msmithbooks Chapter 1210 - 1199: The Wealthy Merchant
Chapter 1210 - 1199: The Wealthy Merchant
Ye Lu ignored her small concern for Ye Qiu, firmly believing that Chen Gaoxuan’s position as the male lead would not be shaken, and confidently assisted him in dealing with Prince Donghe.
Prince Donghe marched straight in, using the pretext of purging the traitors beside the Emperor, and successfully became the Regent King, causing everyone in the capital to be on edge.
Meanwhile, Prince Linsan and King of Xichuan received Prince Donghe’s rebellion letters and also marched into the capital under the guise of purging rebels. Naturally, forces like Ye Qiu’s, which were not recognized by royal power, did not dare to lag behind.
The situation was clear this time: whoever purged Prince Donghe and emerged victorious from this chaos would become the new Emperor.
However, everyone was apprehensive and no one was willing to make the first move. They engaged in small skirmishes to prepare for the big battle, probing each other back and forth, wasting two years like this.
During these two years, two concubines of Prince Linsan both became pregnant and successfully bore heirs for him, but neither of the mothers was fortunate enough to see their sons before passing away.
Prince Linsan did suspect the Princess Consort, but considering her brother had died and she had never been pregnant, her desire to adopt two children was understandable. Besides, one of the concubines was a family child, and the other’s family was merely commoners—dead was dead, he thought, and more compensation given to their families was sufficient.
Yet, he felt a bit uncomfortable thinking that the Princess Consort did not personally care for the adopted children after they came to her.
"When I visited last time, the Eldest Young Master and Second Young Master were disciplined; the Princess Consort raised them well. But little children, aren’t they too silent? When my child is born, I hope he will be happy and healthy, and discipline can wait until he’s older," Ye Lu lightly said, stroking her belly.
Indeed, two years later, she was pregnant again and was quite straightforward in giving the Princess Consort a bit of an eye medication.
Chen Gaoxuan was not oblivious; firstly, she was currently pregnant, and he didn’t want to be harsh; secondly, the Princess Consort had indeed restrained the children too much. Though just over a year old, they were naturally curious and mischievous, yet overly quiet felt unsettling.
Thus, he looked forward even more to the child in Ye Lu’s belly raising, as the two children under the Princess Consort’s care seemed incapable of taking on great responsibilities, but it could also be because he had more trust in the concubine, which made him more expectant.
For Shi Xuan, however, this was not good news. She could not have imagined Ye Lu could be pregnant again so quickly; a miscarriage at six months didn’t seem to affect Ye Lu, who could conceive again; why couldn’t she?
Her anxiety grew, and the two adopted children became increasingly unwelcome to her; thus, Chen Gaoxuan visited her less often.
Ye Lu had seen countless palace dramas and understood well how to subtly destroy someone; anyway, her feelings for Chen Gaoxuan had faded, and using him felt more beneficial, leading the Princess Consort further away from him.
But it was not enough; she had miscarried a formed male fetus and suffered greatly then; was that enough to bring down Shi Xuan?
Ye Lu’s eyes turned vicious, but resumed calmness, gently caressing her belly; this child could not have any problem under any circumstance.
In the fifth year of Shen’an, Prince Linsan and King of Xichuan received secret letters from the Little Emperor and led their armies north to attack Prince Donghe.
Prince Donghe decided to take decisive action, directly deposing the Little Emperor, sitting on the throne himself, and changing the era name to Changwu.
In the first year of Changwu, King of Xichuan and Prince Linsan could not sit idle, and their armies encircled the Capital City; Prince Donghe fiercely resisted.
In the second year of Changwu, Prince Ye joined the rebellion of the four princes, further intensifying the danger in the Capital City.
"General Li, is this the good daughter you raised?" Prince Donghe forcefully threw the memorial on Li Jian’s face, "I order you to capture Bai Xianyi, otherwise do not appear before me again."
"Your servant follows the decree." Li Jian responded solemnly, leaving the Imperial Palace with a grave expression.
Three days later, the confrontation between Li Jian and his daughter Bai Xianyi attracted attention. Since Prince Donghe proclaimed himself Emperor, everyone knew that Ye Qiu’s great general, the Female War God Bai Xianyi, was the daughter of Li Jian from the capital. The father-daughter duo’s allegiances to different kings sparked much debate.
Leaving Bai Xianyi aside, Ye Qiu absolutely trusted her. Li Jian lived in deep turmoil, even suffered imprisonment, until after insisting Bai Xianyi had nothing to do with him and claiming his daughter died long ago, the resource-lacking Prince Donghe released him.
Although neither acknowledged the relationship, everyone understood the truth. Upon hearing that Ye Qiu had appointed Bai Xianyi as the Vanguard General, Prince Donghe contemplated and eventually sent Li Jian.
On one hand, he controlled Li Jian’s current wife and children, fearing no betrayal; on the other, however, how could Bai Xianyi possibly attack her biological father without restraint?
Prince Donghe was confident; meanwhile, other Vassal Kings and rebels cursed him but were pleased nonetheless, seeing Ye Qiu’s power growing too quickly; if his vigor weren’t checked, they felt uneasy.
"I plead with Prince Ye to name another commander." Bai Xianyi knelt in the Ye Family Army to request.
Ye Qiu raised his head, looking at her, "Do you lack confidence in yourself?"
"No."
"Then that settles it. I trust you will not show mercy when facing your father." Ye Qiu encouraged, "Or are you unable to be ruthless and deliberately lose?"
"I would never do anything to betray Prince Ye." Bai Xianyi said resolutely.
"Go confidently then. As long as you win this battle, you may handle your father however you wish." Ye Qiu granted authority.
"Thank you, Prince Ye, for the trust. I will surely fulfill the duties entrusted to me."
Bai Xianyi walked out of the tent, seeing Ye Cheng watching her worriedly. Bai Xianyi gave a reassuring smile, then boldly returned to her troops to organize them. This battle, she would never lose; her father had taught her so much, finally it was time for him to inspect, although she guessed he would not be pleased.
"Are you really going?" Li’s face was dark, "Your daughter is heartless; when you were imprisoned, had she rescued you? If you lose this battle, our entire family is finished."
Li Jian’s face was also solemn, he growled lowly, "What can I do? It’s Prince Donghe’s order; whether I want to or not, I must go."
Li collapsed onto a chair, her mind repeating one thought—they were truly finished; she had pressured Bai Xianyi, that girl, so much back then; how could she miss this chance to retaliate?
She didn’t even need to lift a finger herself; she just needed to win this battle, and her path was doomed.
Had she known, she should have ordered strict watch back then, never let her have the chance to escape.