Chapter 956: 956

The death of the emperor’s eldest legitimate son, more or less, had something to do with the emperor. When the empress gave birth to her second child, it damaged her body and she could no longer conceive.

Because of these two incidents, the emperor always felt guilty towards the empress.

According to Jiang Ning’s observations, even though the empress was old and had lost her beauty, the emperor still harbored feelings for her. It’s not certain that the emperor truly believed the prophecy of Monk Jieming about fate and destiny.

Jiang Ning wanted to believe that this was just an excuse that the emperor made up when he couldn’t bear to lay his hands on the empress.

This made Jiang Ning question the emperor’s feelings towards Concubine Jin once again.

Did he truly love Concubine Jin?

If he didn’t love her, why was he so distressed after her death?

If he did love her, then why was he holding back from punishing the empress, knowing that she was a rival of Concubine Jin?

Emperor Li Changgeng, this old man with a squat and chubby figure and occasional kind smile, is someone Jiang Ning never understood since she arrived here.

Watching the empress being led out by the eunuchs, there was no expression on the emperor’s face and Jiang Ning felt her thoughts were ridiculous.

What does love mean to an emperor?

He had too much already.

If he couldn’t forget about Lin Zizi, it was only because he couldn’t have her.

Looking at the old man on the dragon throne, Jiang Ning suddenly understood.

He loved no one.

He only loved himself.

However, this understanding had no positive impact on her current predicament.

She currently owed one million taels to the national treasury.

In the end, the emperor didn’t dethrone the empress but instead ordered her to be confined to the Serene Phoenix Palace. The matters concerning the entire harem were handed over to Concubine Shu and Concubine Yu to preside over.

This small punishment left Jiang Ning very dissatisfied.

Concubine Jin died so tragically and this fat emperor just could not bear to punish his official wife.

She couldn’t understand or accept it.

After all the fuss, she ended up owing a million taels.

Jiang Ning didn’t give the emperor a happy look. When she walked out, she didn’t even perform the usual courteous bow, but simply left in a huff.

Huang Ren immediately impeached her, accusing the Princess Consort of being impolite and breaking the rules. The emperor listened impatiently until the end and then asked him to leave.

These censors, each with their own outrageous accusations, threatened to cause a mess if their petitions were not heard.

The emperor indeed dreaded trouble.

But whether he would act on their advice or not was still up to him.

Upon returning to the East Palace, Jiang Ning vented her spleen. Unwilling to smash the porcelain, she ran into the kitchen and kicked over a few water buckets. Watching the water gush out, she still didn’t feel any better.

“You’ve also started venting your anger by destroying things.” Li Hongyun, leaning against a tree with his arms crossed, watched her expressionlessly.

“Your father has driven me mad!” Jiang Ning kicked a wooden bucket which rolled away. “Where am I going to find a million taels?”

Li Hongyuan smiled slightly: “Indeed, this is a large amount of money, but you can raise it if you really put your mind to it.”

“Why should I empty my own coffers to patch up the national treasury?”

“Who asked you to provoke someone.”

“Who?” Jiang Ning squinted at him, “You already know? It’s Cheng Renyu, isn’t it? Who’s backing him?”

Li Hongyuan smiled: “You provoked someone without even knowing their background, and got tricked. Learn this lesson. Don’t think that just because your father is the Senior Grand Secretary and your uncle is the general, you can do whatever you want in Chang’an City.”

“When have I ever acted recklessly in Chang’an City? Cheng Renyu’s been burning other people’s houses and kidnapping their children. Can’t I even seek justice?”