Chapter 615 The Empress Dowager Returns to the Capital and Seeks to Cause Trouble

Xie Shang rushed back to the palace after receiving news of the Empress Dowager's return. Their journey back to Shengjing was also fraught with difficulties.

The Empress Dowager was the woman of the highest status in the Great Zhou Kingdom. Xie Shang was the emperor and also her grandson. The proper etiquette could not be omitted. "Grandson pays respects to the Empress Dowager."

"I haven't returned to the palace for thirty years. I've come back for only one thing: Your Majesty, please release Yun'er and Minmin. They are still children, and it's inevitable that they will be naughty and ignorant." The Empress Dowager said this only to show that she had returned for the sake of Prince Kang's children.

Xie Shang wasn't surprised at all, after all, she only treated Prince Kang's children as her own grandchildren.

He smiled slightly and said, "Now that Grandmother has returned to the palace, let her stay there. I will take care of her in her old age."

The Empress Dowager frowned, her eyes flashing with anger. "No matter what, Yun'er and Minmin are your cousins. You've lived far apart since childhood, which is why you don't have any feelings for each other. This time, it's really a misunderstanding."

“If Your Majesty really doesn’t want to stay in the palace, it’s not too late to leave and return to Hengyang after drinking my wedding wine. Your Majesty prefers peace and quiet, so I will have someone arrange a more remote palace for you.” He and the Empress Dowager were talking at cross purposes, and then he said in a deep voice, “I am about to marry the Empress. Your Majesty can have a cup of tea with your granddaughter-in-law when you return to the palace.”

The Empress Dowager truly couldn't understand his intentions, and suppressing her temper, she said, "Doesn't the Emperor already have an Empress? Why does he want to marry another woman as his Empress?"

"My father has decreed that Jiang be made my empress. I have not yet given her a proper wedding. This time, along with the empress coronation ceremony, the whole country is celebrating. Your Majesty's arrival is very timely." Xie Shang was very gentle with his elders and would never allow anyone to find fault with him.

The Empress Dowager saw that he was very high-spirited and said, "Your father only married two empresses. The first one died of illness. Whether she died of illness or not, only he himself probably knows. The second one was the daughter of the Duke of Cheng. She was also a fool. Your father married the daughter of the Duke of Cheng and made her empress. From then on, the Cheng family also became his people. Although Jiang was made empress by your father, it is inevitable that many years later you will follow in your father's footsteps, depose the empress and remarry."

A cold glint flashed in Xie Shang's eyes as he said in a deep voice, "Grandmother, you are worried. When Father issued the decree to make Jiang Shi my Empress, he also wrote an extra sentence, forbidding me from ever deposing her as Empress. As long as I am still the Emperor of the Great Zhou Kingdom, Jiang Fenghua can only be my Empress. It is impossible for me to depose her in this lifetime. Grandmother, you are worried."

The Empress Dowager was so angry that her chest ached, as if she had punched cotton. Xie Shang was even more stern than his father, and he was telling her in a roundabout way that as long as he was there, the Xie family's empire would never fall into the hands of Prince Kang.

Just then, two tiny figures, bundled up tightly, came running from a distance.

They wore furry tiger-skin hats, their eyes shone like two crystal-clear gems, and their pink lips were like tempting cherries. Xie Ziyan sweetly called out, "Father."

Xie Shang picked up his daughter and kissed her face repeatedly. "How did Yan'er know that Father Emperor had returned?"

"Lin Feng went to hug Xiao Yezi. He kissed Xiao Yezi and said that Father and Mother have returned." Xie Ziyan said in a serious tone, "Father, I miss Mother. When will she come back from Grandmother's house? Last time Grandmother came to visit, she forgot to bring Mother back. Is she lost?"

Xie Shang said, "Mother will be back soon. Father, would you like to take Xiao Yan'er and Xiao Youyou to pick her up?"

"Great!" Xie Ziyan exclaimed happily.

Xie Hongyou stood on the ground, stretched out his hand, and pouted, "Youyou wants a hug from Father too."

Xie Shang then held Xie Hongyou in his other arm and kissed his son's face, saying, "Father misses Youyou too."

Xie Hongyou wiped his face in disgust. "Youyou is a man. Father Emperor can't kiss Youyou anymore. People will laugh at you."

Xie Shang smiled and said, "Youyou has grown up. In two years, your father will send you to the military camp to train in martial arts."

Accompanying Xie Ziyan and Xie Hongyou were Gao Qingtong and Ao Xue.

Ao Xue already knew from Lin Feng that the Empress had not returned to the palace. At this moment, she really did not see Jiang Fenghua's figure, and she felt a little disappointed.

Since Gao Qingtong became Consort Gao, she has been in charge of managing the harem. When Gao Qingtong heard the news of the Emperor's return to the palace, she brought her daughter and followed Xie Ziyan and Xie Hongyou.

"Your Majesty, I pay my respects."

Gao Qingtong was followed by a group of servants, who all bowed in greeting. The wet nurse and the second princess Xie Yanhuan also quickly bowed.

Xie Shang glanced at everyone and said, "No need for formalities!"

Gao Qingtong then saw the old woman with a full head of silver hair beside her, her pupils trembled slightly and she quickly knelt down, "Your Majesty, I pay my respects to the Empress Dowager."

She thought: The only people in the world today who can be personally summoned by the Emperor and sit on equal footing with him are the Empress Dowager and the Grand Empress Dowager.

The Empress Dowager looked at Gao Qingtong with a smile on her lips, "What a dignified and elegant beauty! Which of the Emperor's concubines are you?"

"Reporting to the Empress Dowager, I am Consort Gao of Yongle Palace, and my given name is Qingtong," Gao Qingtong replied respectfully.

"So it's the Imperial Concubine. What a blessed child. Are all these princes and princesses the Imperial Concubine's children?" the Empress Dowager said.

Gao Qingtong quickly replied, "The eldest prince and the eldest princess's biological mother is Her Majesty the Empress, and the second princess is my daughter." Didn't the Empress Dowager hear their conversation with the Emperor just now?

The Empress Dowager did it on purpose, saying, "It turns out I misheard. I think they have a mother-son relationship with Consort Gao."

Gao Qingtong was a shrewd person; how could she not see through the Empress Dowager's deliberate provocation? If the Empress were present and heard these words, she would probably be heartbroken.

Which mother would willingly let her child recognize someone else as their mother?

Xie Ziyan and Xie Hongyou only had their mother, the Empress Dowager, in their hearts. Although the Imperial Concubine had always taken good care of them, they never got close to her.

Xie Hongyou dismounted from Xie Shang and respectfully bowed to the Empress Dowager, saying, "Youyou greets my great-grandmother. May my great-grandmother enjoy good health and longevity."

Xie Ziyan looked somewhat unhappy, but she still hadn't forgotten her maternal grandfather's teachings: the person in the palace who could be called the Empress Dowager was their great-grandmother.

Xie Ziyan followed her brother's lead and bowed, saying, "Yan'er greets her great-grandmother. May she enjoy good health and longevity. My mother's name is Jiang Fenghua, not Consort Gao."

The two well-behaved and polite children stunned the adults. They were so young yet so well-mannered and not at all shy.

Before leaving, Xie Shang entrusted his two children to Grand Tutor Jiang for instruction. More than half a year later, they seemed to have become more sensible.

The Empress Dowager was surprised to see that the two children were so well-mannered and polite. She smiled and said, "My dear great-grandson and great-daughter, you may skip the formalities. Your great-grandmother came in a hurry and did not bring you any gifts. I will make it up to you another day."

The two exchanged a glance. Since their maternal grandfather had said they should give a thank-you gift, they cupped their hands and said, "Thank you, great-grandmother."

It was unclear whether the Empress Dowager would give a gift, but the two thanked her first, instantly making the old lady somewhat embarrassed.