Chapter 1591: Living humbly

Empress Dowager Sun lived a very stifled life before Emperor Jian Shi died.

Once Emperor Jian Shi died, she pondered on taking revenge for her grudges. Although the Secretariat blocked her, she still wanted to stir up trouble. She could temporarily not kill anyone, but she wanted to torment people; she wanted to trample her former opponents under her feet, and she wanted to force them to death.

Killing in the harem never involved blood!

There wasn't only one way to make a person die.

Xiao Changsheng being imprisoned wasn't enough; it was far from enough.

She wanted to see with her own eyes the stifling feeling of Imperial Consort Xiao suffering humiliation but being unable to resist.

She issued an edict to summon Imperial Consort Xiao, with a ready-made excuse: finding an old sister to chat with.

Imperial Consort Xiao knew full well that the other party didn't have good intentions, but she couldn't resist the edict; she could only brace herself and enter the palace to pay her respects. Facing Empress Dowager Sun's difficulties and humiliations, even though she hated the other party to death in her heart, she could only force a smile.

When Empress Dowager Sun had an outburst, she even had to slap herself in the face. Otherwise, she wouldn't be able to leave the palace safely today.

She was extremely humble and managed to please Empress Dowager Sun before she was able to escape.

Finally, supported by eunuchs and palace maids, she returned to the Prince's mansion looking completely drained.

Immediately afterward, she claimed to be ill to avoid Empress Dowager Sun's second, third, and countless subsequent summons.

She wailed in pain and roared at her eldest son, Prince Ning: "She clearly wants to force me to death! She is taking revenge! Even after I die, she will find an excuse to scatter my bones to the wind. The late Emperor was wrong! He was completely wrong; he trusted her, and he trusted the new Emperor. What talk of benevolence—it's all fake. Those old things in the Secretariat are all blind!"

She wailed and cursed at the same time.

Prince Ning sat on the edge of the bed, saying nothing.

"Son, speak! Why are you saying nothing!"

"Mother, what do you want me to say? The effort has failed, the winner is king and the loser is bandit, the outcome is decided; what can I do?"

Imperial Consort Xiao cried out, "It's all my fault. I didn't have a good birth, I didn't give you a strong maternal clan; it's me who dragged you down. If only I had a family background like the Empress Dowager, how could you have lost? Rather than saying you lost to fate, it's better to say you lost to your background. I regret it! If I had known, when I was in the Eastern Palace, I should have been more ruthless, I should have..."

"Mother, don't say any more!" Prince Ning decisively interrupted Imperial Consort Xiao's words.

"Mother, rest well; I will come to visit you in two days."

"Son, don't hate me. I tried my best. It's all the fault of those imperial physicians; when the late Emperor was gravely ill, they actually concealed his condition. At that time, if only they had given me a chance, let me know the news that the late Emperor was not long for this world, I would have risked everything to fight for you. No matter what, it wouldn't have been the little brat's turn to ascend the throne."

Prince Ning ignored her wailing and cursing, and her so-called "ifs."

There are no "ifs" in the world.

Prince Ning decisively stood up and left.

Imperial Consort Xiao was truly ill, pent-up in her heart, in a bad mood, and listless.

Fortunately, Empress Dowager Sun didn't summon her again.

Just when she thought the days would pass like this, she suddenly heard the news that her younger brother Xiao Changsheng was gravely ill in the Heavenly Prison, and she instantly panicked.

She summoned her son, Prince Ning.

"They made a move! It must be the Emperor who made a move. Your uncle is about to die!"

"No! The Emperor hasn't obtained Uncle's confession yet; he won't kill Uncle at this time."

Imperial Consort Xiao was stunned for a moment. "Your uncle suddenly fell gravely ill; what is going on? Do you know something?"

"I don't know anything." Prince Ning denied it with a cold face. "I don't have the ability to intervene in the Heavenly Prison. My people can't even get close to Uncle's cell. Uncle falling ill is more like..."

"Like what? Tell me, did you bribe the prison guards? Is it you who wants your uncle to die?"

"Mother, is that what you think of your son? I haven't gone that insane yet." Prince Ning scolded.

Imperial Consort Xiao calmed down. "Right, you're right. But just because we can't bring ourselves to do it doesn't mean the imperial court officials can't. Your uncle has been an official for many years; he must have offended many people, and at the same time, he must have made many friends. Some people want him to live, and naturally, some people want him to die. Mother, let's not worry about this matter."

"No! Your uncle is about to die; I must see him one last time. Matters have reached this point, son, we cannot be heartless. We must have feelings! Think about it: is the Secretariat more willing to help a son who has feelings, or a son who is cold-hearted? The only thing we can count on now is the Secretariat. No one will like a cold-hearted person!"

Imperial Consort Xiao's intelligence came back online, and she patiently pointed out the way for her eldest son.

Prince Ning frowned and pondered, thought about it, and approved of his mother's words.

He was now a trapped beast; relying on a last edict to save his life wasn't enough, far from enough.

Once Emperor Taixing's wings were full, he could destroy the last edict at any time.

He had to show enough feeling so that the imperial court officials would sympathize with him and understand him. He didn't ask for support, only that when Emperor Taixing made his move in the future, the imperial court officials could stand up and stop him.

And so, Prince Ning arranged for people to head to the Ministry of Justice and the Heavenly Prison to request a prison visit.

Chen Guanlou had no problem with it, but he couldn't make the decision.

The prisoner's identity was special, and the identity of the person visiting was even more special. This matter required the Ministry of Justice to nod before he could arrange for the two sides to meet.

Moreover, the way they met also needed to be determined by the Ministry of Justice.

Would they meet in the cell, or outside the cell?

After the Ministry of Justice consulted the opinions of those in the palace, they agreed to the prison visit by Imperial Consort Xiao and Prince Ning.

The meeting place was set in a side room.

One was an Imperial Consort, and the other was a Prince of the imperial court; they definitely had to be given enough dignity. They couldn't let the two really go deep into the prison area to experience the gloom and terror of the prison cells.

On the day of the visit, early in the morning, two handymen carried Xiao Changsheng out of the Jia-grade prison, scrubbed him clean, and changed him into clean clothes. Finally, they sent him into the side room.

Imperial Consort Xiao and Prince Ning had been waiting for a long time.

Chen Guanlou didn't show his face; the person responsible for receiving them was a delegation of officials led by the Right Vice Minister of the Ministry of Justice.

Mu Qingshan stood under the eaves, stretching his neck to look.

He was very curious; it was his first time seeing the Emperor's woman up close. Imperial Consort Xiao was old, but he hadn't expected her to be so beautiful. Her appearance didn't lose to a young girl in the slightest, and she added a mature charm that made people unable to help but look more, look again, and never get enough.

He muttered, "Are all the ladies in the palace this beautiful?"

"Watch your eyeballs." Medical Official Mu gave Mu Qingshan a hard kick. "The late Emperor's concubine—you dare to profane her? You're looking for death!"

"I just looked a few more times, how did I profane her? Uncle, be reasonable." Mu Qingshan was aggrieved.

"Everyone has a heart for beauty. Old Mu, don't be overly nervous." Chen Guanlou smoothed things over, putting his arm around Mu Qingshan's shoulder. "Looking is fine, just pay attention to the sense of proportion."

"My lord, are they here to visit out of genuine feelings?"

"Why distinguish between genuine and fake feelings when visiting a prison? Is the visit a fact? Did they take action? As long as there is the action of visiting, there's no need to pursue the rest." ===== CHAPTER 1592 =====

"Why must prison visits be divided into sincere and insincere? Is a prison visit not a fact, and did it not involve action? As long as the action of visiting the prison took place, there is no need to pursue anything else."