newbobooks Chapter 1099 The Unfaithful Lover 27
Chapter 1099 The Unfaithful Lover 27
Several imperial heirs in the wombs of the concubines suffered mishaps, and soon after, the servants in the Empress's palace were all sent to the Imperial Prison. This immediately revealed that the Empress was the one who had harmed the imperial heirs.
Honestly, Consort Li couldn't understand why the Empress would target the imperial heirs. Was it simply out of jealousy?
It's terrifying. Just because of jealousy, she doesn't even care about her own family. It's truly a terrible thing that the Empress's family produced such a daughter.
“Your Majesty, you should not concern yourself with why the Empress is targeting the imperial heir,” Su Yun said. “I think what you should do most now is to quickly find a doctor from outside the palace to come and examine you.”
"In the past, I always thought that it was because the emperor had few children that none of the concubines in the harem could conceive. But now it seems that this is not the case at all. The empress must have done something to cause the concubines in the harem to be unable to conceive."
"No wonder. No wonder all the concubines who went to Jiangnan with the Emperor became pregnant. It's because they left the palace and were no longer targeted by the Empress that they got pregnant."
“You’re right,” Consort Li nodded angrily. “The Empress must have taken advantage of my health long ago, which is why I have been unable to conceive.”
“That vile Empress is really something else. I’ve been ruined by her,” Consort Li said with a bitter expression. “It’s too late! I’m already this old, and besides, I’ve lost the Emperor’s favor.”
"So let's just forget about finding a doctor from outside the palace. Don't go through all that trouble, or it will only make me feel worse."
"Your Majesty, why are you so unlucky?" Su Yun wiped away her tears.
Seeing Su Yun cry, Consort Li couldn't help but shed tears as well.
Yes! How could she be so unlucky? To run into such a vicious woman as the Empress.
The Emperor did not immediately punish the Empress, nor did he punish her family. He kept the news under wraps in the palace to prevent it from leaking out.
A month later, the emperor issued an edict ordering all the princes of the fiefdoms to come to the capital to celebrate the Empress Dowager's birthday.
Because this was the Empress Dowager's sixtieth birthday, the Emperor wanted to hold a grand celebration, which is why he wanted all the vassal kings to come to the capital.
The reason was quite valid, and it didn't arouse any suspicion from others. Only the emperor's true confidants knew what the emperor was planning to do.
The emperor had long harbored the idea of reducing the power of the princes, but he had never been able to make up his mind.
The matter concerning Prince Chen and the Empress finally made him make up his mind. If he didn't reduce the power of the princes, his sons wouldn't be able to sit securely on the throne in the future, since he had almost been deposed.
Meanwhile, Gu Yanjin and Yan Jialuo's marriage was arranged, and when Prince Lu arrived in the capital, Jiang Chunxi gave birth to twins.
"How hateful!" Prince Lu paced back and forth in his study. He had just arrived in the capital when he was faced with the fact that the Emperor had two sons. One can imagine how terrible he felt at this moment. "The Emperor is really lucky. He has two sons at the age of forty."
“Father, please calm down,” Yan Jialuo said. “What good is having a son? Whether he can even be raised to adulthood is another matter. In short, at the very end, it is still unknown who will inherit the throne.”
"That may be true, but the current situation is far from optimistic for our Prince Lu's mansion!" Prince Lu said with a furrowed brow and agitation. "No, I cannot sit idly by and wait for my doom; I must do something."
“Children in their infancy are the most vulnerable,” the Prince of Lu said with a cold glint in his eyes. “If we’re not careful, even a minor illness can be fatal. We need to find a way to develop some connections in the harem.”
The same situation was playing out in the various princely mansions in the capital, where the emperor, who had been childless for his entire life, suddenly had two sons appear out of nowhere.
How could these vassal kings, who had long harbored ambitions, be willing to accept this? The main reason they rushed back to the capital from their fiefdoms so readily was because the emperor needed an heir.
After all, there are some things they can't do even when they're far away in their fiefdoms. Only by returning to the capital can they make plans and find opportunities to act.
What these princes didn't know was that from the moment they stepped into the capital, their every move was under the emperor's surveillance, so their ambitious conversation was quickly known to the emperor.
Prince Chen was the last of the vassal kings to arrive in the capital. When he arrived, there were only half a month left before the Empress Dowager's birthday.
In fact, Prince Chen was unwilling to return to the capital. Although the Emperor had tried to suppress the news, it was impossible to hide the fact that the concubines in the harem had suffered a series of miscarriages. Prince Chen, far away in his fiefdom, also learned of the news and naturally knew that it must have been the Empress who was behind it.
During this time, he had not received any news from Shaoyao and Shaoqing, which made Prince Chen very uneasy and more vigilant. He did not dare to send any letters to the Empress during this period.
This is why Prince Chen was very reluctant to return to the capital, but he could not disobey the imperial edict.
Of course, the main reason is that rather than living in fear in his fiefdom, it is better to come to the capital in person. Otherwise, if Prince Chen really does not want to come to the capital, there are plenty of ways, such as pretending to be sick, or causing some kind of accident. There are plenty of excuses for not being able to come to the capital to celebrate the Empress Dowager's birthday.
When Jiang Chunxi's two children reached their one-month milestone, she was immediately granted the title of Imperial Concubine. The one-month celebration for the two children was not a grand affair; it was simply a small event held in the inner palace.
Of course, the Emperor also announced that the Empress Dowager's birthday was approaching, and the two children's full-month celebrations could not compare with the Empress Dowager's sixtieth birthday celebrations, which is why the grand full-month celebrations for the two princes were canceled.
This excuse was quite reasonable. Although the princes inevitably had their doubts, they didn't think about it too deeply.
The only one who could think about this more deeply is probably Prince Chen. After all, the Emperor finally has a successor, so how could there not be a grand celebration for the prince's full moon celebration?
But no matter how suspicious Prince Chen was, there was nothing he could do. The capital was not his fiefdom. Prince Chen had to be extremely careful with his every move. He didn't even dare to secretly meet with the spies he had hidden in the court.
Soon, the Empress Dowager's birthday finally arrived.
"The Emperor has arrived! The Empress Dowager has arrived! Consort Fu has arrived!"
As the eunuch's shrill voice rang out, all the ministers, officials' families, and imperial relatives at the banquet knelt down and shouted, "Welcome Your Majesty, Empress Dowager, and Consort Fu!"
At the same time, questions arose in everyone's minds.
Why is there no Empress? Instead, Consort Fu, the Emperor, and the Empress Dowager are attending together.
Prince Chen felt even more uneasy.
Oh no, something must have happened to the Empress.
Of course, the Empress's family members were also uneasy. There were quite a few officials in the Empress's family, so the officials' wives who came to the palace today included the Empress's mother, as well as the Empress's sister-in-law, sister-in-law, cousin's wife, and cousin's wife.
In short, there were quite a few relatives of the Empress's family at the palace banquet today.