Sympathizing with the Chancellor's Chess Piece - Chapter 3

Chapter 3

The door to my room was pushed open again. I hurriedly restored the bed to its original state. Fortunately, the one who came in was Xiao He.

She asked me in a low voice, “Princess, it seems the plan to keep shadow guards under the guise of male favorites won’t work. How are we supposed to ambush the Chancellor and take back power now?”

I was just as troubled. Everything that had happened today had completely overturned what I thought I knew.

Rubbing my brow, I told Xiao He to withdraw for now.

Could those strange words really be trusted?

If Ji Yuan truly liked me, could I persuade him not to suddenly rebel on some whim one day?

But the temptation of the throne was enormous, wasn’t it?

Could I really do it?

Almost instinctively, I searched those words for clues.

[You little fool, don’t believe all that instigation. The male lead is a pure love-brained idiot. Your imperial father chose him precisely because he saw that Ji Yuan loved you enough to give his life for you. That’s why he felt safe handing the Ji Clan the power to assist in governance!]

[Exactly. I remember later on, the male lead only turned dark after he realized our silly daughter was genuinely trying to kill him. He forced her to marry him, locked her in a courtyard, and had hate-fueled sex with her every day. But even after turning dark, the moment she cried, his heart ached like crazy. Every time, he’d say a couple of harsh words, finish in a rush, then hide in his study and secretly take care of himself while holding her little clothes.]

[That’s because our Lord Chancellor is exceptionally gifted!]

[I know too! It was that Empress Dowager stirring up trouble! She had people swap out our daughter’s storybooks, and she was always arranging for people to sneak over and spout nonsense in front of her, slowly driving a wedge between her and the Lord Chancellor! That way, she could help her own child take the throne!]

[I hope our daughter can change the ending. But the imprisonment play isn’t bad either. It’s all juicy stuff! Hahh, hahh~]

I keenly caught the key point. This had something to do with the Empress Dowager too?

After my mother passed away, my father never appointed another empress, so the current Empress Dowager had been Imperial Consort Shu at the time.

Strictly speaking, she had not been qualified to become Empress Dowager, but her maternal family was Duke Zhenguo’s Mansion, and they had pushed her into the position with all their might.

I had been wary of her before, but she spent all day shut inside Cining Palace, eating vegetarian meals and chanting Buddhist scriptures, while Duke Zhenguo’s Mansion made no moves either.

Only then had I stopped paying attention to them.

Besides, according to the palace records, she had never borne a child in her life. How could she have a child?

No. I had to go find Pei Mu and discuss this with her!

Just as I was about to act, there was a sudden knock on the door.