Unparalleled Beauty

Chapter C107 pt2

“The moment I see her, I think of the Noble Consort from back then. Why? Why is that?"

“She was of lowly birth, merely a dancer, while my background, though not as good as those high-ranking concubines, was far better than hers. I was proficient in zither, chess, calligraphy, painting, poetry, and song, while she couldn't even write her own name. A lowly dancer, what did she have to rely on?"

“She has probably forgotten the time, before she became His Majesty's concubine, when she encountered me and knelt humbly before me. At the time, she didn't dare to look me in the face, naturally unaware that later, it would be me kneeling at her feet, begging for her protection."

“From the way I saw His Majesty look at her, I knew my chance had come. So, while the entire palace hated her, I befriended her. Everyone despised her and plotted against her, but with just a few subtle tricks, I made her believe I was truly sincere towards her."

“So, she lived alone in the Luanfeng Palace, while I moved into the rear hall. Because only here could I see His Majesty, conceive a child, and earn a place for myself in this harem.”"

Consort Dowager Hu, disheveled and seemingly mad, laughed wildly as she said, “What use is beauty without brains? She knew I was using her to gain His Majesty's favor and conceive Prince An, yet after I cried, begged, and expressed my loyalty, she forgave me out of consideration for our past relationship.”

“Your Majesty, you must never think that I harmed her!”

Consort Dowager Hu suddenly said to Emperor Taihe in a deranged manner, “Such a useful person, my son Prince An is still young, how could I destroy my own path and harm her? I am still waiting for her to pave the way for my son, to make my son His Majesty's most beloved prince.”

"I would never harm her! The reason she died young was simply that the late Emperor made the same mistake as you. A palace full of women, the target of everyone’s envy and hatred, how could she have lived long? Yet you all like to underestimate women!"

"Thinking women are nothing more than playthings, mere decorations, weak and timid, incapable of accomplishing anything? I tell you, when a woman turns ruthless, she is capable of anything, especially a woman whose heart has been broken, especially a woman whose eyes are blinded by jealousy..."

Emperor Taihe stood outside the wooden railing, watching Consort Dowager Hu go mad.

He thought he must hate her intensely, but he never imagined that after a night and half a day of brewing, his anger would turn into a myriad of complex emotions weighing on his heart.

In an instant, he seemed to have aged decades.

He slowly said, "You don't need to deliberately provoke me, so I will kill you. I will let you live, live to watch all your loved ones die one by one, live to suffer all kinds of torment, and you still won't die, you will only continue to suffer."

***

In another prison cell, Prince Jin was confined.

The sounds of Consort Dowager Hu's madness and frenzy faintly reached here. Prince Jin listened and calmly said, "Have you ever tasted the feeling of being trampled under everyone's feet, yet you can't be angry or furious, and you still have to shamelessly pick your face up from the ground?"

Prince Wei looked at him with a cold expression: "This Prince came to accompany Father Emperor to go through the motions. You don't need to tell me these things, and this Prince doesn't want to hear them."

"Indeed, the victor is always right." Prince Jin laughed self-deprecatingly, "Father Emperor has lost before, and you haven't lost yet, so you certainly don't need to listen to the dying words of us losers. Then, would you like to hear how Xi Fu died back then?"

Saying that, without waiting for Prince Wei to respond, he continued, "Actually, I was fond of her back then, and she was also fond of me, but she didn't want to marry me. She thought my identity was unclear, just born from a lowly palace maid. She still wanted to marry Prince Qin, because Prince Qin's status was higher than mine. If it weren't for me, Prince Qin would be the eldest son, and perhaps the future Crown Prince. You see, even such a simple and lively girl looked down on me..."

"But she never expected that Prince Qin wouldn't even look at her. Even if Prince Qin were to marry, he would only marry a noble lady with a prominent family background, as that would be helpful to him. How could he choose the daughter of a princess with no power or influence? So Father Emperor bestowed her upon you. When I heard this news, I really wanted to laugh. A lowly person was actually maneuvering between three princes..."

"This Prince does not wish to hear you say these things."

Unexpectedly, this simple sentence provoked Prince Jin.

He stood up and roared at Prince Wei through the bars, "You certainly don't need to listen. You have been favored by Father Emperor since you were a child. You have what others have, and you also have what others don't. You probably don't know that the first time I saw you wasn't after I returned to the palace, but once when Father Emperor went to Yiquan Palace, I saw Father Emperor holding your hand...

"You probably don't know that there was a child hiding in the flower bushes nearby, right? That child kept looking at you, silently looking at you, jealously and enviously looking at you, thinking why isn't Father Emperor holding my hand?

"At that time, I didn't know that I wasn't Father Emperor's son. I only knew that I was a prince born to a lowly palace maid, so Father Emperor didn't acknowledge me, he disliked me. Guess when I found out that I wasn't Father Emperor's son?"

Prince Wei frowned. He knew that even if he said he didn't want to know, the other party would still say it.

Sure enough, Prince Jin didn't wait for him to answer and continued, "After I entered the palace, after I suffered countless cold looks, harsh criticisms, schemes, and slanders, after I was hit again and again, and then cheered up again and again, wanting to become Father Emperor's most dazzling son, in order to prove that he was wrong about me, that it wasn't my fault that he disliked me, it was that he was wrong."

Prince Jin suddenly burst into laughter, a laugh that was utterly bizarre.

His voice was no longer hysterical, but had become very soft, very light.

"That day, Grandmother secretly had someone lead me to Cining Palace. She told me that I was never truly Father Emperor's son, but merely the son of a deceased Prince."

"She held me and wailed, saying that I was, in truth, loved by someone, that she would love me, that she would only have me from now on, and she was all I had. She said she hadn't told me before because I was too young, afraid I would reveal it in front of others. Now that I was older, it was time to tell me."

"So, I was used to muddle the imperial bloodline. So, it was right that I suffered cold stares, harsh treatment, and slander, because I was, in truth, a bastard… Haha… Haha…"

Prince Jin laughed, laughing so hard he bent over, unable to stop.

At some unknown time, Emperor Taihe appeared behind Prince Wei.

"Let's go."

Prince Wei turned back to look at him, then followed behind him, leaving behind Prince Jin's long-lasting, frenzied laughter.

***

The thirty-fourth year of the Taihe Emperor's reign, winter.

The Emperor stripped Prince Jin of his title, demoting him to a commoner and imprisoning him in his original Prince's mansion. On the grounds of muddling the imperial bloodline, Prince An's title was stripped, removing him from the imperial clan and demoting him to a commoner. Consort Dowager Hu's title was stripped, and she was sent to the Imperial Mausoleum to eternally repent for the sins she had committed.

This palace upheaval happened suddenly and ended just as quickly.

Overnight, the situation in the capital changed drastically. All those involved, and even those not, were as silent as cicadas in winter. However, the fathers of the former Prince Jin's two Secondary Consorts were quite bold, privately requesting an audience with Emperor Taihe, claiming they were previously unaware that the commoner had deliberately muddled the imperial bloodline, and requesting to take back their daughters.

Emperor Taihe agreed.

The next day, Secondary Consort Jia and Secondary Consort Bai, who had just given birth to a daughter, were taken away. The vast mansion was left with only the former Princess Jin, now the criminal Fan shi, two daughters born to concubines, and a daughter still in swaddling clothes.

After this matter came to light, the court officials privately said that His Majesty was greatly benevolent, not implicating the innocent.

In truth, one could guess why the fathers of the two Secondary Consorts dared to take back their daughters.

It was all to avoid being implicated. Although they could sever ties with their daughters, any mention of this imperial scandal in the future would bring up the fact that they had daughters married to the deposed Prince Jin, now a commoner.

A short pain is better than a long one. To avoid affecting the future prospects of their family's descendants, it was better to cut the Gordian knot quickly. In truth, they were all important officials in the court, and Emperor Taihe could not refuse them this face.

However, Marquis Wuding, the father of Fan shi, did not come forward, and it was unknown what his plans were.

***

In the blink of an eye, it was the end of the year. On the twenty-fifth day of the twelfth lunar month, Prince Qin and Prince Han returned to the capital one after the other.

After returning to the capital, the two only entered the palace once, and then remained behind closed doors.

Another New Year's Eve arrived.

At the New Year's Eve banquet, although there were only two fewer families than in previous years, the atmosphere was extremely bleak. Even the flourishing songs and dances could not dispel the unease brought about by the turbulent situation.

The first day of the new year was, as usual, the Grand Court Assembly and the Grand Ceremony of Congratulation.

Last year, Wushuang avoided all of this by virtue of her pregnancy, but this year she couldn't escape.

She obediently put on the full set of ceremonial robes according to the rules, and rode with Prince Wei, who was now the Crown Prince, to the palace gate. She stood in the cold wind for the better part of an hour before queuing up to enter the palace, and then waited quietly in front of Cining Palace.

Princess Changhe was in front of her, and the Princess Consort Qin and others were behind her.

In fact, according to etiquette, the Crown Princess should be the model among the titled ladies, but Princess Changhe's status and seniority were both higher, so Wushuang naturally had to stand behind her.

The weather was cold, and the wind howled.

Fortunately, the palace servants were quite perceptive, and because they were standing at the very front, they were soon able to enter and pay their respects to the Empress Dowager.

Another year passed, and the Empress Dowager had aged another year.

Perhaps the incident that occurred before the New Year was a great blow to the Empress Dowager, so at this time, the Empress Dowager looked utterly aged, making people sigh at the impermanence of the world.

The imperial family had too many tedious and complicated rituals. Before the banquet began, Wushuang and Princess Changhe stayed in Cining Palace to talk, along with Wan Chun'er.

Pure Consort Zhou originally wanted to ask for a Secondary Consort for her son, but the time was not on her side. She finally suppressed her son's desires, only to encounter turmoil in the court, so she could only give up for the time being.

Now Wan Chun'er was also pregnant, having conceived in June. She was now carrying a large belly of more than seven months. Her belly was much larger than Wushuang's back then, which made her petite figure look particularly frightening.

Last year she accompanied Wushuang, and this year Wushuang accompanied her.

Wan Chun'er really liked Zuo'er. The little baby was just over three months old and was growing well, fair and chubby, with delicate features, even more beautiful than the dolls in the New Year pictures.

Being heavily pregnant, she couldn't hold him, so she stayed close to Wushuang, watching her coax the child and play with him. She was so envious, holding Zuo'er's little hand and refusing to let go, repeatedly saying that she wished she could give birth to a child as cute as Zuo'er.

Wan Chun'er had privately told Wushuang that she hoped to give birth to a son this time.

It wasn't that she disliked daughters, but she felt that if she had a son, it might temporarily dispel Consort Zhou's dissatisfaction with her.

Wushuang didn't know what to say about this mother-in-law and daughter-in-law relationship, and could only help her wish that she could get her wish.

Wan Chun'er then asked her if she planned to have a son or a daughter next.

Wushuang had no thoughts on this, because the days since she gave birth to Zuo'er were still short, and neither Prince Wei nor Ji Yang would allow her to give birth again in a short period of time.

To this end, Ji Yang had directly told her this outright, while Prince Wei had Physician Chu prescribe her a mild and nourishing contraceptive formula. This formula was a closely guarded secret of the Chu family, which could not only regulate a woman's blood and qi but also act as a contraceptive. It was just not very tasty, but fortunately, she only needed to drink a bowl every few days.

At noon, the usual banquet was served. After the banquet, the Empress Dowager arranged for a play at the listening opera tower.

Last year, Wushuang could avoid it, but this year she couldn't. Her status was different now, and everyone was watching her, so naturally, she had to put on an act.

Finally, taking advantage of Wan Chun'er's large belly, the two of them left the listening opera tower, preparing to go to Cining Palace to wait for the men to finish so they could return to the Prince's mansion.

Wan Chun'er asked Wushuang when she would move into the palace.

The East Palace had been prepared long ago, but they had not moved from Prince Wei's mansion, so they could only change the plaque of Prince Wei's mansion to the Crown Prince's Palace. Although the title had changed, everything else was still done according to the previous regulations.

"I don't know either, it depends on what Your Highness plans."

Wan Chun'er sighed and said, "We were finally about to move out of the palace, but I never thought that you and His Highness the Crown Prince would be moving in. But fortunately, I can still enter the palace to see you, and it's no different from before."

Yes, Ji Shao's title had already been conferred, and he would be leaving the palace after the new year. Wan Chun'er's current title had also been changed to Princess Consort Duan.

"You also said, it's no different from before..."

At this moment, a burst of noise came from a distance. From afar, it seemed that someone was running this way, followed by several palace servants.

"I want to see the Empress Dowager, I want to see the Empress Dowager..."

It wasn't until the person ran closer that Wushuang realized it was Princess Jin.

No, it was now the criminal woman Fan shi.

Fan shi had completely changed from her usual glamorous appearance, wearing a maroon cotton coat that didn't quite fit. Her hair was disheveled, draped behind her, and while kicking and punching the palace maids who were trying to stop her, she still wanted to run towards the listening opera tower.

Surrounded by many, Wushuang was immediately shielded, along with Wan Chun'er, as soon as the chaos erupted.

At this moment, Fan shi also caught sight of the Crown Princess in her splendid attire, and the Princess Consort of Prince Duan, her belly swelling with child.

How long ago was it that when they saw her, they had to call her Eldest Sister-in-law? Now she had become like this, while Wushuang, whom she once looked down upon, had become the lofty and unattainable Crown Princess.

It had clearly only been a little over a year, yet it felt like a lifetime ago.

Fan shi stared at Wushuang, weeping and laughing at the same time.

She suddenly took a few steps in their direction, and the palace servants, disregarding protocol, immediately embraced her from behind. Two chamberlains even attempted to forcibly carry her away.

"Release me, release me! I will walk on my own!" Fan shi exclaimed, breaking free from their hold.

Immediately after, with a 'plump' sound, she knelt down before Wushuang.

"I beg you, I implore you, please help me stay by his side. We have been husband and wife for many years, and we have long shared life and death. Yes, I resented his heartlessness and faithlessness, his finding new love, but now that he has fallen to this state, I have no intention of abandoning him to return and continue enjoying the glory and wealth of a legitimate daughter of a Marquis's Mansion. Wherever he is, I am. If he dies, I will die too!"