Chapter 184
Chapter 184
[Rebellion Beats Harem Intrigue – 5]
Liu Che remained silent for a long time, recalling his earlier guesses.
After ascending, the Crown Prince did not make Eldest Miss Zhou Empress, but installed his true love. Later, the Zhou Family’s third son-in-law became emperor, and after eighteen years in the cold cave, Third Miss Zhou became Empress for eighteen days…
My God. The deeper one thought, the more terrifying it became!
Emperor Gaozu clicked his tongue. “The Zhou Family married its eldest daughter to the Crown Prince and its youngest to Consort Liu’s lost eldest imperial son. Since the brothers were natural rivals, Third Miss broke with her father by striking palms three times when she married the beggar. Whichever prince won, the Zhou Family unquestionably remained the imperial in-laws. Judging from the daughters’ names, the host’s ambition may go farther…”
Li Shimin saw even more. “The Crown Prince and Crown Princess lacked affection. When he fell for a brothel woman and resolved to make her Empress, the Zhou Family’s first investment failed. Thus the true eldest son returned. With one jade pendant and testimony from dead witnesses, he gained official support and became emperor. Third Miss became Empress; the Zhou Family remained imperial kin…”
“We assumed too much.”
The emperors marveled.
Liu Che smacked his lips. “I thought I had to carry three useless daughters to victory. Instead, three great experts are carrying me!”
The cultivation of living off women: complete.
His luck was simply this good-always drawing SSR allies who carried him while he lay down. Jealous? Hit him!
Composing himself, Liu Che asked Zhou Xuan softly, “Where is he? What is his present identity?”
“Soon after Consort Liu gave birth, she learned Consort Chen intended to kill mother and son. She ordered a trusted eunuch to carry the prince out. He was loyal but pursued by Consort Chen’s men. A wandering hero rescued him, but the eunuch was struck by a poisoned dart. He only managed to give the hero Consort Liu’s jade pendant before dying.”
“The hero adopted the child. Since he wandered without a fixed home, no wonder we failed to find him for years.”
Zhou Xuan smiled like a spring flower. “The prince was only one day old. I had people question elderly residents about anyone seeking a wet nurse or milk-giving livestock. After many turns, an old woman provided clues leading to the hero. His surname is Xue, given name Zhen. The eunuch died too quickly to reveal the child’s origins, so Xue Zhen adopted and named him Xue Zhui. They live outside Chang’an. Xue Zhen is aging and sick, and their life is difficult…”
Liu Che thought, Daughter, view matters developmentally. Their lives will soon become worse. At least they are comfortable now; before long they will beg in the streets.
He only nodded. “Understood. This is not urgent. We must plan carefully.”
Zhou Xuan agreed. “The Crown Prince is cool toward Eldest Sister and less close to the Zhou Family than expected. Noble Consort Chen is displeased that Sixth Uncle gained the Bingzhou governorship and plans to send another niece into the Eastern Palace. Father, we must guard against them!”
The Chen Family was powerful, but no more than the Zhou Family. The pie was only so large, so conflict was inevitable.
One side was the Crown Prince’s maternal clan, the other his wife’s. Filial duty forced the Crown Princess to swallow losses. If the Zhou Family staked everything on the Crown Prince, one mistake could ruin the board.
Liu Che grew grave. “Give me time to consider before deciding.”
Zhou Xuan bowed and left gracefully.
Watching the door close behind her, Liu Che murmured, “This is a vast game. I must think carefully…”
By current signs, the Crown Prince was finished. Noble Consort Chen was dangerous, and he was devoted to a woman from a brothel, putting him in direct conflict with the Zhou Family. But the Zhou Family could fight back.
The host was Grand Commandant controlling the realm’s armies, and the powerful Zhou clan had many members. Moreover, the Crown Princess had already borne the imperial grandson. If pressed, arranging the Crown Prince’s early death and enthroning his son was possible…
On his first day, Liu Che met Eldest and Third Miss. Even without meeting Second Miss, he had complete confidence in her.
Judging by her sisters’ quality, Second Miss could hardly be poor. She already had an heir and the support of her family and sisters. Assuming the Marquis of Weining was already doomed was not excessive, was it?
Then there was Third Miss Zhou.
From what had now come to light, Liu Che could more or less reconstruct what had happened in the previous life. Third Miss Zhou’s marriage to the Eldest Imperial Son, then living in exile, must have been the result of careful deliberation by both her and the Zhou Family. As for that business about spending eighteen years waiting faithfully in a wretched hovel…
It made a fine story, but only a fool would take it at face value.
Third Miss Zhou might have severed ties with her father by exchanging a high five with him, but the Zhou Family was enormous, with relatives and old friends everywhere. If even one of them had secretly helped her, her life could hardly have been too miserable.
If the original host had truly been ruthless enough to forbid everyone from helping his youngest daughter and leave her to fend for herself, he would probably have strangled her with a strip of white silk the moment she decided to marry a beggar. There would never have been so much drama afterward.
And according to Liu Che’s earlier deductions, the ultimate victor in the previous life had still been the Zhou Family. If the Crown Prince refused to cooperate, they would dispose of him and replace him with the Eldest Imperial Son.
Then the Eldest Imperial Son, nursing schemes of his own, had tried to atone by making his first wife Empress for eighteen days before killing her and elevating a foreign princess in her place. Third Miss Zhou and the Zhou Family had simply turned his scheme against him, killed him, and made her Empress Dowager-or perhaps even Empress Regnant.
The Zhou Family had spent more than twenty years playing that vast game in the previous life. It had certainly not been easy, but the fruit they harvested in the end had been deliciously sweet, with a flavor that lingered. Now that Liu Che had arrived in this life, he might not overturn the entire board at once, but he could certainly speed things up.
Twenty years? He had no intention of waiting that long.
…
Zhou Jing entered the front hall with her husband, the Marquis of Weining. By the time the couple finished speaking in private, half an hour had passed.
Outside, Nanny Luo brought the heir over to pay his respects to his father, then reported, “Master sent over quite a few things. When he heard that the Marquis had returned, he could hardly stop thinking of you. He misses the young heir too. He said that when the two of you have time, you should bring the child home for a visit.”
What the Grand Commandant had actually said was that Second Miss should come home. But with the Marquis still present, Nanny Luo, a woman of several decades’ experience, was hardly foolish enough to draw such a stark line between family and outsider and thereby offend him.
Besides, the Marquis had brought back a seductive woman on this trip. It would do him good to accompany her young mistress to her maiden home and face the Grand Commandant. That might keep him from becoming so bewitched by beauty that he forgot who he was.
The heir to the Marquis of Weining was only four that year. He closely resembled his father and was exceptionally clever. The Dowager Marchioness had doted on him while she lived, and the Marquis of Weining cherished him as well. He called the boy closer and asked about his lessons. Hearing his clear, orderly answers, he nodded with pleased approval. “Your mother has taught you very well.”
He patted his son’s small shoulder with satisfaction, then said to his wife, “I shall change my clothes. Afterward, we can go together to visit your father.”
Zhou Jing smiled. “You have had a tiring journey, my lord. You should rest first. We may visit Father at any time; there is no need to rush over this very moment. If he learned of it, he would blame me instead.”
The Marquis of Weining readily accepted the suggestion. “Then offer him my apologies.”
Zhou Jing agreed with a smile and instructed Nanny Luo to prepare the carriage. While she waited, she summoned a steward and ordered invitations sent to the families friendly with the Marquis of Weining’s Residence. “My lord received considerable help from his father’s old friends while conducting business outside the capital. Now that he has returned safely, it is only proper that we thank them. I shall invite several uncles and cousins from my maiden family to help entertain them. We must make certain that none of our guests feels slighted…”
The Marquis of Weining had little understanding of household affairs and none of his wife’s social finesse. Zhou Jing had always done most of the work maintaining the connections and military relationships left by the previous Marquis. Moreover, his title had kept him from becoming close to the elders of his own clan. Now, hearing his wife arrange everything for the sake of his career and even invite capable relatives from her maiden family to assist, he felt no suspicion, only gratitude and emotion. “I have put you to great trouble, my lady.”
Zhou Jing smiled and shook her head. “Husband and wife are one. What need is there for thanks?”
Only after she boarded the carriage did the smile fade from Zhou Jing’s face. She bent two fingers and lifted the window curtain by a sliver, watching the signboard of the Marquis of Weining’s Residence shrink into the distance. When the carriage turned onto another street and it vanished from sight, she finally released the curtain.
Nanny Xu was still fretting. “That Lady Liu is quite attractive, and those eyes of hers never stop darting about. I fear she is no harmless creature…”
Zhou Jing gently tightened her son’s collar, then leaned back against a cushion. “Whether she is a lamp or a candle, she will never stir up a storm while she is in my hands.”
Seeing her son’s bright eyes, she smiled again and teased, “Hong’er, you are the heir to the marquisate. One day, you will have to hold up the sky yourself. Look farther ahead. Do not be like Nanny Xu and keep your eyes fixed on some new woman in the inner household.”
The heir obediently murmured his assent, making Nanny Xu laugh instead. “Very well. If you do not care, I should stop fussing over nothing. I will say no more.”
Upon arriving at the Grand Commandant’s Residence, Zhou Jing took her son to pay his respects to her father. After grandfather and grandson had played together for a while, Liu Che sent someone to take the boy outside.
He recalled what the white silk had said about Second Miss Zhou, then considered the servant’s recent report. Clearing his throat, he asked, “I hear my son-in-law brought a Yangzhou courtesan home?”
“Good news truly stays at home while bad news travels a thousand miles.”
Zhou Jing had not expected her father to ask about that first. She paused, then laughed. “It is one thing for Nanny Xu to care about this. Since when did Father concern himself with such matters?”
Liu Che had been observing Second Miss Zhou ever since she entered. To his great relief, he discovered that she was no simple character either. For now, he showed only a father’s concern and worry. With a sigh, he said, “Your father is afraid you will suffer a loss.”
“Marriage is what it is, isn’t it?”
Before she married, Zhou Jing had kept an exceptionally beautiful cat. Unfortunately, the Dowager Marchioness was somewhat allergic to cat and dog fur, so Zhou Jing had not taken it to the Marquis of Weining’s Residence when she married. Instead, she had left it at her maiden home in the care of a servant. Now that Zhou Jing had returned, a maid brought the cat to her.
Holding the white cat, she idly stroked its silky fur and said in an even tone, “If he shows me one measure of respect, I shall return ten. He is Hong’er’s father, after all. Taking a concubine is nothing; I do not care. So long as he does not cross my bottom line, anything is negotiable…”
Recalling the contents of the white silk, Liu Che shook his head. “I only fear that lust will cloud his mind until he loses all sense of proportion.”
“Is that so…”
Zhou Jing stopped stroking the cat and fell into thought.
…
While Zhou Jing rode home in her carriage, the Eastern Palace received an unwelcome visitor.
It was Noble Consort Chen, the Crown Prince’s birth mother.
Time was the finest medicine in the world, capable of fading every scar. Yet sometimes, time proved utterly powerless. More than twenty years had rushed past without diminishing Consort Liu’s place in the Emperor’s heart.
Back then, the Emperor had given his word: whichever of Consort Liu and Consort Chen first bore a son would be made Empress, and her son would become Crown Prince. Consort Liu had died, and the son she bore had disappeared without a trace. A few days later, Consort Chen gave birth to the supposed “Eldest Imperial Son.” The child did become Crown Prince, but Consort Chen was elevated only to Noble Consort Chen, not Empress. The Emperor had even been too stingy to grant her an honorific title.
Who could fail to see the doubts in his heart?
Consort Chen’s son was named Crown Prince on his hundredth-day celebration, bringing immense joy to both her and the Chen Family. But that joy came hand in hand with tragedy. From that day forward, Consort Chen lost favor. Her rank remained, but the Emperor’s affection was gone.
Years of coldness and suspicion from the Emperor had streaked Noble Consort Chen’s hair with premature white. Despite careful grooming, the desolation of the deep palace had etched heavy bitterness into the corners of her eyes and brows. She had never been voluptuous, and now her thinness only made her appear harsher.
The Crown Princess knew her visitor had come with ill intent, but she remained calm. She went out to receive Noble Consort Chen with her ladies-in-waiting and palace maids, then invited her to sit and take tea.
Noble Consort Chen lifted the lid of her teacup and glanced inside before dropping it carelessly. Porcelain struck porcelain with a crisp chime. “Do you imagine I lack a cup of tea? I would not visit without cause. I have come because there is an important matter I must entrust to the Crown Princess.”
Without betraying any emotion, the Crown Princess said, “I would be glad to hear the details.”
Mockery and malice gleamed in Noble Consort Chen’s eyes. “I intend to select another Secondary Consort for the Crown Prince. You have met Eighth Miss Chen. What do you think of her?”
The Crown Princess smiled. “Eighth Miss Chen is Your Highness’s niece from your maiden family. Both her character and upbringing are excellent. Besides, the Eastern Palace currently has only one Secondary Consort, Minister Wu’s daughter. The other position remains vacant, so the arrangement is most suitable.”
Noble Consort Chen had expected the Crown Princess to object. She had even prepared her rebuttal in advance and was ready to brand the woman jealous and insolent, ensuring that she suffered for it. To her surprise, the Crown Princess did not refuse and instead accepted with apparent delight. Noble Consort Chen felt as though she had punched a bale of cotton, leaving her profoundly dissatisfied.
After leaving the Eastern Palace, she asked her confidante darkly, “What do you think the Crown Princess meant by that? Did she truly accept it so happily?”
Her confidante replied, “Eighth Miss Chen is nobly born and His Highness the Crown Prince’s own first cousin. How could the Crown Princess not fear her? She was merely forcing herself to appear composed. She must be throwing a terrible fit inside by now. Perhaps she is already plotting how to sabotage the marriage decree!”
Noble Consort Chen gave a sudden, cold laugh. “Let her dare! If she harms a daughter of the Chen Family, I will not spare her-and the Crown Prince will be the first to make her pay!”
Inside the Eastern Palace, however, the Crown Princess was nothing like the furious woman Noble Consort Chen and her confidante imagined. She even had leisure enough to prune the roses that servants had delivered to the inner hall.
“Where is His Highness the Crown Prince?”
Her confidante lowered her voice. “After seeing off the Grand Commandant, His Highness took several trusted men and quietly left the palace.”
The Crown Princess smiled softly, then drifted into thought. A rose thorn pricked her finger, and a bright bead of blood welled up.
Her confidante started. “Your Highness!”
The Crown Princess paid it no mind. She raised the finger to her lips and lightly sucked away the blood, then suddenly asked, “Maozhu’er is sixteen this year, is she not?”
Her confidante respectfully lowered her head. “Miss Maozhu’er possesses beauty granted by heaven. She is a peerless enchantress.”
“When the Xu Family was purged, I rescued her, gave her a new identity, and preserved her life. It is time she repaid me.”
The Crown Princess lowered her hand, narrowing her eyes. “There are so many fools in this world. They are forever adding legs to a painted snake and congratulating themselves on their cleverness. Noble Consort Chen must be certain I will strike at Eighth Miss Chen. Ha…”
The corners of her lips curved, but there was no warmth in her smile. For an instant, her image overlapped with that of Second Miss Zhou, seated in the Zhou Family’s study. “At a time like this, is it not best to eliminate the source of the trouble?”
“Meow!”
The cat in Zhou Jing’s arms seemed startled. It leaped down and scurried to the other side of the room.
Zhou Jing merely glanced at it, the smile between her brows unchanged.