"No..." was the first to speak, the Duke of Yun's wife.
Yun Duanhai looked at his mother, who always put him first, and for the first time, refused so resolutely, knowing his mother had made up her mind.
"Sister-in-law, don't be angry. Duanhai might be deluded. Let's try to persuade him," Consort Yun consoled the Duke of Yun's wife.
The Duke of Yun's wife looked at Yun Duanhai and said coldly, "No matter how much you acted out before, I never interfered. It's because you never touched upon the interests of the royal family. But this Miss A Ning cannot be. She... she is..."
"No, Mother, she is not Prince An's woman..." Yun Duanhai said.
Upon hearing this, the Duke of Yun's wife was heartbroken, "Duanhai, I know you like her, but you can't be so indiscriminate about right and wrong..."
"No, Mother, really not. She..."
"Enough, Duanhai, you have disappointed your mother too much. I thought your earlier profligacy was because you hadn't grown up, but now it seems you are not undeveloped, you are just too selfish and too stubborn. Do you want to drag the Duke of Yun's mansion into hell?" the Duke of Yun's wife shouted.
Yun Duanhai took a step back. This was the first time he had seen his mother in such a hysterical state.
"Sister-in-law, don't be angry. Perhaps things are not as serious as you think. You go down and rest first, and let me talk to him."
The Duke of Yun's wife nodded, "Thank you, Your Highness."
"Baozhu, help the Duke of Yun's wife to rest," Consort Yun said.
After the Duke of Yun's wife left, Consort Yun began to examine Yun Duanhai. Yun Duanhai looked somewhat flustered under her gaze, "Aunt, why are you looking at Duanhai like this?"
Consort Yun stood up, and a palace maid helped her down. She walked to Yun Duanhai and pushed the maid away. Standing before Yun Duanhai, she said, "Duanhai, tell me honestly, what exactly are you planning?"
Yun Duanhai paused and looked up at Consort Yun, "Aunt, Duanhai doesn't understand what you are saying."
"Don't understand, or don't want to understand?"
"Don't understand..."
Consort Yun chuckled softly and reached out to pat his shoulder, "Duanhai, you're not very good at lying."
"Aunt, Duanhai doesn't understand your meaning," Yun Duanhai said.
"It's alright if you don't understand, Aunt understands," Consort Yun said.
For a moment, Consort Yun remained silent. Yun Duanhai subconsciously looked up and saw Consort Yun looking at him. Consort Yun sighed, "You probably don't understand the mind of the person in that position in this palace."
"Aunt, what are you talking about?" Yun Duanhai became more and more confused.
Consort Yun looked up and gazed into the distance, "At that time, the King was not yet the King, but a prince. That woman was the prince's consort. She was the only one favored by the then-prince. As for me and Consort Shu, we were just adornments in the back chambers. Even if I was unwilling, there was nothing I could do, because that woman seemed to be able to see into people's hearts. Amidst the jealousy and infighting of the women in the back chambers, she always managed to escape unharmed. Later, she became pregnant, but her labor was not smooth. After giving birth, she passed away.
The King was in great pain. That child was An Ning from back then. Later, the King became Emperor An. Besides posthumously bestowing the title of Empress Xiaozhenminde upon that woman, the child became Princess An Ning, who was immensely doted upon."
"Aunt, what does telling me this have to do with anything?" Yun Duanhai asked, confused.
"That Miss A Ning is very much like Empress Xiaozhenminde," Consort Yun said slowly, looking at him.
Yun Duanhai was stunned, "Very much like Empress Xiaozhenminde?"
Consort Yun nodded, "Very much, especially those eyes."
"Aunt..."
Consort Yun interrupted him, "You don't know how infatuated the King was with Empress Xiaozhenminde. For years, I have longed for the position of Empress, but the King never mentioned it. Perhaps he never had the slightest intention of making me Empress. Later, when the empire was unified, he changed from Emperor An to King An, and the position of Empress became Queen. I was still a concubine. Perhaps in this lifetime, I will remain without the position of Queen!"
"Aunt, Miss A Ning will not agree. She does not belong to anyone."
Yun Duanhai almost revealed that she was the Empress, but he stopped himself in time. The fewer people knew about the Empress's identity, the safer the Empress would be.
"Duanhai, I've told you all this hoping you will give her up. I will not agree, your mother will not agree, and the King will not agree either," Consort Yun advised him earnestly.
"Aunt, I have an imperial decree for marriage," Yun Duanhai said, taking out the imperial decree, word by word.
Upon hearing this, Consort Yun took a step back, disappointed, "Duanhai, do you want to harm me and the Duke of Yun's mansion?"
Yun Duanhai suddenly knelt on the ground and said, "Aunt, I'm sorry. You know I've liked Princess An Ning since before. Now, I am deeply infatuated and captivated by Miss A Ning."
"Is it her or no one else?" Consort Yun asked word by word.
Yun Duanhai nodded and looked up, "Yes, it's her or no one else."
Consort Yun sighed, "Duanhai, why are you so persistent? There are so many girls, why must it be her?"
"They are not A Ning. They are not..." Yun Duanhai said.
Consort Yun fell silent.
Yun Duanhai said, "Aunt, you always think of the worst-case scenario. You can think of the best-case scenario."
"Think of the best-case scenario?" Consort Yun was almost amused to anger.
Yun Duanhai nodded and looked at Consort Yun, "Aunt, you also said how infatuated the King was with the late Empress. If Miss A Ning is here, wouldn't your position be threatened? If... if A Ning had ambitions, wouldn't she be able to stand on equal footing with you, or even surpass you, by relying on favor?"
"Presumptuous..." Consort Yun was furious.
Yun Duanhai glanced at Consort Yun and continued, "Aunt, don't think Duanhai is alarmist. Even if you don't think for yourself, you should think for your cousin Anping and your cousin in the capital. Don't you want them to return soon?"
Consort Yun trembled all over. Given the King's feelings for the late Empress, this Miss A Ning might indeed become as Duanhai said.
"Aunt, you are not just helping Duanhai, you are also helping yourself," Yun Duanhai said.
Consort Yun heard this and laughed angrily, "You are helping yourself, but..."
She glanced at Yun Duanhai and said, "What you said is not wrong. I need to be prepared for a rainy day and nip potential problems in the bud."
"Aunt, this is a win-win situation," Yun Duanhai said.
Consort Yun knew in her heart that Yun Duanhai was only thinking for himself, but what he analyzed was something she had also worried about. She feared that when she grew old and her beauty faded, someone who looked similar to the late Empress would appear, and then all her efforts over the years would be in vain.
She wasn't just thinking for herself; she also had Anping and the eldest prince. They relied on her to plan and strategize for them.
The throne absolutely could not belong to anyone else; it had to be her son's.
"Aunt, have you decided?" Yun Duanhai asked.