Chapter 991 Bewitched
Speaking of beauties, there was no shortage of them in the Imperial Palace. From the Empress at the top to the members of the imperial harem down at the bottom, which one of them was not a beauty? Although they had all entered the Imperial Palace over 20 years earlier, and they were no longer young, but while their youth had faded, their beauty still remained. In addition to this, they did a good job of preserving themselves, and they all looked quite beautiful.
Unfortunately, no matter how beautiful they were, they could not actually shock anyone, nor would they be considered extremely beautiful. The only one worthy of this description in the palace would be Feng Zhaolian.
Ever since the previous visit to the Imperial Palace, this person has continued to remain. The Empress understood very clearly what his situation was and what he was doing, but with Feng Yuheng’s face to be considered and the Emperor not saying anything, she could not chase him out. She could only endure and allow this person to wander around the Imperial Palace. This ended up becoming a sight to see, enticing the bored members of the imperial harem into come over for the sake of seeing Feng Zhaolian a little more and admire his beauty.
The one that Talented Lady Liu and Yue Xiu had bumped into was Feng Zhaolian who had just returned from a walk. This person loved the color red and was clearly standing there. Talented Lady Liu felt that the person standing before her was a wicked ghost. Although this person was exceedingly beautiful, he was also extremely frightening. Especially the things that Feng Zhaolian had said. What did he mean by she had the smell of a corpse on her?
Talented Lady Liu asked him: “What do your words mean?”
“You don’t understand?” Feng Zhaolian curved up the corners of his lips and smiled, “I smell the scent of a corpse coming from your body. Thinking about it, you won’t be able to survive for long. Imperial Concubine Yuan, Noble Lady Yuan, Talented Lady Liu, looking at what you’ve done, you don’t see to be particularly tired.”
After saying all of this, Feng Zhaolian did not even look at her before leaving and going back into the main hall of Jing Ci Palace. He then shouted: “Your Highness the Empress, I saw a person on the brink of death outside this hall. She had the smell of a corpse on her. It smelled so bad.”
Talented Lady Liu trembled with anger and wanted to run back inside to argue with Feng Zhaolian a little more; however, she was stopped by Yue Xiu: “Master, it’s better to have one fewer problem than one more problem. There’s no need for us to argue with that sort of person.”
Talented Lady Liu took a deep breath and finally managed to remember that she had somewhere else to visit. It was only thanks to this that was she willing to listen to Yue Xiu’s advice and avoid arguing with him. Turning around, she pulled Yue Xiu along and went toward the condemned cell.
She wanted to see her son. She had heard that the place where he was held had terrible conditions. In the past, there were many who passed away inside the cell before it was even time for them to be executed. There would be no need for the execution, but that abominable environment made survival difficult. She had never seen the condemned cell; however, she had heard plenty of rumors from having lived in the Imperial Palace for most of her life. The more she understood, the more her heart shook. She feared that her Mo’er would be unable to survive in there, and she hoped desperately that he would be let out.
At the same time, she understood that it would be impossible for Xuan Tianmo to be let out. Once he was let out, he would be escorted to the execution site. She only had three days. Would three days be enough for her to reverse the situation?
“Who is it? Stop!” In front of the condemned cell, guards stood with their spears lowered, stopping Talented Lady Liu in her steps. They also loudly said: “The condemned cell is an important place. Unrelated persons are not permitted to enter!”
Talented Lady Liu took a deep breath and did everything possible to remain calm. At the same time, she gave Yue Xiu a look. Yue Xiu handed over two bundles of money that had been prepared then said to the two: “This is Talented Lady Liu, His Highness the eighth prince’s birth mother. Brothers, His Highness is about to be executed. I beg that you take pity on our master’s heart and let us in to take a look! Just treat it as letting us send His Highness the eighth prince off.”
She cried and begged with tears in her eyes, but the two guards continued to ignore her. They did not even glance in the direction of the bundles of money. They just coldly said: “Regardless of who you are, unless you have an imperial decree from His Majesty or from His Highness Prince Yu, not to mention just a talented lady, but even if it was Her Highness the Empress, you could not take a single step into the condemned cell.”
“We are just going in to take a look. Just a look before we come out. We’re begging you to do something kind, alright!” Yue Xiu continued to plead, “You can send someone to follow us. It’s just the two of us going in. Absolutely nothing will happen.”
However, the guards did not say another word. They just stared forward and did not pay the two any additional attention.
Yue Xiu wanted to plead a little more, but Talented Lady Liu waved her hand and turned around, gently saying: “It’s pointless. There’s no need to keep begging. I’ve never heard of anyone being able to get into the condemned cell. On the way here, I already considered this sort of outcome. The reason that I still wanted to try was that I did not feel reconciled.”
She left, and Yue Xiu quickly followed along behind her, urgently asking: “Could we really be unable to meet him?”
Talented Lady Liu’s complexion was dark. Nobody would be able to figure out what she was thinking, as she did not respond to Yue Xiu’s question. She just slightly furrowed her brow and changed direction while increasing her pace. Yue Xiu could faintly see some hatred emanating from Talented Lady Liu, but she could not figure it out. With things as they were, could it be that her master still had some sort of final trump card?
Compared to her sister, who had many schemes and plots, Imperial Concubine Li was far more cowardly. When the eighth prince’s situation reached her in Chang Ning Palace, she smashed a teacup in fear. Although it was not her own son, if the eighth prince really did die, it would be very good for her son, but that was still a life. In the end, he was connected to her by blood, as he was her nephew. To have suddenly been given the death penalty, this made Imperial Concubine Li feel flustered. She even connected it to what if her Feng’er someday competed against the ninth prince for that throne. In the end, would he also meet with such an ending?
However, that fluster only lasted for a moment, as she quickly came up with her own ideas. In order to not be restricted by others or be viewed as an enemy, the only option was to be the highest authority and have everyone listen to everything that they said. As long as her Feng’er could ascend to the emperor’s position, there would no longer be any need to be afraid of anyone or anything. On the contrary, if someone else ascended to the throne, she and Feng’er would need to spend the rest of their lives on tenderhooks.
While Imperial Concubine Li was thinking about these things, Talented Lady Liu arrived. Seeing this elder sister be demoted once more, Imperial Concubine Li no longer had the initial desire to make things difficult for her. She also no longer had the joy of having been promoted once more. She just had her maid, Zuo’er, help the person performing the salute up and grant her a seat. Only then did she ask: “Elder sister, instead of going to ask Her Highness the Empress for help, what have you come here for?” Just as this question was asked, she figured that this elder sister had most likely come to ask her for some help, thus she smiled bitterly, “This One’s position as an imperial concubine, elder sister should know well how I came to obtain it. We should both be clear on what sort of position we presently occupy in His Majesty’s eyes. That’s why this One really is unable to provide much help on this matter.”
Talented Lady Liu looked at her and just faintly sighed, saying: “I did not come here to ask you for help. It’s just that my son will be taken away soon, and my heart has been feeling quite uncomfortable. I was thinking that this palace only had relatives, thus I came here to sit for a while.” While saying this, she stared at the earring that Imperial Concubine Li wore. It was the one that she had given her previously. It was something that the Liu family’s grandmother had left behind. Talented Lady Liu’s mind went to work, but it was not noticeable, as she faintly said: “Grandmother was right. Us fighting is a matter between the two of us, but once someone else is involved, we must face them together. Now that my Mo’er has lost in a crushing defeat, even losing his life in the process, from this day forward, I will do everything possible to help the sixth prince and help you, my younger sister.”
Imperial Concubine Li froze and suddenly realized that Talented Lady Liu was expressing her stance. The eighth prince was going to die, and she no longer had any hope, thus she placed her considerations on Feng’er. But this was also good. Having one more to help come up with schemes would be better than worrying about nothing on her own in this palace. Thus Imperial Concubine Li put on a look of gratitude and took the initiative to help Talented Lady Liu, saying very earnestly: “Many thanks elder sister for wanting to help Feng’er with his strategies. If the day comes when Feng’er succeeds in ascending the throne, we definitely will not forget elder sister’s grace.”
The sisters held hands and chatted in Zhang Ning Palace for four hours, and the conversation mostly revolved around the sixth prince. Regardless of whether it was getting the throne or getting Feng Yuheng, the only thing in the way was the ninth prince, Xuan Tianming. As long as the ninth prince was still alive, nobody else had any chance.
Imperial Concubine Li felt that this was a given; however, Zuo’er felt quite shocked by what she was hearing.
Finally, Talented Lady Liu left with Yue Xiu, and Zuo’er quickly went over to advise Imperial Concubine Li: “Your Highness must not believe what Talented Lady Liu said! If she really is a smart person and really had the ability to support a prince, she would not be in her current situation. You are currently an imperial concubine, while she is just a talented lady. We cannot side with her in her schemes. No matter how I look at it, it’s a loss.”
“This One knows.” Imperial Concubine Li said with a heavy expression, “This One is very clear about what sort of person she is. But in the end, this One hopes that His Highness the sixth prince can take another step. If she wants to provide support, just let her provide support. At worst, we can just copy that Zhu Kongshan. Once something happens with her, we will push everything onto her. Just treat it as leaving ourselves a way out. As for the person who can truly support Feng’er, that would be Imperial Daughter Ji An.”
Zuo’er felt her heart tense up. Her master just refused to give up. After all that was said and done, she was still eager to have His Highness the sixth prince develop something with Princess Yu. She sighed. This was what it meant to be part of the imperial family! There were many princes, and this was something that happened with every generation and every dynasty, right? “Imperial Daughter Ji An has already married.” She weakly returned to reality, but she did not truly think that Imperial Concubine Li would be able to listen to her. As Zuo’er saw it, Imperial Concubine Li had already been bewitched. No matter what else she said, it would be pointless.
Sure enough, Imperial Concubine Li did not care at all about the words “Imperial Daughter Ji An has already married.” She even used what Talented Lady Liu had said to lecture her: “One must set their sights on the future. It’s fine if she’s already married. As long as the person that she married has died, she will be free once more. This One is not a demanding mother-in-law and will not treat her poorly just because she has already married. When she marries Feng’er, this One will definitely treat her as well as a mother-in-law could. She will slowly come to understand.”
Understand what? Zuo’er thought. If Imperial Daughter Ji An could hear such a thing and hear Imperial Concubine Li cursing the ninth prince to die quickly, based on that imperial daughter’s temper, would she just be slapped? She sighed, “Your Highness has been bewitched by Talented Lady Liu’s words, but this servant is not in a position to say anything, so everything will be done as Your Highness says!”
“Bewitched, huh…” Imperial Concubine Li muttered to herself, seemingly having grasped something. She suddenly said: “Zuo’er, you reminded this One of something…”