Prince Qi immediately ruled out Prince Lu. If Fifth Brother had such intelligence and capability, he wouldn’t be Fifth Brother anymore. That left only the Sixth Brother and Seventh Brother.
Sixth Brother wanted to take a step back and watch the tigers fight, keeping a low profile lately. The possibility of it being Sixth Brother wasn’t very high.
Seventh Brother—Prince Qi’s eyes turned cold as he thought of Yu Jin, wishing he could devour him alive. It must be that wolf cub Seventh Brother, no doubt about it!
Ever since Seventh Brother returned to the capital, they had encountered one problem after another, disrupting years of peaceful coexistence. This incident with Eighth Brother was aimed at him. How could there not be a follow-up plan? First, eliminate his helpers, then eliminate him—Seventh Brother was truly swift and decisive, wasting no time.
Thinking about the years of endurance, patiently accumulating a good reputation bit by bit, only to have Lady Li run out onto the street like that, instantly becoming the subject of people’s gossip and losing face, Prince Qi wavered for the first time. Perhaps he had been wrong all along, and should have been as reckless as Seventh Brother?
No, he needed to go to the palace and give Mother Consort a hint.
Prince Qi made up his mind and entered the palace the next day.
“Your Highness, the Prince has arrived,” a palace maid softly reported to Consort Xian, who was resting with her eyes closed against the bedhead screen in Yuquan Palace. A faint medicinal fragrance seemed to permeate the air, as it had for some time now.
It was already late spring, but Consort Xian still wore a lined jacket, her complexion a fragile pale. She opened her eyes at the report, her voice even softer: “Please invite the Prince in.”
Soon after, Prince Qi entered. Seeing Consort Xian’s complexion, he couldn’t bring himself to speak.
Consort Xian dismissed the attendants and asked, “Is something the matter?”
Prince Qi didn’t answer directly: “Mother Consort, you don’t look well. Are you still feeling unwell?”
Consort Xian smiled faintly: “It’s not an illness, I just feel weak all over. Tell me what’s on your mind. If you keep it to yourself, I’ll feel even worse.”
Prince Qi hesitated for a moment before recounting the incident with Princess Qi.
Consort Xian listened with closed eyes, her complexion growing paler. Her throat itched with the urge to cough, but she suppressed it in front of Prince Qi.
After Prince Qi finished, he clenched his fists: “Seventh Brother must have schemed against me!”
Consort Xian opened her eyes after a while, her voice cold: “I knew being recorded under the Empress’s name wasn’t enough for that bastard. He’s aiming for the position of Crown Prince!”
Prince Qi rubbed his face, his tone fierce: “Now that he has a chance to compete, of course, he wants to fight for it. But I can’t just sit back and let Seventh Brother walk all over me! Mother Consort, you’ve seen it too—Seventh Brother shows no brotherly affection towards me. If he succeeds, the entire Prince Qi household might be destroyed…”
Consort Xian sighed deeply: “How could I not know? I shouldn’t have given birth to that bastard in the first place. Now he’s causing so much trouble for my son.”
Prince Qi lowered his eyes to hide the coldness within, saying word by word: “Mother Consort, I already have a plan to counterattack.”
“Tell me.”
There were no windows in the inner chamber, but Prince Qi’s gaze turned towards a certain direction—the location of Cining Palace.
Prince Qi’s voice sounded in Consort Xian’s ear: “It seems the Empress Dowager doesn’t know that Princess Rongyang is dead.”
Consort Xian was stunned for a moment, then understood.
The Empress Dowager had no children of her own; both her son and daughter were adopted. The son was Emperor Jingming, and the daughter was Princess Rongyang.
For years, Princess Rongyang’s arrogance was inseparable from the Empress Dowager’s doting.
After Princess Rongyang was killed by Cui Xu, Emperor Jingming, fearing the Empress Dowager would be shocked, withheld the news from her.
“If the Empress Dowager learns of Princess Rongyang’s death, she will naturally know the cause that led to it. This way, no matter what reasons Princess Yan might have, the Empress Dowager won’t have any good feelings towards her, and will even resent Seventh Brother by association.”
Consort Xian nodded: “You’re right, Zhangr. Although the Empress Dowager appears reasonable and magnanimous, she’s still human, and humans are swayed by emotions. If it weren’t for Princess Yan’s insistence on avenging her mother, the old scandal of Princess Rongyang harming the Su family wouldn’t have come to light, and she wouldn’t have been killed by Cui Xu. Princess Rongyang may have been killed by Cui Xu, but the real cause of her death was that Jiang bitch. The Empress Dowager will surely understand this…”
Prince Qi sneered: “Father Emperor is most filial to the Empress Dowager. If she clearly expresses her dislike for Seventh Brother, Father Emperor will surely grow tired of him, and he’ll have no chance of becoming Crown Prince—”
“Not necessarily,” Consort Xian shook her head.
“Mother Consort?”
Consort Xian looked at her son, her gaze tender: “You don’t understand your Father Emperor that well. Although he’s filial to the Empress Dowager, he’s still an emperor. He won’t completely negate a person based on the Empress Dowager’s likes and dislikes, especially when it comes to the position of Crown Prince. He won’t even choose based on his preferences… That’s why I’ve always been certain that you have the best chance.”
If everything were based on favoritism, she wouldn’t be Consort Xian, and the Empress wouldn’t be the Empress.
“Mother Consort, should we do nothing then?”
“We still need to act. That bastard is too reckless; keeping him around is always a threat to you. Moreover, if we let him have his way, what if your Father Emperor one day decides he’s suitable to be Crown Prince? First, we’ll use the Empress Dowager to suppress him. Your Father Emperor will surely be cold towards him in the short term. Then, have the officials you’ve won over pick on his faults and impeach him in turns. Under the influence of repeated accusations, your Father Emperor will thoroughly tire of him. Only then can we rest easy…”
Prince Qi bowed: “Mother Consort’s plan is indeed more thorough. However, the Empress Dowager rarely leaves the palace. I’m not sure how to inform her of this matter.”
Consort Xian remained silent for a while, then said: “It’s not difficult. Although the Empress Dowager doesn’t leave the palace, people from Cining Palace do go out regularly.”
“You mean—”
“Nanny Chang from Cining Palace regularly goes to the temple to donate money for incense on behalf of the Empress Dowager. This is a good opportunity to pass the news to the Empress Dowager’s ears.”
Prince Qi’s eyes lit up: “I understand now. Thank you for your guidance, Mother Consort.”
Consort Xian cautioned: “Don’t be hasty and make mistakes. This matter is of great importance and must be foolproof.”
“Rest assured, Mother Consort. I understand.”
Those people he spent so much money on weren’t raised for nothing.
Thinking of money, Prince Qi’s head began to ache slightly.
He couldn’t touch Lady Li’s dowry, and it wasn’t time to collect income from the manors and shops yet. The household’s deficit was quite large.
Consort Xian took out a palm-sized box from a hidden compartment and handed it to him.
“Mother Consort—”
“Take it. With Lady Li causing such trouble, you’re managing the entire prince’s household alone. Having ample funds will make things easier.”
“Mother Consort, I won’t let you down,” Prince Qi said with a moved expression.
In the following days, Prince Qi didn’t fare well. Every time he met someone, he felt he could see mockery in their eyes.
Prince Qi had a good reputation outside, with almost no misconduct for years. When something happened in the Prince Qi household, the people of the capital, full of fresh curiosity, couldn’t stop gossiping.
Undeniably, Princess Qi’s outburst had a significant impact on Prince Qi.
It was during these difficult days that Prince Qi finally waited for the first day of the fourth month—the day Nanny Chang from Cining Palace would leave the palace.