"Cough, cough!"
"Your Majesty, please eat something. Otherwise, His Majesty will worry again!"
"Take it away. Didn't you hear what I said?" Nangong Xiaodie looked at the trembling, wronged little palace maid opposite her. Recalling what had happened not long ago, she was so angry that she overturned the tray in front of her and roared.
The newly arrived little palace maid, Emerald, quickly crouched down to tidy up. The shards of colored glaze cut her fingers, but she seemed unfazed by the pain. She hastily cleaned up the mess on the ground and hurried away.
"Your Majesty!" Xiao Chazi cautiously approached Nangong Xiaodie and whispered a few words in her ear.
"Her? What is she doing here? Is she here to mock me? If I had listened to her then, my Chen'er would not have ended up like this!" Nangong Xiaodie said, her face filled with grief, and she roared, "I refuse to see her! Tell her I refuse to see her!"
"Yes!" Xiao Chazi nodded, preparing to pass on the message, when Zhong Li was already standing in the hall, looking at him like this.
"Zhong Sicheng..." Xiao Chazi froze.
Zhong Li nodded to Xiao Chazi in greeting, then quickly walked towards Nangong Xiaodie's couch in the side room.
"I already told you to leave, you..." Nangong Xiaodie felt someone approaching, knitted her eyebrows, and growled impatiently. When she turned her head and saw who it was, her face darkened, "Zhong Li, why are you here?"
After bowing, Zhong Li said, "I know I am the last person Your Majesty wishes to see right now, but I am probably the only one who truly cares about Your Majesty."
"Zhong Li, what do you mean? Do you think I've lost favor and you've come specifically to laugh at me?" Nangong Xiaodie asked.
Zhong Li shook her head. "Consort Nangong, do you think I would abandon the tens of thousands of unsolved cases in the Dali Temple to investigate them, and have so much free time to mock you?"
"Hmph!" Nangong Xiaodie snorted coldly. "You advised me not to hold Chen'er's half-birthday banquet, and now... *sob sob*... now Chen'er is gone, aren't you just here to laugh at me?"
Zhong Li frowned and shook her head. "Your Majesty once extended an olive branch to me, and now you think of me like this. Are you doubting Zhong Li's character or questioning your own judgment?"
Nangong Xiaodie was stunned and for a moment didn't know how to respond to the woman in front of her.
Seeing her chance, Zhong Li knelt on one knee and cupped her hands. "Your Majesty, Zhong Li is here specifically to show concern for you and to offer my sincerity."
"Sincerity?" Nangong Xiaodie asked with confusion. "My child is gone. To you officials, I have no value. Why would you speak of sincerity?"
Zhong Li took a deep breath. "Your Majesty, Consort Rong's case has concluded. Regardless of the outcome, this is the fact. If Your Majesty were an ordinary woman, being sad for a moment or a lifetime would not matter. But Your Majesty must understand that you are the Emperor's woman, the foremost among the four consorts in this harem."
"What do you mean?" Nangong Xiaodie's expression changed from sorrow to curiosity upon hearing this.
Zhong Li stood up, walked to the vanity, picked up a bronze mirror, and placed it in Nangong Xiaodie's hand. "Your Majesty... everyone knows Your Majesty's beauty is unparalleled in the harem. Everyone knows Your Majesty has always been favored by the Emperor. Now that Your Majesty has encountered this incident and made yourself so haggard, with thousands of beautiful women, who is the one profiting from this?"
Nangong Xiaodie held the bronze mirror and looked at the reflection of the woman. Her once stunning beauty had become haggard and dull, showing none of the grace of a favored concubine.
"Your Majesty has lived secluded in the harem for nearly ten years. You know how treacherous human hearts are in this gilded cage. There is no need for Zhong Li to repeat it. Zhong Li can understand your grief at losing a child. But Your Majesty, have you considered that if you continue like this, those who plotted against the young prince in the shadows will escape justice?" Zhong Li continued.
Nangong Xiaodie reached out to cover her face, her lips trembling. After a long moment, she said, "Yes, I was only consumed by my grief and did not consider this matter carefully. Wan Rong's betrayal, and the sachet you gave me... I clearly put it on Chen'er, so why did it disappear? It led to worms infesting his body. I never even thought of these things?"
"Therefore, Your Majesty, I understand your feelings, but now is not the time for you to grieve," Zhong Li said.
Nangong Xiaodie nodded, biting her lip to suppress her sorrow.
Zhong Li said, "The world says, as long as the green hills are there, there will be wood to burn. Your Majesty, since Zhong Li has come to offer sincerity, then Zhong Li is willing to offer Your Majesty a plan."
Nangong Xiaodie looked at Zhong Li with some confusion. "What plan? My child is gone, and my fate is sealed. What plan do you have?"
"The Emperor is old, and his health is certainly not what it used to be. It is uncertain whether he can have children in his old age. Moreover, Your Majesty's body was injured when you gave birth to the young prince. Since Your Majesty cannot solve the problem with yourself, why not change your approach and look for someone else?" Zhong Li reminded her.
"Someone else?" Nangong Xiaodie pondered. "The Emperor does not have many princes. There are many princesses. I am not Empress Lü or Empress Wu; I do not have such powerful external relatives, so I certainly cannot take such a risk. Then there is... Ah, Zhong Sicheng, you don't mean..."
Zhong Li nodded.
"Impossible! That's just a good-for-nothing. The Emperor dislikes him the most. How can I place my hope on a castaway?" Nangong Xiaodie asked.
Zhong Li curled her lips. "Even a castaway is still a child. It is better than having no one. If Your Majesty becomes pregnant again later, you can simply discard him. You haven't lost anything, have you? Having two plans is always better than having one."
Nangong Xiaodie, hearing this, bit her lip, still hesitating.
Zhong Li continued, "I know Your Majesty's concerns. Has Your Majesty ever inquired deeply about the Sixth Prince?"
"Never."
Zhong Li went on to say, "Sometimes, great wisdom can appear foolish, but it is not truly foolish."
"What do you mean?" Nangong Xiaodie realized something and asked anxiously.
Zhong Li shook her head. "I don't mean anything. I'm just stating what I've observed. The Sixth Prince has a humble background. His mother was merely a laundry maid whom the Emperor briefly favored. She died very early. When he was just a few years old, how difficult was it for him to survive in the harem? Moreover, the Emperor himself did not favor him, nor did he even arrange for a consort to look after him. He only left a wet nurse for him to develop. Now the Sixth Prince has grown up smoothly. Does Your Majesty think he is lucky or intelligent?"
Nangong Xiaodie remained silent, her eyes slowly narrowing.
"Now, if the Sixth Prince wants to gain power in the palace, he must have a backing. Your Majesty can serve as this backing. No matter how much the Emperor dislikes the Sixth Prince, as long as he remembers Your Majesty's grief over losing her beloved son, he will grant your requests. Moreover, the Sixth Prince might also become a sharp blade in Your Majesty's hands." Zhong Li said.
"So Zhong Li, you have come to tell me this today?" Nangong Xiaodie asked vigilantly.
Zhong Li's lips curved into a slight smile. "What if I told Your Majesty that the Heir Apparent and the Sixth Prince have a close relationship?"
Nangong Xiaodie's eyes widened upon hearing this.
Zhong Li said no more, bowed, and retreated.
After a long while, Nangong Xiaodie recovered. She got out of bed and walked to the vanity, saying to Emerald outside while styling her hair, "Someone come, I need to get dressed. I am going to see the Emperor."