Reborn Together: The General and I Reach for Power-Chapter 468 - 465 Satisfaction
Empress Xu recalled the only time she conceived, the good news had just reached the palace, and that evening she saw red. An Imperial Physician from the Imperial Hospital visited and prescribed numerous medicines, yet she didn’t improve, and by nightfall, the pain in her abdomen worsened.
According to the Imperial Physician, she was still young and would have more opportunities in the future.
If she had known then that she would never conceive again for the rest of her days, she might not have cried, her heart would have been ashen, devoid of any hope.
"It’s been three months," Empress Xu said, "and only now has news started to spread. This shows that the North is firmly under Song Xian’s control. It’s not just us; even with numerous informants left by the Emperor over there, they still couldn’t uncover the truth quickly."
The officials sent to the eight states had been handpicked by the Emperor. What use were they now?
This alone shows how truly formidable Song Xian is. Silently, he managed to weed out those people, killing whom needed to be killed, winning over whom needed to be won over, all in under a year.
The female official knew Empress Xu was uneasy at heart and quietly said, "Haven’t we still found out? There are no walls in the world that don’t leak."
Empress Xu laughed and said, "Could they really cover it up until it can’t be hidden anymore? Continually concealing it like this is even more deliberate. It makes the Emperor think that Song Xian and Prince Guangyang’s lineage are guarding against the court."
The female official quickly understood, "Your Highness means that Song Xian deliberately leaked the news?"
"Neither too early nor too late," Empress Xu said, "so that no one can find fault, it doesn’t need to be asked, it’s apparent that Xie Liangchen’s pregnancy is confirmed."
With Xu Tingzhen in Zhenzhou, they made use of the Official Medicine Bureau to win over many doctors. With so many people, how could they not properly care for Xie Liangchen?
Empress Xu said, "This pregnancy came at just the right time." Now with political instability, Song Xian having an heir binds him even more closely to the lineage of Prince Guangyang.
Everything seems destined by fate.
Even she thought so, naturally, the people of the eight states and those who support Prince Guangyang would think the same. Xie Liangchen’s pregnancy, in essence, served to further bolster Song Xian.
Empress Xu frowned, she had long realized Song Xian was difficult to deal with, but she hadn’t expected things to come to a head so soon, facing such peril, but it’s not a hopeless situation.
If the Emperor resolves the issue with Prince Lu and immediately turns to deal with Song Xian, the legacy of Daqi might yet be smoothly inherited.
Or, a better method would be to handle Prince Lu while simultaneously finding means to restrain Song Xian...
But clearly, the Emperor was already provoked by Prince Lu, and wouldn’t listen to anyone, even she feared that after suppressing Prince Lu, the Emperor might immediately deal with Crown Prince Qi, having long forgotten that Crown Prince Qi is his brother and Daqi Dynasty still needs their lineage as support.
"Your Majesty," a eunuch came in to report, "the Heir of Prince Qi has arrived."
Since the Empress saved the Heir of Prince Qi, his visits to Zhengyang Palace have become more frequent.
"Your Majesty." The Heir of Prince Qi saluted the Empress.
The Empress looked over, noticing that the Heir of Prince Qi’s complexion wasn’t good, and his hand hanging at his side trembled slightly.
"What happened?" the Empress asked, "Did something happen again?"
The Heir of Prince Qi swallowed and said, "Just now...just now...the palace caught another eunuch, said to be Prince Lu’s spy...the Palace Department’s people beat him to death right before my eyes."
So that’s what it was, the Empress said, "Did it frighten you?"
After the palace attendants withdrew, the Heir of Prince Qi suddenly stepped forward, knelt at the Empress’s feet, and pleaded, "Your Majesty, please save me, I fear I may not survive."
The Empress’s expression changed, "What are you doing, get up quickly."
Yet the eyes of the Heir of Prince Qi turned red, and he knocked his head on the ground, "Your Majesty, please help me again this time."
"What happened?" the Empress looked towards the female official beside her, who shook her head, clearly unaware of anything.
The Heir of Prince Qi said tremblingly, "The eunuch caught today used to serve in front of me. No...no, after I and the Heir of Prince Lu entered the palace together, that eunuch was there. He served the Heir of Prince Lu first and was later transferred to me. I hardly ever spoke to him; I truly didn’t know he was a spy." 𝚏𝗿𝗲𝐞𝐰𝚎𝕓𝐧𝚘𝘃𝗲𝐥.𝐜𝚘𝕞
Empress Xu, hearing this, secretly breathed a sigh of relief; so, it was about this.
Empress Xu asked, "But did the Emperor have people question you?"
The Heir of Prince Qi nodded, "The Emperor also checked the eunuch’s ancestral home, saying his family were all subjects of my father."
At this, the eyes of the Heir of Prince Qi were full of panic, "Your Majesty, do you think the Emperor suspects my father sent this spy?"
The Heir of Prince Qi was originally very astute, yet after the affair with the Heir of Prince Lu, he became jumpy and nervous, somewhat seeing ghosts at every wind and grass movement.
Especially after hearing about the miserable end of Prince Lu’s second son, his condition worsened.
Prince Lu rebelled. The Emperor ordered the capture of Prince Lu’s family. Prince Lu escaped, Prince Lu’s consort and young son were taken by the imperial guard and escorted to the capital.
The Princess Consort Lu committed suicide en route to the capital, leaving behind a second son of Prince Lu. The Emperor, considering that the child was still young, ordered him to be detained.
After experiencing his father’s rebellion, his capture with his mother, and his mother’s suicide, Prince Lu’s second son fell ill with fright and died within a few days.
Of course, this was the official story; the Heir of Prince Qi witnessed Prince Lu’s second son’s miserable state firsthand. One morning, he was suddenly called to be taken outside the palace, and as the carriage stopped in front of a residence, a eunuch lifted the curtain, allowing him to see the body of Prince Lu’s second son being carried out.
The corpse was placed in front of him for a clear view.
The body of Prince Lu’s second son was curled into a small ball, his eyes half-open with dissatisfaction, and his fingers were chewed bloody by himself.
Only then did he realize, the eunuchs and palace attendants had sealed the palace gates, not sending in food. Prince Lu’s second son starved to death.
At night, he dared not sleep, for every time he closed his eyes he could see the bloodied mouth of the Heir of Prince Lu and the terribly emaciated face of Prince Lu’s second son.
"Don’t worry," Empress Xu comforted, "it was just questioning, don’t let it weigh on your mind."
The Heir of Prince Qi gave a sorrowful smile, "Your Majesty, I already know." He knew the Emperor was suspicious of his father, keeping him confined in the palace, showing him the fate of Prince Lu’s second son, all as a warning. The palace eunuchs came daily to chat with him, seemingly idly, but actually probing for information.
"Your Majesty," the Heir of Prince Qi said, "I am not the son my father favors, the Heir of Prince Lu once said to me, though it seems we were chosen, in reality, we are the ones my father abandoned."
Empress Xu sighed, after all, the Heir of Prince Lu was cunning enough, able to secretly influence the Heir of Prince Qi’s emotions even in such circumstances.
"This sort of talk must not be spoken carelessly," Empress Xu glanced around, "if people hear, what will they think of your father?"
The Heir of Prince Qi knocked his forehead on the ground, then his entire body began to tremble.
Seeing this, Empress Xu felt satisfied with the Heir of Prince Qi’s state, believing himself abandoned by his parents, in constant fear of dying in the palace, having only her to reach out to him. This was exactly the outcome she desired.
