Fall In Love With A Substitute – The Princess’s Beloved Wife, Chapter 50

After Feng Yuexian finished speaking, she felt somewhat relieved.

Her willow-shaped eyebrows slightly raised as she glanced at Song Pianxian’s expression. Seeing Song Pianxian’s silence, Feng Yuexian felt even more pleased.

Song Pianxian pondered without making a decision.

This move by Feng Yuexian… was quite good.

Since it had been brought up, attention should indeed be paid to matters like sharing the same bed.

Moreover, although Feng Yuexian had returned to the palace, she still seemed unhappy. It would be better to indulge her more.

With this in mind, Song Pianxian closed the book pages and complied:

“Xue Qing, you lead the people to open the storeroom and tidy up the West Hall.”

“It’s been a long time since anyone lived there, so don’t let the fragrance be too strong for a while. Set up a few fruit plates for freshness.”

“Are the pair of coral trees bestowed by the palace in the storeroom? Take them to place under the window; it should add some charm…”

The Crown Prince was considerate and meticulous, giving detailed instructions to Xue Qing to tidy up the Princess Consort’s residence, almost wanting to move all the good things from the small storeroom to the West Hall.

Meanwhile, the Princess Consort’s expression grew darker with each gentle reminder from the Crown Prince.

Under the gaze of Feng Yuexian’s girlfriend, as if finally unable to find any more details to instruct, Song Pianxian shifted her gaze from Xue Qing to Feng Yuexian, her smile carrying a polite probing tone:

“Yuexian, is this arrangement satisfactory?”

Feng Yuexian looked at Song Pianxian and smiled, her smile extremely cold, causing the air around her to chill.

Her voice was like cold smoke, each word enunciated:

“Very… well.”

After Feng Yuexian finished speaking, she immediately turned and left without another word.

“…?”

Xue Qing cautiously asked, “Shall… I go and tidy up the West Hall?”

Song Pianxian felt tired in her heart. She waved her hand:

“Go ahead.” Then added, “Handle it properly, everything follows the Princess Consort’s wishes. If anything is lacking, inform me.”

As Xue Qing listened, she couldn’t help but sigh inwardly. The Crown Prince was so obedient to the Princess Consort, pampering her excessively.

But the more obedient the Crown Prince was, the angrier the Princess Consort seemed. Why was that?

Xue Qing thought her mistress might be unhappy, sleeping separately and returning to her parents’ home. There would likely be further actions in the future.

But what she didn’t expect was that after this night, everything seemed to be settled.

Since then, the Crown Prince and Princess Consort lived in separate halls and slept in separate beds.

However, they still dined together every day. The Princess Consort always wore a cold expression and never spoke first unless the Crown Prince initiated the conversation.

Originally, the Crown Prince used to say something to lighten the mood, but after seeing the Crown Prince Consort’s indifferent attitude, she spoke less.

As the Crown Prince spoke less, the Crown Prince Consort’s complexion worsened.

Yin Xue felt uncomfortable watching from the side. What did the Crown Prince want from the Crown Prince Consort? She couldn’t understand.

Apart from the icy atmosphere in the Eastern Palace, a few other things were happening in the palace.

The Third Prince fell ill, and the Virtuous Consort begged for an audience with the Emperor at the Qianqing Palace, kneeling outside the palace gate for an hour before finally seeing him.

It was said that the Virtuous Consort accused the Crown Prince’s Consort of reducing the expenses of the Yi Xi Palace, and with the assistance of the Internal Affairs Office, this led to the Third Prince falling seriously ill due to various deficiencies.

Because the Crown Prince and his consort had gained favor in the eyes of the Emperor, the Emperor didn’t immediately turn against the Eastern Palace this time. Instead, he reprimanded the Virtuous Consort for her extravagance.

But after years of affection, with the Virtuous Consort kneeling, almost all the Emperor’s grievances disappeared.

Since then, the Virtuous Consort always took the Third Prince to the Emperor’s bedside to attend to his illness. Although she didn’t regain control of the palace, it seemed like she had regained favor.

With the rise of the Virtuous Consort, the Consort Hui didn’t dare to assert her authority. If it weren’t for the Emperor’s decree, she would have thrown away this hot potato long ago.

Unable to throw it away, she began to feign illness, complaining of headaches and fevers every other day, refusing to take responsibility anymore. In the end, all the affairs of the harem were handed over to Feng Yuexian.

Since she had taken over, Feng Yuexian efficiently managed everything in the harem. If she found any excessive deductions, she would clean up the Internal Affairs Office inside and out.

As for whether there were any personal gains for her in this, no one could say for sure, and no one dared to say.

According to the rules, apart from the Empress Dowager and the Empress, the most respected person in the palace was the Crown Prince’s Consort, who was the Master.

Other consorts were slightly inferior, with the Noble Consort being a bit lower, all of them being imperial concubines. They should all show respect to the Crown Prince’s Consort.

With the Crown Prince as the regent, and the Crown Prince’s Consort in charge of the six palaces, the Eastern Palace held power without leaking a drop, firmly in control.

Moreover, the Emperor’s health was improving, although his face was still somewhat distorted, gradually he could get out of bed and walk around.

As the Yulan Festival approached, the palace made sugar-coated fruits and sweet rice dumplings. There were various types of dumplings, such as corner dumplings, conical dumplings, cylindrical dumplings, and nine-child dumplings, all of them exquisite.

In the halls and pavilions, there were pomegranates and gardenias everywhere, with golden, jade, and glass vases reflecting each other, filling the air with a sweet fragrance.

For the Dragon Boat Festival, each palace had rewards such as sunflowers, gardenias, sweet flags, ai tiger grass, light silk, small fans, and scripture tube talisman bags. Among them, the scripture tube talisman bags were intricately crafted with colored threads and various gold and silver flower patterns, both exceptionally, exquisite and beautiful.

Apart from these rewards, each palace also sent some five-colored silk knots for the masters or palace attendants to use in making long-life threads for themselves.

In addition, rewards were given to the court officials, including belts, silk, colored knots, and various types of rice dumplings. Civil officials were rewarded with black tortoiseshell belts, while military officials were rewarded with black silver belts.

In addition, the Emperor was in a great mood, personally writing to the fans, and he wanted to give the courtiers fans personally written by him for the summer.

The Virtuous Consort was by his side, grinding ink, and seeing the Emperor in a good mood, she said, “Your Majesty is blessed by heaven. Even though evil spirits have entered your body, now your health has greatly improved. It shows that you are truly an emperor blessed with worldly fortune. I am fortunate to have the opportunity to be by your side and share a little bit of that fortune.”

The Emperor loved to hear compliments, and his smile became even more relaxed.

The Virtuous Consort carefully observed his expression and said with a smile, “I thought, since the Golden Bright Pond hasn’t been opened since the beginning of the year, why not open it for the Dragon Boat Festival? Invite the common people to join in the fun and watch the dragon boat races together.”

“Let’s hold the Dragon Boat Festival banquet at the Waterside Pavilion of the Golden Bright Pond. Below will be the dragon boat competition, which will also allow the courtiers to enjoy themselves. Isn’t that appropriate?”

The Third Prince, who had been playing around on the side, also chimed in, “I haven’t seen a water puppet yet. I want to see the water play!”

The Emperor stopped his pen and admired the fan he had just written for a moment.

The Golden Bright Pond had not been opened since the beginning of the year because of his poor health, and no one dared to mention entertainment to him. But the Dragon Boat Festival was a day to ward off evil, and his health was improving. Thinking about it, the timing was just right.

The Emperor immediately agreed and praised the Virtuous Consort for her thoughtfulness, and then he generously rewarded her once again.

As soon as the Virtuous Consort left, an imperial decree was issued from the Qianqing Palace.

The Dragon Boat Festival banquet will be held at the Waterside Pavilion of the Golden Bright Pond. The Golden Bright Pond would be opened, dragon boat races would be held, and there would be various water performances.

The Virtuous Consort returned to the Yi Xi Palace with a pile of rewards. After dismissing the palace attendants, the smile on her face suddenly disappeared.

Song Duan shouted, “Mother Consort, why did you make me say I wanted to see the water play? The servants in my palace haven’t—”

“When the time comes, find an excuse not to go. How many times have I told you not to mention matters in your palace outside?”

When Song Duan mentioned his palace, the Virtuous Consort’s brow furrowed, and she hurriedly reprimanded him in a low voice.

“There’s no one else here,” muttered Song Duan.

The Virtuous Consort wasn’t afraid of others hearing, but she felt uncomfortable hearing it. Seeing Song Duan having fun, she couldn’t bear to stop him, so she pretended not to hear, how could she listen to him say these things to her face?

She didn’t argue with Song Duan anymore, letting him go out to play first. Instead, she turned her serious gaze to the Xuancao in the hall and instructed, “I’ve already persuaded the Emperor. You can go and talk to him.”

She thought for a moment and, still feeling uneasy, continued carefully, “There have been many unfamiliar royal guards by the Emperor’s side recently. I can’t be sure whose influence they represent. Tell him to be more careful and to send more people. It must be a decisive strike.”

“Yes.”

The Virtuous Consort stood up and paced back and forth. “Will this matter succeed? There have been many assassination attempts before, whether in the Eastern Palace or the Qianqing Palace, but none have succeeded. It’s too risky. Shouldn’t we give up and take a more stable approach…”

“Your Highness has endured for many years, only to have your left and right arms cut off. It’s worth trying again. If it succeeds, then…”

Xuancao didn’t finish her sentence, but her meaning was clear.

“The Crown Prince is accumulating poison, and the Emperor is declining, all under the control of the master. It’s just that the father and son are lucky to have escaped death.”

Xuancao smiled mysteriously, “And rest assured, this time is different.”

The Virtuous Consort stopped in her tracks. “How is it different?”

Li Zi boarded a green carriage and hurried to his villa.

He couldn’t hide his excitement, “My lord, now that you’ve come to the capital, my heart is finally at ease.”

In the villa, King Chu had a gentle and friendly demeanor as he said, “It’s hard on Prime Minister Li, to run around for me.”

“What nonsense is this! Working for the lord’s great cause is Li Zi’s blessing. I was previously outsmarted by the Crown Prince, and I feel ashamed and sorry for you—”

“Don’t blame yourself.” King Chu’s eyes flickered with a hint of darkness, but he continued earnestly, “The Crown Prince is cunning and deceitful, and he takes advantage of his status. It’s not Prime Minister Li’s fault.”

If Li Zi hadn’t been compromised, losing control of the capital, he wouldn’t have risked coming to the capital himself to inspect and rearrange things.

Li Zi was truly inflexible and had been caught off guard, but he wasn’t removed from his position. King Chu comforted him, saying that he might still need him someday.

However, if this trip could successfully achieve the second objective, not just Li Zi, but all the chess pieces in the court would be dispensable—

King Chu concealed his deep thoughts in his eyes and didn’t tell Li Zi his plan, continuing to console him instead.

Touched by his words, Li Zi looked at the person beside King Chu and asked, “Who is this person beside you—”

For a prince to enter the capital was a serious crime. If King Chu still had him by his side at this time, it must be someone he trusted greatly.

King Chu looked over and said, “This is Mr. Kang, usually representing me in my absence…” King Chu trailed off, “He’s accompanying me on this trip.”

“It’s indeed Mr. Kang. I’ve heard of him for a long time.”

Kang Xueying stroked his beard, smiling faintly.

King Chu’s actions this time were extremely cautious, with his death guards keeping close watch.

Kang Xueying didn’t dare to be careless. The secret letter successfully reached Feng Yuexian’s hands only on the eve of the Dragon Boat Festival.

Inside the western hall.

Feng Yuexian unfolded the letter and quickly scanned its contents.

Yin Bing trimmed the candle with golden scissors, and the candlelight flickered on the window.

Feng Yuexian felt a sense of unease in her heart.

She looked towards the main hall.

Through the window draped in silver-red gauze, the swaying shadows of green bamboo were visible. Under the eaves, the tassels of glass palace lanterns swayed gently in the night breeze.

“Does the master want some pastries?” Yin Bing asked.

Feng Yuexian folded up the small letter.

“Go and ask if the Crown Prince has gone to bed.”

At this time of the evening, how could the Crown Prince be resting?

There was no need to ask; she hadn’t retired for the night.

Yin Bing was about to remind the master when Yin Bing bumped into her shoulder and exchanged a glance with her.

“Yes, I’ll go right away.”

Yin Bing looked confused.

What was going on?

Under Yin Bing’s puzzled gaze, Yin Bing left and returned. Indeed, the Crown Prince hadn’t rested.

Only then did the Princess Consort change into a robe and walk towards the main hall.

Feng Yuexian entered and saw Song Pianxian talking to Xue Qing, holding a brocade box in her hand.

Her gaze fell on the brocade box and she blinked.

It was a lingzhi-patterned crystal hairpin, similar to the one she had seen in the Ming Shou Palace.

The hairpin was clear and translucent, like morning dew, and she had looked at it a few times before.

The appearance of such a feminine item in the Eastern Palace immediately sparked suspicion in Feng Yuexian’s mind—

But before the suspicion could materialize, Song Pianxian closed the brocade box.

Feng Yuexian lowered her gaze.

It had been almost half a month since Song Pianxian had last sought her out actively. This sudden behavior change was immediately noticed by Song Pianxian.

After dismissing the palace attendants, Song Pianxian took the initiative to pour Feng Yuexian a fresh cup of tea and asked:

“Is there something you need from me?”

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Translator: Glariosa
Editor: Ruu

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