Imperial Husband Chapter 64

In Da Xia, the status of a concubine was very lowly, they could even be sold off at will. How could Wei Rong bear to watch her beloved granddaughter, whom she had always doted on, end up in such a situation?

Wei Shiwan shook her head helplessly. "Mother, that was His Majesty's decision. Furthermore, I was also demoted to a Secondary Consort because of this matter. If you disobey the imperial decree, His Majesty might punish our Prince of Dingbei's Mansion further."

To prevent Li Ruoyan from causing more trouble, Wei Shiwan, upon returning to the Prince of Dingbei's Mansion, had people lock Li Ruoyan in her room. She then went to report to Wei Rong, who had returned to the mansion earlier.

"His Majesty has demoted you to a secondary consort?" Wei Rong's eyes widened in disbelief.

"Yes," Wei Shiwan said with a bitter smile. "Mother, about the events that happened today…"

Wei Shiwan knew Wei Rong's temperament well. She deliberately first mentioned Ying Zhengjing's judgment, then informed Wei Rong about the day's events. Of course, Wei Shiwan consciously omitted the part about her own scheming, forcefully placing herself in the position of the victim.

After hearing this, Wei Rong's expression changed drastically.

"So, you mean someone plotted against our Prince of Dingbei's Mansion?"

"I think so too," Wei Shiwan agreed. "Mother, now the enemy is in the dark while we are in the light. I truly fear that those hiding in the shadows actually aim to harm the Prince through us."

"..."

Involving her own son, Wei Rong fell silent, her anger gradually dissipating.

Although Wei Rong was furious about Li Ruoyan's plight, compared to Li Shiyun, that fury was completely insignificant.

Seeing that Wei Rong was already wavering, Wei Shiwan pressed on, "Mother, please teach me what to do. I truly don't know whether to try to protect Yan'er or…"

Wei Rong interrupted Wei Shiwan, having made up her mind, "Since His Majesty has issued the decree, we shall obey it. Although Yan'er has become a concubine, her younger brother is the legitimate heir, and she comes from the Prince of Dingbei's Mansion. Presumably, no one would dare to make things difficult for her."

"Mother, would you like to go see Yan'er first?"

Wei Rong shook her head."I'm feeling unwell, so I won't go, lest I pass my illness to Yan'er. Shiwan, during this time, properly counsel Yan'er and tell her not to dwell on things."

Wei Rong's words seemed considerate of Li Ruoyan, but in reality, she was timid, afraid to meet Li Ruoyan for fear that Li Ruoyan would resent her.

"Yes, Mother." Wei Shiwan performed a slight bow and turned to leave, without exposing Wei Rong's lie.

Crash... Crash...

Li Ruoyan furiously threw all the porcelain in her room at the locked door, shouting angrily, "Let me out! I want to see Grandmother! Let Grandmother decide for me! Let me out!"

The maid outside the door said tremblingly, "Eldest Miss, the Princess Consort said you cannot leave until your wedding day."

The decree demoting Wei Shiwan to Secondary Consort had not yet arrived, so the maids in the mansion did not know Wei Shiwan was no longer the Princess Consort.

Crash...

The response to the maid was the sound of a vase hitting the door and shattering.

Inside the room.

Li Ruoyan, tired from throwing things, sat on the floor and muttered to herself, "All of this was clearly done by Mother. Why should I bear the consequences? I was the Crown Prince's principal consort! I don't want to be some lowly concubine! I don't want to... I don't..."

Creak.

Just as Li Ruoyan was about to break down, the door suddenly opened.

"Grandmother, you've come... Mother..." From the moment the door opened, Li Ruoyan knew someone had come to see her. Unfortunately, the visitor wasn't Wei Rong, but Wei Shiwan, whose attitude towards her had drastically changed.

"Yan'er, these vases were all gifts your father reluctantly parted with for you. Why did you smash them all?"

As soon as Wei Shiwan entered, her gaze fell on the shattered valuable vases, unable to hide her regret.

"Why have you come? Weren't you ignoring me, leaving me to fend for myself?" Li Ruoyan looked at Wei Shiwan, her eyes filled with barely suppressed resentment.

Wei Shiwan explained, "Yan'er, earlier in the palace, Mother was also angry and that's why I said those things to you."

"Heh." Li Ruoyan sneered coldly. "You think you can cover up what happened with 'being angry'? Mother, you are being too much."

"Yan'er." Wei Shiwan's face immediately darkened.

Li Ruoyan's voice dripped with sarcasm. "What's this? Has Mother become angry from shame?"

Slap.

No sooner had Li Ruoyan's words fallen than Wei Shiwan slapped her again, saying sharply, "If you want to blame me, your mother, I can't help it. But why don't you think carefully about whose fault it is that things have developed to this stage?"

Questioned like this by Wei Shiwan, Li Ruoyan fell silent.

Wei Shiwan thought she had regretted it—regretted her own rash actions that not only landed her as a concubine but also caused Wei Shiwan to be demoted to Secondary Consort.

"Yan'er, as long as you are not a mere concubine, everything can still change." Wei Shiwan stated the purpose of her visit. "I have already written to the Prince, asking him to petition His Majesty to grant you the status of a Secondary Consort."

"Is that true? You're not lying to me?" Li Ruoyan looked at Wei Shiwan full of doubt.

It was no wonder Li Ruoyan doubted, as Wei Shiwan's change in the palace had left too deep an impression, making Li Ruoyan question whether Wei Shiwan's words were true or false.

"Yan'er, I am your birth mother, how could I joke about such a matter?" Wei Shiwan slowly helped Li Ruoyan up. "Whether you can rise further afterwards depends on yourself."

"Mother... the way you were in the palace earlier, I was so afraid... so afraid you would abandon me..."

Li Ruoyan's eyes reddened. Feeling wronged, she hugged Wei Shiwan, finally letting down her guard.

Wei Shiwan patted Li Ruoyan's shoulder. "You are my daughter, how could I abandon you? Yan'er, don't overthink it. You must be tired today, rest well. Tomorrow I will have those people outside leave."

"Mm." Li Ruoyan nodded.

Wei Shiwan narrowed her eyes and reminded her coldly, "Yan'er, in the future, Siyuan will marry the Second Prince together with you. You must be of one heart with Siyuan, understand?"

Mentioning Li Siyuan, who had gained the upper hand in this matter, Li Ruoyan's back stiffened immediately.

Soon, Li Siyuan would become the principal consort of the man she loved, while whether she could escape her lowly concubine status was still uncertain.

Wei Shiwan pretended to be in a dilemma. "Yan'er, although things have come to this, there's one more thing I've been wondering whether to tell you. But I'm afraid if I say it, I might be overthinking, and it would be bad if you misunderstood."

Li Ruoyan's expression turned serious. "Tell me, Mother. I want to know the truth." She understood that if something could make Wei Shiwan hesitate this way, it had to be important.

"Alright." Wei Shiwan sighed, then said, "Then Mother will speak plainly. Earlier in the hall, Siyuan said he met Li Jin at that time. But he clearly told me then that he was just going for a short walk nearby and wouldn't go far. How did he end up in the Imperial Garden? The Imperial Garden is not close to where we were attending the banquet."

Li Ruoyan's eyes widened. "Mother means, the ones who ruined our plan are them?"

Wei Shiwan shook her head with a bitter smile. "It's just a guess. Mother doesn't know for sure."

"It must be them." Having suffered so much grievance for no reason, and now suddenly hearing that this matter might be related to Li Jin, and even to Li Siyuan whom she had always looked down upon, Li Ruoyan's face instantly turned as black as a pot. "Otherwise, after we schemed for so long, how could something go wrong at the critical moment?"

Seeing that Li Ruoyan was about to lose control, Wei Shiwan subtly reminded her, "Yan'er, calm down. Have you forgotten the lesson from earlier in the palace? The times are different now. Not to mention Li Jin, even Siyuan is now the Second Prince's principal consort, decreed by His Majesty. If you go question him now and it reaches the palace, how would His Majesty view you?"

Sure enough, this tactic was very effective. Li Ruoyan immediately backed down. Having experienced being made a concubine, how could she dare to cause trouble for Li Jin and the others now.

At the same time, Wei Shiwan's words also indicated that she had chosen Li Ruoyan and completely given up on Li Siyuan.

"Must we simply accept this outcome, Mother?" Li Ruoyan asked, her voice thick with grievance.

"How could that be?" Wei Shiwan replied, shaking her head with a meaningful look. "For now, we cannot move against Li Jin. But have you forgotten the Second Prince? This time, the Second Prince was schemed against so badly that he even lost his position as Crown Prince. So, after you marry the Second Prince, if you find evidence that Li Jin and Siyuan plotted against you, the Second Prince definitely will not let it go."

Yan'er, this is the last chance Mother gives you. If you still cannot handle it well, Mother will not be soft-hearted again.

"You are right, Mother. I will be patient," Li Ruoyan agreed with a nod.

Wei Shiwan's smile conveyed genuine relief. "I'm glad you understand. Now rest—it's late. Your grandmother isn't feeling well and expects your visit tomorrow."

"Yes. Yan'er will see Mother out."

"No need, you should rest properly."

Having said that, Wei Shiwan released Li Ruoyan and walked out of the room.

"Princess Consort, you've come out." Cailian, seeing Wei Shiwan come out of Li Ruoyan's room, hurried forward to greet her.

Cailian was Wei Shiwan's new personal maid. Before serving Wei Shiwan, she was the daughter of a capable momo serving Wei Shiwan's mother. After hearing about Xiao Tao's incident, Old Lady Wei specifically gave Cailian to Wei Shiwan.

"How is Shen'er doing?" Before setting her plan in motion, Wei Shiwan had been concerned about Li Yanshen, who had also gone to the palace, and had sent Cailian to look after him.

"Reporting to the Princess Consort, the Second Young Master has already gone to sleep. Earlier in the palace, the sons of the other dukes and ministers were all currying favor with the Second Young Master."

"What about Chen'er?"

"Those young masters did not pay any attention to the Eldest Young Master."

"Very good, you may leave."

"Yes,Princess Consort."

"Wait." Wei Shiwan suddenly called Cailian back.

Cailian immediately stopped and said respectfully, "Does the Princess Consort have other instructions?"

"I am no longer the Princess Consort. From now on, address me as Secondary Consort."

"Yes, Prin... Secondary Consort."

After saying this, Cailian tactfully left.

After Cailian's figure completely disappeared, Wei Shiwan looked up at the night sky with a complicated expression.

Shen'er, this time, it was Mother who failed you, causing you to lose your status as the legitimate son. But Mother will not accept fate like this.