The Demon Concubine of God

Chapter 507 Third Brother, Help Me

Chu Yanqiu knelt down with great pleasure.

In that instant, that resounding tone belonged to her.

He prostrated himself at her feet, almost in tears.

At that moment, he truly only wanted to atone for his sins.

His hand slowly reached towards her feet.

He instinctively wanted to touch her; he just wanted to touch her, no matter where he touched her, even just a corner of her clothes.

But when he actually touched it, when he looked up...

He didn't realize that his surroundings had already changed.

The foot that his hand touched was not Shen Wen's at all.

It was his mother, Granny Ji's, feet.

Grandma Ji, who was sitting on her bed lost in thought, was suddenly startled by her son's incoherent state.

Startled, she quickly sat up in bed, hugged her son tightly, and asked, "What happened to you? How come you look like you've been through years of wind, frost, rain, and snow in just half a day?"

She stroked her son's chin and said, "Look, your stubble has grown so long! I watched the maid shave you yesterday morning, and this..."

Chu Yanqiu had been tormented for too long. When he saw that it was his mother, he was surprised for a moment, but when he heard his mother's concern for him, he rushed into his mother's arms like a child and cried.

Mother Ji didn't care about asking anything else. She hugged her son and gently comforted him by stroking his back.

This was the first time she had seen her son so heartbroken since he was born; the way he vented his emotions was truly shocking.

Especially at the end, her son cried himself to death, which scared her so much that her face turned pale instantly. She immediately called for her aunt Yinhua outside to call a doctor.

When the doctor came to see me, gave me a few acupuncture treatments, prescribed some medicine, and told someone to prepare it, I finally breathed a sigh of relief.

Aunt Yinhua stayed by her side with her maidservant the whole time.

Seeing that Chu Yanqiu was out of danger, they breathed a sigh of relief for their master.

Exhausted by her son, Madam Ji looked up and saw a room full of servants, which made her even more irritated. She then told everyone to leave.

Aunt Yinhua was incredibly calm and skilled at this matter, and she sent all the maids to wait outside the door and under the eaves.

This time, she didn't go out with them. She hesitated at the door for a moment, then quietly returned.

It wasn't that she wanted to bother her master, but she had to come back because there was something important outside that she hadn't yet reported to him.

Grandma Ji Er was touching her forehead when she noticed that Aunt Yinhua had returned. She realized something was wrong and asked, "What important thing has happened outside that even your personal maid can't handle?"

Aunt Yinhua said, "It was someone from the palace who came to deliver an imperial edict. At the critical moment when the Second Young Master was being rescued, Madam Ji led us to the main hall in the front yard to kneel and listen."

Grandma Ji felt a vague unease. She had long heard that the palace had changed hands and that the woman was now in charge.

"What did the oral decree say?"

"Grandma Ji asked."

"It was the imperial eunuch sent by Consort Xianchen who said that Princess Shanjin had fallen ill in the palace. In order to help her recover, he ordered that you and Madam Ji, as first-rank noblewomen, take turns going to the palace to attend to the princess."

Grandma Ji Er became increasingly surprised as she listened.

Princess Shanjin? Seriously ill in the palace? So seriously ill that even noblewomen like them are personally attending to her?

After thinking for a long time, she still couldn't figure out what was going on. She said, "Forget it, I don't want to think about it anymore. Since the eldest son is going with me, I'll just go with him."

Before dawn the next day, Granny Ji Er prepared to go to the palace. She made a point of checking on her son and, knowing he had slept soundly all night, she felt relieved and left with her entourage.

When they arrived at the palace gate, they thought there would be other noblewomen of the same rank waiting for them, but to their surprise, there were none at all, only the two noblewomen from their own Duke's mansion.

I sent someone to inquire about some news from the palace today, and they paid them to find out.

Today was supposed to be the day for the court assembly, but because officials who had committed crimes had been investigated and their property confiscated, almost half of the officials of the sixth rank and above were to be replaced. Yesterday at the court assembly, there were very few people standing around. The favored concubine, who was focused on pursuing her imperial ambitions, had also lost interest in holding the court assembly and simply waved her hand, ordering that the court assembly be canceled for the next two days.

Around 9:00 AM, the palace gates opened again, and a young eunuch came to fetch the two of them, and they entered the palace together.

The young eunuch was quite decisive; instead of taking them to Consort Xianchen's palace to pay their respects first, he led them all the way to Princess Shanjin's residence.

Watching the young eunuch rush in to report ahead of time, the two waited patiently.

Before long, they heard the sound of cups being smashed coming from inside the palace, along with a woman's hoarse curses.

Madam Ji's expression immediately changed.

She couldn't help but say to Granny Ji, "This? This is Princess Shanjin's voice. This is the first time I've heard her so angry. I wonder what happened inside."

While speaking, he anxiously spun around twice on the spot.

Grandma Ji Er held onto Madam Ji Da's arm and said, "Judging from this third sister-in-law's voice, she sounds very energetic and doesn't seem to be sick."

Madam Ji stopped her with a look, saying, "Perhaps I misheard? We haven't seen Her Highness the Princess yet. Maybe some other concubine is throwing a tantrum here, who knows?"

The two women lost interest in talking and waited with changing expressions for the little eunuch to lead them inside.

Before long, the eunuch returned and invited the two of them into the princess's bedchamber.

Upon seeing Princess Shanjin, both of them were startled by the princess's lingering anger.

Princess Shanjin was truly furious; even when her two sisters-in-law came, she no longer wanted to maintain the facade of harmony.

After the two women bowed to Princess Shanjin, Madam Ji spoke first: "Your Highness looks really unwell. I wonder if you've been taking the medicine prescribed by the imperial physician on time?"

Princess Shanjin's expression darkened further upon hearing this. She said, "Did she send someone to your place to tell you this?"

The word "she" was something that Madam Ji didn't immediately recognize.

It was Madam Ji, who was behind her, who replied, "That's what the imperial eunuch said."

Princess Shanjin gritted her teeth and flung the teacup that the palace maid had just served to her to the ground with a flick of her sleeve.

Princess Shanjin's chest heaved as she pointed at the curtain at the door and cursed, "You shameless woman, you've spread rumors all over the world that I'm sick! You vile wretch!"

If it weren't for the violent rise and fall of her chest, which triggered a bout of coughing in her trachea, she probably would have continued to curse endlessly.

At this moment, the nanny who had been by her side immediately patted her back to help her catch her breath. Seeing that she had recovered, she couldn't help but say, "Princess, please don't scold her. She is currently in power, and even the Emperor is being targeted by her... This servant... This servant is afraid that you will suffer a great loss at her hands."

Princess Shanjin shoved the old woman and said hatefully, "I'm not afraid of her at all. If she has the guts, she can kill me right now. I don't believe that even if I die at her hands, my son will still be foolish enough to be infatuated with her."

The old woman couldn't help but steal a glance at the two ladies, thinking that they would find out about this sooner or later, so she remained silent and continued to be the background.

Madam Ji couldn't help but ask first, "What does this have to do with my nephew Zichu? No... who exactly is the princess talking about? Who is 'she'?"

Princess Shanjin was brought back to her senses by her question. She calmed herself down, straightened her posture, and cleared her throat, saying, "It must have been tiring for you two ladies to come all this way. I am not sick at all, as the eunuch said. Since you have come to the palace, please have a simple meal at my Jinxiu Palace before you go back."

Then he instructed the nanny next to him to personally make arrangements and to serve tea and refreshments to the two ladies.

The three of them got along quite well at the gathering, managing to shake off the awkward atmosphere that had just begun when they entered.

Meanwhile, Ji Zichu, the son the princess mentioned, was visiting Consort Xianchen's palace.

Consort Xianchen, who was seated at the head of the table, immediately stood up with a smile when she saw Ji Zichu enter, and took Ji Zichu's hand in a very friendly manner.

Ji Zichu was momentarily stunned by her taking this step further, but he quickly got used to it.

“I heard that you personally handled today’s investigation and selection of officials and candidates for officials. I am very pleased that you did so.”

Ji Zichu was still somewhat uncomfortable with what she was saying. He said, "These are things that shouldn't be handled by someone in my position. I... I'll say it again, Your Majesty should give more instructions to His Majesty. It won't do if His Majesty continues like this."

As he spoke, he was so captivated by the sight of Consort Xianchen's beautiful eyes staring intently at him that he dared not make a single unnecessary movement.

Her eyes and brows, which seemed to have burned him away, were truly unsettling.

Consort Xianchen naturally released his hand, turned half her body away, and said, "Third brother, do you really think His Majesty can be sober? Things have come to this point, and I have been forced to beg you time and time again. Can't you feel my predicament? I am a woman, and a woman in the harem at that. If I don't find a man to stand up for me in the court, what do you think my fate will be? Do you know how much courage it takes to put on a show of strength in the court? I am just a woman who wants to live a peaceful life."

Ji Zichu stared at the top of her head, unaware that his eyes were filled with heartache.

When she turned back to look at him with hopeful eyes, he abandoned all reason and almost immediately nodded in agreement.

He probably didn't realize that even if he were asked to die immediately, he would obey without hesitation.

He also failed to see that beneath this woman's arrogant demeanor, she was clearly proclaiming how easily she could exploit his feelings for her.

Consort Xianchen was in a good mood, and her eyes were almost always smiling during their time together afterwards.

Consort Xianchen invited Ji Zichu to dine at her place, and her meticulous attention to detail was evident in every aspect, from the taste of the food to the dining environment, including the chairs and tableware.

But just as the two sat down, before they even had a chance to pick up their chopsticks, a commotion arose from outside the hall.

Ji Zichu immediately recognized his mother's voice.

Consort Xianchen then recognized the voice as that of Princess Shanjin.

“My mother has arrived. Don’t go out yet. She’s in a bad mood. I’ll go and talk to her.”

Ji Zichu knew his mother's temper best; he was afraid that only he and his father could persuade her to give up.

Consort Xianchen stood in front of him and shook her head, saying, "Third brother, can you really persuade your mother this time? You are mother and son. You are the son and she is the mother. It is impossible for a son to disobey his mother. I can understand Princess Shanjin's situation. It is just that a mother has a premonition that her son is in danger. Out of concern for her son's safety, no matter how you coax her, she will not change her mind."

Ji Zichu remained silent.

He thought for a moment and said, "So... what do you mean?"