After the Empress had gone to Zhu Que Palace, the Crown Princess had bled. Fortunately, the taiyi had treated her in time and the fetus was saved. However, the Crown Princess had to rest in bed for a period of time to avoid bleeding again.
The rumors about the Empress had already spread in Jing. Now that the Crown Princess had bled, everyone's discussion became even more heated. How could there be so many coincidences in the world? The Empress had just gone to the Crown Princess's place and the Crown Princess had bled?
Who knew if the Empress had done something to cause the Crown Princess to bleed?
Someone had said that the fetus in the Crown Princess' belly was the only bloodline of the Crown Prince. The Empress should be careful with it. How could she make things difficult for the Crown Princess?
Once this was said, many women came out to speak. The relationship between mother-in-law and daughter-in-law was the biggest problem in the world. Some mother-in-law and daughter-in-law were as close as mother and daughter. Some mother-in-law and daughter-in-law were harmonious on the surface, but some mother-in-law and daughter-in-law were like fire and water. Even a few glances could cause conflict.
In the past, it was not a secret that the Empress was dissatisfied with the Crown Princess. Many noblewomen had seen the Empress make things difficult for the Crown Princess. This meant that the Empress, as a mother-in-law, had always treated the Crown Princess harshly. Now that her son was gone, it was hard to guarantee that she would not feel unbalanced and take it out on the Crown Princess.
The rumors outside were very methodical. The Empress had become the representative of the evil mother-in-law and the Crown Princess was the pitiful and innocent white lotus that had been taken advantage of.
When Hua Xi Wan heard these versions of the rumors, she was dumbfounded. She finally understood what it meant to be fearful of gossip. She did not like the Empress, but the Empress was not such a brainless person. Even if she really did not like the fetus in the Crown Princess' belly, she would not be in such a rush to kill the fetus as soon as she left. The Empress was not so stupid.
But people were creatures that were skilled at judging others with the greatest malice. They would only be enthusiastic when speaking ill of others. Who had the mind to discuss other people's good words together?
Gossip was popular because it satisfied the curiosity of humans. Scandals were often more popular than positive news. Therefore, no matter what the truth was, the virtuous reputation of the Empress was finally destroyed by the public.
"Since things are so lively, why don't we set up some firewood?" Yan Jinqiu sipped his tea leisurely and said to Hua Xi Wan, "This Crown Princess is quite something." There were many people inside and outside the palace who had their eyes on the Crown Princess's fetus, but she was still able to protect the fetus. Based on this, it was impossible for her to be as innocent and kind as the rumors said.
"What do you want to do?" Hua Xi Wan stared at Yan Jinqiu suspiciously. She felt that if Yan Jinqiu was involved in this matter, the scope of the attack would definitely increase exponentially.
Two days later, the focus of everyone's gossip had changed. No matter how evil the Empress was as a mother-in-law and wanted to torture her daughter-in-law, she would not go so far as to kill her grandson. Then why was the Empress still so impolite to the Crown Princess?
Was it that the Crown Princess's fetus was not the Crown Princess's, so the Empress was acting like this?
Then people said that before the Crown Princess had married, she had been in love with Prince Sheng and had even gone to the Taoist temple to pray for Prince Sheng. It was a pity that the heavens were playing tricks on people. One of the two in love married a daughter of the Hou Clan, and the other married the current Crown Prince. It could be said that this love could be remembered, but at the time, it was already lost.
What, Prince Sheng and the Crown Princess once had an affair and almost became a couple?
At the beginning, everyone thought this was just a rumor, but the more they thought, the more they felt it was not right. It seemed that Prince Sheng's mother and the Marquess of He Wen had been very close. The two had been close since childhood. After the old wangfei passed away, the Marquess of He Wen had fallen ill from grief.
That year, it was possible that the two families had secretly arranged a marriage for their children. Who could have expected that the Sheng Wang couple would pass away so early, and that the Emperor liked to play matchmaker for his nephew so much?
Everyone quickly imagined a series of grudges and grievances in their minds. After the joys and sorrows, they did not forget to come to a conclusion. The Crown Princess's fetus was most likely Prince Sheng's. Otherwise, the Empress would not treat her like this.
As for why no one guessed that the fetus was Yan Jinqiu, the reason was very clear. That was, everyone in the world knew that Xian Wang and Xian Wang Fei were in love. How could Xian Wang and the Crown Princess be together? But Prince Sheng was different. His relationship with the Hou Clan was neither salty nor light. He also did not have any special favor for the concubines in the fu. Why was he so cold? Was it because he was not lustful?
There were men who were not lustful. It was just that they had someone else in their heart. That someone else was the Crown Princess.
From this, it could be seen how important first impressions were. Prince Sheng and the Crown Princess were labeled as an infatuated man and a resentful woman.
Hua Xi Wan, who had been splashed with dog blood by the rumors outside, was curious. In the end, she tugged on Yan Jinqiu's sleeve and asked: "The Crown Princess and Prince Sheng … really have an affair?"
"Guess?" Yan Jinqiu's lips hooked in a smile. He reached out and wrapped an arm around her waist, stealing a kiss from the corner of her lips.
"Why don't I let you guess whether you will sleep in the study or in the main yard for the next month?" Hua Xi Wan raised an eyebrow as she looked at Yan Jinqiu, "Wang Ye is so smart. He will be able to guess correctly, right?"
Yan Jinqiu: "…"
"Their mothers mentioned this in the past, but because the old wang fei passed away, the matter was put aside." Yan Jinqiu unhesitatingly chose to sleep in the main yard. "As to whether the two of them have an affair, I am not sure. But I suspect that the Crown Princess is behind the Crown Prince's inability to have children."
"I think …" Hua Xi Wan looked at Yan Jinqiu. The meaning in her eyes was self-evident.
"I am not the only one. In the court and the inner palace, the number of people who want the Crown Prince to be unable to have children can't be counted on two hands. The Crown Prince is also arrogant. Who knows when he started to have bad luck." Yan Jinqiu raised an eyebrow. He was just helping the person behind the scenes.
After saying this, husband and wife looked at each other and smiled. They were pure and kind.
"You mean to say that the Crown Princess may have something going on with Prince Sheng?" Hua Xi Wan thought carefully. She really couldn't think of how the two of them had interacted. However, she had sensed that the Crown Princess had never been close to the Hou Clan. But at the time, she had only thought that it was a problem of the two's standpoints, and had not thought of the relationship.
"Only they know. Whether they have an affair or not, it has nothing to do with me," Yan Jinqiu said unconcernedly. "It is not important whether we believe it or not. What is important is whether that person believes it or not."
Hua Xi Wan thought deeply. The Qilong Emperor was probably the one who cared the most about this matter. In reality, even if this child was his, he would probably have a knot in his heart in the end.
Yan Jinqiu's move was really vicious. This ability to control public opinion was not something that ordinary people could compare to. If it had been in her previous life, someone like Yan Jinqiu would have been able to shine in the propaganda department.
Thinking of the luminous pearl that the Crown Princess had given to the Hou Clan, and the cold gaze that the Hou Clan had looked at the Crown Princess in the beginning, and then thinking of the Crown Prince's body that could not bear children. The things that Hua Xi Wan could not understand now seemed to be slowly connecting the dots.
She had originally felt that the Crown Princess' behavior in giving the Hou Clan the ornament was strange. Based on the Crown Princess' usual personality, she was a woman who wanted to have children very much, and her personality was very gentle. Adding on the Empress and Crown Prince's attitude towards her, why would she act against the Hou Clan without hesitation?
This was like a person who was usually gentle suddenly killing someone who was not close to her. It seemed to be for the sake of benefits, but if one thought carefully, it was full of loopholes.
But what if the Crown Princess liked Yan Boyi? For the sake of Yan Boyi, she had given the Crown Prince a medicine that made it difficult for him to have children. It would be difficult for her to have children in the future. But at this time, the Hou Clan had the child of the person she loved. The Crown Princess, who was on the verge of emotional collapse, followed the Empress' wishes and schemed against the Hou Clan's child.
She did not know what Yan Boyi was thinking after this happened. Was he conflicted, sad, or angry?
It seemed that everyone in the harem was a veteran actress. The Empress Dowager was like this, the Empress was like this, and even the Crown Princess was no exception.
The Qilong Emperor's expression was dark as he looked at the weeping young woman in front of him. It was only when she was almost out of breath from crying that his expression softened slightly. He said, "You and Prince Sheng really do not have an affair?"
"Emperor, when Sheng Wang Fei passed away, I was only twelve or thirteen years old. How could I know anything about love? Not long after, you sanctioned a marriage for me. From then on, I stayed in the fu to prepare for marriage. Usually, I did not go out of the main gate. How could I see an outsider like Prince Sheng?"
The Qilong Emperor looked at the Crown Princess. His gaze landed on her swollen abdomen. In the end, a hint of a smile floated onto his face. He said, "Zhen knows that the rumors outside are just slander. Take care of the baby in the palace. Do not worry too much."
After the Qilong Emperor left, the Crown Princess said with a dark expression, "Empress!" Other than the Empress, who would spread such a rumor? Because only then would those who said that the Empress was not virtuous turn their attention to her and Prince Sheng, and remove the Empress from the rumors.
"Go and investigate who spread this rumor." After the Qilong Emperor returned to his palace, his face had not been seen. After giving these orders, he hesitated for a moment. "Also, go and investigate if the Crown Princess and Prince Sheng had an affair in the past."
He wanted to believe in the Crown Princess, but there were some things that he could only be reassured after being proven. Also, was this matter related to the Empress?
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