frightfiction Chapter 1657 Xingchen is a Prince
Chapter 1657 Xingchen is a Prince
Li Changde said, "When Consort Yun entered the palace, the late emperor was already nearing fifty. She was young and beautiful, with a gentle temperament, and was greatly favored by the late emperor. In her first year in the palace, she became pregnant with the emperor's child."
Nangong Xuanyu listened and knew that Li Changde would not bring up a concubine of the late emperor who had died decades ago for no reason.
Li Changde continued, "After Consort Yun became pregnant, the late Emperor was overjoyed and showered her with gifts. The imperial physician examined her pulse and said that the pregnancy was stable and that it was very likely to be a prince."
"But just when Consort Yun was eight months pregnant... a scandal suddenly broke out in the palace..."
Nangong Xuanyu was now almost overwhelmed by the word "scandal," and asked in a deep voice, "What scandal?!"
Li Changde cautiously said, "Some people say... they saw Consort Yun having an affair with a palace guard. They also say that the child in Consort Yun's womb is not of the emperor's blood at all, but rather the illegitimate child of that guard."
"At first it was just a rumor, but later someone produced evidence. They found the guard's personal clothing in Consort Yun's palace. Several palace servants also testified that they had seen Consort Yun meeting with him in private."
Nangong Xuanyu's breathing faltered.
Does every emperor's harem have women who commit adultery?!
He had a rough idea of what would happen next.
He knew his father's temperament best. Suspicious, arrogant, and intolerant of even the slightest imperfection.
Especially matters involving royal bloodlines and male dignity.
As expected, Li Changde said, "The late emperor was furious and directly issued an edict to order Consort Yun to commit suicide! At that time, she was already eight months pregnant and about to give birth..."
"Then, the late emperor found another excuse, saying that the Yun family had embezzled military funds and colluded with the enemy to betray the country. All 273 members of the Yun family were implicated!"
The emperor's face remained completely unmoved.
If a concubine dares to do such a thing, she deserves whatever fate befalls her!
Nangong Xuanyu was now the one who could empathize most with the late emperor: "And then?"
Li Changde's eyes were complicated: "Who knew... less than half a year after Consort Yun's death, the truth came out, and she was innocent."
"The one who framed Consort Yun was another concubine of the late Emperor. She was jealous of Consort Yun's favor and feared that Consort Yun's birth of a prince would threaten her own position, so she bribed palace servants to fabricate evidence."
Nangong Xuanyu frowned slightly.
Li Changde sighed: "The late emperor knew it was too late to regret it. He executed the concubine who framed Consort Yun, but Consort Yun... can never come back."
"After that, the late emperor's temperament changed drastically, and his health deteriorated day by day. Some people said in private... that the late emperor felt guilty and was depressed."
Nangong Xuanyu remained silent.
He recalled his father's appearance in his later years, always sitting alone in the imperial study, gazing out the window in a daze, his eyes filled with unspeakable regret.
He didn't understand then, but now he knows, so that's how it is...
The emperor already had a vague idea in his mind, and asked the most crucial question: "What does this have to do with Xingchen?"
Li Changde took a deep breath and revealed a shocking secret: "This servant has discovered that when Consort Yun was ordered to commit suicide, the child in her womb did not die."
"The eunuch in charge of the execution that day was a confidant of Empress Dowager Gongsu."
"Consort Yun went into premature labor due to emotional distress. The baby was still breathing faintly when it was born, but it was as small and thin as a cat. The eunuchs, following the Empress Dowager Gongsu's instructions, wrapped the baby up and sent it out of the palace under cover of night."
Nangong Xuanyu confirmed, "Where was it sent?!"
Li Changde said, enunciating each word clearly: "Fatu Temple..."
Even though he had already guessed it, Nangong Xuanyu's breath still caught in his throat when he heard Li Changde tell the truth with his own ears!
"You mean..."
Nangong Xuanyu stared directly at Li Changde, gritting his teeth as he asked, "Xingchen... is Consort Yun's child? Is he the late Emperor's son?!"
"Yes."
Li Changde nodded emphatically: "This servant has checked all the records that can be checked and asked all the people that can be asked."
"On the night Consort Yun was sentenced to death, Empress Dowager Gongsu did indeed send someone to Fatu Temple. The time, the place, the person who received her... everything matches up."
"The location of the red mole on Xingchen's body is exactly the same as that eunuch described back then."
His words fell silent, and the hall fell into a deathly stillness…
Nangong Xuanyu was trying to process the news.
Xingchen turned out to be his half-brother...
It turned out to be the case.
All the points that I couldn't understand before now make sense.
Why would Xingchen risk such danger to extend his reach into the harem?
Why such a strong obsession with obscuring the royal bloodline?
Because he himself was the one whose life was ruined by the word "bloodline".
A prince who should have grown up in a life of luxury was instead wronged. His mother was sentenced to death, and his maternal family was executed. He was secretly sent out of the palace like a rat in a sewer, and grew up in seclusion under the dim light of a Buddhist lamp, living in anonymity.
How could Xingchen not hate?
The concubines who framed Consort Yun, the palace maids who gave false testimony back then, the late emperor who listened to slander... Xingchen probably hates them to the bone!
Therefore, he wanted to take revenge in his own way.
Empress Dowager Gongsu was not a soft-hearted person; she would not risk such a great deal to save Consort Yun's child without a reason.
Nangong Xuanyu knew Empress Dowager Gongsu very well, and he understood the reason after a little thought.
Nangong Xuanyu was unaware of the truth behind that scandal from back then.
The framing of Consort Yun may have been a result of infighting among the women of the harem, or perhaps Empress Dowager Gongsu was involved in using someone else to do her dirty work.
She saved Xingchen for a simple reason: she wanted to use him for her own purposes in the future.
A pawn burdened with a blood feud and bearing the blood of the Nangong family, hidden in the shadows, could be used by Empress Dowager Gongsu at any time to check the future emperor!
Or perhaps, after Consort Yun's name was cleared, Empress Dowager Gongsu also considered announcing that Xingchen was still alive and bringing him back to the palace to raise him herself.
It's unclear why the matter was later dropped, but Empress Dowager Gongsu chose to support Nangong Xuanyu instead.
Was it because he was more patient and ruthless than the other princes?
Or was it because Empress Dowager Gongsu felt that Xingchen was not as useful as him?
Therefore, Empress Dowager Gongsu turned to support Nangong Xuanyu's ascension to the throne.
However, she did not destroy Xingchen, this hidden pawn, but instead hid him well in Fatu Temple, and may even have secretly taken care of him.
Empress Dowager Gongsu chose two princes, one placed in the sunlight and the other hidden in the shadows. She would use whichever was more useful.
Or... let the two check each other.
But... man proposes, God disposes.
The Liu family was ultimately destroyed by Nangong Xuanyu.
However, Empress Dowager Gongsu never revealed Xingchen's true identity until her death, taking this secret to her grave and leaving Nangong Xuanyu with a ticking time bomb that could explode at any moment.
The emperor, enraged, laughed instead: "...Good! Very good indeed!"
If it weren't for his experience of the brutal struggle for the throne, and his unwillingness to witness further fratricide, leading him to have He Yuanpan secretly adjust his condition and temporarily postpone his chances of having children, it would have been impossible for the concubines in the harem to conceive during the period of medication.