boyutpedia Chapter 234 The Legend of Zhen Huan, Consort Qi 47
Chapter 234 The Legend of Zhen Huan, Consort Qi 47
The fifth princess, born to An Lingrong, was frail and sickly, and even the important third-day celebration could not be held. On the day of the princess's third-day celebration, the Emperor personally visited her at Yanxi Palace.
An Lingrong spoke a few words quietly to the Emperor through the screen, during which she also pleaded for her father, An Bihai.
The Emperor had always disliked the concubines in the harem interfering in the affairs of the court. When he heard An Lingrong mention this matter, his face darkened, and he said coldly, "I have my own plans for this matter."
An Lingrong was always cautious around the emperor, and usually flattered him, never daring to talk about feelings with him.
Seeing the Emperor's attitude, her heart tightened, but she dared not say another word. The Emperor turned and left, and An Lingrong sat alone behind the screen, secretly grieving, tears streaming down her face.
Seeing An Lingrong so heartbroken, Chunzhu was worried and quickly comforted her, "Your Majesty, you are still in your postpartum period. Crying is not good for your health. Besides, you still have the Fourth Princess. Even if you don't think about yourself, you have to think about the Fourth Princess."
“But… Father has made a mistake, and I don’t know how the Emperor will deal with him. Mother is getting old…” An Lingrong choked up, her biggest worry was her mother.
Over the years, my mother had hardly had a good day. It wasn't until she gained favor with the emperor that she asked a few eunuchs to send some things to my mother. Only then did the concubines stop making things difficult for my mother out of respect for her.
Chunzhu didn't know how to comfort her, so she asked the wet nurse to bring the fourth princess over. The fifth princess was already asleep, and although her little face was still pale, she looked much better than she had a few days ago.
An Lingrong's gaze was drawn to the Fifth Princess. Looking at her daughter's peaceful sleeping face, the sadness in her heart was temporarily dispelled, and she stopped thinking about those painful things.
On the surface, the inner palace remained calm, but in the blink of an eye, the Fifth Princess's full-moon celebration arrived. Because the Fourth Princess was weak and far inferior to Wenyi and Longyue, the Emperor dared not hold a grand celebration, opting instead for a simple affair. The Fifth Princess made a brief appearance before everyone before being carried back to her room.
An Lingrong had always wanted to find an opportunity to plead for her father, but unfortunately, she never succeeded. At this full moon banquet, in order to give the Fifth Princess some face, the Emperor stayed at Yanxi Palace that night.
An Lingrong sat by the dressing table, her brows furrowed. Xia Zhu was helping her with her makeup when Chun Zhu rushed in, her face full of anxiety.
Chunzhu kept glancing at An Lingrong. Seeing this, An Lingrong quickly dismissed Xiazhu and asked in a hoarse voice, "What happened?"
Today is the Fifth Princess's special day, but Chunzhu's expression is so unusual that An Lingrong has a premonition that it's not a good thing.
"Your Majesty, I was walking on the road just now when someone suddenly threw a letter at me. I was so worried that I quickly took it back." Chunzhu's voice trembled slightly.
An Lingrong took the letter and saw that it contained the things that Consort Xuan (Zhen Huan) had arranged for Xiao Yunzi to do.
Instantly, anger flared in her eyes, and she said through gritted teeth, "Zhen Huan, I will never let you get away with this!"
However, she also knew that she was currently weak, while Zhen Huan had three children and was also managing the six palaces. She could not openly oppose Zhen Huan.
That night, An Lingrong carefully helped the Emperor to rest. The imperial physician had said that An Lingrong's health was no longer suitable for serving the Emperor, and the Emperor was not an unreasonable person, so the two simply slept in the same bed without incident. However, An Lingrong had something on her mind and slept very restlessly all night.
Another month passed, and devastating news arrived: An Lingrong's father, An Bihai, was sentenced to beheading, the An family's property was confiscated, and all males over the age of sixteen were exiled to Ningguta. However, out of consideration for An Lingrong, the Emperor did not punish the women of the An family.
Upon hearing the news, An Lingrong burst into tears. Chunzhu gently comforted her, "Your Majesty... there's still a long life ahead of you... please don't be too sad."
As if she had thought of something, Chunzhu continued, "Your Majesty, the Emperor has not blamed your mother. You can bring her to live in the capital. Then you can see her once a month. With your care, she will surely live well."
An Lingrong took Chunzhu's hand and said softly, "You're right. My mother has never had a peaceful day in her life. If we can bring her to the capital, with me as her support, she will surely be able to enjoy her later years in peace."
After saying this, An Lingrong picked up her pen and wrote a letter. Over the years, she had also made several people she could trust in the palace.
She instructed Chunzhu to deliver the letter to a eunuch, who then bought a small courtyard in the capital for her mother and Consort Xiao to live in. As for her half-brothers and sisters, she had no time to care about them and didn't concern herself with them; it was good enough that she hadn't killed them.
Having finished these matters, An Lingrong felt somewhat relieved. She checked on the Fifth Princess daily; the princess now had a nickname, Yao Yao. The rest of the time, she hoped her mother could arrive in the capital soon.
……
In Chuxiu Palace, Wen Yuan frowned as she listened to Xiao Lengzi's report. The matter of the strange eunuchs who appeared when An Lingrong gave birth a few days ago had now been resolved.
"This servant has found out. It was the Empress's doing, and Consort Xuan was also pulling the strings behind the scenes," Xiao Lengzi said cautiously.
“Empress… Zhen Huan…” A fierce glint flashed in Wen Yuan’s eyes. Now that the Empress had made a move, she would not let it go easily and would definitely retaliate properly.
"Little Lengzi, come closer," Wen Yuan whispered.
Xiao Lengzi quickly stepped forward, and Wen Yuan whispered a few words in his ear before telling Xiao Lengzi to go and do his errands.
A few days later, a talented member of the Ulanara clan's collateral branch accidentally broke his leg on his way to a horse race. It was said that the injury was serious and that he would have difficulty recovering.
Wen Yuan never hides her actions. Through the connections of the Ulanara clan, she deliberately spread the news to Yi Xiu, letting Yi Xiu know that she had taken action but had not found any evidence.
That evening, Yixiu summoned the imperial physician, claiming that she had suffered a headache and exempted everyone from paying their respects the following day.
Wen Yuan avenged herself with a small arrow and then did not pursue the matter further.
Zhen Huan, ambitious and driven by ambition, seized almost all the power in the harem. Wen Yuan watched coldly as Zhen Huan acted, thinking to herself, "The higher you climb, the harder you fall."
One day in March, Zhen Yurao accidentally bumped into Yunxi while chasing butterflies in the Imperial Garden. Unlike in history, Yunxi was only seventeen years old at this time, still living in the Prince's Residence, and had not yet married his primary wife.
Zhen Huan had high standards and had witnessed the wealth and luxury of the royal family, so she naturally didn't want to marry her younger sister to a commoner family. Moreover, scholarly families would mostly look down on the Zhen family, whose reputation hadn't yet been overturned. Therefore, Zhen Huan set her sights on Yunxi.
Zhen Yurao stayed in Yongshou Palace for almost a year, and after recuperation, her health improved considerably. Although the scars on her face had not completely disappeared, they were not very noticeable after applying foundation.
Upon encountering Yunxi, Zhen Yurao, seeing that Yunxi was young and handsome, immediately understood her sister's intentions and pretended to be fearless.
Yunxi's reaction was indifferent. After all, he could tell the difference between natural beauty and beauty enhanced by makeup.
He didn't think Zhen Yurao's thick foundation was attractive.
Moreover, while residing in the prince's quarters, Yunxi heard about Zhen Yurao's absence from the palace even after nearly a year in, and couldn't help but suspect her intentions. She worried that if Zhen Yurao had any plans to enter the palace and became her stepmother, it would be troublesome.
The two exchanged only a few words before Yunxi hurriedly took her leave.
Zhen Yurao was so angry that she stomped her feet. You see, Yunxi rarely walked around the Imperial Garden on ordinary days. Today, she was on her way to pay her respects to the Empress Dowager. She only brought people to create this "chance encounter" because she was passing by the Imperial Garden.
Wen Yuan, watching from afar, observed all of this with a look of anticipation on her face.
In her view, so-called love at first sight was nothing more than lust at first sight. Zhen Yurao had a scar on her face, and even with makeup, Yunxi did not like her.
"Your Majesty?" Jing Ning asked, puzzled, seeing Wen Yuan eavesdropping from the hiding place.
"Let's go." Wen Yuan was in a good mood, having enjoyed a good show. But she also knew that she couldn't let Zhen Huan's power continue to expand, and Yunxi's matter needed to be resolved as soon as possible.
Zhen Huan had hoped to have Zhen Yu Rao and Yun Xi meet a few more times to cultivate their relationship, but her wishful thinking failed.
A few days later, the emperor issued an imperial decree to bestow a marriage upon Yunxi, whose primary wife was the daughter of Zuo Ling Zu Jianji.
Hearing this news, Zhen Yu Rao was depressed. Seeing her younger sister's sad expression, Zhen Huan could only comfort her, "Alright, I'll help you find someone even better."
But Zhen Huan herself was also unhappy. She had just made a plan when the Emperor bestowed a marriage upon her. It seemed that someone had leaked the news.