She mistakenly got into the bridal sedan chair and married a sickly but powerful minister, becoming

Consort Ling nodded. The more crucial the moment, the more important it is to remain calm. If one loses composure at the slightest disturbance, it will inevitably end in a disastrous defeat.

"The Third Prince's constant underhanded actions are enough to show that he is wary of you. He's afraid that you'll go to your fiefdom, secretly accumulate power, and one day seize his throne." Consort Ling brushed a stray hair from her temple, a cold smile playing on her lips. "I originally thought that with you in the capital, we still had a glimmer of hope. Once you went to your fiefdom, you would be completely out of the running for the throne. Now that I think about it, your going to your fiefdom is actually a good thing."

As long as she lives and remains in the capital, she can give Prince Yu a chance to return to the capital.

As for her eyeliner, it had another purpose.

Seeing that Consort Ling understood his meaning, Prince Yu said no more and left Yanxiang Palace.

Consort Ling watched Prince Yu leave, her hands clasped together, still ice-cold. She had indeed been quite frightened just now; if Prince Yu hadn't remained calm throughout, she would have made a wrong move.

Yesterday, Huichun told her about the Third Prince giving gifts to Prince Yu. She didn't take the Third Prince's little scheme to heart, but who knew he wouldn't give up and would come looking for trouble again and again.

Consort Ling went to the inner room, took out the tin box that she usually used to store honey, and stored agarwood in the box.

The box has two layers: the bottom layer holds honey, and the top layer holds agarwood. A hole the size of a longan is also made so that the flavor of the honey can blend with the agarwood.

In this way, the incense will not dry out for a long time.

Consort Ling opened the box, inside were more than a hundred sandalwood prayer beads, just three short of a total of one hundred and eight.

She took out a set of tools, made the remaining rosary beads, strung them together with special silk thread, put them into a wooden box, and handed it to Huichun beside her: "Take this to the Emperor."

Hui Chun looked surprised. Consort Ling was most afraid of the heat in the summer, and she would sweat profusely with the slightest movement. Young girls don't usually have a sweaty smell, but Consort Ling always felt that she smelled bad.

So every summer, aside from paying respects to the elders in the family every day, he would stay in the room with ice blocks and wouldn't want to go anywhere else.

When Empress Yuanrong learned of this, she personally made a string of prayer beads for Consort Ling using agarwood, and specially took it to the national temple to be consecrated before giving it to Consort Ling to wear to remove the smell of sweat from her body.

It needs to be replaced every three years.

However, when Empress Yuanrong gave Consort Ling a new string of Canaan incense prayer beads, Emperor Jing'an saw it and also asked Empress Yuanrong to make him a string as well.

Empress Yuanrong couldn't resist Emperor Jing'an's persistent pestering, so she specially exchanged sandalwood for a string of prayer beads to be made for him.

Those were the last prayer beads that Empress Yuanrong made for the two of them.

Even though Consort Ling kept the rosary made by Empress Yuan Rong in a tin box and nourished it with honey.

But after all these years, the fragrance has long since dissipated.

Every five years thereafter, Consort Ling would make a string of prayer beads for Emperor Jing'an.

It was thought that after Emperor Jing'an treated Prince Yu this way, Consort Ling would no longer make prayer beads for Emperor Jing'an.

"Hurry up and go, what are you standing here for?" Consort Ling urged Huichun, and then ordered a palace maid to come in and help her take a bath.

Hui Chun hurriedly delivered the prayer beads to the Taiji Hall and handed them to the eunuch waiting at the door: "These are items prepared by the Imperial Concubine for the Emperor. Please trouble you to pass them on."

The eunuch hurriedly carried the box inside and presented it to Emperor Jing'an: "Your Majesty, this was sent from Yanxiang Palace."

Emperor Jing'an was processing memorials and said without looking up, "Bring it here."

The eunuch placed the wooden box on the dragon table and then withdrew.

After reviewing the memorials in his hand, Emperor Jing'an brought the wooden box to his face and opened it. On a bright yellow silk cloth lay a string of sandalwood prayer beads. Gazing at the beads, Emperor Jing'an was slightly dazed.

Empress Yuanrong's true feelings were divided in two; she gave one part to him and the other to Consort Ling.

However, he always believed that between him and Consort Ling, Yuan Rong cared more about the latter.

However, Consort Ling's feelings for Yuan Rong were not so pure.

This morning at court, he revoked Prince Yu's power.

Tonight, Consort Ling sent over the prayer beads. What is she planning to do this time?

A hint of annoyance flashed in Emperor Jing'an's eyes.

Eunuch Cao, standing to the side, exclaimed in surprise, "The Imperial Concubine has sent you prayer beads again." He couldn't help but sigh, "Another five years have passed; time flies so fast."

Upon hearing this, Emperor Jing'an remained silent for a moment before closing the lid.

He instructed, "Select a few pieces of jewelry from the Imperial Treasury and send them to the Imperial Concubine."

Eunuch Cao replied, "This servant obeys."

-

Meanwhile, the Third Prince sat at his desk studying. In the vast hall, only a single candle was lit on the desk.

At this moment, a eunuch hurried in, leaned close to the Third Prince's ear, and whispered, "Your Highness, the Emperor sent Eunuch Cao to deliver a reward to the Imperial Concubine last night."

The third prince suddenly looked up, the flickering candlelight reflecting on his face, making his expression even more unfathomable.

Deep down, he was extremely wary of Prince Yu, not only because of Prince Yu's own cunning and scheming, but also because Prince Yu had Consort Ling as his backer. Even though Consort Ling had lost Emperor Jing'an's favor, she could still soften Emperor Jing'an's heart at crucial moments because of her relationship with Empress Yuanrong.

In terms of the power of his maternal clan, he was no match for Prince Yu. In terms of methods, he was also inferior to Prince Yu.

He feared that when Emperor Jing'an grew old, he would miss Prince Yu, who was far away in his fiefdom. Then, under Consort Ling's scheme, Emperor Jing'an might recall Prince Yu to the capital.

Even if Emperor Jing'an prioritizes the overall situation and does not summon Prince Yu back to the capital.

What if Consort Ling were willing to die in order to bring Prince Yu back to the capital?

Then, Prince Yu will be able to return to the capital for the funeral.

To eliminate any future trouble, he had no choice but to force Prince Yu to take action against him before Prince Yu went to his fiefdom, ensuring that Prince Yu would have no chance of recovery.

As expected, his concerns were not unfounded. After Emperor Jing'an stripped Prince Yu of his power at the morning court session, he felt guilty towards Prince Yu and gave him generous compensation. That night, he also sent a reward to Consort Ling.

The Third Prince's sense of crisis grew stronger, and he dared not underestimate the guilt a father feels.

Suddenly, he realized that his little tricks were not working on Consort Ling and Prince Yu.

For some unknown reason, the Third Prince put down the book in his hand, wrote a letter and handed it to the eunuch, then whispered a few words in the eunuch's ear.