The Beloved Imperial Consort Chapter 181

“Mu’shi has made a move. It must be her.” He Lian Wei Rui’s hand, which was drawing an eyebrow in front of the mirror, suddenly halted. In the blink of an eye, she drew her left eyebrow too dark. This brief effort was completely ruined.

“I had originally assumed that her means of achieving her goals was through the Empress Dowager, but unexpectedly, this turned out to be a feint, and that woman had kept a backup plan.” She had thought too simply and been too eager for success, underestimating her. These unpredictable tactics made He Lian Wei Rui feel wary for the first time.

“Xue Qin, go and see if father is in the front yard, and report back quickly.” Even though the He Lian House no longer considered her as one of their own, as long as she remained unwed, they would not allow rumors to harm the daughter of the He Lian family seriously. After all, besides her, there were still two sisters in the family who were unmarried.

“Mistress, why not seek help from His Eighth Highness?” The Eighth Highness was soon to be her mistress’s lord husband; shouldn’t he be protecting her at this time?

He Lian Wei Rui’s eyes darkened with a hint of displeasure. Xue Qin was proving incapable of handling important tasks…

“There’s no need to go begging to His Highness.” Since he has already voiced a request in front of the Imperial Noble Consort, Zhong Zheng Han cannot detach himself and be regarded as someone who betrays loyalty during perilous times.

Fortunately, his influence is not yet established, and he must still consider the feelings of his subordinates, lest he alienate the loyal hearts of those who pledged their allegiance to him. If a few more years pass, and the time comes when Zhong Zheng Han rises to prominence and his summons are heeded far and wide, if she were still in the same predicament, she would certainly be cast aside by that man, with no regard for past affection.

“At this time, it’s better to rely on oneself than to seek help from others.” Besides, she had made bold claims in front ofthat man and absolutely could not eat her words before even entering his household.

“Xue Qin, tell Momo to find He Lian Tao. Isn’t he lusting after Bi Luo’s beauty? As long as he completes this task successfully, I’ll grant his wish and reward him with her; what’s the harm in that?”

Xue Qin’s body trembled, her expression filled with extreme terror.

He Lian Tao was a young master from a side branch; although not of distinguished status, he had a father who was extremely protective and skilled at amassing wealth. Spoiled from a young age, he became increasingly difficult to control as an adult, acting in ludicrous and absurd ways. Moreover, he had a violent temperament, was fond of women, and was addicted to gambling. He also harbored peculiar tastes in intimate matters. Of the four bedchamber maids in his quarters, three have already died. A pregnant concubine in the family was also killed in bed by a drunken He Lian Tao, resulting in a double tragedy.

With such an infamous reputation, which maid in the house would willingly be taken by him? Being sent to serve him was almost certainly a death sentence. Xue Qin had never expected her mistress to actually give away a maid who had been by her side since childhood. Didn’t she care about their bond at all?

Seeing Xue Qin’s pale face and her delay in response, He Lian Wei Rui sneered coldly, “If you feel pity for her, you might as well be the good person to the end and take her place.”

Terrified, Xue Qin dared not think further and hurriedly obeyed the order. In her extreme panic, while stepping over the threshold, she nearly tripped and fell at the doorway.

Watching her chaotic retreat, He Lian Wei Rui’s gaze grew even colder. “Useless thing!”

In just a moment, loud shouts from He Lian Tao echoed from the front hall. His footsteps sounded particularly hurried. “Er-meimei ¹, can I count on your word?”

“Do you have many connections in the brothels and gambling dens?”

“Of course, I thrive in such places; there’s nothing your Third Brother can’t handle. The owners of those places, upon seeing your Third Brother, will respectfully address me as ‘Third Master’.”

“That’s good then. If you can get things done, you can take the person at any time. Even tonight would be possible.”

“Great! It’s a deal. Er-meimei’s words make Third Brother very pleased. Just tell me what to do, and be quick and clear about it. Your Third Brother hurries to take care of it for you so that he can take that beauty as concubine once he returns.”

Consumed by his lust, He Lian Tao could hardly contain himself when speaking of Bi Luo. He was eager to pin down the woman with the slender waist and ample buttocks on the bed and ravage her fiercely.

The He Lian siblings gathered to discuss details for a while before He Lian Tao quickly left the house. Composed, He Lian Wei Rui then took Xue Qin to the study to seek an audience with her stone-hearted father.

While He Lian Wei Rui still managed to fight back against Mu Xi Yao, the Fourth Princess Zhong Zheng Ying was scolded so severely she couldn’t raise her head. Having her nose rubbed in the dirt², she has yet to recover.

What was even more laughable was that to this day, Zhong Zheng Ying remained unaware that it was Mu Xi Yao who had been secretly scheming, matchmaking for her man and enabling him to successfully engage in an affair. She simplybelieved that the prince consort was naturally debauched and, unable to withstand the loneliness, cheated on her behind her back.

At this time, Zhong Zheng Ying couldn’t bother to send anyone to find her disgraceful prince consort, who was even worse than a turtle with its head in its shell. Terrified of repercussions from the Empress Dowager and the Yuancheng Emperor over this scandal, she hurriedly jumped on the carriage with her people and fled to a villa in the suburbs of the capital for refuge. She intended to obediently return to the capital after some time, wait for the fury of those two in the palace to cool down, and then weep and share her grievances, hoping to touch Yuancheng Emperor’s paternal compassion.

Regrettably, although the Fourth Princess’s plans were well-thought-out, the results were disastrous.

Upon hearing the news, the Yuancheng Emperor was utterly disappointed with Zhong Zheng Ying’s irresponsible conduct. As for Yang Guo Kang, the main culprit of this incident, the emperor wished he could flay his flesh and eviscerate his tendons! A man who brought such disgrace to the imperial family deserved death!

“Where is she?” Seeing Gu Chang De come running in, his head covered in sweat, and with no sign of Zhong Zheng Ying behind him, Yuancheng Emperor slammed the memorial on the side, unable to hide his anger.

“Replying to Your Majesty, when this old servant arrived, the Fourth Princess had already left Shengjing with her servants, heading for the villa,” Gu Chang De’s breath was unsteady, and he sighed inwardly as he reported. The Fourth Princess had violated His Majesty’s major taboo by disappearing after causing trouble. Yuancheng Emperor despised those who lacked responsibility. This content belongs to thehlifestyle.com, if you see this translation elsewhere, it’s been stolen!

Sure enough, Yuancheng Emperor was unable to contain his fury and smashed the inkstone on the spot. “How preposterous! When did the imperial family ever produce such a disgrace!”

If it weren’t for the bond of blood relation, the Yuancheng Emperor would certainly not have spared her. “Order the Commander of the Imperial Guards, Ji Huai An, to take men and escort that disappointment back to the capital! If there is any resistance, Zhen authorizes him to bind her by force.” He intended to leave no dignity for Zhong Zheng Ying.

Today was destined to be tumultuous. While Zhong Zheng Ying was still on her way out of the capital, He Lian Wei Rui’s plan to extricate herself was already causing a new storm.

“Are you saying she dragged others down with her, throwing the entire situation into utter chaos?”

“Yes, Mistress. Miss He Lian was very discreet. She sent people to spread rumors everywhere, targeting over half of the young ladies from distinguished families who stood out during the Flower-viewing Banquet, and dragging them into the mire.”

“What pretexts?” This woman’s response was remarkably swift. Her use of ‘in league with the corrupt’ was spot on, truly living up to her clouded and murky eyes.

“Engaging in underhanded secret dealings, vanity, oppressing sisters born of concubines, and even talking back to elders.”

The more Wei Zhen spoke, the more he felt that Miss He Lian from He House was even less scrupulous than Mistress Yao. At least Mistress had evidence to support her rumors, whereas that one fabricated things out of thin air, daringly so.

“Could we possibly get a hold of any incriminating evidence against her?” Given He Lian Wei Rui’s unrestrained behavior; whose backing did she have?

Wei Zhen was troubled, “Mistress, in order to preserve their reputation, the patriarch of He Lian House intervened, assisting Miss He Lian in connecting with the Crown Prince’s people. Then there’s His Eighth Highness behind the scenes, adding fuel to the fire and helping Miss He Lian cover her traces. With multiple parties cooperating, if this matter is to be handled, the earlier preparations made by His Highness might be disrupted.”

Truly a pair of deceitful lovers, not yet officially married but already perfectly in sync.  Mu Xi Yao curled her lip in disdain.

That old fox, He Lian Zhang, she could only let him off this time. He was a useful person to Zong Zheng Lin, and as long as he did not directly ruin her plans, Mu Xi Yao couldn’t act against him just yet.

“Wei Zhen, do you know where people are most likely to fall?”

He Lian Wei Rui, despite your self-proclaimed outstanding strategic prowess, today you will receive a lesson on the true meaning of respect as a newcomer.

“Dismiss the prior plan. There is now a better method that will give Miss He Lian another surprise.”

Mu Xi Yao spoke with a cheerful smile, her usual lively expressions making Wei Zhen marvel in awe.

Fights between women were indeed perilous!

Translation notes:

[1] Er meimei means a little second sister.

[2] have one’s nose rubbed in the dirt fig. to meet with a sharp rebuff.

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