readsfreenovel Chapter 323 The Road to Loneliness
Chapter 323 The Road to Loneliness
The Lonely Road - Lan Qingwu was silent for a few breaths: "The Second Prince has always been the most compatible with Xiao Qi. They are a few years apart in age, but their personalities are very similar, and their hobbies are the same. It's amazing that they can agree on music, chess, calligraphy, and painting!"
Lan Qingwu gently closed his eyes and then opened them again: "Alright, Wan Fei, please leave first!"
Concubine Wan felt relieved. As long as the Empress didn't think she and the Crown Prince were deliberately concealing the truth, then it would be fine. After all, the Empress wasn't one to vent her anger on others. She respectfully took her leave, "Your Highness will be leaving first."
When only Imperial Concubine Jiang was left in the bedroom, Lan Qingwu said, "I, Imperial Concubine Jiang, I want to tell you something from my heart."
Imperial Concubine Jiang only then raised her head slightly, a wry smile on her face. "Your Majesty, Your Majesty told me the same thing two days ago. What do you want to say to me?"
Lan Qingwu was slightly stunned. "Really? Actually, I know what you're thinking. You're thinking that if I, as the Queen, could just relax and let His Majesty handle things evenly, there wouldn't be so many problems, right?"
Imperial Concubine Jiang hesitated for a moment before continuing, "Perhaps the situation is just the opposite. Perhaps the fighting in the harem will be even more intense. The more favored the emperor is, the more princes and princesses there will be, and the fighting will be even more intense and cruel. But now it seems that all these calculations and secret plots are aimed at... at..."
"You are all here for me and my child, right?" Lan Qingwu continued.
Concubine Jiang simply said, "Your Majesty, I believe you understand that to be favored by one person is to be resented by another! With His Majesty like this, can you and Hero really stay together in this deep palace for decades?"
Won't your beauty fade? As your beauty fades and your love fades, aren't you afraid that the emperor will one day turn his attention away from you and favor another woman? If that happens, will you be able to accept it calmly? How will you cope? And what about your children?
Lan Qingwu understood what Noble Concubine Jiang hadn't said yet. She said softly, "If you haven't tried hard, how can you know you won't succeed? Noble Concubine Jiang, what about you? What do you think?"
Imperial Concubine Jiang didn't reply for a moment. Lan Qingwu just waited patiently. Imperial Concubine Jiang finally said, "Your Majesty, I think that even for the sake of my child, I can..."
It could be anything, both of them knew it. Lan Qingwu was finally tired and waved his hand: "Okay, you can leave!"
Imperial Concubine Jiang stood up. She glanced at Lan Qingwu's reclining figure behind the Wan Yueguang gauze curtain and finally said something: "Your Majesty, your actions in the harem over the years are truly worthy of being called a virtuous queen. Even though you and His Majesty are so loving, you are the legal wife, so it is naturally legitimate and justified. The harmony between the emperor and the empress is a blessing for the world. The former harem could not say anything. But Your Majesty - you have a weakness, you have three children. This is the harem, you have to compromise, it is better to compromise sooner rather than later. Maybe this way it will not be so difficult to accept in the future! After all, in addition to being His Majesty's wife, you are also, and more importantly, the mother of three children!"
After Imperial Concubine Jiang left, Lan Qingwu couldn't help but say, "Ruping, Imperial Concubine Jiang's words were truly heartfelt."
Ru Ping was afraid that Lan Qingwu would overthink things: "My Lady, you don't have to listen to her! This...actually..."
"Actually, you also think what Concubine Jiang said makes sense, right?"
Lan Qingwu sighed again, once again feeling the loneliness deep within her soul. Even her most trusted, intimate, and confidante palace maids believed in the Dasheng Dynasty, where women held a low status and it was normal for men to have three wives and four concubines. How could an emperor, even the most powerful, stick to just one woman? Even though this woman was the empress, the empress was still an appendage of the emperor. This was the way the dynasty was, and Lan Qingwu was powerless to change that, nor could she alter the minds of those around her.
Even Emperor Shenwu himself did not understand himself, he just agreed to the promise he made to himself.
Lan Qingwu suddenly felt physically and mentally exhausted. She was walking alone on a road with no end or hope in sight. She was the only one on this road. Could she hold on forever? Could she persist without hesitation or hesitation no matter what the cost?
For the first time in such a long time, Lan Qingwu fell into deep confusion.
The Shi family was in a panic because of the demotion and stripping of the title of Concubine Shi. His Majesty really didn't care about the face of him as the Grand Tutor. You know, the Third Princess was about to be married off, but the emperor didn't care at all!
At this time, the Grand Tutor would never have thought of how the Seventh Prince was being plotted against.
A new wave of unrest arose within the former dynasty. A student of the Shi family was embroiled in a corruption case. At this critical moment, how could the Shi family not be terrified? On this day, the Shenwu Emperor finally stopped ignoring the Shi family, and Grand Tutor Shi was finally summoned to the Qianzheng Hall by the Emperor.
Emperor Shenwu said directly, "Master, over the years, I have always wanted to establish a good relationship with you as a ruler and a minister. You are a veteran of two dynasties. Over the years, I have always believed that there must be some friendship between teacher and student."
These words were too harsh. The Grand Master knelt on the ground, trembling, his face filled with shame: "It is my fault for not teaching my daughter well! Your Majesty, you can punish me in any way you want, but I will never accept such words!"
Emperor Shenwu snorted in his heart, "Well, your disciple is in trouble this time, do you have anything to say?"
The Grand Master said sternly, "Your Majesty, Gu Qi is certainly my disciple, but he is even more of a subject of your Majesty. Since he has committed corruption and abuse of power, he must not be tolerated! Otherwise, how can I face your Majesty! How can I face the entire court and the people of the world! Your Majesty, if you trust me, I will personally conduct a thorough investigation!"
Emperor Shenwu narrowed his eyes slightly and looked at Master Taifu with a slightly cold expression. What an old fox! He really knows how to get things done!
"Well! Let's let the Dali Temple investigate this time!"
Naturally, Master Shi did not dare to say much. He had felt the emperor's subtle suppression for many years. It seemed that this time, he was going to lose a few chess pieces. The emperor already suspected that the Shi family had intervened in the affairs of the seventh prince. It could be said that they were the mastermind behind it.
However, this time, the Grand Tutor was somewhat wronged. This was of course the Concubine Shi taking the initiative to use the power of the Shi family to deal with the Queen. If he had really taken action himself, his target would naturally be the more trusted Sixth Prince. How could it be a prince who had been weak since childhood and had little achievements? Moreover, his own attack would only be more secretive and more effective! There was no way he would be discovered and dealt with directly like the Concubine Shi!
Unexpectedly, the situation escalated rapidly. Within a few days, several officials who were detained changed their statements, saying, "All of this was instigated by the Grand Master!"
Gu Qi even said, "I committed corruption at the instigation of my master."
The master was so angry that he fell backwards! He couldn't torture this person in private, which made the master feel aggrieved.