Consort Yu lost the child in her belly in the end. It was said that since the baby was hurt when she gave birth and the infant was too big and preterm labor, a formed infant died. On the contrary, Consort Yu was saved after great effort.
However, as the Emperor’s son died, the emperor was angry at Consort Yu being haughty and stirring up trouble, so he left, without even looking at Consort Yu.
For a moment, everyone in the palace quieted down. One of the two favored imperial consorts was thrown into the Cold Palace, and the other lost her child, as well as the Emperor’s favor. The latter’s life would be no difference to those in the Cold Palace. It could be said that the battle between Consort Yu and Consort Zhao resulted in both sides suffering. The imperial consorts who wanted to fight in the harem had to think if they could make sure that they wouldn’t get involved when they did something. Otherwise, they might end up the same as Consort Zhao and Consort Yu.
The one who was the most furious and resentful was, of course, the Empress Dowager. It was said that the Empress Dowager had changed another batch of porcelain in her palace that night, and the former porcelain got knocked over by her dog. King Ning, Feng Yuzhen, had received a letter in his home that night. He had lost his composure and had beaten up all the concubines beside him before chasing them away.
This matter caused a big scene. It was said that the cause was the struggle between several concubines, which led to the death of a baby who was still in a concubine’s womb. Feng Yuzhen was so angry that he drove them away.
Of course, this was a mere trifle compared to Consort Yu’s miscarriage in the imperial palace. Everyone’s attention was focused on Consort Yu’s matter. Since Consort Yu had lost her power, Yu Mingyong was no longer the little bully who could do whatever he wanted in the capital back then. The young masters who had been trying to butter up to him immediately turned against him.
In less than two days, Yu Mingyong had been beaten so hard that he had to lie on bed.
The Yu Manor had wanted to gang up with Yu Mingyong so that they would have nothing to worry about in the future. Unexpectedly, such a thing had happened, and they immediately shrank their heads and did not dare to go to Yu Mingyong’s house. Yu Feng had gone around in the study many times, but he could not come up with a solution. Previously, he had followed Yu Mingyong’s lead and had gotten involved in many things. Once Consort Yu lost her power, he was not having an easy time.
In the evening, a letter was sent to his room. After reading it, he stayed in the study alone, and even had meal in it.
What happened in the palace had widely affected the court, but fortunately, it didn’t affect the banquet for the top three in the imperial examinations.
Feng Yuran had entered the palace early in the morning. He had slowly spread the news that Mo Xuetong was getting better in the past few days in order to shut Emperor Zongwen’s mouth. He was afraid that his father would give him a second consort or someone like that. Feng Yuran felt that his life was good now and did not want to return to the “highly prosperous lives” he used to live in.
Only Mo Xuetong’s health had been a constant worry to him. Therefore, he had to speed up and clear his way here so that he could fight with Bai Yihao with all his heart. If there was another person in the world whom he could not see through, it would be Bai Yihao. The man seemed to always be clean. However, since he could survive in the palace without the protection of his mother, everyone knew that he was by no means clean!
Fortunately, the battle in Yan Kingdom was also heated and no one could be distracted!
As a matter of fact, Feng Yuran felt that he had to thank the First Prince of Yan Kingdom and his aunt, the Empress. Because of their cooperation, he could maintain a temporary balance when confronting Bai Yihao.
Feng Yuran had a feeling that the Bai Yihao could stabilize the situation in such a short time because he had the same attitude as him. He had to stabilize the situation in his country first, and then, he would have energy to deal with the outside world. When Bai Yihao was still in Qin Kingdom, Feng Yuran felt that he treated Mo Xuetong differently. Especially when he was about to leave, he even set up a trap for Feng Yuran, which made him have no choice but…
At the thought of this, a hint of viciousness appeared in Feng Yuran’s charming eyes. No matter what happened, Tong’er was his. Bai Yihao wanted to take Tong’er away from him? Forget it!
Liu Xi, the general manager of Qianqing Palace, saw King Xuan walking over slowly from afar, but the young man didn’t seem in a good mood. His handsome brows were raised, looking fierce. One could tell that he was in a bad mood. Liu Xi hurried up to greet him with a smile. “Your Highness, you’re finally here. How is Her Lady feeling? How is the medicine? Look, His Majesty has urged me to visit her for several times.”
A while back, Mo Xuetong was in poor health, so Liu Xi conducted Emperor Zongwen’s order to send some medicinal herbs over. Now what he asked showed his concern and kindness.
“Not bad. Thank you, general manager. Tong’er said that she would come directly to thank you when she gets better in a few days.” Feng Yuran hid the coldness in his eyes and smiled devilishly. He cast a sidelong glance at Liu Xi lazily and pointed at the door of the imperial study. “Father isn’t angry, is he?”
“Of course not. As soon as Your Highness comes, His Majesty’s great anger will disappear.” Liu Xi nodded and bowed, laughing as walking.
“Why did I hear differently from what you said? Isn’t it said that even if Father is in the best mood, he will jump when he sees me? Why did you say as if I’m Father’s fun? I might as well come back later and see if Father will jump or not!”
Feng Yuran stated leisurely as he walked in, with his lips curving into a casual smile.
“How could that be? Your Highness, His Majesty is waiting for you. You can’t leave,” Liu Xi cried out anxiously when he thought that Feng Yuran was serious.
The Emperor still did not have any food. He locked himself in the imperial study and did not allow anyone to enter. No one dared to enter rashly. Liu Xi was extremely anxious. How could he allow Feng Yuran to go back like this when he had seen him? Except King Xuan, no one would dare to go against the order and enter the study without being punished.
“What’s the matter with Father?” Feng Yuran stopped and looked at Liu Xi, his eyes twinkling. The faint smile on his lips made Liu Xi feel scared. It was not easy to fool this prince. Besides, others did not know what the Emperor’s expectation for him, but Liu Xi could see it clearly. Therefore, he did not dare to hide it. He laughed dryly and looked around. Then, he turned around and whispered in Feng Yuran’s ear.
“His Majesty read the record of interrogating Consort Zhao in the imperial harem in the morning, and then he locked himself in the study. Your Highness, you’d better go and have a look first!”
As soon as Consort Zhao was locked up in the Cold Palace, the Emperor sent someone to interrogate her. As he got the record, his face darkened. Liu Xi was the Emperor’s trusted subordinate, but he did not dare to disturb him at this time. He had been walking back and forth outside the study for many rounds. When he saw Feng Yuran, he breathed a sigh of relief. Since the Emperor was not in good health, and was in such a rage, Liu Xi had been worried about him.
“Consort Zhao?”
“Yes. I heard that it’s about what happened more than 10 years ago. His Majesty is very angry!” Liu Xi sighed. This matter was a knot in the father’s and son’s hearts. The father and son had argued for many times because of Consort Zhao. Especially the rash King Xuan had always thought that Consort Zhao was not a good person. However, the Emperor had always protected Consort Zhao because of her face that was very similar to Consort Xian’s.
“I’ll go in and take a look right now.” Feng Yuran smiled coolly. He waved his sleeves and strode in, with a plan in mind.
He had been disliking Consort Zhao all the time, always feeling that her face, which was similar to his mother’s, was extremely unreal. However, Consort Zhao had been very careful then and no one could find anything wrong with her. She had been so kind to Feng Yuran that even Emperor Zongwen had praised her, and claimed that he wanted to keep Feng Yuran under Consort Zhao’s name.
Even though Feng Yuran was very young then, he was an independent person. Emperor Zongwen did not listen to what he said, so he could only think of another way. He asked his servants to find some poison, placed it in his bowl and drank it. Then he got poisoned. After that, Emperor Zongwen did not trust anyone in the palace and sent him out of the palace to keep him outside.
It lasted for 10 years, and Consort Zhao had been quiet in the palace and had never gone out of Mingyue Palace for 10 years.
When Feng Yuran returned, Consort Zhao still had never done misdeeds, and Emperor Zongwen was still protecting her. However, Feng Yuran was no longer the child who had no choice but to poison himself. He slowly and deliberately pushed everything in the palace to go on. He found a way to release Consort Zhao first so that he could carry out the plan. Then, accidents would happen and Emperor Zongwen would discover that Consort Zhao was far from the gentle and amiable woman he had imagined.
At this point, his father must have found out something!
He could not help walking anxiously. When his mother died, he was too small. He once felt that it was the Empress who poisoned his mother. But in fact, he still did not find it out. Although he had a few people in the palace, since he did not have his mother in the palace, he could not reach too far.
What happened back then was a secret that he could not investigate it as he wished!
Unless his father gave the order in person!
The imperial study was very quiet. The little eunuchs outside the door all lowered their heads. Even the general manager hid aside and remained quiet. The little eunuchs, of course, did not dare to show any more expressions. The atmosphere behind the door was cold even though there was still a long distance. The master inside was in a bad mood today.
Feng Yuran entered the imperial study and saw that Emperor Zongwen had his eyes closed and was leaning against a large nanmu wood chair. His face was pale and he looked tired. Even though he had a calm look on his face, the corners of his eyes and brows trembled from time to time. It was obvious that he was extremely angry. The corners of the paper on the table were a little messy.
Feng Yuran took two steps forward, picked up the file from the table and cast a few glances at it. Then a hint of anger flashed in his eyes. He took the file and was about to leave.
“Old Eight, wait.” Emperor Zongwen opened his eyes and said calmly.
“Father, is there any need for the He family to exist?” Feng Yuran turned around, his handsome face filled with anger as he looked at Emperor Zongwen, unyielding.
“That’s your mother’s family, after all. It’s your uncle’s family.” Emperor Zongwen stopped him. He also hated the He family. He did not expect that the He family would order Consort Zhao behind the scenes. The He family sent Consort Xian to the imperial palace, but because she did not speak well of them in front of the Emperor, they bore grudges against her. The purpose of sending Consort Zhao into the palace was to fight for favor with Consort Xian, and then to kill her.
This was the truth of Consort Xian’s death! And there was only one fact. It was all because He family fought for favor and wealth. Feng Yuran did not think there was a need for such a family to exist. He even had an impulse to kill all the He family members and use their blood as a sacrifice to his mother and to comfort her soul in heaven.
Although the Empress came to threaten Consort Xian, Consort Xian would not have been dead if Consort Zhao had not tried to kill her. Besides, Consort Zhao had been sent to the palace by the He family…
