The harem is too complicated; the empress, a lazy bum, wins by doing nothing.

Chapter 425 Extra (Establishing a Lifetime 11)

After all the servants in the hall had left, Jiang Yuxian said slowly, "Mother, why are you so sad? You've lived in the palace for so many years, don't you understand Father Emperor at all?"

Consort Ying remained silent, her eyes vacant, lost in thought.

"Your Majesty, there's something I've been meaning to tell you..."

Jiang Yuxian struggled for a while before slowly speaking, "Your subject knows Mother's expectations, but your subject has no interest in politics. Your subject only wishes to be with Wanwan for life..."

At this point, Consort Ying finally reacted. She turned around in disbelief, looking at Jiang Yuxian with a complicated expression.

Just a little while.

She exclaimed incredulously, "Are you crazy? Do you even know what you're saying?"

“I know.” Jiang Yuxian nodded firmly. “Mother, I have already confessed my feelings to Third Brother, and he has promised me that after he ascends the throne, he will arrange a marriage between me and Wanwan. I…”

"you……"

Consort Ying, seemingly drawing strength from nowhere, raised her hand and threw the vase beside the bed at Jiang Yuxian.

"How could I have given birth to such a good-for-nothing?"

Consort Ying was too weak, and her emotions were too intense. Even though she used all her strength, the vase was not thrown very far before it shattered on the ground.

A shard of broken porcelain flew and hit Jiang Yuxian's arm, causing bright red blood to instantly flow down his fingertips and onto the ground.

Upon seeing this, Consort Ying's brow twitched slightly, but when she thought of what Jiang Yuxian had just said, she became furious again.

"You've grown quite bold, haven't you? You actually did something so out of the blue behind my back!" Consort Ying's face was sickly pale, and with each word she spoke, it grew even paler. "All my struggles in the harem were for you, and yet you willingly submitted to someone else for the sake of another woman."

"Mother..."

Jiang Yuxian said helplessly.

"Don't call me Mother, I'm not your Mother."

Consort Ying slapped away Jiang Yuxian's outstretched hand, "Get out of here!"

She practically screamed those words.

Jiang Yuxian paused for a moment, then said, “Mother, we can’t win this battle. The situation is already decided. If I don’t express my feelings to Third Brother soon and willingly submit and show weakness, I’m afraid that after he ascends the throne, the first people he will kill will be my mother and me.”

Consort Ying's lips trembled uncontrollably, her eyes gradually filled with tears, and she stared at Jiang Yuxian with gritted teeth.

However, in that instant, she miraculously regained her composure, the tears that had been welling up in her eyes vanished without a trace, and the tears that were about to spill out were forcibly held back.

"Okay, since you've thought it through, then so be it. You can go back now. I want to be alone for a while."

Jiang Yuxian knew that his mother would have a hard time accepting it.

But now, of his brothers, besides Prince Xiang and Prince Yao, he is the only one who has survived.

Prince Xiang and Prince Yao made their intentions clear early on, and they both openly and secretly contributed a great deal of effort to Jiang Yuyan's struggle for the position of Crown Prince.

Jiang Yuyan had the support of the Pang clan, and he held a large portion of the Yuan Kingdom's military power. It wasn't that he didn't want to fight for it, but what did he have to offer in return?

After leaving Consort Ying's palace, Jiang Yuxian wandered aimlessly around the palace, not knowing where he could go or where he should go.

He didn't know how long he had been walking, but he felt that the palace was getting quieter and quieter. He was so tired, more tired than ever before. He wanted to find a place to sit down and rest for a while.

But I don't know where I can sit down.

Just as he sat down in front of a rock, a candle flame fell before his eyes.

Following the direction of the light, Jiang Yuxian slowly raised his head. He stared at the person in front of him for a while before slowly saying, "Third Brother."

Seeing his distraught state and red-eyed appearance, Jiang Yuyan frowned slightly and reached out to help him up from the ground.

"What happened? Why are you sitting here all alone?"

Jiang Yuyan slowly shook his head. He couldn't very well tell Jiang Yuyan that he had a dispute with his mother over the position of crown prince.

“Third brother, why doesn’t Mother understand me at all? She resents me for going out of the palace to see Wanwan tonight. She’s angry that I didn’t stay by Father’s side when he was seriously ill. She said I shouldn’t have gone out to see Wanwan.”

Jiang Yuxian visibly swayed. “Actually, I know that Mother just thinks Wanwan’s background isn’t noble enough and she won’t be able to help me in the future. But Third Brother, do you know? I just want to be a carefree prince and spend my life with Wanwan. What does her background matter?”

Jiang Yuyan sighed deeply, "It's getting late, and it's too cold outside. I'll have someone take you back to your residence."

Jiang Yuxian paused, seemingly lost in thought, and asked, "Third Brother, where's Wanwan?"

"Don't worry, Wanwan has safely returned to the Shen residence. My men watched her go inside before leaving, so you can rest assured."

Jiang Yuyan took off his fox fur cloak and draped it over Jiang Yuxian. "It's cold and getting late. Although Father's condition has stabilized and he'll be fine, he still needs to rest for a while. Go back and rest early, and come over tomorrow morning. Father will be happy to see you."

“I don’t want to go back to the manor.” Jiang Yuxian shook his head. “Third brother, I want to live in your palace. I want to do what we did when we were little, where we secretly drink a pot of wine together and take a nap together.”

Jiang Yuyan paused for a moment, then said, "Okay."

He paused for a moment, then continued, "Father is all settled now. I'll have someone send a message to the Imperial Concubine to reassure her. Don't worry too much; Father will get better."

Jiang Yuxian nodded. "I'm just worried that Mother might do something to Wanwan tomorrow morning."

"No, it won't happen," Jiang Yuyan said confidently. "Don't worry..."

He paused for a moment, then continued, "I will have people keep a close watch on the Shen residence, and I will make sure that Shen Qingwan does not suffer any harm."

Jiang Yuxian finally breathed a sigh of relief. "Thank you, Third Brother."

The two walked side by side toward the direction of the prince's residence, without saying a word.

When they reached the entrance of the Prince's residence, Jiang Yuyan suddenly stopped and turned to look at Jiang Yuxian. "Third Brother has a question for you. Can you answer Third Brother truthfully?"

"Of course." Jiang Yuxian had a bad feeling, but he still pretended to be calm.

"If..." Jiang Yuyan seemed hesitant to speak, "I'm just saying if, in the future, Shen Qingwan is unable to marry you, your third brother will arrange someone else for you, no matter who it is, your third brother will agree, okay?"