There were already few eunuchs and palace maids in the Emperor’s bedchamber, and now several more withdrew.
“The imperial doctor said His Majesty needs peace and quiet to recuperate, and Her Majesty the Empress has also gone to rest.”
“Her Majesty really should get some proper rest.”
Several eunuchs outside the hall whispered to one another.
Seeing people coming out, a few eunuchs standing on the other side frowned.
“Why did you come out?” one of them asked.
“The imperial doctor is inside,” said the one who had exited, sounding rather unconcerned. “Don’t worry. Right now, the Empress can’t even step out of this hall.”
Two palace maids closed the hall doors and nodded to the Empress.
“Lady Cheng, do you even understand what you’re saying?”
Only then did the Empress lower her voice, though she was still visibly angry as she spoke to Cheng Jiao-niang. “Adoption! You really dare to suggest that!”
She paced back and forth.
“The imperial line will fall into the hands of another branch!”
“That’s not what adoption means,” Cheng Jiao-niang interrupted with a shake of her head. “Adoption is for continuing the ancestral line – how would that make the imperial line fall to another branch?”
She even gave a small smile as she said this.
“If he isn’t adopted, then the imperial line truly will fall into other hands.”
Even Prince Ping, who was clear-minded, managed to bring the realm to ruin. If it were Prince Qing, whose mind is unsound, the dynasty probably wouldn’t even last forty-five years on the throne.
The Empress stopped pacing and looked at her.
“Ancestral line?” she said. “If His Majesty had no children, that would be one thing. But His Majesty does still have an heir. You mention Jia Nanfeng, you mention Emperor Hui – why did Emperor Wu insist on passing the throne to him even though he knew his son was a fool? Because that was his own child, his own bloodline, the continuation of his ancestral incense!”
“An adopted son can continue it too,” Cheng Jiao-niang said.
“An adopted son can also bring about a Puyi-style dispute over legitimacy,” the Empress said through gritted teeth, furious. “I do not want His Majesty to share his ancestral line with another. I do not want to stand before the prime minister and all the officials weeping. If we do something like this, how could I face the ancestors? How could I face the entire realm? I would rather accompany His Majesty in life and death as husband and wife than bear such infamy.”
Cheng Jiao-niang looked at her.
“That infamy does not fall on Empress Dowager Cao,” she said.
That infamy was borne by the emperor and the ministers who carried out such things.
The Empress froze for a moment.
“In any case, absolutely not!” she said, flicking her sleeve. “Whoever else wants to bring it up can do so, but I will never utter such a thing.”
“This sort of matter… only the Empress can bring it up,” Cheng Jiao-niang said. “The ministers – it wouldn’t be proper for them to speak first.”
The ministers – it wouldn’t be proper for them to speak first.
The Empress looked at Cheng Jiao-niang.
She had said wouldn’t be proper to speak first, not cannot speak. Which meant…
Heavy footsteps sounded outside the doors.
“Your Majesty,” a palace maid called from outside.
Before the words were even finished, the curtain was lifted.
Seeing the eunuch who burst in, the Empress’s face instantly went ashen.
“How dare you!” she shouted.
The eunuch did not look afraid. Instead, he offered a proper bow.
“Her Majesty the Empress Dowager asks whether Lady Cheng believes His Majesty’s illness can be cured – or at least eased,” he said.
Barging into the Empress’s resting quarters without permission and even bypassing her to ask questions – no wonder the Empress’s expression was dark, tinged with humiliation as well.
Cheng Jiao-niang glanced at the Empress.
“To answer Her Majesty: it cannot,” she said.
“If it cannot, then please leave the palace, my lady,” the eunuch replied.
Cheng Jiao-niang answered with a respectful “yes,” then saluted the Empress.
“Your Majesty, take care,” she said softly. “You’ve recovered this much already; it would be a pity to let everything unravel now. You must still take the medicine that needs to be taken.”
The eunuch frowned, his gaze sweeping back and forth between Cheng Jiao-niang and the Empress.
Just then, a palace maid entered with a bowl of medicine at precisely the right moment.
“Your Majesty…” she said tearfully.
…
“The Empress stopped taking her medicine?” the Empress Dowager asked.
The eunuch nodded.
“Lady Cheng examined her and persuaded Her Majesty to continue taking it,” he said.
The Empress Dowager let out a cold snort.
“Putting on a show for whom? If she wants to die, then let her die,” she said, her voice filled with disdain and disgust. “What’s the rush? It’s bound to happen sooner or later.”
No one dared respond; the eunuchs all lowered their heads.
“Has she been sent out?” the Empress Dowager asked again.
The eunuch answered at once.
“We servants escorted her out personally,” he said.
The Empress Dowager nodded, reassured. Then she angrily slapped the armrest beside her.
“Chen Shao! That brat! He infuriates me!”
…
The palace doors were shut. It seemed the Empress had exhausted all her strength, for she leaned limply against the couch with her eyes closed.
A figure peeked out from behind the nearby curtain, glancing left and right before stepping forward.
“Your Majesty,” Consort An knelt beside the Empress’s couch, lifting her sleeve to cover her face as she wept.
“Enough now. I am not dead yet,” the Empress said calmly, eyes still closed.
Consort An immediately stopped crying. There were no tears in her eyes as she lifted her head to look at the Empress, then glanced around once more.
“What are you looking at? Speak if you have something to say. I have not yet reached a state where I dare not speak or listen,” the Empress added, still without opening her eyes.
Consort An forced a smile and shuffled forward on her knees.
“Your Majesty, what did Lady Cheng say?” she asked.
The Empress let out a light laugh, opened her eyes, but frowned at the sight of Consort An before she could speak.
“Could you at least pretend to take your ‘suicide attempt’ seriously? At the very least, leave a red mark on your neck?” she remarked. “And if you claim to be on a hunger strike, could you wipe the pastry crumbs from the corner of your mouth?”
Consort An smiled awkwardly, hurriedly lifting her sleeve to clean her lips.
“But I came to see Your Majesty – I didn’t worry about being seen here,” she replied.
The Empress looked at her.
“Sometimes I truly don’t understand you,” she said. “Are you incredibly bold, or just incredibly foolish?”
A youthful, lovely smile graced Consort An’s face.
“I am foolish indeed – and far from brave,” she said. “I am truly frightened. If His Majesty and Your Majesty were to perish, I would die as well.”
The Empress snorted a laugh.
“So, you still plan to die after me, then?” she remarked.
“That is why Your Majesty must take great care of yourself,” Consort An replied with an awkward smile.
Perhaps only someone like her could be entrusted with this scheme against the Imperial Consort.
Really…
The Empress pressed her fingers to her forehead, let out a breath, and sat up. Not a trace of her earlier anger, panic, or unease remained on her face.
“Lady Cheng naturally said what needed to be said,” she declared. “She is clever. She knew what to say and understood what I wished to hear.”
Consort An frowned, failing to grasp her meaning.
“When clever people speak, they say exactly what the other party wishes to hear,” the Empress explained.
Consort An understood now.
“Then, Your Majesty, did she know you already had a plan in mind?” she pressed anxiously. “Is that why she spoke in line with your intentions? But… what was she really thinking? Surely she wasn’t just flattering you?”
“Of course not. She and I understand each other perfectly,” the Empress replied.
If I hadn’t known her intentions, I wouldn’t have summoned her.
If she hadn’t known mine, she wouldn’t have entered the palace.
A terminal illness, after all – and not mine alone.
Now that everyone’s views have aligned, the path forward is clear.
“Your Majesty, let’s hope our luck is better this time,” Consort An muttered, kneeling and resting her hands on her knees.
Last time, their scheme had been so well planned, and everything seemed to fall perfectly into place. Who could have foreseen that Prince Ping would be struck by lightning, or that the Emperor would faint from rage? All their efforts were wasted, and they were caught completely unprepared.
“Your Majesty, I wonder which courtier she meant when she mentioned ‘the official’?” Consort An couldn’t help whispering again. “Will it work out when the time comes?”
Whether it would work or not, it had to be done.
The Empress rose to her feet.
“My luck has always been good,” she said. “Besides, we’ve already done so much. We cannot afford to fail now.”
At this point, they were facing death regardless. It was better to take one more gamble – under no circumstances could they stand by and watch a fool ascend the throne, the Empress Dowager assume regency, and the Gao family seize power.
Either the fool could ascend, but without the Empress Dowager – leaving the regency to her, the Empress.
Or there could be an Empress Dowager, but the fool must not ascend.
Now that removing the Empress Dowager was no longer possible, the only option left was to replace the heir to the throne.
The Empress took a deep breath and clenched her fists.
Upon hearing that Cheng Jiao-niang had returned, Zhou Fu let out a sigh of relief. He glanced into the courtyard, where the setting sun cast its glow over a scene of bustling chaos.
“…This way, pack this over here…”
“…If it doesn’t fit, don’t bring it… just leave it there, we won’t need it…”
Master Zhou stood amid the disorder, overseeing the servants and maids as they hurriedly loaded the carriages.
“Father, Father, there’s no need to leave anymore,” Zhou Fu stepped forward and said to him.
Master Zhou turned to look at him.
“Jiao-niang is back,” Zhou Fu announced.
Lamps were lit in the room. After listening to the servants and scholars, Master Zhou’s expression turned complicated.
“Chancellor Chen actually dared to force the Empress Dowager to expel Gao Lingjun and forbid her from attending court behind the screen – he truly has the nerve,” he murmured. “And he even cited the example of Yang Jian. With this, Gao Lingjun really has no choice but to leave the court.”
“But with Chancellor Chen acting this way, he is inevitably inviting comparisons to Cao Cao,” a scholar remarked.
“So what?” Master Zhou replied. “To prevent him from repeating the story of Cao Cao, court officials will rush to act as loyal ministers and compete to protect the orphaned ruler. After all, the infamy of establishing a successor, assisting in governance, and forcing the palace has been shouldered by two individuals. The remaining officials can then comfortably serve as upright ministers supporting the young ruler. Who would refuse such a reputation for leaving a clean name in history for generations to come? Chancellor Chen…”
As he spoke, he nodded slowly.
“To secure the throne for the Emperor’s heirs, he is willing to bear the infamy and eliminate potential threats, living up to the Emperor’s deep trust.”
“If it were me, I could never do it.”
Everyone in the room nodded, their expressions filled with a touch of emotion.
“But–” Master Zhou jolted upright again. “This has nothing to do with us. The fact that Jiao-niang was released clearly shows that the Empress Dowager and the Gao family are temporarily too preoccupied to deal with her. Establishing an heir, attending court behind the screen, and assisting in governance are the urgent matters now. That doesn’t mean she’s out of danger. Once the succession and regency are settled, she will still face punishment.”
As he spoke, he hurriedly stood up.
“Hurry and pack our belongings. We must leave the city overnight and return to Shan-zhou.”
Zhou Fu quickly rose and grabbed his father’s sleeve.
“Father,” he called out. “That may not be certain.”
Master Zhou looked at him.
“What do you mean, not certain?” he asked.
“Whether she will still be punished,” Zhou Fu said slowly, looking at his father, “once the succession and regency are settled.”
Whether she still be punished after the heir is established…
Master Zhou stared at his son, feeling a roar in his head.
“Have you forgotten who initiated the matchmaking, who started this entire affair in the first place?”
It was Prince Ping!
“So it seems this matter cannot be left unresolved.”
Resolving it would be easy – only the price would be the family’s future.
“But that is merely a trivial matter.”
Yes, what once seemed an unsolvable problem had indeed become trivial – a matter settled once and for all.
Could it be that even a Prince Ping was not enough to end this?
Master Zhou began to tremble uncontrollably.
Mother, do you see it now? That granddaughter you so devotedly raised and protected – what kind of monster has she truly become!
