vstars Chapter 181 "I only want to nip it in the bud."
Chapter 181 "I only want to nip it in the bud."
The Imperial Concubine looked at Yuwen Wuji in disbelief. They had been a young couple for many years and had come this far. How could he treat her like this!
"Your Majesty, I did not do it!"
Yuwen Wuji looked at her coldly, "Consort Song's delivery is the most important thing. Tell her that I have taken the Imperial Concubine under control and no one will harm her and the child. Let her give birth in peace!"
Gao Ping was stunned. Numbly, she was stripped of her hairpins and imperial concubine robes, just like a prisoner.
She didn't do it, so why did Yuwen Wuji treat her like this?
Ah, think of Xie Wanqing, she sacrificed so much for him, and he still killed people to consolidate his imperial power. In his heart, only power is the most important thing.
The humiliation they are inflicting on her now is merely a ploy to reassure Song Wenyue so she can focus on giving birth.
Gao Ping gave a self-deprecating laugh and quickly regained her composure.
Since he is unrighteous, then she will be unrighteous as well.
"Your Majesty, I do not admit to anything I did wrong! But since Your Majesty wants Consort Song to give birth in peace, I will naturally prioritize the well-being of the imperial heir. It is too chaotic here for Consort Song to give birth. Let us move to a side hall and wait until Consort Song gives birth before clearing my name!"
Seeing that she was so sensible and didn't cry or make a scene, Yuwen Wuji felt a pang of guilt towards her. Remembering her long-held wish, he got up and helped her up.
The child was still not born by dawn, and Yuwen Wuji went to court exhausted.
At the court assembly, the Censorate officials were arguing fiercely over matters concerning the Ministry of Revenue, their message being clear: Tong Qian should not be released casually.
Yuwen Wuji felt a deep sense of powerlessness; that feeling of being constantly constrained had returned. He was already the emperor! Why was he still being controlled by these ministers?
"Your Majesty, this year's imperial examination is even more important!"
Last year's major scandal involving the imperial examinations caused unrest throughout the entire Great Chen Dynasty. The imperial examinations were a crucial matter for selecting talented individuals, and now they're arguing and arguing over a meager sum of money from the Ministry of Revenue. What's the point of all this arguing?
When the imperial examinations were mentioned, the people in the Ministry of Rites were ashamed. It was because many of their personnel had been seconded to investigate cases that they had postponed the start date of the examinations.
The Minister of Rites stepped forward and said, "Your subject has made thorough preparations and will ensure that what happened last year will not be repeated!"
Yuwen Wuji sighed, knowing he couldn't release Tong Qian before the imperial examinations ended. He had to find an opportunity.
After the court session, he rushed to Song Wenyue's place, where Li Wei congratulated him, saying, "Congratulations, Your Majesty, it's a prince!"
Yuwen Wuji was overjoyed and immediately ordered that the children be distributed to the harem. He then went in to see the child, and the wet nurse showed him the wrinkled baby. He said to Song Wenyue, "You have rendered a great service. I will not go back on my promise to you."
The imperial decree conferring the title was issued the following day, and news of the Consort being promoted to Imperial Noble Consort also spread throughout the palace and the court.
"Useless thing. I thought I could use this to bring down the Imperial Concubine, but the Emperor actually promoted her!" Consort Xian pouted.
"Your Majesty, please don't be angry. The fact that the Emperor hasn't appointed an Empress means it's not important."
Consort Xian rolled her eyes. "Two lives for a mere conferment of a title? I'm furious!"
"Your Majesty, there's plenty of time in the future!"
"Ugh......"
"Your Highness, you've already sighed three times. If you keep sighing, you'll sigh away all your good fortune!" said Granny Qin.
"Okay, okay, I won't sigh anymore."
Song Yaozhu only felt it was a pity, as they had informants about what was happening in the palace. Song Wenyue bribed a pregnant daughter of a disgraced official in the Yeting Palace to induce labor and give birth to a baby boy. Then, she used Consort Xian to create chaos in the palace and induce labor at the opportune moment.
The Yeting was a place inhabited by elderly palace maids and eunuchs, as well as some female relatives of disgraced officials. Because it was a remote and unlucky place, no one went there on ordinary days. The people living there lived as if they were in hell, with no future or hope in sight. Therefore, being able to send their children away was something they longed for.
Where is this child?
Xie Liwei shook his head. Only Song Wenyue and the people around her knew whether that child was now a prince or a pile of rotten flesh.
If this matter is exposed, even if the prince is indeed Yuwen Wuji's flesh and blood, there will be plenty of room for them to make trouble.
"I plan to tell Gao Ping this news."
Because of the checks and balances imposed by Consort Xian, Gao Ping suffered from some hearing and vision impairment within the palace. Otherwise, how could she have endured such humiliation while Song Wenyue was pregnant?
When Gao Ping was granted her title, King Jing and his consort entered the palace to offer their congratulations.
Gao Ping sent Princess Jing to make her some snacks, and then dismissed all the palace servants.
"Didn't you say you'd take care of Mo Yu for me?! Why is Mo Yu still alive, and even tricked Gao Ruhai into going out?! Now Gao Ruhai is dead too!"
Gao Ruhai's body was found in a river outside the capital city. Local farmers reported the case and, upon discovering that he was a eunuch, the county magistrate immediately reported it to the palace.
Yuwen Wuji was overjoyed at the birth of his son and had no interest in the trivial matter of Gao Ping, so he had Gao Ruhai's body sent to her.
Anyway, he wasn't one of his people, so his death is no big deal.
With both arms severed, Gao Ping felt an unprecedented sense of loneliness. What frightened her most was that Mo Yu's body had not appeared.
Prince Jing has been extremely busy lately, overseeing the imperial examinations with the Ministry of Rites. He ordered someone to do this, but they haven't been able to find Mo Yu yet.
“My men have been keeping an eye on the Prince Xiaoyao’s residence, but they haven’t found any trace of Mo Yu.” Prince Jing didn’t want to admit that his men were useless, and he felt that Mo Yu posed no threat to him. “Aunt Mo Yu is loyal to you and would never betray you. As long as you don’t do anything unnecessary, Aunt Mo Yu will not betray you.”
After he finished speaking, he noticed that Gao Ping's body stiffened. His pupils suddenly contracted, and he hurriedly asked, "Mother, what did you do?"
Gao Ping looked away, a hint of guilt in her heart, but she didn't think she had done anything wrong.
"I only want to nip it in the bud."
King Jing frowned and said loudly, "This is unnecessary!"
He paced anxiously around the room, realizing that his mother was getting old, otherwise she wouldn't have made such a mistake!
"Don't you understand how Aunt Mo Yu feels about you? Are you determined to force her to turn against us before you're satisfied?"
Especially since this person was once their most trusted confidant and knew many of their secrets!
Gao Ping's fingers tore at the handkerchief. Of course she understood, that's why she wanted to kill Mo Yu!
How does it feel to be stabbed in the back by someone you once trusted?
Mo Yu remained silent in the cage; she had never imagined that one day she would be abandoned by Gao Ping.
From the moment she entered the Gao family, accompanied her in exile, and helped her rise to the high position of imperial concubine, they had clearly supported each other all the way. Why then did she abandon her?