Chapter 87.1: Li Hong Yuan’s Birth Mother

Li Hong Yuan left the imperial palace, but didn’t get on the horse carriage. He came out today precisely for the sake of showing off. Regardless whether he needed it or not, Eunuch Mu had already very considerately let a guard have his precious horse led over. Sure enough, Li Hong Yuan directly took the reins and patted the horse’s neck. This reddish-brown precious horse’s fur coat was very glossy and didn’t have any other colors mixed in. It was plump and strong, and its long slender four limbs powerful. Because of Li Hong Yuan’s action, it softly snorted twice and turned its head to the side to rub against his arm. Facing this horse that he’d already raised for several years, Li Hong Yuan let out a rare trace of gentleness, “Haven’t let you properly run around in a very long time. Today, I’ll let you run to your heart’s content.”

As soon as Eunuch Mu heard this, he just knew his master was going to cause some trouble again, best let the city defense squad make preparations early.

Li Hong Yuan cleanly flipped onto the horse, appearing exceptionally easy-going, not the least bit noticeable that he actually still had injuries on his body.

He said he was going to race horses, then he wasn’t going to hold back in the least, allowing his precious horse to freely sprint. As his guards, they naturally had to follow by his side. Thus, even if knowing that after the fact, they will most likely have to go to the capital magistrate’s prison to squat for a few days, they still hardened their heads and went. Following such a master, they should’ve long had the resolution to endure blades and squat in prisons.

Since their master was already gone, this ceremonial procession naturally could only emptily return home.

Speaking of Li Hong Yuan’s riding skills, it was naturally excellent. In his past life, he’d spent many years on the battlefield. What kind of path had he not tread on before? Even in the downtown area, he was confident that he wouldn’t run into anyone, let alone the surrounding area of the imperial palace, where one wouldn’t even see a single ordinary commoner down several streets. However, under normal circumstances, despite having very few people, once someone appears, for the most part, it was always a crowd. Even ordinary officials all had at least three to five manservants and attendants following, so naturally there was no need to mention people who had status similar to Li Hong Yuan’s.

For instance, the directly approaching Kang Qinwang procession, Li Hong Yuan just pretended as if he didn’t see. Never mind slowing down the horse, he in fact even increased the speed, directly charging head on towards the horse carriage. The carriage driver was seriously frightened and unconsciously pulled tight the left side reins. The horses pulling the carriage naturally deflected towards the left side. In addition to those horses seemingly also having been startled, in that instant, the carriage violently jolted and almost directly overturned. And Li Hong Yuan, who was riding on horseback, just whistled past the right side of the horse carriage, while the guards behind him spared no effort in madly chasing after him.

An imposing and dignified qinwang procession was scattered just like that and left in an array of chaos.

Inside the horse carriage, Li Hong Yi had successively knocked against the inner walls several times, so naturally his anger was through the roof. When the horse carriage finally steadied, he let go of the carriage’s inner horizontal beam and got up in a towering rage, violently tearing open the curtains, “Who is it? Who ate a bear’s heart and a leopard’s guts, to actually dare collide with this prince’s carriage? Who, who is it?” Not seeing the main culprit, he added, “A bunch of useless things, this many people, yet couldn’t stop the other party, what use is there for this prince to raise you all?”

Everyone all quickly knelt down to beg for mercy.

“Master please quell your anger, it was…..”

Kang Qinwang didn’t wait for them to explain. He jumped down from the horse carriage and had the closest person kicked aside, “Useless thing, speak, who was it?”

“Replying to master, it was Jin Qinwang.” Kang Qinwang’s close attendant didn’t dare to hesitate in the slightest, quickly replying in a slightly trembling voice. Fearing that if he spoke too slow, he would invoke his anger again. But this answer might also ignite master’s anger by ten-folds or even a hundred-folds, yet he didn’t dare to lie either.

Sure enough, in that instant, Li Hong Yi’s complexion can be said to be pitch black. Because he exerted himself, the veins on the back of his hand, his neck, and even forehead all throbbed. “Li Hong Yuan, Li Hong Yuan……..” He forcibly squeezed out those words from the cracks between his teeth. He really hated that he couldn’t eat his flesh, drink his blood, and chew through his bones. “Each go back and receive fifty lashings. Go……”

No matter how angry he was, and no matter how much he hated, he couldn’t do anything to him. It’s not that he didn’t dare, but rather he couldn’t. Because if you endure it, then this matter might just be over. But if you were to retaliate back, then that bastard will just bite you and not let go like a mad dog. In the end, it will just alarm imperial father, and the one to suffer in the end will never be Li Hong Yuan. This was the most depressing part.

After learning that Le Cheng Emperor was at Yucui Palace, Kang Qinwang just headed directly to the Empress’s Kunyi Palace.

The graceful and magnanimous Empress, seeing that Li Hong Yi was annoyed, raised an eyebrow. This son of hers although sometimes was a bit rude and impulsive, he was still unlikely to be this mannerless. His appearance right now, to say it more severely, was just a failure of etiquette. “What’s wrong this time?”

Kang Qinwang’s anger naturally didn’t settle down that quickly. In seething anger, he had the situation just now narrated.

The Empress fell silent for a few breaths, but apart from this, she actually didn’t have any other reactions, “It long hasn’t been the first time, yet you’re like this every time. Even if you anger yourself sick, he would still live freely and leisurely as before, suffering zero damage. Alright, quickly calm down some. Seeing you like this, this empress has a headache. In the future, if you encounter this kind of thing again, just treat it as getting bit by a dog. If a dog bites you, you can’t always think of wanting to bite it back.”

Li Hong Yi thought to himself, ‘If a dog bites, naturally one wouldn’t bite back. Rather, one would just directly have it chopped up.’

This anger, how could it subside that easily. But Li Hong Yi further didn’t dare to disobey his imperial mother, and could only forcibly suppress it.

The Empress faintly glanced at him, “No matter how much you fuss now, it’s all no use. As long as you can become the final winner, no matter how much humiliation you’ve suffered, you can always compensate back ten-fold, or even a hundred-fold. What harm is there in letting him be pleased with himself for now? What imperial mother wants is just the final outcome, and in this process, matters that are unrelated to the overall scheme of things, even if he, Li Hong Yuan, were to step on one’s head and take a dump, all need to be endured.”

“Imperial mother, you’re the Empress, the mother of the country. Why the need to go this far?”

“Do you know why imperial mother, despite clearly not being to your imperial father’s liking, can still steadily sit on the position of Empress? Because imperial mother is able to endure, able to endure your imperial father, able to endure Noble Consort Su-shi, and able to endure all the imperial concubines of the harem.” When the Empress spoke to here, she paused. Seemingly thinking of something, she said some more, “The Ding Duke Manor’s influence overflowed the skies. The reason why it hasn’t fallen to the same state as the Wu An Marquis Manor is not because several generations of Emperors have all been exceptionally generous towards the Ding Duke Manor, but rather because behind the Ding Duke Manor is the noble families[1]

. Possessing a thick foundation, the entire Sun Clan is deeply rooted. To want to pull up by the roots was definitely not an easy task.”

“For the Ding Duke Manor to have walked to this step today, there was already no retreat. If we retreat, it’s not just that your maternal uncle and them are unwilling to give up this heavenly wealth and honor, but rather, once we retreat, we’ll become the next Wu An Marquis Manor. Although the greater one’s influence, the more cautious your imperial father gets. Yet, only with great power in hand, can we preserve the Ding Duke Manor.”

“Your imperial father won’t let this empress’s family grow big alone, but at the same time, he won’t let Su-shi be in control of the inner palace either. In the inner palace, he similarly needs balance. This is also another reason why imperial mother can steadily sit in the Empress position.”

“Everyone in the world all think that this empress and Su-shi are fighting to the bitter end, like fire and water. At a glance, we also appear to be evenly matched. If not the western wind suppressing the eastern wind, then it’s the eastern wind suppressing the western wind, always losing one and winning one. How can it be this coincidental, this patterned? Fighting back and forth, there would still be times where one would be fed up, yet in these twenty some years, there seemingly has never been a stop. Why do you think? It’s because your imperial father wishes for us to fight. Don’t look at how us fighting would make him angry. In actuality, the more vicious the fight, the more settled he feels inside. If one day, imperial mother doesn’t want to fight anymore, then probably, will really have to enter the cold palace.”

(T/N: Ah the machinations of the imperial family——-also, The places I have to resort to putting credits ;;;v;;;)

Kang Qinwang listened to the Empress narrate everything ever so casually, but he also could imagine the various hardships within. Li Hong Yi’s lips moved, yet in the end, didn’t say anything. Some things, it wasn’t good to say too much. “Imperial mother, then what about Li Hong Yuan? Why is imperial father able to indulge him this much?”

“Naturally it’s because of his birth mother. The then Imperial Noble Consort, the one that truly out shined all the flowers, the world’s number one beauty. That woman’s position in your imperial father’s heart is something that even all the women in the harem added together can’t surpass. For Su-shi to have been able to be the most favored in the harem for that many years, how is there not that woman’s factor inside.”

“How did she die?”

“According to rumors, it was due to hemorrhaging after a difficult birth.”

“According to rumors?” This phrase was certainly somewhat subtle.

The Empress silently nodded.

In that case, there most likely were problems, “Imperial father’s indulgence towards sixth brother is practically without a bottom line. Then, while the rest of us brothers are battling like dragons and tigers, would imperial father not just directly have the throne passed on to him in the end? All of us are just targets that imperial father erected for him?” As soon as he thought of this possibility, the vicious aura on Li Hong Yi’s body became even denser than Li Hong Yuan’s.

“My son is thinking too much. A ruler with no power and no influence, based on what will he be able to sit on the throne? To be a once in a thousand years ‘one day emperor’?”

“If imperial father has that intention, he naturally will pave the way for him.”

“Pave the way? How will he pave? Kill off all his other sons as well as all the people behind them? Never mind whether or not your imperial father has that big of a courage, even if he really dared to do so, how many people do you think will be left in the end? At the same time, he will inevitably cause the world to fall into chaos, and these rivers and mountains afraid will also……..” The unspoken words were understood without saying.

“If it’s not doable in the open, can’t he still groom people in secret?”

The Empress glanced to her own son. For a moment, Li Hong Yi’s face was scorching hot. Although his imperial mother didn’t say anything, but that gaze was clearly looking at an ‘idiot’. “It’s not that this empress looks down on your imperial father, but your imperial father…….secretly training a small amount of people was still possible, but to be able to produce enough to support the entire imperial court and the entire Qi Yuan dynasty……..” The Empress laughed. In that smile, she even carried a bit of disdain and contempt.

[1] This isn’t just referring to aristocratic families with nobility titles in general, but rather prestigious families that have been renowned for many generations.