pjbooks Chapter 460
Chapter 460
Upon hearing Cheng Qingli's words, the empress's complexion could no longer be described merely as dark.Her foolish younger sister—did she even know what she was saying?
She was about to marry the General Pingxi, the man she had longed for. Why would she step into this muddy water for a Li Zhiwei she had only known for a short time?
She would never allow her sister to go on a marriage alliance.
"Miss Li, the marriage contract between you and Prince An was originally bestowed by His Majesty to prevent the Marquis of Ru'an from pestering you. Though Prince An is a good man, he already has a child. That was my oversight." Knowing she could not persuade Cheng Qingli, the empress decided to take aim at Li Zhiwei, who was standing nearby.
The look the empress gave Li Zhiwei was filled with warning.
After all, the broken engagement between Li Zhiwei and the Marquis of Ru'an's household was hardly a secret.
By bringing up the Marquis of Ru'an now, the empress was telling Li Zhiwei to know her place.
If she agreed to the marriage with Qinling, the promises made before would still hold.
If not, the empress would not hesitate to make Li Zhiwei relive her former helplessness.
How could Li Zhiwei fail to understand the empress's implied meaning?
"Your Majesty the Empress, if you have any grievances, take them out on me!" Cheng Qingli glared at her sister in displeasure.
Her previous image of a reasonable and kind elder sister shattered completely.
She had never imagined the empress could be like this.
She had always believed her sister was gentle and good-natured, incapable of forcing others.
But Cheng Qingli had forgotten—how could anyone in the imperial harem remain pure and kind?
The empress naturally had her methods.
Otherwise, how could she have sat securely on the throne for so many years?
If she truly lacked cunning, she would have been devoured by the women of the harem long ago, let alone successfully borne a prince and a princess.
The empress was practically furious with her own sister, who was nothing but a hindrance.
"Guards, escort the Second Miss back!" The empress directly summoned a palace maid to send Cheng Qingli out of the palace.
If she stayed, she would only cause more trouble.
"Your Majesty, it doesn't matter if you disagree. As long as I and the Third Prince agree, this marriage will still stand!" Cheng Qingli looked at her elder sister with discontent, hoping to force her into compromise.
But she had misjudged the empress's love for her.
The empress truly doted on Cheng Qingli, which was exactly why she would never give in this time.
Li Zhiwei watched as Cheng Qingli was led away by the palace maid.
Even now, she still could not recover from the shock of learning that Xu Hening had left the capital to make way for Shangguan Mu.
"Miss Li, you might as well go back and prepare properly. If you agree, nine days from now will still be your wedding day—just with a different groom." The empress no longer wished to debate Li Zhiwei.
She was the sovereign, and the Li family were subjects. When the sovereign commands a subject to die, the subject must die. What more, this was merely asking her to marry the Third Prince of Qinling and live in comfort.
If His Majesty had not honored the Li family, they would still be nothing but lowly merchants.
How could a merchant's daughter be worthy of being a prince's consort?
The empress even felt that Li Zhiwei was ungrateful. Other people wanted this but could not have it, yet she was still putting on airs.
Li Zhiwei left the palace in a daze.
The empress's words echoed in her mind: "Do you think Prince An is absent from the capital for no reason? It is to make way for your marriage to the Third Prince. Being able to marry the Third Prince is a blessing you have cultivated. You should be grateful!"
The Li family was merely a merchant house. In the past, they would never have had the chance to come into contact with a prince.
Li Zhiwei refused to accept this.
She thought to herself—without her dowry, how could His Majesty have so quickly resolved the flood in Jiangnan?
In her view, theirs had been a mutually beneficial relationship back then.
Otherwise, why would His Majesty later appoint her father as the Vice Minister of the Revenue? It was surely because he coveted her father's ability to make money.
Thinking of this, Li Zhiwei felt a deep sense of grievance.
All of this could be traced back to the scheming of the Marquis of Ru'an. If they had not plotted to bring her to the capital, she would still be living peacefully in Li'an County.
She would never have met the Third Prince of Qinling.
Recalling how her parents were still full of hope regarding her elder brother's matter, Li Zhiwei's heart twisted in pain.
Nothing hurt more than losing something, regaining hope, and then losing it again.
For a moment, Li Zhiwei could not bear to see her parents' disappointed faces.
How could she explain this to them?
In the Imperial Study,
"Your Majesty, Her Majesty the Empress has just summoned Miss Li. I do not know what was said, but when Miss Li left Kunning Palace, she looked utterly dazed. The Second Miss Cheng also came, but she was carried out by palace maids, and she was crying and yelling that she wanted to marry the Third Prince," Steward Liu reported cautiously to Zhu Jingchen.
"The Second Miss Cheng said she wants to marry the Third Prince?"
Zhu Jingchen frowned. If he remembered correctly, Cheng Qingli's marriage to Wen Zhaonan was a bestowal he had granted at the empress's request.
And now Cheng Qingli was professing her love for another?
"Your Majesty, this old servant observed that Her Majesty did not seem to agree to the Second Miss's request," Steward Liu finished, lowering his head quickly.
After all, this was not something a servant like him should discuss.
But whether Miss Cheng truly had feelings for the Third Prince was hard to say.
Zhu Jingchen stared at the memorial in his hand and recalled what the empress had said to him earlier that day.
About sending Li Zhiwei to Qinling for a marriage alliance.
"Has Prince An sent word back? How much longer until he returns to the capital?" Zhu Jingchen frowned, thinking that if Xu Hening did not return soon, his hard-won bride would fly away.
Still, he was deeply displeased that the empress had gone ahead and continued negotiating the marriage alliance with Li Zhiwei without his consent.
"Your Majesty, Prince An should arrive in the capital in another two days," Steward Liu quickly replied.
"Deliver my oral decree: the empress is unwell and must remain in Kunning Palace to rest. Matters of the harem shall be temporarily managed by Virtuous Consort and Consort Shu."
Thinking that the empress had been overstepping her bounds, Zhu Jingchen promptly placed her under house arrest in Kunning Palace.
Otherwise, the empress would have forgotten the imperial ancestral precept—concubines shall not interfere in politics!
"Also, fetch the Imperial Ancestral Precepts and have the empress copy them ten times during her convalescence."
As if house arrest were not enough, Zhu Jingchen ordered someone to retrieve the thick volume of the Imperial Ancestral Precepts.
Steward Liu bowed and withdrew.
But Zhu Jingchen was still frowning, pondering whether Cheng Qingli's claim of loving Shangguan Mu was true or false.
"Jin Yan!"
At Zhu Jingchen's call, Jin Yan immediately appeared.
"Your subordinate is here. Please give your command, Your Majesty."
Jin Yan knelt and said.
"Go and investigate whether the Second Miss Cheng has had any interactions with the Third Prince of Qinling." Zhu Jingchen's face revealed no emotion as he spoke, but Jin Yan could clearly sense his master's displeasure.
Li Zhiwei walked dejectedly out of the palace gates.
"Sister Li!" When Cheng Qingli saw Li Zhiwei emerge, she hurriedly approached.
The palace maid had just escorted her back to the Cheng residence, but after her family let down their guard, she had slipped out again.
She had intended to re-enter the palace to argue with the empress, but she had run into the utterly devastated Li Zhiwei just outside the palace gate.