Chapter 553: Chapter 230 My Son is a Treacherous Official (Part 6)
Ah!
He Tiantian had almost forgotten, there is still Cousin Tian.
Sixth Lady Tian was the youngest niece of Ms. Hetian from her maternal family and only fifteen years old this year.
It is often said that nieces resemble their aunts, and among the sisters, Sixth Lady Tian was the one who most resembled her Aunt Ms. Hetian.
Not only did she bear a resemblance in appearance, about sixty or seventy percent similar, but even her "weak and helpless" nature was extremely similar to that of her well-living youngest aunt.
In the original plot, Ms. Hetian, to distress her high-born daughter-in-law, starved herself and feigned illness, compelling the Princess An Kang to agree to let Sixth Lady Tian enter the family.
Initially, An Kang was unwilling, but she couldn’t withstand having an acting, drama-addicted evil mother-in-law.
She also had a pair of children, and to preserve this family, which wasn’t worth a bit of nostalgia, An Kang had to give up.
However, she didn’t expect that the arrival of Sixth Lady Tian would double the depth of her tragedy.
The He Family already had an affected, masterly actress as an old white lotus, and now there arrived a younger white lotus, superior in insidiousness; An Kang and her two children’s lives became extraordinarily difficult.
Especially since He Xi had successfully framed her father-in-law, Prince Consort Guo. Originally, He Xi, considering the affection between husband and wife, didn’t plan to ruthlessly purge his wife, An Kang.
Of course, primarily it was because the Saint was sympathetic to his niece and couldn’t bear to see An Kang hurt.
Just when An Kang, tormented by the evil mother-in-law and a toxic concubine, became physically weak, she had no choice but to retreat to a manor to recuperate.
He Xi then ordered that no one should tell An Kang about Prince Consort Guo’s and Duke Wei Mansion’s affairs.
Sixth Lady Tian didn’t know He Xi’s plans; she was just a superficial woman whose heart only cared about the domestic concerns of the inner house.
Hearing the news from outside, she immediately saw an opportunity—An Kang’s maternal home had fallen, so such a useless daughter-in-law should now be dismissed.
By divorcing An Kang, she could be promoted by her cousin, becoming his rightfully acknowledged wife.
Coming from the countryside, barely literate Sixth Lady Tian didn’t know the "laws of Daxia", and according to the legal regulations of Daxia, "a concubine cannot be made a wife."
By agreeing to become a concubine for her cousin, she had already cut off her path to becoming a legitimate wife.
Even if He Xi, blinded by passion, really promoted Sixth Lady Tian, once the news spread out, it would be severely punished by the law.
Both would be sentenced to exile, flogging, and after being flogged and exiled, their marriage would be directly declared invalid!
Therefore, slightly more respectable families would never promote a concubine to a wife.
Of course, He Xi was a treacherous official. After he framed the Yue Family and helped the Saint eliminate a major loyal thorn, the Saint would elevate and heavily rely on him.
But once He Xi dared to promote Sixth Lady Tian, it posed a hidden danger, becoming solid evidence when the time came for a reckoning.
In fact, in the original plot, Sixth Lady Tian intentionally ran to the manor and told Princess An Kang about the death of Prince Consort Guo and the raid on Duke Wei Mansion.
Princess An Kang was already bedridden, and upon hearing this terrible news, she immediately vomited blood and died that very night.
After the death of Princess An Kang, Ms. Hetian and Sixth Lady Tian, this duo of white lotuses together instigated He Xi, who, caught in a moment of heady success, actually agreed to make Sixth Lady Tian his legitimate wife.
Subsequently, "Wife" Sixth Lady attained status by association and became known as a First-rank Decree.
Although of ignoble origin, proper noblewomen were unwilling to associate or socialize with her.
But He Xi was in power, and as the "legitimate wife" of the first powerful minister, even if the legitimate wives from esteemed families despised interacting with Sixth Lady Tian, there were still some who would sleekly curry favor or, due to circumstances, felt compelled to ingratiate themselves with those visiting the He house to flatter.
For a time, Ms. Hetian and Sixth Lady Tian were quite a spectacle.
Unfortunately, the "good times" were short-lived.
The Hulu forces marched directly and besieged the Capital City; He Xi and others who advocated surrender opened the gates to invite raiding, shamelessly declaring the Hulu Young Prince as his adopted father, barely keeping the He Family safe and his life.
The entire Capital City was ruined by the Hulu invaders, and the Saint was coerced into signing a series of humiliating treaties.
But then, reinforcements arrived, and the Hulu had to retreat.
The Daxia Dynasty was ultimately not destroyed, but after suffering through this military calamity, it was in a precarious state.
The Saint was first frightened, then coerced, scared and angered in succession, already somewhat aged and frail, and following this ordeal, fell seriously ill.
Because the Saint had not appointed a Crown Prince, Princes plotted against each other for the throne, leading to assassinations.
After being devastated by the Hulu once, the Capital City faced one palace upheaval after another, causing relentless turmoil.
At last, the least prominent among the Princes, the Eight Prince, stood out and, unable to endure further shocks as he was about to breathe his last, the Saint decreed him the Crown Prince.