PFC Chapter 232 The Ruthless and Disabled Crown Prince (132)
Chapter 232 The Ruthless and Disabled Crown Prince (132)
Lu Liruan hadn't even eaten breakfast. She was a little apprehensive at first, taking only a couple of bites, but after a while, she noticed that the Empress just had a stern face and no other reaction, so Lu Liruan relaxed a bit more.
When she served the second bowl of porridge, the Empress's expression turned even more unpleasant. She had never seen such a clueless girl before!
If Lu Liruan knew what she was thinking, she would just roll her eyes: What, you're not going to say anything? Are you angry and expecting me to guess? Can't you see that neither of your two sons wants to guess?
Seeing that Lu Liruan was looking at a plate of jujube cakes on the other side of the table, Ji Shumin leaned over to get it for her.
"bump".
Before Ji Shumin could even pick it up, a soft sound was heard as the Empress placed the cup on the table, a sound that seemed to resonate in everyone's heart in the quiet environment.
"Min'er, where is your manners?" the Empress asked in a low, somber voice.
Her eyes, which were quite similar to Ji Shumin's but even more sinister and resentful, looked over: "Aren't your hands... reaching too far?"
Anyone could tell that the Empress was implying something, that there was a deeper meaning behind it, and that she was not referring to the incident of Ji Shumin eating jujube cake.
Ji Shumin didn't even lift his eyelids. He steadily placed the pastries into the plate in front of Lu Liruan, then leisurely withdrew his hand and leaned back on the soft cushion behind him.
He said leisurely, "In my own residence, I've always done whatever I wanted; there aren't many rules..."
You come to my house and point fingers at me. Who is the one who has the longer reach?
Ji Shumin pretended not to understand her unspoken message and used it to his advantage to return the favor.
"When did Min'er develop this habit? It doesn't matter in her own residence, but if she continues like this elsewhere..." The Empress's tone was cold, her gaze filled with resentment as she swept over Ji Shumin and Lu Liruan.
Lu Liruan couldn't help but get goosebumps on her arms.
She still remembered the first time she met the Empress. She felt that the Empress's expression was empty and cold, as if she was wearing a mask without emotion. From that moment on, Lu Liruan had no good feelings towards her.
But the empress back then wasn't so obsessive. Now, Lu Liruan felt as if her gaze was poisoned, and the resentment and obsession within it were almost tangible.
Stripped of the Buddhist veneer used to conceal her true feelings, she was no longer the person she had been cultivating in the temple for many years; rather, she had been immersed in resentment and malice.
Lu Liruan felt... she might be the most insane one!
She couldn't swallow the sweet pastry she had just taken a bite of; the food she had just eaten felt heavy in her stomach. Lu Liruan took a sip of tea to suppress the unease that was rising within her.
It's unclear what Ji Shumin will say. Given the Empress's current state, who knows what might happen if he provokes her...
Before Ji Shumin could speak again, Ji Shuqin, who had been sitting upright with his back straight like a silent wooden statue, spoke first.
"What exactly does Mother want to say or do? Just tell me. What brings you here to Min'er today?" he asked in a flat tone, which sounded calm but contained an overwhelming sense of repression.
The Empress turned her head quickly with a "whoosh." She was wearing heavy makeup today, but the delicate pearl powder failed to make her face look beautiful. Instead, it made her look stiff and rigid. Under the gloomy sky covered by dark clouds, she looked somewhat pale and frightening.
"I can't stand any sound. I'm so lonely and cold in Fengyi Palace all day long. Does Min'er want to tie my hands and feet so that I can't go anywhere?" she said coldly. "Then why not just nail me alive into a coffin and bury me in the ground?"
Lu Liruan gleaned from the Empress's words that Ji Shuqin had now controlled access to court information, preventing the Empress from being informed. This was quite unexpected; she hadn't anticipated that the Crown Prince could be so ruthless, rather than simply giving in after the Empress's outburst.
"Your Majesty, you flatter me. I have never intended to imprison you. I wonder what Your Majesty wishes to hear or see?" Ji Shuqin shook his head.
"Qin'er, I've been looking for you, but I can't find you anywhere..." the Empress lamented. "Do you really not want to see your mother? Are you coming here every day to avoid her?"
Lu Liruan looked at Ji Shumin. As their eyes met, Lu Liruan pouted. The way the Empress spoke made it sound like the Third Prince's residence was some kind of shameful place.
"Mother, I have things to do and cannot be by your side every day." Ji Shuqin knew that the Empress was always looking for him. Every time he returned to the palace at night, a palace servant would come to report that the Empress had sent someone to invite His Highness again today. Hearing that His Highness was not there, he waited for a while before leaving.
The less Ji Shuqin could see her, the more determined the Empress seemed to be, sending people to visit him every day. This made Ji Shuqin even less willing to stay in the palace.
However, he did not come to Ji Shumin's place every day, and the Empress's words were truly an injustice to the Third Prince's residence.
"I was wondering why you suddenly acted this way... I never imagined you were being misled and bewitched. Today I will see for myself!" She saw three other people at a table, exchanging glances as if it were none of their business, seemingly not taking her seriously at all.
The Empress finally couldn't hold back any longer and shouted sharply!
"Min'er...why are you so ungrateful and ignorant! What did you say to Qin'er?" The Empress suddenly lashed out: "What exactly do you want to do? How long are you going to harm me!"
Her sudden outburst stunned everyone for a moment.
The Empress could no longer maintain her aloof demeanor. Her heart was boiling like molten iron, scorching her so much that she could not control her emotions and actions.
Since the day Ji Shuqin used his own words against the Empress, leaving her speechless, the relationship between mother and son became so strained for the first time. The false affection and peace that had been maintained for a long time after they returned to the palace were completely torn apart.
She couldn't sleep all night, feeling like she was being roasted and tormented, but she was completely helpless. She couldn't even sort out her own thoughts, let alone think about anything for the An family. So, she didn't really care how Ji Shuqin was dealt with later. What she cared about was never the current An family.
Finally, as she sat there until dawn broke once again, she realized what she needed to do!
When the Empress stepped into the Emperor's bedchamber after a long absence, she smelled the rotten and decaying odor in the room, sat down on the Emperor's couch without a care, sat quietly for a while, and then waved for the palace servants to leave.
De Cheng emerged from the shadows, bowed respectfully to the Empress, and silently withdrew, closing the door behind him...
The only sound in the room was the emperor's unconscious, indistinct moans. The pain of the poison's final onset was so intense that even in a state of delirium, one could not escape it, and could only suffer in a state of agonizing torment, neither alive nor dead—it was extremely cruel.
The Empress rose and, without hesitation, inserted a small bamboo ruler into his jaw, pried it open, and poured in a few pills. The pills seemed to have the effect of bringing back a moment of lucidity; after about the time it takes for an incense stick to burn, a trace of clarity slowly returned to the Emperor's eyes.
When he finally managed to move his gaze, he only saw the Empress's face.
"Your Majesty...Empress." His voice was so hoarse and rough that it was hard to hear; he hadn't drunk water in a long time.
His eyesight was failing, but even in the dim light, he could still sense the empress's strangeness. She exuded coldness and showed no respect or obedience whatsoever.
The Emperor was about to call for help when he heard the Empress speak: "You're awake?"
"You...Empress...What have you done! Ah—" The Emperor was not stupid throughout his life; on the contrary, he was extremely cautious and suspicious. Now that he had regained his senses, he vaguely sensed something...
He tried to get up, but as soon as he exerted force on his arm, the intense pain made him howl out loud!
Immediately afterwards, the emperor noticed the festering wounds on his body. The open wound on his arm rubbed against the blanket, leaving a dark bloodstain.
In the final stage, when the inside has been almost completely corroded, the poison will finally rise to the surface of the body. Although the empress does not come to visit, news of the emperor's condition reaches her palace every day.
Upon hearing this, the Empress knew that the Emperor's time was running out...
She finally made up her mind to come tonight.
After thinking it over for several days and nights, she finally figured out what she wanted: she wanted the Emperor to admit to her face that it was his fault back then, that all these years, it was all his fault!
"What does Your Majesty think I have done?" The Empress seemed oblivious to the stench, and moved closer to the Emperor, bending down to examine his distorted face.
"You! Is this how I've become, you poisonous woman?!" The emperor was terrified. He had been in a daze, and when he woke up, he found himself completely rotting away, which he could not accept at all!
He...he looks like he's going to die!
How could this be? He was the Son of Heaven, how could he possibly die? The Emperor trembled, utterly despairing!
"Wasn't it all because the Emperor forced me?" The Empress finally managed to vent the hatred she had held in her heart for so many years.
The Emperor was out of breath and unable to say much. He could only listen to the Empress recount the events of that year, word by word, sentence by sentence, things that he could hardly remember.
The Empress closed her eyes and asked softly, "Your Majesty, did you ever think of me and Qin'er even a little bit back then? Just how heartless and incapable of distinguishing right from wrong are you!"
"you……"
"All of this is your own fault. Are you in pain now? I was in far more pain back then than you are now! Hahahaha! I have sworn for so many years to make you taste what I'm like. How is it? Does it feel good?" The Empress opened her eyes and stared intently at the Emperor's face, not wanting to miss a single change.
She tried to see any remorse or regret in that ashen face, but she couldn't find it anywhere...
The emperor's face showed fear, anger, and pain, but not the look she wanted to see.
"What, Your Majesty still won't admit you're wrong?"
"How could I... how could I be wrong? You wicked woman, I spared your life back then..."
"Slap!" The Empress slapped the Emperor across the face. Then, as if she had found the best way to vent her anger, she pulled out the cushion that was placed under the Emperor's neck and started hitting him with it like a madwoman!
As if she were unleashing all the resentment she had harbored for so many years, in that instant, she seemed to regain the feeling of holding a sword in her hand...
When she finally stopped, panting heavily, the Emperor was barely breathing, his white nightgown stained with pus and blood. He was convulsing, and it took him a while to recover.
"Your Majesty, are you wrong? Have you failed me? If I had not entered the palace... this life..." the Empress murmured in a daze.
The emperor stared at her as if she were a madwoman, not daring to speak again, and desperately tried to cover his face, but he still did not admit that he had done wrong in the past.
The Empress, no longer able to maintain any semblance of composure, leaned back in her seat. Even if she were to kill him now, she could never undo the fact that her life had been wasted in this way, with no chance of turning back...
This was all she could do. The Empress had never felt so desperate. The despair drained her of all strength, and the suffocation she felt was not a little lessened. What meaning did her life have? What difference was there between her and being dead?
It was unclear how much time had passed before the Empress gradually came to her senses.
Her expression fell silent again.
"Since Your Majesty has already reached this point, then make Qin'er the Crown Prince. During the days when you were not lucid, it was Qin'er who presided over the affairs of state. Making him the Crown Prince will make his position more legitimate and can be seen as compensation for the coldness and indifference you showed him when he was young."
Upon hearing the name Ji Shuqin, the Emperor's expression suddenly became excited.
"Where is Qin'er! Where is Qin'er? I want to see Qin'er!" he murmured, a trickle of blood flowing from the corner of his mouth without him even noticing, which looked particularly terrifying in the dim candlelight.
"Why does Your Majesty want to see Qin'er?" the Empress asked quietly.
"Qin'er... Qin'er, save me! Qin'er, I won't look down on you, you poisonous woman..." The emperor had fallen into a slightly confused state again, and he kept muttering these few words over and over again.
"Does His Majesty still think Qin'er can save you?" the Empress mocked.
"Min'er... let Min'er come to see me..." The Emperor murmured Ji Shumin's name again.
He seemed to only remember that Ji Shuqin and Ji Shumin could save his life and grant him immortality...
"Only Your Majesty knows how you have treated Min'er all these years. Min'er might even wish for your death more than I do. Once Qin'er ascends the throne and the new emperor is benevolent, his life will truly be better... Your Majesty, do you know how many people wish for your death?" the Empress said slowly and clearly.
The emperor stared at the sky, it was unclear whether he had heard anything.
"Qin'er... Min'er..."
The Empress rose in disgust. She had already sent Decheng to search for the Imperial Seal, but they hadn't found it.
She came today to bring the Emperor to his senses, knowing that his days were numbered. Besides wanting to hear... she also wanted to take this opportunity to have him appoint Ji Shuqin as Crown Prince. But she never expected that even at this point, he would still be deluded and indulging in a fantasy!
The Empress pried open the Emperor's mouth and poured more medicine into it. Before the effects of the previous medicine had worn off, the Emperor's body began to convulse violently.
"Want to see Qin'er? I will have him come to see you."
Ji Shuqin went there late at night after receiving bad news from the emperor.
Seeing the strange look in his father's eyes, but unable to say anything, Ji Shuqin stayed with him for a while before turning away, unaware that despair was rising in the emperor's eyes on the bed.
He could see Ji Shuqin, but he couldn't say anything. The Empress was doing it on purpose!
She wanted to watch helplessly as her eldest son, who could have saved her, died!
Even at this point, the emperor still believed he could be cured.