Chapter 1629: Fortune, Good or Bad, Lies Entirely with the Person

Consort Jing chuckled softly, knowing he didn't believe her.

Without hurrying, she explained, "The imperial physician couldn't do it because someone in the harem was secretly obstructing things. I could do it because during that period, the late Emperor favored only this Palace, taking every meal with me. This is the right time, the right place, and the right people!"

Chen Chen Guanlou clicked his tongue, quite moved. "Your luck—I can't tell if it's good or bad."

If it's good, she was born into the Imperial Music Bureau as a servant, never enjoyed a single day of fortune, but suffered for twenty years. Her son was still young, hadn't even found his footing, when Emperor Jian Shi died.

If it's bad, the first time she met the Emperor she entered the palace, entered the palace and received exclusive favor, became pregnant within a few months, and smoothly gave birth to Prince Rui. Although Emperor Jian Shi died, she gained status and a son. As long as her son grows up safely, the good days are still ahead.

A mere twenty years of life, more thrilling than other people's entire lives!

Anyone else walking her path would have died halfway.

Comparing her life to a game dungeon, it's absolutely the highest difficulty—ten people play, ten and a half die. The first level, the Imperial Music Bureau, you can't even survive, and you have to preserve your body. Without a good body, what would you use to bear a son. Without a son, she would already be a corpse by now, dead with no one to care.

"Then tell me, is it good or bad?"

Consort Jing's expression clearly showed she didn't take the talk of fortune to heart; she asked casually. She doesn't believe in fortune, she only believes in herself. Born lowly, then strive to live, struggle hard, fight to live like a proper person.

She did it!

She didn't let down her own efforts.

Chen Chen Guanlou seriously examined her features; he didn't understand physiognomy, but he could see through a person's vital aura—it was healthy.

"Definitely very good! A comeback against the odds—that's a destiny of great wealth and nobility."

Consort Jing covered her mouth, giggling.

She was very happy. "You seem especially fond of comebacks against the odds. Why is that? You have the Hou Fu behind you, no need for a comeback, and you've never had one."

She was very curious.

Chen Chen Guanlou chuckled lightly. He couldn't exactly say his own fate was also a comeback against the odds, that only by relying on the Longevity Dao Fruit did he gain a new life. Otherwise, he'd just be an ordinary person, no illness no disaster, dead by sixty or seventy. With illness and disaster, dead by thirty or forty!

"Everyone who makes a comeback against the odds deserves respect!"

"Thank you!" Consort Jing was flattered, a lonely heart finding comfort. After years of struggle, she finally received recognition. She showed a satisfied smile. "I'll bear you a chubby son."

Chen Chen Guanlou chuckled. "I'd rather have a daughter."

"Then we'll have two."

"No! One is enough."

He had never thought about having children, yet now he's about to have a third.

Killing him!

Back in the capital, he personally escorted Consort Jing back to Wang Fu, left her a sum of money, and urged her to buy fine medicinal ingredients to nourish her body and live a better life.

Such a grand Wang Fu, yet life was lived on a tight budget.

The Court of the Imperial Clan actually withheld Prince Rui's stipend, giving only a few thousand taels to dismiss him.

A few thousand taels wasn't small.

However, a few thousand taels paired with the name Wang Fu was downright shabby.

According to court regulations, a Prince of the Blood's annual stipend was close to a hundred thousand taels.

A few thousand taels wasn't even a fraction.

Consort Jing openly accepted the banknotes, carried Prince Rui over to him. "Do you want to hold him?"

Chen Chen Guanlou raised an eyebrow.

He knew perfectly well her intention—wanting him to form a bond with the child, an emotional bond. Compared to crude life-saving, an emotional bond would make their relationship more stable.

Chen Chen Guanlou reached out and pinched Prince Rui's little cheek.

The little fellow, unseen for a few months, had grown quite a bit, chubby and plump, wonderful to touch.

"I won't hold him. Raise him safely, and in the future you'll rely on him."

"I'll spare no effort to protect him. What worries me most is, in a couple of years when it's time for his early education, where to find a tutor. I don't want to send him into the palace to study—he'd definitely be bullied."

Chen Chen Guanlou raised an eyebrow and smiled. Consort Jing always spoke in such a direct yet subtle way.

He promised her, "The matter of finding a tutor, when the time comes I'll help you figure it out. The people around you need to be sorted out."

"Can you tell me directly who the traitor is?" Consort Jing gazed at him eagerly.

Chen Chen Guanlou shook his head. "I don't know who the traitor is. If you need it, I can commission someone to investigate for you."

"Good! Then I'm counting on you."

"Trust me this much?" Chen Chen Guanlou smiled half-heartedly. Such a clever woman couldn't possibly trust someone wholeheartedly without any guard.

"Everyone might hurt me, except you." Consort Jing looked up at him, her eyes full of trust, without the slightest hesitation or pretense. So sincere it was moving. Anyone with even a shred of doubt would feel ashamed.

Chen Chen Guanlou gently stroked her eyes. "Don't look at me with those eyes. Alright, I'll take your word for it reluctantly. Your judgment isn't wrong—I truly won't hurt you. If you want to use me, please admit it openly. If you play underhanded tricks behind the scenes, don't blame me for being ruthless."

Consort Jing leaned into his hand, drawing close to him. "No tricks! With you, I'm absolutely candid!"

"Very well then!"

After arranging the time for their next meeting, Chen Chen Guanlou left directly.

Eunuch Wang Hai, as an elder of Tianlou Sect, ought to share the worries of his sect leader.

He ordered him to investigate the eunuchs, palace maids, and servants in Prince Rui's residence. "Find the traitors planted in Prince Rui's residence, find those with divided loyalties. Ensure Prince Rui's residence is safe."

Eunuch Wang Hai was incredulous, greatly alarmed.

"What is your relationship with Consort Jing and Prince Rui? Why are you sticking your neck out for them?"

"You've already guessed, why bother asking."

Eunuch Wang Hai was left speechless.

After thinking for a while, he lowered his voice and asked, "Did the late Emperor give you an edict, ordering you to protect the mother and son?"

Chen Chen Guanlou raised an eyebrow—pretty clever, give him a hint and he guesses the truth.

He neither denied nor confirmed. He only stayed silent.

Silence is affirmation!

Eunuch Wang Hai let out two "ahs," "The late Emperor truly doted on Consort Jing and her son — even on his deathbed he did not forget to keep them safe. Come to think of it, there must be arrangements for Noble Consort Xiao and Prince Ning's side too, right?"

Chen Chen Guanlou still said nothing.

Eunuch Wang Hai wore an expression that said he understood, "You don't need to say a thing, I get it completely. Clearing out the small fry in Prince Rui's Wang Fu — that isn't hard. Only, aren't you worried about alerting the enemy? Clear out one batch, and they'll definitely plant new people."

"No need to clear them out. You only need to investigate clearly which people they are. After that, just relocate these people somewhere else."

Eunuch Wang Hai nodded, "That kind of method is good! Why would you agree to the late Emperor's request to protect Consort Jing and her son? There's no logic in it! How many benefits did the late Emperor give you."

Benefits, plenty of them.

The "As If I Were Present in Person" seal, an imperial charter, a treasure beyond price.

Emperor Jian Shi was a hopeless love-struck fool, utterly besotted with Consort Jing.