Chapter 1619

Imperial Consort Xiao was taking pills.

Ever since Xiao Changsheng passed away, Imperial Consort Xiao had been in a trance for a long time, seemingly unable to bear the blow. It was clearly she who had personally handed the poison to Xiao Changsheng.

After the event occurred, she instinctively avoided it, unwilling to face reality.

Only by taking pills could she obtain a moment of peace.

Prince Ning looked at her like this and was very anxious.

His mother, having taken the medicine, was clearly a bit muddled in the head, not as sharp and formidable as before. His mother of the past, for decades as one day, had kept the late Emperor by her side, suppressing Empress Dowager Sun to the death, never letting her turn the tables.

If it weren't for the late Emperor leaving too early, Empress Dowager Sun would sooner or later have been unable to keep her position as Empress and would have been deposed.

It was fate!

Prince Ning was angry!

Angry at himself!

Angry at why his mother hadn't been more ruthless back then, urging the late Emperor to establish him as the Crown Prince early.

One step slow, every step slow, and in the end, everything was missed.

He brought his full resentment to the backyard, "Mother, the pills are poisonous, stop taking them. If Father had taken fewer pills, he wouldn't have left so early."

Imperial Consort Xiao suddenly wailed, looking miserable, "What can I do if I don't take medicine? Your uncle is gone, and it was I who personally harmed him. He only took the poison to protect us mother and son. He feared pain most, feared death most, yet I personally... I am not human!"

She cried uncontrollably, tears falling endlessly.

"The person is already dead, what do you want your son to do now that you say these things? Do you want me to pay with my life for him?" Prince Ning roared angrily, very irritable, wanting to vent but finding no point to vent. A sense of frustration was stifled in his heart, making him wish he could destroy everything, kill everyone, and let everyone perish together!

"Don't worry about me!" Imperial Consort Xiao scolded: "I have failed your uncle, so don't worry about it."

"The Third is taking the opportunity to stir up a great prison case, pointing his sword at me. It's already this time, and Mother doesn't think about how to solve it, only busy taking pills. Is it that when the Brocade Uniform Guard comes to the door one day, you won't care either?" Prince Ning questioned angrily.

Imperial Consort Xiao sneered, not caring about the other's attitude.

There weren't many things she cared about now.

She said: "Everyone knows that the brat is taking the opportunity to stir up the prison case to suppress you. If you mess up your own footing, you are exactly fulfilling his wishes. Look at your fearful appearance, it's truly shameful! I tell you, don't be afraid, don't be afraid of anything! Let the Brocade Uniform Guard investigate. If they can find anything on you, I'll write my name backward. Even if they really find something on you, the Secretariat won't let him do as he pleases."

"On what basis does Mother conclude that the Secretariat will stop him time and time again? Where does Mother get the confidence?"

Prince Ning was very anxious.

It wasn't just a casual remark that would make him unafraid and dismiss him.

He needed more convincing evidence.

Imperial Consort Xiao drank some tea, "As far as I know, since the brat ascended the throne, he rarely sleeps in the Empress's palace. His attitude toward the legitimate eldest son born to the Empress is very ordinary, not favoring him. On the contrary, the brat likes the children born to other concubines very much. Do you know what this means?"

Prince Ning frowned, "What exactly does Mother want to say?"

Imperial Consort Xiao looked at her own son with great disdain, "You are truly as stupid as a pig! If you had half my intelligence, you wouldn't be in this situation today. The Empress is not favored, and the son born to the Empress hasn't received favor either; what choice will the Empress's maternal family, the Marquis Pingjiang's mansion, make?"

Prince Ning pondered: "Naturally, it is to fully support the Third, in exchange for the Third's favor toward the Empress and her son."

"Wrong! Completely wrong!"

Imperial Consort Xiao was very disappointed; her own son's thinking was still too limited.

Sigh!

Who let him be her own son.

She could only rack her brains, trying hard to plan for him.

She analyzed patiently: "Your way of thinking is correct for ordinary official families. However, that is the Marquis Pingjiang's mansion, a mansion that has been wealthy for hundreds of years! Whether the Emperor favors the Empress and her son or not is fundamentally unimportant to the mansion. If there is favor, that's icing on the cake. If not, they don't find it strange either.

Rather than fawning over the Emperor, it is better to become a constraint on the Emperor, making the Emperor unable to grow too powerful, making the Emperor have to follow the decisions of the Secretariat. The Empress's son is the legitimate eldest son, and no one can surpass his status of orthodoxy. As long as the status of the Empress and her son can be ensured not to be threatened, then the Crown Prince, and the next Emperor, will definitely be the Empress's own son. Do you understand?"

Prince Ning seemed to understand but didn't, "What does this have to do with us?"

"The enemy of an enemy is a friend. We can form an alliance with the Empress!"

"Mother, what nonsense are you talking about? How could the Empress form an alliance with us! Even if the Empress doesn't fawn over the Emperor, she couldn't possibly offend the Emperor."

Imperial Consort Xiao nodded approvingly, "You are right, the Empress won't form an alliance with us openly. However, the Empress can help us along the way. Helping us has no harm to her."

"I don't understand!"

This time, Prince Ning racked his brains and couldn't figure it out.

If he were in her shoes, he would never take action to help an enemy.

"You don't need to understand. You just need to remember that the Empress has only one son, while the Emperor has many sons. Therefore, this time in the prison, even if it involves you, at most it will be a fine, and at most, you will be confined to reflect. Don't worry too much."

"Why is Mother so certain?" Prince Ning was half-believing.

Imperial Consort Xiao gritted her teeth, feeling both disdainful and irritable inside.

She was already sad and miserable, and her patience was limited. Her own son was still stopping her, not letting her take pills.

She couldn't bear it anymore and said angrily: "I watched the brat grow up; I probably know his character better than Empress Dowager Sun. I also understand the attitude of the Secretariat. Do you think that when I accompanied your father, I only ate, drank, and played? You underestimate me too much!

In the future, be steady when encountering things; what does it look like to be in a rush? Don't say the sky hasn't fallen; even if the sky falls one day and the rebels attack the capital, you must be steady. If you are steady, the hearts of the people below can be steady. If the hearts are steady, the situation can be controlled. Do you remember?"

"Son remembers!"

"Just remember! Don't come to disturb me if there's nothing wrong. I have failed your uncle, I harmed him. I know he feared pain and death, and he certainly couldn't bear the torture, so I thought of letting him be relieved early. Who could have thought that he left so cleanly, leaving me to live in this world in pain."

Imperial Consort Xiao started to get emotional again, wailing.

Crying endlessly.

Prince Ning didn't feel that his mother's wailing was annoying at this moment.

As long as his mother could keep a clear head when he needed her, let her take medicine if she wanted to.

"Mother, should I say hello to the Secretariat?"

"Don't do unnecessary things."

Imperial Consort Xiao was still wailing the previous second, and the next second her eyes were as sharp as a drawn sword. Immediately after, she started crying again.

While crying, she said: "Remember to spread the word that I am taking pills, and ensure it reaches the palace."

"What does Mother want to do?"