Eight Treasures Trousseau

32

Chapter Thirty-Two

The third day after they returned from the palace, Hua Xi Wan heard an astonishing piece of news. Min Fei who had been pregnant had a miscarriage. The reason why she miscarried was that the Crown Prince had suddenly turned around a corner and collided with her belly. Min Fei's ankle twisted, and the child inside her belly was gone with the fall.

Because the Emperor did not have many children, he had been very happy when he heard Min Fei was pregnant, especially as he was having trouble dealing with the rumors about the Crown Prince. However, before he could be happy for a few days, someone told him that the child was gone—and the reason for that was also the Crown Prince who was the source of his headache.

After this stimulation, the Emperor was so angry he took away the Empress' phoenix seal and had her undergo seclusion for a month. Then he called the Crown Prince over to scold him before having him beaten ten times. He also ordered the Crown Prince to stay in the Crown Prince Fu to study with the Grand Tutor, and not appear in court or enter the palace.

In Hua Xi Wan's view, if the Emperor didn't have just the Crown Prince as his only son, the Crown Prince would have lost his seat a long time ago. It was a pity that the Emperor only had such a child as his son. No matter how angry he was, he could not take the title of Crown Prince away. But even so, the Emperor probably had less love towards the Crown Prince now.

Sometimes, love could not be tested over and over. Also, Qi Long Emperor was an emperor. Even if he had paternal love for the Crown Prince, it could not be as pure as in the families of the common folk.

The actions that Qilong Emperor committed in his anger were like a slap on the faces of the Empress and the Crown Prince. The Empress, the mother of the country, had her phoenix seal taken away and was forced to stay in her palace for a month. In the nobility circles of Jing, this almost became a joke. Not to mention that the Crown Prince, the future successor of the Great Zhao, was beaten. This was akin to putting the Crown Prince's face onto the ground and stomping on it. Even if he succeeded the throne, this would be a black mark on his history.

It seemed that Qilong Emperor was very angry. Otherwise, he would not have made such a decision. Hua Xi Wan did not have any good feelings about the Crown Prince, so when she heard these rumors, she immediately had the Food Room add a few dishes for her to celebrate her good mood.

After the Empress and Crown Prince were slapped in the face, even Princess Rui He started to restrain herself. She, who usually liked to invite people to watch plays or admire flowers, stayed for a few days in her princess fu. The people who usually liked to flatter and follow her became careful as well.

Several days later, maybe it was because Qilong Emperor's anger had dissipated or because he realized that his actions were not correct, he bestowed many things to the Crown Prince who had been beaten, and returned the Empress' phoenix seal. These actions were telling the people of Jing that this matter has ended. The Empress was still the Empress, the Crown Prince was still the Crown Prince.

A few days later, Min Fei was promoted by the Emperor to guifei and was given a lot of things by the Emperor. In this time, many people in Jing looked at her. However, Min Guifei did not become proud due to this and became even more low-key. Gradually, no one mentioned her anymore.

After hearing about Min Fei, Hua Xi Wan couldn't help but sigh. It was not a fortunate matter to be a woman in the inner palace. She had finally managed to become pregnant and then had a miscarriage. For a woman of the inner palace, this was akin to lightning on a clear day. What was the use in giving Min Fei the position of guifei? Could that return her child to her?