After hearing her gossip, all the civil and military officials went crazy.

Chapter 191 Don't many men like to live off women?

【What does that mean? I don't quite understand!】

Others couldn't understand it either.

Only Ji Qingwan understood what it meant.

My heart was pounding with nervousness.

Just then, the emperor arrived.

"His Majesty has arrived!"

Everyone quickly stood up and bowed to the emperor.

"Long live my emperor."

"No need for formalities, please rise!"

The empress helped the emperor to sit down beside her.

"Your Majesty, what brings you here?"

Why has the emperor arrived?

Fang Lingchu's and the Empress's voices rang out simultaneously.

This put the emperor in a somewhat awkward position.

"I heard the Empress is hosting a banquet, so I'm coming over to freeload a meal."

The Empress laughed and teased the Emperor, saying, "Are the servants not going to prepare food for Your Majesty? Watch how I deal with Eunuch Gao."

Hearing this, Eunuch Gao quickly said, "Your Majesty, please forgive us! His Majesty missed the ladies, so he came over."

[Host, Eunuch Gao's words are quite eloquent.]

Of course! After all, they work for the emperor, so they definitely need to know how to speak tactfully.

That's true, but what's the emperor doing here?

[How should I know, host? Do you want to join the fun?]

Are there still melons to eat here?

Fang Lingchu looked around and saw only the emperor's concubines and the candidates for crown princess. What gossip could she possibly have?

Sure! But should we continue following the gossip about the imperial concubine?

What else does the Imperial Concubine possess?

[Hehehe, host, this imperial concubine is a male imperial concubine.]

When the Empress heard the name Consort Nan, she almost choked on her tea.

Cough cough cough.

"Your Majesty, are you alright?"

The Empress's maidservants quickly came over to help her catch her breath.

The emperor also cared about his wife.

"Your Majesty, I am fine..."

The Empress wanted to ask if His Majesty was alright, but she was afraid of being discovered by Fang Lingchu, so she could only look at him with worry.

The emperor shook his head, telling her not to worry.

The imperial concubine remained calm, showing no fear of being exposed.

[Guagua, what did you say? I don't quite understand!]

[What's there to misunderstand? It's just that the Imperial Concubine is a man!]

【No, Imperial Concubine, the Emperor's Imperial Concubine, a man... I feel like I don't quite understand what you're saying!】

[What's so hard to understand? Ji Qingwan was the first child of the Ji family. At that time, the emperor wanted the Ji family's support, so Ji Mingcheng disguised himself as a woman and stayed at the palace for a month. Then the emperor brought him into the palace, giving him the alias Ji Qingwan.]

[Isn't this tantamount to deceiving the emperor? Does the Ji family have no regard for their lives?]

[The emperor agreed! At that time, the emperor was still the crown prince and had just married the empress. He didn't want so many people around, so he cooperated with the Ji family, which led to this situation.]

The Empress looked at the composed woman in surprise, never expecting that he had such a background.

[So you're saying Ji Qingwan likes the Empress, is that true?]

[The Empress was his savior, of course he likes her! But it's not romantic love; it's more of an affirmation of a woman and a deep sense of mutual respect stemming from shared fate.]

[I understand now. What's so special about Ji Mingcheng?]

[Of course! He's a man of both literary and military talent, and his understanding of military strategy is thorough. If he had the chance to leave the palace, I could easily become a military strategist protecting the country.] [If he's so capable, why doesn't the emperor let him out?]

According to his and the emperor's original plan, the crown prince should have grown up and the court should have stabilized, at which point he could have faked his death and escaped. Unfortunately, the crown prince's condition remained unstable, so he had no choice but to stay and accompany the empress in managing the harem.

According to the original plot, in the same year, the emperor planned to set him free, but unexpectedly, the emperor himself fell ill first.

Ji Mingcheng lost his freedom and could only look into the distance, longing for someone he could never be with.

After the fourth prince ascended the throne, he imprisoned all of the emperor's concubines.

[The Imperial Concubine and the Empress were forced to go to Jing'an Temple to pray for the Emperor's well-being, and then the Fourth Prince even sent the Imperial Concubine to Zhou for a political marriage!]

[What? A political marriage? How can a male concubine be sent for a political marriage?]

[What's wrong with having a male concubine? It's not like no one likes him. But on the way, Ji Mingcheng just ran off, which indirectly fulfilled his dream.]

What happened to her in the end?

[Nothing much! He gathered his own forces among the common people, then helped the Empress regain the throne and made her the Empress.]

However, he only sat there for a month before his death. Ji Mingcheng himself died on the battlefield; his head was cut off and hung there for three days and three nights. It was quite a tragic scene.

Upon hearing this, Fang Lingchu looked up and unintentionally met the eyes of the Imperial Concubine. In that instant, she seemed to see a man who was not afraid of death for freedom, standing on the city wall, waving happily at her.

She should be happy. At least she did what she loved in the end and fulfilled her promise to the emperor, protecting the Dragon Kingdom to the very end. She should be happy. If he were to enter the harem again, I believe he would definitely choose to die in battle.

Maybe!

Do you think I should remind the emperor to release the Imperial Concubine?

[Host, are you crazy, or do you think your emperor is so easy to talk to?]

Sorry, I was just daydreaming. Let's continue watching the drama unfold.

The two men's attention was no longer on the imperial concubine.

The imperial concubine looked at the emperor with some expectation, hoping that he would spare her.

The emperor nodded to her.

In fact, Emperor Chongde should have given Ji Mingcheng his freedom, but he was too busy lately and forgot.

The emperor gave a look to the people around him.

The eunuch Gao understood and conveyed the message to everyone present.

Everyone nodded frantically.

This indicates that he will absolutely not spread what he hears.

Having received a satisfactory answer, the emperor was almost ready to return.

At this moment, the system suddenly said again: [Host, would you like to hear some gossip about those candidates for Crown Princess?]

Empress: We've finally gotten to the point.

Emperor: I'd like to hear this.

Others: We're finally getting to the point.

Whose melon is this?

Let's first talk about the gossip surrounding Song Jiaojiao, the second daughter of a fourth-rank general who was appointed to lead the army to pacify the south.

What happened to Song Jiaojiao? What kind of gossip is it?

Song Jiaojiao: Does she have any scandalous gossip?

[You could say it wasn't hers, but rather her older sister's.]

【Her older sister? What the heck?】

Song Jiaojiao: What happened to her older sister?
[That's right. Song Jiaojiao's mother was an exceptionally shrewd businesswoman, so she saved up a lot of dowry for her two daughters. This is why the Empress chose her.]

[Oh! So Song Jiaojiao is a rich woman, and then what?]

[And didn't her older sister like the young master of the Marquis of Lin'an family?]

What's wrong?

What else could it be? Fan Ruifeng doesn't even like her; he only married her for her money.

【That's normal, what's wrong with that? A lot of men just like to live off women, right?】

That's different!

(End of this chapter)