At the empress's evening banquet, all seven imperial princess consorts had arrived.
There had only been six before, but now there was one more: Xu Bao'er.
The moment Xu Bao'er appeared, she stunned everyone. The rumors that the xu family's illegitimate daughter was as beautiful as a celestial maiden and possessed beauty capable of toppling kingdoms were indeed true.
For this evening banquet, Xu Bao'er had specially dressed up in grand fashion.
She wore a lotus-blue gauze skirt patterned with lotuses and trimmed in gold, dignified and elegant. A lotus-shaped floral ornament had been painted between her brows, with a pearl set in its center, making her look dazzling and captivating.
Xu Bao'er merely had to sit there to resemble a lotus fairy descended to the mortal world; every movement of her brows and eyes was enough to stir the heart.
「What a little temptress.」
「With looks like that, she must be planning to drain Prince Duan's vitality dry.」
Xu Bao'er heard the empress's thoughts, and was delighted that the other party was praising her so highly in her heart.
“Today, I summoned you for no other reason than the imperial heirs.”
The empress surveyed the seven imperial princess consorts, her voice rather stern.
“The emperor has summoned me many times to discuss the matter of the imperial family's heirs.”
“Speaking of which, second prince's Consort, you and the second prince have been married the longest—eight years—and yet the second prince still has no offspring.”
“Even the Seventh imperial princess consort, who married most recently, has been married for more than two years.”
At the mention of offspring, quite a few of the imperial princess consorts present lowered their heads.
It was not only the emperor who was anxious about this; they were anxious too. Only by bearing an imperial prince could they secure their positions.
Over the years, because they had been unable to bear imperial princes, the empress had sent countless women into their residences.
The imperial princess consorts present could only be furious in silence.
Most frightening of all, even after so many women had been sent to them, these seven imperial princes who were already married had not produced a single child.
Could it be that Consort Jing's curse had truly manifested?
Before Prince Duan's imperial mother, Consort Jing, died, she had cursed the emperor to become the last of his line, to be cast into the Eighteenth Level of Hell after death, and never to rise again.
The emperor had initially paid it no mind. It was only after his imperial princes had been married for years without producing offspring that he panicked.
If the curse had truly taken effect, would that not mean Consort Jing's final curse would come true as well?
Pressed by the emperor, the empress was also in a difficult position. Bearing children was not something she could decide.
“If you still cannot bear a child, then your residences will inevitably have more women sent into them.”
Of all of them, Xu Yu'er was the most displeased upon hearing the empress's words.
As the crown princess, and with the crown prince being the empress's own son, her residence had received the most women among the seven imperial princess consorts.
The crown prince favored the new and tired of the old; his heart had long since ceased to be with her.
「That old hag, what's the use of stuffing in so many women?」
「She cannot win the emperor's favor herself, yet she cannot stand to see anyone else live in peace.」
「How annoying. She sends in temptresses every day, turning the whole place upside down.」
「I am so envious of the Princess Consort of Prince Duan; she has not had a single woman successfully forced into her residence.」
Listening to the other imperial princess consorts' thoughts, Xu Bao'er found mind-reading ability quite convenient for listening to gossip.
“Imperial mother, I support you. The imperial heirs are a major matter. Please select a few virtuous women from good families and send them to the crown prince's residence.”
Xu Yu'er cursed the empress as a slut countless times in her heart, yet smiled brightly as she flattered the empress.
With the crown princess taking the lead, the other consorts could not simply stand by and watch; they could only echo her one after another.
「Not a single xu family's daughter is any good. Each is more disgusting than the last.」
「Is Xu Yu'er sick in the head? She voiced her agreement and forced me to agree too.」
「I am going to throw up. Look at that affected performance.」
Listening to the thoughts surging in from all directions, Xu Bao'er was thoroughly entertained. Coming to the palace had truly been worthwhile.
“And the Princess Consort of Prince Duan?”
Everyone had expressed their stance except Xu Bao'er, who had remained silent.
It was obvious that the empress had come for Xu Bao'er this time. She had already placed people in the other residences, with the exception of Prince Duan's Residence.
Without sending people in, how could she plant top spies?
Xu Yu'er was extremely pleased at this moment; she simply could not stand seeing Xu Bao'er do well.
「You rejected me last time. Let's see whether you can reject the empress this time.」
「You want to monopolize His Majesty's favor? Not a chance.」
Xu Bao'er heard Xu Yu'er's malicious thoughts and was not flustered in the slightest. As her eyes shifted, an idea came to her.
Rejecting the empress would not be difficult.
“Thank you for your concern, empress. Our prince's problem cannot be solved by sending in virtuous women from good families.”
“A physician has already examined him. The prince has been taking medicine all these years.”
“His body is severely depleted. He still needs to restore his foundation and nourish his vitality, so he cannot come into contact with women.”
The moment Xu Bao'er said this, the entire hall fell silent.
Even the veteran actress that was the empress lost her composure, the corner of her mouth twitching.
“It cannot be solved by sending in virtuous women”—did that not mean she was saying Prince Duan was impotent?
Although quite a few of the imperial princess consorts present had suspected that perhaps the imperial family's men were impotent—otherwise, how could so many women have failed to become pregnant?—
none of them had dared say it aloud. They could only accept that they themselves were at fault.
But this Princess Consort of Prince Duan was something else, actually revealing in public that Prince Duan took medicine.
She was incredibly bold.
The Seventh imperial princess consort, who had previously been ruthlessly criticizing the xu family's daughters, now looked at Xu Bao'er with new respect.
She dared to speak so frankly—she was far better than that hypocritical elder sister of hers.
A true little person was better than a false gentleman.
The empress gave a light cough. “Prince Duan should still take good care of his health.”
Xu Bao'er had put it that way; what else could she do?
If Prince Duan truly could not produce imperial heirs, it would be wonderful news indeed. There would not even be any need to send a spy.
His chances of inheriting the imperial throne were essentially eliminated.
Hearing Xu Bao'er's words, Xu Yu'er felt much more comfortable as well. Marrying an impotent man was no different from becoming a widow with a living husband.
No wonder Prince Duan was so perverse; last time, he had left Xu Bao'er covered in bruises.
A living eunuch was bound to be a little perverse.
Upon hearing the words “living eunuch,” Xu Bao'er could not stop herself from laughing aloud. She immediately covered her face afterward, truly looking as though she were grieving.
“Grandmaster Jing'an said that, for the imperial family's descendants to flourish, one imperial prince consort must pray for forty-Nine days before the ancestral rites ceremony.”
“Then let the crown princess set an example and pray for the prosperity of the imperial heirs.”
At these words, Xu Yu'er's face fell, though she forced a smile afterward.
This prayer ritual was grueling work. She would have to kneel before a Buddha statue and pray every day, copy the true scriptures, and eat vegetarian food.
Being away from the residence for so many days, who knew how many temptresses would appear?
Xu Yu'er cursed the empress countless times in her heart, and her words were extremely filthy.
The empress had originally intended to arrange for Xu Bao'er to go, but Prince Duan was already in such a condition. Making the princess consort do this would be utterly tactless.
Forget it. She would have the crown princess go instead. She absolutely could not let the xu family's daughter give birth to the crown prince's firstborn legitimate son.
At that moment, Zhou Jin also received the news: the person chosen for the prayer ritual was the crown princess.
How had it turned out this way? Zhou Jin rotated the jade thumb ring, unable to figure out which step he had gotten wrong.
He had arranged for grandmaster Jing'an to discuss this with the empress precisely so that Xu Bao'er would abstain from meat and pray to Buddha for a few days and calm her mind.
The empress's evening banquet had been arranged specifically for Xu Bao'er. Clearly, she had taken an interest in Xu Bao'er and wanted to investigate her.
This prayer ritual was the perfect excuse.
How could the empress have failed to seize the opportunity? Where exactly had the problem arisen?
Several days later, after Zhou Jin learned the truth, he became so furious that he nearly took a blade to Xu Bao'er.
“Fourth Imperial Younger Brother, this is the medicine I secretly take in private. Have some too.”
Zhou Jin looked at the second prince suspiciously. He was not ill, so why was he taking medicine?
Seeing that Zhou Jin refused to accept it, the second prince spoke again.
“Do not be embarrassed. In any case, all of us brothers are impotent. None of us has the right to laugh at another.”
Impotent? Who was impotent?
“I never expected that, despite Fourth Imperial Younger Brother campaigning across the battlefields with such a robust physique, you would be so weak inside.”
Weak? Who was weak?
Zhou Jin's brows drew together more and more. What nonsense had his Second imperial elder brother heard?