Chapter 162 The Emperor Learns of the Rumors
Inside the palace, the emperor was worried about why he had not yet found his empress.
He flipped through the memorials in his hand and impatiently called out to the old eunuch beside him, "Well, is there any news from Guard Chen?"
The old eunuch bowed his head and said, "Your Majesty, there is still no news from Guard Chen."
The emperor slammed the memorial he was holding onto the table. "Useless thing! It's been so long, and there's still no news!"
The old eunuch lowered his head and whispered, "Your Majesty, the world is so vast, how easy is it to find someone!"
The emperor stood up and said sternly, "I don't care about any of that. You must help me find him. I'm giving you a month. If there's still no news, you'll have to give me your heads!"
The old eunuch trembled with fear. After thinking for a moment, he raised his head slightly and said, "Your Majesty, I heard that the Third Prince has returned. Why don't we ask him to help us search for him?"
"Let the third prince help search?" The emperor's face darkened, and he hesitated slightly. "You know that he had been thinking about the empress ever since she entered the palace."
The old eunuch slowly walked to his side and said, "Your Majesty, the Third Prince has many subordinates in Qingzhou Prefecture, and just as you said, he has deep feelings for the Empress. Therefore, he will definitely not spread the news that the Empress is not dead."
The emperor found some merit in the argument, and after a moment's thought, he replied, "Alright, go and summon the Third Prince to the palace immediately."
The old lady listened to his words and breathed a sigh of relief. She bowed and said, "Yes, Your Majesty."
As soon as the old eunuch left, a young eunuch hurried in, "Your Majesty."
Seeing his flustered appearance, the emperor asked him, "What's wrong? What happened?"
The young eunuch walked up to him and whispered, "Your Majesty, I have recently heard some rumors in the palace."
"Rumors? What rumors?" The emperor, uninterested in such matters, asked slowly.
The young eunuch glanced around and, seeing that there was no one in the hall, quickly said, "This servant has heard that Her Highness the Imperial Concubine and Master Sun have a very close relationship."
The emperor said dismissively, "I've heard about these things before. It's just that some people have spread some filthy rumors because they see the two of them getting close. I asked Consort Wu, and they're just cousins."
"Moreover, Master Sun looks much older than Consort Wu, how could the two of them be illicit?"
As he spoke, he picked up the teacup on the table and took a sip.
The young eunuch hesitated for a moment, then continued, "Your Majesty, I have heard that Consort Wu and Master Sun are together in order to obtain the imperial heir."
"Borrow the imperial heir?!" The emperor was shocked, nearly choking on his tea. After coughing violently a few times, he put down his teacup. "What do you mean?"
The young eunuch lowered his head, a hint of fear on his face. He slowly said, "It's about getting pregnant through Master Sun!"
The emperor jumped to his feet. "Insolence! Who spread this rumor?!"
The young eunuch shook his head. "This servant doesn't know who spread the rumor, but all I know is that they all say the two children Consort Wu miscarried were not Your Majesty's."
"And they also said..."
"What else is there to say?" the emperor asked, suppressing his anger.
The young eunuch gritted his teeth and said bluntly, "They say that Her Majesty the Empress was framed! They say that the Consort was afraid that the identity of the child in her womb would be discovered, so she deliberately put on a show to make His Majesty think that it was Her Majesty the Empress who caused her miscarriage."
The emperor was startled and froze on the spot. He grabbed the eunuch and asked sternly, "What did you say? What did you just say?!"
Seeing his terrifying eyes, the young eunuch quickly lowered his head and whispered, "He said that back then, it was the Imperial Concubine who deliberately framed the Empress, causing her to miscarry!"
Upon hearing this, the emperor's gaze gradually lost focus. He slowly released the eunuch. "No, that child must be mine. I am not mistaken. Consort Wu did not frame the empress. It was the empress who caused Consort Wu's miscarriage out of jealousy. That's how it is."
He muttered to himself.
The young eunuch stood there, stunned, and looked helpless as he listened to the emperor's words.
The emperor kicked him, yelling, "Get out of here right now!"
"Yes, Your Majesty." The little eunuch scrambled away from the scene.
The emperor sat alone on the dragon throne, the words of the little eunuch echoing in his mind.
Back then, the emperor did suspect that the empress was innocent, but he was too impatient; he was too eager to find a new love.
He originally thought that the Empress would never make any mistakes in her life. When he heard that Consort Wu had miscarried, he was not angry, but happy. He finally had the opportunity to banish her to the Cold Palace.
He was especially pleased when the Lu family was wiped out, finally having the opportunity to completely drive the Empress out of the palace.
In this way, he can comfortably embrace his new lover and live a carefree and pleasure-seeking life.
In this way, no one in the entire palace could control him anymore.
Now, someone is telling him that the Empress was wronged by him, just like the wall he built for himself has collapsed.
When he first learned that the Empress was not dead, he planned to use his saintly demeanor to forgive all her mistakes and bring her back to his side.
When an emperor apologizes to that jealous woman, no one should criticize him for his mistake. Instead of condemning him for being heartless, they would praise him for being loyal and devoted, remembering the empress who made the mistake all these years.
However, if what the little eunuch said was true...
Then he would be the heartless man that the world despises! A foolish ruler who was bewitched by beauty!
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