This was related to the secrets of the harem. Ning Shu's heart trembled. She put down her chopsticks and listened quietly.
"In the first year of Tian Ze, His Majesty ascended the throne and sealed the six palaces. The first daughter of the Grand Tutor, Cao Shi, was the empress. The second daughter of the Guanwen Hall's Grand Scholar, Jiang Shi, was the imperial concubine. The rest were Zhao Yi, beauties, and talents, all over seventy.
Ning Shu calculated with her fingers: "At that time, His Majesty was in the prime of his life. He ascended the throne after the previous Crown Prince was killed by Empress Zhou for no reason. Three years without an heir, he must be under pressure and suspicion from all sides. He must be burning with anxiety."
"Yes. Under these circumstances, the Imperial Physician came to report that Imperial Concubine Jiang was pregnant. His Majesty's dragon heart was overjoyed, so he announced to the imperial harem: If Imperial Concubine Jiang gave birth to a prince, he would be conferred the title of Crown Prince. But coincidentally, two days later, Empress Cao also gave a pregnancy pulse. "
"Ah, something big is going to happen." Ning Shu reacted quickly and immediately thought of the crux of the problem: "According to the Imperial Family's rule that the first wife is first, not the first wife. If Empress Cao gave birth to a prince, then regardless of whether the child in Imperial Concubine Jiang's womb was a boy or a girl, Empress Cao's son should be the Crown Prince. But the mistake was His Majesty's surprise promise. If one of the two Imperial Concubines was pregnant with a princess, then it would be fine. Otherwise, the imperial harem would be in chaos. "
The descendants of ordinary rich families could also fight for the family property, and some of them could even commit murder. She had solved several similar cases with her master when she was young, not to mention sitting on the throne of the country. That was the next Emperor of Great Yue, the ruler of millions of people, and the son of the future Empress Dowager. It would be strange if nothing big happened.
"You guessed correctly. After the Imperial Physician took the pulse, they concluded that the two Imperial Concubines' wombs had the appearance of a dragon child. Thus, the imperial court fell into a fierce dispute. One side supported the rule set by the ancestors, and the other side said that His Majesty's words were golden. There was no reason for him to go back on his words. The two sides refused to give way to each other, and the dispute became more and more intense. His Majesty had a headache, so he finally made a decision: Whichever of the two concubines gave birth to the eldest son would be the crown prince. Next, everyone's eyes fell on the two Concubines' bellies. On the surface, everything seemed calm until the day of labor. Imperial Concubine Jiang and Empress Cao gave birth one after the other, not even an hour apart. After a whole night of labor, the first to be carried to the delivery room was the Empress' legitimate son. "
Xiahou Qing's voice was as concise and plain as ever, but the shocking scenes hidden in his words made Ning Shu very curious. "What happened after that? The Emperor appointed the eldest son? But why did they die one after another? "
"No one was appointed because the eldest son was found to be stillborn after he was born, and Concubine Jiang's son was poisoned to death within twenty-four hours of his birth."
Ning Shu took a deep breath.
The two princes, who were highly anticipated by His Majesty, had caused such a big dispute. Who would have thought that it would end up like this? Ning Shu subconsciously covered her chest and asked in a low voice, "Who poisoned the Second Prince that Imperial Concubine Jiang gave birth to? Could it be Cao — — "
She was too suspicious. Her own child was born to be stillborn, and she was heartbroken. How could she allow someone else's child to steal the position of crown prince?
"At first, Imperial Concubine Jiang's target was Empress Cao, but in the end, it was found that Imperial Concubine Jiang had poisoned herself. The reason was that in order to compete for the position of the eldest son, she used medicine to bring forward the time of labor. She didn't expect that the fetus would suffer from a deficiency. Imperial Concubine Jiang simply poisoned Empress Cao to take the position of Empress. After His Majesty knew the inside story, he banished Imperial Concubine Jiang to the Cold Palace, never to see the light of day again. After that, there was excessive grief, so much so that there was no funeral. "
After hearing this, Ning Shu's heart was in a daze. She couldn't help but sigh. No one would have thought that two women, who were at the peak of their power, would end up in such a state. Imperial Concubine Jiang had been in the Cold Palace for twenty-five years, and even her name had been forgotten by the world. Empress Cao had not been able to conceive a child after that, so she could only choose someone else's child to be her weapon. Fate was indeed full of twists and turns, and it didn't follow the will of the people.
The hostility between the Emperor and Empress had probably started from that matter.
She thought for a moment and said, "But Imperial Concubine Jiang deliberately used medicine to bring forward the time of labor. Why was the Empress still one step ahead? Moreover, after the Second Prince was born, the imperial physicians should have quickly discovered his deficiency. Why did the imperial physicians only confess after the poison was discovered? Doesn't Your Highness feel that these two points are suspicious? "
Xiahou Qing picked up the teacup by his hand and took a sip. He slowly got up and walked to the window, "Whether or not there are suspicions has already been decided. The truth of many things is not based on the matter, but on the person."
The sunset behind him had already disappeared, and the deep blue and almost black night gradually appeared with starlight. The evening wind gently swept his ink-colored hair, flying into the wind. He raised his hand, and the few birds that had eaten their fill and were jumping around happily flapped their tender yellow wings and fought to land on the back of his hand and shoulder.
"Moreover, the matter from twenty years ago, those who knew the details either sealed their mouths or were unable to speak again. As for the specific truth, who can say for sure? Let's not pursue the past. "
You've already exceeded your reading limit for today. If you want to read more, please log in.
Login
Select text and click 'Report' to let us know about any bad translation.
