Chapter 155.2 – Emperor Chong Ming’s Inner Thoughts
An Zi Ran could actually understand why Wang Qing Lan had an affair.
An Chang Fu passed away, and Wang Qing Lan became a widow, but she was still very young. Women have needs just like men, especially for a young widow, whose sexual desire might sometimes be very strong.
However, if Wang Qing Lan needed it, she could do whatever she wanted as long as she left the An family. Even if she wanted to get remarry, he wouldn’t care and he would gladly let her leave. But she didn’t do that. In a nutshell, she was unwilling to let go of the generous lifestyle that the An family provided.
Fu Wu Tian glanced at the ashen-faced Wang Qing Lan and was the first to break the silence.
“What does wangfei plan to do with her?”
After hearing these words, Wang Qing Lan’s body suddenly stiffened, and she felt very uneasy. She knew that things would not end well for her, but she still couldn’t help looking at An Zi Ran with some expectant hope.
An Zi Ran pondered and said: “From now on, Wang Qing Lan is no longer a member of the An family and will be sent back to An Yuan County. From now on, her life or death has nothing to do with the An family.”
Upon hearing this verdict, Wang Qing Lan fell to the floor in despair.
Fu Wu Tian had the servants bring her away. In the end, only the two of them, Ge Qian An and Zhong Yue, were left in the main hall. The other servants were also dismissed.
“Wangye, there might be more to this situation than meets the eye. Pu Song Yong probably has an ulterior motive for approaching Wang Qing Lan.” An Zi Ran thought of Wang Qing Lan’s previous assertions. She had emphasized twice that it was Pu Song Yong who wanted to come to the An Mansion to seek her out. An Zi Ran’s intuition told him that there was something fishy. Pu Song Yong’s official position was not high, but in a prestigious family like the Pu family, how could one not understand whether something was slight or serious? It was one thing to have an affair, but to carry out such acts under the An Mansion roof? Unless the man wanted to die, there must be something else.
Fu Wu Tian refilled his tea for him. “Pu Song Yong is part of the eldest prince’s faction. If he has an ulterior motive, then chances are high that it has something to do with the eldest prince.”
“But why did he send Pu Song Yong to get close to Wang Qing Lan? Did he hope to learn something about Prince Fu’s Mansion through Wang Qing Lan?” An Zi Ran felt that this reasoning was too improbable. Wang Qing Lan was just a woman, and her relationship with him was not good. It didn’t take a genius to figure out that Wang Qing Lan would not be privy to any of An Zi Ran’s secrets.
Fu Wu Tian smiled, “Maybe that’s exactly it.”
Sometimes the more improbable the reason was, the more likely it was to be the truth.
It was just a bad move. That’s all.
An Zi Ran also knew that this was the only explanation, but he didn’t expect that the eldest prince, who was surrounded by enemies, would still have the free time to pay attention to Prince Fu’s Mansion. Perhaps he had been in and out of Prince Fu’s Mansion too many times during this recent period, which probably aroused the eldest prince’s suspicion. Fortunately, there was a buffering period coming up next.
“Wangye, what do you think about spreading this news?” An Zi Ran suddenly suggested.
A hint of surprise seemed to flash in Fu Wu Tian’s eyes, “Why?”
Even Ge Qian An and Zhong Yue looked at him in surprise. The matter of adultery could be a big deal or just small potatoes. Although it would have a great impact on the Pu family, it would also be the same for the An family.
“Wangye, I remember that you said that the emperor never established a crown prince because he didn’t want people to think that he was old and incapable. And naturally, he did not like it when other people coveted his throne, even if it’s his own son.” An Zi Ran said as he looked at Fu Wu Tian.
Fu Wu Tian nodded.
“I have always been curious about why the emperor would praise the second prince so highly even though he does not have any support from the maternal side of his family. That is until today. It is because there are too many people supporting the eldest prince. He has both the Zhang Sun family and the Pu family in his pocket. Even the third prince, who has the support of the Yu family, does not measure up to the eldest prince. The emperor does not want to see the eldest prince’s faction grow bigger, so he deliberately supported the second prince’s faction in order to form a balanced distribution of power. However, even with the emperor’s support, the advantage gap between the two is still too large, so if the emperor is given a chance to punish the eldest prince’s faction, he will most likely do it. “
Translations by Vanilla Muse. Read on vmnovels [dot] com
Whenever An Zi Ran talked about conspiracies and plots, his eyes would always shine. He seemed like a wise and farsighted sage, and his body seemed to be emitting a layer of light.
It was precisely his wisdom and his frank yet assured way of speaking that Fu Wu Tian liked.
“Wangfei’s conjecture is correct. The emperor does want to attack the eldest prince’s faction. However, due to the status of the Zhang Sun family in the imperial court, he has never been able to find a suitable opportunity. However, if this matter is made public, Wang Qing Lan cannot be sent back to An Yuan County.”
An Zi Ran frowned.
He had already said that he would send her back to An Yuan County.
But what they didn’t expect was that before they could spread the news, the story of Pu Song Yong’s adultery with a widow had already spread throughout the capital. Especially since the widow was a concubine of the junwangfei’s father, it became an explosion point of gossip. Within a few days, everyone knew of the affair.
By the time the Zhang Sun family and the Pu family wanted to remedy the situation, it was already too late.
When news of this incident reached the palace, Emperor Chong Ming was furious.
Oh my.
Thank you for the update