Chapter 22: The Mad Simpleton
Li Xuanyue hadn’t expected Zhong He to agree so quickly.
She was taken aback.
She had thought she would have to continue playing the pitiful act in front of this Consort Zhong, to waste more of her breath.
Now, it seemed, all of that was unnecessary.
Recovering, she said in a low voice, “You’ll find out when the time comes.”
Zhong He found himself unable to understand Li Xuanyue’s deliberately mysterious demeanor.
Meanwhile, on Li Qinghe’s side, because of Li Xuanyue’s outrageous demands, most of the treasures in her storeroom had been taken away by Xiao Han’s men.
The vast storeroom was now left with only some gold and silver; even the better quality ginseng had not been spared by Xiao Han’s people.
The official reason was that it was to be used to nourish Li Xuanyue’s body.
But who knew whose mouth that ginseng would end up in.
Li Qinghe was so angry she wanted to draw her sword and kill someone.
“That bitch, she’s doing this on purpose.”
If Li Qinghe still couldn’t see that Li Xuanyue was retaliating against her at this point, then she had truly lived in vain.
“And to think I, out of sisterly affection, was going to let you live for another half a year. It seems that’s completely unnecessary now.”
Li Qinghe said through gritted teeth:
“Ruyue, go and tell Imperial Physician Fang to proceed with our first plan and increase the dosage. I want to see that bitch die from her incurable madness within three months.”
Li Xuanyue’s outrageous demands today had thoroughly enraged Li Qinghe.
She had never seen such a sharp and severe side to Li Xuanyue before.
When facing her, she always had a smiling and pleasant appearance.
But today, she was like a different person.
An unsettling feeling rose in Li Qinghe’s heart.
She wished the other woman would just drop dead right now.
“Princess, do you think the First Princess has really discovered something?” Ruyue asked worriedly.
Otherwise, why would Li Xuanyue have spoken to Li Qinghe with such an attitude in Wutong Hall today?
Li Qinghe glanced sideways at Ruyue. “What could she possibly discover?”
“A tyrannical, unreasonable simpleton. All she knows is how to go mad. What else could she discover?”
In Li Qinghe’s eyes, Li Xuanyue was merely lucky to have been born from the Empress Mother’s womb.
Only then could she enjoy such unique favor.
Unlike her, who was born from her Noble Consort father’s womb.
Although the Phoenix Clan was a matriarchy, women had the right to refuse to bear children for men.
Unless they truly loved the other person to the bone, men could only take a pregnancy-inducing pill to receive favor and give birth to a child alone.
Unfortunately, the Noble Consort Zhao of that year was the latter.
“Also, be careful when you have Imperial Physician Fang handle this.”
Although Li Qinghe was furious with Li Xuanyue today, she hadn’t lost all her reason.
“Remember, if he is discovered, send someone to kill him for me immediately.”
Although Ruyue’s words were overly anxious, Li Qinghe took them to heart.
She didn’t want to be implicated at this critical juncture.
“Furthermore, my sister’s five consorts’ families will arrive in the Phoenix Clan the day after tomorrow. Remember to find an opportunity to spread the news that she has difficulty bearing children.”
Since Li Xuanyue had gone too far today, she couldn’t be blamed for being ruthless later.
The matter of heirs was no small thing.
It concerned the future of the entire Phoenix Clan.
And the reason the Hundred Clans chose men to marry into the Phoenix Clan was because the Phoenix Clan was a divine clan.
They hoped to seek shelter through this connection.
But if they knew that the grand princess of the divine clan they worshipped would never have children of her own, would they continue to worship her?
The matter of Li Xuanyue’s difficulty in bearing children was known only to a few consorts in her palace and the Phoenix Empress; no one else knew.
But now, the news of her infertility had somehow spread, and everyone in the Phoenix Clan, from top to bottom, had heard about it.
Even the elders who had previously tried to persuade the Phoenix Empress not to let Li Xuanyue dismiss her consorts had heard the news.
Only then did they understand why the Phoenix Empress had refused to see them for three months.
It seemed that even if the matter of her infertility wasn’t one hundred percent certain, it was at least eighty percent likely.
“What should we do? Do you think we should go and ask the Phoenix Empress ourselves?” one of the clan elders asked with hesitation and difficulty. “We can’t just believe whatever rumors we hear from the outside, can we?”
“What’s more, the families of the First Princess’s five consorts will arrive tomorrow. What if they hear about this and ask us about it?”
They couldn’t just say they didn’t know, could they?
If that got out, wouldn’t they become a laughingstock?
“The Second Elder is right,” another elder chimed in. “First Elder, we must go and ask the Phoenix Empress about this clearly. If the First Princess truly has difficulty bearing children, then we will have to choose a new side.”
Privately, he was not optimistic about the First Princess.
She was hot-tempered, refused to listen to advice, and always acted high and mighty and arrogant.
But he couldn’t resist the persuasion of the First Elder and others, and so he had sided with the First Princess.
But now that the First Princess had difficulty bearing children, he naturally couldn’t continue to support her.
“Let’s wait and see,” the First Elder, being older and more experienced, was able to remain calm, unlike the Third Elder and others who wanted to verify the news immediately upon hearing it.
“There must be a misunderstanding in this matter,” he said after a few seconds’ pause.
The First Elder was no hot-headed youth. He understood the intricate workings of the Phoenix Clan better than anyone.
If Li Xuanyue truly had difficulty bearing children, the Phoenix Empress would have stepped in long ago.
Why would she allow these rumors to spread so freely within the clan?
In his opinion, the First Princess must have offended someone and was now being targeted.
“What misunderstanding could there be?” the Third Elder retorted with dissatisfaction. “In my opinion, this matter is most likely true.”
Seeing the Third Elder speak up, the other elders followed suit.
“I think the Third Elder is right. This must be true. Otherwise, why did the Phoenix Empress avoid seeing us before?”
How long had it been since they had seen the Phoenix Empress?
Almost three months, right?
Although there were no major events in the Phoenix Clan, so they didn’t need to hold court, when Li Xuanyue had wanted to dismiss her consorts and attendants, the doors of the council hall had remained tightly shut when they went to seek an audience.
The elders couldn’t believe there wasn’t something strange about this.
According to their speculation, the Phoenix Empress had probably known about Li Xuanyue’s infertility long ago, which was why she chose not to meet with them.
Otherwise, why would the Phoenix Empress, who had never before shut them out, have ignored them during that time?
“First Elder, if you don’t want to go and question her, we won’t force you,” the Third Elder said. “But the other elders and I are determined to get a clear answer.”
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