RPAGF Chapter 419 Consort Wan is Pregnant
Chapter 419 Consort Wan is Pregnant
Everything in the capital returned to calm. The fact that the crown prince had been misled and made a grave mistake, leading to his being deposed by the emperor, seemed like just a minor incident.
After a period of silence, the aristocratic families began to interact frequently again.
In mid-June, shocking news broke from within the palace, shattering this tranquility.
Consort Wan is pregnant!
Consort Wan has been in the palace accompanying the emperor for a year and a half now, and the court officials have gone from initial resistance to accepting her peacefully.
Even though the emperor dismissed the harem for her sake, no one thought much of it.
Now, Consort Wan is pregnant. If this child is a prince, then...
That really means things are about to change drastically.
Now that the Crown Prince has been deposed, the position of Heir Apparent is vacant. However, because the Second Prince and the Third Prince committed serious offenses, their chances of being reinstated are slim, and the Emperor does not seem to have any intention of bringing them back to the capital.
Therefore, even if the wise king is not allowed to govern, he still has the greatest possibility of becoming the crown prince.
But Consort Wan's pregnancy is a different story. Given the Emperor's favor towards her, this child will likely be showered with love and affection from birth. If it's a prince, he'll probably be made crown prince from a young age.
The Emperor was overjoyed and immediately bestowed honors, promoting Consort Wan to Noble Consort Wan and bestowing the title of Princess upon Consort Wan's elder sister, Si Mutong.
He originally intended to also bestow the title of Princess upon Si Muyan and then grant the Si family the title of Duke.
When his younger sister learned of his idea, she quickly stopped him: "Your Majesty, it is said that one should not accept a reward without merit. The title of Duke should be held by a capable person. My father and brother have no merits, so how can they be granted the title of Duke? The Marquis's Mansion is still in existence because of Your Majesty's benevolence and favor. We must not grant any more rewards."
The Emperor pulled her up from the ground, embraced her, and said, "You are carrying my child, which is the greatest achievement for the Si family."
"His Majesty has already bestowed upon me the title of Imperial Concubine, and my sister has become a Princess. This is the greatest reward imaginable."
The Emperor thought for a moment and said, "Si Jing'an is still young. It's not too late to bestow a title upon him when he grows up. However, since your eldest sister has not yet been granted a title, she should also be made a princess."
The younger sister waved her hand: "No, Your Majesty, you mustn't. My elder sister's mind is only on serving the farmers and doing business. She doesn't care about the title of nobility at all, so there's no need to bestow any more upon her. Besides, I really don't want my family to become too prominent. Moreover, I'm only newly pregnant now. If Your Majesty bestows such rewards like this, what will Your Majesty do after the child is born?"
"Once the child is born, Wan'er will be made empress."
The young woman's face turned pale, and she hugged the Emperor, saying, "I don't want to be the Empress, I only want to be Your Majesty's wife."
"You were always meant to be my wife." The emperor kissed her. "Having you in my life is enough."
The younger sister shook her head: "Your Majesty, but my Si family has no capable men. Those who are not worthy of their positions will surely suffer calamity. I am afraid..."
"Who says you are unworthy of your position? The fact that you gave birth to my imperial heir is the greatest merit you have ever done." The Emperor sighed. "I promise you, I will not bestow any rewards upon the Si family now, but you are not allowed to say that you are unworthy of your position again. You are my wife, and I am the Emperor. You should be the Empress Dowager, do you understand?"
Inside the palace, all was peaceful, but outside, there was only unease. Especially among the loyalists of the virtuous king, who were already keeping a low profile, hoping to one day avenge their previous humiliation.
Now their minds are heavy. It seems that the possibility of the wise king being reinstated is much smaller. What should they do?
Those with quick minds wondered if it would still be useful to try and build a relationship with the Si family.
I don't know if it will be useful, but I have clearly felt that I have more friends at the academy than before.
Because his younger sister became a favored concubine, his younger brother no longer needed to hide his talents as before. However, since he wasn't particularly clever to begin with, and was still somewhat apprehensive, even without hiding his talents, he didn't have many outstanding abilities.
Even so, the headmaster of the academy still approached the second sister and said that the Marquis's heir had reached the age to study at the academy.
When my younger brother went to the academy, all the teachers and many talented scholars extended olive branches to him and helped him a lot, which indeed made great progress in his studies.
Now, even more goodwill is being extended to my younger brother, leaving him somewhat bewildered.
But it was precisely because of this that he understood even more why his third sister insisted on entering the palace. Where is the loneliness at the top? It's clearly only when a person reaches a certain height that they realize all the evil people around them seem to have disappeared, and all they receive is kindness.
When Prince Xian received the news that Consort Wan was pregnant, he was extremely surprised. He never imagined that his father, at his age, could actually get Consort Wan pregnant. In the past, when Consort Rong got pregnant, the Hu family used special methods, and the child still couldn't be saved.
What will happen to Consort Wan, no, Noble Consort Wan, after her child is born?
He became a pawn to be discarded, and to avoid posing a threat to the new crown prince, his father was very likely to deal with him. The best outcome would be to give him a remote and impoverished fiefdom, send him far away, and forbid him from entering the capital without being summoned.
However, he angered his father, the emperor, because of his concern for gods and Buddhas. After his father had another heir, he probably wouldn't continue to tolerate him.
The wise king was anxious, but more than that, he felt helpless.
He's been in a daze lately, and he's driven away the court officials who came to see him, especially his uncle...
I'm afraid my uncle is also looking for other ways out.
How to do how to do?
While the wise king was lost in thought in his study, a servant came in to report.
"Your Highness, Consort Hu requests an audience."
The wise prince frowned, and it took him a moment to realize that they were referring to Hu Manman. If his attendants hadn't mentioned it, he would have completely forgotten that he even had such a concubine.
Lord Hu is cunning and loves to play both sides. When he was in power, he did not take the initiative to welcome Hu Manman into the Eastern Palace. After Hu Manman was forced to enter the palace, he treated her poorly and did not let her gain favor for several months.
Even so, Lord Hu was able to remain inactive.
Even in the last incident involving gods and Buddhas, Lord Hu was the only one who was implicated with him but managed to escape unscathed.
Why did the Hu family, who were not there when he was in trouble, suddenly step forward when his hopes were even slimmer?
Could it be that they want him to let Hu Manman go home?
The Prince Xian had long lost his former ambition; he was filled with suspicion, and his hands were slightly clenched. He could not let Hu Manman go; he would rather let her slowly die in the Prince Xian's mansion than let her go.
But now, he wanted to know why Hu Manman had come to him.
"Let her in."
Hu Manman, dressed in her finest attire, entered gracefully and greeted you with a charming voice, "Your Highness, I have prepared ginseng soup to offer you."
She carried a bowl of soup, but the wise king knew perfectly well that it didn't matter whether she had cooked it herself or not. She hadn't come to beg for her release, but rather to show goodwill.
The wise king sat at the table: "What brings you to me?"
Hu Manman placed the soup on the table, glanced at the servants on either side, and only spoke after the Prince Xian dismissed them.
"Your Highness, I am here to help you."