Chapter 70. A bitter loss.
The Emperor and Chu Heng entered the hall one after the other, and bowed politely: "Greetings, Mother."
Chu Heng immediately asked again, "Where is Daiyu?" As he spoke, he observed the Empress Dowager's expression.
The Empress Dowager sneered: "Did Yongkang send someone to complain?"
The emperor pressed his hand behind his back, signaling Chu Heng to calm down, and said slowly, "This girl is so easily startled. She called me here to save her life. It turns out she offended Mother again because of her loose tongue. How did she end up implicating my fifth brother's wife?"
Chu Heng frowned tightly, suppressing his anxious feelings, and continued, "Daiyu and Yongkang are both innocent and naive people. Even if they are a bit outspoken, Mother is always kind and loving, so she certainly won't hold it against them."
"Help?" The Empress Dowager's anger only intensified. "Is this a den of wolves or a tiger's lair? Why are they crying for help?"
The emperor was taken aback. He hadn't expected the empress dowager to react this way. It was just a joke, and the empress dowager would have let it go if she had gone along with it. He hadn't expected it to backfire.
It seems the Empress Dowager is quite angry this time.
The Empress Dowager had been displeasing him lately, and seeing her angry now, the Emperor couldn't help but feel a little pleased.
The Emperor coughed lightly: "Why is Mother arguing with a child? What has Yongkang done this time? Mother, tell your son, I will discipline her!"
Even if the Empress Dowager was angry, she knew she couldn't tell the truth. Should she say that she deliberately waited for Daiyu to be alone and make things difficult for her, or should she repeat Yongkang's unbearable words?
She simply rubbed her forehead and turned the tables, saying, "I've really made those two so angry they've lost their minds. Don't let them come to see me again."
It was just a routine greeting, but it took an unexpected turn. Now, Chu Heng doesn't even know where Daiyu is or if she has been wronged. He is extremely anxious. He wishes he would never enter the palace again, but he dares not say it outright, because he is afraid of harming Daiyu at this moment.
Chu Heng clenched his fist, forcing himself to speak in a normal tone: "Why does Mother say such things? What exactly did they do to displease Mother? Just tell me. Mother, do you think I would protect them?"
The Empress Dowager groaned twice: "My head hurts. You brothers don't even know how to give me some peace and quiet."
Seeing the Empress Dowager's reaction, Chu Heng knew that she was definitely not in the right, whether it was Daiyu or Yongkang, and she felt guilty.
Chu Heng said coldly, "Since Mother wishes to be quiet, I will take my leave. However, since my wife and I came to Renshou Palace together, we cannot leave alone."
The Empress Dowager still ignored him, only continuing to cover her head and groan.
"Alright." Chu Heng turned and bowed to the emperor. "Your Majesty, my princess has disappeared without a trace. I dare not suspect the Empress Dowager. I can only ask Your Majesty to have pity on me and send people into the palace to search for my princess."
The Emperor glanced at the Empress Dowager, who was listening intently to their conversation. He couldn't help but sneer inwardly, and then said, "Ah, that's right. A perfectly healthy person can't just disappear like that. Perhaps she's strolling in the garden with Yongkang. I'll have people look for her right away!"
After saying this, the emperor ordered the eunuch beside him to summon the commander of the Imperial Guards, and then he set off to return to Haiyan Palace.
The Empress Dowager was startled and blurted out, "Wait..."
Chu Heng looked sharply at the Empress Dowager: "Mother, aren't you having a headache? You should rest well for now. I wouldn't dare trouble you with the affairs of the younger generation."
Seeing that Chu Heng was fearless and that the emperor was not only going to make the matter known throughout the palace, but also not afraid of letting outsiders know, the Empress Dowager panicked. If she really summoned the Imperial Guards, it would be difficult to control the situation.
"What do you mean by Imperial Guards?" The Empress Dowager rested her forehead on her hand, seemingly bewildered. "How come I heard the Emperor say he wanted to call them Imperial Guards?"
Chu Heng snorted coldly.
The emperor simply said, "Mother, you heard me right. I did indeed summon the Imperial Guards."
Seeing that they had run out of things to say, Shuangyun awkwardly pretended to be clueless and was trying to find a way to smooth things over for her master when Chu Heng spoke up.
“Mother is probably getting old, and her hearing is failing. We should call the imperial physician to take a look. We must not hide her illness and avoid seeking medical treatment.” Chu Heng said sarcastically. “Just now, my brother called the Imperial Guards to help me find my princess. When I left, she was perfectly fine with Mother. She has disappeared in such a short time. I am really worried.”
The Empress Dowager felt a heart attack upon hearing this, but the Emperor was delighted. This was not only because Chu Heng had angered the Empress Dowager, but also because he felt that with the Empress Dowager's brilliant move in dealing with the Empress Dowager and the Fang family, he no longer needed to put in any effort to win them over; Chu Heng himself would be eager to get on the Emperor's side.
The Empress Dowager shifted her hand from her forehead to her chest. This time, she wasn't feigning anger; she was genuinely furious with Chu Heng. However, she remained silent, instead forcing out a few laughs: "I thought it was something serious. Your wife and Yongkang were chanting sutras in the Buddhist hall. Why are you calling for the Imperial Guards? This child, really, always making a fuss..."
Chu Heng let out a soft breath as he chanted sutras in the Buddhist hall. Thank goodness.
The emperor briefly observed the Empress Dowager's rare moment of panic; she had been used to having victory in her grasp for years, and such an expression was truly uncommon.
I wonder what his little sister and fifth brother's wife said or did that made the Empress Dowager so furious.
The emperor thought with great interest that the Empress Dowager was pushing one person after another away from her side, and perhaps one day, only the Fang family would be left by her side.
Will the Fang family stand firmly by the Empress Dowager's side?
"Go and invite the Princess Consort and the Eldest Princess." The Emperor waved his hand without consulting the Empress Dowager.
Watching the eunuchs in front of the emperor hurriedly obey the order and leave, the Empress Dowager almost gritted her teeth. She had only intended to make things difficult for Daiyu in her words, so that she would apologize and apologize to her. How did it escalate to this point?
The Empress Dowager had no choice but to swallow this bitter pill, and she was extremely upset.
Soon, Daiyu and Yongkang arrived looking perfectly normal. Chu Heng stared at Daiyu without blinking. After she finished her greetings, the emperor told her to get up, and he hurried over to help her up.
Seeing this, the emperor chuckled and said, "Please sit down, please sit down."
The Empress Dowager cursed inwardly, "This heartless and unfilial son only has eyes for this woman; he can't even see his own mother!"
Chu Heng and Daiyu thanked the emperor together before taking their seats side by side.
Yongkang sat down with a grin: "Thank you, Your Majesty."
Chu Heng dared not touch Daiyu too much, and only asked in a low voice, "Is there something wrong? Just tell me."
Daiyu smiled reassuringly and shook her head slightly: "It's nothing."
Chu Heng, however, was still worried. He gritted his teeth and asked again in a low voice, "Don't be afraid, tell me."
Daiyu shook her head again, and then grasped Chu Heng's hand in return: "I'm fine, don't be afraid."
Chu Heng finally breathed a sigh of relief. He turned to face the Empress Dowager with a forced smile and said, "Mother has been very devout to Buddhism lately. Since she can't go to Longhua Temple, she asks her daughter-in-law to chant Buddhist prayers with her daughter."
The Empress Dowager rolled her eyes at him. She thought she had been magnanimous enough to let bygones be bygones, but this unfilial son dared to bring it up again. The Empress Dowager snorted, "How dare you say such things? If you displease the Buddha, you will be punished."
The emperor gestured for Chu Heng to shut up, and then tried to smooth things over by saying, "Fifth Brother was blessed by Buddha, so there's no question of him being punished. He's just a child speaking without thinking."
"It's getting late, Yongkang, you should go back to the palace to rest. Fifth brother, fifth sister-in-law, you should also go back to your residences," the emperor said.
Chu Heng was about to speak again when Daiyu tugged at his sleeve, so he helped Daiyu up and said, "Your Majesty, Mother, I take my leave."
Daiyu and Yongkang also exchanged greetings, and the three of them left together.
The Empress Dowager lay back on the soft pillows, closed her eyes, and looked as if she didn't want to pay attention to anyone. The Emperor looked at her, his eyes smiling, but his face was full of worry: "Alas, Mother, what is wrong?"
"What do you mean, 'what'?" The Empress Dowager was determined to play dumb to the end today. "What could it be?"
The emperor thought for a moment, realizing he hadn't suffered any loss after all, and smiled, "Alright, if Mother doesn't want to talk about it, let's pretend nothing happened. Please rest well, I'll take my leave."
In the blink of an eye, only the Empress Dowager and her close associates remained in the hall.
The Empress Dowager then angrily pounded the bed: "Outrageous! Outrageous!"
None of them dared to speak, for fear of incurring the Empress Dowager's wrath, even though they all believed that today's events were entirely the Empress Dowager's own doing.
Princess Duan always served her mother-in-law with utmost respect and never made a mistake in etiquette when entering or leaving the palace. However, for some reason, the Empress Dowager disliked her and always found fault with her.
At this moment, only Shuangyun dared to speak: "Empress Dowager, it's all because the servants today were not vigilant enough, allowing the Princess to hide silently under the window. This servant will..."
The Empress Dowager interrupted her sharply: "Fire! Have them all twenty strokes of the cane!"
She couldn't do anything about her unfilial sons, but couldn't she deal with these palace servants?
Both sides kowtowed.
Shuangyun was startled and also knelt down and kowtowed: "Your Majesty, please calm down! A small act of impatience can ruin a great plan, Your Majesty!"
The Empress Dowager felt she had suffered a great injustice today, but she couldn't vent her anger. She chose to swallow her anger, because if she made a scene again, who knew how her increasingly arrogant and unfilial sons would take advantage of her.
The Empress Dowager was truly in a bind this time: "Penalize his salary! Penalize his salary..."
"Go and summon the imperial physician! Shuangyun, I have a terrible headache!"
...
Chu Heng, Daiyu, and Yongkang had just left Renshou Palace when they saw off the emperor's entourage. Then, a young palace maid rushed out to fetch the imperial physician.
Yongkang blinked twice: "Just now... it seems no one went by, don't you think, Fifth Brother?"
Chu Heng nodded firmly: "Nothing. We'll leave the palace now and talk to you another day."
If they stayed in the palace now, whether the Empress Dowager was truly ill or feigning illness, they would all have to go through the motions of attending to her. Chu Heng was unwilling to face the Empress Dowager's face again.
Yongkang covered his head and said, "Alas, I'm not feeling well either. Fifth Brother, Fifth Sister-in-law, I won't see you off. I need to call the imperial physician to take a look."
Daiyu almost burst out laughing: "You should rest well. If you need anything, just run ahead. If you can't find the Emperor, go find Consort Wu. Also, come out of the palace to play another day, so you can relax."
"Okay." Yongkang smiled.
After parting with Yongkang, Daiyu sighed softly, "I wonder when Yongkang will be able to leave."
"It'll be soon." Chu Heng held her hand. "The Empress Dowager wants you to chant sutras before the Buddha..."
"Shh," Daiyu gestured, "Let's go outside first."
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