The imperial physician left uneasily. Steward Wang returned to the outside of Feng Yuran’s bedroom. He hesitated for a moment before he entered. He truly could not make a decision.
“Why were you walking up and down outside?” Feng Yuran asked lightly, not opening his eyes. He tapped his long and slim fingers by the bed casually and seemed to be in a good mood.
“Your Highness, the He family also sent someone to congratulate you on your wedding. Should we leave them inside or outside the manor?” No matter what, the He family was the prince’s maternal family. If they were to be set up outside the manor, it would not look good. However, not only would the prince be upset should they be settled inside the manor, but it would also be inconvenient.
Even though Steward Wang knew that Feng Yuran did not like the He family, he still reported the news to the prince. No matter what had happened, since the He family was here, the prince had to entertain them.
“Who from the He family came?” Feng Yuran asked with an interested tone. He continued tapping the sides of the bed with his slender fingers.
“First and Second Sir of the He family came as well as two young ladies from the He family who just turned 15. They are said to be the daughters of the two men.” Steward Wang answered carefully. He sighed to himself. Everyone knew what the two men were plotting. Yet, they still said they were here to congratulate the prince with a sincere look on their faces. He did not know what the two men were thinking. Did they think the prince would acknowledge them after what happened?
“Let them stay outside the manor. I can’t afford to feed them.” Feng Yuran said with closed eyes and a lazy tone.
“But I fear others might…” Steward Wang’s meaning was clear.
“When have I ever cared about what others say?” Feng Yuran opened his phoenix-eyes with a vague smile. He glanced at Steward Wang and said, “Have them stay outside the manor. I have two beautiful cousins, there must be some use of them.”
“Your Highness, you mean?” Steward Wang’s eyes glimmered and he suddenly understood. He knew Feng Yuran well after serving him for a long time. He understood Feng Yuran’s intentions before he even finished his sentence.
“I don’t need to have any intentions. They already have their own. You don’t have to care much about them. Just settle them down outside the manor. I do not want my little wife to be challenged by others before she even marries me.” Feng Yuran’s beautiful lips curled up slightly. A brilliant smile appeared on his handsome and flawless face.
The He family had never been peaceful. There were some things that he did not even have to help along with. It was a coincidence; he heard his father talking about it a few days ago. Consort Zhao, who had always been locked up deep in the palace was interested in coming out. Then, the He family made their move at the same time. It seemed that the woman locked up deep in the palace was not completely unaware of what was happening outside.
“Yes, I will arrange it immediately.” Steward Wang understood what Feng Yuran wanted. He nodded and was about to leave.
“Is Shen Kun back?” Feng Yuran asked.
“He just returned to the manor and was waiting outside earlier.”
“Get him to come in.”
“Yes.”
Steward Wang left the room. Then, Shen Kun entered. He bowed to Feng Yuran respectfully before moving to stand at the side with his hands by his side.
“How does the matter go?”
“Rest assured, Your Highness. You Yuelian did appear near where the accident happened yesterday. More than one person saw him. However, they only saw his back and his clothes. After the accident, only some traces were left behind. It was not obvious.” Shen Kun reported, his head hung low.
“That is enough.” Feng Yuran waved his hand. Then, he smiled thoughtfully, “You do not need to care about what is happening at Duke Zhenguo’s Manor. I don’t even have time to deal with my own matters, much less others. Imperial Noble Consort Su and the Empress are fighting right now. Have our men be more careful with what they are doing. If nothing happens, they just have to watch the show.”
“Rest assured, Your Highness. Our men rarely make moves and will not act rashly. They only give the matter a small nudge on your orders at the crucial moment. No one will suspect us. However, we cannot deal with small matters either. We still do not have concrete evidence against Grand Secretariat Wang and Duke Ding.”
“Don’t worry. Father has already played this move of chess for us. We will see how Third Brother will get himself out of this. King Ning can’t get peace, neither can King Yan. Your men just have to wait. The people in the back of the palace should not make any moves for now.” Feng Yuran said, waving his hands.
“You Yuecheng found Sima Lingyun a position on the Golden Elite Forces. It is said that he is waiting for a chance to tell the Emperor about it.” Shen Kun said.
Feng Yuran’s eyes darkened for a moment. Then, he shook his head and smiled, “You Yuecheng is willing to tie himself with Sima Lingyun. We do not need to make trouble. Someone like Sima Lingyun will not succeed and will get into trouble instead. Furthermore, he is like a medicine patch. You can’t remove it once you stick it on. Let them stick together but we must not let him get that spot so easily.”
Those in the Golden Elite Forces were all descendants of warriors who contributed to the nation. It was no big deal for Sima Lingyun to join them. However, Feng Yuran was really unwilling to have Sima Lingyun and You Yuecheng settle their debts just like that. If You Yuecheng did not owe Sima Lingyun anything, Sima Lingyun would not be able to get any closer to You Yuecheng. Feng Yuran had to make sure that they would find it hard to part from each other.
“I understand.” Shen Kun understood immediately. This was what he was in charge of and he naturally knew what to do.
“Eldest Brother and Third Brother have planned this for so many years. Send the message to Eldest Brother. He would definitely be more than happy to do something like that and upset Third Brother.” Feng Yuran’s voice turned cold. His voice was sinisterly frigid as he continued, “The two of them are always plotting against me. It is a pity they have underestimated me. Even if they are tigers, they will have to lay down in front of me.”
Shen Kun blinked, not understanding what the prince meant for the moment. King Yan and King Chu have plotted against him for many years. Yet, he had never seen the prince got angry. Why was he really angry about it today?
“Shen Kun, do you know what to do?”
Shen Kun quickly organized his thoughts and answered, “Yes, I understand. Please rest assured. I will make King Chu embed shrapnel in King Yan without anyone knowing anything. There is naturally someone more suited for Sima Lingyun’s position. I fear Marquess Mingguo’s plot is not very reliable.”
“When those from the He family come, tell Steward Wang to take them out on walks often if there is nothing going on. The capital is a flourishing place and is much better than a corner of a remote place.”
It was flourishing and grand, and could not be compared to a distant place in a corner of Jiangnan. The more reluctant the He family was, the more trouble there would be. The more trouble there was, the more incidents would happen. He would find out what happened then no matter what it was. No matter who it was in the palace who killed his mother, he would not let her off.
“Yes. I understand.” Steward Wang saw Feng Yuran lean backward and lie flat on the bed. He knew that Feng Yuran did not want to say anything else and he left.
In the palace.
Imperial Consort Su picked a day on which there was good weather to pray for blessings for the Empress Dowager.
Imperial Consort Su felt the most comfortable when the Empress Dowager was ill!
King Yan had been taken down a notch for no reason and had two second consorts allocated to him. Then, he was locked up.
The second consorts had arrived before the first consort. It was an embarrassing matter no matter what. It was embarrassing to the Mingguo Manor and King Yan. How could Imperial Consort Su not be delighted about it?
The matter earlier had toned down slightly. Even though Feng Yuxuan was berated as well, at least nothing embarrassing happened to him.
The Empress had been ordered by the Emperor to take care of the ailing Empress Dowager. She did not have the energy to manage matters of the back of the palace. Imperial Consort Wen did not care, so Imperial Consort Su was now in charge. This pleased her greatly.
The Emperor rebuked the Empress because of what the Fifth Princess did. They were slightly distant from each other now. She heard that the Emperor had not visited the Empress’ Tianfeng Palace in a long while. This news was a huge blow to King Yan. Of course, to Imperial Consort Su, this news was amazing. The Empress’ fall from grace meant that she would be able to climb upwards. It would be great if the Empress was dethroned. Then, she would be able to take the Empress’ place. Xuan’er would become a true legitimate son. Then, there would be nothing to fight for…
“Your Highness, which pin would you like to use today?” The palace maid stuttered, pointing at a box filled with pins.
“This one.” Imperial Consort Su picked an ordinary pin lazily. However, her gaze was on the nine-feathered phoenix pin at the most inside of the box. Her gaze was filled with desire.
“Your Highness, shall we use this phoenix pin? It is the most beautiful of them all.” The palace maid was quick to catch on and she immediately raised the phoenix pin in front of Imperial Consort Su. The phoenix pin with gold pearl tassels was beautiful and dignified. It was like a proud phoenix.
“This one can’t be used right now.” Imperial Consort Su pushed the nine-feathered phoenix pin in front of her away. she could not use the phoenix pin. The nine-feathered phoenix pin represented the Empress’ status. She was only just an imperial consort right now. There was practically no chance of her becoming an empress in her lifetime unless Xuan’er became the Emperor. She would then become the Empress Dowager. She would then be of equal footing with the Empress and that was when she would be able to use the nine-feathered phoenix pin.
Other than that, there was no other way she would be able to wear it.
As such, she could only look at it secretly now.
“Your Highness, the Empress will not be there anyway. You are now in charge of the palaces now and there is no difference between you and the Empress. Why would it matter if you wear it for a while!” The palace maid said with a smile when she saw that the consort was still looking at the nine-feathered phoenix pin longingly.
“It’s alright. This pin will do.” Consort Su took the nine-feathered phoenix pin away from the palace maid and threw it into the jewelry box. There was a cold smile on her lips. She should not make any hasty mistakes now even more so. There would be plenty of opportunities to wear that in the future. Why should she do something that would cause others to speak badly about her at such a crucial time?
“Pick the nicest Buddha statue and place it together with the one from the Empress. Let the others see which one of us is more sincere.” Imperial Consort Su smiled coldly as she looked at her beautiful face in the mirror.
Her eldest brother had not let her down. He found a Buddha statue that was even better than the Empress’ at the last moment. She did not believe that she cannot make the Emperor see how sincere she was.
“Your Highness, the Buddha statue is so precious and is embedded with so many precious stones and pearls. One look at it and people can tell that it is a precious treasure that has been blessed. The Empress Dowager and the Emperor would definitely be pleased if they know how sincere you are. They will definitely think highly of you even more so.” The palace maid gently slotted in the pin into Imperial Consort Su’s fine hair as she buttered up to the woman. From the mirror, one could see the reflection of a beautiful woman.
The blessing ceremony was in an empty palace hall. The hall was filled with Buddha statues from various palaces and families. The one in the middle was from the Empress, and slightly below that, was Imperial Consort Su’s. It was reasonable for her statue to be placed together with the Empress since she was in charge of the ceremony today.
Women, who were titled, all knelt on the floor to pray for blessings for the Empress Dowager.
The women knelt for a while and prayed for a while because the ceremony was going to take up an entire day. Smoke drifted in the air and wafts of incense scents could be smelled. An eminent monk had been invited to discuss religious rites in front. It was dignified and grand.
Most of the noblewomen were slightly tired after half a day. However, when they saw Imperial Consort Su, who knelt at the very front with her back ramrod straight, they immediately pulled themselves together again. They were in the palace and there was more than one person watching them. If they were to be just the slightest bit careless and something untoward happens to the Empress Dowager, they would be the first to get into trouble. No one could take responsibility for their entire family being slaughtered. As such, they perked up and tried their best to listen to the monk speak and prayed for the Empress Dowager.
Imperial Consort Su knelt at the front with her head lowered. She seemed extremely devout. She was made up plainly today and wore only an ordinary pin in her hair and nothing else. She seemed gentle and gracious and very elegant. The other consorts were all dressed plainly as well, none of them going against the rules.
It was very silent inside the hall. The monk’s calm voice washed over them. It was vaguely passionate!
The sound of urgent running could be heard suddenly. A palace maid ran in, lifting her skirts up without decorum. The calming atmosphere in the hall was broken. The noblewomen opened their eyes and looked at Imperial Consort Su, whom the palace maid was running towards. Shocked expressions appeared on their faces. The palace was a place in which decorum was most important. Why was Imperial Consort Su’s palace maid behaving so inappropriately?
Before anyone could react, the palace maid whispered something into Imperial Consort Su’s ears. The consort’s face paled immediately and seemed to want to stand. However, she could not stand as she held on to the palace maid’s hand. She shook and almost fell. Then, she got up and did not speak with anyone. She hurried towards the outside with the help of the palace maid.
Some of the women with sharper eyes even saw Imperial Consort Su pale in shock and her stumbling steps.
Something serious happened…
The noblewomen in the hall looked at each other, unable to react.
Even the monk seated in front watched on with wide eyes. Then, he lowered his head again and started to chant once more!
