kingnovel Chapter 103 The Ruthless and Cold-Hearted Emperor and His Beloved Concubine 1
Chapter 103 The Ruthless and Cold-Hearted Emperor and His Beloved Concubine 1
"Your Highness, have you decided who will take care of the Crown Prince?" Empress Xiao sat at the head of the table, her face heavy with grief.
Crown Princess Xu Rong's heart trembled, and she slowly knelt down: "Mother, it is my duty to take care of His Highness, but I... have only recently arrived at the Eastern Palace and still need to adapt, and I also need to manage the affairs of the Eastern Palace..."
"Therefore, I have chosen Consort Chu to take care of Your Highness. Consort Chu is gentle and considerate, and she will surely be able to take good care of Your Highness."
Empress Xiao stared at the Crown Princess for a few seconds, her eyes flashing with unreadable emotions. The next moment, she spoke again, "Consort Chu."
Chu Yue's heart leaped into her throat the moment she heard her name. Her voice trembled as she replied, "Your Majesty, I am..."
"Take good care of the Crown Prince. There must be no mistakes, or I will not let you off lightly." Empress Xiao looked at Chu Yue's obedient and sensible appearance and did not scold her too much. She only instructed her to take good care of the Crown Prince.
"I understand..." Chu Yue replied respectfully, her head bowed.
"In that case, I will return first. The Crown Princess and all those in the Eastern Palace, please take good care of yourselves." Empress Chen said wearily.
"Respectfully seeing off Her Majesty the Empress..."
After Empress Xiao left, the Crown Princess breathed a sigh of relief. She looked at Chu Yue and said, "Consort Chu, I'm entrusting the care of His Highness to you. I will never forget your kindness."
"Your Highness is too kind, I dare not..." Chu Yue replied cautiously, her head bowed.
The Crown Princess nodded in satisfaction: "Go back and pack your things, we'll go see His Highness in a bit."
"Yes, I'll take my leave..."
The Yunjin Palace was quiet. Yulu, the Crown Princess's maid, cautiously asked, "Crown Princess, why was Consort Chu chosen?"
"You know His Highness's temperament. I'm afraid anyone who goes there will be kicked out. Consort Chu is quite beautiful. If His Highness keeps her, it will be her good fortune. If he doesn't, it will be her fate."
The Crown Princess looked outside; Chu Yue's figure had gradually disappeared from sight.
Yu Lu nodded knowingly and said nothing more.
On the way back, Xiao Tao was almost in tears: "Liangdi, what should we do? Will His Highness kill us?"
"No, don't be afraid."
Chu Yue comforted her, and then asked Linglingyi about the situation: "Linglingyi..."
Before Chu Yue could ask, Linglingyi proactively reported: "Yueyue, congratulations on completing another mission and arriving in a new small world. The chosen one of this small world has not yet become the emperor; he is currently the crown prince, but he faces the risk of being deposed."
"A while ago, the Crown Prince and several princes went hunting and were ambushed. He fell and injured his leg. Just when the Emperor was paying more and more attention to him, this happened, and he has not been able to get better and can only sit in a wheelchair."
"The Crown Prince's temper has become increasingly volatile. He kills anyone he dislikes, and no one can get close to him, not even his mother, Empress Xiao."
"The Crown Prince is becoming increasingly cruel, which is why the Empress came to the Eastern Palace today to ask the Crown Princess who should serve the Crown Prince."
"Even the Crown Princess didn't dare, so she chose the original owner of this body. The original owner was a concubine chosen by Empress Chen for His Highness the Crown Prince, with the rank of Liangdi. When you came here, the original owner had just heard that the Empress was going to personally select someone to take care of the Crown Prince. The original owner was terrified. These days in the Eastern Palace, she had heard how cruel the Crown Prince was. As soon as Empress Chen arrived, she was so frightened that she ran around and accidentally bumped into a pillar and broke."
"So I immediately teleported you here. Does your forehead still hurt? To avoid arousing suspicion, I used a prop, so no one can tell anything."
Chu Yue touched her forehead; no wonder it felt a dull ache, yet there was no trace of it.
"So this arduous task has been assigned to me??" Chu Yue asked helplessly.
"The Crown Prince was assassinated and poisoned, which is why he's been unwell. The power struggles within the royal family are terrifying," Zero Zero One warned.
"Alright, give me some items, lots of antidote pills and the like, and we'll see what else we need. How many points do I have?"
Chu Yue hadn't even carefully checked her points.
"Six thousand nine hundred and ninety."
"Why isn't it surgically altered?" Chu Yue asked unhappily.
"You bought the props."
"No, you have to make it a round number for me, otherwise I won't feel comfortable." Chu Yue insisted and started to act spoiled again.
“You…” Linglingyi kept flapping its wings in anger.
"What can you do to me?" Chu Yue wasn't afraid of it at all.
"Alright, seven thousand points exactly. I'll give you the items, my ancestor!"
"What a sensible child." Chu Yue was satisfied.
001: "..." Ahhhhh, I'm going crazy.
"Liangdi, what are you thinking about?" Xiaotao was almost worried sick, but Liangdi still acted like nothing was wrong.
Liangdi is also unfortunate. The Chu family is a wealthy family, but she was chosen to be the Crown Prince's concubine. She has never even seen the Crown Prince. Now that she can meet him, she doesn't know if she will be sentenced to death as soon as they meet. Alas.
"Xiao Tao, I wonder if your father and mother are doing well?" Chu Yue quickly changed the subject, speaking with some sadness.
Xiao Tao: "..." The master and madam were overjoyed to learn that their young lady had been chosen as a concubine, and they never considered what kind of situation their young lady would face.
Forget it, it's better not to tell Liangdi. After all, the master and mistress still love Liangdi very much.
“Master and Madam will be alright, don’t worry, Consort,” Xiao Tao comforted her.
Chu Yue nodded: "Let's go, let's pack our things..."
"Yes……"
Empress Xiao returned to the palace. She was somewhat tired when she went back to her bedchamber, only to find Emperor Jingyuan waiting there.
Somewhat unwilling to see him, she entered with a sullen face, directly bypassing the emperor without even glancing at him.
"Empress, how is the Crown Prince?" Emperor Jingyuan was somewhat embarrassed and had no choice but to ask quickly.
Empress Xiao's eyes reddened instantly: "Do you still care about Yuan'er?"
Emperor Jingyuan was taken aback: "Of course I care about the Crown Prince."
Empress Xiao didn't believe him and looked at him accusingly: "You only care about Prince Cheng and Prince Ying. How could you possibly care about the Crown Prince?"
“Yuan’er is so badly injured, and you still want to protect your two sons. Do you know how much pain Yuan’er is in?”
The once spirited Crown Prince is now confined to a wheelchair, and Empress Xiao is on the verge of collapse.
"Empress, there is no evidence to prove that the Crown Prince was injured. How can I wrong him..."
"Everyone was on the hunting grounds and no one was injured except Yuan'er, who injured his leg. Such an obvious conspiracy, yet you still want to protect them. You are truly heartless!"
Empress Xiao felt sorry for her son; the thought of the Crown Prince's current state made her feel so pained she could hardly breathe.
"Empress, I..."
"Let me tell you, if you dare to touch Yuan'er's position as crown prince, my Xiao family will fight you to the death!" Empress Xiao did not follow the rules in front of the emperor, but the emperor did not mind.
Empress Xiao was the eldest daughter of the Xiao family, a large and powerful clan with extensive influence.
Emperor Jingyuan and Empress Xiao fell in love at first sight, and for the sake of the Xiao family's power, they decided to get married.
"Empress, I would never have such thoughts. Yuan'er is our son, how could I not be heartbroken?" Empress Xiao was exceptionally talented and a model of virtue for the nation. She gave birth to the Crown Prince not long after her marriage, so Emperor Jingyuan naturally protected her and her son.
Empress Xiao choked up and sobbed painfully. Emperor Jingyuan felt a pang in his heart and gently embraced her to comfort her: "Empress, I will have someone heal the Crown Prince."
"Um……"