HCB Chapter 760 The Princess's Marriage (4)
Chapter 760 The Princess's Marriage (4)
"Thank you, Your Highness." An Shiqi straightened up before continuing, "I was assigned to the inner palace yesterday to monitor the movements of Jinglan Palace. I discovered something unusual and came to report it."
"Oh? Have you discovered anything unusual?" If there was nothing unusual, the guards knew the rules and wouldn't come to see him specifically.
Whether it was the imperial palace or the residences of ministers, they were all monitored by secret guards from the Regent's Palace.
Shangguan Xi would know about any slightest movement immediately.
"Your subordinate discovered that Consort Yan is highly skilled in martial arts, and strangely enough, she was serving the emperor at the time, but she appeared at the place where your subordinate was lying in wait..."
An Shiqi recounted the events of the previous night in detail.
Although Xue Chanyi's words were difficult for him to say, he still recounted them in a serious and methodical manner.
"She asked if her master allowed her to listen to the emperor's bedroom affairs and record the duration of his sexual intercourse."
After speaking, An Shiqi didn't dare to look at the prince, and his head drooped lower and lower.
Upon hearing his words, Shangguan Xi paused in his writing, and the corner of his mouth twitched.
Such bold and unrestrained words coming from a princess made him wonder if something was wrong.
"Lin Han, bring me the files on the lives of the princesses that we found some time ago."
"Please wait a moment, Your Highness." Lin Han entered the study and retrieved a scroll from the cabinet.
He walked to the desk, opened the file, and presented it with both hands.
Shangguan Xi took the document and began to look through the investigation records of Princess Xue Chanyi sent by Xueyue Kingdom.
After reading it, he casually said, "A princess whose mother died early, who didn't have a good life in Snow Moon Kingdom, and who was not favored..."
But after arriving in Lingjiang Kingdom, he suddenly changed his personality and started acting out of line. What do you think of this?
Upon hearing this, Lin Han and An Shiqi exchanged a glance, each with their own guesses.
After thinking for a moment, An Shiqi said, "I believe that Consort Yan may be a spy sent by the Snow Moon Kingdom."
Lin Han had a different opinion: "The spy wouldn't be so blatant as to expose himself in front of Dark Seventeen."
"It's possible that she did this on purpose to confuse people, lower their guard, and make it easier for them to act."
"That's not impossible, but everything depends on Your Highness's decision," Lin Han said to Shangguan Xi.
Shangguan Xi lowered his eyes and fiddled with the thumb ring on his thumb: "Since the secret guards are useless, withdraw the people sent to Jinglan Palace first. When I have time, I will personally go and meet them."
He cannot allow any unpredictable variables to exist within his control.
In recent years, his nephew, the emperor, has become increasingly scheming and has been making constant underhanded moves, trying to sideline him and seize power completely.
However, everything is still under control. Only when everything is under control can accidents be avoided.
Upon hearing this, Lin Han and An Shiqi respectfully accepted the order and went to carry it out.
*
Early in the morning, Xue Chanyi was woken up by Liuli. After washing up, she sat down and had someone do her hair and makeup.
She slept in her virtual space last night, and after coming out, she spent the whole night reading storybooks. Now she wants to sleep again.
Seeing her tired expression, Liuli felt a little resentful in her heart that the Emperor didn't care about the Empress's health.
She softened her movements as she tied her hair into a bun, and said with some concern, "Your Majesty, please hang in there. You can rest properly after you return from paying your respects to the Empress at the Phoenix Palace."
"Hmm." Xue Chanyi blinked, cast a mind-clearing spell on herself, and instantly felt refreshed.
Fortunately, there was no rule in the harem here that required people to pay their respects every day; the empress only occasionally allowed everyone to come and sit for a while.
Otherwise, the matter of getting up early to pay respects might drive her to the point of wanting to rebel.
Today is the first time the three princesses who were sent to marry foreign rulers have paid their respects to the Empress since they entered the palace. Her presence will save a lot of trouble.
Seeing that the most complicated part, her hair, was done, Xue Chanyi stopped Liuli, who was about to do her makeup: "Go get me some food."
"Your Highness, please wait a moment, this servant will go right away."
Liuli felt a little regretful; she had wanted to dress up the Empress carefully so that she could outshine all the other concubines in the harem later.
Even without makeup, the Empress would still be the most dazzling one.
After having breakfast, Xue Chanyi led her entourage to the Fengyi Palace.
The procession of the imperial concubine was quite grand, and she sat in a sedan chair.
In addition to four guards carrying the sedan chair and two palace maids accompanying the emperor, there were also several guards protecting him.
Inside the Phoenix Palace, the concubines arrived one after another, and the Empress would make her grand entrance only after everyone had arrived.
Xue Chanyi sat in her seat, drinking tea and casually observing the group of concubines.
First, before the female lead appeared, Consort Lan, who was the most favored concubine in the harem, was a cold and aloof beauty from the Marquis of Zhongyi's family.
Such a beauty is indifferent to everyone, yet she is only warm towards the emperor. She has a family and is beautiful, no wonder she is favored.
Of course, things change after the female lead appears, since the male and female leads are the true love. However, the male lead has many women, which is a different story.
All I can say is that the threshold for the male and female protagonists to fall in love in this world is too low.
The female lead, Bai Wanning, and Consort Kang are both gentle and charming, making it easy for people to lower their guard.
He is handsome and loves martial arts. He seems to be straightforward, but he is actually a bit arrogant.
Then there are four concubines: the delicate and graceful Concubine Wen, the charming and lovely Concubine Yu, the dignified and beautiful Concubine Jing, and the serene and composed Concubine He.
Of these concubines, only Consort He, who already had a sweetheart before entering the palace, never lost herself.
Everyone else, including the original owner and the empress, all met tragic ends because they deeply loved the emperor.
Some of them, after losing the emperor's favor, became unrecognizable, ruthless, and started doing all sorts of bad things out of jealousy of the female lead.
Some did nothing, but became cannon fodder simply because they were in the thick of it.
Only the female lead and the emperor were truly in love, and with their unwavering support, they walked together to the end, smiling.
"Her Majesty the Empress has arrived." The head maid of Fengyi Palace helped the Empress out slowly from the rear hall.
The concubines all stood up and bowed, saying, "Your Majesty, we pay our respects to the Empress."
The Empress sat down at the head of the table, a gentle smile on her lips: "No need for formalities, please rise, my sisters."
"Thank you, Queen."
After Xue Chanyi sat down, she glanced at the head of the table. The Empress, who came from the Prince of Ying's mansion, looked elegant and had outstanding looks.
However, her entry into the palace was the result of a power struggle between the Emperor and the Regent. Ultimately, after the Regent and the King of England fell from power, she ended up committing suicide.
The King of Ying is the only king of Lingjiang who is not of the royal family, and he commands 200,000 troops of Lingjiang.
He guarded the border for many years and made outstanding contributions in the wars with several countries.
The Emperor needs to seize power from the Regent, and winning over the King of England would be much more effective.
However, the King of England has always maintained a neutral stance on the surface. He can fight for the country, but he will not go against the powerful Regent for the sake of the King.
In reality, the King of England was a man of the Regent. The Emperor did everything in his power to marry the Regent's daughter as Empress, but he still couldn't get the King of England to side with him.