Reborn as the Crippled King's Beloved
Chapter 420: Having Feelings for Two Men

Chapter 420: Chapter 420: Having Feelings for Two Men

Would the Emperor regret it?

Consort Jing just smiled it off.

Initially, the Emperor hadn’t told her that she was just a substitute. She desired wealth and favor as much as anyone.

Back then she was young, immature in mind; of course she coveted riches because she detested the days when she was scolded by Mei Yuzong’s mother. She felt that she could never win their favor, because from the beginning, in their eyes, she was nothing but a little seductress, fearing she would continue to be unchaste, so they relentlessly refused to let Mei Yuzong marry her.

Mei Yuzong was good to her, that was undeniable, but whenever Mei Yuzong was away, his parents would make life difficult for her in every possible way, to force her to leave Mei Yuzong on her own accord.

Of course, at that time, she had never thought about leaving Mei Yuzong; the man was too good to her, there was no one else in the world who treated her better, and where could she go if she left Mei Yuzong? Return home to farm? Her reputation was already tarnished; her family might even have her marry a widower.

By then, her life would have been a hundred times more difficult; she might have been worn down to death much earlier.

When the Emperor took her by force, her heart was all for Mei Yuzong; she resisted fiercely, but it was futile. The Emperor was in his prime and very rough, unlike the gentle Mei Yuzong.

So she bled, and the Emperor thought she was a virgin.

She even thought of jumping out of the sedan to kill herself at the time, but the Emperor told her he was the Great Yan Emperor, the monarch of a country.

She was just a simple village girl, the highest official she had ever seen was the County Lord; a monarch, for her, was farther than the heavens.

At that moment, Chen Honglian was overwhelmingly astonished.

When the Emperor asked about her origins again, she saw the bloodstain on the Emperor’s robe and lied.

She said her parents were both farmers, genuine peasants, the family was poor, so she had been staying at her cousin’s house.

Yes, she was actually quite clever. She presented Mei Yuzong as her cousin, so if the Emperor sent her back and encountered Mei Yuzong, the Emperor would not suspect she had been living with another man at such a young age.

From the moment she lied, she had already contemplated leaving Mei Yuzong, but she was still reluctant to do so.

The Emperor indeed took her to the alleyway and before leaving, told her, he would give her three days to think it over.

During those three days, she struggled relentlessly. Mei Yuzong and his father were out performing opera. Under the torment of Mei Yuzong’s mother, she made up her mind.

It could only be said that fate plays tricks on people. If Mei Yuzong had been at home during those three days, she might not have made such a decision. Mei Yuzong was kind to her; if present, he could have seen the traces of the Emperor’s abuse on her and helped her resolve the issues together.

After leaving with the Emperor, she regretted it at first, worried as well. She certainly couldn’t bear to leave Mei Yuzong, and she feared that Mei Yuzong would resent her for the rest of his life.

But soon, she no longer had the heart to think about those things. Her days traveling north with the Emperor were almost luxurious. The Emperor doted on her immensely along the way, and she was the only woman with him. Sometimes he was majestic, sometimes tender and affectionate, making her feel cherished by such a supreme monarch.

Of course, she was moved.

Because she thought she was unique in the Emperor’s eyes.

Until she followed the Emperor to the Capital City.

She was left by the Emperor in a residence in the Capital City, where several stern nannies taught her etiquette and literacy, treating her like a servant.

At first, she daydreamed of being taken into the harem by the Emperor to become a favored consort, a mistress of her own right. But what was the reality? The Emperor had her serve as a palace maid!

If it wasn’t for her deliberately seducing the Emperor multiple times, leading to an "accidental" pregnancy, she might have been a minor palace maid by the Emperor’s side for her entire life.

After becoming pregnant, she didn’t receive the favor she had imagined. There were many concubines in the harem expecting at the time, but many failed to keep their child. It was also thanks to the Empress’s jealous nature that the Emperor decided to protect her.

At that time, she thought the Emperor was showing her extraordinary favor, as there was a tunnel under her palace that connected directly to the Emperor’s Yangxin Hall.

The Emperor would often visit her.

She felt that being unnoticed by others was also a blessing, there would be no one plotting against her, and the Emperor’s affection for her was special. No other woman in the palace received the treatment she did, including Noble Consort Qi, the Emperor’s favored consort.

She was pregnant and enjoying the care of the Emperor, living a dream of spring and autumn.

At that time, her love for the Emperor had reached its peak.

Looking back now, it seems ridiculous.

The happiness she experienced then was equal to the pain and devastation she felt upon seeing the Empress Dowager.

She could never have imagined that she was just a stand-in for another woman, who was the Empress Dowager!

She finally understood why the Emperor liked to gift her plain clothes, jewelry, Buddha Beads, and Buddhist scriptures, and asked her to pray for his blessings on the first and fifteenth of each month.

What’s more tragic is that she didn’t dare to make a fuss because she had already given birth to the Third Prince.

She feared that the Third Prince would be despised by the Emperor; she feared she would end up living near the Cold Palace for the rest of her life.

That day, the Emperor did not care about her feelings at all, even saying what he had just told her—that he only cared about her and the mother of the Third Prince.

Having heard such words too often, Consort Jing could not tell whether she cared or not, but in her heart, she did have feelings for the Emperor. In the deep confines of the palace, with only the Emperor as a man, whom else could she hope for?

Thus, later, when the Empress Dowager entered the palace, she foolishly used her own life as bait by taking poison to see who was more important in the Emperor’s eyes, her or the Empress Dowager.

The Emperor chose the Empress Dowager without hesitation; from then on, Consort Jing completely gave up hope.

Who could be more important to the Emperor than the Empress Dowager?

No one.

Whether or not she regretted, it was all false, just words that came and went from the Emperor’s mouth. If she really believed them, then she truly was foolish.

She had already resigned herself to despair, her heart set entirely on the Third Prince. As long as the Third Prince could inherit the throne, her life would not be lived in vain.

Yet, after many years, she unexpectedly saw Mei Yuzong again in the palace.

She was terrified, afraid that Mei Yuzong would spoil the great cause she and the Third Prince were about to achieve. Now that it was just a step away, she thought Mei Yuzong still held resentment against her.

But to her surprise, Mei Yuzong not only bore no grudge against her but had been thinking about her all along.

Her heart was revived.

When facing the Emperor, she felt only disgust.

Looking at the Emperor’s chubby face and the "sweet nothings" he spoke, she wasn’t moved at all. She just wished the Emperor would quickly make the Third Prince Crown Prince and then pass away soon.

Then, she could soar freely with Mei Yuzong.

Once she tired of such days, she would return to the palace, still the most noble woman under the heavens, surpassing everyone else.

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