790 Brother-in-law (3)
Emperor Wen Hui felt a headache coming on. At this moment, he didn’t want to see either of them. How could he not know that Consort Xu was trying to sow discord between him and the empress just to make things difficult for the crown prince? However, Emperor Wen Hui could not deny that what Consort Xu said was the truth. The crown prince’s matter was no longer just a matter that involved one person. Ming Qi could not afford to make any mistakes this time. If this matter was not handled well, no one could say for sure what kind of disaster it would bring to Ming Qi in the future.
At the thought of this, Emperor Wen Hui felt annoyed with the crown prince, and even became impatient with the empress. He said to the empress and Consort Xu, “All of you, leave. I want to be alone.”
The empress had a hard time convincing Emperor Wen Hui to be lenient towards the crown prince. She did not expect Consort Xu to interfere and ruin all her efforts. She was still indignant. Before she could speak, Consort Xu beat her to it and said, “Your Majesty, since you don’t want to be disturbed, we’ll leave first. Please take care of yourself.”
Emperor Wen Hui waved his hand without looking up.
No matter how unwilling the empress was, she could only leave with Consort Xu.
After leaving the Hall of Mental Cultivation, the empress stopped and looked at Consort Xu with a cold smile. “I know what you’re up to. But keep in mind that the sons you gave birth to will never be able to replace my son!”
Consort Xu smiled and said, “Sister, you flatter me. The crown prince is noble, and I always hope that he can become healthy and do well. My sons are brothers with the crown prince and respect him. They have no intention of wanting to replace the crown prince.” She chuckled again and admired the empress’s frustrated expression before continuing, “What I have always wanted to replace is you.” With that, she turned around and left enchantingly.
The empress was left to stand rooted to the ground and gritted her teeth in anger.
The news of the empress and Consort Xu entering the Hall of Mental Cultivation one after another quickly reached the ears of the others.
Consort Dong sat on the couch and listened to the maid play the Guqin. She did not like to compete with others and believed devoutly in Buddhism. Usually, when she did not go to the temple hall, she would embroider and listen to the Guqin in her side hall. She did not look like a consort, but like an outsider in the harem. Among the four consorts, she was the one who was ignored the most. It puzzled many people how she managed to become one of the four consorts.
Below her sat a man in a jade-colored robe. He had a faint smile on his face and tilted his head to listen, as if he had been immersed in the music.
After the song ended, the maid stood up. Consort Dong waved her hand to signal her to leave.
After everyone in the side hall left, Fu Xiuyi smiled and said, “Mother, you seem to be especially happy today.”
“The empress can’t sit still anymore.” Consort Dong smiled and said, “She personally went to plead for leniency for the crown prince. Consort Xu also went. Now that Consort Xu and the empress are about to fall out, it’s naturally worth being happy about.”
Fu Xiuyi smiled. “The crown prince is down and out, so Consort Xu naturally won’t let go of this opportunity to make sure he can never get back up. Prince Zhou and Prince Jing want to replace the crown prince. Consort Xu will definitely help them.”
“Unfortunately, she is too stupid to come up with good schemes.” Consort Dong picked up her tea and took a sip.
The mother and son laughed together.
Fu Xiuyi looked more like Consort Dong than the emperor. Usually, he looked cold, but when he smiled, he was gentle, making people not wary at all.
Consort Dong asked, “How have you been lately?”
Fu Xiuyi smiled. “I discovered some interesting secrets and am investigating. I think it won’t be long before I find out.”
Consort Dong looked at him with concern. “You’ve always been smart, so I don’t worry about these things. Speaking of which, it’s time for you to get married. You’re not young anymore. If this continues, you’ll inevitably be taken advantage of. Consort Dong and the others want you to marry a useless woman to be your wife.” As Consort Dong spoke, she sighed and said, “Originally, Shen Miao liked you. I thought that if she continued to like you and eventually married you, you would get the help of the Shen family. I didn’t expect things to turn out like this. At this moment, marrying her might be more of a disaster than a blessing.”
