Chapter 381: Chapter 376: Imperial Concubine
Empress Dowager Wang coldly watched Wang Yaning. By now, they had completely fallen out. She regretted letting Wang Yaning grow strong and ambitious, destroying years of expectations in an instant. However, the situation was not entirely hopeless, as the Second Prince was also her grandson from the Wang family. While he was still young, there was a chance for greatness if she guided him well.
Wang Yaning, staring at Empress Dowager Wang with fluctuating eyes, suddenly felt grateful to Wang Yaqing. She was right; from the start to the end, the Wang family had treated her as a mere pawn, and now, her dear aunt was probably scheming for the Second Prince, but she would never allow them to take him away.
"If Aunt has nothing else, I will return to the palace. The Second Prince tends to cry at night, and I’m worried the nanny might not manage because of her age," said Lady after speaking and headed towards the side hall.
Empress Dowager Wang sent someone to stop her, unequivocally stating, "Today the Second Prince could knock into Consort Wang, tomorrow he could harm another noble. Lady, since you can’t take care of him properly, the Second Prince’s upbringing will be taken over by me today."
Wang Yaning turned sharply to look at her, her tone icy: "Aunt, you do not have the right to decide who raises the Second Prince."
"I am the Empress Dowager. Of course, I have that right," said Empress Dowager Wang with righteous indignation.
Wang Yaning sneered: "I am the respected first-rank Lady, the birth mother of the Second Prince. Since serving the Emperor, I have not made any mistakes. Empress Dowager, you have no right to take the Second Prince away from me, and the Emperor will not agree to your upbringing, do you really think you can do whatever you want as if you were the Emperor’s birth mother?"
The expression on Empress Dowager Wang’s face grew even more grim, for she knew what Wang Yaning said was true. So, she changed her approach: "Wang Yaning, don’t forget your concubine aunt is still with the Wang family!"
Wang Yaning’s pupils contracted: "Empress Dowager, don’t forget that I am the birth mother of the Second Prince. Tell me, does the future glory of the Wang family depend more on the hopes placed on the Second Prince or on Wang Yajing, who may not even bear a son in the next two years?"
"Are you threatening me?" Empress Dowager Wang narrowed her eyes dangerously.
"Yaning wouldn’t dare. In the past, your niece listened to everything her aunt said, but now, what do I see? My concubine aunt is severely ill and left uncared in the estate. How am I supposed to trust you in the future?" Wang Yaning retorted sarcastically.
Empress Dowager Wang clenched her fists and then released them, her gaze appearing to compromise: "I will ensure the Wang family takes good care of your concubine aunt."
"Then I shall await the good news from my Aunt," Wang Yaning laughed lightly, then bypassed Empress Dowager Wang and took the Second Prince from the side hall.
Ever since becoming the Empress Dowager, she had never felt so suffocated as in that moment. Even the Emperor had always given her full face in front of others, but today, the one threatening her was the niece she had never valued. More crucially, to maintain the glory of the Wang family, she not only couldn’t touch her, but she still had to support her.
However, Wang Yaning now seemed much smarter. If no one was advising her from behind, cultivating her was not out of the question. Empress Dowager Wang lightly tapped on the table, recalculating her strategy in her mind.
Meanwhile, after returning to their own palaces, the concubines remained restless for a long time. Fang Pin felt the most frightened. After the ordeal with Consort Wang today, she didn’t believe it was purely an accident with the Second Prince’s liveliness. Today it was Consort Wang’s abdomen, but what about tomorrow? Could someone target her Eldest Prince? With the Central Palace currently vacant, her Eldest Prince was the legitimate heir. Could someone think her Eldest Prince was blocking their path?
Was it the Imperial Concubine? After all, the Imperial Concubine was the closest to that position, and with Consort Wang having the backing of the Empress Dowager, it was indeed easier to pose a threat to her.
People like Fang Pin weren’t in the minority thinking this way. Only a few who knew the truth felt Ye Qiu was wronged. But now that Ye Qiu was in high favor, they would prefer her to be removed from the position of Imperial Concubine because only then could the Emperor designate another Empress.
In the dark night, a little eunuch hurriedly delivered a secret letter to the Elders Mansion inside the Xianyue Pavilion. That night, Qiao Qingyue was sleepless, faintly feeling that the Emperor’s heart had changed towards the Imperial Concubine. But she would not allow any accidents to happen, not allowing her position as the Empress to fall into someone else’s hands.
Grandfather, Qingyue waits within the harem for your good news!
Yijing Palace, Consort Hui is the only one who doesn’t know the truth but still believes in Ye Qiu; however, her family and the Ye Family belong to different military factions, which means she is doomed not to have good relations with the Imperial Concubine.
She touched her own belly and thought to herself, this must definitely be a little princess!
In Yangxin Hall tonight, Ji Fei did not visit any of the concubines, one reason being to express his sorrow for Consort Wang’s loss of her child, and second, he needed to seriously consider his next steps.
The Wang family has no real power, and the Second Prince is still young. Currently, only the Empress Dowager is maintaining their honor. As long as the Wang family does not covet the position of the Empress and the Crown Prince, he does not mind bestowing them favor; however, their ambitions have outgrown their bounds.
However, the Wang family is secondary; the crucial concern is the Ye Family of the Imperial Concubine, which gives him a real headache.
News from the border has arrived, ever since the end of last year when the Ye Family won two battles, their reputation at the border has grown even larger, to the extent that some commoners know only of the Ye Family and not of him, the Emperor.
That is an army of a million troops; not to mention the gold, silver, and food spent on these soldiers annually, what if one day the Ye Family decides to march south? Could he still preserve his throne? Wouldn’t he be using his own money to fund the Ye Family’s army?
Therefore, he has always been cautious not to let the Imperial Concubine conceive, fearing that once there is a prince with the Ye Family’s bloodline, they would become utterly unrestrained.
However, this means he must apologize to the Imperial Concubine. Thinking of Ye Qiu, a trace of guilt sweeps through Ji Fei’s heart, yet he simultaneously vows internally that once he has reclaimed the military power from the Ye Family, he will definitely give the Imperial Concubine a child, as Qingyue is so magnanimous and kind-hearted she surely wouldn’t mind.
When attending court the next day, some courtiers brought up that now with the border being stable, it was time for Marshal Ye and the Pingyang Marquis to return to the capital to report on their duties.
In fact, not only Ji Fei harbored worries, but those civil servants were also concerned that the Ye Family’s military power was too great a threat to their interests.
"Marshal Ye and Marquis Weiyuan entering the capital, what about the border?" Ji Fei asked His Highness’s ministers.
"Your Majesty, another military general could be temporarily assigned to take over Marshal Ye’s military power," they replied.
"Granted!"
No sooner had the decision from the previous dynasty been made than Ye Qiu received the news, and her expression gradually grew colder.
"Xiao Guizi!"
"This servant is present."
"Deliver this letter to Guard Ye, remember, even if you die, you must not let anyone detect it."
"This servant obeys."
Such good scheming indeed, there was such an episode in the past life too; at this point, he still did not dare to move against the Ye Family, awaiting his father and uncle’s return to the capital to report. Then just when they planned to keep them in the capital by hook or by crook, suddenly a cold air mass hit the capital. Her grandfather passed away due to catching a cold, and Ji Fei managed to keep her father and uncle in the capital under the guise of observing mourning. It was here that the Ye Family’s military power was first weakened.