After keeping watch for so long, Empress Feng was exhausted. She let out a sigh, bent down, and slowly, little by little, stroked the Crown Prince’s face.
This face, when he was little, it had clearly been chubby and soft. No matter the occasion, he was always smiling.
So innocent and adorable.
When exactly had he started to change? When had he become cold-blooded and heartless, to the point that he could not even tolerate his own flesh and blood?
The Crown Prince did not open his eyes, as though he were sound asleep.
After sitting there for a while, Empress Feng rose and went to the Crown Princess’s palace.
The Crown Princess was currently bent over, embroidering a garment.
Hearing someone arrive, she quickly stood and bowed to Empress Feng.
Empress Feng waved her hand and looked curiously at the clothing in her hands. “Is this for Yunting?”
The Crown Princess gave a soft laugh, carrying both gentleness and melancholy. “As his mother, I’ve done far too little for him. I can only try to make up for it as much as possible, to make him feel a little better. No… rather, to make myself feel a little better.”
Xiao Yunting was the sort of person who never blamed others.
No matter what happened, he always looked for the cause within himself first.
Precisely because of that, the Crown Princess felt even more guilty toward him.
She had failed to protect her son. She had not had the ability to shelter him beneath her wings.
As a result, Xiao Yunting had been forced to fight and struggle through everything on his own.
Empress Feng took the garment and examined it. It was a tea-white piece of Shu embroidery, decorated with auspicious clouds and several stalks of green bamboo. She praised it. “It’s beautiful. Yunting will definitely like it.”
The Crown Princess smiled gently. “Royal Mother, have you come because something happened?”
The commotion in the front palace had been impossible to miss.
Ever since the incident involving Ruixiang, the Crown Princess had become extremely cautious.
She knew about the changes taking place ahead.
Everyone was changing.
Empress Feng looked somewhat dazed. After a long pause, she finally told her about the possibility that the Crown Prince had suffered a stroke.
The needle and thread in the Crown Princess’s hands never paused for even a moment.
When she heard the news, she even let out a faint, mocking laugh.
The sound left Empress Feng stunned.
In her memories, this daughter-in-law had always been gentle and obedient, never speaking out of turn.
She had never shown sharpness or temper.
Yet that slight laugh now carried an astonishing amount of resentment.
The Crown Princess did not avoid Empress Feng’s gaze. She met it directly and said lightly, “Royal Mother, he was angered by himself, wasn’t he? Yunting survived and was not killed by those ill-intentioned people, so he became furious out of humiliation.”
For a husband and wife to end up like this… They were worse off than her and Emperor Yongchang.
For a moment, Empress Feng had no response.
But she knew very well that the Crown Princess was not to blame. The Crown Prince himself had ruined everything.
After a pause, she sighed deeply and took the Crown Princess’s hand. “Don’t think too much about it. Yunting will be fine.”
From now on, Xiao Yunting was the only support they had left.
At the mention of her son, the smile on the Crown Princess’s face became much more genuine. “Yes. As long as Yunting is safe, I’m satisfied.”
Empress Feng said nothing more. Dragging her weary body, she went to see the Crown Prince once again.
Seeing that he was still unconscious and unresponsive, she let out a heavy sigh and returned to her Fengming Palace.
Inside the palace, Xie Gugu had been waiting for her for a long time.
The moment she saw her, she sighed softly. “Your Majesty has worked far too hard.”
Hard?
Empress Feng smiled faintly. “There is no one in this world who lives without hardship. Besides, compared to the past, how could I dare call this hardship?”
She sat down, took a sip of hot tea, exhaled, and then asked, “I heard the third young master of the Qi family has awakened?”
Feng Caiyin and Qi Changting were already engaged.
At first, Empress Feng had not approved.
After all, it concerned a young woman’s entire future.
But later, Feng Caiyin had said that what she valued was Qi Changting himself. No matter what condition he was in, she was willing to stay by his side.
In the end, Empress Feng had no choice but to agree.
Xie Gugu hurriedly corrected her. “It’s not that he woke up, it’s that he can walk now! Walk perfectly well, no different from a normal person. The eldest master and Miss Caiyin both went to see him personally and were so happy they hardly knew what to do.”
That truly was good news.
As someone of her own bloodline, Empress Feng naturally did not want her to marry a cripple.
The entire day had left her utterly exhausted. Forcing herself to stay awake, Empress Feng wrote a letter and instructed Xie Gugu to send it together with the others to Xiao Yunting. Only then did she drift into a drowsy sleep.
Unexpectedly, the next morning, she was awakened by urgent shouting.
Startled, her first thought was that something had happened to the Crown Prince.
After all, he had only suffered a stroke yesterday.
Could it be that he was already dying today?!
Alarmed, she immediately sat upright in bed.
But Xie Gugu hurriedly knelt beside her. “Your Majesty! Your Majesty! Don’t panic, don’t panic. Please listen to me first.”
Empress Feng took a deep breath.
That was right.
She should not panic.
Why panic?
She could handle it.
No matter what situation arose, she could endure it herself.
Closing her eyes briefly, she said, “Speak.”
Xie Gugu bit her lip and lowered her voice.
“Your Majesty… it’s… it’s His Majesty. He has favored a palace maid.”
…
Empress Feng froze.
What?
She had thought something had happened to the Crown Prince, which was why everyone was so frantic.
But the result was merely that Emperor Yongchang had slept with a palace maid?
How was that a major matter?
At her age, did they really think such a thing could shake her emotions or make her forget who she was?
She could not help laughing. “What kind of great matter is this? Is it worth all this fuss? Which palace maid was it? Has it been entered into the daily records yet?”
As Empress, she knew perfectly well how such matters should be handled.
What was there to be surprised about?
Xie Gugu opened her mouth and lowered her voice even further. “Your Majesty, it was… it was Furong from Prince Yongrong’s palace.”
Furong.
The palace maid who looked exactly like Noble Consort Xiao Liu.
This time, Empress Feng’s expression genuinely changed.
She could hardly believe it.
How could this be?!
How?
Previously, when Emperor Yongchang had seen Furong, he had shown no reaction whatsoever. He had even flown into a rage and declared that he would never allow anyone to replace Noble Consort Xiao Liu.
Could it be that a man’s promises were truly nothing but hot air, forgotten as soon as they were spoken?
Frowning, she asked coldly, “And now? What exactly does His Majesty intend?”
If he had merely slept with an ordinary palace maid, then any method of handling the matter would be acceptable.
But Furong was different.
She had to know the truth.
Xie Gugu’s face became even uglier. Looking at Empress Feng, she seemed unable to find the words to explain.
Want to show your support? Go donate at Paypal or Ko-fi to show your appreciation! Want to get early access to at least 10+ chapters in advance? Go to my Patreon to join now! :)
