She toyed with the small blade in her hand. When she heard movement outside, she quickly hid it back up her sleeve, then turned and sat upright. The moment she laid eyes on Emperor Yongchang, her eyes lit up with an intense brilliance. With a sob, she cried out:
“Royal Father!”
What a good child.
Yongchang’s heart instantly softened to a puddle. He had always cherished this daughter dearly—especially now that she was so gravely injured.
He sighed and asked, “Does it hurt?”
After a long silence, Princess Baorong shook her head with tears in her eyes, lips tightly pressed together: “It doesn’t hurt, Royal Father. Not at all.”
Even as she said it didn’t hurt, her hand pressed at her back, and fresh blood immediately oozed out again, dripping onto Yongchang’s hand.
The Emperor’s expression changed at once.
He scolded, unable to hold back: “What do you mean it doesn’t hurt? Look at your wound! Xiao Mo has been brain-damaged since childhood—you can’t treat him like a normal person! Why didn’t you avoid him?!”
At the same time, he ordered Eunuch Xia to summon the imperial physician.
Eunuch Xia stole a discreet glance at Princess Baorong and inwardly trembled.
This princess… what a cunning move. She had stirred up such chaos, even roping in veteran nobles from Min to pressure the emperor with their supposed “loyalty debt.”
But now, the moment Princess Baorong was injured, the entire situation shifted.
The pursuit of Liu Wangfei—such a massive affair—was essentially brushed aside because of Baorong and Noble Consort Xiao Liu’s injuries.
Princess Baorong quickly grabbed the emperor’s hand, eyes wide and tearful: “Royal Father, I’m really fine, truly! Please don’t summon the physician, and don’t alert anyone else on my account!”
She let out a bitter smile, her voice low and full of grief: “It was Grandfather who committed the sins of the past. Whether it’s true or not that Aunt is his daughter, in the end, it was Grandfather who hunted her down, harmed her, and harmed my older brother…”
Emperor Yongchang’s gaze was complicated.
This daughter had always been the most considerate of him.
He sighed: “It’s over now. Everything that happened was the doing of Liu Qinghou and Liu Jinghong. Your mother was still young then—she had no part in it. Let’s put this matter to rest.”
Princess Baorong gave a soft sigh: “Royal Father, Aunt suffered too much. Tomorrow is New Year’s Eve. According to tradition, the Empress must accompany you to honor the ancestors and keep vigil for the new year. It’s always been like that…”
Mentioning this only made Emperor Yongchang more irritable.
Previously, this had been handled by Empress Feng.
But the two of them had long grown sick of each other—he disliked her and naturally wouldn’t let her appear publicly.
So he had always honored the ancestors alone, holding Liu Wangfei’s spirit tablet.
Now that she was alive and back, of course, she should accompany him to the ancestral temple, to reward the ministers’ families and preside over the palace banquet.
Thinking of this, he let out a bitter laugh: “She still resents me, I’m afraid. She may not be willing to return with me.”
Princess Baorong bit her lip and said softly: “Royal Father, let Royal Mother and me go.”
Emperor Yongchang frowned and immediately refused: “Nonsense! What would you two go for?!”
He had seen clearly today what Liu Wangfei thought of Duke Chu.
That look said she thought he’d died too quickly, too easily.
And Jiang Yanzhen, hiding behind everyone with his neck shrunk like a turtle—pretending to be dead.
But that wouldn’t work either. From the look in Liu Wangfei’s eyes, she clearly didn’t intend to spare anyone from the Liu family.
If Baorong and Noble Consort Xiao Liu went to her now, they’d only be asking for trouble.
Inwardly, Baorong was gloating.
Didn’t she say it? A man’s love determines his bias.
Perhaps even the emperor himself hadn’t realized it, but he had already fully taken the noble consort’s side—and that of her children.
And the more he did, the more Baorong pushed her advantage: “Royal Father! You’ve said it yourself—she is your proper, original empress. She will have to return to the palace eventually. Are we going to hide forever?”
Emperor Yongchang fell silent.
Baorong lowered her head, tears dripping: “Let us go, Royal Father. Let us beg her for forgiveness. Let’s turn swords into plowshares—wouldn’t that be for the best?”
After weighing it over and over, Emperor Yongchang finally relented—but still asked after her wound: “Can you manage it?”
Baorong immediately pouted and acted coy: “Even if I faint, I’ll wait until I get back before doing it!”
Emperor Yongchang, full of anxiety, couldn’t help but laugh at that and tapped her nose affectionately.
The father and daughter chatted warmly for a while. Then, Baorong suddenly frowned and asked: “Royal Father, do you know the eldest daughter of the Qi family?”
The emperor, exhausted from handling endless affairs—especially since Liu Wangfei’s return had meant the death of thousands—frowned and said: “Never heard of her. Just a noble’s daughter—why would I pay attention? And how do you know of her?”
Baorong had indeed studied outside the palace when younger and mingled with girls from noble families.
But the Qi girl wasn’t from the capital originally—hadn’t she been found somewhere outside?
Why would Baorong know her?
Baorong looked a bit blank and sighed: “It’s nothing. I was just curious. I heard this Miss Qi is rather peculiar. She got lost when young and was raised by a butcher, but ever since she came back, she’s been astonishing. Very different from the typical noble girl. And she has powerful people backing her—it’s really impressive!”
She recounted how Qi Yuan had forced out Qi Jin, and how she’d made a splash at the polo match and rendered Liu Mingzhu infertile.
As she spoke, Princess Baorong suddenly began sobbing.
The emperor hastily tried to comfort her: “What’s this now? You were speaking so well—why tears?”
“Royal Father, Mingzhu grew up with me. She always thought of me first when she had anything good. She’s always been so kind to me. And now Grandfather’s fallen, Grandmother’s gone, and even Uncle has died… Does she really have to be sent to that kind of place?”
Emperor Yongchang understood immediately. It wasn’t a big deal.
He smiled slightly: “Fine. Since you’ve said so, I’ll have Zhou Wang arrange something appropriate for her.”
Princess Baorong immediately flung herself into his arms, clinging tightly to his arm: “I knew it—Royal Father, no matter what, you’ve always loved me the most!”
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