readytorunbook Chapter 312 Live for yourself
Chapter 312 Live for yourself
The Empress comforted Li Ge: "This has nothing to do with you. We underestimated Zhao Jinxiao and the Imperial City Guard. We must be more careful in the future and avoid giving them any more leverage."
"Your Majesty is right. His Highness's relationship with the Arsenal must be severed."
That was the Crown Prince's biggest source of external wealth; how could he bear to cut it off like that?
Besides, he had just lost 300,000 taels of silver.
"Zhao Jinxiao deserves to die!" the Crown Prince muttered in a low voice.
"Your Highness, the greater good is what matters. The world will be yours in the future. Why worry about such petty gains?"
Li Ge's words served as a wake-up call for the Crown Prince.
Yes, rather than making that little bit of windfall, it's better to serve the Emperor well and inherit the throne as soon as possible.
The Crown Prince was to be sent back to his residence and confined to his quarters, and the Empress was also neglected by the Emperor because of this.
On the contrary, Consort Lin was said to have been caught by the Emperor worshipping Consort Wu in the Linhua Palace that day. The Emperor was moved by her loyalty and righteousness and promoted her rank on the same day.
The imperial edict promoting her to the rank of Lady Lin did not even pass through the Kunning Palace, but was delivered directly from the Imperial Study to Lady Lin.
The crown prince's attempt to scheme against her backfired, which ultimately benefited her.
The concubines in the imperial harem were all shrewd and capable.
Although the Emperor did not remove the Empress's imperial seal, his attitude spoke volumes, and the concubines began to treat the Empress with disdain.
Li Ge unleashed a reign of terror in the inner palace.
Anyone who disrespected the Empress was killed.
The Empress tacitly approved of this, but she didn't know that the team Li Ge was building up through this opportunity was not hers.
"That was close. What if the Emperor didn't believe the evidence you provided?" Lin Miaoniang was dressed in gorgeous clothes, looking completely different from when she first entered the palace.
Favor is both an honor and a power.
When a woman gains power and wealth, her temperament undergoes a complete transformation.
"It would be better if they didn't believe us. If we could get rid of the Crown Prince directly, we would have achieved our goal."
"Do you think the Emperor would never kill the Crown Prince for Consort Xie?"
Li Ge smiled confidently and said, "Of course not! The Crown Prince and Consort Xie are completely different in status."
That was the emperor's own son, whom he had raised for over twenty years and placed great hopes on. How could he be killed just because of some unsubstantiated evidence?
“The crown prince cannot be killed easily; even deposing the crown prince requires the consent of the court officials.”
Who exactly is Consort Xie's lover?
This is a question that not only Lin Miaoniang wants to know, but everyone in the harem wants to know.
Li Ge whispered a name in her ear, and Lin Miaoniang covered her mouth in fright.
"How could it be him?"
Li Ge shrugged. "Why not? They already knew each other before they entered the palace."
Lin Miaoniang found it terrifying; Li Ge was truly a terrifying person.
He can make the most of everyone, including himself.
Now that she has attained the rank of Jieyu, she is only one step away from becoming one of the Nine Consorts, and she has secured a place in the harem.
So, is it her turn to play a role next?
She had been waiting for this day for far too long.
Li Ge removed a kingfisher feather hairpin from her hair and replaced it with a phoenix hairpin with a pearl in its beak. "This suits you better."
Lin Miaoniang reached out and touched the bead, asking curiously, "You've made me wear this hairpin all this time, but the Emperor has asked me several times. I just said I liked it. Does this hairpin have any special meaning?"
Li Ge looked at her sadly, "Yes, if you wear it near the emperor, he will die several years younger."
Lin Miaoniang quickly withdrew her hand from the beads, her eyes widening. "It's poisonous?"
"Afraid?"
"Then...when will I die?"
Li Ge chuckled softly, "Don't worry, I won't die anytime soon. It's just that the medicine I'm using happens to be incompatible with the pills the Emperor is taking."
"When did you learn medicine?"
Lin Miaoniang discovered that Li Ge was truly amazing; he seemed to know everything.
"I don't need to know; the palace has no shortage of imperial physicians."
Li Ge left calmly, leaving Lin Miaoniang sitting in front of the mirror in a daze for a long time, and in the end she did not take off the hairpin.
Shen Lan returned to Qingfeng Garden to treat Xie Kenian's illness.
Xie Kenian was sent back to the Xie family. Originally, the Xie family should have let her "die of illness," but Xie Jingfeng disagreed and snatched her away.
After what happened last time, Shen Lan was originally unwilling to associate with Xie Jingfeng, but since he had helped her last time, the conditions he offered this time were equally tempting.
“Miss Shen, you don’t need to worry. She is my sister. Whether she can be saved or not, my word is my bond.”
Xie Jingfeng's condition this time was a piece of information, information that Shen Lan really wanted to know.
"How did you find out about my background?" Shen Lan thought that her origins should be difficult to trace.
"Would Miss Shen believe me if I said it was just a guess?"
Xie Jingfeng looked much more haggard, with stubble on his beard, and his eyes always held an unyielding sorrow.
"My Xie family has been in the pharmaceutical business for decades and knows the famous doctors in the medical field very well."
For a young girl like Miss Shen to possess such medical skills, she must have come from a prestigious school.
The most famous doctor surnamed Shen was probably the one who worked in the palace back then. Coincidentally, my Xie family still has a prescription book that he gave us back then.
Miss Shen's prescription technique is very similar to that of that person; she must be a descendant of that person.
Xie Jingfeng led Shen Lan into the room, looked at his sister who was critically ill on the bed, and said in a low voice, "You have seen what happened to my sister. She was not sent to the palace to enjoy a life of luxury, but to be used as a medicinal ingredient."
Shen Lan had already suspected something was wrong, but when she heard Xie Jingfeng say it, she still found it unbelievable.
She stepped forward to take Xie Kenian's pulse.
"The medication was too strong, causing miscarriage and severe bleeding, with little chance of survival."
Xie Jingfeng had expected this, saying, "Miss Shen, just do your best."
Shen Lan chased him out and gave Xie Kenian a full-body examination. She knew little about this kind of gynecological disease and could only try to keep her alive as long as possible and then slowly try to recuperate.
She saw rows of scars on Xie Kenian's arms, some even in the same spot.
It is conceivable that the pain she endured each month was unbearable for most people.
"I don't actually want to live." Xie Kenian's weak voice reached Shen Lan's ears.
She met Xie Kenian's gaze and said calmly, "Your brother wants you to live."
"How could the emperor possibly let me go? I'm going to die no matter what."
No one can let an emperor live unscathed after being cuckolded.
"He let you leave the palace, which means he gave the Xie family a chance. Perhaps he still needs the Xie family, so he didn't wipe them out completely."
Xie Kenian smiled wryly, "That's true. The Xie family might send another woman into the palace."
She spoke these words with a hint of pity, a pity for her sister who had succeeded her.
Am I a bad person?
"Why do you say that?"
"If I stay comfortably in the palace, no one will have to suffer like this anymore."
Shen Lan looked into her eyes and said seriously, "No one likes to suffer. You have already paid back what you owed the Xie family. It is only natural to live for yourself. However, with your health, I'm afraid you don't have many days left to live."