flstandardbreds Chapter 357 Changes
Chapter 357 Changes
It took the eunuch in charge less than an hour to find out almost all the information in the pigeon letter.
When Imperial Noble Consort Dehui heard the 700 million taels of silver, she was dumbfounded.
"Where can I get so much silver? How much silver can there be in a poor and remote place like Ningchuan Prefecture? In the past few years, Hua Cailiang could give me 700 or taels of silver a year. It was good enough. Only in recent years has he given me a little more. Even if all the silver is added up, it is still less than million taels."
Noble Consort Dehui was extremely angry. 700 million taels was not a small amount of money. If Emperor Jing really believed it, she would never be able to wash herself clean even if she jumped into the Yellow River.
"Don't worry, madam. It doesn't mean the emperor will believe what the king of Qin said."
Cui Lanwei hurried forward to comfort Imperial Noble Consort Dehui, fearing that she would get hurt out of anger.
"Even if the emperor doesn't believe that the King of Qin gave me so much silver, he will be very unhappy. I'm afraid this matter will affect the fourth son's sacrifice to heaven."
Noble Consort Dehui had lived with Emperor Jing for so many years, and she knew his temper very well.
"Do you want to ask Lady Liang to help you with some pillow talk?"
"Don't bother with that. As long as the emperor is not feeling well, it would be difficult for him to ask the fourth son to go to the heaven on his behalf even if he doesn't want to."
"What does the queen mean?"
"There are many beauties entering the palace this year. We cannot let the emperor be overwhelmed. Instruct the imperial kitchen to serve a medicinal meal every night from now on, and the emperor's tea at night should also be changed to health tea."
"Yes."
When Cui Lanwei heard Consort Dehui's order, she immediately understood what she meant.
The next night, Emperor Jing rewarded the chefs in the imperial kitchen, saying that the medicinal food they prepared was very good.
After that, Noble Consort Dehui never mentioned again the matter of asking Xiao Yi to offer sacrifices to heaven on behalf of Emperor Jing, and Emperor Jing also deliberately avoided the issue, and the matter was delayed until the twelfth lunar month.
As the day of offering sacrifices to heaven draws closer, many people in the court began to ponder how to carry out the ceremony this year.
At this critical juncture, Emperor Jing fell ill, and his illness was very serious.
"Your Majesty is a little weak. It is better for him to abstain from sexual intercourse while taking the tonic medicine."
After checking Emperor Jing's pulse, the imperial physician was too embarrassed to say that Emperor Jing was too old to exercise self-control and was courting death.
"How is that possible? I have been taking medicinal food all the time, and I feel that I am much stronger than before recently."
"Your Majesty, a person who is too weak to take supplements cannot take supplements. Your Majesty is already a little weak, and giving him supplements will only make his body more deficient."
When Emperor Jing heard what the imperial physician said, his face turned as black as the bottom of a pot.
He originally thought that he was in good health and wanted to attend the ceremony of offering sacrifices to heaven in person, but now it seems that he really has to find someone to go on his behalf.
After thinking about it in his mind, Emperor Jing couldn't think of a suitable candidate. He didn't have many offspring, and none of the princes was truly outstanding. As for other members of the royal family, Emperor Jing couldn't help but frown.
Although his sons were all useless, no matter how bad they were, they were still his biological sons and he was closer to them than anyone else.
"Zheng Hai, go call the King of Qi. I heard that he has been following several generals to suppress bandits recently and has achieved good results. Let him come and tell me about the suppression of bandits."
"Yes, I will go and invite the King of Qi right away."
One has to say that Imperial Noble Consort Dehui was really capable. When Xiao Yi went to suppress the bandits, he just followed them around the mountains for a few rounds and didn't kill a single bandit. However, when it came to rewarding people for their contributions, all the credit went to him alone.
Since he had made great contributions in suppressing bandits, it was natural for Emperor Jing to let him offer sacrifices to heaven on his behalf.
As for the matter of the 700 million silver, although Emperor Jing did not attack Imperial Noble Consort Dehui, he suppressed her openly and secretly, especially in the harem. Emperor Jing also named Concubine Shu, the mother of the third prince, as Noble Concubine Shu, and asked her to help Imperial Noble Concubine Dehui with harem affairs.
Concubine Shu was the daughter of General Zhang Yue, and her family had a strong background. Concubine Dehui did not have an easy life in the harem.
At the same time, Ye Yanran had finally recovered her health. It would be difficult for her to have children in the future. In order to prevent the children born by other concubines from affecting her son's status, she forced herself to grow up quickly.
In the past six months, except for the concubine who had a miscarriage, no other concubine in the Prince of Qi's mansion was pregnant.
Ye Yanran, who became famous because of her son, gradually came to prominence in the capital. Especially after Xiao Yi offered sacrifices to heaven on behalf of Emperor Jing, her value also rose, and even the Danyang Marquisate benefited a lot from it.
"Yanran, mother said that you are the lucky star of our mansion. No matter what happens, we will always be able to overcome the danger."
Everything has been going well recently, and Mrs. Gan goes to Prince Qi's mansion whenever she has time.
"Mom, you still have to keep a low profile. We have made so much money in the past six months, and there will always be people who will be jealous. If we are too high-profile, I am afraid that someone will cause trouble for us."
"You mean the Prince of Changping's Palace?"
"Exactly."
"Hey, what are you afraid of? Concubine Gu's miscarriage won't cause any trouble in Prince Changping's mansion."
"Mother, just listen to my advice. There are countless eyes in the capital staring at us now. We, the Marquis' Mansion, must not hold the prince back."
Mrs. Gan's eyes lit up when she heard Ye Yanran say this.
"Yanran, are you saying that the prince might be named the crown prince?"
Ye Yanran was startled and quickly covered Mrs. Gan's mouth. She stood up and asked the maid serving in the outer room to wait outside and not let anyone approach her room.
After making sure no one was eavesdropping, she lowered her voice and said, "The emperor's health is getting worse, and many ministers in the court have petitioned the emperor to appoint a crown prince as soon as possible."
"If nothing unexpected happens, this matter will be finalized after the New Year."
"That's great, my son, you finally made it."
The corners of Ye Yanran's lips curled up slightly. Although she was happy, she was not overwhelmed by joy.
While the situation is still unclear, she won't daydream like she did before.
During the more than half a year in Prince Qi's Mansion, she learned so much.
"Just keep this in mind, and don't let anyone know."
"I see."
Madam Gan naturally knew the interests involved. Before the imperial edict came down that Xiao Yi was appointed as the crown prince, she would definitely not publicize it, so as not to bring disaster to Ye Yanran.
"Mom has one more thing to tell you. Ye Jintang and Xiao Mo have arrived safely in Ningchuan Prefecture."
"Well, they are lucky to have made it to the fiefdom alive."
"I'm always worried about them. After the New Year, pick a few trustworthy people from my maternal ancestors and go to Ningchuan Prefecture to help me keep an eye on them."
"Yanran, aren't you being too cautious? The King of Qin has become a cripple. Can he still come back to the capital and compete with the King of Qi for the position of Crown Prince?"
"It's better to be safe than sorry. It's always good to be on guard."
"Okay, I'll listen to you now. Don't wait until after the New Year. I'll arrange for people to dress up as businessmen and go to Ningchuan City. I'll have them keep an eye on Xiao Mo and Ye Jintang, the unlucky star."