Shen Huaixu smiled, his expression entirely unruffled and completely unaffected by Empress Liang’s probing remarks. “Maternal Mother, this son came here specifically to check on you. Imperial Father’s condition has stabilized and is currently out of danger; realizing it has been many days since I last saw you, I wanted to come pay my respects. How has your health been today, Maternal Mother?”
Hearing these words, Empress Liang was naturally overjoyed. Even though there was a healthy mixture of truth and fabrication in her son’s explanation—and she knew full well he hadn’t visited her in ages—she missed him dearly in her heart and couldn’t be bothered to pick apart the sincerity of his statement.
In any case, the remark succeeded in flattering the Empress, leaving her beaming from ear to ear with a wide smile.
“Xuer is truly thoughtful. I know how heavily burdened you are with state affairs, yet you still carve out time to think of your mother. I am quite well; however, with your Imperial Father suddenly falling unconscious, I fear certain individuals are bound to stir up improper ambitions.”
Thinking of those restless, scheming imperial princes, a sharp, glacial gleam flashed across Empress Liang’s eyes.
Shen Huaixu, however, remained entirely unperturbed. Lifting his teacup, he casually spun it between his fingers, a profound, enigmatic glint in his gaze. “Maternal Mother need not worry. This son will naturally handle it.”
Watching the Crown Prince’s face, Empress Liang’s expression gradually softened. Indeed, my son is a man of grand strategies; he must already have a plan formulated in his mind. Yet a second later, a darker thought struck her: the assassination attempt the Crown Prince suffered on his return journey was surely tied to those very same rivals.
At that realization, a fierce, hidden hostility surged within Empress Liang’s eyes, though her regal, majestic composure returned instantly. “Of course your mother trusts you. But I heard you were ambushed by assassins on the way back—were you injured anywhere? Do you know who was behind it?”
“This son did not sustain any injuries, so Maternal Mother need not fret. As for the assassins, I will investigate the matter thoroughly.” Shen Huaixu’s tone remained cool and collected, radiating absolute self-assurance.
Seeing this, Empress Liang pressed no further. The Crown Prince had been clever since childhood, rarely giving her cause for worry, so her confidence in him was absolute.
Yet now that he was fully grown, the single issue that continually tested her patience was his marriage. Previously, every single candidate she selected for him was met with cold dismissal. To think that he had finally broken character and brought a young woman back of his own accord—it seemed high time to place his matrimonial prospects firmly on the agenda.
The Crown Prince was already nineteen, and next year he would reach the age of weak capping. The eldest imperial prince’s son could already walk on his own two feet, and even the fifth imperial prince, who was younger than him, had taken a wife last year. Yet the Crown Prince didn’t even have a single concubine by his side—what kind of scandalous precedent was that? His persistent indifference toward marriage had once driven Empress Liang to suspect whether something might be amiss with him physically.
For a crown prince to reach this age without a single heir was a grave taboo of the highest order!
Since he had already brought a lady back, however, it proved he wasn’t entirely averse to women. Arrangements for his marriage naturally needed to be fast-tracked.
A sudden thought striking her, Empress Liang bypassed any beating around the bush and directly broached the topic of Nanzhi: “Xuer, what rank do you intend to bestow upon that young lady you brought back?”
Before Shen Huaixu could reply, Empress Liang continued on her own terms: “Mother was thinking that given her humble background as the daughter of a minor official, bestowing the rank of Fengyi would be appropriate.”
The rank of Fengyi was the lowest tier among imperial consorts, sitting far below the ranks of Liangdi, Liangyuan, Chenghui, and Zhaoxun, with the title of Crown Princess sitting proudly at the very apex above them all.
Shen Huaixu’s pupils flickered slightly, and a frown tugged at his brow. In his estimation, making her a mere Fengyi would be doing her a grave injustice; although her lineage lacked aristocratic prestige, he had rarely felt such magnetic pull toward any individual and had no desire to shortchange her now.
He couldn’t muster the slightest speck of interest for any other woman, and part of him even wanted to install her straight into the seat of Crown Princess. Yet he knew he couldn’t rush this; his maternal mother would never agree to such a leap right out of the gate. For now, he would settle for initially granting her the rank of Liangdi.
Weighing his words carefully, Shen Huaixu deliberately hardened his tone and stated bluntly: “Maternal Mother, this son wishes to make her the Crown Princess.”
“What?! Xuer, have you lost your mind?!” Empress Liang was so startled she nearly knocked over the teacup resting beside her. Shock ripped across her features, entirely incredulous at what her ears had just captured.
“Did you just say Crown Princess? Mother does not agree!”
That girl came from a dirt-poor background; allowing her to enter as a mere Fengyi was already a major concession made purely out of love for her son. To dream of ascending to the position of Crown Princess with that kind of pedigree? It was pure, unadulterated lunacy!
The position of Crown Princess was not something just anyone could hold; she would never, under any circumstances, agree to it!
Empress Liang’s expression turned grim, her brows locked in a tight knot as she stared unblinkingly at Shen Huaixu, trying to glean even a hint of a joke from his face. But the Crown Prince’s deadpan expression told her clearly that this was no jest.
“Xuer, this will not do. Surely you understand that her background offers you zero political advantage—she is completely unqualified to be Crown Princess!”
Shen Huaixu had anticipated Empress Liang’s reaction long in advance. Far from panicking, he remained entirely unhurried, sitting poise-filled in his chair with enough leisure to lift his teacup and take a slow sip.
“The tea here at Maternal Mother’s palace is, as always, quite exceptional.” Setting the teacup down on the table with deliberate slowness, Shen Huaixu spoke in an even, tranquil tone: “Maternal Mother, this son is fond of her. If Maternal Mother is unwilling to permit this, then this son is quite content never to take a wife at all.”
Born into the imperial family and serving as the crown prince, he knew full well that the status of a crown prince consort could not afford to be low. He understood that reality intimately.
In the royal house, what room was there to speak of genuine affection? The choice of a crown prince consort was inevitably a calculated transaction hammered out through the cold weighing of pros and cons.
Before he crossed paths with Nanzhi, he had indeed operated under that exact mindset. Yet now, a sudden, stubborn possessiveness had taken root within him, making him thoroughly averse to letting anyone else occupy that title.
Noticing Empress Liang’s deeply displeased countenance, Shen Huaixu softened his tone slightly and pressed on: “Maternal Mother, it is a rare thing for this son to encounter a woman who truly suits my heart; naturally, I have no wish to wrong her.”
Empress Liang knew deep down that the Crown Prince was a man of stubborn, unyielding resolve. If she pushed him too far against his grain, he might genuinely follow through on his threat of bachelorhood. At the same time, she had no intention of caving so easily.
“Xuer, if you truly fancy her that much, make her a Liangdi. As for the matter of the Crown Princess, do not speak of it again.”
Even granting her the rank of Liangdi, she reasoned, was still an immense stroke of undeserved good fortune for a girl of that caliber.
Though Empress Liang felt a lingering reluctance, she knew that offering anything lower might cause the Crown Prince to dig his heels in. She understood his temperament well; if she didn’t give a little today, he wouldn’t let the matter rest.
This exact concession was precisely what Shen Huaixu had been waiting for. As for the title of Crown Princess, there was no need to rush—he would carefully map out a path for her down the line. He had given his word that he would never shortchange her.
Feigning a reluctant, furrowed frown, he hesitated for a moment before replying with a semblance of compromise: “Very well, this son will defer to Maternal Mother’s wishes.”
Seeing that he hadn’t flat-out rejected the counter-offer, Empress Liang breathed an inner sigh of relief, terrified that he might double down and stubbornly demand the primary seat. At the end of the day, a Liangdi is nothing more than a concubine. If he likes her, let him keep her around; as long as it isn’t the position of Crown Princess, what harm is there in tossing him a Liangdi?
Lifting her eyelids and eager to lock in the agreement before he could change his mind and stubbornly demand the crown princess seat once more, Empress Liang asked with a final streak of nervous suspicion: “Crown Prince, have you thought this through?”
Lowering his gaze, a cool, aristocratic smile touched the corners of Shen Huaixu’s mouth as he answered: “This son has naturally thought it through. I ask Maternal Mother to issue the formal imperial edict.”
Empress Liang massaged her temples and exhaled a long breath of fatigue. “Very well, mother understands.”
“However, Xuer, you have acted rather willfully this time. As the heir apparent, your every word and action serves as a standard for the realm; you must never hand others a weapon to use against you, nor can you ever allow yourself to be ruled by mere sentiment.”
“As for the selection of the Crown Princess, mother will personally screen candidates for you with the utmost care. Your Eastern Palace has been far too quiet in any case; mother has selected a few suitable young ladies to accompany you and will have Lin Quan send them over to your quarters.”
Lowering his eyelids once more, a dark, calculating glimmer flashed across Shen Huaixu’s eyes. This time, he didn’t bother objecting. They were merely a handful of inconsequential pawns; since Maternal Mother had taken a step back and compromised today, it was only proper for him to play along and soothe her ruffled feathers. As for whether those women would ever receive so much as a sideways glance once they crossed into his domain—that would entirely depend on his discretion.
The matter of the Crown Princess could wait; he would quietly engineer a way to force Maternal Mother’s hand in due time.
“This son will obey Maternal Mother’s arrangements.”