Chapter 71

Chapter 71: Zhen Huan Chronicles, An Ling Rong

After the hall quieted down, Little Hu Zi spoke up. “Master, are you planning to tie yourself to the Nian family?”

“Even if I don’t plan to, would anyone believe it?” Li Si Qi smiled faintly. “Besides. Ever since Noble Consort Hua said she wanted to raise the children together, there’s no way to separate from Noble Consort Hua or the Nian family. Since that’s the case, why not make it clear?”

“Will Noble Consort Hua agree?” Little Hu Zi could not help asking back. “What if she refuses?”

“Refuse?” Li Si Qi snorted. “How could she refuse? Noble Consort Hua’s greatest wish is to become the Emperor’s wife. If the Nian family supports our Little Six, she will surely get an Empress Dowager rank. That means becoming the dog emperor’s wife. Do you think she’ll be unhappy about that?”

“Wow, Master, you’re giving away the Empress Dowager position?” Little Hu Zi was shocked. “An Ling Rong’s wish is to become the Empress Dowager!”

“Has a dog eaten your brain?” Li Si Qi snapped back. “There’s a Mother Empress Dowager and a Holy Mother Empress Dowager. If the Nian family supports Little Six to take the throne, we can just sit back and win. Giving Nian Shi Lan an Empress Dowager seat isn’t too much, is it? Besides. An Ling Rong only said she wanted to become an Empress Dowager. She never said she had to be the only one. Does she dare claim we didn’t complete the task?”

“Of course not.” Little Hu Zi replied, then added, “Master, if we let the Nian family take the lead, the biggest problem is changing Nian Geng Yao’s fate. The Emperor already means to build him up just to bring him down. If the Emperor finds out the Nian family is supporting the Sixth Prince, we might get dragged down with them.”

“This is easy to solve, okay?” Li Si Qi smiled. “The biggest reason the Nian family falls is that Nian Geng Yao’s achievements shake the throne. To put it plainly, the dog emperor is afraid the Nian family will rebel. On top of that, Nian Geng Yao’s temperament is about the same as Noble Consort Hua’s. This brother and sister are both spoiled by favor, arrogant and overbearing. Nian Geng Yao is also truly talented. The dog emperor fears he can’t keep him under control. At the same time, he fears any son born to Noble Consort Hua will become a puppet in Nian Geng Yao’s hands. So the dog emperor uses Nian Geng Yao to fight wars, but also flatters him into arrogance. With Nian Geng Yao’s pride and wild arrogance, he naturally piles up crimes too many to list. When there are no more wars to fight, the dog emperor will have an excuse to deal with Nian Geng Yao, the minister whose merit overshadows his master.”

“Master is right.” Little Hu Zi nodded in agreement, then pressed, “Master, you still haven’t said how to solve it.”

“If I remember right, in the drama, Nian Geng Yao needs to lead troops to Qing Hai to fight.” Li Si Qi replied. “When he returns victorious, have him badly wounded. Don’t take his life, just injure him. Once he’s seriously wounded, he’ll have to hand over his military power. With the merit he’s earned, even if the dog emperor dislikes him, he’ll still spare his life. That way it won’t implicate Noble Consort Hua either. As long as we keep the Nian family alive, they’ll have the strength to protect our Little Six.”

“No problem.” Little Hu Zi nodded, but still had to warn her, “Master, you should know what kind of man Nian Geng Yao is-using power for personal gain, forming cliques, selling offices, crushing rivals, and promoting only his own people. He’s definitely not a good person. If the Sixth Prince is truly put on the throne by the Nian family, aren’t you afraid he’ll go even further?”

“Afraid of what?” Li Si Qi laughed. “Isn’t there you? Isn’t there the Puppet Pill? Remember this: we’re here to do a task. What means can’t we use? Do we need to fear a Nian Geng Yao? Once he takes the Puppet Pill, won’t he just behave and obey?”

… Peach Blossom Cove. The Empress finally woke up. She asked urgently, “Jian Qiu, the child-am I pregnant?”

“Yes, Your Majesty.” Jian Qiu nodded and soothed her softly. “Your Majesty can’t get worked up. You have to calm down!”

“The child. I have a child again.” The Empress stroked her belly, her expression half laughing and half crying. “So my Hong Hui really has come back.”

“Your Majesty, don’t think too much or worry too much.” Jian Qiu was deeply anxious. “Your Majesty just fell and disturbed the fetus…”

“Right, I fell!” The Empress remembered and could not help showing panic. “Jian Qiu, is the child all right? My Hong Hui, he, he…”

“Your Majesty, don’t panic!” Jian Qiu hurried to answer her. “The child is fine, Your Majesty. The child in Your Majesty’s belly has been kept.”

“Kept?” The Empress was shocked and overjoyed. “It really survived?”

“Yes, Your Majesty!” Jian Qiu smiled faintly and added, “The child is fine. The imperial physicians said Your Majesty must lie down and nurture the pregnancy, and there must not be another accident. If Your Majesty hadn’t been lucky, the imperial fetus would have been lost.”

“Almost… lost.”

The Empress suddenly thought of the one who had harmed her. Fierce light flashed in her eyes as she hissed, “Where is that bastard? How did His Majesty punish him?”

“Replying to Your Majesty,” Jian Qiu answered, “His Majesty kicked the Fourth Prince once. I heard it injured his heart and lungs, and he needs proper treatment.”

“Treatment?” The Empress’s face twisted as she shouted, “A lowborn bastard who tried to harm his legitimate mother. He should be beaten to death!”

“Your Majesty, calm your anger!” Jian Qiu kept trying to persuade her. “Your Majesty, now isn’t the time to argue with the Fourth Prince. The child matters!”

“I…”

The Empress, burning with anger, still wanted to say more. A sudden pain shot through her abdomen, frightening her so badly she did not dare to rage anymore.

“Your Majesty, how are you?” Seeing something wrong, Jian Qiu tensed at once. “Shall I call the imperial physicians?”

“Wait… wait a moment.” The Empress took a deep breath and forced herself to steady her emotions.

After a while, she felt the pain fade away. Hatred thickened on the Empress’s face again. “I will get justice for myself.”… The Forbidden City. Kang Shou Palace.

“Is this news true?” The Empress Dowager looked disbelieving. “The Empress is pregnant? No misdiagnosis?”

“Yes, Empress Dowager.” Zhu Xi smiled and nodded. “It has already been confirmed. Her Majesty is about two months along. It was the night Your Majesty sent the Empress that warming wine.”

“Good, good, good!” The Empress Dowager beamed. “The Empress is still blessed. At her age, being pregnant will be hard. By the way…” The Empress Dowager suddenly thought of another detail. “You said the Fourth Prince knocked the Empress down?”

“He didn’t knock her down.” Zhu Xi explained. “The Fourth Prince grabbed the Empress’s hem, trying to stop Her Majesty from leaving. Maybe he reached out without thinking. When he came to his senses, he was scared out of his mind. He let go, and it caused Her Majesty to fall to the ground. Her Majesty immediately disturbed the fetus. Luckily the imperial physicians managed to save her, and the child was kept.”

“This Fourth Prince…” Dislike showed on the Empress Dowager’s face. “He’s nearly ten, and he still doesn’t know any rules. For an imperial prince to behave so absurdly-it seems he needs two matrons to teach him proper conduct.”

“The Fourth Prince did not mean to hurt Her Majesty,” Zhu Xi could not help adding. “But pulling at the Empress’s hem like that truly was improper. He was raised in the gardens since childhood, with no one to guide him. For him to do something so discourteous is still understandable.”

“Understandable? Hardly.” The Empress Dowager did not agree. “The Emperor has assigned tutors, and there are matrons by his side to re mind him. It only shows he is unruly and incorrigible, with no sense of measure.”

… The next day, the Empress Dowager granted the Fourth Prince two disciplining matrons. In everyone’s eyes, the matter was settled. In the days that followed, the Empress nurtured her pregnancy. The consorts lived freely and happily.