He was murdered after his family was wiped out and left with no descendants; his whole family knelt

Chapter 267 Reminder

He hated being pitied or helped, so he left the main hall by himself, leaning on his cane, and headed towards the back garden.

Qiao Qingshu hurriedly followed.

Upon reaching a rockery in the Imperial Garden, Prince Yong stopped. He did not turn around and said...

"Who are you, and why are you following me?"

Qiao Qingshu followed closely behind Prince Yong. The lame prince was very vigilant and had already noticed that someone was behind him.

Qiao Qingshu stepped forward and said,

"I am Qiao Qingshu, the wife of Xiao Zhijie. Today I have come to the palace with my husband to attend your welcoming banquet."

Prince Yong turned around and squinted at Qiao Qingshu, a beautiful and elegant woman with a slightly protruding belly, indicating that she was pregnant.

He chuckled softly.

"You're my nephew's wife, aren't you? You seem like a smart woman."

A sudden flash of ruthlessness crossed his eyes.

"Why didn't you stay in the main hall? What are you doing following me out here?"

Qiao Qingshu slowly raised her eyes and said,

"It's nothing, I just wanted to tell you that your plan is unlikely to succeed. If I were you, I would recuperate for a while and return to the North as soon as possible, so that I can be at ease."

Prince Yong's eyes widened suddenly, then he burst into laughter.

"Plan? What plan? Why can't I understand a word you're saying?"

Qiao Qingshu said no more, but simply looked steadily at Prince Yong and gave a slight bow,

“Prince Yong has great ambitions and has endured hardship, but he doesn’t understand that what is not yours will never be yours. I’m sure Prince Yong understands what I’m saying. I’ll take my leave now.”

Qiao Qingshu did not linger and quickly turned to leave.

Prince Yong's smile froze on his lips, and the calm expression on his face vanished instantly, replaced by a cold and ruthless aura.

He watched Qiao Qingshu's departing figure and gritted his teeth,

"You are very smart, but what good is that? I have been lying low for decades, just for this day. No one can stop me."

A surge of overwhelming hatred welled up in his eyes, but he suppressed it after a moment.

After returning to the main hall, Qiao Qingshu found Xiao Zhijie, who was already drunk, and prepared to leave.

They happened to run into Princess Yongxian, who was coming down from the Zhaixing Tower with two male concubines; it was a scene of springtime beauty.

Qiao Qingshu saw that Princess Yongxian was still living a life of debauchery, but she still stepped forward and reminded her.

"Princess Yongxian, Prince Yong is not a good person, please be careful."

Yongxian seemed somewhat dazed, supported by her two male concubines, and appeared rather disoriented. She mumbled something indistinctly.

"Uh, why? What?...Oh..."

Qiao Qingshu shook her head and said no more, her words coming out in broken, incoherent sentences.

After Qiao Qingshu had walked away, Princess Yongxian came to her senses, her mind suddenly clearing. She muttered to herself,

"Is Prince Yong unkind? Why is Prince Yong unkind?"

She looked at Qiao Qingshu, who had already left, with a suspicious gaze, and a sense of vigilance suddenly appeared in her eyes.

Behind the artificial hill in the Imperial Garden.

Consort Li knelt before Prince Yong and bowed.

“Prince Yong, the dog emperor has agreed to make me empress, and the investiture ceremony will be held in three days.”

Prince Yong's legs were weak, and he leaned against the artificial hill, a satisfied smile on his face.

"Li'er, you did a great job."

Consort Li knelt and bowed.

"You saved Li'er's life, so naturally she is willing to do anything for you!"

Li'er was originally an orphan from the North who wandered the streets, snatching food from wild dogs. One day, she was surrounded by a pack of wolves in the wild and was almost eaten by them. Just then, the Prince of Yong happened to be hunting there. A sharp arrow pierced the wolf king's eye, and the wolves scattered and saved the girl.

He named her Li'er, taught her to read and write, and to love chess, calligraphy and painting. He forged her identity and sent her to participate in the imperial concubine selection. Li'er was able to enter the palace smoothly. However, in previous years, it was the Empress and Consort Xiande who ruled. Li'er tried her best but could only get the position of Consort Li. She felt ashamed and useless, and could not become a capable assistant to Prince Yong.

They could only relay messages from within the palace to the Prince of Yong, who was far away in the north, but they could not stir up any trouble within the palace.

Fortunately, fate intervened. Two of the most important figures in the harem died at once. With the deaths of the Empress and Consort Xiande, the harem remained outwardly calm, but inwardly, a huge upheaval was brewing.

Those concubines who had been suppressed before are now using all their charm to seduce the old emperor, hoping to take this opportunity to rise in rank.

Consort Li, having bided her time for many years, naturally knew to seize the opportunity and used every trick in the book to stand out from the crowd, successfully winning the old emperor's favor.

Now, kneeling before Prince Yong, her eyes were filled with pride and joy. She had gone from a penniless orphan to becoming Prince Yong's right-hand woman, and she felt proud and happy!

Helping Prince Yong reclaim his vast empire was also her lifelong wish.

Prince Yong asked gently,

"Are you really pregnant?"

A look of unease crossed Li'er's face. She reached up and slapped her stomach hard.

"This bastard is nothing but a smokescreen to deceive the dog emperor. Once he dies, I won't keep this child either."

As if to express her loyalty, she stepped forward and crawled two more steps, reaching out to grasp Prince Yong's hand.

"Li'er only wants to have a child with Prince Yong. Li'er will never have a child with any other scoundrel."

Li'er gazed at Prince Yong with an infatuated look, her eyes filled with tender affection.

A faint smile appeared on Prince Yong's lips. He reached out and touched Li'er's face, speaking with utmost tenderness.

"Then when Li'er kills the dog emperor, Li'er will become my empress and bear my children."

Li'er's face was filled with joy; she even rubbed her face against Prince Yong's hand, saying...

“Okay, Li’er has always dreamed of this.”

Prince Yong patted her face and said,

"Then let's take that dog emperor's life in three days."

"it is good!"

Princess Yongxian, who was drunk and hiding in the flower bushes not far away, heard all of these words clearly.

The male concubine was supposed to escort her back to her bedchamber to rest, but the words Qiao Qingshu had said to her kept popping into her mind.

Unable to sleep, she got up and stumbled towards Prince Yong, but she was still drunk and lay unconscious among the flowers for an unknown amount of time.

When she consciously opened her eyes, she heard Consort Li and Prince Yong talking not far away.

Those words, word for word, fell into Princess Yongxian's ears with perfect clarity.

She lay down in the flower bushes, not daring to move, even her breathing was careful, until the person walked away and disappeared before she slowly sat up from the flower bushes.

Rubbing her still-aching head, she stared blankly into the distance, a surge of strength welling up within her.

She should do something.

Having already lost her mother, she could not afford to lose her father as well.

She staggered to her feet and swayed as she walked toward her bedchamber.

The investiture of the new queen took place three days later.

Yongxian immediately rushed to the emperor's study, wanting to tell her father the news.

When Eunuch Li at the gate saw that it was Princess Yongxian requesting an audience, he looked somewhat troubled.

"Princess, His Majesty is currently conducting official business and has instructed that no one should disturb him. You should return now."