Chapter 153 Relying on a woman for everything
When Li Yuanshu rushed to his father's palace, he saw that the sides of the hall were filled with kneeling people.
The civil and military officials in the court, the concubines in the harem...
Even her sisters, who were usually inconspicuous, were dressed in plain palace attire, kneeling obediently on the ground with solemn expressions.
Li Yuanshu's heart tightened, and he rushed straight towards the bedchamber through the crowd, only to be stopped by Eunuch Xu, who was guarding the door.
"Eunuch Xu! How is Father Emperor? I heard he fainted. Is it serious?"
Eunuch Xu sighed, "Your Highness, His Majesty has only recently awakened."
"It's good that he just woke up!" Li Yuanshu pressed, trying to force her way inside. "Then why won't you let me in to see him?"
"The Imperial Concubine is inside with His Majesty," Eunuch Xu said, stepping aside to block her path, his tone tinged with helplessness.
"Mother?" Upon hearing this, Li Yuanshu's heart, which had been hanging in suspense, instantly relaxed.
His mother must have come to plead with his father. With his mother there, his father might soften his heart and issue an edict to allow Li Yuanyou to return to the capital.
Inside the palace, the atmosphere was far from as relaxed as Li Yuanshu had imagined.
Li Ye leaned against the soft pillows, his face as pale as paper. With the help of palace servants, he finished a bowl of dark, medicinal soup.
After all the palace servants had left, he looked up at Consort Cui kneeling on the ground, his eyes devoid of any warmth.
He never had any feelings for Consort Cui.
He brought her into the palace back then only because he valued the Cui family's influence in the court and wanted to use the Cui family to consolidate his throne.
The honor of being granted the title of Imperial Concubine and the permission to manage the harem over the years were only because the Cui family still had value to them and because she had given birth to Li Yuanyou, the only prince.
But now, the Cui family has acted perversely and lost the hearts of the people, and Li Yuanyou has ruined his own future.
At this point, her value as a woman has long since diminished.
Consort Cui knelt on the ground, tears streaming down her face, her voice choked with sobs.
"Your Majesty, you must do justice for You'er! You'er is young and immature. He must have been deceived by treacherous people to do such a foolish thing as shaving his head to become a monk! His vow never to return to the capital is meaningless!"
Upon hearing this, Li Ye's anger flared up again.
He raised his hand and slapped Consort Cui across the face.
"What a fine son you've raised!" His voice was hoarse and weak. "You're so cowardly and incompetent, you've made a mess of Weizhou, and now you dare to do such a foolish thing. How dare you come before me and cry?"
Li Ye is currently weak due to illness, so the slap was not actually that hard.
But this made Consort Cui freeze instantly, her crying stopped abruptly, and her eyes were filled with disbelief.
She had been with Li Ye for so many years, and no matter how dissatisfied he was, he had never humiliated her like this.
During this period, the Cui family lost power, her son's life was uncertain, and now she had become a nun. She was already exhausted and was only able to hold on by sheer willpower.
But now, Li Ye's slap seemed to be too much for her to bear.
She suddenly looked up, a mocking sneer playing on her lips.
“Your Majesty, is You’er my only son? When he was just born, you sent him to the Empress Dowager’s palace to be raised in the name of filial piety. After the Empress Dowager passed away, You’er finally returned to my side, but what did you do to him? You beat and scolded him all the time, and you said every day that ‘he is not even one or two tenths as good as Li Yuanzhao.’ Is it not your fault that You’er has become like this?”
Li Ye never expected that Consort Cui, who had always been obedient and respectful to him, would dare to accuse him in this way.
His chest heaved violently with anger, and he coughed repeatedly. "Cui, who gave you the audacity to speak to me like that?"
"The Cui family, the Cui family..." The Imperial Concubine repeated these two words in a low voice, and the last bit of warmth in her eyes was completely extinguished.
She looked up at Li Ye, her voice tinged with self-mockery and sorrow.
“I have been your wife for nearly twenty years. I’m afraid you’ve long forgotten that I have my own name. I’m not called Cui Shi. I’m called Cui Yunyi.”
Li Ye was speechless for a moment after being choked by her words, but he still forced a snarl and said, "Do you not even want me to preserve the dignity of a Noble Consort for you?"
"The dignity of a noble consort?"
Tears welled in Cui Yunyi's eyes, but a near-manic smile played on her lips, and her voice suddenly rose in pitch.
"Was this noble consort's status bestowed upon me by His Majesty, or by the Cui family?"
Li Ye's expression suddenly darkened, and he asked, "What do you mean?"
“Your Majesty, over the years, you have appeared to be sitting high on the dragon throne, but in reality, you have only been hiding behind it, relying on women to support you in everything. You were able to ascend the throne with the help of Shen Lang, then you relied on our Cui family to secure your position, and now you rely on Li Yuanzhao to manage the court and stabilize the people’s hearts.”
"Tell me then, who is giving whom this 'face'?"
She became more and more agitated as she spoke, her voice carrying an almost shrill mockery, "Your Majesty, you call You'er weak and incompetent? But the one who is truly both weak and incompetent is you!"
"When problems arise, you only hide behind others. Once others have helped you overcome the difficulties, you turn your back on them and try to claim all the credit for yourself, eliminating all potential threats completely. In the past twenty years, what else have you been good at besides being stubborn, self-willed, and ungrateful?"
These words made Li Ye's face turn from white to green, then from green to purple, and he felt like he was about to faint from anger again.
"Outrageous!" He was so angry that he trembled all over, and his finger pointing at Cui Yunyi was shaking.
"You madwoman! You're spouting nonsense, you're practically delusional!"
Cui Yunyi laughed indifferently, "Just think of me as crazy. I really was crazy back then, that I was blinded by greed and would willingly enter this cannibalistic palace for a man like you..."
Li Ye could no longer bear to listen. He gritted his teeth, trying to suppress the metallic taste in his throat, and shouted sternly towards the outside of the hall: "Guards! The Imperial Concubine is having a hysterical episode, is delirious, and is talking nonsense! Send her back to her palace immediately, keep her under strict guard, and summon the imperial physicians to treat her properly. Without my decree, she is not to step out of the palace gates!"
Several palace servants hurriedly stepped forward, whispered "Please forgive me, Your Highness," and helped her up from either side.
Consort Cui stopped struggling and crying, and simply let them lead her away.
Before leaving, she turned back to look at Li Ye one last time, her gaze a mixture of sorrow, mockery, and utter despair.
The palace doors slowly closed, shutting out the last trace of sound.
Li Ye slumped onto the couch alone, still panting. In the silence of the entire hall, only his own rapid breathing could be heard, making him sound particularly desolate.
Under the corridor outside the palace gate, Li Yuanshu was pacing back and forth, clutching a handkerchief, her heart filled with worry about the situation inside the palace.
At this moment, the palace door creaked open, and several palace servants, heads bowed, carried Consort Cui out on either side.
The imperial concubine's hair was disheveled, and there was a faint red mark on one side of her cheek. Her originally exquisite makeup was ruined by tears, and her eyes stared blankly ahead, completely different from her usual dignified and proper appearance.
"Stop!" Li Yuanshu's heart tightened, and she rushed forward, reaching out to stop the palace servants. "What are you doing? Release my mother at once!"
A palace servant explained, "Third Princess, His Majesty said that the Imperial Concubine is suffering from a seizure and is delirious. He has ordered us to immediately send her back to the palace and request the imperial physician to treat her."
Li Yuanshu frowned. "Hypochondria? What hypochondria? My mother has always been perfectly healthy. When has she ever had hypochondria?"
The palace servants kept their heads down. "Your Highness, this is His Majesty's order. We dare not disobey."
Upon hearing this, and seeing his mother's lifeless expression, Li Yuanshu had no choice but to step aside.
Seeing her mother being sent back to the palace, her heart sank.
What exactly did the mother say to the father in the palace?
Why would someone who is perfectly healthy be labeled as having a "hysterical episode"?
Although the Emperor had always been indifferent to the Empress Dowager, he had never been so heartless.
What exactly happened?
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com