CHAPTER 9

Prince Wu and Prince Ning came side by side. Song Yuanzhi went behind the screen to avoid suspicion. She carefully looked at the two princes through the screen and saw that one of them had an extremely charming face. It was obvious at a glance that this was the son of Xuanyuan Guifei, the Prince Wu. The other one had beautiful phoenix eyes, a tall and graceful figure, and the whole person was like a clump of green bamboo, fresh and elegant.

One of them was elegant, the other one was alluring, and neither of them was able to outshine the other, which gave those who love beauty a visual feast.

However, from Song Yuanzhi’s personal aesthetic point of view, she felt that neither of these two princes was as handsome as the elder brother who saved her. That brother’s face was a real show of Nuwa’s skills, and his appearance and figure were impeccable.
(In a myth, Nuwa is described as the mother goddess who created humans from wet clay.)

Thinking of that big brother, Song Yuanzhi suddenly remembered that she seemed to have forgotten to ask him what his name was. Next time, if she had a chance to meet him, she would ask his name. She couldn’t just call him big brother all the time.

Prince Ning was originally the son of Concubine Shu, and it is said that he was born on the same day as the legitimate prince born to Empress Lu. Unfortunately, the legitimate prince was weak and died before he was one year old.

Later, Concubine Shu died, and Prince Ning was only ten years old. Emperor Yongkang wanted Empress Lu to raise Prince Ning, but Empress Lu declined due to her poor health. As the prince was about to move to the prince’s residence when he turned ten, Emperor Yongkang no longer bothered to find a mother for Prince Ning.

After all, he felt a little sympathy for Empress Lu, but he also felt that Prince Ning was a pitiful child, so he treated him with a little more pity.

Since then, there have been rumors in the palace that the Empress disliked Prince Ning because he was born on the same day as the legitimate prince and had robbed the legitimate prince of his good fortune.

This statement is really heartbreaking. If Empress Lu really had any grudge against him for this, Prince Ning might not be able to survive under the hands of the Empress.

But precisely because the Empress did not treat Prince Ning badly, her attitude towards Prince Ning became even more confusing, and no one knew what the Empress was thinking in her heart.

Later, when Grand Tutor Lu died, the Empress took Lu Shaoyou into the palace and enrolled him in school with the other princes. Lu Shaoyou and Prince Ning were naturally compatible and soon became close friends. The Empress did not stop them, which made Emperor Yongkang stop his suspicions. He thought that the Empress was moved by the scene and thought of the legitimate prince who died young when she saw Prince Ning, and that she did not have any hatred towards Prince Ning and did not bring disgrace to the Queen Mother.

It was also because he got along well with Lu Shaoyou that Prince Ning followed Lu Shaoyou and came to Fengyi Palace to pay his respects to the Empress every day, and a bit of mother-son affection was cultivated between them.

Now that Lu Shaoyou died in battle, Prince Ning was worried about the Empress, so he naturally came to Fengyi Palace every day to pay respects. As for Prince Wu, he was really a rare guest, and it was obvious that he came for Xuanyuan Guifei. It was indeed in line with Xuanyuan Guifei’s words that he was a filial son.

After greeting Empress Lu, the Prince Wu said with a smile, “Mother, it took me a long time to find you. Father was just talking about you, saying that a new batch of tributes has arrived from the Western Regions, and they are waiting for you to come and pick them.”

Xuanyuan Guifei immediately glanced at the Empress with a smug look, raised her head like a crowing rooster, stood up gracefully, swayed her willow waist, and complained, “Your Majesty is just like this, and if that’s the case, I will take my leave.”

Peace finally returned to the palace.

Prince Ning looked at the Empress worriedly, took out a seal from his sleeve, and said softly, “Mother, I have carved a seal for you myself. Take a look. Do you like it?”

The Empress likes jade and seals, so the gift from Prince Ning is very thoughtful.

The Empress was not angry at all at the provocation of Xuanyuan Guifei and her son. Instead, she gently comforted Prince Ning, “You don’t have to worry about me. Go and do what you should do.”

Half of my life has passed, and it would be ridiculous to still be entangled in those love affairs.

What’s more, that person is not worth it.

Song Yuanzhi held her breath and concentrated behind the screen, feeling that she was surrounded by swords and sabers. The power struggle in the royal family has begun to take shape, and the imperial concubine and her son have made no secret of their ambitions. Empress Lu could have sat on the Phoenix throne, and no matter who came to power in the future, she would be the legitimate empress dowager. However, Imperial Xuanyuan Guifei was too aggressive. If Prince Wu came to power, Empress Lu would have no chance of survival, and she would have to make more plans for herself.

When Lu Shaoyou was here, his military exploits and title provided a strong backing for Empress Lu. Now that Lu Shaoyou has died in battle, Empress Lu’s situation… is not very good.

Even Song Yuanzhi, a layman, could see the twists and turns, and others could see it more clearly. Emperor Yongkang had only four sons, with Prince Ning as the eldest and Prince Wu as the third. One of them had a status, and the other was favored by the emperor. Prince Ning naturally had a group of legitimate supporters, and Prince Wu’s Nan’an Marquis Mansion was no pushover either, and its power was not to be underestimated. As for the remaining Prince Jing and Prince Hao, one had no interest in the disputes between the court and the public and only wanted to travel around, and the other played with cats and dogs all day long. They were just noble playboys and could not be relied on at all.

Song Yuanzhi had already offended Xuanyuan Guifei to death, so she naturally didn’t want the Prince Wu to ascend to a high position. Not to mention the psychopath Xuanyuan Yu. Even if Song Yuanzhi wanted to marry into the Zhenbei Marquis’s mansion smoothly and live a peaceful life for the first half of her life, in this case, reality would not allow her to lie down. Otherwise, she would just be beaten passively, which was not what Song Yuanzhi wanted.

But what to do?

Song Yuanzhi fell into deep thought, trying hard to recall the plot, and suddenly clapped her hands. Got it!