Blossom in Adversity

C160. The Furious Prince Gu.

Chapter 160: The Furious Prince Gu

In the three thousand beauties of the harem, he never showed any special affection for anyone. He didn't truly see them as lifeless statues, but as an emperor, he couldn't afford to show favoritism. If he favored someone, it would create imbalance among his courtiers, and those he favored in the treacherous palace would not survive long.

However, his impression of Consort Zhen was deeply ingrained. Even his mother had remarked that Consort Zhen was a rare insightful woman in the palace.

She knew when to fight, when to retreat, how to remain inconspicuous for self-preservation, and how to make the emperor remembers her, remembers that she was the only daughter of Sun Qi. The son she bore was not just the Sixth Prince of the Daqing Dynasty, but also the only bloodline of the Sun family. She showed him through her actions that there was nothing to fear about the Sun family.

Her premature death saddened him, but all he could do was offer incense, keep the child who had lost his support close for a while through his mother, and occasionally bestow gifts through his mother to show that the Empress Dowager favored him, deterring others from bullying him.

That was all he could do. Besides special occasions and his birthdays, he could only catch a glimpse of his son from afar. On ordinary days, he couldn't even see the son who never willingly approached him.

Was it not because of this that his eldest and fourth sons dared to plot against him?

Would they dare if it were his fifth son?

His hand trembled as he held the memorial. It happened right under his nose, so close to him, yet he knew nothing. Were they too skilled, or had those around him already been bought off?

"Yan Xi."

Gu Yan Xi bowed, "I'm here, Your Majesty."

"Clean around me, the results don't need to be reported to me. You take care of it."

"Yes." Gu Yan Xi straightened up, looking towards the figure at the head of the room, furrowing his brows. He deftly opened a secret compartment in the large desk and took out a vial, pouring two pills out and offering them to the Emperor.

The Emperor glanced at him, his gaze softening, and took the pills, swallowing them with the water brought over by the eunuch.

Gu Yan Xi suddenly leaned closer to the Emperor, sniffing, causing the Emperor's heart to tighten. "Yan Xi..."

With a cold face, Gu Yan Xi found a velvet box from another hidden compartment, opening it to reveal several round, red pills.

The eunuch's eyes widened in disbelief.

"When did this start?"

"Impudent, Yan Xi, you..."

"Uncle Emperor, you gave me my name, saved my life, and gave me everything. Even if you want to take it all back, I wouldn't object. But this, you will never touch again."

Gu Yan Xi crushed the pills in his palm and turned to the several kneeling figures on the ground.

"Your actions may seem correct in following the Emperor's orders, but your actions disregarded the Emperor's health. I cannot tolerate this. Guards, take them away."

The door opened silently, and the Subordinate of the First of Seven Stars knelt outside the study.

"Each person will receive one hundred lashes, and the their rank will be demoted to the seventh."

One hundred lashes would cost them half their lives, given their physical stamina, but what grieved them the most was the demotion from the First Stars to the Seventh.