Chapter 747 Empress Dowager Cheng Arrives Again
Consort Chang said, "Yang'er has already told me. Alas! I don't know what happened to Yu Rou. How could she talk such nonsense?"
"Could the Dowager Consort persuade Fourth Sister-in-law to clear her name? I think she will listen to the Dowager Consort and tell the truth to clear my name. With this stain, the entire court and even the people of the world will lose faith in the royal family. This matter will also have a great impact on Fourth Brother. I have always respected Fourth Brother, but now such a misunderstanding has occurred." Xie Shang looked worried. "I have no face to see anyone now, and I will have no face to see the ancestors of the Xie family in the future."
Consort Chang's expression was also grim. "How could Yu Rou be so foolish? By doing this, she has not only harmed the Emperor, but also herself. A woman's reputation is more important than her life. Does she not want to live anymore?"
Jiang Fenghua interjected, "So please ask the Dowager Consort to persuade Fourth Sister-in-law who instructed her to do this, and what difficulties she may have to speak out."
Consort Chang said, "I will try my best to persuade her."
"Zhang Yurou is a shameless slut. I don't know whose bastard she had, but she dares to blame herself on the Emperor. This kind of morally corrupt woman should be dragged out and paraded through the streets, then skinned alive." Just then, Empress Dowager Cheng arrived in a flurry with her entourage. Empress Dowager Cheng said coldly.
As soon as Empress Dowager Cheng arrived, Consort Chang quickly rose and bowed, saying, "Greetings, Empress Dowager."
Empress Dowager Cheng gave her a cold look. "Zhang Yurou is your daughter-in-law. It is your responsibility if you can't control her. The Fourth Prince is weak and incompetent and can't control her. As their mother, you should manage the household for your son. I advised you to move out of the West Palace and live in the Fourth Prince's residence to properly train your daughter-in-law. Now that such a big incident has happened, it's too late to say anything. You have completely disgraced the royal family."
Empress Dowager Cheng continued her tirade, pointing at Consort Chang and launching into a tirade: "Chang Mingxiu, what can I say to you? You should have left the palace long ago to protect your son. He can't control women. Sigh, he's thirty years old and still doesn't seem to have weaned himself. Since Zhang Yurou is not a virtuous woman, then beat her until she is. The royal family has a reputation to uphold. Now you've even implicated my son."
Consort Chang was scolded and didn't want to say another word to her.
Just as Empress Dowager Cheng was about to speak, Xie Shang said in a deep voice, "Mother."
Empress Dowager Cheng's expression immediately changed, as if she had only just noticed Xie Shang and Jiang Fenghua. "The Emperor and Empress are here too! I was extremely anxious when I heard what happened in the Golden Palace. Right now, the only thing we can do is get Zhang Yurou to change her story. Say that she was coerced into saying those things, and try to salvage the Emperor's reputation. Consort Chang and Xie Yang should go together to clarify the rumors and say that the child is indeed the Fourth Prince's. As for Zhang Yurou, say that she deliberately said those things to frame the Emperor..."
"Mother, please return to the palace first! I will handle these matters," Xie Shang said in a deep voice.
When Empress Dowager Cheng saw the impatience in her son's eyes, and thought about how long it had been since he had visited her palace to pay his respects, her heart ached. For Jiang Fenghua, he had truly disregarded all motherly affection, just as the old saying goes, "Once you have a wife, you forget your mother."
Xie Yang was different; he always put Consort Chang first and had always protected his mother since childhood.
"The mud has already been thrown at you. How are you going to deal with it? Whether you and Zhang Yurou were together or not, you can't explain it clearly." Empress Dowager Cheng continued, "But men, even if they were together, it's only natural. So many years have passed. Even if you were together, you can't admit it because you are now the emperor, with a noble status. So much time has passed, you can't explain it clearly."
I remember that Zhang Yurou wanted to marry you back then, but Mother refused. If only I had married Zhang Yurou back then, to avoid you getting involved with Su Tingwan and then marrying another woman later..."
She glanced at Jiang Fenghua, who had married the woman she hated most and brought her into the palace: "If Xie Ruoyi is really a princess, we should find a reason to let her enter the palace to acknowledge her ancestors. The imperial heirs are few, so in the future, Mother... let the Empress arrange the selection of concubines. Everything should be based on the imperial heirs."
Jiang Fenghua sat upright. Empress Dowager Cheng dared not openly offend her, but from what Empress Dowager Cheng said, she regretted not marrying Zhang Yurou into the mansion, and instead let her take her son.
What's even more ridiculous is that Empress Dowager Cheng actually believed that Zhang Yurou's accusations against Xie Shang were true. She claimed that she had slept with his son, was pregnant with his child, and even wanted Xie Ruoyi to enter the palace as a princess.
What did she mean by saying that? Was she deliberately bringing a child into the palace to disgust people?
Empress Dowager Cheng's words were truly idiotic. It was already shameless enough that her brother-in-law and sister-in-law had such an affair, but he was the emperor! If this got out, how would the world view the emperor?
If Xie Yang really orchestrated all of this, it has to be said that his move was indeed brilliant. He used his own wife and children to directly ruin the emperor's reputation, and Xie Shang will be in real trouble from now on.
At this moment, Xie Shang felt heartbroken. His mother didn't believe him either; she had never truly understood her son.
Compared to Xie Yang, Xie Yang was indeed happier; at least Consort Chang's smile was warm.
He could still hear Empress Dowager Cheng rambling on and on when he said coldly, "Mother, please go back. This matter has nothing to do with you." He had already restrained himself quite a bit.
Anger flashed in Empress Dowager Cheng's eyes. "Shang'er, I'm worried about you. I am your biological mother. You ran to the West Palace to beg Consort Chang for help, and you won't even listen to your mother's advice?"
"I thank Your Majesty for your concern. You may return to the palace now!" Xie Shang said in a deep voice.
Empress Dowager Cheng was furious at being turned away. She looked at Jiang Fenghua and deliberately said, "The Emperor will still increase the number of concubines in the harem in the future. The matter of Zhang Yurou and Shang'er is in the past. The Empress doesn't need to take it to heart. The most important thing now is to assist the Emperor in handling this matter. I will return to the palace first."
The more Empress Dowager Cheng said this, the more it proved that Xie Shang and Zhang Yurou had had an affair. She was deliberately trying to anger Jiang Fenghua, and she felt annoyed whenever she saw Jiang Fenghua.
Jiang Fenghua had never seen a mother like this before; no wonder Xie Shang never felt any warmth from Empress Dowager Cheng.
After Empress Dowager Cheng left, Xie Shang's face turned green with anger. He did not leave but controlled his emotions with reason and said gently, "Your Highness, please don't mind. My mother has always had this temper."
Consort Chang and Empress Dowager Cheng had known each other for decades, so she knew the Empress Dowager's temperament. "The Empress Dowager is also concerned about the Emperor." With Empress Dowager Cheng like this, Xie Shang would never be able to get close to her.
After Xie Shang and Jiang Fenghua left the West Palace, Xie Yang emerged from the shadows and said, "Mother."
Consort Chang said, "I'll go see Zhang Yurou and pretend to be there. You should go back to the Prince's residence! You're the victim now."
"Is it really good for us to ruin Xie Shang's reputation?" Xie Yang asked. "Does Mother really think her son is capable of being emperor?"
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