Chapter 44 - Blackmail

Chu Yue did not manage to have her way. Whenever she came over, she always fell asleep very quickly. 

She was never able to wait until the monk fell asleep. 

He always waited out until she fell asleep before he went to sleep. 

The soup he gave her was a soup that could calm nerves. It had no side effects and even nourished the body, so it was only par for the course that it was good for someone with her body. 

Chu Yue was very upset. The relationships of couples developed according to stages. Her relationship with the monk had already progressed very far, but he was someone especially keen on obeying the rules. 

It was useless even if she threw a tantrum at him. But that night, she was so angry that she refused to go over. He then went to her at night and brought her to Longan Temple, so she ended up sleeping in the outer room once more. 

But Grandmaster Jingmian had seen her being carried away by the monk, and her eyes went wide while she covered her mouth. 

In the past, she would have immediately brought the abbess over to catch her red-handed. 

But she did not choose to do so now. Keeping the information to herself and selling it was much more valuable compared to catching the widow red-handed. 

Grandmaster Jingnian was incredibly excited and did not sleep the entire night. The next day, she wrote a letter and had it sent over. 

When Secondary Consort Li received it, she was so excited that she almost passed out. 

Even though they were certain that it was the truth from the start, they had never seen it happen. But now, the greedy nun said that she saw a monk coming to the residence of the imperial consort. It was the middle of the night, and he even carried her out!

Mrs. Feng was very worked up. "Secondary Consort, what should we do now? After His Highness married her, he did not even touch her, and he even chased her to Shangqing Temple the next day. Now that she did something like this, we can send someone over to check. She will not be able to deny it!"

As she spoke, another old maid came over to report that the wife of her uncle had come over. 

That woman was the sister-in-law of Secondary Consort Li's family. 

"Send her in," Secondary Consort Li said. 

Her sister-in-law came had come at the perfect time. She could discuss the events with her and come up with a plan that could allow her to topple this person without ruining her own reputation. 

The wife of the Li family's eldest son came in. She first gave a gift, then the two people exchanged pleasantries with each other. 

After some time, Secondary Consort Li broached the main topic, "You came at the perfect timing, Sister-in-law. I have something to ask of you."

"Secondary Consort, you're too polite. If I can help you as your sister-in-law, I'm duty bound to help you," said the wife of the Li family's eldest son with a smile. 

Once she heard what had happened, she was stunned. She did not expect that something like this would be possible.

She quickly lowered her voice and said, "Secondary Consort, you cannot speak carelessly about this matter. You must have proof. If this is just a blunder, we will end up dragging ourselves into trouble."

"Sister-in-law, I kept all the letters. There's no way that they are fake. This has just been sent not long ago. Sister-in-law, look." As Secondary Consort Li spoke, she handed over the letters for her sister-in-law to see. 

Once the wife of the Li family's eldest son finished reading, she was shocked. "Is there a discrepancy in this? She is the eldest legitimate daughter of the imperial chancellor. How could she do something like this?"

Secondary Consort Li told her about how Chu Yue's money was stolen by a maid and how she had no choice but to do something that would lower her status to earn money from the monk. 

The wife of the Li family's eldest son was shocked. "I-I didn't expect that the imperial chancellor's daughter would end up not obeying the ways of a married wife and choose to degrade herself like this."

The nuns in Shangqing Temple constantly did things in consideration of Shangqing Temple and had no grudges with the imperial consort of Prince Qin. There was no reason for them to create such a thing.

The descriptions in the letter also made it seem like they had seen it with their own eyes. This was truly shocking news. 

"Sister-in-law, how should I reveal this and make sure that it doesn't affect me?" Secondary Consort Li asked. 

The wife of the Li family's eldest son thought about it for a while before she said, "Secondary Consort, in truth, I came here today to give you a reminder from our mother. Would you like to listen to my suggestion?"

"Please speak, Sister-in-law," Secondary Consort Li said. 

"Pretend that you don't know this," said the wife of the Li family's eldest son. Her eyes were narrowed. 

Secondary Consort Li was stunned. "Pretend that I don't know? What do you mean?"

"Secondary Consort, I know that you want to topple her, but have you ever thought that even if she goes down, you will not be able to obtain the position of the primary consort?" asked the wife of the Li Family's eldest son. 

Secondary Consort Li might not have been able to accept it, but she knew that it was the truth. Forget that there was no such precedence in the Great Feng Dynasty, with just her family's power, she would not be able to take the position of Prince Qin's imperial consort. 

"The position of the primary consort is not fated to be in the Li family's hands, but if the primary consort leaves, another woman will take that position. It will be great if she is weak and useless, but what if she is skilled and has a strong background? You might end up being suppressed to the point that you cannot even walk around with dignity," said the wife of the Li family's eldest son. 

Secondary Consort Li smiled coldly. "I would like to see that!"

"Secondary Consort, don't speak out of anger. What is the point of trying? Don't cause trouble out of nothing," said the wife of the Li family's eldest son. 

"But Sister-in-law, she already did something like this. What right does she have to continue occupying the position of Prince Qin's legitimate consort?" Secondary Consort Li asked with a scowl. 

"It's precisely because she's shameful and useless. Even if she's in Prince Qin's mansion as the legitimate consort, who do you think will really hold the power to make the decisions?" asked the wife of the Li family's eldest son. 

Secondary Consort Li was stunned. 

"Secondary Consort, instead of having another primary consort enter the house and not knowing what sort of background and skills she has, it would be best to let the current one occupy this spot. 

"After all, whenever you want to deal with her, you can do so however you want. You have such great blackmail material in your hands, so she can only let you do whatever you want to her," the wife of the Li family's eldest son whispered. 

Secondary Consort Li looked at her sister-in-law. "Then what do you think I should do, sister-in-law?"

"Have the prince bring her back as soon as possible. We can't let her become pregnant for real," said the wife of the Li family's eldest son.

"I don't think it will happen. She has not become pregnant even after such a long time has passed. I think she drank birth control soup," Secondary Consort Li said. 

"You still have to try getting her back as soon as possible. Otherwise, what will happen if others learn of this?" asked the wife of the Li family's eldest son. 

"But His Highness really hates her. I mentioned her before, and judging by His Highness' words, he does not intend to bring her back at all," Secondary Consort Li said. 

When she said this, the frown that was originally on her face disappeared. 

Her sister-in-law was right. She had not noticed it before, but now that she thought about it, it would be great if that person occupied the position of the imperial consort. The prince did not like her, and her body was unclean. When she came back, she could only stay quietly, unable to turn the tides. 

Even if she had the position of the imperial consort, she did not have the power that came along with it. 

"Then you will have to persuade him, Secondary Consort. We cannot have her stay too long in Shangqing Temple. Also, make sure that the nun's mouth is sealed tightly," said the wife of the Li family's eldest son.