PDLP Chapter 393: Emperor and Empress Duel
Chapter 393: Emperor and Empress Duel
In the Hall of Nourishing Heart.
The warm yellow candlelight flickered gently in the huge palace, and the light fell on Yongzheng's stern face, reflecting his dim eyes.
Outside the hall, there was a sound of footsteps approaching from afar.
Yongzheng raised his head. The empress was wearing a black palace dress embroidered with flower branches and a magnificent and luxurious headdress on her head. The jade, pearls and gems complemented each other and swayed gently as she walked, making her look more graceful and elegant. She still wore the Dongzhu earrings on her ears, which symbolized her status as the empress.
She walked closer step by step. The candlelight in the hall swayed slightly because of her arrival, and the reflection on her face did not add any warmth. Instead, it seemed particularly cold.
When they got closer, the queen knelt and saluted: "Greetings to the Emperor."
Looking at the person who had been with him for more than 30 years, Yongzheng felt a sense of strangeness.
Although she did not hear Yongzheng's request to excuse herself from the ceremony, the empress still stood up and stood there, allowing him to look at her.
After an unknown amount of time, Yongzheng's cold voice came: "Do you plead guilty?"
The Queen sneered, her voice tinged with sarcasm and resentment: "Since Your Majesty already believes it, why bother asking me again?"
Yongzheng's face instantly darkened, a murderous aura emanating from his body. "If I hadn't waited for you to confess your guilt yourself, do you think I would want to see your face again?"
Hearing this, the Queen's expression grew even more sorrowful. She tilted her head slightly, tears welling in her eyes, and her voice tinged with self-pity: "I am already old and my beauty has faded, so it's natural for the Emperor to dislike me. I simply wonder if the Emperor would still truly appreciate my sister's aging appearance if she were still alive. I truly regret this. If the Emperor had seen my sister's now decayed appearance, just like mine, perhaps he wouldn't have hated me so much!"
Seeing her mention his favorite, Yongzheng's eyes flashed with disgust: "A kind heart is beautiful, even if Chunyuan is old, she will definitely be better than you."
The Queen understood his look, and her shrill voice echoed in the empty hall: "Better than a thousand of me? Your Majesty, when you were still a prince, you needed someone by your side who could help you take care of all the affairs of the inner chamber. I did it! From top to bottom, inside and out, I managed everything in the palace in perfect order.
"I greeted the ladies of the aristocratic families with a smile, hoping to build connections and a good reputation for you. In front of the Empress Dowager, I dared not slack off in the slightest, paying respects daily, serving her medicine, and taking care of everything, all so that you could have no worries and focus on your duties, so that you could make a name for yourself in front of the Holy Ancestor and leave a good impression."
She took a deep breath, her chest heaving violently, her emotions growing more agitated: "Over the years, I have done so much for you, but when your position became increasingly stable and I became useless, you couldn't wait to marry my sister.
But what about my sister? She bears the title of Consort, but all she does all day is recite poems and admire the flowers and the moon. Has she ever contributed to your great cause or done anything to help you? If it weren't for me, who has been struggling to support you and taking the trouble to maneuver in the backyard, your backyard would have been in chaos, leaving you completely humiliated!
At this point, the Queen burst into tears. "Now, you just said 'Sister is better than a thousand of me,' and you put all the efforts I have made over the years into this?"
When Yongzheng heard the queen's confession, his face was complicated and he was speechless for a moment. The hall fell into a brief silence.
After a long while, he slowly spoke: "So, this is why you killed your own sister?"
The Queen raised her hand, revealing a pair of warm jade bracelets on her wrist, which shone coldly in the dim candlelight. "This pair of jade bracelets was given to me by the Emperor himself when I first entered the palace. The Emperor said, 'I wish I could wear these bracelets, so that we can be together day and night.'"
Her voice gradually deepened as she chewed over those long-faded vows, "You also promised me that when I gave birth to the eldest prince, you would make me your legitimate wife. But when I finally gave birth to the prince after going through so much hardship, and was joyfully hoping you would fulfill your promise, the Emperor married my sister instead, making her his legitimate wife."
Upon hearing this, Yongzheng frowned slightly. Before Chunyuan entered the mansion, Yixiu took the initiative to say that Chunyuan should be the legitimate wife. He thought that they had a deep sisterly love, but he didn't expect that she had always felt resentment in her heart.
"That's your sister. You agreed to her entering the mansion!"
The Queen laughed hysterically as if she had heard a huge joke. "How could I not agree? My sister is a legitimate daughter. She has been taught by famous teachers since she was born. Her appearance, talent, and knowledge are all superior to mine. With her around, no one can see me! It's because I'm a concubine's daughter. My father, mother, aunt, and later the emperor, you only saw my sister. No one has ever looked at me straight in the eye or cared about my feelings!"
Her voice gradually lowered, filled with fatigue and despair, "Your Majesty, have you ever considered that I am also a human being, I have a heart, and I feel pain..."
Yongzheng slowed his voice and said, "You know I don't care about legitimate and illegitimate children, and neither does the Empress Dowager. I was born out of wedlock, and so was the Empress Dowager. These distinctions in status have never mattered to me."
Upon hearing this, the Queen's eyes welled up with tears, and her voice was filled with deep grief and indignation: "Your Majesty, do you know how hard it is for people born out of wedlock? Have you ever truly understood?"
"I have been looked down upon in the Ulanara mansion. Even the servants dare to point fingers at me. Just because I am a concubine's daughter, I am destined to be inferior to others!"
Yongzheng's eyes darkened, and his tone was filled with a hint of repression: "I understand. It is precisely because I understand that I have treated you well since you entered the palace. Even if I make Chunyuan my principal wife, you are only second to her as a concubine. But you are never satisfied."
"Treat me kindly? Your Majesty, by kindness, does that mean I'll always live under your sister's shadow?" The Queen's voice trembled, her eyes filled with pain. "At first, I could feel that your sister was very kind to me. Sometimes I thought that if she married someone else, I would definitely do my best to repay her. But why did she want to steal my husband and my status? It turns out that her kindness to me was just charity!"
Her emotions became more and more agitated, and her voice was filled with deep resentment: "She took away my position as Concubine Fu Jin, and even my son became a concubine and was looked down upon. How could I not hate her? I really want to be content, but I can't!" Her tears finally burst out, slid down her cheeks, and dripped onto the cold ground.
Looking at the hysterical look of the person in front of him, Yongzheng's expression was complicated: "Chun Yuan is your biological sister!"
Upon hearing this, the hatred in the Queen's eyes intensified, and her voice was almost squeezed out from between her teeth: "My own sister? It is precisely because she is my own sister that I hate her even more! She clearly knew my feelings and my suffering, but she still took away everything that belonged to me without hesitation!"