Without hesitation, most officials, instigated by Wang Yuanguang, went to the Eastern Palace in groups to seek an audience.
As a result, they were unable to see Xue Shen; only Wang Deshun, who had been serving Xue Shen, made an appearance.
Wang Deshun seemed to have aged considerably in the past few days. Facing the group of ministers, he looked helpless and said with a bitter expression, "I will convey your words to His Majesty, but His Majesty is too grief-stricken to listen to anyone."
Wang Yuanguang said, “We deeply sympathize with Your Majesty’s pain at losing your wife and son. If it weren’t for the many matters in the court that await Your Majesty’s decision, we would not have rashly come to the Eastern Palace to request an audience.”
"Yes, not to mention the memorials sent from all over the country, the movements of the Northern Rong and Tubo alone are worrying. If Your Majesty continues to be immersed in grief, I'm afraid outsiders will take advantage of the situation."
"Indeed, and now seven days have passed, and no one has come to claim the Empress's body. With the weather so hot, if this continues..."
The person who spoke didn't finish his sentence, but Wang Deshun understood. He nodded repeatedly and said, "Who says otherwise? That's what I advised His Majesty as well. But I'm just a eunuch, so my words don't carry much weight. I really have no other choice."
Upon hearing this, Wang Yuanguang quickly said, "Please do us a favor and allow us to see His Majesty."
Wang Deshun hesitated for a long time before reluctantly agreeing: "Alright, even if His Majesty reprimands me, for His Majesty's health, I will still take you to see His Majesty. I'm afraid you might be able to persuade him."
When Wang Yuanguang saw that he had agreed, he was overjoyed and quickly summoned the other court officials to go see Xue Shen.
Xue Shen locked himself in his room. When Wang Deshun led Wang Yuanguang and his group over, they saw that his clothes were wrinkled, his back was dejected, and he was full of dejection.
Wang Yuanguang looked at him and cautiously stepped forward to bow: "Your Majesty."
Xue Shen ignored him, so Wang Yuanguang could only continue, "We are deeply saddened to hear this terrible news. But Your Majesty is the ruler of the world, and your body is of utmost importance. Even in your grief, you must take care of your health."
He then knelt down and prostrated himself on the ground, saying, "We have heard that Your Majesty has not slept or rested for seven days and has not allowed anyone to collect the Empress's body. We are heartbroken. For Your Majesty's health and for the sake of the country, even if it will disgust Your Majesty, we must speak frankly and offer our advice today."
"Your Majesty, please get over your grief as soon as possible and cheer up. This country and the people need Your Majesty. Yesterday, news came from the border that the Northern Rong and Tubo intend to form an alliance and are making trouble. If Your Majesty does not cheer up, this ancestral country will probably be invaded by foreign enemies again."
His words were earnest and filled with unbearable grief, truly giving the impression that he was risking his life to remonstrate with Xue Shenhao.
Xue Shen's back twitched, and he slowly turned around to look at them before finally speaking his first words: "I understand. I will attend court tomorrow."
Upon hearing this, Wang Yuanguang felt relieved, thinking that the Empress's importance was still no match for the vast empire.
If one can set aside the death of the empress for the sake of the court today, then one can naturally choose a concubine and establish an empress for the sake of the stability of the court and the harem tomorrow.
It's just a matter of how long it will take.
*
The following day, Xue Shen indeed rallied and returned to court.
However, he still forbade anyone to prepare for the Empress's funeral, saying that the Empress had always wanted to see the vast land before her death, and he did not want to confine her to the imperial mausoleum, but wanted to take her around to travel.
Although the court officials found it somewhat absurd, considering how hard he had worked to pull himself together and overcome his grief, they didn't dare to contradict him.
Moreover, to avoid bringing up the emperor's painful memories, they unanimously decided not to mention the deceased empress.
Another half month passed, and apart from forbidding anyone from mentioning the deceased empress, Xue Shen seemed to have emerged from his grief and resumed handling state affairs as usual, once again becoming the iron-fisted emperor.
Upon seeing this, officials in the court began to harbor their own ulterior motives.
The emperor was in the prime of his life, yet his harem was empty and he had no heir. Whoever could seize the opportunity to send their daughter into the palace and give birth to the first son might become the future empress or crown prince.
With this in mind, many officials began to have their own ideas.
This naturally includes the Wang family.
Wang Yuanguang's plan was well-thought-out. The Mid-Autumn Festival was approaching, a time for family reunion, but the emperor had just lost his wife and children, and he was afraid that the sight of the festival would trigger his grief and remind him of his deceased wife.
If someone happens to look somewhat like the Empress at this time, would the Emperor be tempted?
He thought about it from a man's perspective and felt that this was highly likely.
Wang Yuanguang immediately summoned his daughter, looked her over carefully, and said to Madam Wang, "Go and find out what kind of clothes and hairstyle the Shen family girl liked to wear in her lifetime, and have someone dress up Yunting according to that style."
Madam Wang had no idea what was wrong with him: "Imitating a dead person is so unlucky!"
Wang Yuanguang scoffed: "What do you know, you woman? The emperor is deeply in love with the Shen family's daughter, and he probably won't be able to be attracted to anyone else for a while. But if he were to find a woman who looks similar to him as a source of comfort, he might not refuse."
Madam Wang understood: "Are you trying to make our daughter a stand-in?" She was somewhat unwilling: "That would be too unfair to Yunting."
Wang Yuanguang snorted: "Those who achieve great things do not concern themselves with trifles. If the emperor really takes a liking to us, what does it matter if we are a substitute? The Shen family girl is already dead, but the benefits are truly our Wang family's."
He then looked at Wang Junting, who remained silent to the side, and asked, "Don't you think that makes sense?"
Wang Junting bit her lip and remained silent for a moment before nodding, her eyes red-rimmed: "As long as Your Majesty is willing, I will not object."
Wang Yuanguang showed a look of relief and turned to Madam Wang, saying, "My daughter is much smarter than you." He then said to Wang Junting, "You should make preparations first. I will go to the palace to request an audience with His Majesty and try to create an opportunity for you."
*
When Xue Shen heard that Wang Yuanguang was requesting an audience, he raised an eyebrow.
He recalled the thousand-year-old snow ginseng that Wang Yuanguang had sent him before and said to Wang Deshun, "At the time, I didn't think much of it, but now that I think about it, the timing of when he sent that thousand-year-old snow ginseng was really strange."
Wang Deshun pondered for a moment and nodded in agreement: "What Your Majesty says is indeed a bit strange. The snow ginseng is a life-saving item, and although it is an extremely precious treasure, sending it when the Empress's delivery date is approaching seems like wishing something bad for her. Given Prime Minister Wang's smooth-talking nature, it's not something he would do."
Xue Shen nodded: "Let him in, let me see what he's really up to."
Wang Yuanguang followed Wang Deshun into the hall, where he saw Xue Shen standing by the window with his hands behind his back. Hearing him enter, the student turned around and looked at him: "Minister Wang, what brings you here to request an audience?"
Wang Yuanguang quickly bowed and said, "I thought that the Mid-Autumn Festival was approaching, and I also heard that the scenery of Qingshuizhuang in the suburbs of the capital was quite nice. On the day of the Mid-Autumn Festival, the abbot of Dajue Temple will preside over a blessing ceremony. I thought that Your Majesty might like to go there to relax, so I took the liberty of requesting an audience."
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