Astute Princess: Married to be the Empress Novel - Chapter 116

Chapter 116 Prince Duan Returns to Beijing
As she spoke, she knelt down at the Empress’ feet and kowtowed non-stop, “Empress, you have a large number of people. Bypass your concubines this time. Your concubines will definitely repay your kindness in your next life. As long as you say something, the Emperor will definitely listen to you. Please, Empress.”

Based on her understanding of the Emperor, once he trusted someone, he would definitely listen to her. That was how he treated Sun Shuyi back then, so she believed that as long as the Empress was willing to plead for her, the Emperor would definitely let her go. In this harem, who didn’t know that the Empress was the best fool?

However, her calculations were wrong this time. The Empress said calmly, “Zhao Yi’s words are wrong. The Emperor has his own decision. How can I allow this palace to decide with just a single sentence? Besides, there is an old saying that the husband is the wife. This palace can only obey my husband’s decision and absolutely cannot interfere. Why should Zhao Yi make things difficult for this palace?”

The so-called soft knife was the most painful to kill. The Empress neither mentioned her fault nor blamed her. She only moved her husband out. This way, not only would she please the Emperor, but she would also shut up Lu Zhaoyi’s mouth. She was also not a Holy Maiden. She knew that she could not be too merciful towards her opponent.

Sure enough, the Emperor listened to the Empress and felt very comfortable. In this era of male superiority and female inferiority, the absolute obedience of women was the best weapon to please men.

Thus, the Emperor waved his hand impatiently and said to Eunuch Li, who happened to be chasing after her at the entrance of the palace, “Bring her down and send her on her way. We won’t deprive her of her title. Let’s follow Zhao Yi’s orders. As for his family, for the sake of her serving me, send her out of the capital. There’s no need for her to become a slave.”

Afterwards, he said to Lu Zhaoyi, “This is already the maximum I can promise you. You can go at ease.”

When Lu Zhaoyi heard the Emperor’s words, she knew that this was the best outcome. So she kowtowed to him and said, “Your Majesty, thank you. Take care, Your Majesty. Your Majesty, I’m going.” After she finished speaking, she stood up and straightened her face. She walked out of Kun Ning Palace. The Emperor had just said that she was still Zhao Yi. Even if she died, she still had to maintain Zhao Yi’s dignity. Thus, she followed behind Eunuch Li and walked towards her final destination.

At this moment, at the entrance of Kunning Palace, many concubines had been gathered, After receiving the news that the Emperor was going to dismiss the harem, Those who rushed over to plead for mercy, as women of the Emperor, regardless of whether you were favored or not, they could only stay in the Imperial Palace for the rest of their lives. Unless the Emperor died, at that time, they would either pray for the blessings of the Nymph from the Azure Lantern Ancient Buddha, or die for the Emperor be buried with the Emperor, but there was absolutely no possibility of leaving the palace to marry again.

But now, the Emperor said that if they were to leave the palace and marry again on their own, they had already become Emperor’s women. Who else would dare to marry them? Therefore, once they left the palace, it was impossible for them to get married. The mother’s family was also headed by siblings, so they would definitely be angry at home. Therefore, it was better for them to stay in the palace. With their titles, they would at least be able to eat and clothe without worries. Therefore, everyone rushed to Kunning Palace together, wanting to ask the Emperor to take back their orders.

However, before they could say anything, the Emperor let them see Lu Zhaoyi’s ending. This Lu Zhaoyi was the only person in the harem who had received the Emperor’s favor. Even she ended up like this, not to mention those who had never received favor.

Thus, everyone quietly returned to their own dormitories, packed their luggage, and prepared to leave the palace. Fortunately, the Emperor agreed to allow them to take all their savings away. In the future, even if the siblings of the mother’s family did not allow them to do so, relying on this little bit of savings in their hands, they could simply buy an estate and live a peaceful life.

Knowing that there was no room for manoeuvre, Therefore, the crowd did not stop any longer. After returning to his quarters and packing his luggage, All of them left the palace. Therefore, not long after, only the Empress of Kun Ning Palace and a few older noble concubines remained in the palace. These people were the side concubines that he had accepted into the Crown Prince’s Mansion when he was still a Crown Prince. They were also the old men who accompanied him to ascend the throne. He could not bear to leave them helpless.

Thus, Eunuch Li invited all of them over and said to them, “You are all old people who followed me out of the Crown Prince’s Mansion. I cannot bear to let you leave just like that. However, the situation is forcing you to leave. As far as the current situation is concerned, leaving the palace is the best arrangement for you. Fortunately, you are accompanied by your children, and you do not have nowhere to go.”

I won’t hide anything from you. Not long ago, Yelan suddenly sent troops to attack our Great Wei. But now, the Great Wei Kingdom’s economy has instantly declined due to the sudden withdrawal of Tian Yizhuang, causing the national treasury to be empty. Therefore, our Great Wei Kingdom is no longer able to support this war. Therefore, a few days ago, I sent someone to negotiate with that Crown Prince Yelan.

The result of the peace talks was that he made me have to pass on the throne to the Crown Prince and let Prince Duan regent. Therefore, in order to prevent Great Wei from being annihilated like the Southern Region, I had to agree to their demands. Therefore, as long as Prince Duan returns to the capital, the Crown Prince will ascend to the throne as an emperor.

At that time, your identities will be very awkward. That’s why I decided to let all of you leave the palace. At that time, I will discuss with the Regent to seal the other princes and give them some fiefs. Follow your children to their respective fiefs and become queen dowagers. That way, you can enjoy the rest of your lives.

“Prince Duan hasn’t returned to the capital yet. The Crown Prince is unable to ascend to the throne, and the princes are unable to become kings. You can stay in the Prince’s Mansion for the time being and wait for the imperial edict of the new emperor. I will repay you in the next life. I owe the Empress too much in this life. Let me repay her first in this life.”

After saying that, he closed his eyes and leaned back in his chair. He waved his hand at them, signaling them to step down. These people had been with him for many years and had given birth to children for him. How could he not have any feelings for them? Because of the rebellion in Concubine Shu these past few years, he was ashamed of these old men. Now that he had finally escaped Concubine Shu’s control, he had no choice but to dismiss them. The Emperor felt guilty, so he did not dare to look at their disappointed gazes or their departing figures.

After hearing the Emperor’s words, these noble imperial concubines saw the Emperor’s expression. Their eyes immediately turned red. Although they were still unable to accept such an arrangement, the Emperor was still alive, and they were all still young. They were not old enough to retire from the Li Palace. It was truly unexpected for them to leave the palace like this.

But the emperor can explain to them why, He had already given them an explanation. Thinking about the young imperial concubines, when they were dismissed from the palace, they did not even see the Emperor. Not only did the Emperor give them an explanation, he also arranged for them to return for the rest of their lives. It was also considered precious. They also knew that this was already the Emperor’s greatest limit.

Thus, they bowed to the Emperor and said, “Your Majesty, thank you for your kindness. Take care of the Emperor and the Empress. Your Majesty and your Majesty will bid you farewell.” After saying that, everyone saluted and left. After returning to their own bedrooms to pack up their salutes, they went to the Prince’s Mansion.

Because the princes were still young, the Emperor had only built a palace beside his own bedroom to accommodate all the princes and princesses, so that he could supervise and discipline them at any time.

Therefore, the noble imperial concubines did not leave the palace. They only moved down from the harem to the prince’s mansion. It could be said that the harem of the Great Wei had been cleaned up completely. They only waited for Prince Duan to arrive and the Great Wei would be able to change dynasties.

This wait lasted for more than a month. When Prince Duan returned to the capital, everything was ready for Fu Zihao to ascend to the throne. The Emperor also led the civil and military capital of the Manchu Dynasty to a place thirty miles away from the city to welcome him.

Prince Duan couldn’t help but sigh in his heart when he saw such a battle. He had only received such treatment 11 years ago. Back then, when he defeated Ye Lan and returned to the capital in triumph, the previous emperor had personally led everyone to welcome him 30 miles away. In the following years, no matter how much credit he had given, the current emperor had never had such a great battle.

Of course, he knew that all of this was because he was about to become the regent of the Great Wei Kingdom. The Emperor was trying to buy people’s hearts and make himself remember his feelings. After all, the new emperor of the Great Wei Kingdom was in his hands in the future. Thus, Prince Duan walked towards them without any hesitation.

Seeing Prince Duan getting closer and closer, the Great Wei Emperor also took a few steps forward and said to him, “Uncle Duan has worked hard all the way. Everything in the palace has been prepared. Once Uncle Wang arrives, he can let Zihao ascend to the throne. In the future, everything in the Great Wei Kingdom will be thanks to Uncle Wang.”

Prince Duan listened. without delay, He just nodded and replied, “Yes, I know, I will definitely support the new emperor wholeheartedly, Let our Great Wei Kingdom become more and more powerful, Thank you, Your Majesty, for coming to welcome me today. This prince was fine along the way, “However, the soldiers traveled one after another. It was very hard. Therefore, Zi Hao’s ascension to the throne should be postponed for a few days. After all, this was an important matter of the change of dynasty. The capital’s defenses should not be careless. After all, there was a Mu Lingfeng eyeing the capital from the sidelines of the Great Wei Kingdom. As for the soldiers, they had to rest for a while before they could defend the capital.”

When the Emperor heard this, his heart tightened. He was also careless for a moment. He actually forgot that Mu Lingfeng was still hiding in the Great Wei. Now that Prince Duan mentioned it, he nodded and said, “Uncle Wang is still thoughtful. Everything according to Uncle Wang’s words, the ascension to the throne will be postponed for a few days. Let the soldiers cultivate for a while. Uncle Wang should enter the city first.”

As he spoke, he and Prince Duan walked at the forefront hand in hand and waited for the Emperor’s special carriage to drive all the way to the capital. Although Prince Duan did not have the right to ride the Dragon Drive, the Great Wei Emperor helped him to the Dragon Drive in order to bribe him.

Seeing that Prince Duan wanted to postpone it, The Great Wei Emperor pulled him and said, “Uncle Wang, there is no need to be modest. Although Zihao will still be the emperor of the Great Wei Kingdom in the future, I know that everything will depend on Uncle Wang’s full strength. Today, I will help you get on the dragon’s throne. You are justified. This is also convenient for you to order our subjects in the future. However, I have one request. I only hope that Uncle Wang can return to Zihao when he comes of age.”

He could accept Prince Duan’s regent, but he could not accept it. His descendants had been taken care of by Prince Duan’s manor for generations. He could now support Prince Duan to ascend to the throne with all his strength. His request was to let Prince Duan return to his son when his son came of age. In this way, Great Wei would still be his descendant.