Chapter 47 - Trembling Heart

Rong Xi slowly stopped crying. Because her stomach was too big, although her head was laying on Mu Huai’s shoulder, she was actually quite a distance away from him. Such a posture made the two people very uncomfortable.

Mu Huai’s legs were long and strong, Rong Xi was basically kneeling on them. Actually, he was bearing the weight of both the mother and the child.

Although this posture looked like it was easy to drop her, Rong Xi felt very safe. She knew that Mu Huai would not drop her, he would protect her and the child very well.

Ever since she returned to the palace, Rong Xi had never fully trusted the man in front of her. Up until today, she could not longer ignore the increasing sense of security she felt.

Mu Huai had always been protecting her in his own ways. The sense of security that she had not felt for so many years, he had given it to her.

Ever since Rong Bing had passed away, Rong Xi felt her life had been turned upside down.

When she became a servant, she had always told herself that even if there was no one else left in this world that could protect her, she had to stay strong and learn how to protect herself. But right now, not only did she have the strongest protection in the world, she also had his affection.

Rong Xi naturally wished that Mu Huai could protect her and spoil her with his affection forever. This kind of feeling was very addictive.

However, Mu Huai was in the end still the Great Qi’s Crown Prince, the future emperor.

And next to the emperor, whether it’s concubines or subjects, one had to be cautious all the time–they were tigers dressed in gentleman’s clothing.

Rong Xi was afraid that as time passed, she would be overly dependent on Mu Huai. Scared that however high he raised her right now, if one day she lost his favor, she would tragically tumble down from that high place.

Thinking of this, Rong Xi finally blurted out the truth to Mu Huai–

She revealed everything to him. In the beginning, it was Di Shiyin who helped her escape from Yongxi Palace, then Di Shiyin had discovered from Ye Yunlan that she was pregnant. As a result, Di Shiyin could not allow her to live, and it was most likely that she was the one who employed the assassins that attacked the carriage she and Nanny Huan took in Hongdu.

The mastermind behind Ye Yunlan and Nanny Huan was always just Di Shiyin.

When Mu Huai heard this, he didn’t say anything for a while.

He asked in a cold voice, “Why didn’t you tell me sooner? The day Ye Yunlan died, I said I can help you take revenge, why did you still have to use the child to scheme?”

Rong Xi looked down. She also felt some regret inside, “At that time, this concubine didn’t know what feelings Husband had for her…the people in the palace all said that you would marry her as your principle consort, so this concubine always thought…she would become the Eastern Palace’s Crown princess Consort…”

Mu Huai looked at her up and down.

Although he didn’t say anything, Rong Xi could more or less guess what this person was thinking.

Mu Huai must be scolding her inside for being stupid.

Rong Xi said in a low voice, “…Moreover, this concubine didn’t have any evidence. Di Shiyin was the Empress’s niece after all, at the time, this concubine…couldn’t touch her at all.”

Mu Huai set the woman back on the bed, his large palm caressing her round stomach. His movements towards his unborn child were very gentle, though his eyes were very cruel.

He had lived his past life in vain, actually allowing the Empress and Di Shiyin that bitch to pass their days in peace. Now, although Di Shiyin was dead, the Empress was still fine.

Although he didn’t respect the Empress in his past life, he had allowed her to lead a peaceful and luxurious life in Yongxi Palace.

Since she harbored the intentions of harming his woman and child, he no longer needed to tolerate her.

However, Zhuang Emperor still held some feelings for the Empress.

Now that he was old and dying, if he [Zhuang Emperor] were to know that he [MH] had killed the Empress with such cruel means, then Zhuang Emperor would not only be disappointed in him but also be very sad.

In the end, Mu Huai still cherished their father-son relationship. After considering the bigger picture, he decided to let that old hag in Weiyang Palace live for now.

Looking at Rong Xi’s belly, he scolded her, “If you encounter any troubles in the future, you cannot hide them from me again. Don’t always overthink, in the end, the one that is hurt is still me.”

Rong Xi nodded.

Mu Huai was about to retract his hand when he discovered a few teardrops on the back of his hand.

This delicate woman began to cry again.

He always felt his heart tremble whenever she cried.

No wonder those muddle-headed fools would like to call women their babies.

Mu Huai frowned and ordered in a cold voice, “Not allowed to cry.”

Rong Xi was so frightened she immediately stopped.

After tossing about for a long time, Bianjing’s skies finally brightened and the two people weren’t in the mood to sleep.

Mu Huai glanced at the blood stain on the bed sheet and reached out to wipe away her tears, “What’s the deal with the blood on the bed? Is it your blood?”

Rong Xi answered truthfully, “…It’s pigeon blood.”

Hearing this, Mu Huai stopped wiping her tears for a moment.

He remembered that there was a night when this woman had brought over roasted squab. His countenace grew heavy again as he felt anger well up inside of him.

This woman was full of tricks and schemes.

Feeling that it was a pity to only take the pigeon’s blood, that night she had coaxed him, making him finish the entire pigeon.

She could even do such a thing. What kind of cruel and poisonous woman did he raise?

Rong Xi carefully observed Mu Huai’s heavy countenance. Her belly was very big, so after Mu Huai set her down, she had placed her right hand on her back for support as she sat up with difficulty.

Mu Huai was preparing to change into a set of clean clothes. In a little while, he would go directly to Jiazheng Hall for court.

After getting down from the bed, he saw Rong Xi’s with her loose hair as her eyes were glistening with unshed tears. The bloodstain next to her added a strange sense of allure.

Perhaps it was because she was frightened, she was trying to even out her breathing. Her breasts, which had become bigger and fuller from the pregnancy, rose and fell with her breaths.

Her stomach was round, yet she looked timid and bashful.

Such a pose looked too enticing.

Mu Huai’s gaze changed, his heart full of anger.

He couldn’t believe that he would have such thoughts about her even now.

Such a vixen, calamity, demonness!

Mu Huai took a deep breath and finally calmly told the woman on the bed, “Let the palace maid switch out the sheets, sleep a little while longer.”

******

Yongxi Palace, Jiazheng Hall.

In the court hall, Mu Huai reported everything he had investigated to Zhuang Emperor.

Di Zhuo’s crime was unpardonable. Not only did he embezzle funds from the national treasury, he also did not respect the ancestors of the Mu clan, actually stealing Empress Mi Zhen’s burial possessions when supervising the royal tomb.

In addition, the eldest miss of the Di family had improper conduct, but also harbored hatred and grudges towards the Crown Prince’s liangdi, secretly performing witchcraft in the estate, almost causing the Crown Prince’s liangdi to lose the child.

Each of the crimes committed by the Di family were cruel and monstrous.

Actually, the court officials had already heard this morning that something that happened to the Di family. Apparently, the Crown Prince had brought soldiers to seal and confiscate the Di residence overnight, even grabbing the Di family’s daughter, knocking her head against a rock and killing her.

Although the dead Di family’s daughter was cruel in her methods, the Crown Prince’s methods had always been like this, so the court officials didn’t think it was strange, and no one thought it was regretful either.

Hearing the Crown Prince’s cold voice, all the court officials thought that after Zhuang Emperor finished dealing with the Di clan, the court session would end.

However, out of everyone’s expectations, the Crown Prince continued, “This subject-son also has one more matter to bring up.”

Zhuang Emperor allowed him to continue. The court officials were all guessing when they saw an unfamiliar official holding an ivory badge enter. He wore dark blue official robes, indicating his rank was at least sixth-ranked or above.

The official who entered was the Court of Judicial Review’s Assistant Magistrate: Xu Rui.

Xue Rui’s rank was too low, so usually when court was being held in Yongxi Palace, he was not qualified to enter the big hall to listen.

Today, he was invited inside by the Crown Prince. The more observant court officials guessed that this Xue Rui was someone the Crown Prince supported.

Although this was Xue Rui’s first time entering the big hall and seeing the Emperor, he still maintained a very calm and steady appearance.

Using the suspicious points of Rong Bing’s case from that year, he actively spoke to Zhuang Emperor. When Zhuang Emperor heard this, he contemplated for a while.

He still had some impression of the Minister of Ceremonies with the surname Rong. Many years ago, when Empress Mi Zhen’s tomb incident occurred, he originally didn’t want to punish him too harshly. That year, he had just planned to strip him of his official’s position.

However, due to the suggestions of the imperial censors, he had decreed for Rong Bing to be sent to exile.

Why did the Crown Prince suddenly want to investigate this decades-old case, even bringing in the assistant magistrate of the Court of Judicial Review to investigate and overturn the verdict of a dead official?

Zhuang Emperor looked at the main hall. Seeing the luxuriously clad Mu Huai, he suddenly understood.

That liangdi he favored, her surname was Rong.

A while ago, there were rumors int he palace that the Rong liangdi was the daughter of a criminal official.

Zhuang Emperor knew very well that the reason his strong-tempered beloved son was doing this was so because he wanted to obtain a higher position for Rong liangdi. The way Mu Huai did things was more decisive and daring, and Zhuang Emperor was pleased with this. However, even if Rong Xi’s father was innocent, he was still just a fourth-ranked Minister of Ceremonies. Mu Huai can certainly raise her to the position of the Crown Princess Consort, but that Rong liangdi will still be criticized by others.

Zhuang Emperor looked as if he was seriously listening to Xue Rui speaking, but in reality his thoughts were elsewhere.

What else will Man Ya do next to openly and legitimately have that woman occupy the position of the Crown Princess Consort?

In order to show justice, Zhuang Emperor sent down an imperial edict that same day, letting the deceased Rong Bing reclaim his position. This would also serve as an explanation to the other Rong clan’s family members that were affected by the association.

The punishment for the Di clan was as follows–

The former Minister of Rites, Di Zhuo, will be beheaded in public in three days.

As for the other Di clan members, the males will be exiled and the females will enter the palace to become the lowest-ranked palace servants.

The Di family’s possessions will be confiscated and added to the national treasury.

Although the current Empress’s surname was Di, Zhuang Emperor did not strip her of her position. On account of their husband-and-wife feelings, he only ordered her to stay in Weiyang Palace and reflect.

Although Mu Huai was not satisfied with the punishment for Empress Di, he did not show any dissatisfaction in front of Zhuang Emperor.

In any case, he thought that after Zhuan Emperor passed, he would definitely not let her live.

Di Zhuo’s family property was all taken by the national treasury, making everyone at court panic and tongue-tied. No one expected that a mere Minister of Rites could embezzle so much money.

The court officials became more alert and cautious. The Crown Pirnce’s actions this time was just using the Di family as the first example.

He is the future monarch, and naturally he had to take advantage of this opportunity to eliminate any powers that were unfavorable to him in the name of eradicating corrupt officials.

Mu Huai obtained last year’s national treasury’s expenditures from the Ministry of Revenue. After confiscating and sealing the Di clan, he still wanted to use this extra money to support the military. Recently, there were not many good horses in Great Qi, but Kingdom Gu had many good horses. He wanted to make a deal with Kingdom Gu’s monarch and buy some of their horses.

It didn’t necessarily have to be fully grown horses, even calfs would be enough as their price would also be much cheaper than fully grown ones.

In addition, he didn’t plan on waging any wars for the next few years. He just wanted Great Qi to safely pass through the natural disaster that would happen in three years.

After three years, the calfs would grow into sturdy horses. If, at that time, he wanted to launch a military expedition, those horses would be in their prime.

Of course, this money also had one more use.

The wedding for him and that woman could be more extravagant.

It’s different from taking Rong Xi as a concubine. This time, he would be taking her as his wife.

Naturally, he wanted to give only the very best to Rong Xi.

Thinking of this, Mu Huai let out a light sigh.

He was thinking that their wedding could be held near Jinming Pond. Bianjing’s citizens would also be able to witness the grand occasion of the Crown Prince marrying his consort.

He wanted everyone to know, Rong Xi was his, Mu Huai’s, legitimate and proper wife.

This author wants to say: In the Song dynasty, the commoners were allowed to witness the Crown Prince’s marriage, this isn’t Old Dog Mu abusing his power.

Let me tell you guys something, after this part passes, Old Dog Mu will be able to eat his fill once again hehehe