kvmb Chapter 219 Reaching a Consensus
Chapter 219 Reaching a Consensus
Guo Ziyi, on the other hand, was even more naive.
He stated frankly, "I don't care about any of that. I only know that whatever His Highness Prince Shou does, I will do the same. I, Guo Ziyi, swear to protect His Highness Prince Shou with my life!"
Now, the three of them have become one, and another person will return to Chang'an in seven days. — That is Li Jingqing, who has been guarding Yinshan.
Li Jingqing still has a powerful army under his command, and now he has returned in response to Li Mao's summons.
On the surface, the entire city of Chang'an was calm and peaceful, even seemingly enjoying a period of prosperity and tranquility.
However, beneath the surface, a storm is brewing, and a ferocious beast awaits the day it is released from its cage.
Everything is going very smoothly.
Now, Li Mao's horse farm has been successfully expanded, and Ningyuan's martial arts training ground has become quite impressive, with three powerful generals summoned to his side.
Not long after, Li Linfu received some good news that made him feel happy.
—Wei Jian has resigned from his post and returned to his hometown, completely giving up the right to fight against him in the court.
"That Wei Jian is such a spineless coward. He gave in without us even having to teach him a lesson." Li Linfu sneered, then pondered for a moment, picked up his pen and wrote a memorial, deciding to put more pressure on Li Heng tomorrow.
Since His Highness Prince Shou has already unilaterally established an adversarial relationship with the Crown Prince, what's wrong with me adding fuel to the fire?
If His Highness Prince Shou can ascend the throne, then everything will be fine, right?
On this day, Li Heng was still indulging in pleasure with Yan Ji in the music hall.
Suddenly, an urgent report came from the palace: Crown Princess Wei had fainted from crying. Because of the Wei Jian incident, the Emperor was paying close attention to her and was afraid that he would summon her to ask her about it!
Although Li Longji is currently paralyzed on one side due to a stroke and his speech is unclear, he is recovering day by day under the care of the imperial physicians. If Li Longji were to find out that he has been indulging in revelry at the music halls lately, it would likely cause serious trouble.
Li Heng's expression suddenly changed drastically as he thought about it.
He pushed away Yan Ji from his arms and hurried back to the East Palace.
He rushed into the inner hall, only to find it empty.
He angrily demanded, "Where is the Crown Princess?!"
The palace maid responded timidly, saying that the Crown Princess had gone to the Buddhist hall to pray for blessings.
Although Li Heng did not know what Wei's intentions were, he felt uneasy and hurriedly ran to the Buddhist hall to find someone.
A moment later, inside the Buddhist hall.
We saw that Mr. Wei had shaved his head and was kneeling in front of the Buddha statue, devoutly reciting scriptures.
"Crown Princess, what... what are you doing?!" This was the scene that Li Heng saw when he rushed into the Buddhist hall.
His former beloved concubine had actually shaved her head and become a nun; it was utterly absurd.
Li Heng was completely devastated, his face flushing red and then turning pale, utterly at a loss for how to reprimand Lady Wei.
Lady Wei did not raise her head, her voice low and firm: "I have seen through the world and have decided to become a nun from now on, and not concern myself with worldly affairs. Your Highness, please do not call me Crown Princess. I have given myself the Dharma name Liaoran, and from now on I will be Abbess Liaoran. I will go and ask His Majesty for permission to resign and go to a temple outside the palace to spend my days with the ancient Buddha and the dim lamp."
Lady Wei was in poor health and had not borne any children for Li Heng over the years.
Now that the matter is settled, they leave without a trace of leniency.
Li Heng stared wide-eyed at his once gentle and virtuous wife, now a deviant: "Do you know what you're saying? You want to become a nun? Don't you want to ask me for my permission?"
Lady Wei kept her head down, but her voice was even more resolute: "Your Highness, I have already shaved my head, so even if you disagree, it won't change anything. Besides, after I leave, you can do whatever you want, bring whoever you like into the palace, and I will no longer interfere."
Although Lady Wei lacked romance, she was still from a prominent family. Li Heng was selfishly hoping she would give him a child with noble blood, so that his future succession to the throne would be more legitimate.
Otherwise, having no offspring, he would be even less fortunate than Li Mao.
During this year, both of Li Mao's concubines, Wei Qiongying and Lady Wang, became pregnant and were about to give birth.
By then, he would have no support in the court, no children, and not even a crown princess...
Li Heng gritted his teeth, wishing he could tear open Wei Shi's head in front of him to see what was inside!
However, things have come to this point, and there is no turning back.
Empress Wei shaved her head directly in front of the Buddhist hall in the palace to show her resolve; to go back on her word would be a great disrespect to Buddha. Not to mention anyone else, even Li Heng himself wouldn't dare to do such a thing.
Li Heng angrily waved his hand and left the Buddhist hall.
His heart was filled with anger and resentment, but also with a vague sense of awakening.
During this period of time, he seems to have really lost himself.
One concubine, Yan Ji, made him forget about caring for the Crown Princess and also about state affairs.
In the following days, Li Heng did not go to the music hall again. He tried to reflect on his actions in the Eastern Palace, and after a few days, he saw some results.
However, some people will not allow the Crown Prince's clarity of mind to last too long.
Take, for example, the current prime minister, Li Linfu.
Upon hearing that the Crown Prince had recently stopped visiting the music halls and was instead focusing his efforts on court affairs, Li Linfu felt a sense of crisis.
He found Yan Ji and warned her coldly, "Yan Ji, have you forgotten why I trained you? You've been incompetent lately, allowing the Crown Prince to return to the Eastern Palace and the court. You're utterly useless. Let me tell you, if you can't win back the Crown Prince's favor, not only you, but your family will also suffer."
Upon hearing this, Yan Ji turned pale and quickly replied, "Yes, yes! Thank you for reminding me, sir. I will think of a way right away."
A few days later, on his way out of the palace on official business, Li Heng indeed encountered Yan Ji, who was weeping and pleading, blocking his carriage. Yan Ji knelt before the carriage, her eyes brimming with tears, and said, “Your Highness, I have missed you terribly these past few days, unable to be by your side. I don’t know what I have done wrong to displease His Highness the Crown Prince. Could His Highness please tell me? I will certainly correct myself!”
The woman's pitiful appearance softened Li Heng's heart.
However, he still remembered the lesson from the previous day, so he deliberately spoke coldly: "You are a woman who doesn't understand the greater good and only thinks about illusions. Being with you has only dragged me into the abyss. From now on, we don't need to see each other anymore."
Upon hearing this, Yan Ji cried her heart out.
She said resentfully, "I only love His Highness the Crown Prince too much. Is that my fault? Does His Highness know that I am pregnant? Since His Highness doesn't like me, he naturally doesn't want my child. I will... I will take my child and die with me!"
After saying that, he actually pretended to smash his head against a pillar and die.
"Wait a minute!"
The crown prince spoke up to stop her, and immediately someone blocked Yan Ji's path.
The crown prince's voice trembled: "Is what you said true? Are you really pregnant with my child?"