Quick Transmigration: What to Do When the Male Supporting Character You Saved Becomes Obsessed with

Chapter 165 The Ruthless and Disabled Crown Prince (69)

Life in the palace was monotonous, and Lu Liruan began to sleep longer each day. Sometimes she would sit in her room for a long time before she came back to her senses.

"I'm worried your father might be overthinking things. Go back and have your mother submit a memorial to pay her respects and come to the palace to see me." The Empress Dowager affectionately placed Lu Liruan's hand in her own.

"Yes."

Lu Liruan knew that there was probably something she couldn't pass on through her own mouth.

"You and the Third Prince went to see the Empress last time, didn't you?" the Dowager Consort suddenly asked.

The Dowager Consort never mentioned the Empress in front of Lu Liruan. Even after the wedding, when Lu Liruan had never seen the Empress, the Dowager Consort didn't mention her at all.

"Yes, I met Her Majesty the Empress once." Lu Liruan observed the Dowager Consort's expression and sensed that she was upset when the Empress was mentioned.

The Empress Dowager revealed a mixture of helplessness and displeasure.

I've never heard of any discord between the Dowager Consort and the Empress...

The Empress Dowager sighed: "I haven't seen her for many years either. Perhaps... we'll be able to meet again soon?"

Lu Liruan felt as if something in her mind was about to connect, but because a key link was missing, she couldn't figure it out and felt quite uncomfortable.

"Isn't Your Majesty a nun who keeps her hair intact?" Lu Liruan asked tentatively.

What she really wanted to say was that, as far as she knew, the Empress and the Emperor should never see each other again, even in death.

The Empress left the palace because she hated it, becoming the first empress in this dynasty, and indeed in all dynasties, to suffer from the cold in the palace.

Lu Liruan felt that this was her way of rebelling. Although it seemed powerless and pathetic under the pressure of the times and imperial power, it was still in accordance with some of her ideas.

He recalled the Empress's attitude when he last met her.

Why would she come back?

Noticing Lu Liruan's confusion, the Dowager Consort asked with a light laugh, "Has the Third Prince told you anything about the past?"

Seeing Lu Liruan nod, her smile became even more satisfied: "There is indeed affection between him and you. Of course, a young couple like you are perfect in every way."

Lu Liruan realized that she was being teased. She pursed her lips, wanted to laugh but suddenly felt a little embarrassed, and coughed lightly: "Your Majesty, please don't tease me."

"True feelings are hard to find in this palace. Everyone in the world is driven by self-interest. The more powerful a place is, the more complicated it becomes. What you think is just what you think; seeing is believing." The Empress Dowager seemed to be instructing her, but her words were vague.

"Even if the Empress returns to the palace, it will have nothing to do with you. By then, you should have already left the palace, so don't worry." The Dowager Consort knew from just one glance at Lu Liruan's appearance that her meeting with the Empress was not pleasant.

"If Her Majesty the Empress returns to the palace..." Lu Liruan wasn't too worried about herself. Ji Shumin's attitude last time had already shown everything; he wouldn't allow the Empress to use her to establish her authority.

"Now that the Empress is back, the order in the palace naturally needs to be rectified. I can no longer stand any more of this filth and corruption," the Dowager Consort said slowly and deliberately, but her words were thought-provoking.

"Women in the palace... once they think they can win the emperor's heart, they lose sight of the path. They reach out too far, and they need to be taught a lesson."

Lu Liruan knew she was referring to the Imperial Concubine.

What Lu Liruan wanted to ask was also about the Imperial Concubine. Although the Empress and the Emperor had disagreements, the Empress's background and past events meant that the Emperor had to be tolerant of her.

However, the Imperial Concubine had controlled the inner palace for many years. Although the Dowager Consort suppressed her, the Dowager Consort was not the Empress Dowager after all, so she would leave room for maneuver in her actions and would not interfere in minor matters.

If the Empress chooses to return, it certainly won't be for the Emperor's sake, and there will inevitably be trouble between her and the Consort.

"Only then can I completely let go... I deserve a few days of peace and quiet." The Empress Dowager picked up her teacup and took a sip.

Lu Liruan felt that what she said and what she thought were definitely not the same thing. This lady from the Marquis of He'an's family had a completely different personality from the Marquis of He'an and were not similar at all.

The Empress Dowager wouldn't explain things too clearly to Lu Liruan. On her way back, Lu Liruan's mind was still racing, leaving her feeling stuck in a limbo.

Go back and ask His Highness the Crown Prince.

Since he dares to tell the truth about anything, what is there that I wouldn't dare to ask?

But when he returned, Ji Shumin still hadn't come back.

After Lu Liruan finished her meal alone, Ji Shumin still hadn't returned.

Only after the candles were lit did Lu Liruan hear the familiar sound of a wheelchair rolling over the ground outside.

When Ji Shumin saw Lu Liruan leaning against a rocking chair in the small hall, flipping through a book, he paused for a moment while pushing the wheelchair.

His expression was a bit strange.

"Li Ruan."

He whispered, "Are you waiting for me?"

Ji Shumin, who was no longer the crown prince, was somewhat flattered at this moment.

He thought Lu Liruan would be angry for a while, and if he wanted her to care about him as before, he would have to try his best to please her by being humble and subservient.

Ji Shumin was self-aware; though he was mad, he was very clear-headed and rational...

Lu Liruan was taken aback, noticing the change in how Ji Shumin addressed her.

"Why are you only coming back now? I thought you were lost. Did you do something foolish in the palace?" Lu Liruan said, slamming her book down, her tone still carrying a hint of sarcasm and lingering anger.

"My father summoned the imperial physician to examine me, and what I said yesterday made him think that I was about to die." Ji Shumin twitched the corner of his mouth, speaking insincerely.

Lu Liruan thought to herself, "The Emperor may not care how you live, but he really cares when you die."

"Did you see anything?"

“I still stand by my previous judgment.” Ji Shumin went to Lu Liruan’s side, rested his head on Lu Liruan’s knees, and gently exhaled: “Liruan, let me rest for a bit.”

Lu Liruan touched his still-cool hair, her words remaining firm: "Why don't you tell me in detail what's wrong with you, so you won't... "

I won't even know how you died.

Given your identity, I can't very well have the coroner investigate you, can I? Even if they did, they might not find anything out.

But I really want to know...

Lu Liruan didn't say what she was going to say next; she couldn't bring herself to say it.

Lu Liruan remembered a custom that if anyone said anything unlucky or ominous, they should be struck three times to ward off bad luck.

Just thinking about it made Lu Liruan slap herself three times from behind.

Don't take angry words seriously.

Lu Liruan didn't know when it started, but she felt she had become superstitious. It was probably because when there was no other way, when she couldn't share the burden and change things, she would turn to other methods, even knowing they were useless, they were still a form of solace...

Ji Shumin let Lu Liruan twirl her hair around his ear and then tuck it back in, but he didn't leave Lu Liruan's lap.

"Didn't Li Ruan steal my medicine?" he whispered.

"Ok?"

Lu Liruan's heart skipped a beat. She hadn't expected that Ji Shumin would actually... know even this.

Just how vigilant was he? Lu Liruan was always surprised by Ji Shumin's caution and cunning, time and time again, without even realizing it.

"Have you found out yet?" Ji Shumin asked casually.

"Elixir."

Since the two had already tacitly understood each other, Lu Liruan stopped pretending and asked directly, "Why do you want that thing? That thing only maintains your strength and health for a while, but it prematurely drains your life..."

How exhausted are you?

Just thinking about this made Lu Liruan's chest tremble, and even the words she was about to say trembled involuntarily.

"I'm fine, don't worry." Ji Shumin sensed Lu Liruan's emotional turmoil, raised his hand to wrap around her waist, and gently swayed her.

"You say it's nothing, so it's nothing?"

"Would I lie to you..." Before he could finish speaking, Ji Shumin fell silent.

Clearly, he realized that his words now lacked any sincerity that would convince anyone.

"This time you really didn't lie." He said helplessly.

"Knowing it's a medicinal pill, why did you still take it?" Lu Liruan glanced at him, already knowing the answer in her heart. This wasn't something you could just eat or not eat whenever you wanted.

"I didn't know it when I ate it."

"Ha, what can possibly be hidden from you?" Lu Liruan didn't believe it.

"I really didn't know; I was only a few years old at the time."

Ji Shumin's seemingly casual remark made Lu Liruan's eyes widen.

"You...why is this?"

"I'll tell Li Ruan, don't be impatient." Ji Shumin saw her wide eyes, sat up straight, and felt satisfied with the feeling of being cared for by her. He narrowed his eyes contentedly.

Then Lu Liruan heard a story that she found unbelievable!

The pills that Ji Shumin is currently taking are not for treating his chronic injuries.

Rather, it was to alleviate the deficiencies he had since birth.

It is said to be a deficiency, but in fact, he was born with poison in his body.

Back then, the Emperor and Empress had such a falling out, and in order to maintain appearances of peace, the Emperor wanted the Empress to have another child.

But the empress was the daughter of a military general, and had a strong and unyielding personality.

Trapped in this palace, with almost no freedom of movement, and having endured such humiliation and injustice, the emperor still shamelessly demanded that she bear him a child to stabilize the court and the harem.

"Back then, the Empress Dowager intended to kill me." Ji Shumin's quiet words revealed a secret that shocked Lu Liruan.

The severity of these words made Lu Liruan instinctively cover Ji Shumin's mouth!

Ji Shumin placed his hand on the back of her hand, then slowly moved it away, his tone smiling, as if he didn't care at all what he had said.

“Doesn’t Li Ruan want to know everything? I’ll tell you everything, and you’ll listen to everything.” He affectionately rubbed Lu Li Ruan’s wrist.

“You have to listen carefully and share this burden with me. That will make you trust and love me more, won’t it?” He blatantly laid out his schemes in front of Lu Liruan.

I want you to love me, cherish me, and spare no expense for me.

The Empress harbored murderous intent because the eldest prince's health was deteriorating day by day, and he even showed signs of dying young.

Nobody cares about this.

It's as if her child, whom she raised with such difficulty, who she cried every day out of worry and prayed to gods and Buddhas, was so despised!

Even though he was the eldest son of the Empress, everyone watched coldly or hoped that he would die soon.

It shouldn't have been her own child who died...

It's practically impossible to take action against the emperor in the palace.

So the Empress poisoned herself. The poison didn't work immediately, but rather took effect slowly with age.

It seeps into the very bone marrow little by little...

The Empress wanted him to suffer all kinds of torment before he died, but unexpectedly, she became pregnant again despite her physical condition!

That was Ji Shumin.

The Empress did not want the child, so she used the medicine on herself again while pregnant.

She hated the unborn child.

The Empress knew that if a boy was born, he would definitely be made Crown Prince.

But what about his own eldest son? Why should he?

Because of her hatred for the emperor, she couldn't feel any affection for the child in her womb. Instead, she directed this hatred towards the unborn child.

This hatred accumulated until the day Ji Shumin was born.

As expected, the emperor soon named the little baby as the crown prince.

He showed favor to her in every way, and the court officials offered their congratulations.

In an instant, it seemed as if all the past had been turned over a new page...

Even her family members, when they came to the palace, advised her: the position of Crown Prince now belongs to her child, and she is firmly in the position of Empress.

After this incident, the emperor dared not bring up the matter of deposing the empress again. What more could she possibly want?

As long as she remains firmly in her position as empress, she can ensure the safety of her maternal family, guarantee that her child will become the future king, and bring prosperity and glory to her maternal family for decades to come.

The Empress listened, her hatred only intensifying.

Hatred and her eldest son became the only beliefs that kept her alive.

The poison she used was prepared by her mother from a poison doctor, originally intended to be used secretly on the emperor's favorite concubine.

Even the Empress Mother was unaware that she was so audacious as to use such methods on the Emperor and the princes. If this were discovered, it would be a crime that would implicate nine generations of her family!

Every day was agonizing for the Empress in the palace, but she finally found a way.

She left the palace and took the eldest prince to a temple to practice Buddhism.

While claiming to be practicing spiritual cultivation and praying for blessings, the Empress has not stopped searching for a divine physician who can completely cure the Crown Prince's illness.

Over the years, the Empress searched for everyone, from doctors and poison users to sorcerers and magicians.

They actually found a way to prolong the life of the eldest prince.

In the process, she also accumulated some other unorthodox and unorthodox methods.

Ji Shumin was weak from childhood, but the imperial physicians only thought it was a deficiency.

When he was a few years old, his condition suddenly worsened, and he seemed on the verge of death.

Others may not know what happened, but the Empress knew perfectly well that the medicine she used on the Emperor and the unborn child in her womb was the same dosage. How could such a small child withstand it?

She summoned her mother to the temple.

When her mother heard the reason, she almost fainted.

The Empress, however, knelt before the Buddha with a cold expression and asked indifferently, "Is there any way to alleviate this?"

She showed no pity for the dying child, but instead stated her reason: "Qin'er is still not well. If he dies, Qin'er might be taken back to the palace, which I will not allow."

Only if Ji Shumin lives and continues to hold the position of Crown Prince can her Qin'er continue to be raised by her side.

The Empress, observing her expression before the Buddha, couldn't help but shudder: "Why have you become like this..."

"It was all of you who forced me to do this," the Empress interrupted her.