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Chapter 21 ā The Crown Princeās Impermanence
Consort Xin lifted her gaze to Emperor Shang and spoke as if sheād been wronged. āYour Majesty, whatĀ chenqie1Ā said were all true. Not only did Crown PrinceĀ leisurelyĀ stroll in, late, but he also took to insultingĀ chenqie.ā
She wanted the emperor to pass his judgementāpreferably in her favor. However, she was unaware that her impertinent remarks had caused the faces of several people in the Great Hall to pale.
Emperor Shang neither answered her nor reproached her. His indifference almost made her eyes redden, but fortunately, after years of experience residing in the palace, she was able to quickly readjust her mood and even continue on what she had been saying.
āCrown Prince displayed such ignorance towards proper courtesy; how could he possibly shoulder the great responsibility that comes with his title?ā The instant these words were spoken, even her own son, Third Prince Shang Cheng Ying, shot his mother a look.
Unfortunately, Consort Xinās eyes and rationality were both shrouded by jealousy. Her love for Emperor Shang was genuine, but it was a pity that she was never anything in his eyes.
Towards this, she was tolerant, because Emperor Shang did not love anyone else either.Ā However, when Empress Qiu showed up at the palace, Emperor Shangās doting and tender side surfaced.
How could Consort Xin not be jealous? Now, seeing the crown prince, whose appearance held some resemblance to Empress Qiuās, hatred tempted Consort Xin to bring death upon him.
Her words shocked the Great Hall into silence. Then, most of the onlookers became interested and felt entertained as they waited to see if Emperor Shang would punish the crown prince or defend him.
The indolent expression that was originally on Shang Wuxinās face turned into an icy one. Her deep phoenix eyes flashed with a wicked gleam.
She didnāt think that a trifling, little concubine would dare to rebuke her while they were in the Great Hallāit appeared that the original ācrown princeā really didnāt have any dignity.
Huan Mo Che and Leng Yu Feng were the first ones to notice that the aura around Shang Wuxin had chilled and became oppressive. In their hearts, the two men felt that Consort Xin was truly a fool.
Regardless of whether the crown prince was favored or not, it was not a concubineās place to decide such things. Nonetheless, Huan Mo Che was curious to see how the crown prince would handle this.
āWho are you?ā Shang Wuxin asked as she picked up a cup of tea from the table and slowly enjoyed the drink.
Consort Xin didnāt expect her provocation to elicit that sort of question, causing the expression on her beautiful face to crack. She pointed a polished finger at Shang Wuxin and said, āBenfei2Ā is your elder. Does Crown Prince insist on sustaining an arrogant attitude?ā She even swept a gaze over the present officials, prompting them to open their eyes to see the crown princeās lack of conduct.
āPft!ā Shang Wuxin lazily looked up and glanced at her. āElder? Youāre nothing but one ofĀ fuhuangās3Ā consorts; a mere concubine, really, and yet you dare call yourself an elder? Or could it be that you wish to replaceĀ bengongās4Ā lateĀ muhou5and seize her title as the Empress?If so, thenĀ bengongĀ might consider recognizing you as my elder6!ā
Consort Xin paled, and even the other concubines and officials were panicking slightly. Who didnāt know that in Emperor Shangās eyes and ears, Empress Qiu was a taboo topic? Those who mentioned her were met with miserable consequences, so although His Majesty had yet to erect a new Empress, not a single official dared to suggest otherwise.
Now that the crown prince accused Consort Xin of wanting to replace Empress Qiu, they could only imagine what would happen to Consort Xin. Sure enough, Emperor Shangās eyes turned cold in a moment, and he regarded the consort with eyes full of disgust and murderous intent.
āYou⦠Youāre sputtering nonsense!ā Consort Xin looked at Emperor Shang, terrified. āYour Majesty,Ā chenqieĀ does not harbor such ambitions, Crown Prince is speaking nonsense!ā
āWhatĀ bengongĀ hates most is when others point fingers atĀ bengong, and even more so when someone challengesĀ bengongās dignity, but Consort Xin has managed to accomplish both. Tell me, what shouldĀ bengongĀ do?ā Shang Wuxin put down the teacup that was in her hand, her tone chilling.
She commanded, āWu Wei, slap her face! Wu Ju, Consort Xinās finger is quite detestable!ā Shang Wuxinās words had just left her lips when Wu Wei and Wu Ju walked out from behind her and moved towards Consort Xin.
The corners of their lips were curved into evil smiles. This Consort Xin had the guts to mistreat their masterātheyād been holding themselves back for ages!
āYou dare?ā Consort Xin exclaimed fearfully, but unfortunately, neither Wu Wei nor Wu Ju wanted to waste words on her.
Moreover, although they were both just maidservants, they acted solely on the crown princeās orders, so the moment Wu Wei reached the consort, she gathered force into her palm andĀ PAH! PAH!Ā gave Consort Xin two slaps on the face.
Wu Wei possessed notable strength, so the impact made Consort Xin feel like even her teeth were rattling.
Wu Ju didnāt wait for her to cry out before she reached out and snapped the finger that was used to point at the crown prince.
Ka-cha!Ā Consort Xinās finger drooped at an awkward angle. It turned out that Wu Ju had actually shattered the bone, so the imperial physicians wouldnāt be able to fix it either.
āAh!ā Consort Xin let out a pained cry while the officials in the Great Hall were all frightened by the crown princeās cruel methods.
Which part of the crown prince was incompetent and which part of him was cowardly? If his maidservants were already this merciless, the degree of his own cruelty could only be left to oneās own imagination.
āMufei!ā Princess Shang Qin Mi rushed over to Consort Xinās side and, seeing her agonized mother, faced the crown prince and angrily shouted, āHow can you treat myĀ mufei7Ā like this!ā
In response to the princessās accusation, Shang Wuxin said unhurriedly, āDespite being a trivial little concubine, Consort Xin dared instigate the relationship betweenĀ fuhuangĀ andĀ bengong. Her offense calls for punishment. The imperial harem shouldnāt be meddling in political affairs, yet Consort Xin tried to abet Imperial Father into revokingĀ bengongās position as the crown prince. Whatās more,Ā fuhuangās love forĀ muhouĀ is immovable, but now Consort Xin wants to sit in the Empressās seat. Say,Ā huangji8,Ā why canāt I give her a small punishment?ā
Shang Qin Mi couldnāt utter a word. Although she knew that the crown prince was simply making groundless claims, she had no way to refute. Moreover, now that Empress Qiu was involved, not only wouldĀ fuhuangĀ not help, he might actually berateĀ mufeiĀ instead.
āFuhuang, do you thinkĀ erchen9ās actions were appropriate?ā Shang Wuxin looked up at Emperor Shang, seemingly unafraid of his sharp gaze. In the eyes of tveryone else, the crown princeās aura was even more fierce than the emperorās.
āFor Crown Prince to partake in easingĀ zhenās cares and burdens,Ā zhen10Ā feels very gratified!ā Emperor Shang answered apathetically, and with that, the matter became a thing of the past. Nobody paid heed when Princess Qin Mi escorted Consort Xin back to her seat.
Still, no one could figure out Emperor Shangās intentions or what he thought of the crown prince, but there was one point that everyone saw clearly: the former crown prince was but a guise, and now that the guise was shed, his true nature was revealed. From now on, they would have to be more cautious towards him.
VIN:Ā Explanation of Shang Wuxinās verbal abuse: Compared to a concubine, a consort is of higher status, but they essentially serve the same purpose, so SWX was mocking and degrading Consort Xin.
Translator:Ā Vin
Editor(s):Ā N/A
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Hehe! Very nice. Thanks for the chapter
One word.
Savage.
wow SWX is so ruthless, really not your standard female lead š
and the way she uses words as her weapons ~
Every time I like more the personality of MC and his way of doing things.
Thanks for the chapter! ???
I see numbers for footnotes, but no footnotes. Is it because Iām reading this on my phone? I could understand the gist of what was happening, but Iām sad that I didnāt get the whole picture without the footnotes.
Anyone else think that the MCās personality is a lot more like the Emperorās than sheād like to think? At least, thatās my impression.
why does she say bengong (feminine) and not benwang? I thought she was disguised to be male?
Thank you for the chapter :3
Woaaaah sheās so cool?
Thanks for the hard works guys??
?I think I chose the wrong consort. It should have been Qin who sent the assassins. Sorry Iām not the brightest light in the room
Anyone think that Shang Wuxin is a wastrel now? I think not!Isnāt this consort the one that sent the assassins to greet the crown prince a few nights ago? A few slaps and a broken finger, nothing in comparison.
Thank you