CHAPTER 256: "EMPRESS XIE’S STRUGGLE WITH FAVOR"

"Shut up!" Empress Xie shouted.

"Mother, I think it was a great move by Uncle to bring Qin Xiulian into the palace to vie for favor, you should help Qin Xiulian."

"Are you still my son?" Empress Xie yelled angrily.

"Mother!" the Seventh Prince raised his voice, "Can you be rational?"

Empress Xie was startled by the Seventh Prince’s loud shout.

"Mother, I know you are strong-willed and unwilling to accept losing favor to Noble Princess Consort Rong, but the fact is clear, Noble Princess Consort Rong is indeed more favored than you." The Seventh Prince sometimes felt that Empress Xie was somewhat irrational regarding Noble Princess Consort Rong’s favor.

"You..." Empress Xie was so angry her chest heaved, "You... you..."

"Mother, if you keep refusing to acknowledge this fact, you’ll never surpass Noble Princess Consort Rong."

Empress Xie’s tone was filled with anger: "What do you mean?"

"Mother, you should be aware of what it means that Qin Xiulian looks like Si Youying." The Seventh Prince continued to advise patiently, "You also said that Father almost married Si Youying back then. Father must have feelings of guilt and regret towards Si Youying. Now that someone identical to Si Youying has appeared, Father will surely transfer all his guilt and affection to Qin Xiulian, making her undoubtedly favored."

Jiang Chuan, standing by, agreed, "Your Highness, what you say is true."

"Perhaps Qin Xiulian will become more favored than Noble Princess Consort Rong. Once Noble Princess Consort Rong loses favor, Prince Dai will also be affected. By then, the Crown Prince and Uncle won’t let them go." The Seventh Prince asked, "Mother, don’t you want to see Noble Princess Consort Rong lose favor? Don’t you want revenge? Do you want Noble Princess Consort Rong to be favored for a lifetime?"

"Now someone has appeared who can make Noble Princess Consort Rong lose favor, why can’t you accept it?" The Seventh Prince continued, "Do you want to be under Noble Princess Consort Rong forever?"

Empress Xie’s face turned very unpleasant upon hearing the Seventh Prince’s words. She wanted to say something in rebuttal, but she was too angry to speak a word.

The Seventh Prince loudly asked, "Mother, do you really not want to see Noble Princess Consort Rong lose favor? Are you really willing to accept this forever?"

It seemed that Empress Xie had listened to the Seventh Prince’s last two questions. Her expression changed, her body slightly trembled, and then she fell despondently into her chair.

"Mother, Qin Xiulian is the only one who can make Noble Princess Consort Rong lose favor. Please cooperate with Uncle." Seeing Empress Xie’s dazed expression, the Seventh Prince stopped speaking further, "Mother, I hope you think it over carefully and don’t act out of spite."

As the Seventh Prince left, he called Jiang Chuan out.

"Don’t disturb Mother for now, let her think things over by herself."

"Your Highness, you know Her Majesty’s temper all too well. I’m afraid she won’t be so easy to accept this."

"Mother will have to accept it." The Seventh Prince frowned slightly, "Once Qin Xiulian’s injuries heal, Father will surely bring her into the palace. Mother will only have to help her vie for favor."

"In fact, what angers Her Majesty most is that Duke Zhen didn’t inform her about Qin Xiulian in advance." Jiang Chuan said, "Your Highness, it seems given Qin Xiulian’s situation, Duke Zhen must have found Qin Xiulian a long time ago, but he never spoke of it."

She added, "Empress is Duke Zhen’s direct sister, yet Duke Zhen kept this from Her Majesty. Doesn’t this mean he’s not considering her as his own?"

"We can’t entirely blame Uncle for this." The Seventh Prince spoke calmly and rationally, "Uncle knows Mother’s nature well. If he had informed her about Qin Xiulian’s existence beforehand, Mother would definitely oppose it and might even do something to Qin Xiulian."

The Seventh Prince’s words left Jiang Chuan unable to counter.

"I didn’t realize Mother’s grudges run this deep." The Seventh Prince previously only thought Empress Xie was jealous of Noble Princess Consort Rong, but it wasn’t just that. He hadn’t expected Empress Xie to be so... he couldn’t find the words to describe it for a moment.

"Empress is the legitimate daughter of the Xie family, of noble status, and is a proud daughter of the skies, so she can’t accept being inferior to the lowborn Noble Princess Consort Rong." Compared to the Xie family, the Yu family was lowborn, since they were originally farmers. It wasn’t until the former emperor ascended the throne that the Yu family was granted nobility.

"Mother must know she isn’t as favored as Noble Princess Consort Rong, I don’t understand why she insists on not admitting it."

"Because Her Majesty considers herself the Empress."

"I hope Mother listened to what I said earlier, otherwise, we will never surpass Noble Princess Consort Rong and Prince Dai."