Empress Zhong arrived at the Imperial Study and saw Consort Sun, who looked utterly dejected, standing outside the door.
“Your Majesty the Empress, Empress, please be merciful…” As soon as Consort Sun saw the Empress, her legs buckled, and she knelt on the ground, grabbing the Empress’s sleeve and refusing to let go.
Empress Zhong slightly lowered her gaze, looking at Consort Sun with a cold expression. “The Emperor has finally received such good news, and Consort Sun insists on pouring cold water on it at this very moment? Don’t say I didn’t warn you, Consort Sun. If you anger the Emperor again, it won’t just be the Eighth Prince who suffers. While there’s no precedent for a consort being demoted, many have been forgotten in the cold palace by the Emperor over the years.”
At these words, Consort Sun was so terrified that she dared not say another word. She no longer dared to hold onto the Empress’s sleeve, merely collapsing helplessly on the ground, letting tears silently trace her face.
Just then, Feng Gu walked out. Without even glancing at Consort Sun kneeling on the ground, he quickly ushered the Empress inside. “The Emperor was just mentioning you, Your Majesty the Empress. I didn’t expect you to arrive so soon.”
Empress Zhong smiled and nodded, her head held high as she strode into the Imperial Study.
After watching the Empress leave, Feng Gu quickly closed the door again. He then lowered his head and looked at Consort Sun, who was kneeling on the ground. He could only sigh helplessly in his heart, thinking, *If only you had known better from the start.*
Not long after, sounds of laughter and joy emanated from the Imperial Study.
Consort Sun closed her eyes, her heart turned to ash. She hated Consort Xi for burning the bridge after crossing it, but what was the use of regretting it now? She couldn’t save herself, nor her son.
News of the Seventh Prince’s miraculous survival quickly spread throughout the entire palace.
In Huaqing Palace, Xie Jingzhou was dining with Consort Xi. Upon hearing the news, both mother and son lost their appetites.
But what good was it if they couldn't eat? Tonglin was at the ends of the earth. Even if Consort Xi or Xie Jingzhou had the will to stab the Seventh Prince in the heart themselves, they were too far away.
Thinking this, Xie Jingzhou’s expression grew even more somber.
Seeing her son in low spirits, Consort Xi felt a lump in her own throat. A person on the verge of death had come back to life. Who wouldn’t feel stifled?
When Ji Zizhao heard the news, she couldn't tell if she was happy or relieved. But at this moment, the Seventh Prince delivering the news to the Emperor, was it truly unintentional?
She doubted it.
Not long ago, the Seventh Prince had secretly sent a letter to the Empress. At that time, he was clearly estranged from the Emperor and would not have let go of grudges so quickly. It was likely that when the Empress replied to the Seventh Prince, she mentioned matters concerning the main city. The Seventh Prince, remembering Consort Sun’s desperate attempts to plead for the Eighth Prince, chose this moment to send news of his recovery back to the imperial city.
In plain terms, this was a move to completely seal off the Eighth Prince’s path to survival!
One had to admit, the Seventh Prince’s strategy was indeed clean, swift, and brilliant.
Such decisive resolve…
This was the kind of skill an emperor should possess.
The Seventh Prince had truly matured.
The matter of the Eighth Prince’s demotion was completely forgotten by everyone with the news of the Seventh Prince’s recovery. No one knew where the Eighth Prince had gone after moving out of Lion Street, and no one cared how a prince who had lost favor would live in the future.
However, the war in Tonglin had not yet ended. Even though the Seventh Prince had truly recovered, he still chose to remain on the battlefield. Although Emperor Xiaochang outwardly expressed neither agreement nor opposition, he issued another decree to send ten thousand troops to Tonglin to aid the Seventh Prince in pacifying the region.
As soon as this news broke, the once turbulent court fell silent.
While the Emperor’s action seemed to be sacrificing the Seventh Prince to preserve Tonglin, if one looked deeper, the Emperor was also trying to secure the Seventh Prince’s achievements. The Tonglin campaign had dragged on for so long. If the Seventh Prince were recalled by the Emperor at the last moment, wouldn’t all his previous contributions to Tonglin be in vain?
The Emperor had never mentioned the Fourth Prince from beginning to end, but his favoritism towards the Seventh Prince was obvious to anyone with eyes.
The ministers in court were not fools. Faced with such a situation, what else could they do but go home and sleep?
Under these circumstances, the most dejected were naturally the faction of the Fifth Prince, especially Xie Jingzhou, who never expected the situation to turn out this way, nor that the Seventh Prince would survive.
Xie Jingzhou’s previous incitement of the court had relied on the Seventh Prince’s uncertain fate and the Fourth Prince’s questionable identity, forcing those ministers who had not yet declared their allegiance to stand with him.
But what was the result?
The Seventh Prince had woken up!
This meant that everything Xie Jingzhou had done was in vain.
The thought of his busy efforts amounting to nothing made Xie Jingzhou so depressed that he could vomit blood in his dreams.
In Huaqing Palace, the sound of things being smashed could be heard daily.
Consort Xi had always known that the Emperor treated the Seventh Prince differently, but she never imagined he would be so biased, even going so far as to send additional soldiers to Tonglin just to ensure the achievements there would fall to the Seventh Prince.
She had always believed her son was the one the Emperor cared about the most. Yet, reality told her otherwise. How could Consort Xi, who had been proud for half her life, accept this?
However, while Consort Xi was unhappy, Empress Zhong was pleased. Ji Zizhao could clearly feel that Empress Zhong’s complexion was improving day by day whenever she visited Fengyi Palace to take her pulse.
“Even if Consort Xi smashes Huaqing Palace, it still won’t change the Emperor’s favoritism towards the Seventh Prince,” Empress Zhong said with a smile.
“Everyone thought the Emperor loved her as he loved her house, and that the Fifth Prince was far superior to all other princes. Now, the Emperor has proven with his actions that he values the Seventh Prince and the Fifth Prince equally in his heart. It is indeed hard to accept.”
On this point, Ji Zizhao also couldn’t quite figure it out.
The favor of princes in the harem relied on their families and their mothers. The Seventh Prince had lost his mother from a young age and grew up under the Empress’s care. Given this status, even if the Empress tried her best to support him secretly, the Emperor might change his view of the Seventh Prince, but it should never have reached this extent.
Or was there something hidden within the Seventh Prince that forced the Emperor to be so biased?
Bai He suddenly entered and announced, “Your Majesty the Empress, Princess Wenhui has arrived.”
The smile on Empress Zhong’s face faltered for a moment, but she still nodded. “Let her in.”
Bai He nodded and went out. Wenhui soon entered. She looked up and saw Ji Zizhao sitting beside Empress Zhong, a clear look of surprise flashing in her eyes.
Wenhui had always known that the Empress was quite fond of Ji Zizhao, but she never expected her to be fond to such an extent. Even she, who had grown up in the palace, had never been this close to the Empress. What made Ji Zizhao worthy of such treatment?