“Get rid of her? How—by killing her?!”
He was angry too, his eyes blazing as he looked at her.
Empress Zhang said nothing—and her silence was an admission.
Indeed, killing a defenseless young woman was a perfectly normal solution to her, someone who had long grown accustomed to cruelty and bloodshed.
Xiao Fusu laughed bitterly in his rage. “You make it sound so easy, Mother—she is still a human being with a life of her own.”
“Why—are you reluctant?”
Empress Zhang studied him closely, finally realizing his feelings for the girl were far from ordinary.
“You’ve only known her a day, and already you’ve been bewitched by that scheming woman?”
She frowned deeply, thinking to herself that it was fortunate she had discovered this early. If the girl and her Fusu were to become intimate, it would be too late to reverse course.
“It’s not like that,” Xiao Fusu said dismissively, his eyes showing clear impatience.
“I merely ask a few questions, and you grow irritable? If you have nothing to hide, why do you avoid my gaze and refuse to speak of her?”
Now that they had broached the topic, she did not hold back, her face cold as she accused him. “Do you even know who she is? Where she comes from? You know nothing about her, yet you dared to let her stay the night in the Eastern Palace! Have you no fear that she is part of a honey trap set by Xiao Keyu to take revenge? You’ve clearly been blinded by her looks!”
“Lin Lin is not like that—not like how you describe her.”
He spoke dejectedly in her defense, even as he knew his words carried little weight.
He did not know her well enough, and even though he trusted her character, he could not shake the fear that his mother might be right. That was why he had not dared to ask about her background—he was afraid that once he did, everything between them would be over.
“Who is she then? How can you be so sure? You’ve only known her one day!”
Empress Zhang looked at him, her eyes tinged with mockery. She marveled that despite growing up in the palace, he could still be so naive and trust others so easily.
“I suspect I know more about her than you do!”
As a woman herself, she understood that any woman who deliberately approached a man must have ulterior motives.
But her Fusu was still young and inexperienced with women—he did not understand them well enough, which was why he could be so easily charmed by a woman who seemed simple and harmless.
“…”
Xiao Fusu said nothing. While he could not bring himself to believe all his mother said, he could not ignore it entirely either.
No matter how ruthless she might be, she would never harm him—he was her only son, the one she had relied on through everything.
Could it be that Lin Lin really was…
He furrowed his brow, but forced himself not to dwell on the worst possibilities.
“…I suppose I’ve been too busy lately and neglected your marriage. You’re seventeen now—soon you’ll reach the age of majority. It’s not proper for you to have no one by your side. We should find you a suitable noble lady to be your Crown Princess. Once you’re married, you’ll settle down and stop running around with those reckless officials, doing foolish things!”
Seeing his hesitant expression, Empress Zhang sighed and rubbed her forehead in frustration.
“When the time is right, I’ll speak to the Emperor about arranging your marriage—finding you a Crown Princess and selecting concubines for you as well!”
If she filled his life with beautiful, well-bred young women, he would soon forget this fleeting infatuation.
She believed this was the best solution. Moreover, Fusu was indeed of age—marrying early and forming alliances with powerful families would only strengthen his position as Crown Prince.
From every perspective, establishing a Crown Princess was beneficial and necessary.
Yet Xiao Fusu felt no joy at the thought of settling down as expected.
“Mother!”
A hint of panic flashed in his eyes.
“Is it not good to marry and have children early? It would mean you’ve truly become a man. Giving the Emperor a grandson sooner would make him favor you more, and put my mind at ease.”
Empress Zhang chided him gently.
Xiao Fusu hated this—having his life arranged for him like a chess piece. Whether it was being Crown Prince or marrying a Crown Princess, even with all his high status, he could not escape the curse of his fate.
But he had no choice but to accept it. No matter how much he resented it, he could not defy imperial authority.
Like a dark cloud, this realization hung heavy over his hidden heart, filling him with deep, helpless sorrow.
Her next words struck directly at the part of his heart he most wanted to avoid.
“You know as well as I do that there can be no future for you two. Even if she came from a clean, unblemished family, you still could not be husband and wife. You are Crown Prince—future Emperor. Do you think she could ever be Empress?”
A sharp pain pierced his heart, leaving him unable to argue.
“Even if she were willing to be your concubine—or even stay by your side without status—a weak woman with no background or connections could never survive in the palace. The more you favor her, the more she would become a target for every scheme and plot. Can you truly guarantee you could protect her? Or that what you give her is what she truly wants? Don’t let your affection end up destroying her instead.”
Empress Zhang looked at him, then took his hand in hers, her tone softening as she tried to reason with him patiently. “The woman who stands by your side openly must be virtuous and capable—someone from a noble family who can help you secure the throne. Without matching status, even if things seem peaceful at first, troubles will arise later. You two are destined to be apart—you cannot find happiness together. Do you want her to face scorn, slander, and plots against her in the future because of the gap between your positions? Besides, your father is still Emperor—he will never allow you to continue associating with a woman of unknown origin. If you do not make a clean break now, you will only suffer more later. This is for your own good. It would be better to end things decisively, free yourself from this pain, and return to the path you are meant to take as Crown Prince. Is that not better?”
Xiao Fusu’s heart ached. Even though he knew his mother spoke the truth, he was still unwilling to accept it.
He did not want to bow to fate so soon—indeed, he feared neither losing his position as Crown Prince nor death itself.
But Lin Lin…
He did not want to drag her into this cruel, bloody world or stain her with its darkness.
“Mother was not born into a noble family matching the Emperor’s status either, yet you rose to become Empress. Without you, the Crown Prince’s position would still belong to Xiao Keyu today.”
His voice was sharp with mockery as he looked at her coldly, unconsciously wanting to provoke her.
Even though he understood her words were true—and that he was still too weak to pursue what he truly wanted—he could not accept her deep-seated prejudice against those of lower status.
Regardless of birth, wealth, or rank, a person’s fate should be in their own hands. If one cannot even respect themselves, then even with high status, they are nothing more than empty shells.
It was absurd that she, who had climbed her way up from the bottom, now looked down on those who reminded her of her former self.
He did not believe that the happiness his mother pursued so fiercely was true happiness.
Happiness should be beautiful and freeing—not like hers, filled with greed and constant fear of falling from grace.
Such fragile happiness, always at risk of being lost or taken away, was not true happiness at all.
In fact, they had never truly possessed the happiness they dreamed of—not even the simple, pure joy of a common family’s daily life.
The people of the palace were the poorest and most pitiful of all—their hearts empty and barren.
He was no exception. They were all just poor souls in the end.