The Comeback of the Cannon-Fodder Supporting Actress

Chapter 190: Chapter 189: Slapping the Green Tea Empress Dowager 6

Helan Zhi and He Zhenyu were saddened that they were not the children their father had hoped for.

They were also saddened by the duplicity of Prince Kang.

It turns out, the father they had always admired was that kind of person.

They had always thought their father to be a real man of integrity, but he turned out to be a complete scoundrel.

Anning, seeing the children’s sadness and heartache but realizing they had not yet thought of the most important and fatal matters, gently reminded them.

”I am not someone trapped in love; if your father himself despised me, that wouldn’t break my heart. If he loved an ordinary woman, not the Empress Dowager, then I would rather divorce him and step down so that he could marry the one he loves. But the fact is, it’s the Empress Dowager.”

Anning’s complexion turned increasingly ugly as she spoke.

Her eyes were filled with fear and unease, her grip on Helan Zhi’s hand tightening as her whole body trembled slightly: ”His harboring those thoughts towards the Empress Dowager, and letting Your Majesty know, how could Your Majesty tolerate it? He is young now and can’t do anything to us, but one day, when he comes of age, every single one of us in Prince Kang Mansion will be annihilated.”

Anning’s words undoubtedly served as a reminder to the two children.

They grew up in Prince Mansion and had seen plenty.

Their birth mother was not one to spoil them; the children were learning everything they should.

Helan Zhi was being taught by several teachers, some to educate him in literature, others to train him in martial arts. Additionally, their birth mother once let Helan Zhi learn strategy from Prince Kang’s strategists, along with some worldly wisdom.

And Helan Zhi had been learning from her how to manage the household affairs.

She was taken along by their birth mother when she visited guests.

Moreover, their birth mother had also hired nannies from in the palace to teach Helan Zhi the ways of the inner house.

Both children were intelligent and worldly; they simply hadn’t thought of those things before, startled as they had been. But now that Anning had reminded them, they couldn’t help but contemplate.

They felt Anning was right, with many knowing the affair between Prince Kang and the Empress Dowager, including Your Majesty, His Majesty would inevitably not tolerate Prince Kang in the future.

The end for Prince Kang would not be a pleasant one.

And as children of Prince Kang, a bright future was not what awaited them.

It could be said that because of Prince Kang’s affair, they would inadvertently be doomed along with him.

Helan Zhi was also terrified and couldn’t help but ask Anning, ”Mother, could Father not have thought of this? He...”

Anning let out a cold laugh, ”As a housewife from the inner house, I can think of this, let alone him. He has merely been deceived by the Empress Dowager’s sweet talk, who told him to assist His Majesty well, and once His Majesty takes over the power, she would leave the Capital with him to live in seclusion elsewhere. For the sake of being with the Empress Dowager, he’ll give his best efforts.”

At this point, Anning bit her teeth in hatred: ”Your father has such beautiful dreams, thinking he and the Empress Dowager can leave together, but has he spared a thought for us? Once they leave, what are we to do? If the Empress Dowager runs off with him, wouldn’t all of His Majesty’s wrath be directed at us, mother and children?”

Helan Zhi was extremely frightened.

She clung tightly to Anning, ”Father, is he truly going to abandon us?”

Anning nodded, ”These past few years, I haven’t been idle. I manage the affairs of the inner house in Prince Mansion and naturally have ways to gather information. There are also people by your father’s side who are loyal to me. Some time ago, I planted someone in his study, and some in the palace, and that is how I came to know this news.”

”What should we do?”

He Zhenyu, though young, was more composed than Helan Zhi.

He was afraid, but now he was calm.

Anning seemed lost: ”At this moment, I don’t know what to do. One is the Regent King, who wields tremendous power, and the other is the current Empress Dowager; what can we do? But I cannot reconcile with this. What have we done wrong? We have always been kind to others, never harmed anyone; why should we take the blame for them? They committed the wrongs, why should we suffer the consequences?”

Holding Helan Zhi, she kept saying, ”Regent King, Regent King, it sounds good, but since ancient times, no Regent King who wanted to ascend to the throne had a good end. The all-powerful Ninth Thousand-year-old of the previous dynasty ended up being torn to pieces by five horses. During the Qi Dynasty, that Regent King was even more capable than your father, but in the end, had his grave dug up, his corpse whipped, and left in the wilderness.”

At this moment, He Zhenyu couldn’t stay calm either.

He had read historical records, and the struggles for royal power were etched in his mind.

Thinking back, how many influential figures had a good end?

And how many of their family members died well?

He clenched his fists, gritting his teeth, and said viciously, ”Why don’t we leave first, forget about father.”

Anning nodded in her heart.

She looked at He Zhenyu, assessing him in her mind.

This child was always smart and had a calm temperament; he could shoulder responsibilities, but the most important thing was his decisiveness and willingness to be ruthless.

In just a short time, he had analyzed the pros and cons, ready to cut ties with the Regent King to save his own life.

It seemed that when this child chose to be ruthless, he was truly ruthless ─ he had the right stuff to be an Emperor.

Anning hugged He Zhenyu, ”We can’t leave. Where could we go in this vast world? All the land under the Four Seas belongs to the emperor.”

”Mother, what should we do?”

At this moment, Helan Zhi also set aside her fear and started to carefully consider their escape plan.

Anning didn’t say what to do but brought up another matter, ”I received a message from my people in the palace, the Empress Dowager intends to select a new study companion for Your Majesty. She wants Yu’er to serve as the companion, but I don’t want him bullied in the palace, so I pretended to be ill and took you guys to the hot spring manor to avoid this situation.”

He Zhenyu understood Anning’s painstaking efforts.

Since His Majesty held a grudge against the Regent King but could do nothing about him, he would naturally vent his anger on others.

As the son of the Regent King, He Zhenyu would surely be mistreated by His Majesty once in the palace.

He would not be going to the palace to serve as a companion, but rather as a punching bag.

As the Heir of Prince Kang, naturally, he had his own pride. How could he bow down to serve and suffer humiliation?

”I won’t go,” he said gravely, ”I would rather fall ill myself.”

Anning sighed, ”Your father, he would sell you out to please the Empress Dowager. Not just Yu’er, but Zhi’er too... Although His Majesty is young, he is unwilling to let power slip away. He wants to rule personally, so he must marry young. To put your father at ease, he will eventually ask to marry Zhi’er. I’m afraid the Empress Dowager has already discussed this with your father, and he also agrees. He wants to ease the minds of His Majesty and the Empress Dowager by having Zhi’er enter the palace.”

There was not a hint of color in Helan Zhi’s face.

Emperor Jianwu, although an Emperor, was still just a child.

Helan Zhi didn’t care for him one bit.

And moreover, Helan Zhi absolutely did not want to enter the palace.

Anning struck another heavy blow, ”To confirm this matter, I talked to your father about your marriage the other day. I said you were getting older day by day and should start considering suitable matches. But your father said there was no rush and told me not to find anyone for you. He also said something about you having a great fortune in your future.”

”I won’t, I won’t enter the palace.”

Helan Zhi could not hold back any longer.

She started crying, ”Mother, I will not enter the palace, I would rather die than enter the palace.”