The Crown Prince Chases His Wife
Chapter 22 Fortunate (1/2)
At the Chengqian Palace in the Inner Court of the Imperial City.
Second Prince Feng Xian was about to leave after having lunch with Imperial Concubine Shu but was stopped by Imperial Concubine Shu and was asked to stay for tea before leaving.
Imperial Concubine Shu dismissed the palace servants, leaving only the mother and son in the hall.
Both of them were just sipping tea, neither of them said anything, and the atmosphere was a bit depressing.
Feng Xian seemed to have guessed what his imperial mother was going to say when she asked to stay behind.
A few days ago, at the housewarming banquet in the Princess of Zhaoren Mansion, the absurd story of several people who attended the banquet trapped in the bamboo house in the rain and played horse tag, was spread out for some reason, and even reached the ears of the Emperor.
To everyone’s surprise, the Emperor was happy about it.
In recent years, the Taizi and the Second Prince couldn’t be said to be at odds, but their relationship was indeed not very harmonious. The Emperor marveled that the Taizi was able to sit at the card table with the Second Prince calmly and play the horse hanging for four hours.
The Emperor laughed and said that the horse tag could be promoted in the court, and the disputes that couldn’t be resolved in the court could be resolved at the card table.
This move was opposed by Taizi Feng Zhan. Taizi raised the issue that horse tag would easily make people addicted, waste time and energy for no reason, and delay political affairs.
This incident became a joke and spread in the morning court.
For the first time, from the Taizi was born to joining the army, and then supervising the country, he had neither too big nor too small of a joke for the courtiers to make fun of in private. His Highness Taizi said that it was easy to get addicted to horse tag, perhaps he must have experienced it personally, otherwise, he would not have stayed in the Princess of Zhaoren Mansion for such a long time uncharacteristically.
——
Feng Xian knew that his imperial mother didn’t want him to get too close to Qin Yan, but Qin Yan was one of the few choices he could borrow power from.
It was also taboo for the empress and imperial concubines to do politics. Feng Xian never asked his imperial mother to intervene in his affairs in the court, and he was determined to win over Qin Yan, so he didn’t want his imperial mother to interfere unnecessarily.
Feng Xian didn’t want to argue with his imperial mother and was thinking about finding a suitable reason to leave.
“Imperial Mother…”
Feng Xian’s words were interrupted by Imperial Concubine Shu’s cold voice.
“Where did you get the confidence to compete with Taizi?”
Feng Xian was silent and didn’t answer the question. His imperial mother never interfered with his actions in the court, then why did she suddenly ask such a question today? He initially thought that his imperial mother was going to talk about Qin Yan.
Imperial Concubine Shu put down the teacup, looked at Feng Xian, who was sitting in the chair, and said calmly, “Do you have any misunderstanding about Taizi’s power? Because of the Empress, Taizi is at odds with his uncle, the Left Prime Minister, which is equivalent to clipping his own wing. But behind the Taizi is the Empress Dowager Xiao of Shou’an Palace. That person in the Shou’an Palace has had no children all her life, but she cultivated Taizi. Although Empress Dowager Xiao has already retired from the court, she also cleaned up her own relatives. However, she has worked hard for so many years, and the foundation is already deeply rooted, which should not be underestimated.”
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“Imperial Mother knows that you think your imperial father is supporting you to balance the power of Taizi. But anyone with a discerning eye can see that His Majesty is matchmaking Taizi and Qin Yan, and what Qin Yan’s background represents, I don’t need to go into details. What about your marriage? Not to mention the legitimate imperial concubine, I haven’t even seen any shadow of the side concubine.”
“What are you competing with Taizi for? After these years of peace, isn’t it good to go to the fief to spend the rest of our lives in peace?”
Imperial Concubine Shu seemed a little agitated when she said this and took a sip of tea to calm her mind.
“Imperial Mother, Imperial Father didn’t have many sons. Apart from the Taizi, there are only me and Third Prince. The Third Prince has no intention of pursuing politics and spends all day talking about Zen in the mountains and rivers. I didn’t want to compete. I only think that in case Taizi misbehaves or there is an accident, the throne still has to be succeeded. I guess that Imperial Father’s intention is the same.”
Feng Xian didn’t agree with his mother’s statement. In his eyes, his imperial mother was also a woman in the palace, who didn’t understand the situation of the court and the intention of the Emperor.
Imperial Concubine Shu sighed softly, “Are you so sure that Third Prince Feng Yi has no intention toward the throne?”
Feng Xian looked at Imperial Concubine Shu in surprise.
Imperial Concubine Shu sneered and said, “Third Prince Feng Yi is the only son of Imperial Concubine Jing. Imperial Concubine Jing came from the Marquis of Guannei Mansion, and the Marquis of Guannei holds a massive military force. I heard that the Third Prince loves listening to Zen and is a frequent visitor to Wanning Temple.”
“Does Imperial Mother means Ning Wang of Wanning Temple?”
Feng Xian was shocked by his imperial mother’s words as Ning Wang was a taboo in the imperial family.
——
Imperial Concubine Shu didn’t respond anymore, just took a sip of tea.
Imperial Concubine Shu understood that this son of hers underestimated the Taizi and the Emperor.
Having been with the Emperor for many years, Imperial Concubine Shu herself still couldn’t see through the mind of the person sitting on the throne, let alone her son who still lack in his maturity and means. Imperial Concubine Shu didn’t want her son and herself to become victims in the struggle for imperial power, but Xian’er insisted on doing his own thing.
“Forget it.”
Imperial Concubine Shu’s tone was a little weak.
“Does it have to be Qin Yan?”
“Have you considered my position and my feelings? As soon as I see Qin Yan, I will think of Shen Shiying. Have you ever thought that if Qin Yan becomes your imperial concubine, how will I get along with her and with you after that?” Imperial Concubine Shu’s voice was a little forlorn.
When Feng Xian heard this, he only focused on the part, “If Qin Yan becomes your imperial concubine.”
If Qin Yan became his, Feng Xian, imperial concubine, he would have the backing of the Duke of Zhenguo Mansion, and his uncle, the Right Prime Minister, would do his utmost to help him. Qin Yan, who had rich resources, would also be a great help to him. In this way, he had another chance of winning.
I hope you are enjoying the novel! Please support this translation and get direct access to new releases by reading it at the translator’s original website: https://justforfuntrans.com
Feng Xian recalled playing horse tag at Princess of Zhaoren Mansion that day. It seemed that Qin Yan was very interested in the horse tag. He fed her cards to show her favor and she should have seen that, which showed this was good progress. Qin Yan should also have a bit of a favorable impression of himself, even half a point was better than the previous resistance. Next time, he had to strike while the iron was hot…