20demayo Chapter 446
Chapter 446
two resentful gazes followed the emperor wherever he went, holding the little princess in his arms. his kisses to the princess felt almost furtive, as if he were stealing something.
"wang dequan!"
finally, unable to bear it any longer, he waved at wang dequan: "take the crown prince and the fourth prince out to play with the magpies."
"waaaaah!"
the crown prince wailed loudly, trying to catch his mother's attention: "waaaaah! mother, they're killing me! mother, save me! help!"
wang dequan flustered, wanting to cover the crown prince's mouth but not daring to: "my little ancestor, i beg you, stop talking. this old servant still wants to live a few more years."
the last noble consort who had tried to harm the crown prince had died.
and her death had been rather mysterious, with the emperor showing no interest in uncovering the truth.
when the crown prince saw that it was wang dequan holding him, he took pity on the old man's frail bones and reluctantly let himself and the fourth prince be "escorted" out.
jiang xinyue couldn't help but laugh, and the emperor, seeing her laugh, chuckled too: "oh, so you're laughing at me, are you?"
the third princess was so tiny that the emperor could hold her securely with one hand, freeing the other to tickle jiang xinyue.
"i'm not laughing at you, your majesty! hahaha... i'm not laughing at you!"nôv(el)b\\jnn
shuang jiang and xiao xiangzi, hearing the joyful laughter from inside, breathed a sigh of relief.
it seemed the emperor wasn't upset with their mistress for acting on her own and forcing a rift between great yan and goguryeo.
in shuang jiang's opinion, goguryeo, like fusang, was bound to rebel sooner or later. they should have dealt with goguryeo the same way they had with fusang—crushing them into submission to prevent any future trouble.
war indeed brought suffering to many, with families losing loved ones. but if they didn't fight now, the conflict might erupt later, and their grandchildren might still end up on the battlefield. either way, it was unavoidable.
the empress's decision wasn't wrong. shuang jiang was only worried that the emperor might think her mistress too ambitious, making such a significant decision without consulting him.
fortunately, the emperor was clear-headed when it came to matters of state. he understood that waiting for his return would have been too late, so he didn't hold it against her.
"rourou and yuanyuan need proper names now."
after all the commotion, the emperor finally remembered the important matter: "i've chosen a few characters. take a look, and if you don't like them, you can pick others."
on the desk in jiang xinyue's chamber were two sheets of paper with characters written on them.
one was for the seventh prince, the other for the third princess.
the seventh prince's sheet read: yan, yi, jue, you, rui, jin, hao, shang, yan, an.
the third princess's sheet was filled with: zhen, ya, fu, zhao, tang, zhi, ruo, lan, ying, nian, luo, yi, huan...
their names would be recorded in the royal genealogy when they turned one.
the cold wind howled outside, rustling the leaves. a maid draped a heavy cloak over consort liang: "your ladyship, the night wind is strong. your health is poor—please don't stand by the window."
consort liang felt a sharp pain in her chest and coughed twice. her throat burned as if cut by a knife, making even swallowing painful.
she sighed: "my health worsens every year. i wonder if i'll ever live to leave the palace and be with ming yu."
sometimes she even thought that the late empress and noble consort li had been fortunate to pass away early.
at least they hadn't had to endure the slow, soul-crushing grind of palace life.
if it weren't for the empress, who was truly kind, life in the palace—without favor or joy—would have been unbearable. she might as well have wished for an early death and reincarnation, swearing never to enter the palace again.
every woman who volunteered to enter the palace as a consort believed herself to be special, destined to rise above the rest and become the emperor's favorite.
but in the emperor's eyes, all women were the same—indistinguishable.
"cough, cough, cough..."
after a fit of violent coughing, consort liang lay in bed, tossing and turning in agony.
her throat hurt so much she wanted to bang her head against the wall.
she had summoned the imperial physicians many times, but to no avail.
they all said the poison huang yanyu had given her had shortened her lifespan, and the damage to her throat was irreversible.
the dizziness and vertigo had been getting worse lately.
that morning, she had nearly fainted while getting up to use the chamber pot.
any confined space made her feel as if the world were spinning.
consort liang, who had never napped before, now had to rest in the afternoon.
if she didn't, her head would feel like it was splitting open.
these were all lingering effects of the poisoning.
"why don't you tell the empress? perhaps she could..."
"it's no use. i know my own body."
if a complete cure had been possible, yan the imperial physician would have achieved it during her last treatment. there wouldn't be so many "incurable" ailments plaguing her now.
the empress was already busy enough. she had already done so much for her. consort liang didn't want to add to her burdens.