How could Qiaoqiao know so much?
“This servant only knows that the princess was frail from birth and has been quietly recuperating from illness without much public attention.”
Jiang Wan rubbed her throbbing temples. “Indeed, once you enter the palace gates, the waters run deep.”
With Xie Changlin around, those waters ran even deeper.
What exactly did he want to do?
With a grave expression, Jiang Wan pieced everything together.
After a long while, a bold conjecture formed in her mind.
……
That evening, after finishing her dinner, Jiang Wan was escorted to Qian’an Hall.
Just as she reached the entrance, she saw two maids’ corpses being carried out. There wasn’t much blood visible, but their faces were ashen. Her brow twitched.
Li Dequan appeared accustomed to such scenes, keeping his head lowered. “His Majesty is in a foul mood.”
Jiang Wan: “??”
Upon entering and asking, Huan Cheng’s explanation was, “I used a bit too much force. Those two frail bodies couldn’t withstand the play.”
Jiang Wan’s face turned grim. “Disgusting.”
Huan Cheng still felt some pain from his injuries, but having vented the frustration that had built up all day on those two, his mood was now relatively improved. He didn’t take her bluntness to heart.
After all, he couldn’t afford to provoke her. It was better to pretend he hadn’t heard.
Jiang Wan plopped down onto a chair, glaring coldly at Huan Cheng. “Your Majesty still has energy to spare?”
“If the Empress wishes it, then certainly I do,” Huan Cheng replied with a frivolous smile, taking a sip of tea.
Jiang Wan took a deep breath, forcing a strained smile. “Since you’ve just finished venting, perhaps this consort could accompany Your Majesty in finding some other amusement?”
“Empress, who taught you to change faces like that?”
“Compared to Your Majesty, I surely fall short.”
Huan Cheng laughed again, a cold laugh. “Fine. From now on, you might as well drop the act in front of me. I know you find it tiresome to pretend, and I find it tiresome to watch.”
Every time the young Empress appeared respectful on the surface, the words that came out of her mouth were enough to infuriate him.
Now that they had torn off the pretense, what was the point of keeping up appearances?
Jiang Wan had originally planned how to deal with him tonight, but hearing about this disgusting incident had disrupted her plans.
Oh well, it saved her some trouble.
Her body instantly relaxed into an extremely languid posture as she leaned opposite Huan Cheng. “Li Dequan, bring the chessboard.”
Seeing her like this, Huan Cheng’s mouth twitched. Before his temper could flare, he remembered the beating from Xie Changlin and instead adopted a sarcastic tone. “The Empress knows how to play chess?”
“No,” Jiang Wan replied with a fake smile. “Would Your Majesty teach this consort?”
“Hah, do I look that idle to you?”
Jiang Wan ignored him. Once Li Dequan had set up the board, she picked up a white piece. “Your Majesty, shall we play a game?”
Huan Cheng checked the time. It was still early. With a reluctant pout, he said, “Don’t blame me for bullying you.”
He picked up a black piece and made an opening move casually, initially intending just to play around. But before long, Jiang Wan’s aggressive moves forced him to focus, and he began to take it more seriously.
Seeing his reaction, Jiang Wan smiled inwardly.
Soon, the situation on the board became clear: Huan Cheng lost.
Huan Cheng clicked his tongue and sat up straight. “Again.”
In the following games, he played very seriously. But Jiang Wan’s chess style was fierce and aggressive, with an overwhelming momentum that gave no quarter, forcing him to retreat again and again. The result was the same every time: he lost.
During the third game, he suddenly curled his lips into a smile. “Empress, your chess style is quite similar to the Seal Keeper’s.”
In truth, during his rare games with Xie Changlin, Huan Cheng had been completely toyed with. Xie’s style was full of feints and bluffs, making it impossible to distinguish truth from falsehood.
Back then, he was only thirteen or fourteen, still full of youthful spirit. Even after being beaten, he would think about fighting back. But every time, Xie Changlin would lightly make him understand that no matter how he resisted, everything was under Xie Changlin’s control—there was no way out.
Later, as he grew older, he became cautious, fearing a single misstep. Yet, after playing chess with Xie Changlin once more, he found himself cornered just like now, with no retreat, ending in defeat.
Jiang Wan lowered her gaze, revealing a faint, ambiguous smile.
She did indeed know how to play chess. During those five hundred years searching for her benefactor, she traveled across the Four Seas and Eight Desolations. It wasn’t just about searching; naturally, she learned many things along the way.
But she felt that, having come to the mortal realm, it was better to simply be Jiang Wan. Most of the time, she pretended ignorance while understanding everything clearly, and she had no desire to involve herself in matters unrelated to Xie Changlin.
Now, if her suspicions were correct, she truly couldn’t stand aside any longer. She had to intervene.
Today’s chess style was something she had guessed based on Xie Changlin’s personality and imitated. With Huan Cheng’s acknowledgment, she felt deeply gratified.
“And what else has Your Majesty discerned?”
“What does the Empress hope I have discerned?”
Jiang Wan leisurely placed another piece. “Your Majesty, you’ve lost again.”
Huan Cheng looked at her smile and was momentarily lost in thought.
At this moment, Jiang Wan wore no disguise. She had shed her resentment and disdain for him and no longer pretended to be respectful. She was calm and composed, her dark eyes simply gazing at him quietly, so profound they seemed capable of drawing one in entirely.
He caught his breath, quickly regaining his composure, and narrowed his slender eyes, his tone deepening. “Empress, what exactly are you trying to say?”
Jiang Wan dismissed Li Dequan and looked directly at Huan Cheng. “Your Majesty is now surrounded on all sides, thinking only of retreat. Have you considered saving yourself?”
After a long pause, Huan Cheng raised the corner of his mouth in self-mockery. “After eight years as a puppet, do I deserve to have my own consciousness?”
His words were blunt, likely unconcerned about whether they might reach Xie Changlin’s ears.
Jiang Wan also spoke freely, reassured. “If I am not mistaken, Your Majesty and the Seal Keeper are aware of what my father intends to do.”
“Today, the Seal Keeper urged me to bear Your Majesty a son as soon as possible. Your Majesty understands what that means, doesn’t you?”
Huan Cheng lowered his eyes, his hand tightening around the chess piece.
Of course he knew. No one understood it better than he did.
Jiang Wenshan wanted hereditary succession—he wanted Huan Cheng’s son to become emperor.
Xie Changlin wanted Jiang Wan to bear a son to cut off Jiang Wenshan’s hopes of hereditary succession, then raise a puppet more to his liking from childhood.
And him? When the time came, he could die however he pleased. To put it bluntly, he was nothing more than garbage to be discarded at any moment.
After another long silence, Huan Cheng raised his eyes again, now bloodshot.
“Empress, what exactly do you intend to do?”
His tone was heavy, teetering on the edge of losing control, carrying a thick sense of danger.
Jiang Wan subtly leaned back, her gaze fixed intently on him. “Today, I came to speak plainly with Your Majesty.”
“I grew up in Jiangnan from the age of eight and know little about family affairs. Whatever they intend to do, they have never told me, likely because they didn’t want me involved in such matters.”
“But I am already involved. I do not wish to fulfill the Seal Keeper’s desires, yet I cannot escape this deep palace.”
As long as she remained in the palace, Xie Changlin had ten thousand ways to force her to bear a child.
After all, children born to others wouldn’t do; it had to be her, Jiang Wenshan’s daughter, who gave birth to achieve his goal. Not only could he suppress Jiang Wenshan, but he could even completely subdue Jiang Wenshan through a new puppet.
Jiang Wan had learned that Jiang Wenshan had a weakness—he wasn’t ruthless enough—which was why he had been trampled underfoot all these years by the sufficiently ruthless Xie Changlin.
If it were his own daughter’s child, it might truly make him abandon his ambitions for hereditary succession.
It seemed that if Xie Changlin had never discovered Jiang Wenshan had a daughter secretly raised in Jiangnan, he likely intended to use Consort Wan’s child. That was why he allowed her to give birth, but unfortunately, it turned out to be a daughter again.
“So, the Empress still wants her brother to become the emperor.”