Chapter 498 The Bai Family
The Empress Dowager sat in the head seat with an air of majesty.
Bai Yuhan and Bai Shangwen were brought in without daring to raise their heads. They bowed and knelt on the ground, saying, "This humble subject pays respects to the Empress Dowager."
Empress Dowager Cheng stared at Bai Yuhan, looking her over. "No need for formalities, please rise! Granny Xi, please offer them seats."
Bai Yuhan and Bai Shangwen were both taken aback. "Thank you, Empress Dowager."
The two sat on the bench, feeling as if it were burning their bottoms. They were so uncomfortable that their heads seemed to droop down onto their legs, and they were extremely flustered.
Empress Dowager Cheng said gently, "You don't need to be nervous. I had you invited here simply to ask the young lady her surname, given name, place of origin, what her family does, how many parents and siblings she has, and whether she is married..."
Bai Yuhan explained in detail, “My surname is Bai, my name is Yuhan, I am from Jiangzhou, my family is in business, I have parents, an older brother, a younger brother, and some other family members. I am not married yet.”
"So he's a merchant. Merchants are good; the Emperor encourages people to do business. It's a good business." He didn't hold an official position in the court, so it's easier to control other people's daughters.
"Miss Bai, raise your head!"
Only then did Bai Yuhan dare to look at the Empress Dowager. She thought the Empress Dowager was very beautiful and her face was full of kindness.
Empress Dowager Cheng stared at her face like an idiot, thinking that all merchants were as easy to manipulate as street vendors hawking their wares on the streets of Shengjing. She was an empress dowager who had never known the hardships of the world, and probably didn't even know how to use money after decades in the palace.
The Empress Dowager continued, "I found Miss Bai to be very beautiful, so I couldn't help but have someone invite her in for a chat."
Bai Yuhan blushed slightly after being praised by the Empress Dowager. "My appearance is not even one ten-thousandth as beautiful as Your Majesty's. Your Majesty is the true beauty."
At this moment, Bai Shangwen couldn't help but secretly glance at the Empress Dowager. Why was the Empress Dowager asking these questions?
The Empress Dowager felt the man's gaze fixed on her. She followed his gaze and for a moment felt that the man's face was somewhat familiar, even though he was clearly already dead.
She composed herself and said, "Miss Bai, you have such a sweet tongue. I'm old and not as pretty as you young people."
Bai Yuhan's eyes widened. "The Empress Dowager is the most beautiful woman I have ever seen. I am telling the truth. If the Empress Dowager does not believe me, just stand on the street and I guarantee that you will attract everyone's attention. Everyone will think that the Empress Dowager is very beautiful."
The Empress Dowager was delighted by her words and laughed happily. She then noticed that Bai Shangwen was staring at her. She glanced at him, and Bai Shangwen immediately lowered his head, as if he dared not look at her again.
"I do indeed like Miss Bai. If Miss Bai is willing, I would like to invite you to the palace to accompany me for a while. Would Miss Bai be willing?" Empress Dowager Cheng continued, "I have no daughter, only a son. The first time I saw you, I felt that Miss Bai was like my daughter."
Bai Yuhan was stunned. "Enter the palace? But I never thought of entering the palace. Thank you for your kindness, Empress Dowager. My third uncle and I came to Shengjing to do business. We will go home after we finish our business."
The Empress Dowager said, "Why should a young woman like you work so hard doing business outside? I like you and want you to enter the palace to marry the Emperor and become an empress. Are you willing?" She thought that no woman would not want to enter the palace to marry her son.
Bai Yuhan panicked and knelt on the ground, hurriedly saying, "This commoner does not wish to enter the palace."
Bai Shangwen also knelt on the ground, saying, "The Bai family is just a small merchant family. I'm afraid Han'er is not worthy of the Emperor."
The Empress Dowager was not angry at their refusal; she stared at Bai Shangwen's face, somewhat lost in thought.
Seeing this, Granny Xi also glanced at Bai Shangwen and made a mental note of him. It turned out that the Empress Dowager had taken a liking to the girl and wanted her to marry the Emperor.
Granny Xi also lamented that the Empress Dowager's actions were excessive. Wasn't this deliberately finding a beautiful woman to annoy the Empress?
Bai Shangwen felt the Empress Dowager staring at him, but he didn't dare to say anything to remind her. He just wondered if there was something on his face.
Then the Empress Dowager said, "Miss Bai has never met the Emperor. If she did, she would surely like him. My son is the most handsome and dashing man in the world."
Bai Yuhan's lips twitched. Judging from the Empress Dowager's appearance, she knew that the Emperor was not bad-looking. However, there were many handsome men in the world, such as the man they met outside Huguo Temple, who was exceptionally handsome.
If it were him, she might consider marrying him; she didn't want to marry the emperor.
Seeing that she did not agree, the Empress Dowager said again, "I will not force Miss Bai. If you still do not want to marry the Emperor after you have met him, I will personally escort you out of the palace. I will not force you. Alternatively, Miss Bai, you can stay and chat with me for a while. I will pray for the people of the Great Zhou at Huguo Temple and stay for two days." She believed that no woman would dislike her son, who was just the daughter of a merchant.
"This..." Bai Yuhan glanced at Bai Shangwen, "Third Uncle." What should she do! She never expected to be favored by the Empress Dowager.
Bai Shangwen said, "We will also be staying in Shengjing for a while. Since the Empress Dowager has extended such a warm invitation, Han'er will accompany the Empress Dowager for two days."
The Empress Dowager asked him, "You are Miss Bai's third uncle. How old are you? What is your name? Do you have a wife?"
"Your Majesty, my name is Bai Shangwen. I am thirty-five years old this year. My wife died in childbirth a few years ago, and I have not remarried since."
The Empress Dowager was taken aback. Shangwen? Her cousin's name also contained a character. They were so different in age, but they looked somewhat alike. Her cousin had long since passed away.
The person she felt most sorry for in her life was her cousin.
She said calmly, "So, Young Master Bai is also a pitiful person."
On the other side, Lin Yu quietly left the room, avoiding the guards. This old hag was pretending to want to find a wild woman for the emperor, and even though the woman didn't want her, she insisted on keeping her by her side. Such a strong sense of purpose.
As soon as Lin Yu came out, Granny Wang and her men found her. "The rituals are all finished. It's getting late, we should go back to the palace."
"No rush." Lin Yu leaned close to Granny Wang's ear and told her about the Empress Dowager's plan.
Granny Wang was also very angry after hearing this. "Why does the Empress Dowager have to separate the Emperor and the Empress? It was the Empress Dowager who insisted that the late Emperor bestow a marriage upon the Empress."
She said, "What do we do now? Are we really going to let the Empress Dowager bring other women into the palace?"
Lin Yu was also very angry. If it weren't for Empress Dowager Cheng's tantrums, Feng Hua wouldn't have suffered by marrying Xie Shang in her previous life. In this life, she finally had a good life, but Empress Dowager Cheng was acting crazy every day.
Let's just go all the way and make sure she doesn't go back to the palace.
Just then, their people who had been planted in the palace found Lin Yu and said, "Miss, Her Majesty the Empress may be about to give birth."
Lin Yu said, "Wasn't there still a few days left? Why is it so sudden?"
"When I came out, the Empress fainted once, but was later revived. Then, Miss Hongxiu sent word that Her Majesty might be about to give birth."
Upon hearing this, Granny Wang disregarded everything else and said, "It's getting dark soon, I'll head back to the palace first. Does Miss Lin Yu want to stay?"
"Of course we'll go back together. Nothing is more important than the Empress giving birth." She then instructed the man to leave someone to keep an eye on the Empress Dowager.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
