The Female Lead Decides to Act Wickedly

Chapter 543: Chapter 226 My Son is a Treacherous Official (Part 2)_3

In the truest literal sense, a ”Little White Flower,” she was guileless, pure, and kindhearted.

From the inside out, she exuded an aura that beckoned empathy.

She was also like a small white rabbit, innocent and harmless, with the faintest of courage.

Though she had the makings of a female tyrant, Tian Tian shrunk in her slight frame daily, her small face turning deathly pale at the slightest rustle of wind or grass.

The Empress Dowager and the Saint were nearly worried sick.

It’s quite alright for a girl to be timid and gentle in temperament, and as a child, it made her all the more endearing.

But as Princess An Kang grew older by the day, reaching the age for her hair-pinning ceremony, the Empress Dowager and her son discovered the problem—

Their child was so soft-hearted and timid that, even with their backing, she might still be bullied after marriage.

There is no need to mention the great noble families, with their multitude of rules and people.

And where there are many people, there is strife; Princess An Kang’s timorous demeanor, like that of a ”Little White Flower,” would surely be manipulated to the point of being picked clean.

Turning to a family of lower social standing was also worrisome for the Empress Dowager and the Saint, lest they encounter some contemptible scoundrel more reliant on his spouse.

Unlike noble families whose numerous strict rules could also protect the interests of the main wife.

After all, those rules were well established, and sons of noble families grew up abiding by them; they inherently followed them rigorously.

The newly powerful were different, with no real family precepts to speak of; it was entirely a gamble on personal character.

Furthermore, those upstart families from the poorer strata really did seem too humble, and neither the Empress Dowager nor the Saint wanted to compromise their carefully nurtured child.

The mother and son found themselves in a dilemma, and for a time, Princess An Kang’s marriage became their greatest concern.

It was at this juncture that He Xi, the scoundrel son of the original family, appeared.

The He Family might not even qualify as a poor family, for they were downright destitute, but He Xi himself had much to offer.

Moreover, He Xi was raised by a widowed mother.

In any era, a woman who does not remarry after her husband’s death but suffers through bitter hardships to raise her three children alone, especially educating her eldest son to achieve success, commands respect.

Especially in ancient times, Ms. Hetian of the original family could truly be called a chaste and heroic woman, the epitome of the virtuous wife and good mother that mainstream society revered.

Being able to remain virtuous after her husband’s death absolutely qualified her as chaste.

Illiterate herself, yet capable of raising a sixteen-year-old Third place scholar, with the other two children also dutiful and well-behaved, surely made her a paragon of virtue.

Thus, in the public eye, the character and insight of the original Ms. Hetian were absolutely reliable.

Even the Saint and the Empress Dowager, upon hearing of the He Family’s story, couldn’t help but silently nod in approval.

But most crucially, Princess An Kang fell in love with He Xi at first sight.

The timid little white rabbit also happened to be keen on appearances.

No amount of conditions or concerns could outweigh Princess An Kang’s declaration of ”I like him”!

After thorough examination and several confirmations of the virtues of Ms. Hetian and her son He Xi, especially Ms. Hetian’s gentle and frail disposition,

Although she didn’t quite match the typical image of a widowed mother—either fierce or reclusive—the Empress Dowager was even more pleased.

Her granddaughter was also a fragile girl, so getting along with an equally frail mother-in-law shouldn’t be too difficult, right?

And besides, with Ms. Hetian’s poor health and advancing age, how long could she live?

The man she would truly spend her life with was her husband.

As long as He Xi treated An Kang well, and the young couple lived sweetly, giving birth to children in the future, An Kang’s life would be complete.

However, subsequent events proved that both the Empress Dowager and the Saint had been misjudged.

He Xi was nothing but a wolf in sheep’s clothing, a predator hiding his greed.

His kindness and righteousness, his cultured grace—all were deceptions.

He exploited the Royal Family’s affection and guilt towards An Kang to commit corruption, cling to powerful ministers, and frame the loyal and good.

He even colluded with the Hulu, framing his father-in-law Guo Hong, and personally fabricated evidence of Guo Hong’s treason.

Guo Hong’s deputy general was bought by He Xi, who reported false military intelligence, leading to the tragic demise of Guo Hong and his army of a hundred thousand on the battlefield.

The Guo family left in the Capital City didn’t meet a good end either: the men were executed or exiled, while the women were demoted to servitude.

Almost overnight, the grand Duke Wei Mansion toppled.

Stepping over the corpses of more than a hundred members of the Yue Family, He Xi reached the zenith of his power, becoming the Saint’s most favored minister.

If it were just the framing of Guo Hong, one could barely whitewash it with the political struggle between civil and military allegiances.

But later, He Xi’s treasonous acts became truly unforgivable.

With the Guo Family Army no longer securing the Northwest Border Defense, it was easily breached by the Hulu, who pushed all the way to the vicinity of the Capital City.

The Capital City was besieged, but its high walls and deep moats, protected by tens of thousands of Imperial Guard troops, could have held off the enemy temporarily, waiting for reinforcements.

But He Xi and other advocates for surrender chose to negotiate with the Hulu, secretly opening the gates and allowing them into the city.

In an instant, the nation fell, the Hulu rampaged, and the Daxia Dynasty nearly faced annihilation...