Chapter 200 Extra (23)

Guan Suyi walked around in the green imperial garden, and then walked further through a nine-curved corridor towards the Changle Palace. Between the flowers and willows, she faintly heard someone talking behind the rockery not far away, and only when she got close, she recognized the words “The emperor, life is hard”. She walked over quietly, raised her hand to made a silent motion, and the palace maids and inner attendants who followed her immediately held their breaths and hid their tracks.

“I heard that the emperor took a fancy to a Han woman again, yesterday barely brought her back to the palace already sealed the position of Ronghua. He seems very fond of her.” This voice was very shrill, indicating that it was an inner attendant.

Another palace maid spoke up, “The emperor’s birth chart only dares to touch Han women, and the family background should be low, otherwise if the person was killed, how can he explain to the courts. Ye Jieyu was fine earlier, but didn’t she die suddenly in the end? I heard that the emperor was the reincarnation of an evil spirit, cutting open…”

The palace maid described the scene of the emperor’s birth in detail, and finally sighed, “Poor Guan Ronghua, probably thinking that entering the palace was to enjoy happiness, who knows that she actually stepping into the gate of hell. Just wait, she will be like Ye Jieyu, within a few years she will be killed. If she’s carrying the emperor’s heir, it will be even worse. Maybe one day her belly will be rip off and a little evil spirit will come out. I heard that from time to time the emperor can’t hold back his ghost energy and will show his true shape, it has blue face with fangs and red eyes, and will kill everyone he met. Is this true or false? Have you seen it?”

“The people who have seen it with their own eyes has gone to the Yellow Spring, where can they still stand and talk to you?” The inner attendant’s voice was trembling, obviously very frightened.

Then the two muttered some more gossip, nothing more than how the emperor brutally killed people, how strange his birth chart, and how bizarre his life experience was.

Guan Suyi stood quietly on the spot with a calm expression, while Minglan and Jinzi looked at her frequently, one was horrified, the other was filled with righteous indignation. When Jinzi took a step forward and was about to teach the two behind the rockery, she was stopped by her.

At this moment, the two had gone far away, and Guan Suyi said nonchalantly, “It’s just a scheme to sow discord, you don’t need to worry about it.” If someone else heard those terrifying story, they might be so frightened that they would lose their minds, and in the end alienated and avoided the emperor, but it didn’t disturb her at all.

She had a brain and could distinguish between good and bad. Although entering the palace was because there was no other alternative, but it was true that the emperor saved her father. He had the supreme right, and one sentence could determine people’s life and death, but in the case of no effort, Guan Suyi never expected him to safeguarding her. In the final analysis, most of people’s relationships tend to be about interests, to get and to give, gains and losses. Unwilling to pay but wanting to earn profit, how could there be such a good thing in the world?

So she gave herself willingly and got a satisfactory result. She had no resentment towards the emperor, on the contrary felt grateful. Although he watched from the sidelines and waited for her to surrender, he protected her father in the end. If not, after several rounds of torture, his father would have been unjustly killed in prison.

As for his birth chart and life experience, who else knew better than her? After thinking about it, Guan Suyi shook her head and continued to walk forward. What her father said was right, the harem like the court, had constant disputes. Before this, the emperor had not eliminated his inner demon, so he was quite afraid of pregnant women and children. This was why he never favor the concubines in the harem, but instead raised the heart of the Empress Dowager. At first, she probably just wanted to resist the emperor and achieve a certain psychological balance. Because she was not doing well, so others should not be better. But she unexpectedly scored by a lucky hit, forcing out the emperor’s inner demon.

She watched the emperor become more and more crazy and out of control day by day, she should be very proud of it. However, even so, she did not feel satisfied. While giving medicine to the concubines in the harem, she induced and controlled them mentally, making them see the emperor as a demon.

Everyone thinks you are abnormal, and everyone says you are an outlier, who will feel better after hearing this so many times? No wonder the emperor did not want to favor the concubines in the harem. He not only tabooed his own life experience, but also hated the faces of those people.

Guan Suyi thought about it all the way, and already understood how to act in the future. All in all, she and the emperor were on the same boat, and the rest were enemies and could not be trusted. Between these wild thoughts, she arrived at Changle Palace. She respectfully saluted the Empress Dowager, then pretended to sit down absent-mindedly, not said anything nor looked around, just answered what she was asked, as if very obedient, but her hands were clenched into fists, revealing the fear and anxiety in her heart.

The Empress Dowager was very satisfied with Guan Suyi’s reaction, and her attitude became kinder, and she said a lot of things with a smile. After a while, the Empress Xu Yayan brought the sixth imperial grandson to pay respect, and after sitting on the seat below the Empress Dowager, she asked in a meaningful way, “Since Guan Ronghua has entered the palace, then your father’s case has fizzled out, right?”

What fizzled out? Wouldn’t it imply that her father did commit a capital crime, but was released because she came to serve the emperor? It was the first time that Guan Suyi had such a strong dislike towards someone, and immediately said coldly, “Back to niangniang, the case is not over, and it’s still being thoroughly investigated. My father has evidence to prove his innocence, the nine murder charges are all unjust, and the culprit will be brought to justice sooner or later. My father sits upright and has a clear conscience, he’s not afraid being interrogated in the court, only blame some people for using their official position to avenge personal grudges, framing and making false charges, dirtying the official hat on their head, and dirtying the other upright officials.”

She paused for a moment, and then continued, “Before this concubine entered the palace, vaguely heard that the elder brother of niangniang was also involved in human lives case. Also doesn’t know who made up the rumors, but it was said that the elder brother wantonly dug up the upper river channel, saving the counties under his rule from flooding, but causing tens of thousands of people downstream to be flooded, or lost their lives, or lost their homes. It’s truly tragic. When this concubine heard this, thinking this is all a lie. How can there’s such a person that worse than a beast in this world, who only cares about his own political achievements, but regards the common people as ants. If there really is such an evil beast, let alone the people will hate and curse, even Heaven will have to send thunder to kill him.”

Seeing Xu Yayan’s face turning blue, she continued, “However, this concubine heard that the elder brother has been reading the words of the Sage since he was a child. Not only is he talented, but his character is also very noble, how can he do such a wicked thing that deserve divine punishment. It can be seen that the rumors are unbelievable. Niangniang should not worry, as the saying goes, those who are clean are naturally clean, and those who are dirty are naturally dirty, and when the emperor thoroughly investigates, it will definitely clear elder brother’s name.” At the end, she leaned over and bowed, her tone was firm and her expression was sincere.

Xu Yayan was brutally scolded over and over again by her, and heart was extremely angry, but she had to smile and thank her. She was originally seven points displeased with her, but now it became ten. She glanced at the Empress Dowager with an anxious look in her eyes, which showed that she was also clear about her brother’s affairs, and this was asking the Empress Dowager for help.

The empress dowager wanted to let the empress adopted the sixth imperial grandson, and naturally unafraid that the other person would cause trouble. If the other person had trouble, she could grasp the handle, and when she grasped the handle, she could control her. She thought about it for a while then decided to agree, but when she was about to send Guan Suyi away, the three prince consorts came with their children to pay respect, and surrounded the empress dowager to flatter.

It was not was easy to open the mouth to expel people, so the Empress Dowager had to wink at the empress, letting her not be impatient.

Guan Suyi was pushed aside by everyone, but she didn’t feel uncomfortable, took a sip from the teacup, and then picked up the cakes to eat. She could feel the turbulent undercurrent in the Changle Palace. There was only one imperial throne, but there were many imperial grandsons, and all of them had strong backgrounds. Just because the sixth imperial grandson was clever and quick-witted, and knew how to please the Empress Dowager, if he was given the crown prince position, how could the rest of the people be willing?

As long as the emperor had not nodded his head for a day, the battle between several prince consorts would not stop. The empress was caught between several major forces, and had already become the most dangerous one. It was a pity that she already stood on the cusp of the storm but she didn’t realize it, still acted like the future was bright.

Thinking like this, Guan Suyi lowered her eyes and sneered, and after she stopped smiling, she became slightly chilled.

Just at this moment, the sound of “the emperor has arrived” came from outside the hall, and everyone quickly stopped the open and secret fight and went out to greet him. Now who would be established as the crown prince was all depend on the emperor’s thoughts, and the prince consorts who usually avoided him like snakes and scorpions were no longer arrogant, they were all rushing to curry favor.

Emperor Sheng Yuan did not hide his favor for Madam, walked over and pulled her up and placed her beside him, and then he waved his hands to let everyone drop the curtsey. The empress dowager sat firmly on the main seat and asked, “Your Majesty, have you thought about the matter that Aijia asked you a few days ago?”

All the prince consorts looked at him with undisguised eagerness and ambition in their eyes.

Emperor Sheng Yuan held Madam’s fair little hand and said in a loose tone, “Zhen is still considering it. The several nephews are all capable, but they are still young, so it would be a bit hasty to establish a crown prince now.”

Except for the eldest prince consort, the other two prince consorts nodded secretly.

The Empress Dowager was afraid that the night is long and the dream is manywhen the time is prolonged, the situation may change unfavorably, and wanted to persuade again, but the emperor continued, “How about this, first let the old third, old fifth, and old sixth be handed over to Shen Jieyu, Pan Jieyu, and the empress to raise. Wait until they get older, and they showed their temperament and talent, then Zhen will decide again.”

This arrangement seemed reasonable, but in fact it completely separated the three prince consorts, and also alienated their relationship with the Empress Dowager. Moreover, it let the local wealthy families represented by Shen Jieyu, the Jiuli noble surname represented by Pan Jieyu, and the emerging dignitaries represented by the empress stood in their respective teams. And the other noble families would be unwilling to be left behind, and inevitably would use some means to seize the opportunity. All kinds of forces would be isolated, forming a relationship of mutual restraint, suppression and balance, which would stabilize the court for the time being.

In the battle of seizing the heir position, the emperor could completely stand on the sidelines, and when several major forces fight and weaken each other, he could slowly control the overall situation.

What if someone could see through his intentions? The interests were there, if you’re unwilling to fight, many others will take your place. At least the other two prince consorts were extremely satisfied with his arrangement and were already kneeling on the ground to thank him. The Empress Dowager couldn’t say anything against it. No matter which one ascended the throne, it was her direct grandson. She couldn’t suppress the rest of her grandsons for the sake of the sixth imperial grandson, for no reason chilled the hearts of the other daughters-in-laws, and also chilled the big surnames behind them.

After thinking about it, the Empress Dowager finally nodded and said, “Then do as you say.”

Emperor Sheng Yuan felt Madam scratching his palm, and couldn’t help but smile, while the eldest prince consort and Xu Yayan changed their faces.

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