I m the Farmgirl You Can t Mess With - Chapter 1319: Side Story: The Cultivation of Disloyalty (1)
Chapter 1319: Side Story: The Cultivation of Disloyalty (1)
Editor: Atlas Studios
In one’s later years, one would often recall the events of their early years. The Fourth Prince, Qi Wenmi, could not say for sure that he regretted his actions, but the faint sense of disappointment never quite left him.
These years, he had been watching his big brother and his brothers support each other while there was always an estrangement between his big brother and him and his fifth brother. However, his big brother would be crazy to still treat the two of them equally without any ill feelings when they had ulterior motives. If that was the case, even without him and his fifth brother plotting schemes, the other brothers and ministers would pull him down from the throne.
Qi Wenmi would often recall the things that happened when he was very young. At that time, he was truly naive and ignorant.
His big brother doted on his brothers, so although he was the Crown Prince, he was very close to them. Every day after school, he would personally bring them to play for a period of time.
Of course, this was only possible because of the Empress’s magnanimity. After all, not every Empress was willing to let their son play with their half-brothers like this, even if they were related by blood. This was only something he deeply understood after he got married and had many children.
At that time, his maternal grandfather in the Shi family was only a mediocre fifth-grade governor. With his big brother and Cousin Little Bear suppressing the others, no one dared to bully the younger ones. Life was simply too carefree with the group of children spending all day either studying or getting into trouble together.
Due to her lack of a powerful maiden family and lowly status, his mother consort had never allowed him to have a conflict with the Crown Prince, always insisting he follow the lead of his big brother in the Royal School.
As the Crown Prince, everyone recognized that he was the leader to begin with. Even if his mother consort did not mention it, everyone would still listen to him. However, his mother consort’s reminders day after day more or less started to make him feel a little uncomfortable. But because the Crown Prince did treat them younger brothers well, this discomfort could be easily forgotten.
As the old Qi Wenmi lay on the rocking chair, he thought of the things that happened when he was young. Upon pondering, he discovered that the real change had started when his Fourth Uncle began searching for famous doctors and miraculous medicines for his Royal Father.
Too many things had happened that year.
Royal Father suddenly collapsed from the poison and the palace fell under martial law. Just as he was panicking, his Mother Consort secretly brought him to see Uncle Shi.
Uncle Shi had become a jinshi five years ago. Now, he had already entered the Ministry of Official Personnel Affairs to train. Although he was only a lowly seventh-grade official, because he was ranked eighth among the second rank of candidates who passed the imperial examination and had entered the Hanlin Academy, his future was limitless.
When Uncle Shi saw him, he knelt down respectfully. At that time, he was only an eight or nine-year-old child and was panicking because of his Royal Father’s sudden collapse. Seeing that his uncle, an adult, was so respectful to him, he couldn’t help but feel that he was an indomitable adult!
At that time, Uncle Shi had asked about Royal Father’s situation. However, because the Palace of Earthly Tranquility had blocked the news, Qi Wenmi only knew that Royal Father had fainted at the court meeting, but not the reason why.
With a sigh, Uncle Shi said, “Your Highness, you’re the son of His Majesty, just like the Crown Prince. As a son, filial piety is the most important thing. When His Majesty falls ill, not only are you unable to serve him by his side, but you don’t even know what illness His Majesty is suffering from. It’s really…”
He continued, “Wouldn’t the Crown Prince’s actions put you in an unjust position?”
It was a simple way to sow discord, but it worked. It immediately enraged the young and flustered Qi Wenmi.
Brother Crown Prince was only 15 years old, Cousin Little Bear was only 14, and Second Brother was even younger. But why was it that even Second Brother knew about Royal Father’s illness and could enter and exit the Palace of Earthly Tranquility freely, but not him and his younger brothers?
Highly unconvinced, he began to pay attention to the Palace of Earthly Tranquility. He even ran out of the hall and made a fuss about wanting to see Royal Father.
Thinking that his younger brothers were frightened by the atmosphere in the palace, even though the Crown Prince was exhausted, he still took the time to comfort them and promised that nothing would happen to Royal Father and that Fourth Uncle would be back soon.
In the eyes of the young Qi Wenmi, he had a total of three and a half people he could rely on. Royal Father and Mother Consort counted as two, the Crown Prince counted as half, and the remaining one was Fourth Uncle who stood steady like a tall mountain.
Thus, when he heard that Fourth Uncle was about to return, Qi Wenmi cheered up and asked, “When the time comes, can I go in to see Royal Father?”
The Crown Prince looked at him with pity and nodded. He promised, “When Fourth Uncle comes back, I’ll let you in to see Royal Father.”
At that time, Qi Wenmi did not know that the Crown Prince was protecting them by doing this. Their poisoned Royal Father needed a blood exchange, and the Crown Prince had refused to let his younger brothers do a blood test because they were still too young. Changing their blood would most likely mean losing their lives. Therefore, firstly, it was to stop news from leaking, and secondly, to protect them. The Crown Prince did not allow his younger brothers to enter the Palace of Earthly Tranquility, nor did he allow them to linger around to prevent others from targeting them.
After all, no matter how important a prince was, he was not as important as an Emperor.
Unfortunately, by the time he figured this out, he had already gone too far on this path. There being too many implications, he couldn’t extract himself from the situation at all and had no means of retreating.
Upon knowing that Fourth Uncle was coming back, Qi Wenmi happily went to inform his mother consort, Concubine Shi. However, Concubine Shi’s expression changed slightly. As she leaked the news outside the palace, she hugged him and said, “Silly child, why are you happy that your Fourth Uncle is coming back? He is standing on your big brother’s side. Once he returns, the successor will be finalized.”
Qi Wenmi asked foolishly, “Isn’t that a good thing?”
Concubine Shi looked at her son with a complicated expression. “Once that happens, you will no longer stand a chance. Child, don’t you want to be as majestic and mighty as your Royal Father and be able to command hundreds of people?”
The eight-year-old Qin Wenmi was no longer an ignorant child. Even if there were not so many conflicts in the Qi family’s palace and the Qi princes were not as mature as princes of previous dynasties, eight-year-old him already knew what it meant to fight for the throne.
Face hidden in the darkness, Concubine Shi said word by word, “You’re all sons of the Emperor, and your Royal Father also highly favors you. Could it be that you lost that opportunity just because you were born a few years later? Child, you also have a chance to rule the world. If you give up today, won’t you regret it in the future?”
Qi Wenmi opened his mouth wide and heard himself say, “But Big Brother, son of Empress Li, is the Crown Prince, the heir to the throne…”
“Silly child, your Royal Father doesn’t like aristocratic families. After he ascended the throne, he dealt a huge blow to the aristocratic families. Even the concubines in the harem were chosen from among families of officials of the third rank and below, completely excluding the aristocratic families. It can be seen how much he dislikes aristocratic families. Although our Shi family has a humble background, your maternal grandfather is already a fifth-rank governor now and his next promotion will make him a magistrate. In the future, when he’s transferred back to the capital, with Mother Consort around, he will gradually rise in the bureaucracy.”
She continued, “Besides, your uncle is a second-grade jinshi and was previously a Hanlin official. There’s a possibility that he’ll be conferred a title of marquis and become a minister in the future. With him around, are you afraid that you won’t have support?”
Qi Wenmi admitted that in that instant, he was extremely tempted.
However, he quickly shook his head and said firmly, “Royal Father favors Big Brother the most. He won’t let me be the Emperor.”
Concubine Shi stroked his head and smiled. “Silly child, there’s not much difference between liking and hating. If your big brother does something wrong, your Royal Father naturally won’t like him anymore.”
“But there’s still Second Brother and Third Brother. Why would Royal Father choose me over the two of them when I’m so young?”
Sneering, Concubine Shi said, “Considering your second brother has a Mother Consort like that, your Royal Father won’t choose him. Besides, he was brought up by King Rong and his wife. Based on this alone, your Royal Father won’t choose him. As for the Third Prince, his Mother Consort, Concubine Xu, is as timid as a mouse. Likewise, your Royal Father won’t fancy him. Besides, my son has the support of important ministers.”
