Chapter 468: Bonus Chapter Huangfu Wudi (1)
Translator: Dragon Boat Translation Editor: Dragon Boat Translation
My name is Huangfu Wudi, the second son of the Emperor of the Jin State.
My mother is Concubine Chen. She was once Emperor Father’s most beloved concubine.
My Concubine Mother’s maiden family was one of the preeminent big families in the Great Jin State in the past.
Before the age of six, my Concubine Mother and I led extremely blissful lives.
Emperor Father not only doted on Concubine Mother but also doted on me.
He named me Wudi, which meant invincible. He hoped that I would be invincible in the world. He also gave me a pet name Lin’er and placed high hopes on me.
Everyone thought that Concubine Mother would become Emperor Father’s Empress and 1 would become Emperor Father’s Crown Prince.
In the end, the appearance of a woman changed everything.
It was said that the woman was the daughter of a ninth-grade county magistrate and was injured by Emperor Father when he went out hunting. After Emperor Father saved her, she bewitched Emperor Father.
Emperor Father brought her back to the palace and personally watched over her. He did not allow anyone to check on her.
When she first heard this news, Concubine Mother did not take it too seriously.
When the other imperial concubines came to look for Concubine Mother, she never thought of standing up for them.
Concubine Mother knew that those imperial concubines had ulterior motives.
They were hoping that she would stand up for them and anger my Emperor Father.
However, in the following month, Emperor Father stayed by that woman’s side and never once stepped into the palace of the Imperial harem. Concubine Mother finally couldn’t remain calm.
That day, another imperial concubine came to talk about that woman.
After a series of provocative words, Concubine Mother was finally provoked.
Although Concubine Mother didn’t say anything in front of that imperial concubine, she finally took action after that imperial concubine left.
She personally made soup for Emperor Father and went to see him.
Yes, Concubine Mother had actually sent someone to deliver soup to Emperor Father before. She wanted to use this opportunity to lure Emperor Father over.
However, Emperor Father only took the soup and gave the excuse that he was too busy and sent the palace maid back.
This time, Concubine Mother decided to go personally.
In the end, when she arrived outside Emperor Father’s sleeping hall, she found out that Emperor Father had gone to look for that woman again.
Concubine Mother couldn’t hold it in anymore. Thus, she went to the palace where that woman was staying.
She wanted to see just what kind of beauty that woman was to be able to bewitch Emperor Father to such an extent.
However, when she arrived, Concubine Mother was stopped by the guards.
Upon hearing the familiar and unfamiliar laughter coming from inside the palace, Concubine Mother could not control her emotions this time.
She shouted toward the inside.
Thereafter, Emperor Father finally came out.
After seeing Concubine Mother, he did not appear happy. He only frowned.
Emperor Father first reprimanded Concubine Mother. Then he sent people to send her back to her chambers.
Concubine Mother looked at the man who used to be so affectionate to her and felt that she seemed to have misjudged him.
The person in front of her was not her husband at all but a complete stranger.
After returning to her chambers, Concubine Mother did not eat or drink for a day.
After that, she asked someone to bring me to her.
Following that, she asked me to go and see Emperor Father. She told me to invite Emperor Father to her chambers.
I did as she said.
I rushed to intercept Emperor Father after the court session before he went to the woman’s palace.
Emperor Father carried me and walked in the Imperial garden for a while, but very quickly, he put me down and hurriedly went to look for that woman.
When I saw how much Emperor Father cared for that woman, I couldn’t help but worry for Concubine Mother.
When 1 returned to Concubine Mother’s chambers, 1 saw the hope in her eyes changing to disappointment before finally changing to anger.
Then, Concubine Mother actually hit out at me.
She slapped my butt and said some reproachful words.
She scolded me for being useless because I didn’t bring my Emperor Father here.
She also said that if she lost Emperor Father’s favor, it would be game over for both me and her.
At that moment, Concubine Mother had turned into a complete stranger to me. She was like a crazy hag from the marketplace. She no longer had the graceful and noble demeanor she possessed in the past.
And I was beginning to fear her.
That was right. Beginning.
This was because after that, when Emperor Father did not step into Concubine Mother’s palace, her temper became more and more irritable.
Not only were the people in her palace repeatedly punished by her, but even I also became her punching bag.
She would be ferocious to me, but after that, she would cry and hug me and apologize to me.
After that, she asked me to go see Emperor Father again and bring him to her.
Under her threats and coercion, I went to see Emperor Father again.
However, Emperor Father still didn’t follow me back to see Concubine Mother.
Even when 1 did as Concubine Mother said and made up a lie about her falling ill, Emperor Father simply sent the Imperial Physician to her and did not personally visit.
Later on, I was forced by Concubine Mother until I became desperate and finally knelt down to beg Emperor Father.
Emperor Father discovered that I had an injury on my neck, so he brought me to Concubine Mother.
However, he was not there to visit her, but to question her.
That day, 1 was outside Concubine Mother’s chambers and heard Emperor Father’s furious reprimand. I also heard Concubine Mother’s cries and pleas.
I was very afraid.
As I was considering whether to go in and stop the two of them from quarreling, I saw Emperor Father walk out of the palace in a huff.
Concubine Mother came chasing after him, crying and wailing.
She fell to the ground and grabbed the hem of Emperor Father’s robe.
Emperor Father was very angry and forcefully pulled his robe out of Concubine Mother’s hands.
He even bluntly said that the more she acted in this manner, the more determined he was to make that Madam Jia his concubine.
In fact, he even ordered people to issue a decree on the spot to confer on
Madam Jia the title of “virtuous consort.”
Thereafter, Emperor Father ordered someone to take me away.
After that, 1 never went to Concubine Mother’s chambers again.
And I also rarely get to meet her alone.
After Emperor Father issued the imperial edict to name Madam Jia “virtuous consort,” Madam Jia walked out of her palace and appeared in the public’s eye.
The woman who made countless concubines curious and afraid was not extremely beautiful.
In fact, in the Imperial harem filled with beauties, she could only be considered above average.
However, she had a unique bearing that made her very attractive even among the beauties.
Emperor Father probably loved that bearing of hers very much.
The moment she appeared, there would be no one else in Emperor Father’s eyes.
A few years later, Madam Jia became the most favored in the harem.
Although Emperor Father didn’t dote on Madam Jia as much as before, he rarely went to the other concubines’ palaces.
Emperor Father was also not as close to us princes and princesses as he was in the past.
And Concubine Mother’s attitude towards me was not as good as before.
This lasted all the way until the end of the year when the Imperial Court’s courtiers in the earlier reign brought up the issue of selecting the Empress.
Concubine Mother and Madam Jia became the most likely candidates to be made Empress.
The rivalry between the two of them, who were already at loggerheads with each other, became even more visible.
Concubine Mother’s status was higher than Madam Jia’s, but Madam Jia had Emperor Father’s support, so neither of them gave in to the other.
Their fight ended with the tragic death of Concubine Mother, thereby handing the victory to Madam Jia.
No one knew how my Concubine Mother died. They only knew that on that day, Madam Jia went to my Concubine Mother’s chambers and then my Concubine Mother died suddenly.
After that, Madam Jia became Empress Jia and ascended to the position that my Concubine Mother dreamed of the most.
After Concubine Mother died, my predicament quickly became difficult.
Emperor Father no longer paid attention to me. At the same time, I began to encounter poisoning incidents and assassinations.
Even though 1 was staying in the palace, 1 almost lost my life many times.
After that, my maternal uncle found me and wanted to arrange for me to flee the capital.
After much hesitation, I finally approached Emperor Father again and brought up the matter of going to the border to gain experience.
Emperor Father immediately agreed.
I thought that Emperor Father must have really hated me.
He couldn’t wait to get rid of me so that my existence in the palace wouldn’t make his sweetheart unhappy..