dkrc Chapter 411 Power and Education
Chapter 411 Power and Education
Consort Li, feeling timid, hurriedly said, "No... she offended me, but it wasn't a big deal."
Xu Chongrong stood silently to the side.
Consort Shu sneered and said, "Release her and let her speak for herself!"
The captured palace maid crawled over, barely escaping with her life, and kowtowed repeatedly, saying, "It was my fault. I shouldn't have spoken ill of Your Highness behind your back. But I wasn't the only one saying it; everyone down there was talking about it."
Consort Shu asked, "What are you talking about? Speak up quickly."
"They're gossiping...gossiping that Consort Li wants to be promoted to the rank of Imperial Concubine, hoping that the Third Prince's son will rise in status because of his mother." The palace maid kowtowed, "We have violated palace rules, please punish us, Your Highness!"
"The criticism is indeed wrong. You two should go to the Department of Cautious Punishment to receive your punishment!" said Consort Shu.
Going to the Department of Punishments to receive punishment meant they wouldn't lose their lives, and the two palace maids went there with great gratitude.
Consort Li was naturally dissatisfied, but she dared not say aloud what the two palace maids had said about "wanting the Third Prince to be the Crown Prince." She only said, "Her Majesty the Empress has entrusted the affairs of the six palaces to Consort Shu and Consort Xian. The two consorts are very kind to their subordinates."
Consort Shu smiled, "If you don't want people to know, then don't do it! If you want to silence your subordinates, then don't do it. It's wrong for them to gossip, but why doesn't anyone gossip about me? Why doesn't anyone gossip about the Fifth Prince?"
Consort Li was furious and said, "Although the Fifth Prince is registered under Your Majesty's name, who doesn't know that his birth mother, Lady Xue, is a spy?"
"Oh dear! I almost forgot, your father, Li Wencheng, has become the prefect of Minzhou. He's a local official, and his power is truly immense! Hahaha!"
The laughter of Consort Shu echoed throughout the Imperial Garden. Watching her departing figure, Consort Li trembled with anger.
Consort Xu glanced at it and left. Once she was a distance away, Shoutao said, "Your Highness, let's keep our distance from Consort Li from now on!"
The palace maid Fuju, who used to frequently instigate her, and her entire family didn't die at the hands of the Pei family, but were dealt with by her mother. Those who betrayed their masters are simply dead.
She only learned later, during the interrogation of Fuju, that the former empress had asked her to instigate a conflict between her and the current empress. In short, the former empress wanted to use her to get rid of the current empress.
Ironically, both the former empress and the former Consort De reconciled with the current empress when they died, which disgusted Consort Xu.
"What's so great about it? Our Empress is virtuous and kind, a rare find throughout history. I'm sure she wouldn't care about such trivial matters."
Consort Xu sneered inwardly. The Empress was truly hypocritical; she had won over so many hearts in the harem.
Weren't Consort Xian and Consort Shu always working for her? And Consort Guo and Consort Yuan, the Empress only promoted their ranks, yet they were willing to raise the children like cattle and horses.
Before the Mid-Autumn Festival, the palace distributed allowances, but no one from Jingfu Palace or Wangxian Palace delivered them. Li Sihe found this strange and sent someone to inquire. They were told that the Imperial Household Department was busy and that if Jingfu Palace needed them urgently, they should send someone to collect them themselves.
Li Sihe knew that she had been tricked. She was furious, but there was nothing she could do. She needed the money urgently, so she had no choice but to arrange for someone to fetch it.
The things brought back were really unsightly. The silk looked good on the outside, but the inside was mottled. Several pieces of jewelry looked like they were inlaid with gold and jade, but the style was very old, and it was hard to tell when they were made. They were just used to get rid of people.
The same was true at Wangxian Palace. Madam Xu was so aggrieved that she shed tears. She had never suffered such an injustice before.
Shoutao, watching from the side, thought it served him right; this was the benefit of being close to Wangxian Palace.
Shen Shixi disdained using such methods to torment people, but his subordinates were inevitably opportunistic.
When the Crown Prince returned home after school in the evening, he looked very aggrieved, his eyes brimming with tears. Li Yuanke felt sorry for him and asked, "What happened? Who bullied you?"
Neither the Crown Prince nor Xihe spoke, which made Li Yuanke quite angry. He glanced at Shen Shixi.
He took the eleventh and twelfth princes out. As soon as the prince and Xihe saw their father leave, they rushed into their mother's arms to complain.
"Third brother is so mean. He said that his younger brother let people in the palace bully his mother. Mother, we don't know what happened," Xihe said.
The reason I didn't say it earlier is because they've all grown up and understand that their father isn't just their father anymore.
Shen Shixi patted her son and daughter's heads, and met her son's puzzled look, saying, "This matter is related to your mother, but your mother did not issue such an imperial decree."
The Crown Prince then asked, "Why would the people from the Imperial Household Department do this?"
Shen Shixi seized the opportunity to say, "That's power! Look, you asked Minister Lu and Master Yan to celebrate your third and fourth brothers' birthdays, and they listened."
However, if it were anyone else in this matter, your second brother, they wouldn't listen either. Why? Because you are the Crown Prince.
The Crown Prince seemed lost in thought. "But Mother didn't issue an imperial edict, so why are they helping Mother deal with them?"
Shen Shixi said, "Because Mother also has power. Mother is the Empress. If the people in the Imperial Household Department do not satisfy Mother, Mother can replace them; in order to please Mother, they will help Mother."
The Crown Prince said, "If Minister Lu doesn't listen to me, I can replace him!"
Shen Shixi laughed and said, "You can't do it now. You are just the Crown Prince, not your father. Even if your father wants to change people, he can't do it without a reason. Only a tyrant can do whatever he wants."
Remember this: the greater the power you wield, the more cautious you must be in your conduct and actions. Only when you are invincible are you powerful and feared.
Xihe said, "Only when you have power will others try to please Mother. But I'm not the Crown Prince, so why should they try to please me?"
Shen Shixi said, "Because you were born of your mother, you are the legitimate princess, and your father and mother both love you. If anyone treats you badly, come back and tell your mother, and your mother will definitely punish that person."
If you think someone is good, and if there's an opportunity, Mother will promote or reward that person.
She added, "While there is affection in this world, the vast majority of people are busy with their own interests. Those who are exceptionally kind to you may not truly care for you, and those who are unkind to you may not have bad intentions."
You must learn to distinguish between truth and falsehood, good and evil. Reading countless books is a waste of time if you can't do this.
After speaking, Shen Shixi checked the two children's homework. It wasn't very good, but it wasn't bad either. She never made things difficult for the children in their studies; it was enough for them to learn something passable.
But the amount of reading must be substantial. In addition, astronomy, geography, mathematics, physics and chemistry will be taught to the two children, who are much more interested in these subjects than in scriptures.
"Mother, is the ground beneath our feet really a planet?" The prince found it unbelievable, as did Xihe.
Li Yuanke stood at the threshold, holding Wangshu and Fuguang, looking at Shen Shixi.
Shen Shixi held a pen in her hand. "Many of the things your mother told you are best kept to yourselves. Don't tell anyone, or the world will not tolerate you."
"Why?" Xihe asked, and the prince didn't understand either.
Shen Shixi said, "You learn first, and you'll find out why in the future."
Shen Shixi remained silent for a while, then began to draw a map of this era on a sphere prepared by the Imperial Academy of Works. She would draw a bit and then tell her two children a bit about it.
Wang Shu was very interested when he saw it. He struggled to get down from his father's arms and ran towards his mother, shouting, "Mom, Mom, I want one too! I want a ball too!"