Chapter 33

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Main Character:

Shen Yao

The Empress's show of weakness made Xiao Yanchen lose his appetite completely.

In an instant, he didn't even want to eat this meal. Negotiate? He would only negotiate if he was in the mood; otherwise, it could only be considered a notification.

"Wei Zhu, take the Second Prince down to rest. I want to speak with the Empress."

Not giving Wei Jingyi a chance to continue speaking, Xiao Yanchen signaled Wei Zhu behind him to hurry up and get to work.

Wei Zhu acknowledged with a sound, stood up, walked to Second Prince Xiao Heng's side, and took the person away.

Xiao Heng was already seven years old; logically, he could go to the study to read at six, but because of his health, he had been inseparable from soups and medicines for years. Wei Jingyi felt heartache and couldn't bear for Xiao Heng to suffer the hardship of studying, so she kept postponing it again and again.

Now Xiao Heng could only temporarily live under Wei Jingyi's eyelids, with not a bit of free space.

For this matter, Xiao Yanchen had complained to Shen Yao not a few times, but Shen Yao was an imperial consort of Weiyang Palace and couldn't manage Fengyi Palace; she had no way at all.

In the end, Xiao Yanchen could only helplessly let Wei Jingyi do as she pleased.

But now, looking at his son who was timid and hesitant, not daring to raise his head to look at him, Xiao Yanchen felt his previous attitude had been wrong.

This child shouldn't have been raised under the Empress's knees; even if the Empress was the child's birth mother, Xiao Heng was naturally sensitive, and after these few years, how could he be any better?

"Father Emperor."

Xiao Heng pulled Wei Zhu's finger and called out to Xiao Yanchen, whose expression was cold and stern.

He was somewhat afraid of this birth father in his heart. It wasn't that the birth father didn't dote on him, but rather his body was too weak, and the Empress Dowager always used this matter as a topic of conversation. Over time, Xiao Heng had formed a fixed mindset in his heart: that Father Emperor definitely wouldn't like a sickly and weak self like him.

Xiao Yanchen reached out and touched Xiao Heng's somewhat withered yellow and dry hair. "Go, rest with Eunuch Wei for a while. Father Emperor will take you to Taiji Hall later."

Hearing the three words "Taiji Hall," Xiao Heng's dead eyes lit up instantly.

Wei Jingyi at the side looked on in alarm. "Your Majesty, Heng'er—"

Xiao Yanchen interrupted Wei Jingyi. He didn't want to hear the Empress's nonsense these days, especially when Xiao Heng's situation was obviously not good.

"Alright, this matter I, Zhen, will decide on my own. Empress, I am the Emperor."

Subtly reminding Wei Jingyi not to lose her wits and directly overstep the bounds, Xiao Yanchen waved his hand, ordering Wei Zhu to lead Xiao Heng down quickly.

Wei Jingyi's face turned deathly pale, her eyes darting about uncertainly. Coupled with the trembling arms hidden beneath her sleeves, it showed even more how guilty she felt.

Wei Zhu left, and the palace attendants originally serving around also left in scattered groups.

The entire Fengyi Palace hall was left with only Xiao Yanchen and Wei Jingyi, two people.

Xiao Yanchen turned his back to Wei Jingyi. After a long while, he lightly sighed. "Empress, this time I, Zhen, came here just to ask one thing: does your Wei Family want to die, or do you want to live!"

Clang—

Wei Jingyi knelt on the ground, disregarding the shattered porcelain ornaments beside her. "Your Majesty, our Wei Family is wronged. We definitely would not do such a thing as betraying Your Majesty."

Xiao Yanchen smiled. "Betrayal? Empress, to say betrayal is too light.

Your Wei Clan, what exactly have you done these past few years? Do I, Zhen, need to tell you clearly one by one?

Whether you want the Empress Position or not, it's entirely up to you.

This time I, Zhen, came here merely to give a notification. It can also be considered as fulfilling so many years of our relationship."

Xiao Yanchen's words were like a sharp blade, directly breaking through Wei Jingyi's defenses all around, and cleanly cutting the person down to only one breath left.

Breathing soundlessly, Wei Jingyi's expression was pained. How should she choose?

Whether it was the Wei Family or the Empress Position, losing one meant losing everything.

"Your Majesty, after Subject married Your Majesty, I ask myself never to have done anything contrary to Your Majesty's interests.

This time, it was the Wei Family that was wrong. Can Your Majesty, for the sake of the Wei Family's efforts back then, spare the Wei Family once?"

Wei Jingyi was not resigned. She wanted to try once more. Her Heng'er was still so young; the Wei Family could not fall.

Xiao Yanchen snorted with a laugh, turned to look at the Empress kneeling before him. "You really like to talk nonsense.

Back then, do I, Zhen, need to spell it out? How did you become a Princess Consort?

Merely a candidate in the selection, yet you made it sound so genuine. The Wei Family is truly well-bred.

Do I, Zhen, have no temper at all?! Replacing the legitimate with a concubine-born, passing off the inferior as good.

My abilities were taught by your Wei Family!"

If it weren't for the Zheng Family being truly foolish back then, how could he have married a Wei Family woman who likewise looked down on him?

Hah!

Talking about feelings with him now was truly shameless. He was no longer the Sixth Prince who endured humiliation and bore heavy burdens back then.

Wei Jingyi:?...!!!

With a swish, Wei Jingyi's face turned frighteningly pale, and her kneeling body swayed as if about to collapse.

Your Majesty actually knew everything.

The most shameful side of Wei Jingyi's heart was completely stripped bare and transparent.

As if a person had lost their supporting spirit and energy, Wei Jingyi slumped weakly on the ground, at a loss.

Xiao Yanchen fully proved a man's pettiness and that his ruthlessness could be fatal when he meant it.

He didn't care at all whether Wei Jingyi could accept it; he only wanted to achieve his own purpose. Everything else was unimportant.

"Having said so much, don't forget the proper business," Xiao Yanchen calmly adjusted his sleeves. "The Wei Family and your Empress Position—only one can remain. You choose for yourself."

After speaking, Xiao Yanchen turned and strode away. As for how Wei Jingyi behind him would react, that was not something he should concern himself with. After all, Xiao Yanchen still had to clean up those people at court who were disloyal.

"Fengyi Palace has been closed for recuperation these past few days. How did Her Majesty the Empress suddenly fall ill?"

Weiyang Palace, Taiji Hall.

Shen Yao listened to Qiu Yue's report with a blank expression, confusion filling her heart.

Qiu Yue shook her head. "This servant doesn't know. I heard she caught a chill in the evening, but actually—" She hadn't finished speaking when Qiu Yue spread her hands, indicating it wasn't appropriate to say more about this matter.

Shen Yao merely raised an eyebrow at this. "Looks like Fengyi Palace is in trouble."

"I don't know if it's because of the court or the imperial harem."

Recently the court has been in great disorder, and because secret recipes for bearing children are flying everywhere, the imperial harem is also drifting about with the scent of medicine.

By asking the system, Shen Yao vaguely knew that many people in the court had committed crimes, and perhaps among them were families connected to the imperial consorts.

Without forgetting to wave her hand to dismiss Qiu Yue, Shen Yao lay on her side on the couch, turned around, and summoned the system in her mind, "You say, after the emperor finishes his purge this time, will he make me Empress?"

The system hesitated. "How do you know the Empress will be deposed by the emperor?"

Shen Yao didn't know, but didn't that just force the system's words out?

System:... Speechless.

"So does that mean the Wei Family really caused trouble? To make Xiao Yanchen disregard the face of the legitimate son and depose the Empress, the thing the Wei Family stirred up this time must not be small. Could it be they were caught red-handed by the emperor after lining up behind several of his cheap nephews?"

The system didn't answer, but such behavior made Shen Yao increasingly excited.

Because she seemed to have probably guessed right, the Wei Family truly had addled brains, disregarding the Empress and the legitimate son in the palace to go meddle with other imperial clan relatives.

emmm, a bit at a loss for words, has personality.

Stretching out her hand to touch her chin, Shen Yao had an excited expression on her face, continuing to verbally speculate on the causes and consequences of the sealing of Fengyi Palace.

Moreover, before Fengyi Palace was sealed, if I remember correctly, the emperor seemed to have gone there once and taken the Empress's legitimate son Xiao Heng to live in Taiji Hall.

As for why this matter wasn't deliberately mentioned, it's because the incident happened two days before Fengyi Palace was sealed.

During that period they went to Fengyi Palace to offer prayers, and apart from the Empress's truly poor complexion, there was nothing else amiss.

But now connecting it with the conversation with the system, it's very likely that that time was when the emperor and Empress fell out, and then the Empress, in order to maintain stability or save face, deliberately held on for two days before falling ill and taking to her bed.

Yes, if you connect it all like that, everything makes sense.

But just because it makes sense doesn't mean Shen Yao, who's just muddling through in Weiyang Palace, can brazenly run to Fengyi Palace to ask.

After figuring these out, Shen Yao felt a bit listless.

Instead, the Childbirth System in her mind said, "You don't want to be Empress? This time the Empress and the emperor have developed a grudge. Given the emperor's favor for you, you becoming Empress is only a matter of time."

Shen Yao pouted. "Yeah, a matter of time, but what does it matter whether I want to or not."

Everything depends on the emperor's decision, and the emperor choosing me isn't just because of offspring and ancestry.

The Shen Family is a fallen household, without the troublesome forces of those great clans, so I can only wholeheartedly rely on him alone. You say, could the emperor not choose me as Empress?"

This Empress position is almost certainly hers. There's no helping it; these matters in the court nowadays aren't they disasters caused by the great clans and the Royal Clan not being honest?

Xiao Yanchen probably now hates these people to death. The next Empress definitely cannot be chosen from their line.

Shen Yao can bear children and has no background—what a good choice. Naturally on the same side as the emperor, and she doesn't even need to worry about her natal family's power becoming too great and posing a threat to the princes in the future.

The system sighed. "Looks like in this world, one can really climb up step by step by bearing children."

At first, it remembered the Host merely bore children to complete missions and incidentally pass her days in enjoyment.

But as she bore children and enjoyed herself, she became Imperial Concubine Xi.

Yes, that's luck—wishing for too little and having one's heart's desire fulfilled.

Shen Yao held her forehead. "It's not that one can climb up just by bearing children, but rather that in such a Task World, bearing more children is a necessary means to climb up."

Who made this a Palace Intrigue World? She entered the palace and slept with one of the most excellent men. If this happened in the Modern Times, Shen Yao would definitely choose a man with good genes first before considering bearing children.

Otherwise, how much of a future can an ordinary person with no resources have from bearing children? She can't just bear a bunch to gamble on probability.

Shen Yao wouldn't do such a loss-making deal. No matter when, she always prioritizes guaranteeing herself first, then goes to bear children to complete missions.

"System, remember to choose carefully for the next world."

"You must know that bearing many is not as good as choosing well. If we can achieve it in one step, we can't waste more words."

Shen Yao seized the opportunity to brainwash the system. Anyway, their relationship isn't that of opponents; mutual benefit is always better than being at swords' points.

The system answered, "Rest assured. The next world is a cultivation world."

"It's already decided. It's still the world you refused several times before."

"There, status and power divisions are even more distinct. Host, the system believes you will definitely live very well."

Shen Yao:... Speechless.

"Hopefully, let's first get through this world well, then we can open the next world."

Not wasting words with the system there, Shen Yao stood up and summoned Qiu Yue, beginning to care about the several children in the palace.