darknovel Chapter 269 Deposed Empress
Chapter 269 Deposed Empress
"Granny, this can't be true! Tell me, this can't be true! Shen Shixi forged an imperial decree, didn't she? She's long disliked me, and while the Emperor is away, she's trying to depose me!"
She stroked her prominently pregnant belly, "If I don't have a son, will she still take my life?"
Granny Qu said, "Your Majesty, please calm down! Listen to the sounds of fighting outside. Think about it again. Eunuch Li is the Emperor's man. Even if the Imperial Noble Consort forged an imperial decree, Eunuch Li would not betray the Emperor!"
"You mean the Pei family...the Pei family has really rebelled? But Mother never told me that. I am the Emperor's person. If the Pei family rebels, where do they intend to put me?" The Empress couldn't believe it.
Granny Qu said, "Your Highness, who was the Pei family originally intended to support? All these years, Madam has never given up on them!"
"But that's not what Mother said. She said she would help me get rid of Shen Shixi, but she never said she wanted to rebel against the Emperor. I am the Empress! How could they do such a thing?"
Li Fude couldn't wait any longer. If he waited any longer, the child born before the empress was deposed would be the legitimate son, which, to him, would be a capital offense.
The young eunuch stepped forward and forced the Empress to kneel down. Granny Qu carefully supported the Empress, who was distraught and looked like a doll.
"By the grace of Heaven, the Emperor decrees: Since Lady Pei was established as Empress… the Pei clan has betrayed the Emperor's grace, plotting rebellion and committing unforgivable crimes. Lady Pei is the daughter of a traitorous minister and is unworthy to be Empress… She is hereby demoted to the rank of Consort, bestowed the title of Jing, and relocated to Jiafu Palace, to be confined and never allowed to leave; furthermore, Lady Pei and I were never married, and she is not my first wife. When I established her as Empress, I did not offer sacrifices to our ancestors. No discussion of an Empress is permitted in the court or the inner palace. Anyone who disobeys this decree will be executed. So be it!"
Following Shen Shixi's instructions, Li Fude changed the imperial decree ordering Pei's execution.
The Empress, oh no, Consort Jing collapsed on the spot, a pool of blood flowing beneath her.
Granny Qu exclaimed, "Eunuch Li, it seems the Empress is about to give birth! Could we please summon a midwife and the imperial physician?"
Li Fude hurriedly ordered, "Quickly summon the imperial physician; the imperial heir is of utmost importance!"
When the Empress gave birth, the Third Prince was taken by Li Fude and given to Consort Yuan.
When Consort Yuan heard that Lady Li had moved in, she understood what was going on. Having a princess and becoming a mother herself, she was particularly able to empathize with the pain of separation between mother and child.
As soon as Consort Li moved in, she had someone take the Third Prince to Consort Li. "I understand Your Majesty's meaning. Although it is said that the Third Prince is under my name, he will actually be raised by you. From now on, you and your son will not have to be separated."
The Empress never cared about the Third Prince and never inquired about him. The people of Fengyi Palace did not avoid asking who the Third Prince's birth mother was. The Third Prince was already three years old and knew that Consort Li was his mother. He would hold Consort Li and not let go of her.
Lady Li wept uncontrollably, saying, "I will never forget the kindness of the Imperial Noble Consort and Your Highness."
The following afternoon, April 28th, after the rebellion was quelled, the deposed Empress Jing gave birth to the seventh prince, and both mother and child were safe.
The child was as thin as a plucked chicken, while Consort Jing herself was nearly dead, looking like a blood-sucked zombie.
Shen Shixi left the palace and went to the Pei family.
In the past, this place was coveted by the most prestigious families in the capital; today, it has become a place that everyone avoids, and ordinary passersby dare not even walk past the entrance.
The Imperial Guards have sealed off the area, allowing entry but not exit. The servants, women, and men of the mansion are confined to three separate areas, making it as quiet as a mass grave.
When Pei Gao saw Shen Shixi, she screamed and lunged at her, but was struck twice on the scabbard by the imperial guards. She cried out in pain and then calmed down.
Shen Shixi walked over, and the Imperial Guard struck her knee, causing her to fall to her knees with a thud. She struggled to get up, but it hurt too much.
"Shen Shixi, you bitch..."
The eunuchs who followed were about to make a move, but Shen Shixi raised her hand to stop her. "Pei Gao Shi, you're nothing but a rat in the gutter! If it weren't for your excessive desires, the Pei and Gao families wouldn't have ended up like this!"
She glanced at Pei Xunli's concubine in the corner, who was holding a baby in her arms, and couldn't help but smile.
"The deposed empress gave birth to the seventh prince this afternoon. He was conceived using drugs, and his physique is completely different from that of the Pei family's grandson. Pei Gao, you're naive to think you can switch him with someone else right under my nose!"
"Shen Shixi, you came here today just to see the Pei family make a fool of themselves? It's all about the victor taking all!"
Shen Shixi laughed, "What kind of show do you have that's worth my attention? I may not be very old, but I've seen my share of the world. Do you think I care about the Pei family's little tricks?"
After speaking, she left, her long robe trailing behind her, and a phoenix embroidered with gold thread, its wings outstretched as if about to take flight and cry out.
Shen Shixi arrived at the Pei family ancestral hall. The door opened, and the afterglow of the setting sun illuminated the dim hall. The Pei family was a prominent clan that had been passed down for generations. Now, the family had collapsed, and from now on, the ancestors who sat on the altar would be without their incense offerings.
Pei Xiang turned around and glanced at Shen Shixi.
Shen Shixi's gaze swept over the ancestral tablets, and he sat down on the prayer mat next to Prime Minister Pei. "Prime Minister Pei still has the mind to apologize to our ancestors today. Why didn't you pull back from the brink in the first place?"
Prime Minister Pei's voice was hoarse, "If I pull back from the brink, will the Imperial Noble Consort spare my Pei family?"
Shen Shixi squinted at the setting sun outside and said, "Prime Minister Pei, what I want has never been power and wealth. You have dealt with me for so many years, you should know me well."
Prime Minister Pei sighed and said, "How could I not know? I know that Your Majesty has a vision in your heart, and I know that no man in the world can match Your Majesty's lofty sentiments and far-reaching aspirations. I also know what Your Majesty wants, but is the path Your Majesty has chosen necessarily the right one?"
Throughout history, imperial power and the power of the prime minister have been locked in a power struggle. The current emperor is a wise ruler, but what about the future?
Shen Shixi said, "Prime Minister Pei's concerns are absolutely correct! During the last emperor's reign in the previous dynasty, the imperial power was strong and the power of the prime minister was weak. The country was overthrown and the people suffered greatly. In history, there were more instances of 'doing the same things as Yi Yin and Huo Qubing,' which are recorded in books."
"I have no intention of abolishing the prime minister system, nor does His Majesty, but it is too risky for the power of the prime minister to be in the hands of one person, and for the whole country to be decided by one person."
Minister Pei, curious, said, "Your Majesty, I am foolish and ignorant; please enlighten me!"
Shen Shixi said, "Change the prime minister system to a cabinet system, where a group of people make the decisions."
Prime Minister Pei trembled, forced to admit that this was a brilliant move. "Although I know this is a good thing, as a person in this position, I have no reason to surrender without a fight. The history of this world is ultimately written by scholars. I can die, but I cannot be condemned by the historian's pen!"
There are always some people who think that if given a chance, he can become a powerful minister who will be remembered for all time!
Such people would criticize him as the last prime minister in history, saying that he ruined the prime minister system and facilitated the centralization of imperial power.
Shen Shixi said, "Prime Minister Pei is mistaken. There are countless paths in this world, yet you have chosen only the path of death. I have no choice but to grant your wish! I never like to implicate others. Although the Pei family has been wiped out, Pei Yanli served the Emperor loyally. I will ask the Emperor to pardon him, in return for the favor you showed by giving the Emperor a chance back then!"
Prime Minister Pei knew that Shen Shixi had not completely wiped out the Pei family. She had always been a person of high moral character and integrity. Pei Yanli had not participated in any of the Pei family's schemes, and he was indeed innocent.
However, to say that one can remain uninvolved is a practice that has never been followed in any dynasty. Even infants in swaddling clothes could not escape unscathed, let alone Pei Yanli, an adult man.
With tears streaming down his face, Pei Xiang kowtowed three times to Shen Shixi, filled with regret. If there were an afterlife, he would not want to be on the opposite side of such a woman.
Li Fude brought over the poisoned wine. Shen Shixi left the Pei family ancestral hall. Behind her, the former prime minister Pei Wuji, filled with regret and resentment, drank the poisoned wine and fell down. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw the phoenix on the hem of the woman's robe shimmering with golden light!
"Chen Yuan, there are still people whose dreams haven't ended!"
Shen Shixi turned and glanced at Pei Xiang. His eyes were wide open, his pupils were slowly dilating, and his curled fingers were slowly straightening.
Give him a proper burial!
At the entrance, Pei Yanli rushed back from the cotton promotion base, dressed in plain clothes with his hair tied up with a wooden hairpin. He knelt before the steps, and when he saw Shen Shixi, his eyes reddened, his head hit the ground, and his whole body trembled.
It's finally come to this!