“What happened?” Chu Ze asked, genuinely curious who had done it.
Consort Wan cried even more uncontrollably, gasping for air. “Your Majesty, the empress punished me in front of everyone! You must take my side!”
She grabbed at the emperor’s robes, curling her body as if she had suffered the gravest injustice.
The empress?
Chu Ze’s brow twitched in surprise. The empress he knew, though devious and often up to no good, always maintained a pretentious decorum.
“Why did the empress punish you?”
“Your Majesty, you know me—I speak frankly. Since you let Consort De manage the six palaces, naturally the concubines had to pay respects. I just spoke casually, and the empress flew into a rage. She herself made the mistake but chose to vent her anger on me!”
Her words subtly shifted all the blame to the empress while letting the emperor know the empress, having lost her control over the palace, was deeply resentful.
Chu Ze’s eyes darkened, inscrutable. “The empress bears resentment toward me, then.”
No wonder she’d been acting strangely lately—and even sent the Phoenix Seal over directly. She must hate him, the emperor, to her very core.
If she hadn’t committed so many faults, she wouldn’t dare turn around and blame him.
Consort Wan, noticing the emperor’s displeasure, felt triumphant. That was exactly the effect she wanted.
She pressed on, taking advantage of the moment.
“Your Majesty, she even said that, because her health is weak, she handed the Phoenix Seal to you, and you let Consort De manage the six palaces. She said you intended to depose her, that Consort De would replace her, and that the six palaces only recognized the Phoenix Seal, not the empress herself.”
Consort Wan had a good memory, recalling every word the empress had said.
Before she could catch her breath, a tremor passed through the hall.
The emperor’s face darkened like iron. His palm slammed onto the table; his thumb, adorned with a white jade ring, struck the brush holder, scattering all the brushes.
Startled by the sudden movement, Consort Wan’s breath hitched, and she ducked low.
Once she recovered, a thrill ran through her.
The empress was finished!
Chief Li, Li Sheng, saw the emperor’s fury but stayed silent, understanding the situation. He stepped forward, rearranging the brush holder while speaking.
“Consort Wan, you should let the imperial physician examine your face soon, to avoid scars.”
Sensible advice. It was time to leave.
Consort Wan was no fool; her objective had been achieved. There was no need to endure the emperor’s anger here. She bowed, retreating as gracefully as possible.
The emperor did not stop her. Once she had left, Li Sheng tried to soothe matters.
“Your Majesty, perhaps the empress merely acted out of anger and spoke rashly, not intending offense.”
The empress had indeed erred, but harmony between emperor and empress ensured peace.
A cold smile curved Chu Ze’s lips. Then he raised his hand. “Remove Consort Wan’s night-service token for three months.”
She was truly foolish—completely unbearable.
Li Sheng was taken aback, hastily agreeing. Wait—weren’t they just talking about the empress? Did the emperor mean this was for her own good, to let her recover? Yet his expression didn’t quite match that interpretation…
“Have all the concubines gone to Chuxiu Palace?” Chu Ze asked suddenly, shifting the topic to palace affairs.
Li Sheng thought a moment. “Few went to Kunning Palace today. Indeed, some visited Consort De.”
Now that Consort De controlled the palaces, the perceptive concubines knew where to curry favor—and whom to avoid.
Chu Ze’s gaze darkened, lingering on the Phoenix Seal. “The concubines recognize the Phoenix Seal, not the empress. Does this mean they recognize the jade seal, but not me, the emperor?”
His voice was low, but the chill in it spread through the hall.
Li Sheng seemed to realize something, his face changing as his heart skipped a beat. He hurriedly knelt.
Of course.
As emperor, this was exactly what he feared.
He didn’t know whether the empress had said those words deliberately—or absentmindedly.
But judging by her character, she probably hadn’t plotted such a large scheme.
Chu Ze agreed—the empress wasn’t that clever.
Yet, while he disliked the empress, he loathed this kind of palace politics even more.
And he hadn’t even spoken of deposing her, yet the concubines were already scheming, splitting their petitions into factions.
At least the Hua family behaved properly, neither pleading nor fussing, which brought him some comfort.
With that thought, Chu Ze’s anger eased. “Have the evidences been found?”
He referred to the matter of Concubine Rong’s pregnancy.
Rong Zhao Yi was three months pregnant but suffered sudden abdominal pain, nearly losing her child. Investigation revealed it could be due to medication—or perhaps interference by the empress.
“Your Majesty, the only one assigned by the empress was the midwife, supposedly at her instruction. Aside from advising Rong Zhao Yi on diet, the empress did not personally attend her. The red flowers and maternity medicine were not handled by her. Perhaps the empress had nothing to do with this incident,” Li Sheng explained.
Rong Zhao Yi was favored by the emperor and currently pregnant—a matter of great importance.
If evidence confirmed the empress’s involvement, the crime of harming the heir would be irredeemable.
“Even if this matter isn’t her doing, she still meddled. No one can blame others,” Li Sheng added.
Chu Ze did not believe the empress was innocent—perhaps she simply hadn’t acted in time.
He toyed with the jade pendant at his waist, the smooth cool surface grounding him.
For some reason, an image from last night flashed through his mind: the empress rising from the bath.
A shock ran through him, as if scalded, and he forced the memory away.
Why recall this now?
It must be because lately, he often visited Rong’er, and she was now pregnant, unable to attend to him properly.
Thinking this, Chu Ze adjusted his robes and strode outside. “Go to Qixiang Hall.”
Li Sheng hurried after him. Qixiang Hall was Consort Shu’s residence—whenever the emperor was troubled, she was the first he sought.
Everyone in the palace knew that Consort Shu was his confidante, the one who understood his heart best.
The summer heat was intense, and Hua Shu bathed daily.
Since the emperor forbade her from using milk, she used pearl powder and flower petals for skincare.
When it came to maintaining her appearance, Hua Shu was more diligent than anyone.
She could meticulously dress for others, or simply for her own pleasure.
“Master, Consort Wan indeed went to Qianqing Palace, presumably to complain,” Wen Momo said upon entering.
That didn’t surprise anyone.
“However, His Majesty went to Qixiang Hall. I also heard he revoked Consort Wan’s night-service token,” she added, astonished.
The emperor hadn’t come to admonish her, but went to Consort Shu’s residence instead.
He hadn’t comforted Consort Wan, simply revoked her token.
Everything was strange.
Hua Shu’s face was masked with pearl powder; she remained still.
Yet a faint smile flickered in her eyes.
It seemed Consort Wan had recounted everything to the emperor, word for word.
Interesting.
It had been a long time since she’d encountered such a fool.