Daughter of aristocratic family

Chapter 495 Liu Family
The downfall of the Liu family came unexpectedly. In the afternoon of that day, news came from the palace that Concubine Liu had a miscarriage. When Zhao Wangshu woke up from a nap, he learned that the Yulin Army had rushed into the Liu family and put all the members of the Liu family into jail.

"Your Majesty, you don't want to wait even a moment." Zhao Wangshu deeply felt the emperor's ruthlessness.

Zhao Wangshu only saw this, but the court officials saw that the emperor really wanted the eleventh prince to be the crown prince.

Concubine Jing was also able to understand the emperor's intentions. She ordered people to put the Liu family in prison and to tell Concubine Liu about the execution in the autumn.

When Concubine Liu heard the news, she was lying weakly on the couch, her face as pale as paper, her eyes full of disbelief and despair.

She clutched the quilt tightly with both hands, her fingertips turning white from the force, "Your Majesty... he is so cruel..." Her voice was as thin as a thread, but filled with endless sorrow and anger.

The personal maid consoled her, "Your Majesty, things have come to this point. It is useless to be sad. It is important to take care of your health. Your Majesty, only if you take good care of your health will you have a chance to overturn the case for the Liu family."

"Overturn the verdict?" Liu Fei smiled bitterly, "How easy is that?"

At this time, the eleventh prince, who had bribed the guards, sneaked in, "Mother, mother, how are you?"

"The Eleventh Prince!" the personal maid shouted in surprise and hurried forward to salute.

When Concubine Liu heard that her son was coming, she struggled to sit up, but she was too weak to support herself. Moreover, every time she moved, she felt blood gushing out from under her body. The hemostatic medicine prescribed by the imperial physician was ineffective.

"Mother, please don't move. Have a good rest." The Eleventh Prince's voice was full of concern. "I know you must be very sad to hear about the Liu family, but please believe me, I will do everything I can to rescue Grandfather and the others."

Concubine Liu held his hand and said, "I am very happy that you have this heart. You don't have to save them. They deserve it."

As for her natal family, Concubine Liu was unable to help and had to give up. She only hoped to save her son.

"Mother, I understand your good intentions, but I cannot watch the Liu family suffer and do nothing. Although the Liu family is at fault, they are also my blood-related maternal family. More importantly, I am worried that if this matter is not handled properly, it will affect our status in the palace." The Eleventh Prince said with a frown.

Concubine Liu smiled with relief, "Lian'er, you are so smart at such a young age, and I am very pleased. But within the palace walls, every step is calculated, and you are still young, you are no match for them. I am worried that if you get involved, not only will you fail to save the Liu family from danger, but you will also be dragged into an irretrievable situation. I only hope that you can grow up safely and healthily, and when you are fully grown, it will not be too late to restore the reputation of the Liu family."

The eleventh prince said with a firm look in his eyes: "Mother, although I am young, I know the responsibility on my shoulders and cannot shirk it. I am not a child who does not know the world. The affairs of the Liu family are not as simple as they seem. There must be someone behind the scenes manipulating them. If we choose to remain silent at this time and let the situation develop, I am afraid that there will be no room for maneuver in the future. I am willing to use my young body to explore the truth, even if the road ahead is full of thorns, I will fight for a glimmer of hope for the Liu family and for us mother and son."

"I know that you are worried, but please believe me, I will act cautiously and not take risks easily."

Although Concubine Liu was trapped in the palace and didn't know much about her natal family's affairs, based on her understanding of her father and brother, she knew that her natal family was definitely not innocent in this interrogation.

But what does it matter? She still wanted to protect her family. Under the insistence of the eleventh prince, she was still shaken. "Lian'er, although your mother doesn't know everything about the Liu family, she has vaguely sensed the undercurrent behind it. Your father's decision often affects the whole body, and it is not something that you and I can easily shake."

"Since you have made up your mind, Mother will not stop you. But you must promise me that you will protect yourself and not act rashly."

"I understand, mother, don't worry." The eleventh prince nodded solemnly, "I will investigate secretly and look for evidence. As long as we can find the truth about the Liu family being wrongly accused, or expose the conspiracy of the people behind it, I believe that father will be able to see through everything and clear the Liu family's name." "Lian'er, hiss." Concubine Liu was about to say something, but her stomach ached and a low moan of pain escaped from her lips.

"Mother, mother, what's wrong with you? Hurry, go and get the imperial physician." The Eleventh Prince shouted in panic.

"Lian'er, I'm afraid your mother won't live long." Concubine Liu felt that her lower body was bleeding.

“No, mother.” The Eleventh Prince was precocious, and he knew very well how difficult the situation would be for the young prince if he lost his mother’s protection.

The imperial physician was called in, but he could not save Concubine Liu's life. In the middle of the night, Concubine Liu died at the age of 23.

Although the emperor ordered the Ministry of Rites to take full charge of Concubine Liu's funeral, striving to make it solemn while still honorable, in order to comfort her for her contribution in raising the prince during her lifetime, the emperor did not posthumously confer a title on Concubine Liu, and had her buried in the concubine's tomb rather than the emperor's tomb.

From this perspective, the emperor doesn't seem to want the eleventh prince to be the crown prince.

The emperor's actions confused and at a loss as to what to do.

What is even more confusing is that the emperor asked Concubine Jing to raise the eleventh prince.

Princess Zuo is the niece of Concubine Jing. Concubine Jing has always supported Prince Zuo, but now the Eleventh Prince has become Concubine Jing's adopted son.

"Yun Hao, why do I feel that His Majesty is deliberately muddying the waters?" Zhao Wangshu asked with a frown.

"Your feeling is correct." Yun Hao stuffed the peeled loquat into her mouth. "Your Majesty wants to break the alliance between Concubine Jing and Prince Zuo, and he has also set up a complicated chess game in the court, making it impossible for anyone to guess his true intentions."

Zhao Wangshu spat out the loquat core. "On the surface, he only has two sons, but he is still making such a fuss. Isn't he afraid that his two sons will kill each other and there will be no successor? And the position of crown prince is so confusing. Isn't he afraid of causing unrest among the people in the court and the country?"

"Only in this way can we weaken the power of Prince Zuo's faction, get the nobles to support the eleventh prince, and achieve a delicate balance of power in the court." Yun Hao sneered, "This is the art of the emperor."

"In my opinion, he just wants to sit on the mountain and watch the fight between two tigers, to prevent anyone from taking advantage of the opportunity to become more powerful and threaten his throne." Zhao Wangshu said incisively.

"That's true. It's a pity that Concubine Jing has other plans, and I'm afraid things won't go as Your Majesty wishes in the end." Yun Hao sneered.

No matter whether it is Prince Zuo or the eleventh prince, they were all people pushed to the forefront by Imperial Concubine Jing. The person Imperial Concubine Jing really wanted to support was the prince in the cold palace who was actually ranked eleventh.

"I remember a saying." Zhao Wangshu raised his eyebrows, "People who see others as chess pieces become chess pieces themselves. Your Majesty sees everyone as chess pieces. He thinks he is the chess player, but in fact he is also a chess piece."

"In this game of chess, it all depends on who plays better." A sharp look flashed in Yun Hao's eyes.