Imperial Husband Chapter 47

Seven years later.

Ying Ziheng being enfeoffed as the Crown Prince not only reshuffled the court's power structure but also elevated Shen Qianxue, who was already favored, to an even higher status, making her the most powerful person in the inner court besides Gu Rushuang.

Li Ruoyan slumped over the table and sighed in disappointment, "What a pity. The Crown Prince is the Second Prince, not the Fifth Prince who is friendly with us."

Wei Shiwan glanced displeasedly at Li Ruoyan, "Yan'er, you are not allowed to say such things outside, do you understand? Furthermore, you are a young lady from a respectable family, is this current manner of yours appropriate? Sit up properly for your mother at once."

Fortunately, it was just the two of them here. If someone had overheard and it reached the ears of Ying Ziheng, who had now firmly secured the position of Crown Prince, they would absolutely face severe consequences.

"Understood."

Li Ruoyan had long been conditioned to obey her mother's authority, and didn't dare to defy her too much. She immediately sat up properly, albeit unwillingly.

Wei Shiwan shook her head helplessly and then stated the purpose for which she had summoned Li Ruoyan today, "Yan'er, tomorrow your grandmother is going to Yunling Temple to offer incense. You will accompany her."

Hearing that Wei Shiwan wanted her to go with Wei Rong tomorrow, Li Ruoyan bristled, "Mother, I'm not going! To avoid that fellow Li Jin taking the opportunity to humiliate me again."

Mentioning Li Jin made Li Ruoyan gnash her teeth in hatred.

Over the years, Li Ruoyan had not refrained from causing trouble for Li Jin, but in the end, she was always the one who got reprimanded. The incident two years ago made her even more furious. It happened to coincide with Li Shiyun's return to the capital to report on his duties. Li Ruoyan had originally planned to make Li Jin lose face in front of Li Shiyun then. Unexpectedly, not only was she the one who ended up losing face, but she was also reprimanded by Li Shiyun for quite some time. Li Ruoyan considered herself to have formed a mortal enmity with Li Jin.

At the same time, Li Ruoyan also learned to be wiser. Knowing that on her own she still couldn't outmaneuver Li Jin, she chose to avoid confronting him directly.

Wei Shiwan's tone brooked no argument. "No, you must go this time."

"Mother..."

"Yan'er, it is your grandmother's wish for you to go to Yunling Temple to offer incense. Besides, with your grandmother present, if Li Jin wants to scheme against you, he will have to think twice."

Wei Shiwan's voice softened slightly in reassurance.

Wei Shiwan had witnessed all the grievances between Li Ruoyan and Li Jin over the years, but she did not intend to intervene and stop them. Instead, she had the idea of using Li Jin as a stepping stone, hoping to use him to temper Li Ruoyan's character.

"Alright then."

Li Ruoyan lowered her head gloomily.

Wei Shiwan smiled slightly and said, "Yan'er, you must remember that Li Jin is merely a stepping stone for you and me. You needn't pay him too much mind, and certainly don't contend with him over temporary advantages or disadvantages."

"Mm."

Li Ruoyan nodded.

Wei Shiwan knew Li Ruoyan didn't want to continue discussing this, so she promptly and subtly changed the subject, "Yan'er, there's still time now. Come with your mother to see your brother. Shen'er will be very happy to know you've come."

"Okay, I'm willing to go see my brother." Speaking of Li Yanshen, Li Ruoyan's mood finally improved a little.

Unlike her relationship with Li Jin, which was like fire and water, Li Ruoyan shared a very good bond with Li Yanshen. So when Wei Shiwan suggested visiting Li Yanshen, Li Ruoyan naturally wouldn't refuse.

However... when it came to Li Yanshen's illness, both Li Ruoyan and Wei Shiwan showed helpless expressions.

Because they simply couldn't find the cause.

Two years ago, Li Yanshen suddenly fainted, frightening Wei Shiwan, who immediately asked Lan Yingying to find a royal physician from the palace to diagnose Li Yanshen's pulse. After examining Li Yanshen, the physician concluded he was merely suffering from exhaustion.

Wei Shiwan was finally relieved, but not long after, Li Yanshen suddenly fainted again, and the result was still exhaustion. This immediately made Wei Shiwan worried.

Wei Shiwan had considered that someone might be harming Li Yanshen, so she privately sought other physicians to examine him, but the results were almost identical to the royal physician's. Subsequently, Li Yanshen would still faint suddenly, but because it wasn't as severe as before, Wei Shiwen had no choice but to accept it as Li Yanshen being too tired and swallowed her doubts.

Naturally, Wei Shiwan had considered whether Zhou Xiaoru or Li Jin might be behind this. But she had always been cautious and had never allowed Li Yanshen to get close to them, let alone given them an opportunity to poison him, Thus, she eventually dismissed them as suspects.

However, regarding anything concerning Li Yanshen, Wei Shiwan became extremely careful. Li Yanshen's food, clothes, writing implements, and so on were all thoroughly inspected before being sent to him.

On the other side.

A maid in Li Yanchen's courtyard said wearily, "Concubine Zhou, you should go back. The Eldest Young Master said he will not see you."

"Impossible! Is it that woman Wei Shiwan saying things in front of Chen'er again?" Zhou Xiaoru roared furiously, "Step aside now! I must see Chen'er today."

"Concubine Zhou, I must ask you to leave."

Seeing that persuasion was useless, the maid had the mansion guards escort Zhou Xiaoru out of Nuanming Courtyard. 

As she was being dragged away, Zhou Xiaoru screamed hoarsely, "No... I want to see Chen'er... Chen'er, come out and see your mother... Chen'er..."

Inside the room, a close confidant who heard all this inquired uncertainty, "Eldest Young Master, Concubine Zhou has now regained favor. Do you truly not intend to meet with her?"

"Unnecessary."

Li Yanchen shook his head coldly.

Ultimately, Zhou Xiaoru merely wished for him to return to her side—what more was there to discuss? Yet she failed to consider that Wei Shiwan was now the Princess Consort, the legitimate wife. For him, being adopted and raised by Wei Shiwan's side was a hundred times better than being with Zhou Xiaoru.

However, this was only one reason. The main reason was that after living in Nuanming Courtyard for these seven years, Li Yanchen had long succumbed to Wei Shiwan's gentle tactics. So much so that often in the quiet of the night, Li Yanchen found himself wishing he were actually Wei Shiwan's biological son.

"Eldest Young Master, no matter what, Concubine Zhou is your birth mother. If word gets out that you drove her out of Nuanming Courtyard, it wouldn't be good for your reputation."

Hearing this, Li Yanchen frowned slightly and said impatiently, "Later, I will arrange for a maid to go and tell her not to do unnecessary things."

The confidant clasped his hands, "Eldest Young Master is wise."

"Enough." Li Yanchen didn't want to talk about Zhou Xiaoru anymore. "Let the matter of her end here. Quickly tell me, what unusual movements has Li Jin made recently? How is Li Yanshen's condition? Has it continued to worsen?"

Speaking of things that pleased Li Yanchen, nothing was better than the fact that both legitimate sons of the Prince's mansion had encountered mishaps. If they ultimately didn't pull through, he would be the undisputed new heir.

"Replying to Eldest Young Master, the Second Young Master's illness has recently recurred. The Princess Consort has already gone to see him. As for the heir apparent, it's the same as before, only traveling between the imperial palace and the mansion. However, not long ago, this subordinate received news that he will go to Yunling Temple tomorrow to offer incense and pray for the late Princess Consort. The Dowager Lady and the Eldest Young Miss will also be going."

Li Yanchen raised his eyebrows in surprise, "Li Ruoyan is going too?"

The confidant nodded, "Yes."

Li Ruoyan and Li Jin had never gotten along. If something happened to Li Ruoyan at Yunling Temple, and it was connected to Li Jin, it would certainly make for a good show.

Thinking of this, Li Yanchen curled his lips with deep meaning, "Go quickly and..."