Chapter 123

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Even the fifteenth prince had an indescribable expression.

From the beginning to the end, Wei Qingxue did not hide what she’d done from the fifteenth prince. This was what she said to the fifteenth prince: “I know that you are not an ordinary child. I also believe that, as your mother’s child, you will not be as ignorant as you appear. In fact, there are no naive children in the palace. Let me tell you the truth—I entered the palace just to avenge your mother, my elder sister. I don’t love your father emperor at all, and I don’t want to risk my life to give birth. I don’t want to block my path to revenge with my children. This is also my sincerity. I shall use all my strength to support you. What I want is to become a unique empress dowager! I know you are thinking about your mother, and I am as well, but the situation is already like this. On the jade plate, you are a son of the Wei family. You can only think of your mother, and I can only think of my sister!”

Then she left, ignoring the pale fifteenth prince.

The fifteenth prince was left alone to digest all this with difficulty. The first time he saw his aunt, he’d known that his aunt was not an ordinary person, but he was still shocked. How could Concubine Mother’s and his aunt’s personalities be so different! He also knew that his aunt was very smart, and his little thoughts were completely visible in front of his aunt, so he didn’t think about hiding anything.

He had been waiting. He knew that when his aunt entered the palace, she must have had a plan, or else his aunt wanted something from him!

But he still didn’t expect that his aunt would pour it all out to him. How old was he, and she’d still told him such a big thing without reservation.

The fifteenth prince didn’t know whether to be happy or worried. But in front of Sister Rou, the fifteenth prince had to pretend that he didn’t know anything. He only needed to eat, drink, study, and maintain a personality that suited his age.

Although he was still young, the fifteenth prince also felt how difficult life was.

Wei Qingxue had become a noble consort, and the people who served in Yongshou Palace naturally rose with the tide and received many rewards. Li Huairou picked up a lot of things and planned to ask Xiao Dengzi to send them out of the palace.

This time, Xiao Dengzi had actually come back with a message.

Although there was only a simple greeting, this also made Li Huairou ponder for a long time. In the end, it could only be attributed to Noble Consort Ling’s victory, and the Wei family probably knew that Noble Consort Ling was infertile, so they’d begun to bet on the fifteenth prince. She was the first target in an attempt to throw a stone to clear the road.

[Tou shi wen lu (比石得路) is a Chinese idiom that originally means “before sneaking into a certain place at night, first throw a stone to see if there is any response, so as to detect the situation”. Then it was used as a metaphor for testing]

It was getting colder out, and Li Huairou was too lazy to leave the room. Since entering this world, Li Huairou had become a housekeeper. There was no other choice; she had to kneel down and kowtow every time she met someone, so she could only stay in Yongshou Palace and not go out.

The fifteenth prince recovered from his injury and continued to go to the study room. He was now the son of a noble consort, and no one dared to find fault in him in the study. Besides, the people serving him had changed, except for Xiao Dengzi. No one dared to do anything.

The days passed so slowly and peacefully.

On a snowy day, Noble Consort Chun passed away. Three days ago was the day when her daughter, Princess Hejia, was married.

As a rule, Noble Consort Chun could be buried in the style of an imperial noble consort. But the emperor did not speak, and the Ministry of Internal Affairs did not know how to deal with it.

The empress was wise enough to protect herself from something unfavorable, and she didn’t say a word.

The empress dowager couldn’t say anything.

On the other hand, Wei Qingxue pleaded for Noble Consort Chun on the grounds of Princess Hejia and the first empress’s family, the Fucha family. Princess Hejia’s husband was the nephew of the first empress.

Wei Qingxue’s words hit the emperor’s heart. In terms of sons, the emperor had many, and the two sons of Noble Consort Chun were in their prime and had a desire to claim the throne. The emperor couldn’t hold any compassion and love for them at this time. But as for the daughters, the emperor had only two now: the eldest daughter from his first empress, and the second daughter, who was married to the first empress’s nephew. Whether it was the daughter or the first empress, the emperor couldn’t ignore either of them.

The emperor let out a long sigh and held Wei Qingxue’s hand. “She treats you like this, and you still plead for her. You, you! How can I feel at ease with this kind of temperament?”

Wei Qingxue leaned gently on the emperor’s chest. “This concubine doesn’t wish to embarrass the emperor.”

With a simple sentence, the emperor’s heart felt so warm that he felt that, in the harem, there was no one more caring and more kind than Noble Consort Ling.

So the emperor issued a decree to posthumously enshrine Noble Consort Chun as an imperial noble consort, and to have her buried with the ceremony of an imperial noble consort.

Although Noble Consort Ling didn’t want others to know her good deed, the decree to enshrine the imperial noble consort was issued after Noble Consort Ling left the Hall of Mental Cultivation. Anyone with discerning eyes knew that this was a plea from Noble Consort Ling.

Therefore, the third prince and the sixth prince, including Princess Hejia and the Fucha family, had to accept Noble Consort Ling’s favor, regardless of whether they wanted to.

Even Noble Consort Ling’s reputation in the imperial family had improved a lot.

Even the empress dowager, after confirming that it was indeed Noble Consort Ling’s plea, had a much better impression of her. She also turned a blind eye to Noble Consort Ling’s favor. In any case, Noble Consort Ling was unable to

give birth. Although there was the fifteenth prince, he was still young, and his qualifications were unknown. Let her be!

On the contrary, the empress was very angry, thinking that the Noble Consort Ling was pretending to be a good person, and she complained a few words in front of the empress dowager.

The empress dowager looked at the daughter-in-law she’d chosen and felt very helpless. If you think that Noble Consort Ling is pretending to be a good person, then why don’t you become such a good person! If you did, even if you couldn’t persuade the emperor to change his mind with your words, the third prince, the sixth prince, and the Fucha family would have accepted your love. But you didn’t do it!

What’s the use of saying this now?!

Speaking of the empress, the empress dowager had a headache. She recalled that the feelings between the emperor and the empress were good. Otherwise, she would not have had two sons and one daughter. But she didn’t know how the relationship had changed so greatly in the last few years. When the empress was with the emperor, they were not like husband and wife but like ruler and minister. How could a man love this kind of woman! Especially the emperor! The emperor liked a type like Noble Consort Ling!

The empress dowager had also advised the empress before, but the empress was determined to do as she pleased. Over time, the empress dowager was too lazy to bother with this big deity.

At this age, she still had to worry about her son’s harem. As long as the empress didn’t die, even if the twelfth prince did not inherit the throne in the future, she was also the proper empress dowager. There was nothing to worry about.

Everyone seemed to think so.

But only Li Huairou knew that Wei Qingxue would never stop at the title of noble consort.

Wei Qingxue had completed most of her plan ahead of time, and the next thing she had to deal with was the empress.

It was just that the plot had been magically changed into this. Li Huairou was quite curious. She didn’t know the reason for the empress’s demotion. Would there be any changes?

Soon, Li Huairou didn’t have the heart to think about these messy things because she had to deal with Jiang Man’s enthusiasm.

As a rule, palace maids had the opportunity to meet with their families every month. If they had money, they could bribe the eunuchs, and then they could meet several times a month.

It was just that Li Huairou’s family was already dead, and Jiang Man hadn’t asked to see her after she left the palace, so Li Huairou gave this opportunity to others every month.

But, not long after Wei Qingxue became a noble consort, Jiang Man asked to meet outside Shen Wu gate every month.

Every time she came, she brought many things—clothes she made by herself, food, and so on. Of course, every time she came, she would bring the topic to the fifteenth prince. She said that she’d always regretted that she’d never even seen the fifteenth prince’s face. The clothes and food she’d brought also had a share for the fifteenth prince.

Li Huairou could only be perfunctory with her words. As for clothes and food, it was naturally impossible to get them close to the fifteenth prince.

Seeing Li Huairou’s delay in answering, Jiang Man was a little anxious. “I want to say goodbye to the fifteenth prince, but I don’t know if I’d be able to have this opportunity, Huairou…”

“It’s easy. You ask my brother-in-law to donate an official. If it’s really not possible, hurry up and have a child. When he grows up and becomes a government official, beg an imperial mandate for you, and then you can enter the palace to pay respects?” Li Huairou said with a smile.

[Donating officials is a way to make up for financial difficulties in a feudal society, allowing scholars and civilians to donate money and materials to the country in order to obtain titles and official positions]

“Then we’d have to wait until the year of the monkey and the month of the horse!” Jiang Man said angrily. “Huairou, I really regret leaving the palace now, you don’t know…”

[This is used to refer to an unknown year and month (that is, that things are far away and cannot be realized)]

“Jiang Man!” Li Huairou frowned. “Back then, I begged Noble Consort Ling for your betrothal. Are you dissatisfied with me now?”

“No, that’s not what I meant. I just thought that if I hadn’t left the palace at that time, I might have had a better future now,” Jiang Man muttered. She truly regretted it, especially because the noble consort’s status was stable, and the fifteenth prince had gradually grown up. If she hadn’t left the palace in the beginning, with her kindness to the fifteenth prince, she might have still been able to fly up the branches!

“What is a better future? Let me listen to you?” Li Huairou said.

“Anyway, it must be better than where I’m at now, and better than where you are now.” Jiang Man said anxiously, “Huairou, help me! I want to enter the palace. Go and ask the fifteenth prince, okay?” She didn’t want to spend her life hastily.

“You are already married. If you enter the palace, you can only be a wet nurse. The nurses of the older princes and princesses are all selected by the Ministry of Internal Affairs. The fifteenth prince is still young and studying. How could he have such a capability? Furthermore, the Wei family is the leader of the Ministry of Internal Affairs; if you really want to serve in the palace, why should you go that far?” Li Huairou said calmly.

“If your brother-in-law is willing to help, I won’t say anything,” Jiang Man said. “Huairou, no matter how young the fifteenth prince is, he is still a master. As long as the fifteenth prince asks for me, Wei Qingqi will have to be willing.”

Li Huairou inwardly sneered. It turned out that she’d had this idea. “Alright, I’ll help you ask.”

Jiang Man was overjoyed. “It’s good if you’re willing to help! That’s right, I’m five months pregnant now, so hurry up.”

Li Huairou turned to look for Noble Consort Ling and tell her Jiang Man’s thoughts. At the end, she knelt on the ground. “This slave does not dare to ask my lady to forgive her, but I only ask my lady to spare her life.”

Wei Qingxue thought for a long time before searching for the name “Jiang Man” in her mind. “Forget it. For the sake of the fifteenth’s face!”

How could Wei Qingxue take such a person to heart? She only needed to pass on a word, and the Wei family would naturally know what to do.

Exceeding his own strength, he tried to take favor and ascend to the throne. Although the fifteenth prince was nostalgic, the object of his nostalgia seemed to be limited to Li Huairou, who had grown up with him since he was a child. As for who Jiang Man was, it could be that the fifteenth didn’t even know her name.

She admired ambitious people, but it wasn’t as if she liked stupid idiots who had ambition and no matching intelligence!

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This translation is presented by Nocturne Translations.

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