Chapter 644 - 631: Married the Wrong One
Chapter 644: Chapter 631: Married the Wrong One
Chu Shengrui agreed heartily to grant Chu Jinnian a marriage present.
After ordering the four to leave, Chu Shengrui and Chu Yunhe proceeded to the empress’s palace.
At this time, the empress was already in the palace with pastries and tea prepared, waiting for Chu Shengrui and his son. She even had the maids redo her makeup.
Although her beauty had faded with age, a saying describes that just like a mature woman, she still maintained her charm.
If Concubine Hui could dress up daily with great splendour, why couldn’t she, the master of the palace who was just a few years older than Concubine Hui?
Furthermore, she had just received insider information that Chu Shengrui had brought up the matter of the Crown Prince in the main hall.
After discussing the matter of the Crown Prince, he immediately brought Chu Yunhe to see her, showing concern for her discomfort over the past few days. The plans in Chu Shengrui’s heart were thus clear.
If Chu Yunhe became the Crown Prince, his ascension to the throne would be inevitable, and she would be the Empress Dowager, she could deal with Concubine Hui and her son any way she pleased.
Thinking of the various oppressions and stolen affection she had suffered since the arrival of Concubine Hui, and the possibility of returning all the pain to them, the empress felt tremendously pleased.
While the Empress was rejoicing, the announcement of the emperor’s arrival sounded outside. She hurriedly collected her thoughts and went to greet him.
Before she could walk out of the palace door, Chu Shengrui and Chu Yunhe had already arrived at the entrance.
“Your servant greets your Majesty.” The Empress greeted him with a charming curtsy.
Chu Shengrui paused for a moment before he walked to the table in the hall and sat down. He didn’t permit the empress to rise.
The Empress was taken aback. Looking up at Chu Shengrui’s face that was as dark as storm clouds, her heart felt a sudden chill, “Your Majesty seems to be in a bad mood. Did someone upset you?”
Chu Shengrui did not answer. He dashed his gaze on the table full of delicately made snacks. He tested the temperature of the tea, picked it up, and took a sip, “This tea is neither cold nor hot, just right.”
“I am your Majesty’s wife, and should naturally do my utmost in everything,” said the Empress with a smile.
“That might be so, but I came on a whim from Shangyuan Hall. The perfectly cooled tea here suggests you were quite aware when I would leave there and when I would come here.”
Chu Shengrui glanced at the empress from the corner of his eye, “It seems, the empress’s eyes have always been fixated on me, not missing a single detail.”
Sensing Chu Shengrui’s anger, the Empress shivered, “Your Majesty, please calm your anger. I was wrong. My intentions were merely to do my best to serve you, I did not mean to monitor your Majesty at all times.”
“Yes, Mother is simply devoted to Father and has been especially diligent. She means no harm.” Chu Yunhe quickly kneel beside the Empress, intervening, “Please pardon her, Father.”
“Is that so?” Chu Shengrui’s thin lips tightened and the anger in his eyes intensified, “Or did I misunderstand the Empress?”
“Your Majesty just misunderstood me…” the Empress defended with a trembling voice.
“Whether it’s a misunderstanding or not, it’s not enough to rely solely on the Empress’s word.”
Chu Shengrui asked, “So explain to me, what is going on with Mrs. Liang’s child?”
Unexpectedly bringing up the matter of Mrs. Liang’s child out of the blue?
The empress’s face instantly paled like paper, she feigned a laugh, “My lord, I don’t understand what you mean. Isn’t Mrs. Liang’s child our grandson?”
“Truly, no tears will be shed until you see the coffin,” Chu Shengrui raised his hand disapprovingly.
Outside, a skinny young boy and a fat midwife, both bound, had been dragged in and pushed to the floor.
Confronted with the awe-inspiring authority of the emperor, the two shivered like sieves, frantically bowing to Chu Shengrui, pleading, “Forgive us, your Majesty, forgive us!”
In the presence of the Empress, clear your story,” Chu Shengrui commanded.
“Yes, yes,” the midwife stammered, “Indeed, Concubine Liang was pregnant earlier, but after she became pregnant, her fetus was unstable. Every day she had to scheme against the First Prince’s wife, hardly sleeping, this caused her to miscarry after two months.”
“The miscarriage of Concubine Liang was a serious matter, we didn’t dare neglect it and promptly reported it to the Empress, but after hearing the news, the Empress only commanded us not to panic, and not to disclose this matter, but to claim that Concubine Liang had a small pregnancy complication, nothing serious.”
“To the outside, the Empress and Concubine Liang consistently maintained that her pregnancy was stable, and the imperial doctor had confirmed it was a boy. Concubine Liang had been assuredly taking care of the fetus, binding cotton and such around her belly, pretending to be pregnant. When the time came for her to give birth, Concubine Liang shrieked a few times in the delivery room, and then the crying of a baby was heard from the room.”
“Then the midwife declared that Concubine Liang had given birth successfully to a healthy boy, and the mother and child were safe. The news spread out, and the entire Prince’s mansion, even the entire palace, was overjoyed. The empress once again warned us not to divulge this information, otherwise not only would we lose our lives, our entire families would also be in danger.”
“This scared me terribly, and this matter was of great importance. The child born by Mrs. Liang was the eldest grandson of the royal family after all. Even if I had disclosed the truth, perhaps no one would have believed me. Instead, they might have thought that I was speaking nonsense, and had lost my mind. So, I swallowed the truth.”
After finishing her statement, the thin young boy also quickly bowed his head several times, confessing hurriedly, “Earlier, I had acted according to the Empress’s instructions, found a suitable boy child in the capital, and secretly brought it in through the corner door of the First Prince’s mansion, and handed it to the midwife…”
“At first, I didn’t know what this boy was for, but later when I saw your Majesty’s eldest grandson looked exactly like the boy I had found earlier, I understood.”
“Empress, this is to swap the prince with a cat’s child….”
“Shut up!” The empress, already frightened out of her wits, seemed to lose her mind at these words. She lashed out at the boy, “Presumptuous servant, you dare to slander me!”
“Your Majesty, you must not listen to the nonsense of these mischievous servants. Mrs. Liang did not miscarry; her child is truly the eldest son of Yunhe, your eldest grandson, who can bring prosperity to our nation.”
“Your Majesty, I am wronged…” The empress knelt on the ground, opening her mouth to object.
“Even now, you are still persisting in your lies and obstinacy.”
Chu Shengrui closed his eyes.
It must be said, he really married the wrong Empress.
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