Chapter 142

Chapter 142 Xing'er was genuinely trying to offer Jiang Baobao advice. But Jiang Baobao only ever felt wronged by Xie Run, and only ever compromised herself when it came to matters involving Xie Run. In everything else, she remained stubbornly set in her ways. She didn't take a single word of what Xing'er said about Concubine Lian to heart. Instead, she thought about how she had suffered such injustice and would need to find an outlet for her anger sooner or later. Concubine Lian was perfect for that. Who told her to be so weak that she wouldn't even dare let out a fart when bullied? Xing'er would soon realize that mistress and maid were not of one mind—each had their own schemes, and such an arrangement could never last. Consort Jiang's outburst kept the rear courtyard lively for quite some time. But then news came from outside the estate—the Eighth Prince had passed away. The Emperor flew into a rage, executing three imperial physicians and over a dozen palace consorts. The entire court was shaken. Never mind Prince Jing's estate—the households of every noble and powerful minister in the capital fell into deathly silence. Then the First Prince, Prince Su, the Third Prince, Prince Wei, and the Fifth Prince, Prince An, were all successively reprimanded by the Emperor. The Seventh Prince was even more pitiable—the Emperor pointed at his nose and cursed him for being unfilial and unbrotherly, unworthy of being an imperial prince. All because it was he who had invited the Eighth Prince out to the countryside for horseback riding that day. Fortunately, the Emperor hadn't uncovered any connection between the Eighth Prince's death and the Seventh Prince, or he might have deposed him on the spot. Clearly, the Emperor suspected that the Eighth Prince's death was connected to these sons of his. That was why he was suppressing them one after another. Originally, Prince Jing's decision to leave the capital alone had been treated as a joke—proof of discord among brothers. But now that this incident had occurred, everyone sighed and remarked that Prince Jing was fortunate. By leaving the capital early, he had managed to avoid this storm entirely. Since considerable time had passed between Prince Jing's departure and this incident, no one could suspect him. The entire court knew that the Eighth Prince had fallen from his horse and died by his own doing, but the Emperor refused to believe it and specifically ordered an investigation. He detained all the princes who should have been sent out to distribute disaster relief, holding them in the capital. During these days, the capital was fraught with tension—every sound and shadow seemed threatening. Rumors spread like wildfire through the streets. Some said the Eighth Prince's death was the work of Prince Su; others said it was Prince An, Prince Wei, or the Seventh Prince. All sorts of speculation surged forth one after another. On the night of May 28th, the thirty-fourth year of Yuanhong, Xie Run was in a deep sleep when she vaguely heard a child crying through her haze. She opened her eyes. "Dantao, is Taotao crying?" Dantao was on night duty tonight and had already picked up Taotao to soothe him. She whispered to reassure Xie Run: "Mistress, go back to sleep. I'll go find the wet nurse—the young master is probably hungry." "Not wet?" "I checked his diaper—it's dry." Xie Run leaned against the bed, her heart inexplicably uneasy. After a moment, Dantao brought Taotao back. "The young master doesn't seem hungry—he won't take milk. Could he have been startled by a nightmare?" Xie Run: "A child not even two months old—can he have nightmares?" Dantao: "...Perhaps." "Bring him here. I'll soothe him." Dantao handed Taotao to Xie Run. The child, who had been crying moments before, immediately stopped the moment he was in Xie Run's arms. With teary eyes, he slowly drifted off to sleep. Xie Run frowned. "Taotao has always been well-behaved. After drinking milk at night, he sleeps straight through to dawn, and he rarely cries... What's wrong with him tonight?" She often joked with her maidservants that this child had come to repay a kindness. From pregnancy onward, he hadn't caused any trouble. He was practically a heaven-sent baby. Dantao agreed: "Indeed. This is the first time—I was quite startled when I heard the crying." Xie Run gazed at the cold, sparse starlight outside the window, her heart feeling unsettled. Yet she didn't know that at this very moment, urgent knocking sounded at the door of the Green Pine Courtyard. The Princess Consort was roused from sleep in the middle of the night. Upon hearing the news, she was utterly stunned. "Prince Su has launched a palace coup?!" "Is he mad?!" Never mind that the Emperor wasn't even old yet—even if he were, the court ministers weren't fools. And with the other princes eyeing the throne covetously, how could they possibly allow Prince Su to ascend that seat so easily? One had to remember—Prince Su's household wasn't the only one with military power! If Prince Su wanted to die, that was his business, but he was Prince Jing's full-blooded brother, born of the same mother. If he committed the great crime of rebellion, how could Prince Jing possibly come out unscathed?! And to make matters worse, Prince Jing was currently away from the capital—the Princess Consort didn't even have anyone to consult with. The Princess Consort sighed and slowly closed her eyes. "If he were to launch a coup, he would have kept the news tightly sealed." "If even I know about it now, then Prince Su must have already failed, right?" The one who had brought the news was a man Prince Jing had left for the Princess Consort. Jing Si nodded. "Princess Consort, do not worry. The Prince anticipated this long ago. He only instructed you to guard the gates well and not let those with ulterior motives exploit any openings." The Princess Consort's eyes brightened slightly. "The Prince anticipated this?" Jing Si remained silent, which was as good as confirmation. The Princess Consort's suspended heart eased somewhat. With Prince Jing being so foresighted and calculating, the Princess Consort had far fewer worries and anxieties. Jing Si continued: "In this palace coup, Prince Su has been captured. Prince An led men to provide timely assistance and earned the merit of 'cleansing the court of evil.'" "The Noble Consort and the Princess Consort in the palace will likely be implicated. They need only endure for now, until the Prince returns to the capital." Hearing this, the Princess Consort's heart raced. A marginalized prince like Prince Jing had been able to learn of the palace coup's developments at the very first moment. This certainly wasn't information passed to him by Prince Su or Prince An. That meant Prince Jing had learned of it through his own means. Her husband, it seemed, harbored a terrifying ambition of his own. When the Princess Consort learned of this, she hardly knew whether to be pleased or worried. She asked again, "Prince Su has been captured, so the entire Su estate is bound to suffer. Did the Prince leave any instructions on how to respond if people from the Su estate come knocking?" Jing Si said in a flat tone, "The Prince said that Prince Su may be heartless, but he cannot be unjust." "The Princess Consort need only act according to circumstances, avoid being drawn into the matter of the palace coup, and need not fear too much." Hearing this, the Princess Consort's heart was thoroughly put at ease. As it turned out, the Princess Consort's political acumen was not lacking. No sooner had Jing Si left than she had not yet lain down on her bed when she received word from the gatekeeper. "Princess Consort, Princess Consort Su has come personally to knock on the door, saying she has urgent business and requests an audience!" The Princess Consort rubbed her temples and let out a heavy sigh. Nanny Li, however, had bright eyes and sneered, "Requests an audience?" "So she finally has a day like this!" "She used to always look down her nose at others, chin raised high, never once regarding you, Mistress, with any respect—and just the other day she even reached her hand into our estate to harm people!" "Now finally there's a day when she has to come begging us!" With Prince Su's failed coup and rebellion, Princess Consort Su's fate was already foreseeable. Nanny Li was more than eager to beat the dog that had fallen into the water. The Princess Consort cast her a sidelong glance. "Nanny, at a time like this, this is no longer the moment to quibble over such trivial grudges." "Prince Su and our Prince were born of the same mother. If the Su estate has met with misfortune, how could we possibly come out unscathed?" "Setting aside what's far off, this matter will inevitably implicate Noble Consort Rou. If she is deposed, then our Prince will go from being the son of a Noble Consort to the son of a commoner." It had always been true that a mother gained status through her son, but no less did a son gain status through his mother. Wasn't Prince An neglected by the Emperor precisely because his birth mother was of low status? Nanny Li muttered softly, "You, Mistress, consider the greater picture, but Princess Consort Su never once thought that way." "Otherwise, how would she have dared to reach out and harm Concubine Xie back then?"