RPAGF Chapter 420 Hu Manman's Schemes
Chapter 420 Hu Manman's Schemes
"Help me? How can you help me?" The wise king looked at her in confusion.
Hu Manman laughed: "I am Your Highness's woman and I am always worried about you. I heard that Consort Wan is pregnant and I can't sleep at night. I think this is an opportunity to help Your Highness out of this predicament."
She didn't give a direct answer, but the wise king understood that she meant she was willing to help, but he had to give her certain benefits.
The wise king asked, "What do you want?"
Hu Manman smiled even more happily: "Your Highness, I believe that Your Highness is the true Son of Heaven and will surely achieve your wishes in the future. I am willing to fight alongside Your Highness, but I wonder if Your Highness can give me this opportunity?"
He became emperor and she became empress.
The wise prince narrowed his eyes. He was originally willing to accept Gui Shan as his principal wife, and even considered giving her the position of empress, because Gui Shan was smart, sensible, and easy to control.
In the future, when he is with Song Yin, Gui Shan will not be able to say a word against it, and will even take good care of his and Song Yin's child.
But right now... his future is of course more important than Song Yin's.
“Manman is the one I love the most. If I were to rise to a high position, Manman would be the only one by my side.”
Hu Manman was very satisfied with the wise king's answer, and she said again.
"There's one more thing, Your Highness. I love you deeply, but I also understand that you can't have only me by your side. The future is ever-changing, and so are the feelings of an emperor. I need some security..."
The wise king said calmly, "Insatiable greed?"
Hu Manman said coquettishly, "Your Highness, I am Your Highness's woman, and everything I ask for is something Your Highness can give me."
"You said."
Hu Manman said, "Your Highness, I hope that Your Highness's eldest son will be my child."
The eldest prince was born to the empress and was the crown prince from birth. Hu Manman had high demands, but she could afford the costs.
However, this request went against the wise king's ideas.
He wasn't against having children with other women, but he hoped that the mother of his eldest son would be Song Yin.
Hu Manman noticed the Crown Prince's hesitation, slowly pushed the soup bowl in front of her, and said softly, "Your Highness should always consider the future. I am Your Highness's woman, but Father has more than one daughter. I also need Your Highness's permission before I can think about the future."
The crown prince hesitated for only a moment before agreeing: "I promise you, my eldest son will be born from your womb."
Hu Manman smiled and said, "Then Your Highness can just wait. Even if Consort Wan's child is not born, it will not be a threat to Your Highness."
The crown prince squinted at her: "Did you do this?"
He realized it must be the Hu family.
The Hu family orchestrated Consort Rong's pregnancy; without their methods, how could the Emperor have allowed a concubine to become pregnant? This time, Si Muwan's pregnancy is also thanks to the Hu family's help.
"The method you used? So, you've been planning this for a long time?"
Hu Manman smiled and said, "Your Highness only thinks the Gui family girl is clever, but you don't know that my Hu family girl is no ordinary person either. It's just that Your Highness didn't see me before."
The wise prince reached out and stroked Hu Manman's cheek: "I never knew Manman was so beautiful and charming. I was so blind."
He went around to her and then picked Hu Manman up in his arms.
Hu Manman giggled, loosened his collar, and reached out to make circles on the exposed area.
The Prince asked, "When did Consort Wan ask you for the prescription?"
“Last winter, His Majesty said that Consort Wan missed her close friends and invited me, Miss Du, and Sister Gui to the gathering… Miss Du and Sister Gui are indeed Consort Wan’s close friends, but I am not.”
The wise prince carried her to the bed, his brows furrowing slightly. Si Muwan looked so delicate, yet she was so bold.
However, he should have thought of this long ago. Back then, Si Muwan risked her life to shield him from a knife, so it was no big deal for her to want a child to fight against him now.
"What arrangements do I need?"
“You don’t need anything.” Hu Manman hooked his chin and rubbed it against his throat.
“If Your Highness is unwilling to marry me, it would be my duty to advise Consort Wan to give birth to the imperial heir safely. But now, I am Your Highness’s woman, and Consort Wan is your enemy, so of course she is my enemy.”
The Prince lowered his head to kiss her, and took the time to ask her, "Manman is very thoughtful, but I'm still worried. What will happen to Consort Wan's child?"
Sweating profusely, Hu Manman lost her composure and tried to calm herself as she explained, "When I was still in my chambers, I knew the preferences of you noble ladies. It was by chance that I learned that Consort Wan's favorite flower was the hibiscus... So I added a little bit of medicine to the fertility-enhancing prescription. Ordinary people don't know that those medicines are incompatible with hibiscus pollen..."
"Hmm... My beloved concubine is truly considerate." The wise prince hugged her tightly. "But how can you be sure there will be hibiscus flowers in the palace?"
After all, hibiscus flowers are common among ordinary people and are not considered precious flowers or plants. It is unlikely that the palace would have grown them.
Hu Manman smiled: "What I can confirm is that the eldest daughter of the Marquis's manor is filled with all kinds of flowering trees, all tended by the eldest daughter herself. Although I've heard that the eldest daughter and Consort Wan have a falling out, the sisters aren't really enemies. I imagine the eldest daughter must have planted her younger sister's favorite hibiscus flowers..."
Overnight, the wise prince regained his former gentleness, no longer displaying his decadence and his days spent indulging in sensual pleasures. And all the credit for this was none other than the previously unfavored concubine, Consort Hu.
Now, even when the Prince is playing chess and enjoying tea with his friends, he still brings Consort Hu with him.
Anyone with eyes can see that Consort Hu is now the most favored woman of the Prince Xian.
After Gui Shan was injured, she stayed indoors and never went out. Song Yin, who had no name to begin with, rarely went out and stayed in her study. Only Zuo He, who used to like to wander around, was furious when she heard that the Crown Prince favored Consort Hu.
Previously, the Duke of Zuo had contacted Zuo He, asking him to persuade the Prince Xian, but the Prince Xian simply did not return, and Zuo He could not persuade him.
Now she panicked and hurriedly sent someone to contact the Duke of Zuo, asking him for help. Otherwise, even if the Prince Xian was not reinstated, she would only be a concubine for the rest of her life.
Duke Zuo was also extremely anxious. He had been keeping a low profile, but many people he had offended in the past now wished they could kick him while he was down. He went to see the Wise King several times, but the King was always dead drunk, which made him disheartened.
Unexpectedly, the reason why the wise prince cheered up was because of Hu Manman.
Duke Zuo deeply resented Zuo He's incompetence and sighed to his advisors, "When the Prince was in power, he was so arrogant and showed no regard for the bond between uncle and nephew. Later, when he lost power, I wanted to help him, but he was unwilling. Now..."
After thinking for a moment, the advisor still advised, "Lord Duke, now is not the time to be angry with the Prince. After all, you are the Prince's maternal uncle. The Prince is frustrated and needs to be relieved. As an elder, you can't hold a grudge against a junior, can you?"