Scum Consort Guide (BL)

Ch 15

Yaozu was seated beside the emperor, dressed in the most elegant hanfu of the harem.
The noble consort kept a calm, diplomatic expression when the royal family of Yun arrived.

The emperor and male consort stood up to greet the other royals, even though it wasn't necessarily as the Xue kingdom was more powerful than the Yun kingdom.
The Xue Kingdom could earn the title of empire if the royal family wished for it but they preferred peace.

Many glanced, even the Yun family, at the male consort as they didn't expect Xiao Yaozu to stand out, in a good way, when among the beautiful women of his majesty.
It was even more surprising how diplomatic the noble consort was.Even the empress dowager who didn't like him in particular was impressed,the emperor on the other hand didn't expect less of his male consort.

The banquet went very smoothly,however Yaozu couldn't help but glance at Prince Wuxian the whole time.
And it wasn't because of the duke's good looks,it might have been for the other concubines but not for Yaozu.
He knew the prince just as he knew the emperor.He still remembers their lessons together.

The memory brought a light inside his heart.A pure light of happiness and nostalgia.
The corner of his lips upturned slightly while he looked at the golden plate before him,set on the table covered in neat,light blue sheets.
Yaozu held a laugh at the obvious choice of color. As far as he was aware, light blue was a happy and lucky color in Yun kingdom.
It seems a heir is waited to be born soon to the royal consort Hui.

Yaozu remained bothered by the memory of his past life until the end of the banquet even if he didn't show it,still keeping a diplomatic smile on his face.His face started to get numb after so much smiling but his smile didn't waver.
Even as the memory of prince Wuxian that remained imprinted in his mind started unfolding.

'You don't have the right to get involved in harem matters,brother.",a dangerous voice echoed in Yaozu's mind

'You shouldn't involve yourself too much either,your majesty.Empress dowager should handle the matter as the head of the harem.",a calm voice with a hind of anger spoke.

'This isn't a simple matter,duke.Furthermore you don't have the right to question Zhen.",a cold voice replied.

'I must do so,as it seems personal feelings have blinded your majesty.',a angry voice said as he blocked the sight of the pitiful,male consort who had a look of despair and confusion on his face,and faced the emperor with cold, sharp eyes full of fury.

"May the feast in the name of my firstborn began!",a powerful voice announced

It was then when Yaozu was brought back to reality once again.Blinking a few times and sighed softly before starting to eat.
The food wasn't so appealing anymore to Yaozu,who only ate some fish and tofu soup and some sweet potatoes,and drank a sip of wine.

When the gifts giving arrived,every concubine had exquisite clothing,art,embroidery to show.Trying to gather some affection from the empress dowager and emperor.
Yaozu on the other hand,gifted a pair of nail protectors and a bracelet.However through the engravings he was actually wishing the royal consort prosperity in life unlike the other concubines.

Yaozu would never have negative feelings towards a child.He was disgusted of the concubines in his past life,who tried to use the crown prince.
The empress dowager had a pleased smile on her tired face,but her eyes held a tint of guilt.She regrets being harsh about Yaozu.
He was after all, her son's study partner even if just for a short time.

When the banquet came to an end and the Yang family was guided to the guest chambers prepared,Yaozu approached the empress dowager,

"Should I see royal mother off..?",he asked softly and held empress dowager's hand when she gives it to him.

"It's rare to see such a dutiful noble consort.",the empress dowager smiled gently and Yaozu realised that she was truly accepting him.

When they reached empress dowager's palace and were ready to part the royal mother said something unexpected,

"I admire your willingness to live quietly,however that's hard to accomplish when living in the harem.",she began "It will be even harder if you don't have any support.",she smiled before entering her residence.

Yaozu remained in place looking as the empress dowager went out of sight then,looked at Meihui with a raised eyebrow.
The two shared a look before making their way to Jiniang palace quietly.

                               *********

As days went by,the empress dowager and noble consort started to form a mother-in-law-Son-in-law bond.
Unfortunately the quietness didn't last long,as an incident happened again.

Yaozu was painting a portrait of the royal mother,which she requested when the head eunuch followed by some guards entered the residence of the empress dowager.

"Noble consort Yi is to serve confinement inside his residence until the investigation of the poisoning of the royal firstborn ends and a verdict will be announced.",the head eunuch announced at once and when the male consort stood up with a confused expression the guards approached him.

"Royal consort Hui was poisoned?",the empress dowager asked frowning.

"Yes,your majesty and his highness is the main suspect...",the head eunuch bowed.

The empress dowager was completely furios.Normally she won't have interfered with her son's choices,however it was different now.
There was a very low chance Yaozu could have done anything when he was visiting her every day.

"Why is noble consort the main suspect?",she asked in a cold voice.

"Well..the gifts his highness sent contained poison.."

It was then when the empress dowager considered this incident complete bullshit and she hopes her son only decided to confine Yaozu for show.
She observed the prime minister's son and he was anything but stupid and impatient.
There was no way he could have done the poisoning so obvious.If he truly wanted to do it,he would have poisoned the royal consort little by little without anyone noticing.

"I see..Well,I would like you to inform the emperor that noble consort will serve his confinement in my residence.",she spoke in a calm but cold voice,much like the emperor.

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Merry Christmas dear readers!
I'm sorry that this chapter is a little bit rushed but I wanted this chapter to be a Christmas gift for you ^^
Hope you enjoyed it!