Chapter 327: Too Mean
The Emperor was too mean.
On the very day of the first seven-day memorial for the Seventh Princes Consort’s mother, he bestowed a side consort upon the Seventh Prince.
To be honest, none of those serving the Emperor were ugly.
Even Eunuch Liu, who was skilled at scheming and playing the fool, was a man with delicate features.
The competition over men’s looks had already become intense.
The palace maid’s appearance had reached a new height of competition.
This palace maid was not only far from ugly, but she was also exceptionally beautiful.
With an oval face, tall stature, fair skin, and finely arched eyebrows, she was truly extraordinary.
But this also showed just how much the Emperor loathed the Seventh Prince in his heart—it was a genuine sort of loathing.
For a dignified prince, he was bestowed a palace maid as a side consort.
No matter how beautiful a palace maid was, she was still a servant who attended to others.
The Emperor strongly disliked the Seventh Prince, and everyone said it was because the Seventh Prince’s mother was of lowly birth.
In reality, that wasn’t it. In the Emperor’s eyes, there wasn’t much difference between officials and servants; after all, they were all his subordinates, all there to serve him.
The reason he disliked the Seventh Prince was that he was a child born only because someone successfully climbed into his bed. Moreover, that lowly servant was truly disgusting; she had dressed up as Princess Huiyun, making the Emperor feel sick every time he thought about it—disgusted by that lowly servant, and disgusted by himself.
Because he never would have had such terrible, incestuous thoughts in the first place.
The Earthquake didn’t last long.
There were no aftershocks.
After all, it was the imperial palace.
The construction quality was still solid.
The other princes were disgusted by Jiang the Second’s performance.
However, they were also happy to see the Seventh Prince suffer a setback.
No one else had reacted in time. If it hadn’t been for Jiang the Second, the Seventh Prince would have played the part of the good person; even though the Seventh Prince wasn’t sitting close, he had reacted so quickly.
The Seventh Prince’s learning, literary talent, and martial arts were not inferior to the Sixth Prince’s at all; it was just that because the Emperor naturally disliked him, he had always kept a low profile.
It was better for Jiang the Second to be favored than for the Seventh Prince to be favored.
No matter what, Jiang the Second was only a nephew. No matter how absurd their Imperial Father was, surely he wouldn’t pass the throne to a nephew.
As disgusted as the princes were, they still had the mind to mock the Seventh Prince.
“Anyway, none of us are in his good graces.”
“Imperial Father usually dislikes us too, but having someone he dislikes the most makes us seem not so disliked.”
All the princes returned empty-handed.
Only the Seventh Prince brought someone back with him.
On the surface, the Seventh Prince appeared either grateful or fearful—it was hard to tell if it was an act—but in his heart, he was truly terrified because this palace maid was one of his people.
Furthermore, he had been cautious, exerting all his effort and using various channels to deceive everyone just to place her by his Imperial Father’s side. They hadn’t even had eye contact, and the palace maid herself likely didn’t know he was the one behind the scenes.
But damn it, it was just such a coincidence.
The person he had worked so hard to arrange by his Imperial Father’s side was actually bestowed back to him by his Imperial Father because of a minor Earthquake.
A lowly servant was now to be his side consort.
This Jiang the Second was indeed his nemesis.
The Seventh Prince felt stifled with resentment.
He could only try to look on the bright side; at least this lowly servant was one of his own, which could be considered a good thing. It was better than having someone else’s plant by his side.
But he was also a bit terrified. The way his Imperial Father looked at him at the end held more than just the usual loathing; there was something else. Could he have noticed something wrong with this palace maid?
It shouldn’t be possible.
He had done it seamlessly, and even the palace maid herself didn’t know he was the mastermind.
It could only be that the lowly servant had other ideas of her own that were coincidentally seen by his Imperial Father.
In short, in the Seventh Princes Mansion, the Seventh Princes Consort was ill, his niece Jiang Wan was accidentally injured, and then news arrived that the Seventh Prince had brought back a side consort. It was truly chaotic.
After the Emperor’s mood calmed down.
He finally remembered that he was the Emperor.
An Earthquake in the Capital was a major event.
It was a once-in-a-century occurrence.
In the past, Earthquakes happened elsewhere, and the Capital would at most tremble slightly along with them.
This time it was right in the Capital, and in winter too.
The high-walled estates of noble families might be fine.
But for those poor families, their houses weren’t sturdy to begin with. If they collapsed from this tremor, many people might freeze to death in the winter.
To the Emperor, both the nobles and the commoners were his subjects—they were all his employees, or family members of employees—and he had to care for them all.
The officials could no longer afford to engage in internal strife.
Never mind an Earthquake; even if it were raining knives, they had to hurry to the Imperial Palace.
The Emperor called an emergency meeting.
To discuss disaster relief and post-disaster reconstruction.
This time, the Emperor was pleasantly surprised to find that Second Young Master Jiang was not only sincere, but his working ability was also surprisingly strong.
While others were still in a daze, he had actually listed and organized everything point by point.
Something like an Earthquake couldn’t be prepared for in advance; it was a natural disaster.
Therefore, the Emperor believed that all of this came from Second Young Master Jiang’s true nature and heart.
Additionally, in the past, these matters were Prime Minister Lu’s word alone. Everyone was afraid to voice opposing opinions, fearing that Prime Minister Lu would give them a hard time, have them demoted, or have their homes raided.
Now, for the moment, there was no powerful person who could step forward and take charge.
As everyone watched each other, Second Young Master Jiang stood out.
If it had been before, even if Second Young Master Jiang spoke eloquently, everyone would have opposed him.
These civil officials were sometimes incompetent at getting things done, but they were definitely capable of ruining things.
As long as an experienced and prudent one raised their hand and said, “I object!!”
The matter would not proceed.
But now, Second Young Master Jiang was the Emperor’s own nephew.
He was essentially one of the imperial family’s own.
The civil officials’ feelings were a bit subtle.
Imperial relatives were still different.
It was as if Second Young Master Jiang used to be an ordinary employee like them, but now he was the boss’s nephew. Whether he did well or poorly, it was the boss’s own family business, so they had no need to stop him.
Thus, Second Young Master Jiang stood out.
It must also be said that even as a relative of the Emperor, it was because Second Young Master Jiang was capable. If it had been the former Heir Han, he wouldn’t have been able to say one, two, three, four, or five, let alone anything useful.
In any case, with the right time, place, and people, Second Young Master Jiang entered the eyes of the Emperor and the officials in this way.
Since arriving in the Capital, Second Young Master Jiang had essentially done one thing: make everyone memorize the laws and regulations.
Now he was doing the second thing.
Handling the Earthquake relief matters.
Second Young Master Jiang spoke with such earnestness and detail, it was as if he were someone who had experienced countless Earthquakes or Earthquake drills. He had considered every aspect, leaving the other officials unable to find a single flaw even if they wanted to.
The Emperor was greatly pleased.
“Good, good, good.”
In the past, when natural disasters occurred, those officials would only make him, the Emperor, admit fault, issue some Edict of Self-Reproach, and constantly shift blame.
But Erlang didn’t think about shifting blame at all; he only meticulously considered how to get things done and how to minimize losses.
Indeed, no wonder even the upright Old He, Censor He, praised Jiang the Second as someone who cared for the common people.
Previously, the Emperor hadn’t believed it.
But now, listening to the various aspects of what Second Young Master Jiang said, anyone who didn’t have the people in their heart wouldn’t have considered things so thoroughly.
The Emperor put Jiang the Second in charge of the work.
The ministers had nothing to say.
They took their leave and went to work.
Eunuch Yan also returned to the Imperial Palace.
The moment he saw the Emperor, Eunuch Yan’s eyes turned red.
Thinking of the elder sister he saw sitting by the window today, tears began to flow.
“Your Majesty, are you well? You scared me to death. Today, I almost thought I wouldn’t be able to return and would never see you again.”
When the Emperor saw Wen Xin, he finally felt the lingering fear.
His mind had been blank at the time, and only now that he had recovered did he feel terrified again.
Seeing Wen Xin’s return, he felt physically and mentally exhausted, as if he were about to collapse.
Eunuch Yan quickly helped the Emperor calm down, gave him water, and had him take some medicine.
He sat to one side and chatted incessantly to keep him company.
The eunuchs and palace maids in the room also breathed a sigh of relief.
Eunuch Liu had been punished by the Emperor because he had been standing in the wrong place.
The palace maid Song He was given away on a whim; the Emperor’s moods were unpredictable.
Fortunately, Eunuch Yan was back. If he hadn’t returned, they felt the Emperor would have started killing people.
Eunuch Yan watched the Emperor lean back on the soft couch, close his eyes, and drift off to sleep with light breaths before he stopped talking.
He sat to one side, his mind filled with the scene of seeing his elder sister today.
Thinking about it, he felt very happy.
Elder sister hadn’t changed, not one bit.
It meant her life was going well.
Jiang the Second hadn’t lied to him.
Sitting in the deep palace, looking at the dark window patterns, he was once again filled with fighting spirit.
If one looks at the darkness long enough, one can see sparks within it.
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