The emperor softened his heart.

His son has had it so tough.

"You really know how to cause trouble. Help me up."

The old father was sharp-tongued, "Go drink by the window. If you leave a smell of alcohol in the bedchamber, how am I supposed to sleep?"

"I'm not as young as you. If I don't sleep well, I'll be exhausted the next day..."

He muttered to himself, then put his arm around Xie Tingzhou's arm and sat down on the low couch by the window.

He took the jar, opened it, and sniffed it. The wine was good, but he didn't like wine.

Chen Banjun rushed forward to test for the poison, but the emperor waved his hand, signaling him to step back.

Xie Tingzhou took the wine jar from his hand, tilted his head back and took a sip himself before handing it to him.

It is customary for someone to test anything that the emperor puts in his mouth for poison first. The emperor trusted him, and he did not want to put Chen Banjun in a difficult position.

The emperor pointed at him with his finger, smiled, took the wine jar and took a sip, "Speak, do you want to go to the Great Wei?"

Xie Tingzhou nodded.

"We had agreed that I would marry her as soon as I got back, but my son hasn't passed the test with his future father-in-law yet, and I'm afraid something might go wrong."

This is something he is genuinely afraid of.

From Shi Yan's perspective, if he had a daughter in the future, he would definitely be reluctant to let her marry out of the family.

Besides, the Empress had caused all those troubles.

The emperor had no daughter, but he knew the feeling of loving someone and losing them by some twist of fate.

When he and the Empress were separated, he felt like he was going to die.

He didn't want his son to experience the hardships he had gone through.

"Go if you want to. If you want to marry someone's daughter, it's only right to visit her in person. Even an ugly son-in-law has to meet his future father-in-law."

When you meet him, speak kindly to him that your future father-in-law has been very kind to Dayuan, and that I feel deeply guilty about it.

Seeing Xie Tingzhou take a sip, he also tilted his head back and drank some. It was a bit spicy, and he frowned slightly, not used to it. The Empress didn't like the taste of alcohol, and he really didn't drink much strong liquor.

"You don't need to worry about the family. I can still hold on. Once you get married, I will hand over the heavy responsibility of this country to you."

"At that time, I will take your mother to see the world. Even when we return to the capital, we will stay at the imperial estate. You can simply enjoy your own lives."

He was telling Xie Tingzhou that he would keep an eye on the Empress and prevent her from ruining their plans again.

Xie Tingzhou asked, "Father, if Mother harms me again, what should I do?"

The emperor put down the wine jar. "Your mother is being stubborn. I'll give her the cold shoulder for a while, and she'll reflect on her actions."

Xie Tingzhou remained silent, only looking at the emperor with a wronged expression.

The emperor softened at his gaze, "Your mother was indeed wrong this time. If she truly does not repent, then you may take matters into your own hands. I will not stop you."

His son and wife were having a fight, and he was caught in the middle.

But they are mother and son after all, bound by blood, so how much trouble could they possibly cause?

The emperor thought to himself with a sense of relief that the empress was not inherently bad; she had simply become obsessed with something after the death of Prince Yun.

But he forgot that the Empress, who had been favored and indulged by him for many years and had been tainted by power, instinctively wanted to consolidate her power after realizing that she might lose it all.

Having received his permission, Xie Tingzhou didn't say much about the Empress, but instead changed the subject. After finishing his own jar, he took the rest from the Emperor's hand. "Father, a little tipsiness is good for falling asleep. Any more would be bad. I'm going back to the Eastern Palace. You should go to sleep early too."

The news of the father and son drinking reached the Empress's ears that very night, and she barely slept a wink.

I can't sleep, I'm so angry.

Early the next morning, she sent someone to the Eastern Palace to tell the Crown Prince to see her that day.

Yu Nie said, "There's nothing unusual about Fengyi Palace. They haven't brought any other women into the palace. It's just that the Empress went to the Imperial Kitchen, saying she wanted to cook for you herself."

If the Crown Prince doesn't appreciate her grand gesture, he'll inevitably be accused of being unfilial by the Heir Apparent.

Their master had previously feigned injury and secretly led people to Xiyue to achieve great merit, and the people were praising him right now. They mustn't let her tarnish their reputation.

He then advised, "Your Highness, please go. If anything unexpected happens, I will risk my life to save you."

Xie Tingzhou thought for a moment, "You go and deliver the message yourself, saying that I am busy during the day and will have dinner with you at night."

The Empress received confirmation and finally felt some relief.

He looked at the female physician beside him and said, "You will stay in the palace tonight. Be clever."

It was normal for a female physician to work in the palace and occasionally stay overnight. The empress was worried that the crown prince would become suspicious, so she carefully selected a female physician instead of a noblewoman.

The female doctor, surnamed Han, blushed and nodded upon hearing this.

As night fell, the Empress finally saw Xie Tingzhou. She looked him over carefully and said, "You've lost weight. You've suffered a lot from fighting and traveling all the way."

Before Xie Tingzhou could speak, she took the initiative to say, "The matter of Ye Zhen was handled poorly by your mother. Your mother apologizes to you."

She led Xie Tingzhou by the hand, saying, "Sit down quickly and try the dishes that your mother made for you, as well as this wine, which was also brewed by your mother herself."

"Thank you, Mother."

Xie Tingzhou sat down and, at the Empress's urging, ate and drank quite a lot of food and wine.

He especially liked the wine and drank quite a bit of it.

The Empress was very satisfied.

Xie Tingzhou shook his head. "I think I drank at two parties last night and I'm not fully awake yet. I feel a little dizzy, so I'll go back first."

Both the dishes and the drinks contain aphrodisiacs.

The Crown Prince was cautious, and the Empress was worried that if the poison was only added to the food, he wouldn't be affected. Now that she saw that he was showing signs of illness, she hurriedly sent someone to take him back to the Eastern Palace.

Among those who escorted Xie Tingzhou was a female doctor disguised as a eunuch.

As soon as the person left, the Empress immediately ordered, "Keep an eye on them."

The emperor feared he would be soft-hearted towards the empress and prevented anyone from telling him about the events at Fengyi Palace. Therefore, he only knew that the crown prince had gone to see the empress and knew nothing else.

Therefore, when he saw the Crown Prince bring over two more jars of wine, he didn't suspect anything and just laughed, "Are you trying to turn me into a drunkard?"

Xie Tingzhou only said, "My son is feeling bad."

It's unbearable that the Empress had indeed plotted against him.

The emperor, however, thought his son was thinking of his sweetheart again. Remembering that he had drunk a little wine the night before and was indeed feeling quite tipsy, he tilted his head back and took a sip...