The concubine was charming and alluring, and the ruthless prince coaxed her day and night.

Chapter 107: Too strong and easy to break

Walking slowly, the two arrived at the sentry tower.

After Jia Rong briefly explained his purpose, the sentry lowered the rope and pulled Jia Rong and Xu Jiaojiao onto the sentry platform.

By this time, the sky was already beginning to lighten.

Standing on the watchtower, a cool breeze brushed past my face, dispelling the gloom in my heart.

The faint light on the horizon brings hope and strength to those who look up at the rising sun.

Jia Rong glanced at the sentry: "You, shut your ears!"

sentinel:"???"

After a brief moment of confusion, the sentry raised his hand and carefully covered his ears.

Xu Jiaojiao and Jia Rong couldn't help but laugh.

The Western Suburbs Camp is a military camp under Prince Chen's command. The soldiers in the camp are absolutely obedient to Zhao Yunzheng and will not do anything to harm him.

Jia Rong knew this, but still didn't want more people to hear what she was about to say.

Seeing the sentry staring into the distance, seemingly ignoring the two of them, she nodded in satisfaction and then looked at Xu Jiaojiao.

"Sister Jiaojiao, have you ever heard of Consort Ru?"

Xu Jiaojiao lowered her eyes and thought for a moment, then shook her head: "Never."

She used to be a maid serving people in the inner quarters of the house, and most of what she heard were just trivial and sordid matters.

Unless it's a momentous event in the imperial court, someone as uninformed as her would hardly know.

It's not surprising that Xu Jiaojiao didn't know Jia Rong, after all, this happened many years ago. Xu Jiaojiao wasn't much older than her. At that time, her second brother hadn't established his own household yet, and she was still young. It was still unknown whether Xu Jiaojiao was in the capital at all.

Jia Rong took out a piece of pastry, put it in his mouth and chewed slowly, recounting the events of the past.

"Consort Ru was Zhao Minghuai's birth mother and a notorious seductive concubine. She was naturally alluring and extremely skilled in seduction. She once bewitched the Emperor, making him lose his sense of right and wrong and obey her every word."

When Consort Ru was mentioned, Jia Rong's eyes showed more hatred and sadness.

"My father and mother were a young couple, deeply in love. If it weren't for Consort Ru's appearance, they wouldn't have ended up like this, with no contact between them."

Eleven years ago, I was only four years old. At that time, Consort Ru was at the height of her power and was showing signs of overshadowing my mother. However, my mother was pregnant at that time, and my father was very happy, so he neglected Consort Ru a little.

The mother was delighted by this, but the treacherous and vicious Consort Ru harbored resentment because of it.

She plotted to cause her mother's miscarriage, estranged her father and mother, and left her mother with a chronic illness that made it difficult for her to conceive again, causing her unbearable pain during menstruation.

Jia Rong's eyes were slightly red, and Xu Jiaojiao sighed with heartache, then gently pulled Jia Rong into her arms.

Although she didn't know what this matter had to do with Su He, Xu Jiaojiao couldn't help but sigh inwardly at the cruelty and ruthlessness of the palace intrigues.

Jia Rong sniffed and continued, "Back then, my second brother was young and impetuous. After learning about this, he took his sword and charged into Yongning Palace, stabbing Consort Ru through the neck."

The snow that year was truly red. Even now, though I have long forgotten many of my childhood memories, I still remember clearly the way Consort Ru died tragically.

The tragic death of his beloved enraged his father, who nearly beat his second brother to death for it.

Upon learning of Consort Ru's death, the Empress Dowager, who had recently suffered a miscarriage, knelt in the snow for two days to save her second brother's life.

Because of Consort Ru's tragic death, the Emperor's slightest guilt towards the Empress Dowager turned into intense disgust.

In his eyes, his second brother's actions were all at the behest of the Empress Dowager.

That day, the Emperor said many, many hurtful things, each word like a knife cutting into the Empress Dowager's heart.

If the Empress Dowager hadn't done nothing wrong, and if the inner palace hadn't been constrained by the political situation at court, the Emperor might very well have banished her to the Cold Palace.

Jia Rong sighed softly: "From then on, Mother was heartbroken and disillusioned with Father. Even after many things were investigated and the truth was revealed, and Father knew that Consort Ru was wicked, he came to apologize to Mother in person, but Mother never forgave Father."

Xu Jiaojiao was speechless, and couldn't help but murmur with admiration, "Empress is also a person of deep feeling..."

Jia Rong shook his head with a wry smile: "That's true, but too much rigidity leads to breakage. Although the Empress Dowager is still the Crown Prince, she is in name only. She suffers bitterness and pain, and has nowhere to confide in..."

Xu Jiaojiao's eyelashes trembled, and she lowered her eyes sadly.

A person as resolute and determined as the Empress, if not confined to the inner palace, would surely have a wider world and a freer soul.

Yes, this is the tragedy of women in this era. They are confined to the inner quarters of their homes for their entire lives. They live for their fathers in their childhood, for their husbands in their middle age, and for their children in their old age. If the mother of a nation is like this, what about the millions of ordinary women in the world?

She dared not imagine how many talented women would be buried in obscurity, spending their lives devoted to their husbands and children, leaving this world with regrets.

Xu Jiaojiao clenched her fists slightly, and unexpectedly recalled her frustrations and unfulfilled ambitions in her previous life. At this moment, she felt a deep empathy for the Empress's suffering and sorrow.

She sighed softly, "Her Majesty the Empress has remained true to herself and dared to resist injustice. She is great. If Your Highness and the Prince could understand her determination, I think she would be very happy."

Jia Rong stared blankly into Xu Jiaojiao's bright eyes, momentarily lost in thought.

Apart from Jiaojiao, no one has ever approved of the Empress Dowager's actions.

To outsiders, the Empress Dowager seemed foolish and inflexible, stubbornly enduring hardship without a reason. But she knew that the Empress Dowager was not...

In fact, she didn't understand her mother when she was young. It wasn't until the imperial decree of marriage was delivered to Qiyun Palace and she resisted it many times to no avail that she realized how much courage and determination her mother had.

However, what saddened her was...

She wanted to be as brave as her mother, but even her mother was admonishing her, telling her to be an obedient and sensible princess who knew how to consider the bigger picture, the future of the dynasty, and the well-being of her people…

Jia Rong's eyes reddened again and again.

Suddenly, he smiled, a smirk playing on his lips: "If Mother knew that someone in this world could speak up for her like this, she would be so happy!"

Seeing that Xu Jiaojiao's eyes were also reddened by his actions, Jia Rong waved his hand and laughed heartlessly: "Hey, look at me, I was going to talk about Su He and my second brother, but I ended up going off on a completely different note."

Xu Jiaojiao smiled gently: "It's alright."

It's likely that Jia Rong had been holding these words in for a long time. It's a good thing that she was able to vent and relieve her inner turmoil; otherwise, if she kept them bottled up for too long, problems would inevitably arise sooner or later.

Jia Rong took out another piece of pastry from his pocket and put it in his mouth, and also stuffed one into Xu Jiaojiao's mouth.

After finishing his meal in a few bites, Jia Rong continued, "As I just mentioned, in a fit of anger, Second Brother drew his sword and killed Consort Ru. It was at that moment that Su He unexpectedly became entangled with Second Brother."

"An accident?" Xu Jiaojiao raised her eyebrows in surprise, clearly very curious about it.

Jia Rong chuckled teasingly, assuming that Xu Jiaojiao was simply too concerned about her second brother, which explained her hasty reaction…