The one who shared the same thoughts as Yu Miao Qi was Madam Sun. Only after she heard the matchmakerâs report did she remember that Yu Xiang still held the title of Si Nong Xiang Jun.
âWhat is Mother so frantic about? The Crown Prince is imprisoned. The Empress has closed the Kunning Palace to visitors. The two of them canât even protect themselves, so they wonât bother with the Shen familyâs affairs. Let her go and see what she can come up with. I just like such an aggressive woman like her, it would be more exciting to play with her that way.â Sun Ming Jie licked his fingers, and his feminine-like face contained a hint of ruthlessness.
Madam Sun was really relieved to hear this and snorted, âWhat my son said is true. She can go and beg the Empress. I will also go to beg my sister-in-law. My sister-in-law is highly favoured by the Emperor and is carrying an imperial child. How can she not be able to suppress a soon-to-be deposed empress?â
It turned out that Lord Sun also had a biological younger sister who was sixteen years old. She entered the palace during the general selection last year. Due to her outstanding appearance, she was soon favoured by the Emperor and was currently seven or eight months pregnant with Emperor Cheng Kangâs youngest child. This was the reason why Madam Sun dared to be so rampant.
The mother and son agreed to go to the palace tomorrow without informing Lord Sun. Their intention was to seek a marriage decree from Consort Sun. Of course, they were not too bold to take Xiang Jun as their concubine, but they had the idea of abusing Yu Xiang to death and then taking another noblewoman to wife.
The following day, Yu Xiang was not surprised when she saw Madam Sun waiting at the palace gate. The two entered the palace and went their separate ways. One to see Consort Sun and the other went to meet the Empress.
âYouâve finally returned. Is Yi Feng still well? Bengong[1] and His Majesty are waiting for his return to the capital.â The Empress was delighted to see Yu Xiang. She pulled on her hand as she enquired. She was not curious about how Yu Xiang found Yu Pin Yan. With Master Ku Hai leading the way, seemingly nothing was impossible.
Checking that no one was around except for Song Momo, who was trusted by the Empress and was standing in the corner, Yu Xiang spoke softly, âElder Brother is well. I think he will arrive in the capital tomorrow.â
âGood, good, good.â The Empress smiled with relief. Then, the smile disappeared and asked, âI heard from Song Momo that the Sun family wants to take you in as a concubine?â
âYes.â Yu Xiang nodded her head.
âBengong remembers that her son is now working in the Ministry of Personnel. He is just a mere sixth-ranking official and he dares to ask a grand Xiangjun as a concubine?! Very shameless, indeed! Where is Madam Sun? Bring her here! Bengong wants to ask her directly what she thought to gain with a Xiangjun, a title that was bestowed by the Emperor himself.â A hint of fury surged in the Empressâ eyes.
âAnswering Niang Niang, she has gone to meet Consort Sun,â Yu Xiang said bluntly.
The anger in the Empressâ eyes immediately erupted. She said in a harsh voice, âGreat. They didnât come to greet me first, but went to see Consort Sun instead. They are thinking that if the Crown Prince falls, bengong will be deposed, so they donât put bengong in their eyes.â
The Empress had been suffering a lot these past few months. Her son was inexplicably imprisoned, the imperial court was resounding with voices about the deposition of the Crown Prince, and even the two young grandsons were asked to be relegated to commoners. If not for the fact that Yu Pin Yanâs victory over Western Barbarian made Emperor Cheng Kang so elated that he unconsciously revealed the truth to the Empress, she would still be in the dark at this moment, with her tail between her legs.
Tomorrow, Yu Pin Yan will enter the capital. So why must she endure it? She sneered, âSend someone to pass this imperial decree â Consort Sun did not abide by the rules and order her to go to the Buddhist Hall and face the wall for self-reflection â She is not allowed to get up until she has kneeled for twelve shichen (24 hours).â
Song Momo said hesitantly, âBut Niang Niang, Consort Sun is eight months pregnant. An ordinary person canât withstand kneeling for twelve shichen. She is pregnant, it mayâŠâ
âYou just have to be in charge of going there. Donât worry about anything else.â The Empress waved her hand impatiently. It was true that Consort Sun was pregnant with the Emperorâs child, but the child was not as well-liked by Emperor Cheng Kang as how it was rumoured to be. It turned out that Consort Sun studied medicine since she was a child and was very good at reading pulses. When she was helping the Emperor up during the selection process, she probed it and found that he was seriously ill. His life expectancy was about to end.
She had entered the palace for a promising future, not just to be buried alive. Consequently, she made Emperor Cheng Kang drink some medicine that would liven things up. After a few entanglements, she became pregnant. If it were not for this, how could the Emperorâs sickly body have been able to perform the deed? She originally thought that if she had a child, she would not have to be buried. And if she gave birth to an imperial son, she would leave the palace and live with him.
But who knew that she unknowingly disclosed this to Sun Shi, who in turn urgently disclosed it to her son? Immediately, Sun Ming Jie was smart enough to see that this was a great opportunity to use as a political investment. He became involved with the Fourth Prince. Since then, Consort Sun had no choice but to pass on information about the inner palace for the Fourth Prince for the sake of her own life and the future of her child.
Emperor Cheng Kang investigated Xu Yuan Zheng and found that he was not a suspect. Then, he focused on the imperial concubines in the harem. Consort Sun, who was unexpectedly pregnant when he was so weak, was like a firefly in the night with nowhere to hide.
Now that Yu Pin Yan was returning, Emperor Cheng Kang would soon purge the imperial court. The child in Consort Sunâs belly would not be able to remain. After all, she was carrying an imperial child. If she were to give birth, the child couldnât be dropped dead again, right? Just as the Empress had been patiently contemplating what to do with Consort Sun, Yu Xiang handed her a knife, which was just what she wanted. This time, not only could they eliminate a problem, but also deter the restless imperial concubines. It was considerably a good move.
Naturally, the Empress would not tell Yu Xiang about these shameful secrets within harem. When Yu Xiang saw that she had plotted against the adult and the child at once without any concealment, she knew in a flash that the Empress would not act so recklessly. It was either Consort Sun had crossed the line or even Emperor Cheng Kangâs bottom line. Since the Empress dared to do it, she definitely was not afraid of the Emperorâs condemnation.
She had come to the palace today to teach the Sun family an unforgettable lesson. Although this lesson was a bit too excessive, she would not be foolish to beg for mercy. As the saying goes, âevery drink and every peck are predeterminedâ,[2] the Sun family committed a wrong, and she could not be blamed for it.
[1] æŹćźź (BÄngĆng) â I, the one who owns this palace. Such as the queen will call herself âthe palaceâ, and the princess with the official title can also call herself âthe palaceâ.
[2] äžé„źäžćçæȘććź(yÄ« yÇn yÄ« zhuĂł jiÄ wĂši qiĂĄn dĂŹng)- âevery drink and every peck are predeterminedâ. The future is determined and decided by oneself.