darknovel Chapter 179 Suspicion Between Mother and Son
Chapter 179 Suspicion Between Mother and Son
The emperor's evasive answer deeply saddened the empress. She stared at him in disbelief. "Your Majesty," she said, "I had no intention of questioning Li Fude. I was simply worried about you and wished to come in and see you."
"Now that I have seen you, Your Majesty, please return. I have other matters to attend to."
After he finished speaking, he got up and left the palace gate first.
He wasn't lying; he really did have things to deal with, and after spending most of the day, he had a mountain of official business to attend to.
Once on the imperial carriage, Li Yuanke asked Li Fude, "Is Consort Xue still alive?"
Li Fude's heart skipped a beat. He carefully replied, "Your Majesty, the other day he said he was ill and couldn't get out of bed. I suppose it's been about these past two days!"
"Um!"
Li Fude knew he had guessed correctly.
When the Empress arrived, Shen Shixi made no attempt to greet her. When she left, Shen Shixi didn't bother to see her off either, since she was going to sleep anyway, and it wasn't her who invited the Empress.
The empress came and went just like that.
After getting up, Shen Shixi slumped for a while before reluctantly writing two poems on her crabapple-patterned paper, "The Burial of Flowers" and "Asking the Chrysanthemum," which she had promised her last time. She handed them to Bai Ping and said, "Send them to Gyeongbokgung Palace."
Bai Ping was puzzled. Why was her master suddenly so kind?
Shen Shixi didn't explain, so she had no choice but to deliver it. She handed it in at the palace gate. Since it was a gift from Zhaoyang Palace, the people inside didn't dare to neglect it and gave it to Consort Xue.
After being confined to her quarters, Consort Xue was not afraid of the freezing cold. Every day she wore only white clothes, without hairpins or makeup, and devoted herself to reciting poems and painting, living like an immortal.
Seeing the poems on the crabapple-patterned paper, she began to weep. "Yes, if I had been more self-aware, I should have set off on my own long ago. But I refused; I was determined to wait for you to execute me!"
She cried out in anguish, "Your Majesty, how could you be so heartless!"
She hadn't been crying for long when Li Fude arrived, carrying a cup of wine on a plate. "Your Majesty, your good day has arrived. You may now go and reunite with your family!"
Consort Xue refused to drink. "You must bring the Emperor to see me. I want to see the Emperor. If I cannot see the Emperor, I will not die. Even if I die, I will still come back and stay in the palace. I will not go anywhere else and will keep an eye on the Emperor every day."
"Nonsense! When people die, they become ghosts. The Emperor is the Son of Heaven, how could he allow such filthy creatures to approach him? Aren't you afraid of being burned to ashes!"
She desperately wanted to see the Emperor, pleading, "Father-in-law, please let me see the Emperor!"
Li Fude also felt sorry for her, but there was nothing he could do.
The emperor originally intended to spare her life, but after the poisoning incident at Cining Palace, he clearly changed his mind.
However, it is understandable.
The emperor executed Consort Xue's entire clan. There's a saying that goes, "If you don't cut the weeds at the root, they'll grow back in the spring breeze." Who knows what might happen to Consort Xue one day, and she might set fire to the palace or poison someone? It would be too late to regret it then.
Li Fude said, "Your Majesty, don't blame the Emperor. Blame the Duke of Wei and his son. They committed the heinous crime of treason, and even now, censors keep submitting memorials demanding that the Emperor punish you!"
But Consort Xue insisted on seeing the Emperor. "Please, go and inform him. I am a dying woman. I have no other wish but to see the Emperor one last time. I have served the Emperor for so many years. Is it too much to ask to see him before I die?"
Li Fude had no choice but to send someone to inform the emperor, but the emperor did not come, saying that he had something to discuss with his ministers.
Consort Xue collapsed to the ground, seemingly in a daze. After a long while, like a lonely wild goose, she cried out in utter despair, "Your Majesty, how cruel you are! I loved you so much!"
Then he suddenly stood up and rammed his head into a large pillar inside the hall, falling to the ground and dying!
She did not drink the poisoned wine given to her by Li Yuanke, but chose a more tragic way to die.
When she died, she was clutching the crabapple-patterned paper that Shen Shixi had given her. Blood had soaked the paper, blurring the words on it: "With whom can I hide my solitary pride and disdain for the world? Why do the flowers bloom so late?"
Consort Xue's suicide was essentially a forced death. The emperor issued an edict posthumously granting her the title of Virtuous Consort and ordering her burial with the rites due to a Virtuous Consort.
The Empress was still unwell when she was burdened with such a major funeral, forcing her to work tirelessly despite her illness. Although the Ministry of Rites was in charge, many decisions still had to be made by the Empress herself.
Bai Ping then realized what her master meant by sending the begonia paper to Consort Xian that day. Her master must have already foreseen that Consort Xian would die.
The next day, Li Yuanke was summoned to Cining Palace. The Empress Dowager did not immediately punish Yang Tingyue, and the Emperor knew what the Empress Dowager meant.
His voice was faint, "Has Mother recovered?"
The Empress Dowager was so angry she almost vomited blood. "Do you think I'm faking illness?"
The emperor said, "Your subject dares not, but whether the Empress Dowager is feigning illness or not is no longer important."
This means they're about to turn against the Empress Dowager.
It's not that he can't deal with Yang Tingyue; he just wants to see how far the Empress Dowager will protect Yang Tingyue. Last time it was the eldest prince, and this time it's himself.
The Empress Dowager was so angry she didn't even want to speak. "You are my own son. Even if I were completely muddle-headed, I would never do such a thing to you. And yet you suspect me?"
The emperor was clearly unyielding; he had endured it until now only because the empress dowager was his own mother.
"Your Majesty, I am the Son of Heaven, yet I have suffered such a humiliating disgrace and lost all face. What right do I have to doubt the Empress Dowager?"
Even Aunt Qingruo couldn't stand it anymore. "Your Majesty, the Empress Dowager would never have meant that. You and the Empress Dowager are mother and son. How could you say such a thing?"
"Since they are mother and son, Mother, how do you intend to deal with Lady Yang? My son died in vain? And me, this crime is enough to exterminate nine generations of my family."
The Empress Dowager was heartbroken. "She was foolish to do such a thing. I scolded her for her lack of self-respect. But Tingyue also has her reasons. As your concubine, she is still a virgin."
She has admired you since she was a child, and has always wanted to marry you as she grew older. Why do you treat her so coldly?
The emperor turned his face away, not wanting to speak.
Just because she wants to marry, does that mean he has to?
As the emperor, how could he allow others to covet his position?
He feels disgusted just looking at it.
How can we get close to each other?
He was even more unwilling to let Yang Tingyue give birth to his children.
"You're worried about Consort Chen, aren't you? Yes! The two of them have been fighting since they were little, and they always have to decide who wins and who loses in everything. But harmony is what matters in the harem. The concubines' responsibility is to give birth to imperial offspring and continue the royal line."
Consort Chen is always exceptionally intelligent; she surely understands this principle. However, she has somewhat lost her composure, which is also Your Majesty's fault. Too much favor can easily breed arrogance, which is not a long-term solution. Your Majesty, you are not pampering her, but harming her!
Seeing the emperor's very displeased expression, Aunt Qingruo quickly smiled and said, "Your Majesty, the Empress Dowager has always treated Consort Chen as her own daughter, as you have always known."
But it was too late to say that.
The Emperor said displeasedly, "Is Mother Empress blaming Xi'er? Outsiders may not know, but does Mother Empress not know what Xi'er means to me?"
The Empress Dowager was also very displeased. "You are the emperor now. Besides, it wasn't just the Shen family that did you good back then. The Grand Tutor was honored in life and mourned in death. You also showed great favor to Consort Shu. It was Consort Shu who was unlucky. What more does the Shen family want?"
Now that Consort Chen has entered the palace and holds a high rank, she should be grateful for the Emperor's favor and respect the virtues of a concubine. I've heard that she no longer even respects the Empress; does she intend to be disrespectful to me, the Empress Dowager, in the future?
It's obvious they're just making trouble to save Yang Tingyue's life.
"She has never been just a woman to me! I dare not force the Empress Dowager to pursue Yang's crimes if she is unwilling, but if she insists on making things difficult for Consort Chen, I will absolutely not allow it!"