svetikya Chapter 49 The Empress
Chapter 49 The Empress
Pfft!
A loud bang.
Shen Shixi rushed over and found her father had fallen off the chair. "Dad, how old are you? What happened? How could you fall like that?"
Shen Xianzhang knelt on the ground, "Your subject pays respects to Consort Zhao! Consort Zhao, please allow me to say a few words..."
"I won't listen! Don't say anything! Why are you here?" She squatted down, looking at her father. "Hey, your beard! Xiao Yanzi, go get Lord Shen a mirror so he can see for himself how unkempt it is."
Shen Xianzhang was speechless with choked emotion!
Li Yuanke, after enduring it for a long time, finally came over. "Lord Shen, please rise!"
Shen Xianzhang dared not rise. "Your Majesty, I am guilty. I have failed in my duty to educate my daughter, raising her to be so arrogant and ignorant. I am truly ashamed before Your Majesty and have no right to serve as the Vice Minister of Rites!"
Shen Shixi was also quite helpless and had no choice but to kneel on the ground as well. "Father, what can't you say? If you don't get up, your daughter has to kneel. Why do you have to do this?"
Shen Xianzhang was so angry he was about to have a heart attack. "You're now a member of the imperial family, and I, your father, am a subject. I can't say anything to you! You...you...you...before you entered the palace, did you listen to a single word I said to you?"
"What did you say?" Seeing that his father was about to faint, Shen Shixi had no choice but to go over and support him. "Alright, Dad, I remember it all. It's just the usual talk of rulers and subjects, isn't it?"
"How dare you say that to me? I told you not to grow a beard, and I said it doesn't look good. My mother might not even like it, but it's hard to say..."
"You...you...you..." Shen Xianzhang lost all sense of propriety; his hand trembled as he pointed at her.
"Your Majesty, please forgive me! It is my fault. If Your Majesty wishes to kill or punish me, please forgive my crime. Consort Zhao is young and has not been by my side for many years, so she has not been properly raised and has become so... ignorant of manners. She is not disrespectful to Your Majesty!"
He had heard what the two of them were saying, and he never expected that his daughter would be with the Emperor so easily... Oh dear, where could he put his face!
Heavens above, please take me in!
Li Yuanke chuckled and said, "Please rise, Lord Shen!"
After saying that, he offered a helping hand.
Shen Shixi had no choice but to pull him up. "What did I do? How could I be so rebellious? Father, did you just hear something? Father, you shouldn't listen to what is improper. How could you listen to me and the Emperor..."
"Shut up! You...you...you...Oh my! I don't want to live anymore!" Shen Xianzhang was going crazy. He lifted his foot and walked out, forgetting all manners. He was so ashamed that he wanted to disappear.
He said his daughter was too young and shouldn't be sent to the palace, but what power did he have to disobey the imperial decree?
"What's wrong with me? Dad, don't rush off!" Shen Shixi grabbed her father's arm. "Did you bring my little donkey?"
Shen Xianzhang took a deep breath, forcing himself to calm down. "I've been too busy lately, and that donkey is moving too slowly. I instructed your second brother to bring it over for you today, but it probably hasn't arrived yet."
"He didn't ride here, did he? He's so fat and heavy!"
Shen Xianzhang, no longer wanting to acknowledge his daughter, said to the emperor, "Your Majesty, I have other matters to attend to and must take my leave now!"
The Emperor nodded. "Take care! Li Fude, see me off for me!"
That's quite a bit of dignity!
Shen Shixi followed him a few steps, and once they were outside the palace gates, Shen Xianzhang pitifully pleaded in a low voice,
"Xi'er, I beg you, not for the sake of the Shen family, but for your own sake, you must not act recklessly with the Emperor! Behave properly as a subject to the emperor, and as husband and wife! Please forgive me. I live in constant fear and anxiety, and I can't sleep soundly at night, for fear that something might happen to you."
"What talk of marital harmony? My daughter is just a concubine! As long as she pleases the Emperor, her mission is accomplished!"
Seeing Shen Xianzhang remain silent, Shen Shixi said, "Alright, Father, I will never implicate the Shen family. Please rest assured!"
Shen Shixi stroked her father's beard. "Father, don't grow your beard anymore. If you keep growing it, I'll anger the Emperor and end up in the Cold Palace."
Shen Xianzhang pulled at his beard and walked away without touching the ground.
[Oh my god, I finally got rid of my dad! Thank goodness we don't live together anymore, otherwise my ears would be ringing with worry. I hope he won't send my mom to the palace to nag me!]
Li Yuanke couldn't help but laugh, his hand trembled, and a smear of ink fell onto the memorial. This...
Li Fude was dumbfounded.
[My father is so old, and Li Yuanke still appointed him as Vice Minister of Rites. Wouldn't it be better for him to be teaching at the Imperial Academy? That bastard, he's got ulterior motives! I've made him my mortal enemy!]
She sighed.
Li Yuanke was so angry he wanted to curse. Anyone else would have been grateful to him, but this ungrateful wretch!
He waited a while, but Shen Shixi didn't appear, so he asked, "Where is Consort Zhao?"
Li Fude said, "Consort Zhao has already returned."
"She went back without coming to say goodbye to me?"
Li Fude was speechless. Who had any right to interfere? In all these years, he had never seen a concubine dare to hit the emperor.
The Queen has arrived.
"Your Majesty," the Empress said, noticing the Emperor had paused his writing, "Consort Zhao has been plagued by misfortune ever since she arrived at Qingyi Garden. I know Your Majesty doesn't believe in ghosts and spirits, but there are many in this world who do..."
"If the Empress has something to say, she may speak frankly!" The Emperor simply put down his pen and looked at the Empress with a half-smile.
Li Fude was terrified and wished he could disappear on the spot.
"Consort Qing and the others suggested that we invite some eminent monks to perform rituals for Consort Zhao. Firstly, to calm her mind, and secondly, if a person has courage, she will not attract misfortune or illness!"
"Is this Consort Qing's idea or the Empress's idea?" Li Yuanke's tone was calm, but Li Fude could hear the anger in it.
Good heavens! Consort Zhao is currently the apple of the Emperor's eye!
The emperor detested talk of ghosts and gods.
"This is indeed Consort Qing's intention!" The Empress knelt down in her anxiety. "Your Majesty, I also share this sentiment. It's all for Consort Zhao's sake."
"Since Consort Zhao entered Qingyi Garden, she was ill for about ten days. She finally recovered and spent a few days copying Buddhist scriptures for the late Emperor. Those were the only days she was healthy. Just after she finished, she almost had another accident. I was so afraid!"
"What are you afraid of?"
"Your Majesty, I'm afraid... Consort Zhao also said today that there's actually a thousand-year-old fox spirit living inside her, constantly bewitching her to seduce Your Majesty..."
"That's what she said?"
"Yes! Your Majesty, I wouldn't dare lie to you. She said it herself!"
Li Yuanke scoffed, "So, you believed it?"
The Empress said, "Your Majesty, this matter concerns Your Majesty's safety. I would rather believe it is true than not!"
The Emperor scrutinized the Empress, his gaze carrying an air of authority. "Consort Zhao is lively and mischievous, and I know her heart well. I don't believe her words, and neither should the Empress!"
Alright, Your Majesty, you may return! Tomorrow is the state banquet, and I have other matters to attend to!
That was it; everyone knew it was a test between them.
"Yes, Your Majesty, I shall take my leave!"
After leaving Qingyan Palace, the Empress could barely walk. Tingqin supported her, knowing that something was wrong, but dared not ask.
Willows sway gently, and a refreshing lake breeze blows.
The warbling trees stand on the north bank of Chenghu Lake, and behind them, the ancient trees of Wanshu Garden reach for the sky, making it exceptionally cool.
Seeing that Yuan Zhaoyue was about to avoid him, Wang Yuehuai realized it was too late and could only step forward and bow, saying, "Greetings to Consort Yuan!"
"Sit down! I heard that Her Majesty the Empress went to Qingyan Palace. I suppose it's to ask a high monk to perform a ritual for Consort Zhao? Do you think the Emperor will agree?" Yuan Zhaoyue's gloating was not too obvious.
Wang Yuehuai lowered her head and smiled, "I don't know. I have never served the Emperor in bed, so I have no way of knowing His Majesty's thoughts."
"You haven't served the emperor yet, so you can only blame Shen Shixi. She monopolizes the emperor's favor and doesn't give anyone a chance. Now, who in the palace doesn't hate her!" Yuan Zhaoyue said through gritted teeth.
Wang Yuehuai's heart skipped a beat. The palace maid beside her said, "Your Highness, it's time to drink your medicine. If you don't, it will get cold!"