Volume 1: Kyoto Winds and Clouds Chapter 64: The Harem's Strife, Ling's Thoughts Stirring Emotions

  He Lingsi felt the evil spirit on Liu Zhang's body, and she smiled. Isn't it what a woman wants for her whole life to find a man who cares about herself? Of course, if this man has money and power, it would be even better! Liu Hong is a man with money and power, but he doesn't care enough about He Lingsi, while in the past, Liu Zhang was too young.

  Patted Liu Zhang's head, He Ling thought smiled and said: "Nothing, don't worry! The empress can handle it herself!"

  He Lingsi finished speaking, and a murderous aura also appeared in her eyes. Liu Zhang's eyes hesitated, and he asked He Lingsi in a low voice: "Aren't you thinking of poisoning Wang Meiren to death?"

  "Hush..." He Ling's hand paused, then she whispered softly in Liu Zhang's ear: "How...how did you know?"

  He Lingsi's warm breath tickled Liu Zhang's ear, but her words were icy. Liu Zhang smiled and said, "Imperial sister-in-law, the only one who can make you so angry must be a concubine of the emperor. Only Wang Meiren has such power. However, if you were to get rid of her, my imperial brother would not treat you well."

  "He didn't treat me well from the start!" He Ling's face was cold and it could be seen that she still had a lot of resentment towards Liu Hong.

  "It's not that I'm tired of waiting, but rather I've had enough!" Liu Zhang smiled and said: "Actually, the Empress Dowager has very good luck. When the Emperor took a liking to you back then, Empress Song passed away, and as a result, you were promoted to be the legitimate empress. As long as you don't do anything too outrageous, the Emperor can't depose you! And that Consort Wang, once the Emperor gets tired of playing with her, her fate is predictable!"

  Liu Zhang's words made He Lingsi suddenly enlightened, but in fact she had always known what kind of personality Liu Hong was. It's just that Wang Meiren's means made her really unbearable. He Lingsi whispered in Liu Zhang's ear: "Are you men all so heartless?"

  "Of course not!" Liu Zhang smiled and said: "Imperial sister, sometimes the things you can't get are the most beautiful. If you kill Wang Meiren, your imperial brother will not only be cold to you in the future, but also hate you! Even Bian'er will be rejected by your imperial brother."

  "He...". He Ling thought was not a fool, in history she murdered Wang Meiren to get rid of an opponent. Who would have thought that it gave her own son another powerful opponent? Later, she also wanted to secretly harm Liu Xie, but with the emperor's protection, she could do nothing. He Ling asked anxiously: "That cheap woman often secretly harmed Bian'er, if we don't kill her, what should we do?"

  Liu Zhang smiled and said: "Imperial sister-in-law, you're really foolish! As the empress, you're in charge of all matters. Doing something small like this is a trivial matter, isn't it?"

  "Are you referring to the supplies of Kedu Wang's beauty?" He Lingsi looked at Liu Zhang with a thoughtful expression.

  Liu Zhang's face turned black, and he said: "If it's about embezzling supplies, isn't that clearly telling Emperor Liu that Empress He is dealing with Wang Meiren? He shook his head and said: "Imperial sister! Embezzling supplies is a very stupid thing to do! You can't just embezzle, you have to give more, at the very least, you have to satisfy Imperial brother!"

  "What... how can I do a small trick?" He Ling thought stared at Liu Zhang, suddenly stretched out her hand and pinched his ear, saying: "You stinky boy, speak quickly, if you tease me again, I'll pinch off your ears!"

  "Easy does it! Easy does it!" Actually, He Lingsi's pinch didn't hurt at all. Her slender fingers were pinched on Liu Zhang's earlobe, and it felt quite comfortable instead. However, Liu Zhang had to pretend that it hurt, otherwise He Lingsi would have really used force, and his ears would have been in trouble!

  He Lingsi naturally used just the right amount of force, and with a hint of a smile, she said: "Does it hurt? If you don't say so quickly, I'll use more strength!"

  Liu Zhang smiled and moved away He Ling's hand, asking: "I heard that the emperor now goes to Wang Meiren's place more often?"

  "What's 'relatively more'!" He Lingsi said with a smile: "He's there every day!"

  "This is the end!" Liu Zhang smiled and said: "The empress can bring Wang Meiren's son back to the palace for upbringing, so that Wang Meiren will serve the emperor well!"

  "What?!" He Ling's eyebrows furrowed in anger: "That cheap servant stole my husband, harmed my son, and now I have to help her raise her son? This is even more infuriating than if I had killed her directly!"

  "Wrong!" Liu Zhang said seriously: "Imperial sister-in-law, if someone wants to snatch Bian'er away from you, what would you do?"

  "I... He Lingsi said: "I and he are sworn enemies!"

  Liu Zhang asked again: "What if you die and there's no way out?"

  "What...!" He Lingsi was stunned!

  Liu Zhang smiled and said, "The Empress is the mother of a nation. In order to let other concubines serve the Emperor better, she is willing to help others take care of her own son. This is sentiment, moral integrity, and loyalty to the Emperor. I think even a stone would be moved! Besides, the Empress thinks that if Liu Xie were in your hands, would Wang Meiren still dare to secretly harm Liu Bian? She's not afraid that you'll get angry and strangle Liu Xie?"

  He Lingsi's beautiful eyes stared at Liu Zhang, as if she had just recognized him. Liu Zhang shrugged his shoulders, seemingly very innocent. After a while, He Lingsi covered her mouth and laughed: "Little Zhang, why did I only discover today that you are so sinister? However, Wang Meiren shouldn't give in so easily, should she?"

  "Of course!" Liu Zhang said with great certainty: "It's not just Wang Meiren, even if it were the Emperor himself, he wouldn't hand over Liu Xie to you to raise. But you can make Liu Xie leave Wang Meiren's side. The cruelest method isn't making someone die, but making them suffer and feel miserable! If a mother loses her child, don't you think she'll be in pain? And when she's in pain, she still has to put on a smiling face to serve others, isn't that even more heartbreaking? If the Empress Dowager is in a good mood, she can take Bian'er to visit Wang Meiren. Only, Bian'er can't eat things randomly anymore, and going out must be done with caution!"

  He Lingsi asked: "Since I cannot let Wang Meiren and Your Majesty hand over Liu Xie to me for foster care, how can I separate Wang Meiren from her son?"

  Liu Zhang smiled and said: "I remember Your Majesty still has a mother!"

  "Dong Tai Hou is indeed in the palace!" He Ling thought for a moment and said: "But she never interferes with the internal affairs of the palace, making people feel very clear-minded and uninterested."

  "After all, everyone is afraid of loneliness, and Empress Dowager Dong must be the same!" Liu Zhang smiled and said: "You can visit Empress Dowager Dong more often and tell her that Wang Meiren serves the Emperor every day and neglects Liu Xie. You originally wanted to help Wang Meiren take care of him, but Wang Meiren is unwilling. Why not ask Empress Dowager Dong to take care of Liu Xie? This way, you can accompany Empress Dowager Dong and also let Wang Meiren focus on serving Your Majesty wholeheartedly, isn't it a win-win situation?"

  To be honest, Empress He was actually a very simple person. Considering her family background, although they had some wealth, they were just a family of pig butchers. It can be said that even if her brother He Jin hadn't read many books, she was even less skilled in intrigue and conspiracy, otherwise in the inner palace where people plotted against each other, she wouldn't have chosen to poison Wang Beautiful Person. Competing for favor and position, killing someone is the most lowly method! In history, Empress He poisoning Wang Beautiful Person, although she eliminated **'s threat, made both Liu Hong and Empress Dowager Dong her enemies, and even caused Liu Bian not to be received by his father or grandmother. It can be said that she won, but also that she lost.

  After listening to Liu Zhang's words, He Lingsi was moved. Who doesn't want to be a good person? But what made He Lingsi even more concerned was that this thirteen-year-old boy, Liu Zhang, could actually perform such a high level of manipulation and scheming, almost indistinguishable from an old fox who had been in politics for many years. He Lingsi cared about her own son, but she hoped that Liu Zhang could become her right-hand man instead.

  A mother can sell herself to the devil for her son. He Lingsi made an important decision that would make Liu Hong suffer greatly, but she couldn't help it anymore. He Lingsi gently hugged Liu Zhang and said: "Zhang brother, I hope you can help me!"

  The warm and humid air sprayed on Liu Zhang's neck, and he immediately reacted. However, Liu Zhang understood He Lingsi's request, which he couldn't fulfill. Gently patting He Lingsi, Liu Zhang said with a hint of helplessness: "Imperial sister, I know you want Bian'er to become the emperor, I can guarantee that he will ascend to the throne, but I cannot guarantee that he will be the emperor for his entire life, nor can I guarantee his safety! All I can say is that I'll do my best!"

  "Do your best, that's enough!" He Ling also understood that Liu Zhang was only thirteen years old and there were some things he couldn't control. But with Liu Zhang's promise and General He's power, He Ling didn't think that Wang Meiren could rival her! Unfortunately, He Ling's vision was somewhat short-sighted, she couldn't see the crisis of the great Han.

  Under He Lingsi's harassment, Liu Zhang fled in a hurry. Although Liu Zhang was only a thirteen-year-old boy, he had already experienced everything at the age of nearly thirty in his previous life. The temptation of He Lingsi's beauty made him unbearable. And He Lingsi couldn't help but laugh when she saw Liu Zhang fleeing, looking like a little fox that had stolen a chicken. Of course, He Lingsi was only in her early twenties now, and it was the prime of youth. Unfortunately, as an emperor, Liu Hong had too many young women!

  After getting Liu Zhang's advice, He Lingsi no longer thought about killing Wang Meiren. In fact, she knew that killing people was not a solution to the problem. However, He Lingsi had no choice, in the palace, she was just an isolated and helpless little girl, without protection, she could only choose to use the most vicious thorns to protect herself, even if those thorns would hurt the person she cared about most.

  It must be said that He Lingsi is not a simple woman, Zhang Rang and the ten eunuchs had long been bribed by her. Liu Shao only suggested that she ask the emperor and empress dowager to bring Liu Bian back to raise him, but she did something even more ruthless, almost scaring Wang Meiren to death. It turned out that He Lingsi took advantage of Wang Meiren's good relationship with the emperor and ordered the palace maid to take Liu Bian away from Wang Meiren's palace!

  When Queen Wang Meiren discovered that her son was gone, it was already the second morning, and the imperial palace was in chaos. All the eunuchs in the court were searching for Liu Xie, until noon, when a eunuch from the imperial harem finally told the emperor that Crown Prince Xie had been taken back to the palace by Empress He. Emperor Liu Hong was not too concerned, after all, Empress He was also considered Liu Xie's nominal mother. However, Queen Wang Meiren stormed into Jianzhang Palace and caused a huge commotion. Originally, Emperor Liu Hong liked Wang Meiren because of her gentle and virtuous nature, and Wang Meiren had always been good at hiding her true feelings. But this one outburst made Emperor Liu Hong feel displeased and somewhat estranged from Wang Meiren!