20demayo Chapter 402 That Was a Warning
Chapter 402 That Was a Warning
The emperor wanted to say that it wasn't that serious, but he didn't speak. Instead, he picked up the memorial from the table and read it carefully several times. Suddenly, he sneered.
"Is the Crown Prince the future Buddha, and cannot be disobeyed? Is this respect and love, or is it just creating momentum for him! I am not dead yet, and he is really so impatient."
At this time, the crown prince had no idea that the emperor already knew part of what he had done.
His gaze grew increasingly gloomy, and his temper became increasingly volatile. Apart from training assassins to control court officials, he spoke slowly when he was alone in his room.
"Those who obey me prosper, those who defy me perish..."
Gui Shan, who was about to come in, froze completely. She paused nervously for a long time, and only after hearing no sound from inside did she gently knock on the door.
"Who's out there?"
Gui Shan said gently, "Your Highness, it is I."
"How long have you been here?" The crown prince got up and opened the door.
Gui Shan looked up at him with an obedient expression: "I've come to bring you soup, Your Highness. Has something happened?"
"No, come in." The Crown Prince turned and went into the room, adding, "From now on, do not come to the study without my summons."
Gui Shan replied, "Yes."
He put down the soup and was about to leave.
But the crown prince called her back.
"Spring has arrived, and there are too few people in the Eastern Palace. As the Crown Princess, you must take the selection of people to enter the Eastern Palace very seriously."
Gui Shan hurriedly replied, "Yes, Your Highness, I have already considered it. I will first welcome the three concubines into the palace on your behalf. They are..."
"Stop. I don't have time to listen to you go through everything one by one." The Crown Prince threw a stack of papers at him. "Look for yourself."
Gui Shan looked through the pages one by one and was startled. The women on these pages came from good families, but most of them were loyal officials who were only loyal to the court and not supporters of the crown prince.
However, now the only possible successor is the Crown Prince. Whether these people support him or not is irrelevant. Why should they bring the girls from their families into the Eastern Palace?
When Gui Shan saw the last page, her hand trembled. The woman in the photo was none other than Du Shangge.
She flipped through the pages again, and if she remembered correctly, besides Du Shangge, there were two other girls who were also engaged.
"Your Highness, are you mistaken? There are three young ladies here who seem to be engaged and will be getting married soon."
"So, I want you to do it!" The Crown Prince looked at her coldly.
Gui Shan's eyelids twitched. She was being asked to step in and threaten those families. She didn't have that kind of power, but he did. He was certain those families wouldn't dare disobey him, and if anything happened, he wouldn't hesitate to act ruthlessly.
"Yes, Your Highness." Gui Shan lowered her eyes, took a deep breath; she had no right to refuse.
Seeing that she was obedient, the crown prince smiled and said, "Don't worry, as long as you behave, I will give you whatever you want."
Gui Shan forced a smile: "This humble servant thanks Your Highness."
The crown prince leaned back in his chair, his attitude much more relaxed.
Gui Shan then asked, "Your Highness has given me a list of six ladies, three of whom will be concubines. Which three ladies would be most suitable to be given to them?"
The Crown Prince glanced at her and chuckled, "Whoever is most obedient will be the concubine. She will listen to you, and she will listen to me."
Gui Shan accepted the order and left, her heart pounding with anxiety.
The Crown Prince's meaning was clear: if these nine families did not obey him, only destruction awaited them. Obedience was required not only for the young women entering the Eastern Palace, but also for the families behind them.
Doing these things was not difficult for Gui Shan, but she had played with noble ladies from various families since childhood, so it would be impossible for her to have no feelings for them at all.
As far as she knew, none of these young women had any intention of entering the Eastern Palace. Several families, even if they were to hold a preliminary selection, would not even consider them.
Several of them were people she had a good relationship with and had told her about their ideal men. But how could she bring herself to break them up?
After thinking about it, Gui Shan decided to talk to them first, hoping that one of them might have a solution.
However, just as Gui Shan wrote letters to both families and was about to send them out, the Crown Prince arrived.
He slapped Gui Shan hard across the face, then grabbed her by the neck: "You dare to defy me?"
Gui Shan pounded on the wound desperately, then begged for mercy: "Your Highness, I was wrong, please forgive me... They are my close friends, I..."
The prince used even more force, rendering her speechless.
"Your confidante? You're already my Crown Princess, yet instead of doing me any good, you're only thinking about others? Have I been too lenient with you?"
This is the second time the Crown Prince has laid a hand on her.
Song Yin appeared again and greeted her gently, "Your Highness."
The Crown Prince shrugged off Gui Shan and looked at Song Yin with a cold expression: "Are you going to betray me too?"
Song Yin laughed: "How could I betray Your Highness?"
She stepped forward, bent down, and looked at Gui Shan with disdain: "Your Highness is truly... overestimating yourself. Do you really think that becoming the Crown Princess means you can do whatever you want?"
She reached out and touched the marks on Gui Shan's neck, her smugness overflowing, before slapping her again.
"Get out! If you dare to oppose His Highness again, I will be the first to not forgive you!"
Gui Shan was somewhat bewildered. How could she, the Crown Princess, have been beaten by a mere maid?
However, everyone in the Eastern Palace knew that Song Yin was the Crown Prince's most beloved person. She was only superficially favored, while Song Yin was the one who truly enjoyed his favor.
"Aren't you going to get lost? Haven't you been beaten enough?" Song Yin raised an eyebrow at her.
Gui Shan got up in humiliation, and only after she went outside did she realize that this was her bedroom.
That evening, a maid brought in a porcelain bottle, looking at Gui Shan with concern: "Your Highness, this... is medicine sent by Miss Song Yin. She said it's for pain relief and can also effectively remove scars..."
Seeing that Gui Shan's expression was not good, the maidservant quickly said, "This servant will take it and deal with it now!"
"Give it to me." Gui Shan reached out her hand.
The maid was stunned: "What? Your Highness, this belongs to Miss Song Yin... She... Could she harm you?"
Gui Shan shook her head: "No, she's reminding me not to be careless and not to disobey His Highness the Crown Prince."
She gently applied the ointment to the marks on her neck, fighting back tears.
She thought the Crown Prince had changed his temperament drastically, but today Song Yin slapped her, making her realize that the Crown Prince had always been a tyrannical person, and that Song Yin, who was compatible with the Crown Prince, was no different.
She should have thought of that earlier, but once the arrow is released, there's no turning back.
"Moreover, the Crown Prince doesn't really want me dead yet."
Gui Shan thought about it all night, and the next day, she went to the Zichen Palace to visit the seriously ill emperor.
The Crown Prince is too busy with state affairs to spare any time, so as the Crown Princess, she naturally has to do these things for him.
After seeing the Emperor, he chatted with his younger sister for a while.
The younger sister said with teary eyes, "His Majesty's illness is really too serious this time... It's fortunate that His Highness the Crown Prince is so capable, otherwise I really don't know what to do."
"Your Majesty and Your Highness, please take care of yourselves."
After comforting her, Guishan said...
"Originally, Your Majesty was seriously ill, and I should not have brought up the matter of taking a concubine for the Crown Prince. However, for the sake of the royal succession, this matter still needs to be put on the agenda."