Lian Erye in the Red Mansion

The Crown Prince rushed back to the Crown Prince's residence and saw the Crown Princess scolding a maid he usually liked. He was even more furious.

"Look what you've done!"

The Crown Prince stormed into the room, knocked over the teacup offered by the Crown Princess, and glared at her.

The Crown Princess nearly got burned and was also furious, yelling, "What's wrong with you? What did I do?"

"You're still asking me? Look at the mess you two have made! I think I might as well give up being the crown prince and apologize to my third brother as soon as possible, lest our whole family end up with our heads separated from our bodies!"

"The two of us? What happened to my grandfather?"

The Crown Princess was somewhat stunned. The "father and son" that the Crown Prince mentioned naturally referred to her and her grandfather.

The Crown Prince's displeasure with her was clearly due to what happened at Weiyang Palace that afternoon. But what did this have to do with her grandfather? She had been banished from the palace by the Empress early that morning and ordered to stay home for a month to reflect on her actions, so she was unaware of what had happened at Chonghua Palace.

"You don't know? Today, at the Emperor Emeritus's birthday banquet, in front of all the princes and ministers, your grandfather petitioned the Emperor Emeritus to rescind the land survey policy."

Everyone in the court knows that this land reclamation policy is a national policy strongly promoted by the Emperor. But this guy, unable to persuade the Emperor, resorts to bringing up his grandfather, the Emperor, to embarrass him in public!

Now he's got what he wanted, but Father Emperor is taking his anger out on me!

In the past few months, I have been helping my grandfather prepare for his birthday banquet while also assisting my father and my second sister in coordinating the affairs of the imperial clan. This has already greatly improved my father's opinion of me. Not long ago, he even invited me to the Southern Study to assist in the administration of state affairs!

Now look what's happened! Because of your grandfather, Father not only scolded me, but also dismissed me from my duties as an assistant in governing the country!

The Crown Prince grew increasingly angry as he spoke. It's important to understand that the power struggle between him and the Third Prince had already begun when Emperor Ningkang was still the Crown Prince.

The reason he has been able to outrank the Third Prince over the years is simply because he is the eldest among all of Emperor Ningkang's sons. In terms of lineage, after the death of his second brother, the Empress's only son, the Third Prince was the most noble among all the princes.

Consort Wu, the mother of the Third Prince, was initially a concubine of the Crown Prince. After Emperor Ningkang ascended the throne, she naturally became the only Consort in the harem who enjoyed the Emperor's exclusive favor and even surpassed the Empress.

Even the newly promoted Consort Jia, in the last two years, cannot compare with Consort Wu in terms of her status in front of Emperor Ningkang.

The Crown Prince was very clever. He knew his strengths and, by leveraging his status as the eldest son, united the imperial clan and relatives, successfully securing the positions of heir apparent and Crown Prince.

His third brother was not to be outdone. The third prince, who had excelled since childhood, was not only favored by the scholars of the Imperial Study, but also highly praised by the civil and military officials of the court. Even more remarkably, some officials initially wanted Emperor Ningkang to make the third prince his heir, arguing that the eldest son should be chosen over the eldest son, and that the most senior should be chosen over the least senior!

Hmph, as long as they are not born to the Empress, they are all "illegitimate," so what's the point of talking about legitimate or illegitimate children? Such a foolish suggestion was naturally not adopted.

Now that Father Emperor has been on the throne for seven years, not only is his throne becoming more secure, but his position as Crown Prince is also becoming increasingly stable.

This can be seen from the fact that even though Emperor Ningkang had many dissatisfactions with him, he still allowed him to enter the Daming Palace to assist in the administration of state affairs. No one knows how happy and excited he was when he heard Emperor Ningkang mention that he was to assist in the administration of state affairs!

Because this means that his status as crown prince has been fully confirmed.

Who would have thought that after less than a month of happiness, this honor would be lost, and lost because of being implicated in the scandal. Who can understand the bitterness, pain, and disappointment in it?

The Crown Princess certainly wouldn't understand. After hearing this, she asked doubtfully, "You mean, at my grandfather's birthday banquet, he asked the Emperor Emeritus to rescind the land survey, and the Emperor Emeritus agreed, and then my father took his anger out on you, preventing you from entering the palace to assist in governing the country?"

"Hmph, what do you think?"

The Crown Princess said, "I won't go, I won't go. Don't you think my grandfather is right? This land survey is clearly wrong. If it's not handled properly, it could cause turmoil throughout the country. Didn't you disagree with it back then?"

Well, now that the Emperor Emeritus has agreed to my grandfather's advice, it means that he also thinks this is a chaotic government, and that it was just my father and those people in the court acting on their own.

"Take our Crown Prince's residence for example. How many acres of land and estates have our servants offered to you at the end of the year? If this policy were implemented, even we ourselves would suffer a great loss."

The Crown Prince looked at his Crown Princess and felt somewhat defeated. This woman—on the one hand, she seemed to know a little about politics, but on the other hand, it was all just a facade!

Since the proposal was first made, he, as the crown prince, naturally had the right to oppose it.

However, Emperor Ningkang was clearly determined to do this. As the son and crown prince, why wouldn't he choose to go with the flow and oppose Emperor Ningkang?

If someone else had spearheaded the land reclamation and acreage reform, he wouldn't have felt any regret. But it was his own Grand Tutor, and Emperor Ningkang completely ignored his explanations, leaving him caught in the middle and in a difficult position.

"You know nothing! Let's leave that aside for now. I heard that you actually pushed Miss Zhen into the Lotus Pond in the Empress Dowager's Weiyang Palace? Are you insane?"

The Crown Prince pointed at the Crown Princess's nose and cursed.

"Ha, you feel sorry for her? And you're calling her 'Miss Zhen' so affectionately!"

Let me tell you, even if I did it on purpose, so what?

"I am the Crown Princess, and that little girl, even if she were to marry into the family, would only be a concubine. Besides, she's not even married yet; she's just the daughter of a lowly fourth-rank official. I merely pushed her a little, so what?"

The Crown Princess's questions left the Crown Prince speechless. He exclaimed, "Do you know that today is the Emperor's birthday? Do you know that the Zhen family was summoned to the capital by imperial decree? Do you also know that although the Zhen family are only fourth-rank officials, they were appointed by imperial decree to oversee the three major textile bureaus in Jiangnan during the Emperor's reign, making them imperial envoys whose status was no less than that of local governors?"

The Crown Prince didn't mention one thing: the Zhen family had been in charge of the Jiangnan Textile Bureau for decades, and it wouldn't be an exaggeration to say they were incredibly wealthy. They were the future assistants carefully selected by the Empress for him.

Thinking about the potential negative consequences of the Crown Princess's actions today, the Crown Prince wished he could strangle the foolish woman in front of him.

"So what if he's no less than a local governor? He's still just a local official."

The Crown Princess found it difficult to respond to the Crown Prince's first two points, so she evaded the main issues. Indeed, as the Crown Princess, she had the right to despise all ministers who could not interfere with the Crown Prince's succession to the throne! In other words, she disregarded all those who could not speak in the central government.

"you!!"

Seeing that this woman had clearly made a grave mistake, yet still showed no remorse, the crown prince angrily raised his hand.

After weighing his options, he reluctantly lowered his arm and said coldly, "Since the Empress has ordered you to stay home and reflect on your actions, you shall remain in the mansion during this time and not go anywhere else, or don't blame me for being ruthless."

After saying this, the prince turned and left.

……

Just as the Crown Prince hurriedly left the Crown Prince's residence, thinking about how to make amends for what happened today, Emperor Ningkang also came to Changchun Palace to visit Consort Li.

As soon as they stepped off the imperial carriage, they saw that there were many more eunuchs and palace maids on duty at the entrance of Changchun Palace than before, and they were all unfamiliar faces.

Emperor Ningkang glanced at it twice, asked no further questions, and dismissed his attendants before going in alone.

Then he discovered that although there were many people in Changchun Palace, they gave off a sense of loneliness. Almost every palace servant he saw was timid and silent, creating an invisible feeling of oppression.

"Where is the Imperial Concubine?"

"Your Majesty, the Imperial Concubine is in the Pure Hall worshipping Buddha."

Consort Li was a devout Buddhist and had set up a Buddhist hall in Changchun Palace. She liked to sit there when she needed to sit or even receive her children and grandchildren.

Therefore, Emperor Ningkang was not surprised. He got up and went to the Jingtang Hall, where he indeed saw Consort Li. However, Consort Li was clearly in poor spirits at this time, and her haggard face also carried a hint of fierceness.

"My son, you've come."

"Having heard that my mother is unwell, I have come to visit her."

Consort Li, who had initially seen Emperor Ningkang with a slightly gentle expression, suddenly straightened up from her hunched position on the kang after hearing his words, and her face became extremely gloomy and frightening.

"I'm fine! It's all that woman from Weiyang Palace's fault, that vile woman tried to harm me, she wanted to kill me! And your father, he was bewitched by that little vile woman, no, perhaps he originally wanted me dead too, they all conspired to bully me, they wanted to force me to my death..."

Emperor Ningkang felt a sudden tightness in his chest when he realized that Consort Li was gripping his hand so tightly.

Although Consort Li had been disrespectful to the Empress Dowager in front of him before, she always had some reservations. She had never been as crazy as she was today.

Emperor Ningkang then glanced back at the pair of eunuchs and palace maids standing in the corner. Seeing that they were both tactfully lowering their heads and pretending not to hear, he ignored them and turned to look at his mother.

He was a little worried about her condition, so he asked, "What exactly happened?"

Perhaps realizing her own lapse in composure, Consort Li's brows furrowed for a long while before she finally shook her head and asked, "How did you know I was ill?"

"Mother didn't come to Father's birthday banquet today. Father said you weren't feeling well..."

When Emperor Ningkang mentioned the birthday banquet, his expression became somewhat somber.

Empress Dowager Li had been watching him closely, and seeing this, she continued, "What's on your mind?"

"It's nothing..." Consort Li was clearly unwell, and Emperor Ningkang didn't want her to worry about anything else.

Unexpectedly, Consort Li had a strong personality. Seeing him hesitate, her expression immediately changed, and she said sternly, "Your father has distanced himself from me and is unwilling to speak to me. You're even too lazy to speak to me anymore, aren't you?"

Emperor Ningkang frowned, but ultimately did not argue with Consort Li. Instead, he went along with her wishes and recounted what had happened at the birthday banquet.

After all, she was his birth mother, and as Emperor Ningkang spoke, he couldn't help but reveal some of his doubts. For example, why did all the princes of the imperial clan go back on their word at the birthday banquet, and why did ministers like Xiao Jing dare to act that way even knowing they would offend him?

Furthermore, why did the civil and military officials in the court, including those who were originally neutral, obey Xiao Jing's orders and stand up against him at this crucial moment? Does this mean that in their hearts, they do not yet regard him as the emperor as a true monarch, and that the monarch in their hearts will forever only be the retired emperor? Such questions have been swirling in Emperor Ningkang's mind ever since this day.

It's no wonder that the ancients often said that emperors were suspicious, because emperors had far too many things to consider, leaving no room for suspicion. Or rather, emperors who weren't suspicious often became stepping stones for their enemies and met their end.

After all, a common man's mistake might only cost him his life, but an emperor's negligence could cost him his entire empire!

Seeing Emperor Ningkang's hesitation, Consort Li sneered, "You don't understand? Hmph, let me tell you, this whole thing was your father's doing! You've been the Crown Prince under him for so many years, and you still can't see through this tactic he always uses!"

"What does Mother mean?"

Although Emperor Ningkang spoke with a question in mind, his expression did not reflect this. Instead, he gave the palace servants in the room a look, signaling them to leave.

Consort Li asked, "I ask you, regarding your land survey policy, have you reported it to your father, the Emperor?"

"My father has forbidden me from informing him of matters of state for the past two years. So I only mentioned it to him once, and when I saw that he didn't seem to care much, I didn't say anything more."

However, this matter has caused a great stir in the court, among the common people, and within the imperial family; Father Emperor must have known about it long ago.

"That's it. Don't you think about it? If your father really didn't care about state affairs, you've been on the throne for seven years already. How did you get through the previous five years?"

Emperor Ningkang remained silent, recalling the scenes from the first few years after his ascension to the throne, when court officials would spontaneously gather at Chonghua Palace for the "noon court" after the morning court session, as if it were yesterday.

Some things are just so helpless. Even if you don't want to think about them, they're just there, stark and undeniable, and there's nothing you can do about it.

Consort Li continued, "So, it's not that he doesn't care about this matter, but that he knows that with just one word from him, no matter what you do, you will ultimately have to act according to his wishes."

If you lacked the ability to control the court officials and the imperial family, the matter would have simply ended there, and he would have been happy to maintain a facade of non-interference. But you actually succeeded, and naturally, he wouldn't allow it. This Xiao Jing is merely his pawn.

Consort Li's words were not beyond Emperor Ningkang's expectations. In fact, Emperor Ningkang had thought so too, but he was more inclined to believe that the princes of the imperial clan were unwilling to give up their interests, and while outwardly obeying him, they secretly joined forces to persuade the retired emperor, who had long since stopped interfering in politics.

Just like that Prince Chai, who cried and made a scene, the Emperor Emeritus was easily swayed, and that's why...

This is the best-case scenario, and on the surface, it is also the most suitable for the situation at the time.

If Emperor Ningkang were just an ordinary person, he would naturally be willing to believe his father, the biological father who voluntarily entrusted the family business to him.

But as the emperor, he couldn't help but consider every possible scenario.

So he asked Consort Li, "If what Mother says is true, why did Father go to such lengths? If he disagreed, he could have simply said one word from the beginning. Would I have dared to disobey him? Why wait until today, until I had everything prepared, to do this?"

Emperor Ningkang's question was directed at Consort Li, but also at himself.

Consort Li, however, did not seem to have any doubts at all. She said almost without thinking, "He did it on purpose! Since ancient times, a family cannot have two suns, and a country cannot have two rulers. He was probably afraid that if he stayed in Chonghua Palace for too long, the court officials would forget about him!"

Now is the perfect opportunity to let everyone see once again that he is the true ruler of the world.

Consort Li was indeed fearless; almost every word she uttered would be considered taboo in today's world.

Fortunately, opposite her was his son, the new supreme ruler of the world. Just wait and see, after that old man passes away, everyone in the world will know who the most noble woman in the world truly is! At that time, she will definitely make that little bitch suffer a terrible death.

Upon realizing this, Consort Li felt inexplicably better. She even spoke to Emperor Ningkang with a somewhat earnest tone, saying, "It's not because your father has placed me under house arrest in Changchun Palace that I'm saying this."

He would never willingly hand over the entire empire to you; the five years after your ascension to the throne are proof of that. His abdication was simply due to his weariness with the daily minutiae of court affairs.

But you, since ascending the throne, have been ambitious and diligent in governing. You have repeatedly launched large-scale military campaigns to quell rebellions abroad, and have repeatedly introduced new policies at home.

With such civil and military achievements, if things continue like this, even his father, who has ruled the world for decades, may not be able to suppress you anymore.

Therefore, he deliberately gives you a rude awakening when you're feeling complacent. It's both a warning to you and a declaration to the world that he is the true master of this world!

The sound of bells tolled in Emperor Ningkang's heart, and an indescribable emotion welled up within him.

To be honest, the concept that Consort Li mentioned had appeared in his mind more than once, but no one had ever pointed it out to him like Consort Li had.

For a fleeting moment, he felt that what Consort Li said might be the truth.

Because he was also an emperor.

He could understand the emperor's thoughts, but he couldn't accept them. He couldn't accept that his efforts and achievements would be seen as a threat in his father's eyes. Even more unacceptable was that the image of his father, who had been as majestic as a mountain in his heart since childhood, would crumble in his eyes, even to the point that, in his old age, he would despise him!

Yes, Emperor Ningkang despised such behavior. He thought that when he grew old, he would certainly not treat his sons with such a combative attitude.

Either don't let go, or let go completely. That's the mark of a man, and the love of a father.

Once you understand some problems clearly, they don't actually feel so bad anymore.

Emperor Ningkang no longer wanted to talk to Consort Li about the retired emperor. After thinking for a moment, he hesitated and said, "In fact, Mother Consort doesn't need to compete with the Empress Dowager at every turn. The affection between Mother Consort and Father Emperor, who have been married for sixty years, is something the Empress Dowager can't compare to."

As long as Mother relaxes and stops fussing over trivial matters, Father will likely not deliberately treat her badly.

"Please rest assured, Mother, I have already planned this. I will find a suitable opportunity to have the ministers submit a memorial to establish you as the Empress Dowager of the Western Palace, thus legitimizing the imperial line."

Perhaps it is only outsiders who are truly aware. Emperor Ningkang had long known about the conflict between Consort Li and the Empress Dowager, and he even understood that many times, it was his mother who stirred up trouble, while the Empress Dowager chose to tolerate it.

In fact, he couldn't understand why his mother, who had been with the retired emperor for over fifty years, would need to fight with the empress dowager.

How many years has the Empress Dowager been in the palace?

Even without the title of Empress, who in the world would dare to look down on her? Which of the current princes and grandsons of the emperor is not her, Consort Li's, bloodline? Which of them would dare to ignore Consort Li when they enter the palace to pay their respects to the Empress, Empress Dowager, and others?

Therefore, although Consort Li was nominally a Consort, in reality she was no different from an Empress Dowager.

Under such circumstances, it would be unwise to contend with a nominal empress dowager who has no children. It would only increase the retired emperor's dislike.

Therefore, Emperor Ningkang told her about his intention to appoint her as Empress Dowager of the Western Palace, hoping to resolve her inner conflict and put her at ease.

"Come and claim credit from me when you've accomplished this."

Clearly, Consort Li did not accept Emperor Ningkang's good intentions. Almost instinctively, she felt disgusted when she heard Emperor Ningkang mention the Empress Dowager, and this revealed a hint of ruthlessness.

Emperor Ningkang only knew about the more than fifty years of marital affection between Consort Li and the Emperor Emeritus, but he did not know that for Consort Li, after spending more than fifty years outliving her former rivals and successfully having her son ascend the throne, the maddening pain and hatred she felt when she was ridden on by a mere immature girl was something that could not be eliminated by reason.

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