Consort Shu was originally sad because of what her son had just said. However, now, she was attracted by what he said again.
"What's the matter?" She carefully wiped away her tears.
For the concubines in the harem, apart from relying on the Emperor, the only other thing they could rely on was their sons.
As long as their sons were promising, they could have something to look forward to.
If her son was assigned a task by the Emperor, it meant that her son was valued by the Emperor.
That meant their chances of success were higher.
Prince Xian gently waved his hand, and all the servants in the room retreated.
After everyone had left, Prince Xian whispered to Consort Shu what the Emperor had asked him to do.
"What? Your Majesty actually sent you to investigate the mastermind behind the scenes?"
Consort Shu exclaimed in surprise.
Prince Xian thought his mother consort was proud of him, and he nodded complacently.
"Mother Consort, I'm the first prince to be entrusted by the Imperial Father."
"Once I catch the mastermind, I'm sure I'll impress the Imperial Father!"
"By then, the Imperial Father will surely dote on you even more!"
"Mother Consort, you should take good care of your health. When the Imperial Father favors you again, give me a younger brother."
"Mother Consort only has me. It's still a bit too weak."
Prince Xian talked on and on, not noticing that Consort Shu's face was getting uglier and uglier.
"No! You can't do this!"
Consort Shu suddenly grabbed Prince Xian's hand. "Go and decline this task from your Imperial Father!"
Prince Xian looked very strange. He pushed Consort Shu's hand away.
"Mother Consort, what nonsense are you talking about?"
"This is such a hard - won opportunity, and you actually want me to push it away?"
"Don't you always hope that I can gain the Imperial Father's appreciation?"
"Now that the Imperial Father has given me a chance, why do you want me to push it away?"
Prince Xian looked at Consort Shu in disbelief. Was this really his biological mother?
Consort Shu's face turned red and then white, looking extremely ugly.
Prince Xian felt a bit disgusted when he saw it.
He stood up.
"Mother Consort, I still have things to do. I won't delay your rest."
After thinking for a while, Prince Xian added one more thing.
"Mother Consort, the Imperial Father is already old. Sooner or later, the throne will change hands."
"You have a son. As long as I can sit on that throne, you'll be the most glorious woman in the world."
"Look at the long - term. Why do you make things difficult for yourself and do things that hurt yourself?"
Prince Xian's words made Consort Shu's tears fall again.
Seeing Prince Xian about to turn around and leave, Consort Shu quickly called out.
"Wait!"
Prince Xian turned around impatiently.
"Mother Consort, the Imperial Father only gave me a few days."
"I have to go out of the palace right away to handle this matter. Can you tell me everything you have to say at once?"
Consort Shu closed her eyes.
"You don't need to investigate anymore!"
Prince Xian looked at Consort Shu strangely. "Why?"
"Why don't I need to investigate anymore? Mother Consort, do you know who the mastermind is?"
Prince Xian looked at his mother, deep in thought.
"Mother Consort, do you know who this mastermind is?"
"You're stopping me from continuing the investigation. Is this person of high status?"
"Mother Consort, is that person Noble Consort Li? Or, is it the Empress Dowager?"
Prince Xian began to pace back and forth in the room, thinking about the possibility of each person.
"Noble Consort Li wants to bring down the eldest prince and help the second prince ascend to the throne. This makes the most sense."
"However, the eldest prince and the second prince have never gotten along. Noble Consort Li wouldn't give such an obvious handle to the eldest prince."
"The Empress Dowager? Isn't the Empress Dowager partial to the second prince? Why would she do this?"
"Is it possible that she has some handle in someone's hands? Then who could be the one holding the handle?"
"Could that person be... the Imperial Father...?"
Prince Xian thought of a possibility, and his face showed a look of disbelief and shock.
Consort Shu opened her eyes, and the previous weakness disappeared without a trace.
"You don't need to investigate anymore. This matter was done by me!"
"What?!" Prince Xian stared wide - eyed. He scratched his ear, thinking he might be having an auditory hallucination.
Consort Shu stopped crying. She carefully avoided the wound on her face and dried her tears.
Then, she motioned to Prince Xian.
"Sit down. Mother Consort will tell you the truth."
Prince Xian sat down in a daze.
"One day, Mother Consort was strolling in the imperial garden and met that low - class adopted daughter of the Pingyang Prince's Mansion."
"At first, Mother Consort thought she was just an ignorant little maid, so she ordered someone to teach her a lesson."
"But that girl was very cunning. She not only drugged Mother Consort but also almost killed me!"
"Later, your Imperial Father came. As a result, she played the innocent victim first, and your Imperial Father believed her slander."
"Your Imperial Father not only rewarded her with a jade pendant symbolizing imperial power but also confined Mother Consort to her quarters!"
"How can I swallow this anger!"
"So, Mother Consort, did you send someone to spread the plague in the Pingyang Prince's Mansion?" Prince Xian understood what Consort Shu meant.
Consort Shu nodded and pointed to her face.
"Do you know that the poison she gave me was also very harmful!"
As Consort Shu said this, she pulled up her sleeve regardless of etiquette.
Prince Xian's eyes widened several times.
Because, on Consort Shu's arm, there was skin with new wounds on top of old ones.
There were winding scars all over it, extremely ugly.
Originally, Duoduo's poison would only make Consort Shu feel uncomfortable. After the poison was gradually expelled, she would be fine.
However, Consort Shu happened to be a person with a scar - prone constitution.
As long as she scratched a place, it would form winding scars.
That kind of itching was not something an ordinary person could control. Let alone Consort Shu?
Because she cherished her face, Consort Shu could still control herself a bit. But she really couldn't bear it on her body.
When Consort Shu noticed something was wrong, there were already many scars on her body.
For a woman who cherished her appearance very much, this was more painful than killing her.
"Imperial Son, do you know how Mother Consort got through these days?"
As Consort Shu said this, tears welled up again.
"Mother Consort had the wet nurse tie up her hands and feet and was tied to the bed, enduring it forcefully!"
Prince Xian didn't know how to react.
He couldn't imagine the pain his mother had endured.
"Why didn't you send me a message earlier? By the way, why didn't you tell the Imperial Father?"
"No, Mother Consort, I'll go to the Imperial Father right away to seek justice for you!"
After all, she was his mother, and Prince Xian felt sorry for her.
Consort Shu quickly grabbed her son.
"It's useless."
Prince Xian was very angry. "Why? You haven't even told the Imperial Father. How do you know it's useless?"
Consort Shu shook her head with a bitter smile.
"Do you think Mother Consort doesn't want to tell the Imperial Father? Do you think Mother Consort is just angry with the Imperial Father?"
"Then why?" Prince Xian didn't understand.
