After the Lantern Festival, the people in Jing gradually walked out of the shadow of the death of Duan He's fuma and the Crown Prince. For the common people, it was not important who was alive or dead. What was important was that their peaceful days were not disturbed.
The decree of the Emperor to confer the title of Crown Prince was not passed down in the end. Because the Crown Prince's personal virtues were too corrupt, he had no talent or virtue. He could not be conferred the title of Crown Prince by his father, the Qilong Emperor. Unless the Crown Grandson, who had not yet been born, had the ability to debate the officials, this absurd Crown Prince had a chance of being conferred the title of Emperor.
The Crown Prince's coffin remained in Zhu Que Palace for thirty whole days. The Taoists of the major temples continuously came to perform rites for the Crown Prince. In the end, the Crown Prince was buried with the title of Cheng. Even though the people felt that it was a waste to give the Crown Prince the title of Cheng, he was already dead. The Emperor had already given in. They did not want to argue with the Emperor every day over a title.
Not long after the Crown Prince was buried, the Emperor started to become interested in the inner palace. He even had thoughts of accepting women into the palace. However, after a few words, he gave up on this idea the next day. This caused some of the officials in the court who had daughters to sigh in relief.
Even though some people were curious why the Emperor had changed his mind in one night, they were not people who would touch the pot that did not boil. Since the Emperor did not mention it, they all pretended not to hear.
The Crown Princess sat silently by the window. She looked at the mama behind her who had solemn expressions. Her expression held irritation: "You can all leave. I want to be alone."
"Crown Princess, please forgive us. Nubi has been ordered to protect you. Please understand," The leading mama's attitude was careful, her tone respectful, but she stood where she was and did not retreat a step.
"The Emperor told you to protect ben gong, he did not say for you to monitor ben gong," The Crown Princess felt a nameless fire rise in her heart. She waved her sleeve and pushed the nourishing soup in front of her to the ground. Seeing the white porcelain cup break, a kind of joy rose in her heart, "Leave!"
The mama saw that her mind was unstable and worried that her anger would harm the fetus in her belly. They could only pick up the broken pieces of porcelain on the ground and then hurriedly leave the room.
When the room full of people finally left, the Crown Princess covered her face and cried silently. She thought of the time when she and the Crown Prince had just gotten married. She thought of how the Crown Prince had been obsessed with women. She thought of the Crown Prince's ecstasy when he came out of the prison a few days ago and learned that she was pregnant.
The Crown Prince knew that his body was weak because of his lust for women, and it was difficult for him to conceive a woman. That was why he was so happy when he found out that she was pregnant.
However, only she knew in her heart that the child in her belly had nothing to do with the Crown Prince. Her hand gently stroked her already swollen belly. She could never forget the way the Empress looked at her when she buried the Crown Prince.
She understood that the Empress must know that the child in her belly was not the Crown Prince's, but she had no choice now. Whether it was the Crown Prince or the Empress, all she could do was silently endure and wait for the moment the child was born.
But how did her fate become like this? If she hadn't married into the royal family, she wouldn't have had to encounter such an embarrassing situation. She wouldn't have had to become a young widow at such a young age.
Perhaps she, more than anyone else, hoped that the child in the fu would be a girl. Only in this way could the child be guaranteed to grow up safely. Because there were too many pairs of eyes looking at the child in her belly. So many that she was slightly afraid.
The more the Crown Princess thought, the more afraid she felt. She didn't even notice that her palm was bleeding from unconsciously clenching it.
"Crown Princess." The voice of the Crown Princess' personal servant sounded from outside the door. She sat up and wiped away the tears on her face, "Come in."
When the personal servant walked in, she detected that the Crown Princess' expression was not right. However, she did not ask and pretended not to detect anything, "This servant heard a piece of news."
"What?" Even though the Crown Princess did not like to scheme, but she was standing in this position now and could only choose to strike first.
"A few days ago, the Empress Dowager was chatting with a few madams. She talked about Xian Wang Fei. She seemed to be dissatisfied that there was no news about her after a year of marriage." The personal servant lowered her voice and said, "Yesterday, she even gave Xian Wang Fei some tonics to nourish her body. This is a hint for her to have a child soon."
Even though their positions were different, the Crown Princess admired Hua Xi Wan. In addition, her maternal family was engaged to the Hua family. She didn't want to make things too awkward. But now the Empress Dowager was anxious for Hua Xi Wan to have a child. She probably wanted to increase the bargaining chip for Xian Wang to win the throne. However, Hua Xi Wan's stomach was not good. The Empress Dowager was anxious and came up with a not-so-clever method.
Not to mention that Hua Xi Wan was still young, Hua Xi Wan was now nineteen years old. The Empress Dowager should not have made it so obvious. How would others look at the royal family? The young couple had a deep relationship. As the grandmother, the Empress Dowager was anxious to have a child. Even if she was really scheming, her attitude was not good.
"Isn't the Empress Dowager's action making Xian Wang Fei feel wronged?" The Crown Princess raised an eyebrow slightly. She had seen with her own eyes how much Xian Wang liked Xian Wang Fei. The Empress Dowager's action would make Xian Wang Fei unhappy. This Xian Wang was sandwiched between the Empress Dowager and Xian Wang Fei. He would more or less be estranged from the Empress Dowager. For her, this was not a bad thing.
"The Empress Dowager should be concerned about the younger generation. We don't have to interfere," the Crown Princess said lightly. "We have to keep a close eye on Princess Sheng." Her greatest enemy was not Xian Wang, but that seemingly righteous and selfless Prince Sheng.
Xian Wang Fu's servants had become especially careful since yesterday because they had heard that the Empress Dowager seemed to be dissatisfied with their wang fei. Wang fei was usually doted on by Wang Ye. If she was in a bad mood because of this matter, wouldn't they, the servants, be the ones to suffer?
Some of the more beautiful servant girls were secretly happy. The Empress Dowager was dissatisfied with wang fei. This meant that Wang Ye might decide to take a concubine due to the Empress Dowager's feelings. Didn't that mean they had a chance?
Hua Xi Wan flipped through the list of gifts the Empress Dowager had given her. It was all ginseng, angelica, donkey-hide gelatin and other great tonics that nourished yin and blood. She drank a mouthful of ginseng nourishing tea and said to Orange Autumn beside her: "The Empress Dowager is so good to me. These are all the best of the best. It is hard to get even if you have the money."
Orange Autumn didn't know how to respond. She was wang fei's personal servant girl, but she had not been brought from the marquis fu by wang fei. In front of wang fei, she was not as useful as the other three jiejie. So when she served wang fei, she was even more careful in fear of angering wang fei.
The Empress Dowager's sudden action was not a good thing for wang fei. If she took a ce fei like Prince Sheng did, then many terrible things would happen in this wang fu.
Hua Xi Wan saw Orange Autumn's cautious state and waved her hand, saying: "Put everything away." Orange Autumn was steady and steady, but she still preferred to use Bai Xia and the other two. It was probably because these three were more perceptive.
In the Empress Dowager's bedroom, Yan Jinqiu knelt in front of the Empress Dowager and said: "Zumu, please take back the decree. Fahrenheit is childless. It is not her problem, but grandson does not want children now."
"You have such deep feelings for Xian Wang Fei?" The Empress Dowager hadn't thought that the child she had raised would become an infatuated person. She was not dissatisfied with Hua Xi, but she would not allow Yan Jinqiu to become an infatuated person. "Also, you are twenty years old now. You don't have a son or a daughter. What is this?"
"The situation is not stable now. Grandson does not dare to risk the children." Yan Jinqiu's voice was sorrowful. "Grandson also wants children, but now is not the best time to have children."
The Empress Dowager instantly understood. Right now, the factions in court were fighting fiercely. Even the child in the Crown Princess' womb could not be safely born with the protection of the Emperor, much less a fetus in a wang fu.
"Zumu, do you still remember when grandson was six years old?" Yan Jinqiu raised his head to look at the Empress Dowager, his eyes filled with admiration and nostalgia.
The Empress Dowager stilled and started to think back to the past.
"Back then, I don't know who was gossiping behind your back, saying that your grandson wasn't your biological grandson and that you only raised your grandson to disgust the Empress. Your grandson was furious and lashed out at those servants. Because I know that even if I'm not your biological grandson, you've already treated me better than your biological grandson. " Yan Jinqiu's eyes were slightly red. "That night, grandson was thinking that it would be good if fuwang was your true son. That way, no one would gossip behind your back."
"Fahrenheit and grandson are husband and wife. I want her to have a house full of children and grandchildren. I want her to have her own children and grandchildren. She won't be like my mother and die of depression because of those concubines." Yan Jinqiu knelt a few steps forward and gently leaned his head in front of the Empress Dowager's knees. "Imperial Grandfather and fuwang made their women suffer. Grandson doesn't want his woman to experience it again. Grandson is useless and can only use Fahrenheit to make up for the regret in my heart. "At this point, Yan Jinqiu was choked with sobs.
The Empress Dowager was stunned for a long time. She reached out to touch the top of Yan Jinqiu's head and said in a trembling voice, "Aijia didn't know that you had such a pure heart. Aijia was not loved by xiandi and had no chance to have a son. To be able to raise you, aijia has fulfilled the regret in aijia's heart. You can understand aijia and your mother's difficulties in the past. Your mother's efforts to protect you were not in vain. " The Empress Dowager recalled the past and began to talk about the small matters of the past. She felt that she had not raised Yan Jinqiu for nothing.
Yan Jinqiu's shoulders trembled slightly. He tried to make his voice sound normal. "Grandson is useless and can't let you live as you wish."
"There will be a chance." The Empress Dowager patted Yan Jinqiu's head very gently. She rubbed her forehead tiredly and said, "The one in your family is actually not bad. Since you are not willing to take a concubine, aijia will not force you. It's fine if you don't want the child for now, as long as you know what to do. "
Seeing the Empress Dowager's tired expression, Yan Jinqiu tactfully bowed and left. When he left the palace and got on the carriage to return to the wang fu, the look of admiration on his face disappeared without a trace.
In the past, the Empress Dowager had used many methods to ensure that this grandson of hers was filial to her. Even his mother's early death had been caused by the Empress Dowager. Did she think that without his mother and his father's love for the concubines, he would be especially close to his grandmother?
The Empress Dowager wanted to use him and Xian Wang Fu's power to control the Emperor and ensure her dignity as the Empress Dowager. Now, what the Empress Dowager wanted was to be the Empress Dowager who was sincerely respected by the Emperor.
He wanted the throne, but he did not intend to wrong the only woman by his side to take a shortcut that he did not know the result of.
Some things could not be obtained by sacrificing a woman.
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