vstars Chapter 205 Death of Concubine Chen
Chapter 205 Death of Concubine Chen
Emperor Shenwu hurried into the delivery room. He looked at Lan Qingwu's appearance and couldn't help but feel heartbroken: "Ruoruo, give the child to the wet nurse. You are weak and can't hold him all the time."
Lan Qingwu blamed herself and cried, "It's my fault that I didn't protect him well. He was so weak and so small. Brother Heng, I'm so scared!"
The Shenwu Emperor embraced the two of them in his arms: "Don't be afraid, I promise our child will be fine! Come here!"
A wet nurse came forward and carefully took the seventh prince away from Lan Qingwu's arms. Lan Qingwu wanted to reach out and hold him again, but Emperor Shenwu locked her arms. She could only watch with tears in her eyes as the wet nurse took the child away.
Emperor Shenwu comforted Lan Qingwu, but when he thought of the instigator of this incident, his expression became cold again.
Only after Lan Qingwu finished drinking the nourishing soup and lay down and fell into a deep sleep did Emperor Shenwu get up and leave.
Emperor Shenwu left Suowu Palace and rode his dragon chariot all the way to Yufu Palace. The gates of Yufu Palace were locked, and guards were standing guard at the gate. When the guards saw the dragon chariot approaching, they knelt and saluted. Li Xiang stepped forward and said, "Open the door! Your Majesty wishes to enter!"
It turned out that Concubine Chen had already been imprisoned in Yufu Palace by Emperor Shenwu.
Emperor Shenwu got off the dragon chariot and walked into the bedroom of Yufu Palace.
Concubine Chen was sitting sideways on the bed, combing her long hair with a peach wood comb.
The door of the bedroom was pushed open by Emperor Shenwu. At this time, Emperor Shenwu was no longer in a hurry. He walked in slowly and looked at Concubine Chen calmly.
Concubine Chen was stunned for a moment, seemingly unable to react. Then she slowly stood up and said, "Your Majesty, I greet you. May your Majesty be well!"
Emperor Shenwu didn't call out, but Concubine Chen stood up immediately. "Your Majesty, you are here now. Has Concubine Yi given birth to a prince? Seeing your calm expression, it seems that Concubine Yi is really lucky!"
Emperor Shenwu narrowed his eyes slightly. "Concubine Yi has given birth to the Seventh Prince. Are you disappointed, Concubine Chen? I don't really want to see you, but I don't understand why you are so against Concubine Yi, to the point of stirring up trouble in the harem!"
Concubine Chen suddenly raised her head, staring intently at Emperor Shenwu, her eyes already wrinkled at the corners. "Why? Your Majesty, you should ask yourself, why do you favor Concubine Yi so much?"
"I have favored many people..."
"No! That's different!" Concubine Chen interrupted Emperor Shenwu sharply.
"That's different! Your Majesty, I once saw the portrait I painted for you in Qianzheng Hall. Do you still remember the painting I destroyed? You cherished even a painting so much! Later, I saw and saw the look in your eyes when you looked at Concubine Yi. It was one morning, and Concubine Yi had just entered the palace and was still a small noble. She rescued a bird entangled in weeds in a corner of the Imperial Garden. The bird flew away from her palm, and Your Majesty was quietly watching Concubine Yi in another corner. I saw the look in your eyes when you looked at Concubine Yi, so obsessed, so infatuated!"
Concubine Chen clenched her fists as she spoke. "Your Majesty, Concubine Yi is beautiful! I've never seen a woman like her, compassionate and pure! She has no scheming or hypocrisy in her heart! There has never been a woman like her in the harem! I can't help but follow her!"
"But!" Concubine Chen stepped forward and changed her tone: "Your Majesty, you are Your Majesty! You are the wise and mighty emperor! You are the Son of Heaven who rules over all civil and military officials! You are the god of all the people in the world! You can't just be that weak Yun Heng!"
Emperor Shenwu remained unmoved: "After all, it's all for myself!"
Concubine Chen smiled bitterly and said, "Yes! For myself and the family behind me, I have to compete for favor and make calculations! If Your Majesty had given me the favor you showed to Concubine Yi, I would probably be so happy that I would go crazy! But Your Majesty did not! In fact, until now I have also wanted to ask you, Your Majesty, there have always been three concubines in the harem, but Concubine Jiang has her biological son, the Second Prince, and Concubine Wan has her adopted son, the First Prince. Why do you only give me nothing?"
Emperor Shenwu shook his head. "Even now you still only think it's everyone else's fault! When I chose a foster mother for the eldest prince, you refused! I'm afraid you still wanted to give birth to the prince yourself! And now you blame me for being unfair. I have nothing more to say to you."
Emperor Shenwu turned to leave, and Concubine Chen suddenly realized what he was about to do. All her emotions were suppressed. "Wait, Your Majesty! You can't convict me yet. Everything requires evidence. Moreover, I am a high-ranking concubine, so the evidence must be irrefutable before you can convict me. Don't you agree?"
Emperor Shenwu's eyes finally showed some movement. "Concubine Chen, the incident with Concubine Qian's poisoned clothes, the incident with Concubine Qi's poisoned butterfly, the plague in the palace, the venomous snake incident... every one of these incidents was your doing. Do you really think I can't find anything by targeting you? Take the recent poisoned book incident, for example. Your personal maid has confessed to it. This alone is enough for me to convict you!"
"What's more!"
The Emperor Shenwu's phoenix eyes turned cold. "How dare you collude with the Prince of Shen! You are guilty of treason, and your family will not be spared!"
Concubine Chen was stunned. Only then did she fully understand that she was facing the emperor, the supreme ruler, the one who had the final say. Emperor Shenwu must have already investigated all of her affairs. Concubine Chen's flawless mask finally cracked, and panic finally appeared on her cheeks. "Your Majesty! Your Majesty! I beg you, this is truly my own doing. It really has nothing to do with my mother's family! Your Majesty, please investigate! They... the Chen family really don't know!"
By the end of her speech, Concubine Chen had already knelt on the ground.
Emperor Shenwu said softly, "What you said is true. You don't feel the pain unless the knife pierces your own body!"
A moment after Emperor Shenwu left Yufu Palace, Xiao Fuzi, a young eunuch from Qianzheng Palace, respectfully held a tray with a glass of wine on it. He walked up to Concubine Chen, who was still kneeling on the ground, and said in a shrill voice, "Your Majesty, His Majesty has granted you a glass of fine wine. Please accept it!"
Concubine Chen raised her head and looked at Xiao Fuzi: "What else did His Majesty say?"
"Your Majesty said you should drink this wine. As for whether some people should drink it, it's up to you!"
Concubine Chen suddenly let out a mirthless laugh, a laugh that made even Xiao Fuzi shudder. After a few breaths, Concubine Chen reached out for the wine and drank it all in one gulp. "Tell Your Majesty, I'm not lying this time!"
Concubine Chen died suddenly of illness in the harem. The former Minister of Rites Chen Shangshu wrote to Emperor Shenwu, saying that he was not feeling well and was afraid that he could no longer serve as the Minister of Rites, and requested to retire and return home. Emperor Shenwu did not try to stop him and directly approved the request!
The Master in the hall had an extremely ugly expression on his face. He was afraid that His Majesty would soon conduct a screening of the civil servants, and after that no one would be able to stop the emperor from doing what he wanted!
The Seventh Prince was raised with great difficulty. The Sixth Prince, Zhou Chengchen, was almost three years old. He looked at his little brother with curiosity and surprise, and couldn't help but exclaimed, "Mother, my little brother is so small!"
Lan Qingwu smiled and said, "Yes! He is too young. As an older brother, you must learn to protect your younger brother. When the younger brother grows up, he will help his older brother."
The Sixth Prince nodded seriously and puffed out his chest: "Then I will protect my brother and mother first!"