The Empress was deeply worried about Hongshi's disappearance. She immediately asked Shuzhen, "Has Hongshi been acting strangely lately? Do you know why he disappeared?"
Fucha, hiding in the shadows, overheard the conversation between the Empress and Shuzhen. She was secretly shocked, not expecting that the Empress was still in contact with Hongshi, who had now disappeared.
Shuzhen stammered, "Well, I don't know either. The Prince just suddenly disappeared."
The Empress was furious. She stood up abruptly from the soft couch, pointed at Shuzhen, and said, "You good-for-nothing! What do you mean by suddenly disappearing? You are Hongshi's wife, how come you don't even know where he went!"
Shuzhen quickly knelt on the ground. "Your Majesty, please forgive me. I really didn't know. Although I am Hongshi's wife, he never tells me where he goes or doesn't go. If I ask him, he gets angry. I have no other choice but to come and beg you."
The Empress sat back on the soft couch. "What kind of wife are you? He didn't tell you because he doesn't like you. If he liked you, he wouldn't be running around every day. Now look what's happened, you've run away. I'll see what you do now."
Shuzhen burst into tears, wiping them away with a handkerchief as she choked out, "I also want to win Your Highness's favor. I've tried my best to be good to you, but you're just indifferent to me. Before, you could still give me face because of the Ulanara family, but now..."
"Shut up!" the Empress shouted at her. "You have no right to mention the Ulanara family. Our family has been dragged down by the two of you. Don't you think about what your father is like now because of the two of you? How dare you say that?"
Shuzhen was startled and quickly bowed to the ground, "Your Majesty, please calm down, I didn't mean it."
She raised her face and said pitifully, "I'm just feeling wronged and I miss my family, so I came to find you, Aunt, hoping you can help Shuzhen."
The Empress sighed. Yes! Shuzhen was her niece. Although she didn't care for Xueying as much as she did for Shuzhen, she still had feelings for her.
"Get up," the Empress said gently. Shuzhen knew that she was no longer angry, so she stood up.
The Empress still had the palace maid hand the money she had brought to Shuzhen. Shuzhen refused to accept it, but the Empress said, "Take it if you want. You've lost your salaries and life is hard enough for you. As for Hongshi, I will send someone to find him. You can go back now."
Shuzhen crouched down and said, "Yes, this concubine takes her leave."
After Shuzhen left, the Empress picked up the teacup on the table. Just as she was about to take a sip, she remembered Hongshi's matter and decided not to drink it. She slammed the teacup heavily on the table.
The palace maid Lingxiu came over and said, "Your Highness, should we send someone to find Prince?"
"Go, send more people to find him and tell him that this is the last time I will tolerate him. If there is a next time, I will never care about him again and will let him fend for himself!"
The Empress's desire to give up on Hongshi was good news for Fucha. She planned to quickly gain the Fourth Prince's favor and give birth to a prince so that the Empress could assist her son. In that case, she would become the Empress Dowager after her son ascended the throne.
After the Empress and Shuzhen finished talking, Lady Fucha, fearing she would be discovered, quickly went to the back room.
Lingxiu said, "Your Highness, there's no need to be angry. Prince is just being playful. Why bother with him?"
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