Gazing at the prince’s retreating back, Wan Zhen’er momentarily fell into a dazed state, with shock, panic, confusion, and humiliation overwhelming her. She felt her heart sinking deeper, cold sweat seeping from her palms, and chills rising from her feet, as if she had fallen into an ice cellar.
“I won’t drink it. I’m afraid your soup is poisoned!” The prince’s voice echoed in her mind, tightening around her heart.
After a long time, Wan Zhen’er finally came to her senses.
She was furious.
Enraged beyond control.
Wan Zhen’er gritted her teeth and said viciously: “Rebellious! Not even fully grown and already treating me like this! When you become emperor, will you tear me apart and eat me?”
That night, Wan Zhen’er had a terrible dream where the prince grew up and became emperor.
Her hair was shaved off, dressed in tattered clothes, hands and feet chained, locked in a damp, dark, and dilapidated small room, doing hard labor day and night. The room was filled with criminal palace maids who surrounded her, subjecting her to endless humiliation and abuse.
The prince, now emperor, was not yet satisfied.
He said sarcastically: “Wan Zhen’er, want something even more extreme?”
Wan Zhen’er screamed miserably: “No!”
The prince said grimly: “Whether you want it or not, it’s happening!”
Despite Wan Zhen’er’s struggles, cries of injustice, and pleas, the prince coldly waved his hand. A group of terrifying imperial guards rushed forward, pinning her down and dragging her away.
Wan Zhen’er’s hands and feet were chopped off. Her eyeballs were gouged out. Her ears were deafened. Her throat was silenced with mute medicine.
Wan Zhen’er became a “human pig” – handless, footless, blind, deaf, and mute. But the most inhumane part was that she was naked, submerged in a wine vat, while the prince sat opposite, drinking and watching.
Liang Fang and Wei Xing were well-prepared.
After kowtowing, they took out the account books and listed for the Emperor to see: which year, month, and day they built a shrine, renovated a temple, went on an outing, and what they did in various years and months. Almost every entry was related to the Emperor or Wan Zhen’er, especially to Wan Zhen’er.
The Emperor was frustrated.
It didn’t matter who it was related to, as long as it wasn’t Wan Zhen’er. Wan Zhen’er was the Emperor’s psychological knot. Whenever Wan Zhen’er was involved, the Emperor would fall silent and stop pursuing the matter, preferring to leave it as an eternal mystery rather than investigating thoroughly.
As the Emperor was about to leave the treasury, he couldn’t help but sternly tell Liang Fang and Wei Xing: “Today, I spare you, but future generations will not spare you. One day, they will settle accounts with you!”
The Emperor’s meaning was clear: future generations referred to the newly appointed Crown Prince Zhu Yuotang.
Liang Fang and Wei Xing prostrated on the ground, scared out of their wits. The Emperor knew that some of the treasury’s funds had entered the pockets of people like Liang Fang and Wei Xing, who had embezzled and accepted bribes while working.
A significant portion had also slipped into Wan Zhen’er’s private treasury, where there were large quantities of rare antiques, precious treasures, and exceptional collections.
However, the Emperor was not in a hurry. After all, Wan Zhen’er’s things were also his things. For now, he was just letting Wan Zhen’er keep them.
Wan Zhen’er had no children and after her death, her things would ultimately return to the Zhu family. She couldn’t take them to her grave. The Emperor never expected that his casual threats would yield an unexpected harvest.
That Zhu Youting, isn’t he just the emperor’s only son, with no competition, so he inevitably climbed to the position of crown prince? Hmph, the only son, just temporarily the only one! Wan Zhen’er doesn’t believe that the world only needs Concubine Ji to bear sons for the emperor. Wan Zhen’er wants many women who can bear sons for the emperor, and then have many imperial sons compete with Zhu Youting for the crown prince position.
If in the future, Zhu Youting truly succeeds his father as emperor and sits on the dragon throne, Wan Zhen’er wonders, would she have any chance of survival? There’s only one answer, and it’s obvious without thinking: she definitely would have no way out, she would definitely die without a proper burial.
The only method is to have the emperor spread his seeds more, bloom and spread more leaves, so that Zhu Youting can be pushed down from the crown prince position and replaced by another imperial son.
The emperor was truly vigorous. Within just two years, after Crown Prince Zhu Youting, he added thirteen more imperial sons and five princesses. Those who call him father emperor were numerous enough to form a football team, with enough left over to form a cheerleading squad.
The emperor was so happy his teeth were showing but his eyes were not.
Wan Zhen’er was also happy.
Wan Zhen’er’s plan was one step closer to success.
Among the emperor’s many sons, Wan Zhen’er liked Consort Shao’s son, Prince Xing, the most. Prince Xing Zhu Youhang was clever, obedient, and looked very much like the emperor when he was young. Sometimes when Wan Zhen’er looked at him, she was momentarily transported back to the past.
“Wan Mother! Wan Mother!” Little Prince Xing toddled over, calling Wan Zhen’er with unclear pronunciation.
Wan Zhen’er squatted down and blurted out: “Call me Aunt!”
The little Prince Xing didn’t understand, laughing and calling without restraint: “Aunt! Aunt!”
Wan Zhen’er picked up Prince Xing and carefully examined him. When he smiled, he had small dimples, big eyes, and long eyelashes. Wan Zhen’er thought more and more that he looked like the emperor as a child. She couldn’t help but give Prince Xing a loud kiss. Prince Xing dodged, laughing “gugu”.
Consort Shao stood beside them, secretly sighing.
Wan Zhen’er liking her son was not a bad thing.
Although Consort Shao was also the emperor’s concubine and a noble consort, her status was worlds apart from Wan Zhen’er’s.
Of course, even if Consort Shao had “imperial” before her title as Imperial Noble Consort, her status would still be far from Wan Zhen’er’s. Queen Wang was the head of the six palaces, and theoretically her status was higher than Wan Zhen’er’s, but when Queen Wang saw Wan Zhen’er, she was still submissive and dared not speak much.
Wan Zhen’er liked Consort Shao because Consort Shao, like her, came from a humble background.
That eunuch brought Consort Shao into the palace.
By a chance opportunity, the emperor slept with Consort Shao; another chance, she became pregnant; and another chance, she gave birth to a son.
That was the emperor’s fourth imperial son.
Consort Shao was a matter of perfect timing.
When the emperor slept with Consort Shao, Wan Zhen’er had just opened a policy allowing the emperor to sleep with women other than her; when Consort Shao was pregnant, Wan Zhen’er was encouraging the emperor to spread his seeds everywhere to lay a solid foundation of fatherly love; when Consort Shao gave birth to a son, Wan Zhen’er was praising the emperor.
Right after her son was born, she was made Consort Chen, the first of the six concubines of the first rank. Soon after, she was promoted to Noble Consort. Noble Consort was first rank, the head of the three consorts, meaning the third most important in the imperial harem.
Although she was third in the imperial harem, Consort Shao did not become arrogant.
Consort Shao did not understand power politics and had no intention of playing those games.
