Harem Daily Life

Chapter 1062 Rotten seedlings did not grow into healthy saplings

“Because he loves you!” He Linzhang’s eyes were full of disappointment. “Jing Mubai was afraid that your deeds would be exposed, so he kidnapped Gu Yuanyuan to silence her. But he didn’t know that I had already found out Gu Yuanyuan’s whereabouts. He was just waiting for the right moment to strike.”

Jing Mubai prostrated himself on the ground and pleaded, "Your Majesty, although the princess is a little confused, Gu Yuanyuan didn't succeed either, did she? I beg Your Majesty to consider the bond of blood and spare the Fourth Princess!"

His Majesty has investigated everything thoroughly and cannot deny it. Jing Mubai only hopes that His Majesty can show leniency and not punish He Qian too severely.

"He Qian, your wickedness is truly an eye-opener for me. To actually join forces with an outsider to scheme against my father and mother is heartbreaking."

He Qian knew that the situation was hopeless. She took a deep breath and looked at He Linzhang: "Father is heartbroken? Ha, if Father's heart is heartbroken, how can your heart not be heartbroken?"

She finally let out the anger that had been hidden deep inside her.

"Your subject is also Father Emperor's daughter, but has Father Emperor ever even glanced at your subject? Your subject was raised under Consort Liang's care, how many times a year has Father Emperor visited Mother Consort's palace? How are your subjects? What talents have you learned? What books do you like to read? Does Father Emperor know anything about these things? Hahahaha, Father Emperor, you don't know!"

“You spend all day in Chang Le Palace. Your eyes are only on the eldest princess, the second princess, He Min, and He Yinuo, especially He Yinuo. You have taken He Yinuo with you since she was a baby. When she cried, you fed her by hand. When she wet herself, you changed her diapers by hand. When you took He Yinuo to stroll in the garden, I met her and wanted to play with her. You didn’t even look at me and just walked right past me!”

“During festivals, I only receive the regular monthly allowance, but what about He Yinuo? You reward her with good things every few days—novelties, fine fabrics, exquisite jewelry, you give her everything. Even though she looks like a pig, you still look at her with a smile. But have you ever even glanced at me? I have a face as beautiful as my aunt's, and you haven't even looked at me once!”

Jing Mubai tried to stop her from disrespecting His Majesty, but he couldn't stop her at all.

"To be honest, Father, I do harbor deep resentment. While you did prepare a generous dowry for me, compared to the other princesses, was it truly generous? My eldest sister, second sister, and He Min—weren't their dowries far more lavish than mine? Empress Tao gave them several times more than I did. She is the Empress Dowager, yet none of them are her biological children, and her heart is utterly biased!"

He Linzhang coldly said to her, "Don't resent Empress Tao. She has no obligation to you!"

He Qian sneered a few times: "Yes, the children raised under her name are your children. Children like me, raised by the unfavored Consort Liang, are not even worth a second glance from you. No matter how good I am, you will not give me a second thought."

Seeing that the father and daughter had already fallen out, Jing Mubai quickly tried to mediate: "Please calm down, Your Majesty. He Qian, she received too little attention since childhood and lacked love in her heart, which led her astray. In fact, she is not a bad person at heart."

"I'm not a bad person at heart? If I weren't bad, would I have dragged your sister and brother-in-law down with me? Would I have pushed that troublemaker Gu Yuanyuan to Zhou Chen, causing unrest in his household? Prince Consort, do you also despise me now, and hate me to the bone?"

After He Qian finished speaking, she looked at Jing Mubai and smiled. Today, she had completely lost face and dignity. She couldn't maintain her respectful and humble persona in front of her father, nor could she maintain her obedient and cute persona in the eyes of her husband. It was better to tear it all apart and stop trying to maintain anything.

Seeing her give up entirely, Jing Mubai shook his head: "From the first time I saw you, I fell deeply in love with you. How could I possibly dislike you? I've always wanted to give you everything I have, but unfortunately... I couldn't persuade you otherwise."

He stepped forward and took He Qian's hand: "Don't worry, no matter what, I will stand with you and share the burden."

He Qian was dazed for a moment before turning to look at He Linzhang: "Since Father has investigated everything and found me to be so despicable as to be the person behind Gu Yuanyuan, how does Father intend to deal with me?"

He Linzhang gave He Qian a deep look. He really didn't like this daughter. She was born out of the schemes of Consort Li and her sister. Her background displeased him. Her birth mother was vulgar and disgusting, and her aunt also disgusted him. No wonder he couldn't like her.

He Qian's resentment was indeed real. Now that even the superficial family affection could not be maintained, she might as well pretend that she did not have this daughter.

"You may leave. It is the New Year's Day, and I do not wish to see you. Gu Yuanyuan has been executed. I will release Zhou Chen. As for Marquis Jing, I will not say much. Whether you plead with him or keep it a secret, I will not care. He Qian, you are on your own."

He Qian looked at him in disbelief, and after a long while said, "Your Majesty, you won't punish me for all that I've done?"

Jing Mubai quickly pulled her aside and whispered, "Isn't it better not to punish her? Hurry up and thank her!"

He Linzhang said expressionlessly, "Get out."

He Qian was helped up by Jing Mubai, and the two walked out in a daze. It wasn't until they got into the carriage that He Qian shed a tear: "You saw it? He doesn't care about me at all. He can't even be bothered to punish me. In the end, I am dispensable in his heart."

In the study, Tao Yanyan entered and saw He Linzhang sitting alone without saying a word. She went up to him and hugged him from behind, saying, "Your Majesty, it's not worth getting angry over her."

It wasn't until last night that Tao Yanyan realized that He Qian was the one behind all the trouble. She was only surprised for a moment before she understood; He Qian was indeed capable of such despicable tactics. However, she also felt sorry for Consort Liang, who had nurtured her for so many years but failed to turn this rotten seedling into a healthy sapling.

He Linzhang's lips curled into a bitter smile: "I'm not angry, I just feel helpless. I never expected that my own daughter would scheme against me and harbor such great malice towards me."

Tao Yanyan didn't try to persuade him further, but simply stayed by his side quietly. After a long while, she said, "Yu Nuo will personally cook a soy sauce chicken for His Majesty today. Would His Majesty do me the honor of having some?"

He Linzhang raised an eyebrow: "Is this her first time cooking?"

Since his beloved daughter was about to show off her skills, He Linzhang naturally had to support her.

He swept away the gloom in his heart and took Tao Yanyan to the kitchen, where he saw He Xiaoqi looking at He Yinuo with a pained expression as he kneaded a chicken.

"Why not soy sauce pork or soy sauce fish, but soy sauce chicken?" He Xiaoqi felt uneasy at the thought of eating this winged creature later, as if she were eating her own kind.

He Yinuo glanced at it: "The pork is such a big piece, how can I knead it and cook it properly? As for the fish... I might try next time. Don't just stand around watching me, if you watch too much, you won't be able to bring yourself to eat it. This is the first delicious dish I've ever cooked, if you can't bring yourself to eat it, you'll be missing out big time."

He Xiaoqi tilted its head, flapped its wings, and flew to another stove to supervise the work.

He Linzhang and Tao Yanyan exchanged a glance. Losing one daughter was nothing; this plump and beautiful girl before them was more than enough to surpass anyone else. He Linzhang was very gratified, looking at He Yinuo with doting eyes.

But when He Linzhang tasted the soy sauce chicken, he not only wanted to take back his previous thoughts, but even the doting look in his eyes disappeared.

He Yinuo's skills... he didn't inherit them at all...