[The Empress Dowager was the champion of the previous palace struggle, the MVP winner. If she were to take action again, wouldn’t the harem be filled with poisonings today and deaths tomorrow? I really want to see that!]
“His Majesty the Emperor has arrived~”
As soon as the Emperor entered, he saw everyone with their heads lowered. It seemed Ji Yingying had dropped another bombshell.
“What were you all discussing?”
“Your Majesty, today Little Lord Ji praised your harem—” then the speaker couldn’t continue.
“Speak!” the Emperor whispered to him, eager to know what Ji Yingying had said this time.
“She said your harem would have poisonings today and deaths tomorrow, and she wants to watch the palace intrigue.”
The Emperor: “…This child will be the death of me one day.”
“Officials with matters to report, step forward; if none, court is dismissed~”
As soon as the eunuch finished announcing, someone stepped forward and said: “Father Emperor, your son has a matter to report.”
[This is—the Second Prince. I haven’t seen him before—turns out he went to the Family Temple to accompany the Empress Dowager. This—is just too hard to comment on! This Second Prince actually isn’t the Imperial Noble Consort’s child, no wonder I found it strange when I saw the Imperial Noble Consort earlier. She originally gave birth to a princess, who should be the Third Princess by birth order, so how did it become the Second Prince?]
[Host, such juicy gossip and you resisted eating melons?]
[No, I just didn’t have time. The Emperor came and took me away before I could. How could I have time to eat melons? Should we eat the Imperial Noble Consort’s melons or the Second Prince’s melons now? I think the Second Prince’s melons are bigger, let’s eat his?]
[Alright~]
[Hehe, then serve the melons. Let this young lady take a look… Ah! So the Second Prince is the Empress Dowager’s biological son. Back then, the Imperial Noble Consort gave birth to a daughter, but she was swapped with the Second Prince by the Empress Dowager’s people. And this Second Prince has known since childhood that he isn’t the Imperial Noble Consort’s child, so he’s been psychologically manipulating her since young to help him seize the throne. This is why the Imperial Noble Consort targeted the Crown Prince.]
[However, the Imperial Noble Consort is kind-hearted—she never used extreme methods against the Crown Prince and didn’t dare to. Given her position, even if the Crown Prince ascends the throne, she wouldn’t suffer much. She just pities her child. However, she probably doesn’t know the Second Prince has been poisoning her all along—her health has been deteriorating over the years.]
[As for the Second Prince frequently visiting the Family Temple every year—it’s to fulfill filial duties before the Empress Dowager and his biological father, while simultaneously consolidating his position and developing multiple power bases. After all, who would have thought the Second Prince’s biological father is actually a monk in the Family Temple.]
[Oh my! The monks inside are really rolling in wealth. If the Emperor were to confiscate the Family Temple’s assets, he wouldn’t have to wear torn underwear every day. He might even reward me with thousands of taels—I’m still poor right now! Thinking about how I donated five thousand taels for the sake of all living beings… it still hurts to remember!]
[Eh? There are private soldiers raised in the back hills of the Family Temple. Good heavens! This Second Prince knows he’s not the Emperor’s son and fears being discovered, so he actually plans to rebel. No wonder the Crown Prince still has to die. Poor Crown Princess~ why did you end up with such a husband? Constantly being plotted against. The most pitiful is still the Emperor—he escaped being hanged from the city walls only to end up discarded in a mass grave. In the end, it was the Empress who collected his body. Poor Empress~ These two sisters probably dug up the Emperor’s grave in their previous lives.]
[Otherwise, why would both sisters die for the Emperor’s sake!]
【No, it’s better for the Crown Prince to succeed to the throne. After all, the Crown Prince is benevolent and virtuous. If the Second Prince takes the throne, the world will fall into chaos, and the people will suffer. If some wastrel emerges later, the Ning family’s century-old foundation—】
【Bah! What century-old foundation? That belongs to others, not my family. Forget it. When the time comes, I’ll take my parents, eldest brother, and second brother far away to hide. Once the world stabilizes again, I’ll come out—anyway, I’m just a lazy bum.】
【Right! When chaos breaks out, I’ll take them to hide in the mountains and rely on farming for food. Back in the day, I had a passion for farming. In my previous life, I watched tons of farming videos. Though I’ve never farmed myself, I’ve seen how it’s done!】
【Hehe~ The great river flows eastward, the stars in the sky twinkle like the Big Dipper~】
Why did she suddenly start singing? Just as she began, Ji Yingying sensed something was off. Didn’t the Second Prince say he was going to present a memorial?
Where is he?
Ji Yingying looked up, but he was no longer in the main hall.
Earlier, when Ji Yingying mentioned that the Second Prince was the Empress Dowager’s biological son, the Emperor had already ordered his shadow guards to detain him. At the same time, he sent people to the Family Temple to summon the Empress Dowager and the monks.
He also ordered Rong Yi to raid the Family Temple!
“Your Majesty, I have a memorial to present,” someone stepped forward, diverting Ji Yingying’s attention.
“Hmm!”
“I accuse the Second Prince of not being of royal blood—”
【Holy… How did this official find out? Impressive! Could there really be an Imperial Intelligence Agency?】
“You scoundrel…” The Emperor was so enraged that he threw the memorial in his hand, looking as if he might die of anger.
【There are too many perverts in this Tianyou Dynasty. I need to ask my father to find me a few guards for protection. After all, I’m as beautiful as a flower and the moon—I don’t want to be bullied by some pervert.】
【There are too many perverts in this Tianyou Dynasty. I need to ask my father to find me a few guards for protection. After all, I’m as beautiful as a flower and the moon—I don’t want to be bullied by some pervert and suffer losses later~】
The Second Prince is actually… These inner thoughts made him nauseous. Remembering the meals he’d shared with the Second Prince—he suddenly lost his appetite!
“I believe the Second Prince is not my biological son. I’ve discovered he is the Empress Dowager’s child and have already sent for her.”
【Looks like we’re going to get some juicy gossip about the Empress Dowager today. She was the MVP of the last palace struggle, after all. I thought she’d help the women of her family compete, but in the end, she was helping herself. If the Second Prince succeeded, she’d remain Empress Dowager. What a pity—she’s already fifty. Who knows how much longer she’ll live?】
“Stop talking!” the Emperor snapped angrily. Today’s events were already a disgrace to the royal family—did he have no face left?
【Huh? Who is he telling to stop? I didn’t hear anyone speaking just now?】
You! I’m telling you to stop!
None of the ministers dared to make a sound. Everyone was afraid of meeting The Great Ancestor, though some were secretly thrilled to witness such explosive gossip.
Others, however, were terrified. In front of this little ancestor, anyone’s family secrets could be exposed, leading to humiliation or even losing their heads.
Next, they discussed military districts and provisions. Due to the floods, the national treasury was nearly empty.
The Emperor was deeply worried!
As for Ji Yingying, she quietly started cracking melon seeds. Pingguo had bought them from someone, and she had the kitchen roast them with five-spice seasoning. Now, as she cracked them, they smelled absolutely delicious!
While the ministers fretted over provisions, she hid in a corner, cracking melon seeds, savoring the aroma!
“Huh~ I thought it was something serious. Just raid the monastery and this year’s provisions will be solved outright. We might even have surplus for the New Year! After all, the corn will be ready for harvest in three months. Once we sun-dry and grind it into powder, that’ll be as good as white flour!”