20demayo Chapter 435 Consort Rong is Dead
Chapter 435 Consort Rong is Dead
Consort Rong reached out to take Hu Manman's hand, but Hu Manman took a step back in disgust.
“Consort Rong, you must recognize your place. You are merely the adopted daughter of the Hu family, a woman His Majesty has rejected! All of this is due to your cowardice and weakness; it is your own fault. As for me, I will stand at the highest point in the future. How can I be the same as you? You are a pawn, and I have never been one.”
Upon hearing this, Consort Rong stood there stunned for a long time, then burst into tears for the first time, frightening even the maids serving her.
Hu Manman covered her mouth and nose in disgust: "What's that smell on you? Why do you stink so much?"
"Stinky? You think I smell bad?" Consort Rong cried as she spoke. "What do you know? Back then, Father had medicinal meals sent to me every day to help me become more graceful and supple, but those medicines were so potent. You kept pestering me to feed you, but I couldn't bear to. I envied you and loved you. How could I bear to let you eat such things!"
Hu Manman was speechless and retreated repeatedly.
Consort Rong continued, "That medicine tastes so good, but now it makes me smell bad! It's my fault for not letting you take it. Otherwise, do you think you wouldn't smell bad? Think about it yourself. Why did your father know that this medicine needs to be taken continuously for a long time, and that once you get pregnant and have a child, you can't take it anymore, and that you will suddenly deteriorate?"
"He knew everything, yet he didn't stop you, a young child, from going to my room? He didn't care, Hu Manman, he didn't care about any of us, he only cared about himself!"
"You're talking nonsense!" Hu Manman was furious. "I'm Father's own daughter, how can you compare to me? You're just jealous of me, get out, get out!"
Hu Manman couldn't stay there any longer. She left the courtyard and asked the palace maid who was leading the way, "This is the Cold Palace, so why are there still so many people serving me?"
The palace maid replied, "His Majesty originally didn't care, but Consort Wan said that after the harem was dismissed, the concubines left in the palace were very pitiful and would die alone. They should at least have their lives made a little better. Moreover, Consort Wan would send people to check on them regularly, so the people of the Imperial Household Department dared not neglect them."
Hu Manman curled her lips and said, "Your Majesty is truly kind-hearted. No wonder you and the Princess Consort get along so well."
Consort Rong died that night.
But the younger sister didn't care. She was someone who had nothing to do with her in the first place, and the Imperial Household Department would naturally take care of the funeral arrangements.
What she cared about were the things Guishan had said today.
After hearing her words, the Emperor frowned and said, "If Xiao Jingxu really dares to betray the country, I will never forgive him."
The younger sister asked, "What does Your Majesty wish to do?"
The emperor rubbed his temples, feeling exhausted, but he still had many memorials to review.
The younger sister then picked up the memorials and read them to him one by one.
The emperor did not issue any imperial edicts; he simply had his younger sister circle a few characters, then stamp them with his seal, and that was considered it read.
Most of the memorials were not particularly important. If it was an important memorial, my younger sister would read it aloud and then present it to the Emperor so that he could personally mark it with a circle.
The Emperor laughed and said, "Wan'er has become my personal scribe."
The younger sister said, "Then I will serve as His Majesty's scribe for life."
After reviewing most of the memorials, it was already late. The younger sister sorted the memorials and put them away, waiting for the eunuchs to deliver them to the cabinet the next day.
The Emperor said, "Starting tomorrow, the cabinet will not need to send every single memorial. They have already approved them, so I do not need to review each one."
The young woman massaged him, saying, "Your Majesty's health is of utmost importance. Since the Prince Xian was demoted, all the affairs of state have fallen on Your Majesty's shoulders. Your Majesty has truly suffered. It's a pity that after the Prince Xian, there is no one left to share Your Majesty's burdens."
When the name of the Prince Xian was mentioned, the Emperor's gaze turned somber, and he reached out to hold his younger sister's hand.
"With Wan'er to share my burdens."
The younger sister muttered, "Wan'er is a woman, not His Majesty's son."
The Emperor laughed heartily, pulled her into his arms, and whispered, "Then, Wan'er, would you like to be my daughter today?"
The younger sister glared at him reproachfully: "How can Your Majesty be so shameless?"
The Emperor has also made arrangements regarding the envoy from the northern desert.
He instructed Feng Ziheng to receive them and asked Prince Ning to secretly investigate whether the border defense map had indeed been obtained by the northern desert.
General Cao used the excuse of having family matters to grant him several months' leave, but in reality, the emperor wanted him to muster troops and head to the northern desert to prepare for a possible battle.
All these actions were carried out without anyone noticing. The wise king remained busy, discussing matters with his advisors every day and awaiting the arrival of the envoy from the northern desert.
Before the envoy arrived, a young general from the northern desert entered the Prince Xian's residence first.
He presented the agreement from the northern desert, which listed the support the northern desert was willing to give to the wise king, as well as what the wise king was required to give to the northern desert.
The wise king merely glanced at it and shook his head.
The young general was taken aback: "Your Highness made it all clear in your letter, are you going to go back on your word?"
"No," the Wise King said calmly. "It's just that I feel such a plan would take at least several years to complete. That's too long. I imagine you people of the Northern Desert wouldn't want it to take so long to reap the benefits that are rightfully yours, would you?"
The young officer asked, "What does Your Highness wish to do?"
The wise king laughed: "Of course, I will get what belongs to me as soon as possible!"
If we wait for the war in the northern deserts to begin, and for the Great Zhou reinforcements to be defeated before the Wise King volunteers to go to the northern desert battlefield, it will take at least a year.
However, accumulating military merits is not something that can be achieved in a single battle. It requires constant tug-of-war with the northern deserts. Only when enough military merits are accumulated can his power once again contend with the emperor.
He couldn't wait any longer, even after several years.
The young general's eyes darted around: "Your Highness wants to commit patricide?"
“That is my father, my king. How could I do such a thing?” the wise king said. “But if you in the northern deserts can help me solve this urgent problem, are you afraid that I will not keep my promise?”
That's true. If the old emperor is gone, the new emperor will definitely have to deal with domestic affairs first and will be unable to cope with foreign wars.
Therefore, Mobei is not afraid that Prince Ning will go back on his word.
After a moment's hesitation, the young general from the northern desert agreed.
The wise king's eyes flashed with ruthlessness: "I make a clear distinction between my own people and outsiders. As long as those who work for me do not go too far, I will never treat them unfairly."
The young general from the northern desert knelt down and performed a grand salute: "On behalf of my Great King of the Northern Desert, I thank Your Highness the Wise King and wish Your Highness a speedy succession to the throne!"
After the Prince Xian dismissed the others, he returned to his residence alone. He was originally going to the outer study, but he stood at the hanging flower gate leading to the inner courtyard for a long time, seemingly lost in thought.
Seeing this, the attendant said, "Your Highness, the Princess has already cleaned up the study. If you do not wish to rest in the outer study now, you may go to the inner study to rest."
The wise king glanced at him sideways: "When did I say I wanted to go to the study?"
The attendant quickly pretended to slap himself twice, and then said, "Your Highness, Consort Hu waited for a long time at the hanging flower gate today, saying that she had stewed a nourishing soup to present to Your Highness."