Chapter 86 Regret?
Inside Renshou Palace, the Empress Dowager lay half-reclined on the bed with a large pillow. Because she was without makeup, she looked more than ten years older.
Chu Heng asked, "Is Mother feeling any better?"
The Empress Dowager shook her head: "I'm too old to hear bad news."
Chu Heng said, "Mother, please don't worry. Longhua Temple said that Master Pingyi passed away with a smile on his face. He must have already ascended to the Pure Land."
The Empress Dowager's face grew even more ashen: "If it weren't for Master Pingyi, you wouldn't be any better off. You were born of me, and Master Pingyi was my benefactor. But I haven't been able to repay his kindness, and he has already passed away. Thinking about it makes me feel uneasy."
Chu Heng had no choice but to say again, "The master is a compassionate person who saves all living beings. He wouldn't care about such a trivial matter."
The Empress Dowager still shook her head.
Chu Heng pursed his lips, unable to think of any words of comfort.
Daiyu then said, "Your Majesty, please rest assured and recover. The Master sees all beings as equal, and if he were alive in heaven, he would surely not want to see Your Majesty so ashamed and uneasy."
Upon hearing this, the Empress Dowager stared at Daiyu and said, "What you said is... is quite right."
Daiyu only made eye contact with the Empress Dowager for a moment before she immediately lowered her eyes respectfully.
The Empress Dowager's eyes were always sharp, and this time, Daiyu saw age and cloudiness in them.
Daiyu said, "It's good that the Empress Dowager can rest and recover. The Prince and his wife are both hoping for your speedy recovery."
"Hmm." The Empress Dowager forced a smile. "You are all filial children. In the future... you should come and keep me company often."
With Chu Heng and Daiyu, two people who were said to be reincarnated immortals, by her side, the Empress Dowager could feel more at ease.
They can at least offer some protection, right?
Chu Heng and Daiyu were unaware of the Empress Dowager's thoughts. Although they also found the Empress Dowager's words strange, since they now visited the palace to pay their respects every three to five days, wasn't that considered a regular visit?
Having learned from past mistakes, they felt that the Empress Dowager's words had a hidden meaning and might be ill-intentioned, so they had to be extremely cautious.
The Empress Dowager's illness lingered for a whole month without improvement, and she couldn't care less about the Fang family's affairs. During this time, Chu Heng met with the eldest patriarch of the Fang family with the Emperor's approval.
The eldest patriarch of the Fang family was named Fang Zhe. In terms of seniority, Chu Heng should call him his cousin. In terms of age, he was older than the emperor.
There was a special place in the cabinet for the adults to drink tea and rest. When Chu Heng entered, Fang Zhe had been waiting for a long time.
"Your Highness." Fang Zhe stepped forward and bowed respectfully, his voice tinged with urgency.
"Lord Fang," Chu Heng nodded in return, "What is it, Lord Fang? Please make your point quickly. I've been busy all morning and I'm a little tired."
Although Fang Zhe knew that Prince Duan didn't particularly like his family, this attitude still disappointed him greatly.
The emperor is like this, and so is Prince Duan. The Fang family is, after all, their maternal family. Do they really have no regard for any affection at all?
Fang Zhe roused himself and said what he had planned to say: "Privately speaking, the prince and I are cousins, but we don't see each other often, so we've become estranged."
Chu Heng casually sat down in the chair: "Lord Fang, I've lived for over twenty years, and this is the first time you've taken the initiative to speak to me."
Fang Zhe smiled awkwardly: "In the past, Your Highness was in poor health and I dared not disturb you."
"I'm feeling better now, but I really don't want you to bother me," Chu Heng said frankly.
Fang Zhe felt not only embarrassed, but also ashamed and angry. After all, given his status, very few people would dare to speak to him so rudely.
Fang Zhe clenched his fists, suppressing all his emotions: "I shouldn't have bothered Your Highness, but my family is struggling financially, so I have no choice but to swallow my pride and ask Your Highness for help."
Chu Heng asked in surprise, "Your family is the Empress Dowager's maternal family and the Emperor's maternal uncle's family. How come you are struggling financially? If I remember correctly, your family has three Dukes and five Marquises. With their titles and property alone, your whole family should be able to live comfortably." As he spoke, he shook his head, "Alas, Lord Fang, how many unworthy descendants has your family produced to have led you to such a state?"
Fang Zhe gritted his teeth at his deliberately misinterpreted words: "Your Highness misunderstands. There are no unworthy descendants in the family. It is only because of the matter concerning our elders that we, as their children and grandchildren, are uneasy and fear that His Majesty will punish us again. That is why we said that our family is in dire straits."
"Oh." Chu Heng suddenly realized, "Besides those who were punished, did anyone else in your family commit a crime?"
Fang Zhe's face turned ashen: "Your Highness, please watch your words! My Fang clan is law-abiding and loyal to His Majesty. There is absolutely no one who has violated the law or betrayed His Majesty's grace!"
Chu Heng calmly said, "That's good. What are you worried about? Does His Majesty really want to kill ministers without distinguishing right from wrong?"
Fang Zhe gritted his teeth, suppressing his anger and lowering his voice: "Your Highness, once the cunning rabbit dies, the hunting dog is cooked. What good will it do you if the Fang family falls? What harm will it do you to have another ally?"
Chu Heng said innocently, "I don't understand what you mean."
Seeing that he was feigning ignorance and that it was impossible to reason with him, Fang Zhe suddenly stood up and said, "Your Highness, I have said all I need to say. You should take care of yourself!"
No wonder the Empress Dowager couldn't persuade Prince Duan; he's such a stubborn blockhead!
Chu Heng slowly sipped his tea, then frowned in the empty room and said, "It doesn't taste good."
A moment later, he got up and left.
...
While chatting with Daiyu at night, Chu Heng commented: "The Fang family really has no brains. They knew that the Emperor would discard them after they were no longer useful. Where were they before? Now, no matter how anxious they are, even a god can't help them."
Daiyu adjusted the candlelight and smiled, "It's just as you said. After all, they are the Empress Dowager's family. No matter what, can the Emperor confiscate his own maternal uncle's property?"
“Then they need not rush.” Chu Heng rested his chin on his hand, looking at Daiyu under the lamplight.
Daiyu shook her head: "They are not content. How can they be content with only wealth and honor?"
Seeing that Daiyu was engrossed in her thoughts and hadn't heard what he was saying, Chu Heng didn't respond.
Daiyu found it strange, but when she saw his eyes, she couldn't help but blush: "What are you thinking about? You won't even respond when I talk to you."
Chu Heng then came to his senses. He stroked Daiyu's face and said softly, "I was thinking, with you by my side, I have nothing left to be resentful about."
Daiyu raised her hand and squeezed his fingers, saying softly, "Me too."
Chu Heng leaned forward and gently kissed her lips. Just as their love was reaching its peak, there was a sudden knock on the door outside.
Daiyu was startled and quickly hid in Chu Heng's arms. Chu Heng gently embraced her, saying, "Don't be afraid."
There was still knocking at the door. Zhao Qing called out loudly, "Your Highness, it's urgent!"
Chu Heng frowned in annoyance, but his hand stroking Daiyu's back was incredibly gentle.
Daiyu had recovered by now. She pressed Chu Heng's arm and said, "Go out and take a look. Don't be angry. It's not a big deal. Eunuch Zhao wouldn't be knocking on the door at this time."
"Mmm." Chu Heng kissed her forehead, whispered a few words of comfort to Daiyu, and then got up from the bed.
Upon opening the door, Zhao Qing, without even bothering to pay his respects, hurriedly said, "Your Highness, His Majesty summons you to the palace, saying that something bad has happened to the Empress Dowager!"
Chu Heng was startled, and Daiyu, who was inside the room, was also greatly surprised when she heard these words.
They went to the palace to pay their respects yesterday. Although the Empress Dowager was not in good spirits, she was still able to take medicine and eat. How could she suddenly become unwell?
...
In Renshou Palace, the emperor, along with his princes and members of the imperial family, guarded the main hall, while the empress, along with her concubines, princesses, and female members of the imperial family, guarded the side hall. In the sleeping quarters, the imperial physicians were administering acupuncture and medicine, all of them sweating profusely and busy running around.
The emperor sat in the main seat, holding a string of Buddhist prayer beads in his hand: "Go and summon another imperial physician to give an answer."
The young eunuch hurriedly went to fetch someone. The imperial physician wiped the sweat from his brow and said tremblingly, "Your Majesty, the Empress Dowager has been agitated and is mentally unstable. She seems to be showing signs of a stroke. We have already given her acupuncture and administered her medicine."
The emperor frowned deeply and asked, "When will the Empress Dowager wake up?"
"This..." the Imperial Physician said, bowing his head. "We dare not make a definitive statement."
The emperor placed his hand on the table beside him, the prayer beads touching the rosewood tabletop, the sound particularly jarring in the silent hall, causing the imperial physician to tremble involuntarily.
Those sitting below were trembling with fear, lest they suffer an undeserved calamity in the face of the Emperor's wrath.
What caused the Empress Dowager to fall ill?
Because the emperor ordered the three old men of the Fang family to reflect on their mistakes behind closed doors and showed no intention of forgiving them, the Empress Dowager became so anxious and angry that she fell ill.
If the Empress Dowager were to die of anger because of this, and the Emperor were to go to great lengths to cover it up, everyone would know what really happened, and his reputation would be ruined.
Furthermore, there's no guarantee that some rebellious individuals won't use this as an excuse to attack the court, potentially causing some real turmoil. In that case, the emperor's reputation in history would predictably be utterly disgraceful.
Everyone knew what was going on, and no one dared to advise the emperor at this juncture. However, they were also afraid of being caught in the crossfire, so they all secretly glanced at Prince Duan.
Chu Heng, however, paid no attention to the stares of others. His brows were furrowed even more deeply than the emperor's, and his hands clenched and rubbed his sleeves from time to time.
Chu Heng thought of his conversation with Fang Zhe during the day. Did the Empress Dowager learn about this from the Fang family and that's when she was upset?
The Empress Dowager was never a good mother to Chu Heng. She personally fed Chu Heng poison, so all her deep concern and maternal affection were hypocritical in Chu Heng's eyes. She was just putting on an act.
The Empress Dowager arranged a marriage for Chu Heng on her own initiative, and then went around making things difficult for his beloved princess.
Chu Heng found it very difficult to feel any filial piety towards his mother, the Empress Dowager.
Therefore, Chu Heng could help the emperor deal with the Fang family without any burden, and he felt no unease when he saw the Empress Dowager fall ill as a result.
But Chu Heng never intended to kill her, in any way.
Chu Heng's future did not include an empress dowager; he only wanted to wait until the Fang family was wiped out by the emperor so that he could request permission to take Daiyu to his fiefdom.
As for the Empress Dowager, when she passes away peacefully, Chu Heng will return to the capital from his fiefdom and pretend to be a filial son.
Just as Chu Heng had once thought, one day when he died, the Empress Dowager would pretend to be sad and grief-stricken, playing the role of a loving mother who cherishes her son.
Chu Heng smoothed his sleeves, thinking to himself, "I should have brought a piece of ginger, otherwise what if I can't cry?"
"Your Majesty!" A young eunuch rushed in, "Reporting to Your Majesty, the Empress Dowager has awakened!"
The emperor immediately stood up: "I'll go take a look!"
Chu Heng followed behind the emperor, touched his chest. The empress dowager was at peace. Did he feel regret?
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