Chapter 593: Chapter 5: Empress Dowager, Peace Be Upon You (Part 5)

The Princess Consort Xian sat there, looking at Tao Hua’s body below, her head lowered, her expression unreadable.

She was somewhat puzzled. Why did the Emperor send Tao Hua’s body here?

This Tao Hua had always been deeply hidden, and unless it was a crucial moment, she was unwilling to move against her.

Unexpectedly, she was still uncovered this time.

Just because of a spy, the body was sent over—what did the Emperor mean by this?

The Princess Consort Xian was naturally unaware that she had been held accountable.

In the plot, the original character had such an outcome, and Tao Hua played a very important role in it.

If it weren’t for Tao Hua secretly drugging the original character, if it weren’t for Tao Hua passing messages to the Emperor, if it weren’t for Tao Hua pretending to send messages to the General Mansion but actually sending them to the Emperor, the original character wouldn’t have ended up so miserably.

It could be said that Tao Hua played too significant a role.

Li Shuning was not a Holy Mother. Tao Hua was already the spy for the other side. Could she still give her another chance to betray?

Those shards of porcelain were moved to another place by Li Shuning using her spiritual power. She wasn’t sure what the sensitive and suspicious Emperor would do, but as long as Tao Hua was suspected, she could be dealt with.

The result was even better than Li Shuning had imagined.

“Your Majesty, during this time, because of me, you’ve been troubled. Is Your Majesty’s health any better?”

The Emperor patted Li Shuning’s hand, “Ning, don’t worry, I’m fine.”

“Your Majesty must take care of yourself. Without Your Majesty, I, I…” Li Shuning was on the verge of tears.

The Emperor, however, thought he understood the Empress’s mind well.

If it were not for him, the Empress’s situation would be even more difficult.

The Emperor sighed, feeling a hint of regret in his heart. Over the years, he had drugged the Empress, and those drugs eventually harmed the body. He feared the Empress might not be able to have children anymore.

Even if she could have children, at this point, he was powerless.

“Ning, don’t worry, I will arrange everything properly.”

Li Shuning feigned shyness, lowering her head, “Yes, I believe in Your Majesty.”

“In a few days, I’ll have the Fifth Prince and Sixth Prince brought here for you to look after for a while,” the Emperor thought for a moment and said.

In the plot, the Emperor had also made such a suggestion before.

The original character had refused.

She thought she wouldn’t be able to have children anymore, and she didn’t want to raise other people’s children.

Li Shuning looked up at the Emperor, her eyes full of trust: “I will listen to Your Majesty.”

The Emperor smiled with satisfaction. The Empress was good in this way, treating him as the sky.

The next day, the Fifth Prince and Sixth Prince were brought over.

The Sixth Prince didn’t understand anything yet, and Li Shuning rather enjoyed teasing him a bit.

As for the Fifth Prince, already five years old, he was somewhat sensible. Although Li Shuning coaxed him as well, she wasn’t as attentive to him as she was to the Sixth Prince, and he wasn’t close to the Empress either.

The birth mother of the Sixth Prince was a concubine with some status, and she was quite upset that her son, so shortly after his birth, was taken away.

However, she discovered that when she went to visit the Sixth Prince, the Empress didn’t seem to mind and even let her play with the Sixth Prince for a while each time, only with the Empress’s confidant present.

Le Jieyu was easily satisfied. She wasn’t favored much, her looks were average, and she had little support from her family. If it weren’t for having a child, she might not have had her current status. Now having her son stay with the Empress was the best option for the child.

As for herself, since the Empress didn’t drive her away, it showed that the Empress didn’t mind her presence. Wasn’t that quite good?

Having the Empress raise the child was much better than raising him herself, and after all, she was still the child’s birth mother.

As for the birth mother of the Fifth Prince, Qi Cairen, she was beautiful. Although the Emperor had not promoted her, she was still somewhat favored, so her pride was relatively high.

With her son taken away, Qi Cairen was naturally dissatisfied.

However, she didn’t see the situation clearly; the Emperor’s health had deteriorated, and he hadn’t visited the harem for a long time, yet she still thought of herself as the favored Talented Lady.

On this day, while the Emperor was handling state affairs in Minghe Hall, Wang Yin came in to report that Qi Cairen was requesting an audience.

Thinking that he had just sent the Fifth Prince to the Empress, the Emperor guessed Qi Cairen was likely here because of that.

After some thought, he let her in.

“Your Majesty, is your health any better? I have been worried about you these days.”

The Emperor patted Qi Cairen, “I’m fine.”

Qi Cairen tried hard, wanting something with the Emperor, attempting to seduce him, but the Emperor was truly powerless at the time, so Qi Cairen’s efforts were in vain.

Seeing that her usual cajoling and flirting were ineffective, Qi Cairen became a bit irritated.

But her son was her foundation; she couldn’t let the Empress take advantage.

“Your Majesty, these days have been really difficult for me. I haven’t felt like eating or drinking. With the Fifth Prince taken to the Empress, Your Majesty, after all, he is my son, and I’ve been wondering if the Fifth Prince has eaten enough, if he’s warm enough…”

The Emperor’s face suddenly turned grim, as he had made the decision to send the Prince there.

Don’t think he didn’t know; as a fellow birth mother, Le Jieyu often visited the Sixth Prince. The Empress did very well and was generous. The Emperor understood this well; the Empress was the Empress, a mother to the world, as these princes were inherently her sons.

Qi Cairen had never visited the Fifth Prince, and now she came to him, wanting him to return the child to her?

She truly was like mud that couldn’t be sculpted. If Xiao Wu could win the Empress’s favor and show her filial piety, Xiao Wu’s future would be bright, but here she was.

So before Qi Cairen finished her words, the Emperor scolded, “The Empress is someone you can disparage? The Fifth Prince and Sixth Prince are with the Empress, and she is taking care of them diligently, and you dare say such things. Moreover, it was I who arranged for the Fifth Prince to go to Phoenix Palace. What, do you have an objection?”

Qi Cairen was stunned. Previously, the Emperor had been willing to coax beauties and had never treated her like this. Though Qi Cairen had a lowly status, she was quite assertive in the palace and realized for the first time that this was the Emperor, and she had provoked him.

Qi Cairen hurriedly knelt, “Your Majesty, it was my mistake. I have no objections. I was just missing the Fifth Prince; I meant nothing else.”

“Hmph, the Sixth Prince is also with the Empress, and Le Jieyu visits him daily. The Empress hasn’t stopped visits, or is there something else on your mind?”

“With no appetite for food or drink, hmph. If that’s the case, from now on, you raise the Fifth Prince yourself.”

The Emperor was exhausted; none of them could rise to the occasion.

He also knew that the Fifth Prince was already sensible. The Empress treated him well, and he had even pushed the Empress a few days ago.

Indeed, just like his birth mother, lacking the pedigree.

But Qi Cairen felt relieved, as long as her son came back.

Little did she know, she had already ruined the Fifth Prince’s future.

Li Shuning, upon discovering that the Emperor had sent someone to fetch the Fifth Prince back, was initially surprised, then smiled lightly, unconcerned.

This Qi Cairen was indeed quite talented.

In the plot, because the Fifth Prince was young, he hadn’t conflicted with the Third Prince. After the Third Prince became Emperor, seeking a better life, Qi Cairen, relying on her beauty, was the first to offer herself to the new Emperor’s bed.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep