amaotonovel Chapter 181 The Ruthless and Disabled Crown Prince (85)
Chapter 181 The Ruthless and Disabled Crown Prince (85)
When Ji Shumin saw Lu Liruan off, Lu Liruan looked at herself in the mirror again in disbelief. Even when she was really sick, she didn't have this kind of sickly beauty!
It was terribly cold yesterday, and the ground was covered with a thin layer of frost when I woke up this morning.
Qinghe had prepared Lu Liruan's winter clothes well in advance.
Ji Shumin picked out a white rabbit fur cloak and draped it over Lu Liruan.
Inside was a moon-white dress embroidered with purple ivy, and an orchid belt accentuated her slender waist. A light-colored ribbon was tied at the end of her hair, which fluttered in the wind with each step she took.
Lu Liruan felt that she was uncultured.
I can't quite put my finger on how to evaluate it.
But... to look good, one must wear mourning clothes. Yes, it seems to be an unchanging aesthetic view from ancient times to the present.
"What do I look like now?" Lu Liruan originally thought that someone as learned as Ji Shumin would offer a more literary compliment.
Ji Shumin raised an eyebrow and said with a smile, "Little widow."
Lu Liruan was taken aback.
"Pah, pah, pah!" She raised her hand and pinched Ji Shumin's mouth, making his beak look like a duck's mouth in the astonished gaze of the Third Prince.
Lu Liruan kept pinching him to stop him from making a sound, and said seriously with her head down, "Don't say anything unlucky!"
Ji Shumin found her cute, but seeing the seriousness and solemnity in her eyes, he nodded and blinked, signaling Lu Liruan to let go of him.
"I understand... Li Ruan is right to reprimand me. I was too outspoken." Ji Shumin obediently admitted his mistake.
The Empress invited all the princes' consorts over today, but it was really just an excuse to see Lu Liruan alone.
Ji Shumin would definitely not agree to invite them individually, but if everyone were invited, she would have to give face to the Empress!
The Empress had no idea that Lu Liruan already knew about her relationship with Ji Shumin.
She never imagined that Ji Shumin would reveal all his secrets.
Over the years, the Empress's obsession and desires have grown increasingly inflated, partly because she discovered that Ji Shumin was easy to control.
As long as she puts in the effort, and as long as she is willing to treat Ji Shumin with a mixture of closeness and distance, the child will act in accordance with her wishes.
Even in the mountain temple, the empress appeared to be devoted to Buddhism, but she was not unaware of what was happening outside.
Everyone admired the Crown Prince's demeanor, praised his achievements and strategies, and even believed that the Crown Prince would become a wise and sagacious ruler in the future.
The Empress, however, did not heed her words, for the Ji Shumin before her was not like that at all.
The more others praised her, the more displeased she became, and the more critical she became of Ji Shumin, creating a bizarre cycle.
She never did what a mother should do, but in her heart she felt that Ji Shumin should treat her like a mother, and if Ji Shumin dared to resist, she would make him suffer.
This child was born amidst her hatred, born when her hatred was at its most intense, and was thus forced to bear her unquenchable rage, despair, and endless pain.
He is different from Qin'er.
The Empress always told herself that Qin'er was the best child, the most obedient child. She had raised him to be kind and noble, and he would never be such a heartless person. He was capable of... capable of sitting on the throne.
After the Emperor fell ill, the Empress began her long-planned scheme.
It's time.
When Lu Liruan entered Fengyi Palace, she found that there was only stagnant water left in the pond, and no more koi had been put in.
She was the last to arrive, and everyone's eyes involuntarily fell on her.
She was aloof and detached, with a few strands of sorrow between her brows, as if she had an unresolved melancholy in her heart, which made her pitiful.
"Your subject greets Your Majesty." Lu Liruan bowed to the Empress.
The Empress was also observing her discreetly, and seeing the unease on her face, she felt relieved.
"Get up," the Empress said calmly. Anyone could see that the Empress did not particularly like Lu Liruan.
The newly returned Empress has a knack for maneuvering, though it was also because the Dowager Consort voluntarily relinquished power, returning the authority to manage the palace to the Empress.
However, the Empress quickly got to know the inner palace inside and out, and nothing could escape her eyes. Everyone acted cautiously and dared not be as carefree as when the Dowager Consort was in power.
Most people complied, but inwardly they complained, blaming the Empress for being so rigid and dogmatic.
No one dared to refuse the banquet hosted by the Empress; everyone came.
The Empress was cold and aloof, completely unapproachable. She looked at people only from the corner of her eye. The atmosphere in the Phoenix Palace was uncomfortably quiet, completely unlike a banquet.
The Empress didn't particularly like Lu Liruan, nor did she like anyone else, so no one was surprised by the situation.
"How is Min'er's health?" the Empress asked casually, looking down at her.
"Your Majesty, His Highness has not been feeling well these days."
"No wonder... I sent the nanny over to check on him a few days ago, but she was turned away. Do you have any regard for Min'er? Does he know what you've done?" the Empress rebuked directly.
Without giving Lu Liruan any face, in front of so many people, he said that Lu Liruan had acted on her own initiative when she stopped Granny Ma from entering.
"Your Majesty, please forgive me! I had no idea that Granny Ma was skilled in diagnosis! I was blind to her greatness!"
Lu Liruan knelt down in fear. Her face, which was already small and pale, was now wet with tears, filled with shock and fear, and her thin shoulders trembled slightly.
Several of the princes' consorts who usually got along well with Lu Liruan all looked reluctant to let her go.
Those who were at odds with Lu Liruan waited gleefully, hoping that the Empress would punish Lu Liruan.
"When did I say that Granny Ma could diagnose illnesses?" The Empress frowned slightly, annoyed by Lu Liruan's sickly and delicate appearance.
Most of the women in the palace were like this: they had innocent faces, but their hearts were filled with malice.
Beneath so many beautiful and charming faces, there lie hearts of vipers, silver tongues, and obsequious, base behavior; they all deserve to be sent to the hell of tongue-pulling!
The Empress unconsciously recalled past events. After returning to the palace, many memories she hadn't thought of for a long time were stirred up, but there was no warmth in them, only disgusting and sordid things.
"If... if it weren't for the nanny's expertise in diagnosing illnesses, why would Mother insist that the nanny see His Highness with her own eyes?" Lu Liruan asked, puzzled.
"My child is ill, and I am very worried. I asked someone to take a look at him, but why are you stopping me? Do you think I can't even see my own child?"
The Empress's anger was rising. Last time at the temple, she had spoken cunningly and was disgusting.
Seeing her anger, Lu Liruan kowtowed heavily: "Please forgive me, Mother. It wasn't that I didn't let the nanny go to see him that day, but the imperial physician said that His Highness was running a high fever and was delirious. The windows in the room were all sealed tightly to prevent any draft from getting in."
"Even your servants and I dare not open the door and come in and out casually, lest the wind and evil enter Your Highness's body..." Lu Liruan looked aggrieved and loudly defended herself.
She even talked back when her elders reprimanded her! The Empress grew increasingly disgusted with her.
"Did Min'er give you permission not to let anyone in? You acted on your own initiative! Where do you place Min'er!" Her face was icy.
Lu Liruan raised her head. The Empress was now high above everyone else, no longer the poorly convincingly kind mother she had been in the temple.
If we were to say who was changed the fastest by this power, it would undoubtedly be the Empress.
But she still insisted on putting on an aloof and otherworldly air, while her inner desires were clearly visible through her skin... It was both laughable and hypocritical.
"If Your Majesty cares so much about His Highness, then why is it the nanny who came instead of you visiting him personally? If you were to come see His Highness, His Highness, being filial, would kneel down and kowtow to you to express his gratitude, even with his frail and sick body. But what do you expect His Highness to do with a nanny? Treat the nanny as yourself?"
Lu Liruan knew she had acted impulsively, but what could she do?
Ji Shumin doesn't even know if he can save his life now, and I don't even know how much longer I can stay with him. What's the point of holding back and enduring it?
Why just stand by and watch him suffer?
Lu Liruan was so angry that she wanted to turn the sky upside down and show everyone how wronged she had been!
"If you see His Highness suffering, will you go back and tell the Empress Dowager? Will you come to see him again in person?" Lu Liruan looked directly at her, her attitude unchanged despite the change in her status.
"How dare you!" The Empress slammed her hand on the table. "How dare you speak to me like that!"
"Min'er is my child. When did it become your place to interfere in matters between me and Min'er?" This was what the Empress had wanted to say to Lu Liruan last time.
"When the Crown Prince came to see His Highness, I did not let him in. The Crown Prince was only concerned about when His Highness would recover and whether the imperial physicians were taking good care of him. Your Majesty, however, was concerned that His Highness and I had been impolite. His Highness did not treat the nanny you sent as if she were you and knelt down to kowtow in gratitude!"
Lu Liruan wanted to shout: This is outrageous!
Everyone on the side was stunned, never expecting that Lu Liruan would actually argue and contradict the Empress like that.
But upon closer listening, it actually makes a lot of sense.
Anyone could see that the Empress favored the eldest prince and was distant from the third prince.
The Empress couldn't fake her kindness.
"Slap her!" the Empress glared at Lu Liruan, spitting out the words through gritted teeth.
As the Empress, she could naturally strike Lu Liruan, but Lu Liruan's status was not that of an imperial concubine, but rather that of a prince's wife. Even if that made sense, it was still surprising.
Granny Ma tried to offer some advice, but the Empress didn't even look at her.
The palace maids and nannies came to Lu Liruan's side. Two of them restrained Lu Liruan's shoulders, while the other lifted Lu Liruan's face and raised her hand to bring it down hard.
Lu Liruan closed her eyes.
"stop!"
Just as Lu Liruan felt the wind from the slap, a stern and authoritative voice rang out from the doorway.
Then came the announcement: "The Emperor has arrived—The First Prince has arrived—The Third Prince has arrived—"
The crowd immediately knelt down to pay their respects, but the Emperor ignored them. He looked at the Empress with a stern gaze mixed with annoyance: "Empress, explain to me what you are doing?"
"The Third Prince's Consort has spoken rebelliously, and I have the right to teach her a lesson," the Empress said, rising to her feet and raising her head solemnly.
"Why? Did Mother blame Li Ruan for being unfilial because she didn't let the nanny in when her son was seriously ill?" Ji Shumin said coldly.
The Empress's expression froze. She had thought the Emperor and his entourage had just arrived, but it seemed they had already heard what had happened.
"Mother, you..."
The Empress noticed Ji Shuqin's expression; he was staring at her with a puzzled look.
"Qin'er!" The Empress suddenly realized!
She had just been reminded of her disgusting past by Lu Liruan, and then she was enraged by Lu Liruan's concern for Ji Shumin in front of her, as if she wanted to get rid of Ji Shumin from her. She lost control.
The Empress was unaware of how unreasonable and nitpicky she had been just now.
"Is such a trivial matter worth making such a fuss about?" the Emperor suddenly asked.
“I think what she said makes a lot of sense!” He pointed at Lu Liruan: “Min’er’s health is the most important thing. If you really care about him, then take care of him yourself!”
The emperor, who never wanted to see his two sons close to the empress, naturally spoke up to favor her.
"If I have time, I will naturally take care of things, but in this harem, everything requires someone to help." The Empress said neither servilely nor arrogantly.
The Emperor thought to himself, “The Dowager Consort is managing things so well, but you’re unwilling to delegate any power. Do you think I don’t know anything about the Dowager Consort’s good temper?”
The emperor was annoyed, and after only a few days, he was already impatient to see her again.
But for now, we can only endure it, otherwise Ji Shuqin will always run away and refuse to listen to our orders.
Soon, we'll have a solution!
Lu Liruan breathed a sigh of relief. Although she wasn't afraid, no one wanted to be beaten up for no reason.
"Alright! I think we should cancel the banquet! Min'er, you should all go back now." The Emperor patted Ji Shumin on the shoulder.
"My son, please retire."
Ji Shumin nodded to Lu Liruan, who then stood up, and the two left without looking back.
The Empress felt resentful as she watched him go to the Emperor's chambers, displaying the affection between father and son.
Lu Liruan steadily pushed Ji Shumin out of Fengyi Palace.
After turning a corner, they sped up, and the palace servants behind them almost couldn't keep up.
Spurred on by some unknown force, Lu Liruan pushed Ji Shumin back to Songjingyuan without stopping.
The moment the door closed, before Ji Shumin could even speak, he asked her if it was because she had been wronged...
Suddenly, Lu Liruan's smiling face came close to his!
She stood very close, examined him for a moment, and then kissed him several times like a chick pecking at rice.
Before Ji Shumin could react and instinctively reached up to touch the spot where he had been kissed, Lu Liruan, as happy as a little bird, praised him, "Your Highness arrived just in time, like a god descended from heaven, so handsome and dashing, saving me from dire straits..."
“You’ve dressed up so beautifully, how can you let anyone bully you?” Ji Shumin grabbed her waving hand and pulled her to his side.
How did you know I would anger the Queen?
"Guessed it."
Even if Lu Liruan doesn't anger her, the Empress will find a reason to embarrass her, as a warning to Ji Shumin.
"Why is the eldest brother with you all?" Lu Liruan thought that Ji Shumin wanted Ji Shuqin to see what it looked like when the Empress was carrying him.
Ji Shumin shook his head: "It was just a coincidence." He was telling the truth; he had no intention of involving Ji Shuqin.
Ji Shumin knew that with the Empress's ambition, she would inevitably reveal her true intentions to Ji Shuqin in the future, and then Ji Shuqin...
Ji Shumin neither felt sorry for him nor pitied him. He simply wouldn't add fuel to the fire. His elder brother had his own path to walk and the truth he needed to know.
Just like I was back then.
"We're leaving the palace," Ji Shumin said firmly, his arm around Lu Liruan's waist.
Sure enough, a few days later, the prince allowed the third prince to leave the palace and go to the newly built residence.