blenderwars Chapter 363 You're the first one in history!
Chapter 363 You're the first one in history!
Li Fude hurriedly replied, "The eldest princess is thirteen years old (by the traditional Chinese age reckoning), and the fourth prince is six years old (by the traditional Chinese age reckoning)."
Both are the age at birth plus the year in the mother's womb.
The eldest princess was born in the Eastern Palace.
It was now February of the eleventh year of the Yongxi reign.
Li Yuanke said, "Clean up Xianfu Palace over Xihai Pond and let all the princes over six years old move there. Princesses will live in Yichun Palace behind Donghai Pond. Princesses over twelve years old will move there and be assigned tutors to raise them."
They were both at the perfect age for the eldest princess and the fourth prince.
Li Fude responded and ordered someone to convey the imperial decree to the Imperial Household Department to make arrangements.
In this way, the second, third, and fourth princes will be moved to Xianfu Palace, the fifth prince is not old enough, and the eldest princess will be the one to move in.
When Du Xiurong received the imperial decree, she was completely stunned.
She was actually demoted to the rank of Cai Ren.
Her children were also forced to separate from her.
Consort Du cried out in disbelief, "How can Your Majesty be so heartless? I did nothing wrong, so why are you accusing me of murdering the Crown Prince and the Princess?"
Jiang You came personally to deliver the imperial decree. He had always doted on the Crown Prince and Princess, and was furious. "Consort Du, you'd better keep your voice down in the future. If it weren't for your shout, how could the Crown Prince and Princess have been startled?"
The eldest princess also cried, "I want to see my father! I want to ask my father! My father would never do this! It must be the emperor..."
The word "Empress" was choked off by the teaching nanny and left in the eldest princess's throat.
Otherwise, it would implicate a large number of people.
The fourth prince was overjoyed when he heard that he would be living in Xianfu Palace with his second and third brothers. "That's wonderful! From now on, I can go to the palace of my virtuous mother with my second brother and eat delicious food."
The eldest princess was furious and slapped the fourth prince across the face.
Although the fourth prince was fat, he and his sister had fought a lot and were always on guard against each other. As he dodged, he kicked the eldest princess, hitting her squarely in the stomach.
The eldest princess was kicked and was in pain. She clutched her stomach and tears welled up in her eyes. After a while, she got up and chased after him, but the fourth prince had already run out of Baoci Palace.
He went to find his second and third brothers.
Upon hearing this news, Consort Jing laughed heartily and struggled to get up. "Send me to Bao Ci Palace. If we are any later, I don't know which remote pavilion Consort De will be sent to. I'm too lazy to walk that far."
When Consort Du heard that Consort Jing had arrived, she did not want to see her. But one was a consort, and the other was a low-ranking concubine. Could she simply refuse to see her because she didn't want to?
"This humble servant greets Consort Jing!" Consort Du lay sprawled on the bed, unable and too lazy to get up.
Once the facade is broken, there's no need for pretense.
Seeing her frustrated expression, Consort Jing became even more excited. "Du Ruowan, you entered the palace as Consort De. Back then, apart from Shen Shiyan, your rank was the highest."
"You finally managed to kill Shen Shiyan, thinking that with your son and daughter you could rival me. Who knew that Chenyuan would enter the palace? Entering the palace meant being the sole favorite, and that's not all. Did you ever imagine you'd end up like this?"
A metallic taste rose in her throat, but Consort Du swallowed it nonchalantly, and asked in return, "When the Emperor ascended the throne and you were made Empress, did you ever imagine this day would come?"
Consort Jing was momentarily bewildered. "What I have longed for all my life is not power or glory. All I have ever wanted is a sincere heart, from my parents and my husband. Such a heart is something that can only be found by chance."
But you are different. You want to ascend to the position of Empress, you want your son to be made Crown Prince, you want the future honor of Empress Dowager. Du Ruowan, are you willing to accept this? Hahaha, in the end, you'll end up like me, a wrecked, inhuman creature. Are you willing to accept this? Hahaha!
Du Cairen was furious. "How dare you, a fool like you, compare yourself to me? If it weren't for you, I wouldn't be in this situation!"
Consort Jing smiled. "I've always looked down on me, and I know that. I can't beat you, but it doesn't matter. In the end, I won! When I die, at least I'll be buried with the rank of Consort. And you, a mere Consort, hahaha, a Consort holding three imperial heirs in your hands, Lady Du, you're the first in history to achieve this!"
Consort Du coughed up a mouthful of blood and lay on the couch, coughing and wheezing uncontrollably.
Shen Shixi really went to sleep. At dawn, Li Yuanke returned to his bedchamber and, seeing her sleeping like a log, annoyed, he shoved her awake. "Get up, go to court!"
When Shen Shixi opened her eyes, she saw that Li Yuanke had stayed up all night and didn't look well, so she went over and hugged him, nuzzled against his chest, and kissed his handsome profile. She then asked, "How are Dongjun and Xihe?"
Li Yuange was unmoved, but he didn't abandon her either. He lay down on the bed and said, "You still remember your son and daughter?"
"What are you saying? Isn't it because of you? If it weren't for you, do you think I would care?" She hugged Li Yuanke and kissed him repeatedly, which made him angry, so she got out of bed.
Li Yuanke glanced down at himself, then flew into a rage. He grabbed her and pinned her down, yelling, "You bastard! You don't care about the child, and you don't even care about your father?"
"Oh, then let's go. The court officials will probably be coming to Qian Yuan Palace to pay their respects soon. Should we have them listen for the noise outside?"
She poked Li Yuanke's chest. "Li Yuanke, you're not young anymore, you're thirty, right? You're getting old, you're on the decline. You stayed up all night and still want to have sex? Are you tired of living?"
Li Yuanke was still wondering what "let's have a go" meant when Shen Shixi patted his face and got out of bed. "Bai Ping, it's time to wash up. We have to go to court in a bit."
Several years later, the Empress attended court again, and the chair was placed back on the table.
Shen Shixi didn't want to cause any more trouble, so she said, "His Majesty is feeling a little unwell. Today, I will attend court in his place, and His Majesty can come by himself tomorrow."
Surprisingly, no one seemed to care about this.
Whether it was the emperor or the empress who held court, everyone was quite used to it.
The Empress was incredibly efficient, handling all matters that needed to be reported, seconding those that needed to be seconded, and rejecting those that needed to be rejected. This was because the Empress never dozed off. She could pinpoint the pros and cons of any matter being reported and was also adept at guiding their thinking and helping them come up with solutions.
Soon, the morning court session was over.
When Shen Shixi returned to Qianyuan Palace, Chaoyu reported, "Your Majesty, there were rumors circulating outside this morning that the Crown Prince's fate is not high and his blessings are not abundant. He fell ill just before the investiture ceremony, and it seems that..."
I can't say anything more.
Shen Shixi could guess what those people were trying to say, and asked, "Can you find out who's behind these rumors?"
"The source has been found: a few scoundrels who took money from people and spread rumors in the restaurant. We can't find out who's behind it yet."
Shen Shixi said, "If we can't find out, we can't find out. We'll just keep investigating. Rumors are just rumors. How's Dou Qiansheng doing?"
Dou Qiansheng is Li Yunjue. Although there is no direct evidence, it has been confirmed that he is the same person.
The other party is also very perceptive and has realized that they are being watched, so they have been behaving very well lately.
"There's been no movement lately," Chaoyu said.
Shen Shixi said, "Just keep an eye on it. There are other people spreading rumors."
Unable to recall who it could be, Shen Shixi gave up on thinking about it.
As for the Crown Prince being embroiled in such unpleasant rumors, Shen Shixi, as his mother, was naturally heartbroken. However, she knew that with great power comes great responsibility, and the path to the top was fraught with danger and conflict.
Once the Crown Prince recovers, the rumors will dissipate on their own.
It's best to bear the storms of life on your own from the beginning.
No matter how much parents love their children or how capable they are, since they cannot shield their children from the wind and rain along the way, nor can they walk the path of life for them, it is better to let go from the beginning.
This was the education she received in her past life—cruel but effective.
Li Yuanke felt that Shen Shixi was ruthless, and he couldn't do it. When he heard that there were such rumors outside, he wished he could kill all the people who spread the rumors, tear the person who spread the rumors apart, and exterminate their entire family.
He wanted to summon Cen Yin to conduct a thorough investigation, and not let anyone involved in spreading rumors get away with it.