C96
Xue Ronghua frowned, "How are you like this, you're half dead."
"No matter what, I am still alive," Xue Liuhua smiled slightly, her eyes filled with grief. "But there are some who are already dead."
Xue Ronghua finally understood that she was so sad because of the matter with the Prince Jin. She was truly infatuated, to think that she would show mercy to the Prince Jin even if she was sold off, "This is not something that a Consort Hua like you can think of. Take care of your baby, don't be too sad and implicate your child."
"Your Majesty .." Xue Liuhua pressed a finger against the handkerchief, gently wiping away a line of tears, "Didn't they say to forgive the Prince Jin and not sentence him to death?"
Xue Ronghua coldly said, "Your majesty is right, but he herself wholeheartedly seeks her own death, so you can't blame others."
Xue Liuhua shook her head in disbelief. "I don't believe that the Prince Jin would bite his tongue to commit suicide."
Xue Ronghua squinted her eyes. Even Xue Liuhua couldn't believe it, let alone her and Prince Duan, there was definitely something fishy here.
"What can you do if you don't believe it," Xue Ronghua yawned lazily, the sun was so bright that it could make people's eyes go dizzy, "It's already settled, you can still bring the Prince Jin back to life."
A trace of suspicion flashed across Xue Liuhua's eyes, "Could it be that you and Prince Duan are trying to get in the way?"
Xue Ronghua stared blankly for a moment, then sneered repeatedly: "If Prince Duan wants to do anything to Prince Jin, you can just penetrate my heart with that one strike from the Hundred Ascension Sect. Do you still want to preserve your dignity and throw you into the Sky Prison?"
Xue Liuhua thought about it and felt that it was true.
Xue Ronghua watched on distractedly from the side. "You called me over, not to let me see how you cry and yearn for your old lover?"
"I originally wanted you and the Prince Duan to accept the Prince Jin, at the very least, protect his life in the future when we ascend the throne," Xue Liuhua laughed miserably. "I didn't expect that before you even entered the palace, he would come in with the Prince Chen."
Xue Ronghua raised her brows, "Even if you had summoned me into the palace in advance, I still would not have accepted the Prince Jin." She paused for a moment, then said: "Previously, did you know that he had this idea with Prince Chen, General Lin and the others?"
Xue Liuhua looked at her in complete ignorance, "I don't know anything, I only know that Prince Jin wants to ascend the throne."
"It seems that the Prince Jin is very shrewd," Xue Ronghua sincerely admired this point, "Everyone has to tell them a few things, and they have to keep it a secret. No one knows what the hell he's up to."
"It's a pity that he plotted against so many people, but in the end, all of his plans were in vain."
Xue Ronghua stared at her, "Then are you clear about whether or not Noble Consort Kang has said anything to her?"
"I don't know. When I first entered the palace, I was trapped in Yongle Palace and couldn't go anywhere. I don't know anything." Xue Liuhua bit her lips.
Xue Ronghua looked at her suspiciously, "Don't try to hide anything from me at this time."
Xue Liuhua weakly glanced at her, "You also said that it's a time like this, what else can I hide from you?"
"Alright, what happened at Empress Chen?"
"The Empress Chen doesn't like me at all, unlike the kind and amiable Empress at Hundred Blossom Banquet," Xue Liuhua grumbled. "She frowned the moment she saw me, but luckily I'm pregnant so there's no need for his to go to the Changchun Palace to pay respects."
The corner of Xue Ronghua's mouth rose into a cold smile, "Consort Hua is acting so strangely today, to think that I didn't even mention a single thing."
Xue Liuhua paused, clenched her handkerchief and bit her lips: "One of the main reasons that I willingly became the imperial concubine is because I helped the Prince Jin in the dark. Now that the Prince Jin is no longer here, who should I call out to?"
"Prince Jin is no longer here, he still has a child in his womb," Xue Ronghua drank a mouthful of tea casually. "Mother, your son is precious.
"..." Do you think the Emperor will grant me the title of Noble Consort if I give birth to a prince? " Xue Liuhua suddenly asked.
Xue Ronghua almost vomited out the tea in her mouth. With Empress Chen seated at the back of the palace, it would be extremely difficult for Xue Liuhua to become a Noble Consort. Noble Consort is only a position below the Madam and Queen, I am afraid that the Madam will not be re-established. Then, the Noble Consort will become the second Queen's precious position, do you think that your Empress Chen will let you go so easily? "
Xue Liuhua unhappily rolled her eyes. Actually, she also knew clearly in her heart that getting the position of wife was already a blessing, and the position of Noble Consort was only available to him. "Empress Chen is indeed a trouble, but why didn't the emperor raise a wife?"
Xue Ronghua was startled, and almost spoke of the important matter. She cleared her throat and said: "There are too many concubines in the harem, if you don't establish one, you won't be able to do it. Rather than dreaming about the position of Noble Consort, why not serve the emperor well and give birth to a few princes or princesses for the Great Qin?
"I'm not very interested in Consort Xian Shuang. Since Noble Consort Kang can become the master of the Weiyang Palace, why can't I?"
Xue Ronghua continued with a smile, "In the past, Noble Consort Kang had the backing of the eldest brother of the wealthiest man in the capital.
The fact that his identity had been changed was a scar on Xue Liuhua's heart. "I called you here to help me come up with an idea.
"Consort Hua," Xue Ronghua said as she sneered, "I am not familiar with how to fight for the position. You should ask an experienced old man in the palace.
Xue Liuhua raised her eyebrows and said in a displeased tone, "In order to get you to enter the palace, I even begged the Emperor for thousands of things. Who would have known that even you wouldn't be able to benefit from that palace maid Ru Yan."
"The palace maids in the Consort Hua Palace are naturally more powerful than this subject's daughter," Xue Ronghua looked at her with provocation in her eyes, "This subject knows she is useless."
It was not good for Xue Liuhua to do anything to her, so she asked: "How's father?"
"You mean the Prime Minister Xue?" Xue Ronghua pursed her lips and laughed, "He helped to settle the matter of Kang Zhiming's corruption and bribery, the Emperor has bestowed him with many things and he is currently in his mansion, too happy to sleep."
Xue Liuhua said with dejection in her eyes, "Does father really hate Prince Jin that much?"
"Prince Jin is naturally cunning, ministers have always had many complaints about him, and only you would like him."
"Each of the carrot vegetables has their own love," Xue Liuhua said as she raised her head and snorted coldly. "Prince Duan's words are cold and temperamental, don't you like him as well?"
Xue Ronghua laughed: "So that's how you see Prince Duan, I finally understand."
"Who cares if you know or not," Xue Liuhua said as she rubbed her bulging stomach, "You don't need to stay in the palace to accompany me anymore. Go back to your Prime Minister's Mansion quickly, I feel annoyed just by looking at your arrogant face."
"Just what I want." Xue Ronghua threw the cup on the table, casually bowed, and left.
Zhu Tong donned a eunuch's outfit and quietly followed behind the large group. After passing through the Xinyang Hall, when the chief eunuch wasn't paying attention, he jumped into the small forest inside the palace walls with a light leap.
Chu Zongge saw that she was dressed as a eunuch with a childish face under his towering hat and could not help but clap his hands and laugh, "This is too funny.
Zhu Tong looked at him with a playful smile, and pouted, aggrieved. "Prince Duan, quickly don't joke with us, wasn't this the Master Duanwang's idea?"
"Although I was the one who came up with the idea, I didn't expect that you would dress so funnily."
"This servant's body is petite, I'm not fit to wear this."
"Your current state makes me think of my playmates when I was young," Chu Zongge sighed softly. "At that time, she and I used to dress up like eunuchs and play in the palace."
"Don't do this to the Prince Duan now," Zhu Tong urged anxiously. "If you are caught by the emperor, you will beat us up."
Chu Zongge laughed out loud, "At that time, I did not know what to do, but now I know that it will definitely not happen.
"There are indeed signs of poison on the body of the Prince Jin," Zhu Tong said in a deep voice. "It should have been poisoned even before we entered the Sky Prison."
Indeed. Chu Zongge lowered his head and thought. Empress Chen was really fast, he was one step too slow.
"Did you find anything else in him?"
Zhu Tong shook her head, "This servant only found traces of poison in Prince Jin, nothing else."
"It was the same when I went to see her that day." Chu Zongge sighed helplessly.
Zhu Tong asked: "The Emperor has already ordered for burial, does Your Highness need me to visit other places?"
Chu Zongge thought for a moment, then said, "Go to the Prince Jin Palace and search them again. If there are any suspicious areas, tell me immediately."
Zhu Tong replied "Yes".
"Wait a minute," Chu Zongge suddenly said, "are you confident you can sneak into the crown prince's residence or the East Palace?"
Zhu Tong was startled, and said in a heavy voice: "The crown prince's residence, Eastern Palace, and Changchun Palace are all heavily guarded. I'm afraid this servant will have to spend some effort."
Chu Zongge's eyes lit up, and exclaimed: "You mean you can go in?"
"This servant is willing," Zhu Tong's face revealed a little difficulty, "But Prince Duan, seeing how Prince Jin bit his tongue to commit suicide, this servant is afraid that it will not be good for us."
"It's alright," Chu Zongge said as he waved his sleeves.
Zhu Tong nodded.
Chu Zongge said softly, "After you go to the crown prince's place, you don't need to stay in the Xinyang Hall. Hurry out of the palace and head towards the quasi wangfei's Prime Minister's Mansion, in order to avoid attracting the attention of others."
Over the summer, a new batch of muslin entered the palace. The muslin was as thin as a cicada's wing, and the clothes were very refreshing. "It's just that it's a little too ordinary. It's not much different from the clothes worn by the wives and concubines of those princes. It also has a single color, so I'll just send it to the Mistress of the other palaces. I don't need it."
The eunuch asked respectfully, "Is the empress planning to deliver it to the empress's palace?"
The Empress Chen thought for a moment, then said: "Giving a few to Consort Fu, I saw that their Great Qi wasn't as good as Yun Luojia's, and he also gave a few to Consort Hua. She must be depressed to be pregnant with emperor’s kid in this big summer day."
The eunuch said with a face full of smiles, "The Empress is truly merciful."
"Also," the Empress Chen smiled slightly, "give that horse with embroidered flowers to the future wangfei."
"The quasi wangfei of Prince Duan, the young miss of Prime Minister Xue's family?"
"That's right, wearing this Yun Luojia on her body suits her status," the Empress Chen said as he gently waved his fan. "She has done a great service in calming down the rebellion.