C122 (1/2)

As Chu Lingyun sat in the empty palace, the Queen's hysterical curses could be vaguely heard. She heaved a sigh of relief and waved at the silent Xianghe, ”Come over and help me dress up.”

Xianghe looked at her blankly: ”Princess, where are you going?”

Chu Lingyun's eyes were filled with ice, ”I want to see Prince Duan.”

Xianghe rolled her eyes, and lowered her voice, ”Princess, aren't you going to Changchun Palace?”

Chu Lingyun scoffed, ”Why would I go to Changchun Palace? I raised a child of my love rival for more than ten years, and when the empress sees me, she will definitely kill me.”

Xianghe heard the inklings in her words, and asked: ”Princess, have you thought it through?”

”There's nothing that I can't figure out.” Chu Lingyun smoothed out the wrinkles on her skirt, and a faint smile appeared on the corner of her lips. ”I still have to continue walking down the road.”

”Princess, do you still want to go to the Imperial Study to plead for the empress?”

Chu Lingyun silently shook her head, ”I'm not going. If I guess the contents of the silk handkerchief in Prince Duan's hands correctly, the Queen definitely won't be able to protect it.”

”But the Prince Duan may not accept princesses,” Xianghe sized up her expression. ”Even though you two are siblings, you were raised by the empress after all.

”I'm naturally clear about this,” Chu Lingyun said as she turned her head to the side and smiled, ”However, no matter what thoughts Prince Duan has in mind, he will never refuse me coming closer. A title like Princess Poyang is extremely alluring.”

”Does the princess plan on making Prince Duan her Crown Prince?”

”With the Queen gone, the concubines in the imperial palace might still have princes, but it would be very difficult for them to have that kind of strength to compete with the Prince Duan. If no exceptions are made, the one to take over the Eastern Palace in the future would definitely be the Prince Duan.”

Xianghe understood in her heart, ”Seeing that Princess is of the same mother and sister, Prince Duan will definitely leave her a way out in the future.”

”Prince Duan is magnanimous, and can go on a campaign, not to mention that he is a child of the Mrs. Heyi. I hope that he can give me a stable future on account of the fact that I have surrendered,” Chu Lingyun said as his eyes dimmed, ”Before we go to the Xinyang Hall, you will accompany me to go to the Luan Feng Palace once.”

Xianghe looked at her in shock, ”This servant thinks that the Princess running towards Prince Duan is entirely because of the situation.”

Chu Lingyun smiled slightly, but there was an extremely bitter taste in the corner of her mouth. ”It's just that Mrs. Heyi is my birth mother, the several times I went there, I always looked at her with hatred. This time, I really want to know if there are any other expressions.”

”Then will this servant continue to stay by the emperor's side?”

”The reason I pushed you towards the Emperor was entirely because you looked similar to the Mrs. Heyi, but now that I know that I am her daughter, this feeling is also subtle. As expected, the fickleness of the world is not something we can predict,” Chu Lingyun lowered her eyes and laughed.

”This servant has another question.”

Chu Lingyun raised her eyebrows, ”What problem?”

”Didn't the princess find it strange that the emperor didn't make Prince Duan the crown prince?” Xianghe looked at her with a complicated gaze. ”Did the princess think that it was entirely because your Royal Brother was given to you by the empress?”

Chu Lingyun opened her eyes wide, ”That's right, Prince Duan is a child of the Mrs. Heyi, so it's naturally more likely that he will join the Eastern Palace.

”What this servant means is that the reason the emperor has not continued to establish the crown prince is because he is still waiting for the concubines in the imperial harem to give birth to a new prince,” Xianghe said in a deep voice.

Chu Lingyun secretly gripped her sleeves. ”The emperor rejected me, could it be that Prince Duan is not a candidate for the crown prince either?”

”The princess going to reunite with the Prince Duan is the best way out for this situation,” Xianghe said as she lightly bit her lips.

There was only a thin layer of snow in the palace. The crystal clear snowflakes fell from the sky, as if someone had sprinkled a handful of jade fragments in the sky.

Cheng Huan Hall's atmosphere was even more lively than usual. After the imperial physician with the goatee finished patting the Emperor's pulse, he happily bowed to the Emperor. ”Congratulations, Your Majesty. The Consort Fu is pregnant.”

The emperor's tense expression immediately relaxed, a smile blossoming on his lips. ”Really? ”Awesome.”

Li Xiuse's face flushed red as she propped up her upper body. She smiled and said, ”It is my fortune to be able to bear a dragon's embryo for the Qin.”

”Your Majesty, Empress,” Shouxiang looked around, clapped her hands, and said, ”You really did accept the title of Empress.”

”It seems that the title that I have proposed is very auspicious,” the emperor chuckled as he reached out to grasp her jade-white fingers. ”Consort Fu, Consort Hua has just had a difficult time giving birth and you are pregnant with a child. I don't know how happy I am.”

Li Xiuse shyly and timidly nodded, ”Your concubine's failure to reach the Yongle Palace to help the Emperor share his worries was your fault.”

”No one could have predicted that the Consort Hua would have such a hard time,” the Emperor sighed and smiled, ”The fact that you were able to bear the dragon's womb is a part of my worries.”

Li Xiuse pulled his hand onto her belly, ”Your Majesty, do you want your concubine to give birth to a prince or a princess?”

The emperor stared blankly for a moment before smiling, ”As long as you don't give birth to a leopard cat, it's fine.”

The surrounding people were stunned for a moment before they started laughing softly again. Li Xiuse pursed her lips into a smile and said gently, ”In order to be born, one would have to give birth to a dragon. How could it be a leopard cat?

Shouxiang covered her mouth and laughed secretly: ”The Empress just ate a lot of sour dates cake. People say that sour men are spicy women, the Empress should be able to give birth to a prince for the Emperor.”

”It would be even better if it was a prince. There are only Prince Duan in the palace, I still want to have a few more boys to ride with me and shoot arrows.”