Chapter 70

From then on, there was no suspense.

Under the sweaty efforts of the royal physician, the old Emperor finally slowly regained consciousness. He had previously suffered a stroke, and this time, he could hardly get out of bed, let alone speak.

Despite this, he still forcefully issued a secret order for people to witness Song Duan and King Chu affirming their relationship through blood, right in front of him.

The water in the basin had been jointly inspected by three of his trusted aides, and the blood droplets were taken from the fingertips of the two men in front of him, leaving no possibility of deception.

Those two drops of blood quickly merged under the Emperor’s eyes.

The Emperor’s body stiffened, almost keeling over again, his face contorted in madness.

He ordered a verification, and then another.

Until Song Duan’s fingers turned blue and swollen, until King Chu faced the Emperor’s angry and hateful gaze, showing fear for the first time, did this absurd farce come to a halt under Song Pianxian’s intervention.

The Emperor harbored intense hatred towards King Chu. Despite the great favor King Chu had once enjoyed from him, his future now seemed bleak.

The deeds done by King Chu were brought out one after another, naturally implicating Song Feng and others, but it was also a result of collective scapegoating.

King Chu plotted against the late Emperor, plotted against the Emperor, debauched the harem, embezzled, bribed, misappropriated military funds…

Ambitious and villainous deeds were evident.

What amused Song Pianxian the most was that some things were purely fabricated and pinned on King Chu.

Not only did they add insult to injury, but they also took the opportunity to shift blame, making King Chu bear their burdens. Anyway, King Chu was deeply guilty, so one more accusation wouldn’t hurt.

Song Pianxian couldn’t help but shake her head at this, secretly noting down these people, not intending to exonerate King Chu—

The Emperor was furious. He couldn’t handle state affairs himself, but he demanded that Song Pianxian prosecute according to the charges, leaving no room for King Chu.

Song Pianxian complied, and in just over ten days, she found multiple crimes to charge him with, ultimately decreeing that King Chu should be poisoned.

As for Song Duan, after he was taken away by the Emperor’s men, Song Pianxian never saw him again.

Not long after, news spread that the Third Prince had fallen seriously ill and died in the deep palace.

Before the poisoned wine could reach King Chu’s lips, his consort came to the Eastern Palace and offered to become a nun, vowing to keep vigil by the small prince’s side under the ancient Buddha’s lamp, pleading only for the young heir’s life.

Perhaps because Song Pianxian seemed amiable, King Chu’s Consort brought up many conditions, asking the Eastern Palace to promise to let the young prince inherit King Chu’s fiefdom, and so on.

Before Song Pianxian could respond, Feng Yuexian’s gaze shifted to the young prince and said:

“There’s something King Chu’s Consort might not know.”

As soon as Feng Yuexian spoke, King Chu’s Consort visibly tensed, her smile stiffening.

“W-what is it?”

Feng Yuexian smiled, a smile tinged with interest, as if anticipating King Chu’s Consort’s reaction:

“Your husband once poisoned me. I reciprocated the favor out of politeness.”

King Chu’s Consort’s face froze, and she clenched her skirts tightly.

Feng Yuexian shifted her gaze to the young prince and continued:

“The prince is over three years old now? The poison was administered five years ago, so logically—”

“No need to say more!” King Chu’s Consort interrupted hastily, her voice almost a roar due to her loss of control, startling the young prince.

She grasped the young prince’s shoulder tightly, forcing a strained smile:

“It was my overstepping. If you spare his life, it’s already lenient. I only wish for his future well-being and nothing else.”

Song Pianxian calmly set down her teacup and smiled lightly:

“Those who know contentment will find happiness. The consort need not worry.”

Their conversation sounded easygoing, but how could King Chu’s Consort not be afraid?

After the Mid-Autumn Banquet, the Emperor was paralyzed in bed, beyond the help of the imperial physicians, who were too afraid to even administer acupuncture.

After the incident with King Chu, his remaining influence collapsed instantly—

Even if it was Li Fang, whom he had high hopes for, no matter how many troops he had outside the capital, when he entered the palace alone for the banquet, he was effortlessly captured by the imperial guards and was now awaiting execution in the imperial prison.

Taking advantage of the incident where King Chu angered the Emperor and fell ill, the East Palace once again assumed regency and seized control of the court.

Inside and outside the palace, the situation changed dramatically, but the East Palace stood firm like a towering and unshakable mountain.

Although the current Crown Prince was played by the Princess, the situation was clear, and no one dared to challenge her dominance—

And when it came to dealing with King Chu, no one had the spare capacity to intervene in this matter.

Queen Chu nodded obediently, leaving the East Palace with a sorrowful and withered expression.

She was about to go to her family temple, now only hoping that the Royal Family or the Emperor could take action to balance Song Pianxian, then she could ease her troubled heart.

The Emperor, who was hoped by Queen Chu to show his might, was lying on the dragon bed in the Ganqing Palace at this moment.

The dragon incense burned quietly, and as soon as the Emperor moved slightly, his chest felt tight and painful.

Half of his body had lost sensation, lying stiffly with a dead face.

Hong Chang carefully wiped the drool from his mouth with a brocade cloth, feeling under his fingers not human skin, but a piece of dead wood.

The Emperor’s murky and yellowed eyes glanced around, falling on the figure of Song Pianxian who was attending to him, causing his heart to ache even more.

He finally understood why his daughter was unwilling to reveal the true identity of the person who poisoned the Crown Prince at the court banquet.

If he hadn’t stumbled upon that conversation, perhaps this matter would have been quietly resolved within the palace, without causing such a sensation, and everyone would have known.

She wanted to preserve the last bit of dignity for herself and the Royal Family!

The Emperor hated himself for thinking too little in the past. This illness made his head even more confused, but at the same time, he was exceptionally clear-headed, clear enough to see his past folly.

But because of his past self, he lost the most outstanding Crown Prince.

Of the remaining two, one was despised by him, and the other had already been personally designated by him—

The Emperor saw Song Pianxian walking towards him.

Her face was delicate, her demeanor extraordinary, and there was a perfect blend of warmth and gentleness in her eyebrows and eyes.

If he wanted to pass the throne to his own bloodline, rather than a collateral branch, the only one who could succeed him now was Song Pianxian, his daughter.

The Emperor hesitated, slowly closing his eyes.

Actually, he was no longer sure whether it was better for Song Pianxian or to follow tradition and hand the world over to a man—

“Father, are you awake?” A gentle call awakened the Emperor once again.

He made a sound, his voice old and almost unrecognizable.

“I was just about to tell you that I haven’t had a chance to carefully examine the children of each family. I intend to ask each consort to bring their children to the palace for a closer look.”

Song Pianxian’s voice was like a gentle spring breeze spreading out. It was said that the tenderness of a woman was naturally incomparable to that of a man. When Song Pianxian disguised herself as a man before, it was more about her graceful demeanor, without this kind of fine and moist spring rain.

And for the elderly who had been betrayed by their closest kin, what they were least resistant to was a soft approach.

For the first time, he felt that his daughter was more intimate than those sons of his. Even the Crown Prince, who adored him, couldn’t match this level of intimacy between father and daughter.

For the first time, he also felt a hint of regret, why hadn’t he paid more attention to this daughter?

Song Pianxian continued softly:

“The Crown Prince is gone, and both the East Palace and this world need someone to inherit them…”

The Emperor made a couple of sounds, trembling hands pointing at Song Pianxian.

“Father, are you referring to me?” Song Pianxian asked, “Although I can assist in state affairs, there still needs to be a Crown Prince in the palace.”

The Emperor remained silent.

Song Pianxian took his silence as consent, gently admonishing the eunuch before leaving, shouldering the heavy burden for the Royal Family.

At this moment, Song Pianxian did not insist on a better outcome, or rather, she obtained the position of the Crown Prince as if it were a matter of course.

She acted in this way, naturally considering various factors.

Among them, the most crucial was that she didn’t care about this title. It was just that if she took the position of Crown Prince, Feng Yuexian would have to move out of the East Palace. It was likely that she would live in the outer prince’s mansion with the status of prince’s consort.

This would be very inconvenient.

The immersion in the career-oriented task made Song Pianxian finally choose to take a little detour for love this time.

Anyway, in the situation where all the princes were eliminated, now that she entered and exited the Yangxin Hall to oversee the regency, no one dared to say “no”.

It’s just that some old ministers still had some habits. Sometimes they stared at Song Pianxian and became absent-minded, with complex expressions, puzzled and unable to understand how this person could be the same as the previous one.

The old folks need time to adapt. Song Pianxian, understanding as always, didn’t press further and simply pretended not to notice.

On the other hand, Feng Yuexian had already compiled a list of names.

Before the courtiers could fully recover from the turmoil in the palace, eager to offer their advice, Song Pianxian spoke up and announced her intention to choose a successor to be adopted by the Eastern Palace, inviting the consorts into the palace.

This time, unlike before, the matter of choosing the imperial heir was known to almost everyone, as good as public knowledge.

The current situation was clear: with the imperial heir dead, once this child was sent in, the next Emperor was as good as decided—

Even if there were any mishaps, the next-next Emperor was always ready.

At that moment, several mansions were eager to send their children to the Eastern Palace.

The Li Mansion was different from the other two; they had a mix of legitimate and illegitimate children.

They had only two sons and one daughter from the queen, one of whom had already been designated as the heir. Only a young son remained, who still couldn’t be separated from his nursemaid. How could they bear to send him to the Eastern Palace?

Before entering the palace, Jin Lingzhi from the Li Mansion was worried:

“Our son has been handsome since he was young, a dragon and phoenix among men. I hope he won’t be chosen by the Princess.”

Looking at her chubby son in the nursemaid’s arms, smiling with his eyes squinting and only a few milky teeth visible, he seemed harmless, like a harmless little doll.

“…”

The Prince Li was still worried, so he reminded Song Ruyan, who was accompanying them into the palace:

“Ruyan, your mother isn’t attentive. You must—”

“And bring that wooden box too. It’s full of glass beads I brought for my cousin… Dad, what did you just say?”

Song Ruyan smiled, radiant and vibrant, like the morning sun.

“…Nothing, have fun.”

The Prince Li walked away with his hands behind his back, looking somewhat forlorn.

Song Ruyan scratched her temple with her finger. “What’s wrong with him?”

“Ignore him,” Jin Lingzhi said, tucking the little quilt around their son.

The old Prince Li was looking at his son through rose-tinted glasses, like an old dragon looking at a young golden dragon. He seemed to shine brightly no matter how you looked at him.

Little did he know, in the eyes of others, he was just a thin stick of a snake that hadn’t grown up yet, at most resembling a slender gold bar because of his color.

Jin Lingzhi wasn’t worried at all; their son couldn’t even talk. How could he be chosen for the Eastern Palace?

Although it’s easier to raise a child from a young age, Jin Lingzhi didn’t think Feng Yuexian and Song Pianxian were the type to believe in such child-rearing methods—

She suspected that neither of them had any interest in raising children and only wanted to find someone to work for the Dali Family.

Children from the other two families, under ten years old, who showed some character traits, were probably the most popular candidates.

With her little gosling in tow, leading the way to the palace to play with the princess and joining in the tea party to fill the numbers, Jin Lingzhi confidently and leisurely went to the Eastern Palace.

She didn’t expect that when she left, neither her son nor her daughter would return home.

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Translator: Glariosa
Editor: Ruu

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