青春期撞上更年期第1部

She had prepared for so long and repeatedly told herself she was the legal wife. Therefore, it didn’t matter even if Chu Liuzhou angrily complained about it to the people in the Palace. She had been hesitating for so long, but nothing was inside. She felt confused and powerless. There was nothing suspicious inside. How could it be?

Infanta Yuan’an was stunned for a while. Then, she stepped into the room and checked everything there carefully. She didn’t believe Chu Liuzhou would live here alone.

The study’s inner chamber was almost the same as an ordinary inner room. However, it was very large. Chu Liuzhou’s study was much larger than an ordinary person’s, and the inner chamber of his study was larger than an ordinary family’s. Even the inner room where Infanta Yuan’an lived was a little smaller than this one.

There was a table by the window with a complete set of writing brushes, ink sticks, paper, and inkstones. These items were neatly arranged. It was obvious that someone was especially in charge of tidying this place.

Infanta Yuan’an found nothing wrong.

She stood before the window and frowned deeply. She looked at the room again unwillingly, but there was nothing unusual.

“My Lady, what’s that?” The servant girl who followed her in was sharp-eyed. She suddenly saw something flash in the sunlight by the window and asked anxiously.

Infanta Yuan’an lowered her head to see what she was pointing at. When her eyes landed on a half-open drawer, she was stunned and took out a phoenix hairpin from inside the drawer.

The hairpin was gorgeously engraved with a phoenix of nine tails. The gems inlaid on it were all rubies of the same size. They were polished very carefully and were flawless. At first glance, she knew it was a rare piece of jewelry. Then, Infanta Yuan’an took out another hairpin. There was a pair of hairpins instead of one.

The two phoenix hairpins looked precisely the same. Only the phoenix heads were different, one turning to the left and the other right.

“My Lady, the Prince will give you this pair of hairpins, right? It’s stunning!” The servant girl exclaimed.

Infanta Yuan’an looked at a strand of hair on the hairpin. There was a faint fragrance lingering on it. The hair must have been accidentally torn off when a woman removed the hairpin from her head.

Therefore, this pair of hairpins was not for her but for another woman.

She felt a surge of anger in her heart. “If Chu Liuzhou ascends the throne, I will be the future empress. Then I will be qualified to wear such a phoenix hairpin. But who is the woman hiding in Chu Liuzhou’s study? Did Chu Liuzhou promise her anything? Will he make her the future empress? Otherwise, he would not have made such a hairpin for this woman.

“There is more than one hairpin but a pair. He must dote on this woman very much.”

She closed her eyes hard and suppressed the jealousy and hatred in her heart. She recalled her life since she married into Prince Zhou’s Mansion. Chu Liuzhou had always been indifferent to her: he had only been to her place twice. She remembered what happened when he stayed in her room the second time. He came over because she had caught Qi Rongzhi for him. It could be regarded as a reward. But for all the rest of the time, he had been living in the study and accompanying another woman.

“Does it mean I will have to give the position as an empress to that woman if he becomes the Emperor? After all, if I don’t give up the position, I will be killed.”

“My Lady…” Infanta Yuan’an, grasping the hairpin tightly in her hand, had been standing there with a ferocious face. Seeing this, the servant girl asked in fear.

“Put the hairpins away!” Infanta Yuan’an gritted her teeth with hatred and said. She violently threw the hairpin in her hand into the drawer, turned around, and left.

The servant girl didn’t dare to hesitate. She went to the drawer and put away the two hairpins. A jewelry box was in the drawer, and the two hairpins were supposed to be inside it.

The servant girl hurried out after putting the jewelry box in her sleeve pocket. At this time, Infanta Yuan’an had walked far away…

Prince Zhou met the Empress.

The Empress was in a good mood. When she heard her son had come, she did not refuse to see him. Instead, she asked someone to lead Chu Liuzhou in.

“Greetings, Mother.” Chu Liuzhou hadn’t seen the Empress for a long time. Although the Empress was thin, she sat there safe and sound, which relieved him. Without the Empress’s guidance, Chu Liuzhou had a hard time recently.

“Take a seat. Didn’t your father ask you to reflect on yourself in the mansion? Why did you come here at this time?” asked the Empress.

“Why should I do that? Chu Liuyue plotted against me, but my father didn’t find the truth. Instead, he said it was my fault and ordered me to reflect on my mistakes.” Chu Liuzhou was full of anger and said with hatred, “Father is getting older, so he becomes so muddle-headed when handling things.”

“How dare you!” The Empress reproached harshly, and her face darkened.

“Mother, do you also think I was wrong?” Chu Liuzhou felt so wronged.

“A consort died in your mansion. Didn’t you think about why it would happen? Your father asked you to return to your mansion and reflect on yourself. Straighten out all the affairs in your mansion now. Isn’t Yuan’an in your mansion now? Let her help you put the inner court in order, and you should put things in the outer court straight.”

The Empress said.

“Yuan’an is useless. She caught Qi Rongzhi but didn’t keep an eye on her. As a result, Qi Rongzhi hanged herself.” Chu Liuzhou was quite angry at Infanta Yuan’an. “Mother, why did you choose her? She is no good to me and even hinders me. Other brothers only married a legal wife or a legal wife and a consort at most. However, I married my legal wife and consorts at the same time. It was so humiliating.”

The cause of this matter was that Infanta Yuan’an and Princess Yuyan plotted against Shao Wanru and Zhang Qilan.

“Yuan’an is, at the very least, on your side. Besides, I was deceived by Qi Rongzhi. If I had known that she had something to do with Chu Liuyue, I wouldn’t have let her marry into your mansion. She hanged herself in your mansion. It showed that there was something wrong with your mansion. Your father asked you to reflect on yourself because he was angry with you for being unreasonable.”

The Empress said.

“But I think my father is partial to Chu Liuyue and wants to make him the crown prince.” Chu Liuzhou did not believe her words.

“What nonsense are you talking about!” The Empress said unhappily.

“Mother, you have been living a secluded life in the Phoenix Palace during this period. But Chu Liuyue set me up this time. Have you ever thought about it? The matter is not complex, but my father always helped Chu Liuyue. He is in poor health, so he must want to appoint someone to be the crown prince. At this time, either Chu Liuyue or I will be the crown prince. However, Chu Liuyue stole my thunder.”

Chu Liuzhou said unconvincedly.

“Are you telling the truth?” The Empress was dubious of his words.

“Of course, it’s true. Mother, since you can go out now, go to meet my father. I’m afraid that he will suddenly… I might be caught off guard outside the Palace. I heard Consort of Virtue went to his place often, though she might not see him every time. But you’re different. As the Empress in control of the imperial harem, you can always see him. The previous empress was said to be there when the deceased emperor died of illness.”

Chu Liuzhou suggested.

His words made sense, and the Empress had the same idea. She had wondered if she should wait a little longer and could not be too anxious. But now she felt the urge to do it.

“Your father is seriously ill?”

“He doesn’t seem to have much strength. My father used to sit upright, but recently I saw him lazily lean back in his chair like Chu Liuchen. If he weren’t in low spirits, he would sit straight up like before.” Chu Liuzhou analyzed.

The Empress was silent. She looked around and found no one else around them. Her eyes became slightly cold. “Do you think your father may…”

Before she finished her words, Chu Liuzhou understood it. He nodded vigorously and unconsciously lowered his voice. “Mother, think about it… No one can sit still when my father is seriously ill. And I heard he suddenly vomited blood. I didn’t see the previous medical records, but he can’t be good with such a feeble look. He is not in a good condition recently.”

To persuade the Empress, Chu Liuzhou deliberately exaggerated the facts. From his words, his father seemed to be in danger.

The Empress’s face changed, and she sat up slightly straight. “Then, what do you want to do?”

“Mother, do you remember you gave me the token of secret guards last time? I think we can use it now!” Chu Liuzhou cautiously lowered his voice until only the Empress could hear it, even though only he and his mother were in the hall.

“You… you want to…” The Empress was terrified.

“Mother, there is no other way. You are supposed to be the powerful Empress. However, you are not as influential as an imperial consort. If you are willing to cooperate, I will… Only you should be the master of the imperial harem. My future empress would have to get your approval before making any decision. Now, except for Consort Lan, even Consort of Virtue and Consort Ming do not respect you. Two imperial consorts, instead of you, are holding the power of the imperial harem. Mother, are you willing to stay in such an inferior position?”

“Am I willing to accept this? Of course not.”

The Empress gritted her teeth with determination. She had endured so many humiliations for so many years just for her son to ascend the throne in the future. Then, as the mother of the future emperor, even the Empress Dowager living in the Palace of Benevolent Peace now could not do anything to her. She could even drive the old woman to another palace and occupy the Palace of Benevolent Peace.

The emperor in the future would be her son, not the old woman’s son. Her son had always been close to her instead of that old woman.

Her heart thumped twice, and there was a trace of malicious pleasure in her eyes. At that time, she would be sitting up high in a leading position with real power. Now, she was still the powerless and aggrieved Empress.

“Are you sure you can do that?” The Empress also lowered her voice and asked in a queer, tight voice.

“Mother, don’t worry. Nothing serious. I just want you to keep a close eye on my father. Besides you, you can send more people to watch him closely. If there is a chance…” Speaking of this, Chu Liuzhou made a neat motion of chopping his head with his hand. The Empress was so scared that she trembled and hurriedly covered her mouth with a handkerchief. “Don’t… don’t talk nonsense. That’s your father!”

“Mother, you are my only family. As for my father, he has many sons, Chu Liuyue and Chu Liuxin. And he even preferred Chu Liuchen to me. Because Consort Lan is his favorite consort, he cares about his nephew more than his son!” Chu Liuzhou said furiously. He had spent some gloomy days recently. As soon as Shao Yanru stirred him up, he felt an impulse to do something in a rage.

The Empress swallowed hard and gritted her teeth. “Then… then you have to be careful. You can’t take action unless you have no choice.”

“Mother, don’t worry. I won’t do anything before I’m fully prepared. Is the token in my hand or yours?” Chu Liuzhou asked.

The Empress grabbed Chu Liuzhou’s hand and panicked in her heart. The mother and son were now discussing how to murder the Emperor of this country. If others knew it, both of them would be sentenced to death. “You can take it. If… if anything happens, you must put the blame on Chu Liuyue or Chu Liuchen.”

“Mother, don’t worry. I have my own plan!” Chu Liuzhou said.