The struggle for the throne during the Jiajing reign

Chapter 150 Thank You

If Consort Kang were to move into the West Garden, it would probably take less than half a day for her to arrive.

Doesn't this person know that to consolidate her position, even if she were to rise one rank further, she would become an Imperial Noble Consort, possessing a golden book and seal, and in the absence of an Empress, she could manage the affairs of the six palaces?

It's not only important to her, but also to her son.

When Zhu Zaizhen was summoned in, he saw his mother calmly drinking tea, while his father, the emperor, looked indifferent.

Zhu Zaizhen looked at Huang Jin, only to see him shake his head helplessly.

If the Empress were a little more tactful, she wouldn't have taken so long to be promoted to the rank of Imperial Concubine.

"Your subject pays respects to Your Majesty. May Your Majesty live ten thousand years."

2

"Are you happy that your mother has been promoted to Imperial Concubine?"

I would be even happier if it were the Empress.

"Your Majesty, I am deeply grateful and moved to tears. Your Majesty's grace is boundless."

Jiajing's voice held a half-smile: "Are you thinking it would be even better if you directly made her Empress?"

Madam Lu put down her teacup and knelt down as well, but unfortunately, the tea was just about to reach its best flavor.

Zhu Zaizhen's heart tightened, but he had expected it, so he immediately said, "I dare not. My only wish is for Father Emperor to forever receive the Mandate of Heaven, and for Mother Consort to be safe and happy. I have no other desires."

While Jiajing was seemingly asking Zhu Zaizhen a question, he was actually paying attention to Lady Lu. Unfortunately, Lady Lu simply lowered her head and remained silent.

A few days ago, her son had already spoken to her. If her father was happy, then he could say whatever he wanted. If her father was unhappy, then he should handle it himself and not say a word more.

Seeing that the emperor did not respond, Zhu Zaizhen could only continue to speak cautiously: "The position of empress is highly respected and cannot be easily attained by ordinary concubines. My mother is of a quiet and unassuming nature. She has been in the palace for nearly twenty years and has always been dutiful and obedient. She has never had any desire to curry favor or compete with others. I humbly request Your Majesty to understand this."

Emperor Jiajing stared at the mother and son for a moment, his cold and hard expression softening slightly. It wasn't because what Prince Jing said was particularly good, but because Lady Lu remained silent and bowed her head from beginning to end, neither arguing nor interrupting, appearing to completely submit to the Emperor's decision.

Get up.

"Thank you, Father Emperor." Zhu Zaizhen responded and stood up, then naturally helped his mother to her seat.

Consort Lu sat back down on the stool, picked up the teacup she had just put down, took a small sip, and looked relaxed, as if nothing had happened.

Looking at her nonchalant demeanor, Jiajing felt both angry and somewhat helpless.

When others receive extraordinary favor, they are either fearful and cautious or overjoyed and eager to please, but she alone does whatever she wants, completely disregarding her status and any warnings.

"You truly have a kind heart." Jiajing's tone suddenly held a hint of genuine envy: "I have cultivated Taoism for over twenty years, yet I still fall short of the mark. You, on the other hand, are born with it."

Consort Lu put down her teacup and looked up at the Emperor: "I am not indifferent to honor or disgrace, but there is nothing to be alarmed about. No matter what promotion you receive, Your Majesty is still Your Majesty, I am still I, and Zai Zhen is still Zai Zhen. Life will continue as usual."

These words, though simple, left Jiajing speechless for a moment.

That makes sense, but many people don't act that way. They beam with joy when favored and weep when out of favor. They are arrogant when they are in a high position and complain about everything when they are in a low position. That's what normal people are like, isn't it?

Her eyes were clear and a smile appeared on her face: "If we take another step forward, someone has told me, and I have thought about it myself, but I still can't understand, is that crown and seal really more important than being able to eat, drink tea and sleep peacefully every day?"

"I am very content now. I have Your Majesty, Zai Zhen, and I can take care of the Imperial Noble Consort. Occasionally, I can also do things that I enjoy."

Jiajing nodded, then looked at Zhu Zaizhen and said, "As you can see, your mother is an anomaly in this palace. Sometimes I think she's too useless, and sometimes I think she understands things better than anyone else."

Consort Lu lowered her head and took a sip of tea. The tea was indeed at its best, warm but not scalding, fragrant but not overpowering, with a sweet aftertaste. Fortunately, she got up early. Thinking about it this way, the emperor was quite good.

"Your Majesty, I only wish that Mother is happy."

This answer satisfied Jiajing: "Good, this is true filial piety."

A filial son and a righteous mother are both good things, and they are much less troublesome than another mother and son.

Caiyun stood shyly in front of Consort Kang, somewhat embarrassed to speak.

Consort Kang stared longingly at her belly, wishing it would swell up immediately.

"Keep serving them well, don't rush—but don't be too slow either!"

As she spoke, she took out a brocade box from beside her pillow and gently opened it. Inside was a hairpin made of pure gold and inlaid with rubies. It was exquisitely crafted and clearly an imperial artifact.

"This was a special gift from His Majesty when I was pregnant with Prince Yu. I'm putting it away for you now."

What good things could a palace maid like Caiyun have? The best jewelry she could get was made of silver. But this piece of jewelry in front of her, with its red gold and precious stones, made her heart flutter.

But she immediately knelt down: "This servant dares not, Your Majesty. Please keep it. If you really want to reward me, a simple bracelet will suffice."

"Stand up!" Consort Kang suddenly became angry. "What is this? You shallow-minded thing! As long as you strive for success, you can have whatever you want!"

-

Caiyun trembled at Consort Kang's rebuke and hurriedly stood up, but still dared not take the hairpin with her hands.

Consort Kang held the brocade box and looked at Caiyun's uneasy appearance. Her anger subsided slightly. She knew that Caiyun came from a humble background and was always cautious. It was understandable that she did not dare to accept the generous reward.

"I know you're feeling apprehensive." Consort Kang softened her tone and reached out to hand the brocade box forward. "It's just a hairpin, nothing special. Back when I was pregnant with Prince Yu, His Majesty was overjoyed and bestowed upon me mountains of precious jewels and ornaments."

Consort Jing only received a few items, far less than I did. Humph, if it weren't for the Empress Dowager's favoritism back then—"

As Caiyun listened to Consort Kang recount the old stories, her gaze remained fixed on the hairpin, its gemstone dazzling and more red than blood.

Finally, unable to resist, she reached out and took the box. Consort Kang stopped talking abruptly and slowly let go after a few moments.

"This servant thanks Your Highness for the reward."

Zai, your mother has done everything she could for you. Whether you can protect what's yours depends on this one time.

Consort Kang thought to herself, glancing reluctantly at the hairpin: "Go, serve Prince Yu well."

"Yes."

Caiyun carried the brocade box back to Prince Yu's bedroom. Prince Yu had been suffering from a slight cold recently and had not attended classes. He was pacing anxiously at the moment.

Seeing Caiyun return, he immediately ran to greet her: "How did it go? Did Mother give you a hard time?"

When Caiyun saw Prince Yu, her eyes were full of affection. She carefully opened the brocade box and said, "No, Your Majesty also gave me this as a reward."

""

Prince Yu was somewhat incredulous. He recognized the hairpin; Consort Kang had told him about it countless times.

"That's wonderful!" Prince Yu excitedly pulled Caiyun and ran into the house. "Come on, let me put it on you."

Caiyun let him pull her along, but said, "No, Your Highness, what kind of status do you have? How can you serve me? Besides, how could I be qualified to wear such a precious treasure?"

Prince Yu was overjoyed and paid no attention to any of this. The young man was pure of heart and believed that his mother's gift of her beloved possession to Caiyun was a genuine expression of her respect and approval, something he rarely received from his mother.

I thought that crossing the line with Caiyun would surely result in punishment from my mother, but I never expected it to turn out this way.

He walked without stopping, leading Caiyun to the mirror, and reached out to support her shoulder so that she could turn around and face the mirror.

Prince Yu snatched the hairpin, intending to put it on her, but he couldn't quite reach it. He stood on tiptoe and could only say with some annoyance, "Lower yourself."

Caiyun smiled, slightly bent her knees, and lowered her head by half a head. Prince Yu aimed the hairpin at the center of her hair bun and slowly inserted it. He then took two steps back and looked at his reflection in the mirror.

The person in the mirror had gentle features, long eyelashes, and was fidgeting with her sleeves. She looked so charming that his heart pounded and a youthful joy spread across his face.

"nice."

Prince Yu's tone became increasingly certain: "It looks even better than when my mother wore it."

"Your Highness~"

Prince Yu regretted his words, but upon hearing Caiyun's shy voice, he felt more joyful than ever before. He had never received such recognition and a sense of control from someone he cared about.

From the corridor, Zhao Cheng saw the actions of the two people inside the hall from afar and sighed heavily.

He could see clearly that Prince Yu was filled with the joy of first love, while Caiyun, though she had reservations, could not resist the temptation of wealth and the tenderness before her.

After sending his mother back to the palace, Zhu Zaizhen finally breathed a sigh of relief. It was no easy feat to rise to the rank of Imperial Concubine. His father, the Emperor, was unpredictable and difficult to please.

Ma Dezhao returned at some point, and seeing that there was no one else around, he told them what he had found out.

Just as Zhu Zaizhen had predicted, the bees were collecting nectar.

"That Caiyun is amazing."

How much does my brother Wang know about this matter? It's not easy, since it's all Caiyun's doing. After all, he's just a child who's just starting to develop.

"Let's go see him." Zhu Zaizhen was genuinely curious.

The two princes' residences were originally in the same place. Zhu Zaizhen strolled over to the place, and after being announced, he entered the palace and immediately recognized Caiyun.

After all, there were no other palace maids dressed plainly, but wearing a ruby ​​hairpin on their head.

However, he only glanced at it before turning his gaze back to Prince Yu and asking, "Brother Prince, are you feeling better?"

For some reason, Prince Yu suddenly felt that his younger brother was childish, just a kid. He smiled gently and said, "Much better. How are you? Have you been tired lately?"

I haven't even left the palace, nor have I been a bee, so what could be tiring about!

The tone of Prince Yu almost gave him goosebumps.

"I'm not tired, but Brother Wang looks a bit tired."

"I'm not tired at all, I'm all better now!"

"Really?" Zhu Zaizhen circled him twice. "Why does it feel like Brother Wang is different from before?"

"A scholar should be viewed with new eyes after three days of separation." This was the first time Prince Yu had stood so upright in front of his younger brother.

At this moment, Caiyun was also secretly observing Prince Jing. Was this the legendary prince who had been unruly and lawless in the palace since childhood and whose family had been raided?

Zhu Zaizhen noticed the slightly presumptuous gaze and immediately turned to look, which startled Caiyun, who quickly lowered her head.

"Isn't that the precious hairpin that Consort Kang is wearing?"

Prince Yu was not surprised that Zhu Zaizhen could recognize it, because when they were six or seven years old, Zaizhen tricked him into leading the way and secretly sneaked into his mother's palace to steal the hairpin, intending to use it to poke a big toad by the pond.

It was all because Zaizhen overheard his mother scolding Consort Jing in private, and learned from him that his mother treasured this hairpin the most—

If Ma Dezhao hadn't stopped it, the hairpin would have been stained.

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