Her only concern now was the Crown Prince. Right now the Crown Prince had no time for her, only worried about whether the Eastern Palace would be implicated. But once matters settled… Liangdi Fan’s gaze grew cold as she thought about how the Crown Prince today couldn’t speak two sentences without needing to gasp for breath and rest. Her lips gradually pressed into a thin line—when the Crown Prince had his outbursts, Liangdi Fan wasn’t particularly afraid. All the dark and unsavory deeds were done by her and the Fan family on the Crown Prince’s behalf. Even just considering the principle of mutual destruction, the Crown Prince wouldn’t truly strike a fatal blow against her. What she worried about instead was the Crown Prince’s health. His body was growing increasingly weak now. If at this moment he were to die… Prince Gong was eyeing them covetously, Zhou Weizhao’s momentum was at its peak—she and her son would only become cannon fodder.
Thinking of this, Liangdi Fan inevitably felt somewhat alarmed. She hurriedly dismissed such inauspicious thoughts and lowered her voice to instruct Nanny Fang: “Have the messenger make another trip to Tongzhou. Just relay my words—tell Nanny Qi to continue sending people to Datong.”
Han Zhengqing had an estate in the old forests up north that specialized in producing ginseng. There was especially one hundred-year-old ginseng root said to cure all ailments, which had always been enshrined in Han Zhengqing’s ancestral home in the north. Liangdi Fan thought that whether this thing was useful or not, she must obtain it for the Crown Prince to try. Moreover, even if not for this ginseng, she needed Han Zhengqing to respond—the fur and horse trade from Xibei couldn’t just be cut off like this. The Eastern Palace’s annual expenditures flowed like water. Even with millions of taels of silver, it still wasn’t enough to spend. If they lost the profitable streams from Xibei, things would truly become inconvenient everywhere, barely making ends meet.
This was another of Liangdi Fan’s vexations. Han Zhengqing, not knowing what had gotten into him, hadn’t given her a single word of response for a full half year. Even the people the Crown Prince dispatched returned saying Marquis Jinxiang had no message to send back. Thinking of Han Zhengqing, anger and grievance surged up in her heart all at once. Thinking about it, what Nanny Fang said truly made sense—men, this sort of creature, no matter how sweet their words were at the start, over time they would cast aside that genuine heart. Thinking of how obedient Han Zhengqing had been to her in the past, then thinking of Han Zhengqing’s current coldness, her gaze grew heavy as she gave a cold laugh.
If she was having a difficult time, the Crown Princess’s side was also badly frightened. Although Zhou Weizhao had sent a letter earlier to reassure her, how could a mother truly set her heart at ease about her own son? She paced restlessly in the palace hall for a long while before finally standing up: “I’m going to Qingning Palace to pay respects to Mother Empress.”
Empress Lu was anxious about this matter. Seeing Crown Princess Lu, though her face wore a smile, the expression in her eyes was complex—she had always liked this niece and daughter-in-law, but she truly had wronged this girl—forcing her to break up with her childhood sweetheart younger son to marry the elder son, watching her be mistreated and neglected by the elder son in every way without being able to help much. Now the son who’d finally grown up enough to be relied upon was constantly meeting with disasters… The Empress sighed and reached out to pull the Crown Princess to sit beside her: “Don’t be anxious either. Your father Emperor said repeatedly that Weizhao is fine.”
The Crown Princess nodded and sat for a while with pursed lips: “I also received the message Mother Empress sent and know he’s alright. But my heart still can’t settle…” She looked at Empress Lu and sighed deeply: “If this continues, when will it end? We can prevent this time, prevent the next time, but surely we can’t prevent it a thousand or hundred times?”
Empress Lu’s expression gradually changed. She accepted the iced honey water Xie Siyi handed her and took a sip.
“Mother Empress, the Yangquan incident before was one thing—we can consider it trials he should experience going to quell the rebellion.” The Crown Princess looked at Empress Lu, seeming not to notice her expression: “But this incident… even if we cover for them, what good does it do?”
Empress Lu wasn’t as calm as her face appeared either. The Fan clan’s actions were clearly digging pits for the Eastern Palace. Once this matter spread, the Eastern Palace’s reputation would be completely ruined. She looked at Empress Lu and asked her: “What do you mean?”
Crown Princess Lu laughed, her laughter carrying infinite desolation: “What meaning could this subject-daughter have? Last time when I disciplined her palace servants, His Highness the Crown Prince was already quite angry. How much more so if I truly reached out toward her personally. But if things always continue like this, we can’t always be this fortunate every time, can we? Even if we are this fortunate every time, we won’t be able to conceal things for His Highness every time—”
Empress Lu listened until cold sweat beaded on her skin. Human desire has no limits. Having failed once, the Fan clan dared to strike a second time—in the future there would be third and fourth times. Crown Princess Lu was right. Never mind that they might not have the fortune to remain intact every time—even if they truly were that fortunate, there are no walls that don’t let wind through. News of discord in the Eastern Palace would leak out sooner or later.
The Crown Prince truly was confused. Empress Lu’s face gradually darkened as well, murderous intent surging in her eyes—this Fan woman, this troublemaker who feared the world wasn’t chaotic enough, truly was the root of all disasters.
She patted Crown Princess Lu’s hand: “This incident can’t be openly connected to her, but privately, I’ll have the Crown Prince give you an explanation. This can’t just be left at that.”
Setting aside that legitimate and illegitimate lines absolutely cannot be confused as a fundamental principle, Liangdi Fan’s behavior alone was enough for her to die a hundred times. Just speaking of how when Liangdi Fan struck, she didn’t even consider what situation the Eastern Palace was currently in—right now even the Crown Prince himself was still conscientiously serving as Crown Prince before Emperor Jianzhang, yet she was already starting her power struggles first. Just for this reckless stupidity of hers, Empress Lu felt she deserved death.
The Crown Princess came for precisely these words. Directly requesting from the Crown Prince was impossible, nor did she wish to dirty her ears again. But to willingly let her son suffer this silent injustice was absolutely impossible. The Fan clan was doing things more and more ruthlessly. If she didn’t act, they’d truly think her dead.
She sighed: “All these years, I’ve avoided what should be avoided. What more can be done? I only pity Weizhao. Just because he’s the legitimate son, he’s become an eyesore to His Highness—”
The Crown Prince’s favoritism toward Prince Dongping was visible to anyone with eyes. Empress Lu’s expression became even more unsightly. She gave a heavy cold snort, her brows knitting together. This was also her heart’s ailment. When serving as Crown Prince he already indulged his concubine while neglecting his wife—in the future when he became Emperor, wouldn’t he immediately elevate the Fan woman to be the nation’s mother?
Then what was the point of her bringing in the legitimate daughter of the Lu family? To pave the way and build bridges for the Fan woman? To make wedding garments for the Fan family’s people? Her gaze turned cold and fierce, murderous intent blazing in her eyes.