IBTBTED Chapter 75

It’s Better to be the Empress Dowager

Chapter 75          Eliminate

Zhao Chengjun turned around and stared at Tang Shishi with deep eyes, “Tang Shishi, what is this?”

Tang Shishi had not seen Zhao Chengjun for a long time. In addition, he had been responding to every request patiently and kindly just now. So, Tang Shishi thought that Zhao Chengjun’s temper had changed. Until now, Tang Shishi found that it was not.

He was still him. He was gentle and considerate just because he was willing.

Tang Shishi could not help clenching her fingers nervously, and her eyes turned quietly. Zhao Chengjun stared at her heavily, full of oppression. Tang Shishi could not hold on for long under his stares and said vaguely, “I… I don’t plant flowers. How can I know what is in the flowerpot? Maybe it’s flower fertilizer.”

“Flower fertilizer?” Zhao Chengjun’s eyes were dark and deep like a whirlpool which made people panic, “Angelica tail, safflower, the root bark of the peony tree, all have the effect of invigorating blood and inducing abortion. How come I don’t know it can be used as flower fertilizer?”

Tang Shishi’s eyes widened when she heard Zhao Chengjun say the names of these medicines. These were indeed the herbal medicines written on the prescription. Tang Shishi herself could not recognize which one corresponded to which at all. However, Zhao Chengjun just looked at the medicines’ residues and he could recognize them?

Was Zhao Chengjun’s main business really going to war? His understanding of women’s affairs was too detailed.

Zhao Chengjun said the names of the three drugs in succession. Tang Shishi dared not talk nonsense, and hesitantly said, “Is it actually an abortion drug? I don’t know either. I never noticed the flowerpot and never noticed who poured something in it… “

Zhao Chengjun nodded lightly and said, “Very well, you haven’t noticed it. Your maid will always know. Someone, call…”

“Wangye!” Tang Shishi was worried and interrupted Zhao Chengjun in a hurry. Zhao Chengjun looked at her with a cold face. Tang Shishi’s fingers tightly grasped the brocade quilt. After a moment of deadlock, Tang Shishi’s imposing manner declined and bowed her head, “It’s me. They don’t know anything. Wangye doesn’t have to take your anger out on them.”

Zhao Chengjun was extremely angry, but his appearance looked even calmer. His eyes were heavy and asked, “Why?”

Zhao Chengjun even endured her secretly concealing the pregnancy and denying the father of the child in front of everyone. However, the abortion medicines in the flowerpot directly ignited Zhao Chengjun’s anger. He could endure Tang Shishi deceiving everyone, but he could never endure her intention to kill the child.

If she was not found pregnant, what would Tang Shishi plan to do? Concealed the child in her belly, and then drank the abortion medicine secretly. When Zhao Chengjun came back, she still deceived him as if nothing had happened before?

Was he so insignificant in her heart? Their relationship had progressed to this point, and yet Tang Shishi did not even want to inform him that he was the father. He knew that Tang Shishi agreed to marry him for fame and wealth, but did she not even have a tiny bit of sincerity apart from his benefits?

Zhao Chengjun walked back slowly, stopped in front of the bed, leaned over, and lifted Tang Shishi’s chin, “Tang Shishi, tell me. What did you initially plan to do?”

Zhao Chengjun’s eyes were dark and deep, and it seemed that thousands of troops and horses were suppressed inside. Tang Shishi was frightened by this look. She wanted to turn her face away, but Zhao Chengjun did not let his hand go. She could only lower her eyes to evade his blunt straightforward stare.

Tang Shishi’s eyelashes could not stop trembling. She thought about aborting the child and then erasing all traces so that no one would know that she was pregnant, and everything would be flawless. But at the moment of making the decision, she still regretted it.

Tang Shishi did not drink the medicine but dumped out the hard-earned decoction. She did not tell anyone about the abortion medicine, not even Dujuan who did the decoction. She thought this incident would become an eternal secret, but she did not expect it to be discovered by Zhao Chengjun.

Naturally, he should be angry. For the sake of his children, he left the military affairs and rushed back to the mansion thousands of miles away. He even did not hesitate to promise to make Tang Shishi the Wangfei in order to give his child a decent background. He was willing to tolerate all mischiefs from Tang Shishi, but Tang Shishi wanted to kill the child.

Tang Shishi burst into tears in her eyes and said, “Then what can I do? You left silently, so that no one would know about it, and asked Liu Ji to bring the medicine. What would I become if I keep the child? Etiquette is so strict that even if I’m not afraid of gossip by other people, I should think about whether my parents can allow me to do such self-deprecating things.”

Zhao Chengjun looked at her tears coldly and said, “Speak clearly, don’t shift the focus. This crying trick won’t work. If you are afraid of damaging your reputation, you can tell Liu Ji quietly. Why do you want to hide it by yourself? If you weren’t pregnant with this child and if this child wasn’t discovered by others, are you planning to pretend that everything has never happened?”

“It should have been this way.” Tang Shishi did not know where the courage came from, raised her head, and stared at Zhao Chengjun, “If I were not pregnant, you wouldn’t have acknowledged me. If you can draw a line, why can’t I?”

Zhao Chengjun was so angry that the blue veins on his hands even burst out, and his eyes were pitch-dark and threatening, “You are really very good. Where did the medicine come from?”

Tang Shishi did not say, “I don’t know.”

Zhao Chengjun’s eyebrows moved slightly and stared at her closely, “You say it again?”

Tang Shishi did not dare. She suddenly felt her bellyache, clutched her lower abdomen, and bent down. Zhao Chengjun was caught off guard by her actions. He frowned and said, “Don’t play tricks. It’s too cheap to divert attention by pretending to be miserable.”

Tang Shishi clutched her lower abdomen, pursed her lips hard, and did not speak for a long time. Zhao Chengjun was really frightened. He quickly sat down by the bedside and held her shoulder, “What’s wrong?”

“I don’t know why suddenly my belly hurt.” Tang Shishi took the opportunity to lean against Zhao Chengjun and said, “But it’s not serious. I’ll just need to rest for a while.”

Zhao Chengjun stared down at Tang Shishi’s profile for a while, and asked, “What about now? Is it better?”

Tang Shishi responded vaguely. Zhao Chengjun was so angry that he had nowhere to blow off his steam. She was too bold not to acknowledge their relationship, and even dared to abort their child. Zhao Chengjun could not beat or scold, and even if the words were more serious, she would have a bellyache.

This was indeed retribution. He was indifferent and unscrupulous. Just now, he shamed the Xi family’s mother and daughter in front of everyone, but in a blink of an eye, he was tormented by Tang Shishi as a result. This was the wheel of life of heavenly law, right?

Zhao Chengjun’s anger has worn out a little bit. He let Tang Shishi lean on him for a while, and slowly straightened her up, “I really don’t know what to do with you. If you’re not feeling well, then call the imperial physician or the maid. You can do whatever you want, just don’t endure it yourself. If you still not feeling well, then go call me from the front.”

Zhao Chengjun did not mention the abortion medicine again which indicated that this trial had passed. Tang Shishi was relieved and quickly replied, “I know. Wangye still has matters to attend to outside, so go ahead.”

She had a light tone and a steady breath. She looked like she was eager for him to leave quickly without any sign of being in pain at all. Zhao Chengjun did not know whether to be angry or relieved. Maybe he had been angry so many times until he even felt normal. Zhao Chengjun put a soft pillow behind Tang Shishi, pulled up the quilt, and said lightly, “Recuperate well and don’t have any improper thoughts again.”

Tang Shishi naturally responded. After all, this was her own flesh and blood. If she was not really helpless, how could she hurt her own child? Now the situation was hundreds of times better than Tang Shishi expected. Tang Shishi was willing to risk her life to keep her child at first, let alone now?

Zhao Chengjun left after he finished speaking. Tang Shishi leaned on the soft pillow, gently caressed her lower abdomen, and found a new demon-making skill.

She just said that her bellyache was actually pretending to be in pain. Proven by the fact that it really worked against Zhao Chengjun. Zhao Chengjun who was a ruthless and unrepentant person, still stepped back even though he knew it was a trick that she pretended to be unwell.

Tang Shishi hummed gently. She was immediately satisfied and refreshed. She felt that all the anger she had suffered in the past few months had been released. Tang Shishi decided that if someone angered her in the future, she would go anger Zhao Chengjun to see who could afford it.

Tang Shishi knew that Zhao Chengjun tolerated her because of the child and was willing to marry her because of the child, but so what? She did not dare to expect Zhao Chengjun to love her.

Zhao Chengjun said just now that he originally thought of her when he wanted to establish the Wangfei. Tang Shishi was very moved, but she did not believe it. It was best not to explore the truth and falsehood of this matter in this world. No matter who was the original candidate, the final winner was Tang Shishi, which was enough.

How dare she expect Zhao Chengjun’s sincerity? She chose Zhao Zixun instead of Zhao Chengjun from the beginning because Zhao Chengjun was heartless and ruthless and knew what he wanted. Zhao Zixun would hesitate to give up willingly, but Zhao Chengjun would never.

Zhao Chengjun and Empress Dowager Yao would have a war sooner or later. No matter who won or lost in this war, all these beautiful spies would not have a good ending. The day of war was when they perished.

When that day came, Tang Shishi was sure to rely on her beauty to let Zhao Zixun be more lenient with her. If he was replaced with Zhao Chengjun, she would not dare. Who would have thought that the world was so unpredictable that she was conceived with Zhao Chengjun’s child unexpectedly? Zhao Chengjun still had no children and Tang Shishi dare not bet on herself. However, if he had more children, it might not be impossible for her.

After Zhao Chengjun succeeded, he was bound to kill his own women. However, he most likely would be lenient with his child’s biological mother, especially when that child was his only heir.

Tang Shishi quickly adjusted her next goal, which was to give birth to the child safely, regardless the child was a boy or a girl. At the same time, suppressed the other women in the mansion with utmost indiscriminate treatment and never allow anyone to get pregnant to diminish her child’s status.

Tang Shishi was immediately revived back to life with full blood. At the same time, she was also pleasantly surprised to find that her life goal of becoming an empress dowager had adjusted back. Furthermore, she would be retiring earlier this time than she was a female official. Of course, Tang Shishi did not want Zhao Chengjun to have an accident, but the plots in the book were fulfilled one by one, and Tang Shishi had to plan for the worst. If Zhao Chengjun still died young in this life, then this child would be the only support for Tang Shishi.

If it was a boy, when Zhao Zixun ascended the throne, the child was only three or four years old and could not compete with him for the throne. Zhao Zixun would honor them, mother and son, even for the sake of reputation. If it was a princess, there would be no threat at all. Tang Shishi would not fight with Madam Xu, as long as she could be a nominal empress dowager in the deep palace. It was enough for her to spend the rest of her life in peace and without worries about food and clothing.

Tang Shishi thought like this and pondered carefully. It seemed that she still had to build a good relationship with Zhao Zixun, not asking for a harmonious mother-child relationship, but as long as she could maintain the sentiment on the surface. The next winner of the imperial palace struggle must also be solicited in advance.

Tang Shishi thought about it and sighed. Life was like a drama. Who knew that she was still working hard on the imperial palace battlefield a few days ago and suddenly became the judge of the imperial palace battle? Originally, Tang Shishi was in a competitive relationship with Lu Yufei and Zhou Shunhua. In the blink of an eye, her teammates became mother-in-law and daughter-in-law sort of relationships. In this case, Tang Shishi did not need to continue to guard against Zhou Shunhua.

After Tang Shishi figured it out, she was instantly filled with infinite power. She was not afraid that the goal was difficult, but she was afraid that there was no goal. Tang Shishi’s dream of becoming Empress Dowager was back!

The physical condition was closely related to psychology. After Tang Shishi figured it out, she was refreshed, her body relaxed, and even her appetite improved. She was in a happy mood here, but it was the opposite in another place.

Even after Zhao Chengjun left the Jianjia courtyard for a long time, he was still so angry that he did not even want to talk about it. Liu Ji quietly looked at Zhao Chengjun’s complexion, and cautiously said, “Wangye, Feng Qian and Imperial Physician Song have been dealt with.”

Zhao Chengjun gave a faint hum and asked, “Have you found out other things?”

“Found out that it was indeed her that gave the drug on the Dragon Boat Festival. She also arranged for a local ruffian on that day, but Wangfei with Heaven’s blessing was lucky to escape. The news leaked this time was all caused by Feng Qian. In fact, she also prepared a second move, but since Wangfei still refused to say who it was all along, she avoided it by mistake.”

Zhao Chengjun sneered lightly and said, “Stupid people have stupid blessings. Handle Feng Qian and that local ruffian more cleanly. Don’t let those things spread out.”

“I understand.” After Liu Ji finished speaking, he paused a little and said softly, “Wangye, Shizi is kneeling in the study room, waiting for your punishment.”

“Let him wait first.” Zhao Chengjun had no mood to take care of Zhao Zixun now. He ordered in an orderly manner one by one, “Don’t let her go anywhere these days. Strictly guard against her eating and drinking, don’t rely on the help of outsiders, and make sure someone tests her food and drinks before giving them to her. You can go remind the Xi family about one or two things. If they are discreet then that’s good. If they are not discreet and dare to say something unfavorable about her, then don’t have to be merciful to them. Meantime, don’t have to notify the officials outside and wait for the edict from the imperial court to arrive before making other plans.”

Liu Ji responded one by one. Zhao Chengjun said so much, in fact, it was all trivial matters. The real trouble was to ask the imperial court for the conferment of title.

Zhao Chengjun could not help sighing slightly, and said, “You should be more alert these days. Don’t let outsiders take advantage of the loopholes. You just focus on her affairs and don’t worry about going to the capital to handle things. As for the memorial to request for the conferment… nothing, I’ll write it myself.”

The establishment of Wangfei was not a trivial matter. Wangfei could be established or not still had to depend on the meaning of the capital even though Zhao Chengjun had enough influence. The officialdom was deep, especially Zhao Chengjun and Empress Dowager Yao had a special relationship. Thus, this kind of thing must be managed inside and outside. These could be controlled by Zhao Chengjun, but the most important and the most difficult level was Empress Dowager Yao.

Zhao Chengjun’s face was indifferent. He strode across the mansion with all the colors of flowers and plants everywhere. His black coiled dragon attire with threatening gestures was incompatible with the midsummer scenery behind him. This mansion was finally about to welcome the mistress. However, whether she could make it or not, still needed to gamble a little bit of luck.

Gamble on whether Tang Shishi was really stupid or fake stupid luck.

Imperial Palace, Jinling.

In the deep palace, windows were tightly blocked by the Chinese parasol trees. A well-dressed woman stood in front of the window with her long fingernails, teasing the parrot slowly.

A momo dressed in a dark red long vest walked from the outside in small steps. She stopped outside the partition, and saluted, “Niangniang*, there is a letter from the Ministry of Rites.”

(Niangniang* – respectful way to address Empress Dowager)

“Ministry of Rites?” Empress Dowager Yao teased the parrot’s beak and asked slowly, “What’s the matter?”

“Jing fiefdom sent a memorial of conferment about requesting to confer the Wangfei.”

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