The Double-Chapter 585 - 171 Torn Apart_3

"How can I not do anything to him?" Princess Yongning swept the teapot and cups from the table with a sudden gesture, causing a "clatter" as they hit the floor, the noise especially grating in the still of the night. Princess Yongning said furiously, "I insist on making him so miserable that he can’t escape the consequences!"

"But he won’t admit it," said Mei Xiang, "He refuses to confess to harming the young emperor, and besides, in the eyes of others, he truly has no reason to kill his own child."

"So it ends if he doesn’t confess?" Princess Yongning replied, "Isn’t he engaging in such villainy in his own residence? It’s about time the whole world saw the true face of Eldest Young Master Li. Even if I can’t prove he murdered my child, at the very least, I can choose to divorce him. And in doing so, let the people see what kind of monstrous beast Emperor Hongxiao matched me with, and what his intentions were?"

If it were so, revealing Li Xian’s true nature, she could rightfully divorce him and place all blame on his shoulders. Emperor Hongxiao’s poor judgment in character would also make the citizens question his faults. It would perfectly create an opportunity for Prince Cheng.

As Mei Xiang pondered, she said, "That could work. But how does Your Highness plan to reveal Eldest Young Master Li’s true nature?"

For a while, there was silence in the room. When Mei Xiang almost couldn’t bear the waiting anymore, Princess Yongning finally spoke.

She said, "I won’t settle for half measures. Since Li Xian is so confident, I’ll expose his scandals in front of all the civil and military officials. That way, there’s no turning back, and the Li Family will have no choice but to accept their fate."

"That’s the price for provoking me! I’ll make the Li Family become the laughing stock of the world, where they’re pointed at on the streets and ridiculed by everyone!"

...

That night, the events at the Li Mansion seemed unknown to others. Yanjing City settled into a quiet lull, soon followed by a spring rain. The spring rain pattered down, gradually easing the chill of winter and replacing it with a growing warmth.

But spring arrived particularly slowly.

Passersby hurried along the streets with their oil paper umbrellas, grateful for the spring rain, as farmers awaited the autumn harvest since the beginning of spring.

In this apparent tranquility, the royal court seemed particularly harmonious, yet no one saw the undercurrents churning beneath the placid surface, waiting for the day when storms and floods would rise tumultuously.

Emperor Hongxiao attended the morning court as punctual as ever. Unlike the Late Emperor, who in his old age preferred pleasure and was lukewarm about attending court, even to the point of holding sessions only a few times a month, Emperor Hongxiao distinguished himself by never being late or missing a morning court since ascending to the throne. freёweɓnovel.com

He appeared as a diligent and benevolent monarch. From the time he became the young emperor, he was initially timid in court, and the court officials didn’t take him seriously, seeing him merely as a weak youth. Now, although some still held that view, others did not dare to underestimate him anymore.

The sessions were filled with the usual affairs: the construction of water conservancy projects, the allocation of the fund for disaster aid, replenishing the state treasury—general signs of peace and prosperity, which made the speakers sound unenthusiastic and the listeners appear to be merely going through the motions.

There were countless days like this in a year, and such days had gone by for many years.

Just as the assembly was about to be dismissed, on a day with no more matters to report, an untimely woman’s voice suddenly interrupted: "Your Majesty!"

A female’s outcry was not tolerated in the grand hall. When the assembly looked, to their surprise it was Princess Yongning. She didn’t come from the front of the hall, but from behind, pushing past the eunuchs who tried to stop her. It seemed she had struggled, as her garments were somewhat disheveled. Her makeup also looked particularly tragic today, perhaps due to her red-rimmed eyes or because of her pale complexion. In any case, it was the first time the court officials saw the princess, who was always meticulously elegant and unwilling to show any vulnerability, appear so frail and pitiful.

"What is the meaning of this?" Emperor Hongxiao said angrily, "Who allowed her to come in?"

This was inappropriate.

"Your Majesty!" Princess Yongning threw herself to the ground, repeatedly kowtowing to Emperor Hongxiao, crying, "I implore you, for the sake of our kinship, save Yongning! If you don’t save me, Yongning’s life is at stake!"

Had anyone ever seen a high and mighty princess kowtow? It seemed no one had. Even before Emperor Hongxiao, it was the first time for Yongning. She used to rely on the Late Emperor’s favoritism towards Empress Dowager Liu and had not taken the then Crown Prince seriously. Even after Emperor Hongxiao’s ascension, Yongning only superficially complied with him.