The emperor hadn't summoned Concubine Xue for three days, but she wasn't the least bit flustered. After all, the empress, who posed the greatest threat to her, had been placed under house arrest.
Now, among those of higher rank than her were only Noble Consort Shu and Noble Consort Jia. But the latter wasn't interested in her, and with a grown - up prince son as her backing, she disdained to compete with Concubine Xue for the emperor's favor.
So when the maidservants worried about her, Concubine Xue showed no trace of fear.
Noble Consort Zhuang and Noble Consort He had died one after another. In the harem, only Noble Consort Shu and Noble Consort Jia were in charge. The emperor looked at the impeachment memorials with a pounding headache.
Among them, what he couldn't tolerate the most was that the crown prince had repeatedly lusted after the women in the harem. It turned out that the incident about Lady Yu wasn't unfounded. Now, it was probably true that the crown prince was involved in Noble Consort He's death.
Sitting on the dragon throne, the emperor coldly stared at the empty and cold palace. His son not only wished for his death but also lusted after the beauties in his harem.
Was it because he was old? That was why Lady Yu and Noble Consort He had both colluded with the crown prince. If he didn't know that the crown prince would never dare to tamper with the magic elixir, he might not be able to take it with peace of mind.
The imperial physician had explained that the reason he fainted was due to excessive indulgence. In the past few days, after stopping the magic elixir, he felt weak and even older.
Therefore, at the imperial physician's advice, the emperor took the magic elixir again.
"Your Majesty... Concubine Xue is here..."
The emperor was in a foul mood. He waved his hand and didn't summon her. But then he remembered the pleasant feeling and still allowed Concubine Xue to enter. "This is the tremella soup I made for Your Majesty."
He wrapped his arm around her waist and ate the tremella soup from her delicate hand. That night, the emperor still didn't follow the imperial physician's advice.
And Eunuch Li didn't dissuade him as usual. He just silently closed the palace door and left.
"Your Majesty... I'm so scared..." Concubine Xue nestled against the emperor, her soft words melting the emperor's heart. "What are you scared of? I am the Son of Heaven! With me here, who would dare to touch you?"
"That day, the crown prince stared straight at me." As Concubine Xue spoke, tears welled up in her eyes. "He also..."
The emperor was immediately enraged. "What else did he do?"
"He said... that I should follow him in the future."
"Presumptuous! How dare you slander the crown prince?" The emperor pushed Concubine Xue away. "How... would I dare?"
Calm down. Concubine Xue was indeed helpless. How could she dare to talk nonsense? The emperor looked into her charming eyes filled with tears.
The next day, the emperor flew into a rage in the court and imprisoned the crown prince for life, not allowing him to leave. The court was in an uproar. Prince Cheng smiled faintly.
Sure enough... a cuckold is the most unbearable thing.
Grand Tutor Shen turned as pale as paper and slowly collapsed. Ji Qinglin, who was standing farther away, felt extremely delighted. The Shen family...
After the emperor abolished the crown prince, he didn't immediately announce the appointment of a new one. Prince Cheng was very disappointed, but Ji Qinglin told him that the incident where Yu Huai almost forced the emperor to abdicate had already made the emperor very embarrassed.
At this critical moment, whoever stepped forward would lose the emperor's favor.
After the news that the crown prince had been imprisoned spread, Song Jinyu silently chanted scriptures in her heart. "Master... Yan Fei..."
"It won't be long. The Jinshui Palace will soon fall."
This news was like a thunderbolt to Grand Tutor Shen. The crown prince's imprisonment meant that he was getting farther and farther away from the throne. And because the crown prince had often clashed with Prince Cheng, now there were the highest calls in the court for the latter to be the heir apparent.
When Zhongli Mingye returned from court, he saw Song Jinyu bustling about in the garden. It turned out that she had opened a small herb field.
He couldn't help but laugh. "You can just let the servants do this kind of thing." He took out a handkerchief and wiped the sweat from her temples.
"I like to do something by myself. Otherwise, I'll be idle."
"Since you're idle, then help me relax my muscles?" After saying that, he pulled Song Jinyu into the study.
Helpless, she had to massage his shoulders.
"Be softer..."
"Over here... over there..." Seeing that she was so obedient, Zhongli Mingye deliberately wanted to tease her.
Until Song Jinyu slapped him on the head. "What are you messing around for? Is it fun?" This man was acting very strangely today.
Sure enough, he suddenly leaned against Song Jinyu. "My love..."
What on earth was going on? "Maybe... this peaceful life is coming to an end." The crown prince had been imprisoned, and then there would be an undercurrent between him and Prince Cheng.
The peaceful life he had promised Song Jinyu was now going to be broken.
Song Jinyu smiled faintly. "Such a small matter is not worth worrying about. We'll just face it head - on."
"A small matter..."
Zhongli Mingye looked at her with a smile. As expected, a former sect leader was very bold! He reached out and hugged her. "What should I do with your audacity?"
The crown prince's imprisonment was actually within Song Jinyu's expectation. However, this had pushed Zhongli Mingye into the spotlight. She felt a bit guilty for no reason.
"Do you... want to be the emperor?"
The study was silent for a moment. Zhongli Mingye looked at her seriously and said, "Rather than being the emperor, I'd rather be with you day and night, being lovey - dovey." He didn't answer her question because every prince who was close to the throne wanted to take a step further.
He was no exception.
Lovey - dovey what? This man always talked about love in every other sentence.
She was inexplicably blushed by him. Just as she was about to say something, Xing Jian's voice came from outside the door. She was about to leave.
Unexpectedly, Zhongli Mingye didn't let go of her. "Why are you in such a hurry?"
His phoenix eyes looked at her playfully. "I..."
Why be so distant? There were many things he actually didn't want to hide from Song Jinyu, but she didn't want to know.
"Your Highness... now the court officials have started to recommend Prince Cheng."
"Really? Then let them recommend him." Zhongli Mingye smiled faintly. "Now Father is on edge. The more they make a fuss, the more opportunities they'll give to others."
"Prince Cheng must understand this truth too."
"Let them make a fuss. I'm happy to be at ease."
Next, he was going to push some of his duties aside. After all... it wasn't pleasant to be in the spotlight. Moreover, Zhongli Mingye knew clearly that the crown prince was the emperor's first son and had been raised by him personally.
For so many of the crown prince's wrongdoings before, the emperor had never delved deeply. This time, it was just a minor mistake. To put it bluntly, if investigated deeply, the blood letter wasn't worthy of being evidence.
And the matter between the crown prince and Lady Yu was just the testimony of a few eunuchs. After much thought, he still didn't think the crown prince was in a hopeless situation this time.
Unless... he committed treason...
Treason? He lowered his eyes and thought of someone.
Song Jinyu was sitting very uneasily. Qingfeng reported calmly and then left. But Zhongli Mingye wouldn't let her go. "After some time, let's go to the manor on the outskirts of the capital to have fun. It's so boring always staying in the capital..."
"Okay..."
Although she didn't know his intention, Song Jinyu thought it was better to stay by his side peacefully at this time.