Chapter 198 The Emperor is All Alone
The Emperor stared into Xie Ling'er's eyes, filled with anger and utter disappointment. At this moment, he felt as if his whole life had been a joke. The Emperor of the Great Zhou Dynasty, the most powerful man in the world, whose harem seemed to be filled with fear and respect for him, was actually being betrayed, schemed against, mocked, and ridiculed by everyone.
He suddenly laughed, his steps faltering, and the white hair at his temples seemed to have increased dramatically. "Enough, you may leave! I will send someone to teach you etiquette again. Your mother spoiled you too much back then."
"Father, the Empress really did hit me, but you didn't see it." Xie Ling'er, seeing that she had been exposed, still wanted to complain, "Father, I'm telling the truth, but there's no evidence. If she wanted to punish me, why would she leave any evidence? It was my stupidity that led me to come up with this plan. The Empress was just pretending; she's not a good person, she..."
"Cao De, take her away," the Emperor ordered sternly.
Xie Ling'er was taken away, and the Emperor didn't even allow the Empress to get up from the snow. Jiang Fenghua was trembling, unsure whether to leave or stay. Just as she was about to say, "Daughter-in-law takes her leave..."
The emperor suddenly said, "I am the Son of Heaven, the emperor. Have I not treated them well? I feed them well, provide them with endless riches and honors, so why are they all betraying me?"
Jiang Fenghua stopped in her tracks. Seeing the Emperor's disappointment, she found the story somewhat absurd. Then she thought of Xie Shang's longing for his father's love since childhood. "The Prince has always needed you since he was a child. He has worked very hard and always longed for his father's approval and care. I think all of you ladies feel the same way!"
After saying that, she didn't want to stay and become cannon fodder, so she left directly. As long as the emperor had no reason to execute Granny Wang, the rest was none of her business.
The emperor wanted to get angry, but he couldn't find anyone to vent his anger on. He felt like he was all alone. He seemed to have everything, but in reality, he had nothing.
The emperor suddenly felt his body become empty as he sat on a soft chair.
A moment later, Empress Cheng suddenly walked in and knelt before the Emperor, saying, "Your Majesty, I am innocent."
She still didn't want to affect her son's future, so she decided to apologize to the emperor, since she had often done things like barging into the emperor's bedchamber before.
Empress Cheng lived her whole life without a care in the world, because she didn't care about the emperor at all. She was not his first empress, but only his second empress.
The Emperor suddenly stared into her eyes. The Empress was being hypocritical; there was no love in her eyes for him at all. But even though she was being deceitful, having an affair with his cousin, betraying him, and always being noisy and unreasonable, he still tolerated her and kept her as Empress.
Now he finally understood why he had been able to tolerate the Empress all these years. It was because he was too lonely. All the women in the harem were afraid of him and flattered him, but the Empress alone never came to him for help, even when she did something wrong, and never pretended to be nice to him for the sake of the Cheng family.
Looking at the emperor like this, Empress Cheng knelt on the ground, speechless for a moment. Her thoughts were in turmoil. So many things had happened tonight, why hadn't the emperor gotten angry? What was wrong with him?
The Emperor's gaze was piercing, his eyes burning with a fierce fire. He should have deposed her from her position as Empress, but then he thought that among his many princes, only Xie Shang truly had the ability and skill to succeed him as Crown Prince.
The Emperor suddenly said coldly, "You should be glad you gave birth to a good son, instead of coming to me to play tricks on me, then I would let you go."
Empress Cheng was stunned. What did the Emperor mean?
She said, "I was diligently teaching the Ninth Princess and did not mistreat her. Hasn't that already been investigated and confirmed?"
"Get up! Undress me and serve me until I retire for the night." The emperor wanted to deliberately humiliate her.
Empress Cheng knelt on the ground, "Why not let Consort Ya serve His Majesty? My clothes are all wet and my makeup is not presentable. She doesn't know that the more she refuses His Majesty, the worse her life will be."
The emperor could give her a good life, but he could also humiliate her to the point of wishing she were dead. The only man she could think of was the emperor.
The Emperor's eyes were cold and devoid of emotion, his tone almost commanding, "You've been hiding for twenty years, and now you've learned how to live a carefree life. It's not a wife's duty to serve her husband. Have you forgotten your role, or are you like Consort Wang, disdainful of serving me?"
"Your Majesty, I dare not." The Empress knew that he had brought up the matter from back then again. She thought that the Emperor's affectionate gaze towards her some time ago meant that he had long since let go of these things. It turned out that she was too naive. A man can never let go of his wife's betrayal.
She hadn't betrayed him, but she didn't dare to talk back, fearing that her impulsiveness would prevent Xie Shang from becoming emperor.
Besides, what woman would waste her prime years hiding from her husband for twenty years when he clearly harbored hatred towards her and never took her, the empress, seriously, and now she's turning around and blaming him?
Empress Cheng harbored no less resentment than Consort Yan. Helpless, she could only step forward to help the emperor undress, appearing meek and submissive.
Seeing her like this, the Emperor pushed her away, saying, "You seem so unwilling, but I didn't force you."
Empress Cheng clenched her fists, held back her anger, and her voice softened, "I am not unwilling, but my legs are frostbitten."
The Emperor's eyes flickered slightly as he noticed that her dress was mostly wet, her hair was not styled in a bun, and she didn't even have any hairpins or ornaments. Her long black hair was draped over her shoulders, just like her appearance before she was married.
"Go back now, I'm tired." The Emperor said helplessly, "If he wins this war, I will make him the Crown Prince, and you won't have to put on a show for me for so many years."
Empress Cheng was completely dumbfounded. In her heart, the Emperor was suspicious and petty, with countless women in his harem. Although he married her as Empress, it wasn't because he loved her that he made her Empress. The Su family was quite powerful at the time, but later...
Su Qingqing entered the palace as a Noble Consort, and he always favored her exclusively. If she hadn't become Empress first, wouldn't the Empress's position have been Su Qingqing's? If Su Qingqing hadn't been unable to give birth to a son, the position of Crown Prince would never have been anyone else's.
In Empress Cheng's heart, the Emperor liked Su Qingqing; otherwise, why would he still support her even after she had been taken by others and gone mad?
The Emperor entered the inner palace alone, not caring whether she left or not.
Empress Cheng was tormented. She had been stubborn for so many years. What was she doing all this for? It was to prove to the Emperor that she had never done anything to betray him and that she had never loved her cousin.
She and the Emperor had a happy time when they first got married, but everything changed after Su Qingqing entered the palace.
The emperor looks increasingly old now, his hair has turned white, and he looks very weathered. He was clearly a suspicious person by nature, so how has he changed?
He just meant to make Shang'er the crown prince, but isn't he the one who hates her son the most? He has been very harsh on Shang'er since he was a child and has never liked him.
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