the most admired noblewoman in the capital, a model in everything she did. As a descendant of a military family, she enjoyed immense prestige. Therefore, when she was chosen as Empress, she did not actually feel any resentment.
The empress is the mother of the nation, the most noble, and the mother of all women in the world. She felt that she could certainly do a good job.
But after entering the palace, she found that everything was different from what she had imagined. She was no longer the noble lady who was admired by everyone, but instead became a woman who was blamed and disliked by others.
The Empress couldn't accept it, which was a major reason for her resentment over the years. She had never been able to convince herself why she had become like this!
Just when she thought she could find the person she had imagined herself to be, she realized in the end that it was still just a mirage, a reflection in the water, and that it was all just her imagination, and no one could make it a reality for her.
The Dowager Consort was the kind of person she had almost always longed for. Over the years, she had never held the Dowager Consort in the same reverence she had for others. The Dowager Consort was, after all, just the Emperor Emeritus's consort, and she only got to sit in that position because she chose the Emperor back then.
The Empress always scrutinized the Dowager Consort, observing why she had ended up in such a state. However, the Empress never figured out the reason, and as a result, she harbored an ever-growing resentment towards the Dowager Consort.
Why! Why!
Her own son has now ascended the throne, so why is she not even as good as a concubine dowager...?
The Empress kept these words to herself; she couldn't tell Ji Shuqin, but her own child didn't understand, which made her feel increasingly bitter and sorrowful.
She never felt that her suggestion to have Ji Shuqin kill Ji Shumin to preserve and consolidate her own position was wrong. Hadn't all emperors done the same? Wasn't she wrong?
"Granny, why is it so noisy outside today?"
The Empress suffered a headache last night.
She spent many years in the temple worrying and often couldn't sleep at night, which caused her to develop many health problems. She often felt dizzy and lightheaded, unable to muster any energy, and would feel vertigo whenever she stood up.
She hadn't slept again last night, and today she lazily leaned against the wall until almost noon when she heard a series of sounds coming from a place that seemed both far and not too far from Fengyi Palace.
"My lady..."
Looking at her expression, Granny Ma hesitated, unsure of what to say.
"What? Is there anything in this palace that I cannot know?" The Empress sat up, leaning against the bedding behind her. Her illness had made her more irritable these days.
"It was...it was the Emperor's decree that the late Emperor's harem be opened, allowing the families of the late Emperor's concubines to come in and visit the ladies, as a way of offering some comfort..." said Granny Ma.
In the days leading up to the late emperor's death, he was barely recognizable as a human being. The empress had ordered the concubines to take turns caring for him, so almost no one in the harem dared to breathe loudly. Some timid concubines were so frightened that they fell ill, while others spent their days sighing and weeping in their own palaces.
Now that the late emperor's coffin has been placed in the imperial mausoleum, it is only natural for the new emperor to show favor and treat the late emperor's concubines with courtesy.
But this matter did not go through the Empress, who is now the Empress Dowager!
"How could I not know about this?"
The Empress's lips curled into a mocking smile: "This matter must have been orchestrated by the Grand Empress Dowager again, right? She certainly knows how to play the game... No wonder she was able to remain so composed in front of the late Emperor for so many years."
She seemed to be talking to herself, or perhaps to Granny Ma.
"Now that the late emperor has passed away, she immediately turns around and tries to curry favor with Qin'er!"
The empress wanted to get down, but as soon as her feet touched the ground, she felt very heavy.
I was wobbling and almost fell over...
Granny Ma quickly helped him back to bed.
"Your Highness, you should just lie in bed peacefully. These are all useless trivial matters, and it's not worth your trouble, is it?" Granny Ma comforted her softly.
"You... you only know how to say the nicest things to me." The Empress shook her head.
"If things continue like this, I might not even outlive the Empress Dowager! She's still healthy and strong, and she has things to do every day. How can she not be allowed to shine?"
"If you ask me... the Empress Dowager should rest more. Otherwise, if an elderly noblewoman doesn't take care of herself in her old age, she will eventually not be able to bear it!" She became even more sarcastic.
That's really an unpleasant thing to say.
Soon, the news reached Lu Liruan's ears.
When Lu Liruan heard that Xiao Xizi had returned to his old ways and was stumbling over his words, her first reaction wasn't anger, but rather she turned to Ji Shumin beside her and asked, "Are you planting spies in the palace?"
Ji Shumin nodded.
"Are you still planting spies in the palace? Does your brother know about this?"
Lu Liruan thought to herself, "You planted spies when your father was alive, and you still plant spies when your brother is in the palace. I think you don't want to hear anything; you just like to plant spies on other people's turf!"
Perhaps the meaning conveyed in Lu Liruan's eyes was too obvious, because Ji Shumin quickly understood.
"They were just left undiscovered before. Since they're still in the palace, why not leave them there? They'll be more comfortable that way, won't they?"
Lu Liruan glanced at Ji Shumin, who seemed calm and composed, as if what he said made perfect sense: Are you talking nonsense?
Ji Shumin was always somewhat vague in his words, and Lu Liruan had no idea what the two brothers were really up to.
But now that Ji Shuqin has taken that position, will Ji Shumin's actions, in the long run...?
"What are you thinking about?" Ji Shumin narrowed his eyes slightly, leaned closer to Lu Liruan, and rested on Lu Liruan's shoulder like a boneless cat.
"Hmm?" Lu Liruan thought to herself, "Why am I overthinking this? You, with your eight million cunning minds, are you now completely trusting your brother? Completely unguarded, loving him for life, and believing he will never change?"
To everyone's surprise, Ji Shumin's next words were: "We can't find out. We don't expect them to find out any useful secrets now. How can we be discovered if we just stay put?"
Lu Liruan: ...
A rather unconventional yet overly confident idea.
As evening fell, the bustling sounds outside, which also carried a faint hint of joy, finally subsided. The Empress did not sleep a wink that day.
The next day, the Empress found out, and even members of the Rong family were allowed to enter the palace to visit.
Consort Rong, on the other hand, paid little attention to it, presumably because she was heartbroken and unwilling to be manipulated anymore.
When the Seventh Prince got into trouble, the Rong family not only did their utmost for her, but they also wanted to sever all ties with her, fearing that the Consort's affair would implicate their own family.
Unexpectedly, the new emperor is such a kind-hearted person. Now that he wants to go to the palace to reconcile with Consort Rong, they are willing to swallow their pride, but how can Consort Rong let it go so easily?
The Rong family came shamelessly and left feeling resentful and awkward. They said they wanted to visit the Seventh Prince, but were met with a cold stare from Consort Rong and suddenly didn't know what to say.
Consort Rong retains her former title; she is now known as Consort Rong Dowager.
The white hair at her temples can no longer be hidden; it shines so brightly that it has robbed her of her former charm and instead gave her a touch of majesty.
"Who are you people, daring to casually request an audience with the prince?" Consort Rong asked slowly and deliberately.
Her aunt and uncle, who had come to see her, looked embarrassed. They wanted to say that they were naturally the Seventh Prince's relatives and elders, but the words stuck in their throats. Looking at Consort Rong's disdainful gaze, they couldn't bring themselves to say it.
"It's getting late, and I'm tired, so I won't entertain you any longer," Consort Rong said, waving her hand dismissively as she looked at their expressions.
Now that she has overcome all obstacles and is no longer capricious, the emperor who wanted to use his son's blood to live a long life has come to live in the new emperor's palace, which has greatly relieved her.
As long as things stay peaceful and stable, she and her child should have an easier time from now on...
The other women in the palace thought the same way.
The new emperor does not yet have his own harem. Some of them have the idea of sending their own daughters into the palace, but since they are still in mourning, they can only plot in secret.
But soon they and their maternal families realized that although the new emperor was benevolent, he was extremely well-informed. Before they could figure it out, the families who had harbored such thoughts were given a light but not light reprimand.
This news spread privately and everyone knew about it. This was also the new emperor establishing his authority, because they were indeed unable to escape the new emperor's eyes. He could know what he wanted to know and see through what he wanted to see through.
Lu Liruan only realized what Ji Shumin meant after a long time.
Where did all his spies go, except those still in the palace?
He probably went to do business for the new emperor. Ji Shuqin didn't need to sneak around to find out; Ji Shumin directly gave him a group of spies to serve him.
It really is... an unexpectedly deep bond between brothers.
After the late emperor's death, things gradually calmed down, and everything seemed to return to normal. The new emperor went to court and handled state affairs in an orderly manner, and there was no discomfort in the court, because the new emperor had been acting as regent for a long time since the late emperor's illness.
It was thought that the new emperor's temperament would allow him to recuperate for a while, giving the court officials who had just experienced a storm a chance to catch their breath.
Unexpectedly, when spring was in full bloom and flowers were in bloom, at the most beautiful time of the year, the new emperor, who was always gentle and prudent in his actions, suddenly mentioned in court: "Your Majesty the Empress Dowager will soon set off to reside in the National Temple again to pray for the late emperor and for the people of the world!"
The crowd was in an uproar. The incident caused a great stir. Everyone was puzzled, yet felt that there was a deeper meaning behind it.
How did the late emperor place the Empress Dowager in that mountain temple back then...?
The new emperor was sent to a mountain temple with the empress dowager when he was young. Now almost no one talks about it. Why would the new emperor send the empress dowager to the temple to pray for blessings?
He was clearly raised by the Empress Dowager for so many years with great care and hardship, how could he be like his father, the Emperor? Everyone had their own thoughts.
Upon hearing this news, the Empress Dowager's vision went black, and she suddenly fainted.