"This fish is too salty."
Then he swallowed it in one gulp.
Yao Yuzhi was startled and blurted out the two words she hadn't finished saying: "There are thorns!"
But it was too late. Wei Hong moved too fast, and the moment he uttered those two words, he felt a sharp pain in his throat as he choked on a fishbone.
Chapter 117 Rouge [First Update]
In a lavishly decorated palace in the Southern Yan royal palace, a beautiful woman instructed her maid to remove the lampshade from the table, placed a letter in her hand next to a candle, and let the candlelight ignite it.
Flames slowly burned the letter, still inside its envelope, to ashes. A maidservant watching this scene hesitated several times before finally speaking up, saying, "Your Highness, you burned this letter without even reading it. What if... what if His Majesty has something to tell you?"
The woman chuckled: "What could he possibly have to tell me? He's just threatening me with my parents and clan, trying to persuade the Yan Emperor to send more troops to besiege Shuozhou and help him attack the King of Qin."
"But he's foolish and has already missed the best opportunity. What's the use of coming to me now? Does he really think that since Southern Yan is mine, the Emperor and the princes will do whatever I say?"
The maid frowned: "But...but the master and mistress are both in his hands."
The woman remained silent for a moment, looking at the ashes scattered on the table.
“They abandoned me to protect themselves back then, and now I’m abandoning them to protect myself. Consider it…eventy. I don’t feel like I’ve wronged anyone.”
The woman speaking was Ji Yunwan, who had been abandoned by the Ji family but spared her life by Wei Chi.
After Ji Yunwan "died," Wei Chi renamed her Shu Ning and gave her to the emperor of Southern Yan.
The emperor of Southern Yan was fond of beautiful women. Even though he was old and frail and in poor health, he couldn't resist taking in such a beautiful woman. From then on, Southern Yan had one more concubine, Consort Shu.
Ji Yunwan, at a young age, had no choice but to submit to an old man who was already over fifty, and live a life of using her beauty to serve him.
Not only that, Wei Chi also gave her original name to her maid, Pan Xiang, and changed her name to Wan'er.
This was his warning to her, and also his humiliation.
Didn't she imitate her sister in every word and action, wanting to replace her sister and go to the King of Qin's side?
He then gave her the character "Shu" from her sister's name, instructing her to serve the Yan Emperor. He also gave her name to a maid, reminding her that she was now a "dead person" and no longer Ji Yunwan, the second daughter of the Ji family.
Wan'er didn't show much shock after hearing her "treasonous" words. She just asked in a low voice, "Then what are Your Highness's plans for the future?"
Ji Yunwan lowered her head and gently stroked a jade pendant hanging from her waist.
“I am a native of Daliang. No matter how much I am favored in this palace, I am still a rootless duckweed. If the wind and waves are a little strong, I may be swept to the bottom of the water and never be able to rise again.”
"Since that's the case... I'll have to find someone to rely on."
Wan'er recognized the jade pendant at her waist, knowing it was a gift from Prince Yu, the eldest prince of Southern Yan and son of Emperor Yan. She pursed her lips and lowered her voice.
"Your Majesty, you want to... marry Prince Yu? But Prince Yu is the son of the Yan Emperor, and in name he is yours..."
She paused, skipped the last two words, and said, "Even if Prince Yu really has feelings for you, and even if he really inherits the throne in the future, it's impossible for him to... give you a title."
The entire court is watching. How could Prince Yu possibly make his own father's concubine his own? Wouldn't that be handing over a huge handle to others as soon as he ascends the throne, allowing them to attack him at any time?
Ji Yunwan chuckled lightly: "With my current status and position, what kind of title can I still hope for? Just being able to keep my life and the wealth and honor I have now is already difficult enough."
Time has passed, and she is no longer the arrogant and proud Ji Yunwan who thought there was nothing in the world she couldn't get.
Wan'er was taken aback and almost blurted out, "Does Your Highness intend to become Prince Yu's concubine without any title or status?"
Before speaking, she finally realized how offensive her words were, and changed her tone, saying, "Then... what does Your Majesty intend to do?"
Ji Yunwan raised her hand and gently stroked her lower abdomen.
“I have no roots in Southern Yan, and I can’t rely on my family to keep men around, so I can only… rely on my children.”
Wan'er was startled and looked at her in disbelief: "Your Majesty is pregnant?"
She spends all her time by the Empress's side, and I've never heard of her being pregnant.
Ji Yunwan shook her head: "Not yet."
"That……"
"But it's possible."
Ji Yunwan interrupted her.
Wan'er understood her meaning, her voice trembling: "Your Majesty wants... a child of Prince Yu?"
Emperor Yan has many children, most of whom are already adults. Even if Ji Yunwan is pregnant with his child, it is destined that the child will not amount to much.
Unless all the princes before her die, there's no way her child will inherit the throne.
Moreover, once Prince Yu or someone else ascends the throne, the late emperor's children will become thorns in her side, not only unable to help her consolidate her position, but possibly even becoming her death warrant.
Even if Wan'er were foolish, she would know that what she wanted was not the child of the current Yan Emperor, but the child of the future Yan Emperor.
Looking at the entire Southern Yan, the most likely successor to the throne is the eldest prince, Prince Yu.
It just so happened that Prince Yu was very fond of their empress, and the two had been secretly seeing each other for a long time. Prince Yu was very obedient to her and would do almost anything she asked for. Even when she asked him to send troops to attack Shuozhou, he only hesitated for a moment and then agreed after she had coaxed and whispered in his ear for a while.
“But Your Highness is the Emperor Yan’s concubine,” Wan’er reminded her, “The child in your womb… can only be the Emperor Yan’s.”
Even if they all knew perfectly well that the child belonged to Prince Yu, Prince Yu would never acknowledge him.
Ji Yunwan still smiled faintly and said slowly, "I know, that's why I need this child."
Wan'er was puzzled and her brows furrowed. She continued, "A child who has no impact on Prince Yu's ascension to the throne, yet is his own flesh and blood, even if he cannot acknowledge him, he will not make things difficult for him."
"The better he treats this child, the more it proves his benevolence, his filial piety towards the late emperor, and his kindness towards the late emperor's child."
"With such a child, I can naturally protect myself and don't have to worry about losing my support after the death of the Yan Emperor."
Wan'er nodded in realization: "This servant understands."
Ji Yunwan nodded: "If you understand, then help me change my clothes. I need to go see His Majesty."
This "Your Majesty" is not referring to Wei Chi, but to the Emperor of Yan.
She told the Yan Emperor that she had a nightmare about her deceased sister and wanted to go to a Buddhist temple outside the city to perform a religious ceremony for her sister.
The Emperor of Yan agreed, and Ji Yunwan left the palace the next day. After going to a Buddhist temple, she arrived at a meditation room, where a woman was already waiting for her.
This woman was skilled in medicine, especially in treating women's ailments that were difficult to discuss with outsiders. She was also quite knowledgeable about conceiving and maintaining a healthy pregnancy, and she had a family heirloom remedy for having a child. Many women in the capital would privately seek her out for treatment.
She didn't know that Ji Yunwan was a concubine in the palace. She thought she was just a wealthy merchant's wife from out of town. After Ji Yunwan came in, she bowed and smiled as she took her pulse. However, after her fingers touched Ji Yunwan's pulse, her expression froze. After a long while, she withdrew her hand and said with a flickering look that her medical skills were not good enough to help her regulate her body. She also said that she could not sell her the pills that could help with conception.
Ji Yunwan sensed something was wrong when the woman's expression changed slightly. She was not about to let her go so easily. She used a combination of threats and inducements to get the woman to tell the truth: she was infertile.
She swayed and almost fainted, and it took her a long time to come to her senses. She waved her hand and had someone send the woman out.
...
Prince Yu received a message from Ji Yunwan saying that she would be going out of the palace to worship Buddha today and would pretend to sprain her ankle and rest at a manor on her way back. So he immediately went there secretly. After the servants led him into a room, he reached out and hugged the woman whose back was to him.
“My darling, you haven’t come to see me for quite some time. I thought you were angry with me because I refused to send more troops to attack Shuozhou and that you were ignoring me.”
As he spoke, he kissed the back of her neck repeatedly, then wrapped his arms around her and hurriedly tore open her clothes.
The woman in his arms suddenly turned around. He thought she was going to respond to him, but he saw that her eyes were bloodshot and she was wielding a dagger and stabbing at him.
Although Prince Yu's martial arts skills were not particularly high, he had been trained in the army, so he was not easily injured by her. He snatched the dagger from her hand and pushed her aside forcefully.
"Are you insane? How dare you attempt to assassinate me!"
Ji Yunwan fell heavily to the ground, her eyes bloodshot and her expression crazed.
"I'm insane, you've driven me insane!"
"Qi Ze, how much have I done for you since I came to Nan Yan?"
"If you want to control the Third Prince's power, I'm suggesting you try to find that twin from back then. If he's still alive, he can be used for your purposes."
"You wanted His Majesty to allocate more troops to attack Shuozhou, so as not to lose too many of your own troops. I found a way to persuade him so that you could preserve your strength."
“That fake Third Prince was cowardly and timid, unable to perform properly, and kept giving himself away. It was me... it was me who helped you appease him and made him try his best to imitate the real Third Prince, so that he would obediently listen to you and cooperate with your acting.”
"But what about you? How did you treat me?"
"To prevent my pregnancy from revealing our relationship, you drugged me, rendering me infertile! How could you do such a thing!"
She screamed herself hoarse, tears streaming down her face, accusing the man before her of his cruelty and treachery.
Upon hearing this, Prince Yu burst out laughing, and the sound grew louder and louder until he finally couldn't help but laugh heartily.
"You...you actually thought I drugged you?"
He felt as if he had heard the funniest joke in the world, and tears welled up in his eyes.
Ji Yunwan shrieked, "I was perfectly fine when I came from Daliang! Who else in Nanyan would treat me like this besides you! Who else would have the right to treat me like this!"
Even though she was from Daliang, she was just an insignificant person who was already "dead," and not some princess sent for a political marriage. Even if she was pregnant with the Yan Emperor's child, it wouldn't matter to the Yan Emperor.
As for the concubines in the Southern Yan palace, with so many princes already grown up, the newborn princes and princesses were insignificant. No one would risk harming the concubines or the imperial heirs to compete for a position that was already impossible to obtain.
Apart from Prince Yu, there really isn't anyone else who has the ability or the need to do such a thing.
Upon hearing her words, Prince Yu laughed even louder, bending over with laughter as he pointed at her and repeated, "When you came from Daliang... you were perfectly fine? How could... how could there be such a fool as you in this world?"
"Your emperor of Great Liang is not much bigger than a pinhead. How could he allow you to live a smooth life in Southern Yan, have a child to rely on, and escape his control?"
"If I hadn't known from the beginning that you couldn't have children, how could I have felt comfortable associating with you? How could you have easily seduced me with just a few flirtations?"
"You must know that you are one of the Emperor's concubines. If you were to accidentally get pregnant and someone were to use it against me, I would be in big trouble."
As he spoke, he squatted down, casually lifted Ji Yunwan's chin, and clicked his tongue twice.
"You're just pretty, do you really think you're so stunning that you can make me lose my mind and not even be able to tell what's important?"
His contemptuous expression and disdainful tone were a stark contrast to his previous gentle, considerate, and obedient demeanor in front of Ji Yunwan.
Ji Yunwan froze upon hearing his voice, her heart sinking into an icy abyss.
Was she already infertile when she came from Daliang?
When did this happen? Why didn't she know?
Could it be... that Wei Chi had someone poison her food during the days she lived in the palace?
Her thoughts were in turmoil, and she couldn't find a clue for a moment. Suddenly, Prince Yu pulled her up and threw her onto the bed. He then pressed his body against hers, a lewd smile on his lips.
"The reason I took a liking to you is because you are much more interesting than my wives and concubines."