Chapter 509 Breakup
Upon hearing this, Xie Shang glanced at her a couple more times.
Bai Yuhan seized the opportunity to say, "Actually, when the Empress Dowager brought me into the palace, I thought she really liked me and had taken me in as her goddaughter. Later, I gradually realized that the Empress Dowager's intention in bringing me into the palace was to make me compete with the Empress for the Emperor's favor. Today, when I saw the Empress, I felt ashamed of myself. Even if the Empress Dowager wanted me to marry the Emperor, I would not agree."
The Empress's appearance was indeed stunning, and she herself was not bad either. She did not want to enter the palace to marry the Emperor. She would never have freedom in her life and would have to compete for the Emperor's favor with the other women in the harem. As the daughter of a merchant, she was of lowly status and could not compete with the daughter of a high-ranking official.
Bai Yuhan was very clever and good at reading people. She knew that the person the emperor cared about was the empress. As for why the emperor wanted to pull her aside to deliberately anger the empress, she had no idea. Judging from the empress's attitude and expression, she guessed that the two were having a conflict.
She returned to Cining Palace and began packing her luggage to leave the palace. Unexpectedly, her third uncle suddenly sneaked into the Empress Dowager's room. He was incredibly bold.
In fact, she could tell that the Empress Dowager also had the intention to seduce them. If these things were to spread outside the palace, it would definitely affect the royal family's reputation. She was also worried that the Emperor would not let them off easily and would kill them to silence them.
Bai Yuhan quickly replied, "I only came to the palace to deliver skin cream to the Empress Dowager. The Empress Dowager does not like products made by the Bai family. I am well aware of this. My luggage has already been packed. Please grant me and my third uncle permission to leave the palace."
Xie Shang noticed that she was so eloquent and persuasive, and that she resembled Jiang Fenghua in some ways.
He never wanted to kill anyone in the palace, lest he defile the palace. He had also heard of the Bai family business. The Empress Dowager deliberately arranged for him to meet her at Cining Palace, and even asked him to deliver pastries to the Imperial Study, which he did not refuse. He also wanted to know Jiang Fenghua's attitude. For half a month, Jiang Fenghua did not care at all. She only rushed to find him in a hurry when the Feng family entered the palace.
Jiang Fenghua didn't care at all about his relationship with any woman; she didn't love him, which was why she didn't care.
Xie Shang stared at Bai Yuhan's face. Her eyebrows were like crescent moons, her eyes were as bright as stars, and her red lips were luscious and beautiful. She was indeed a beauty.
Xie Shangchao said indifferently, "Have Lin Feng escort Master Bai out of the palace."
Wu Xin was stunned. Were they only sending the person surnamed Bai out of the palace? Was Bai Yuhan not seeing him off?
Xie Shang stared at Bai Yuhan and warned her repeatedly, "Go tell your third uncle that if I hear any rumors, no matter how wealthy your Bai family is, if I want your Bai family to disappear from the world, I will do it flawlessly."
Bai Yuhan replied respectfully, "This humble woman understands."
Immediately afterwards, Xie Shang said, "Go and ask the Empress to arrange for Miss Bai to stay in the inner palace."
Bai Yuhan was startled, "Your Majesty, this commoner..."
"Besides the Empress Dowager's matchmaking, is Miss Bai truly devoted to me?" Xie Shang slowly approached her, his breath almost brushing against Bai Yuhan's face, causing her to blush instantly and her heart to race.
Bai Yuhan stared at the incredibly handsome face before her. How could such a man not be captivating?
The next moment, she avoided Xie Shang's gaze, "What does Your Majesty mean by letting me stay in the palace? I think Your Majesty probably doesn't really like me!"
Xie Shang smiled faintly, then cornered her and whispered in her ear, "You stay in the palace..."
Bai Yuhan was stunned after hearing this.
Xie Shang gestured for her to be quiet, meaning she should watch her mouth or she would get into trouble. She just needed to cooperate with him.
Looking at the emperor before her again, Bai Yuhan no longer felt any infatuation. She felt as if serving a ruler was like walking on thin ice, his heart unpredictable. If she disobeyed him, would he really implicate the Bai family?
Bai Yuhan dared not say anything more in front of Bai Shangwen, only telling him to forget about the palace and especially not to talk about his relationship with the Empress Dowager, otherwise it would be a crime punishable by the extermination of his entire clan. How could Bai Shangwen really like an old woman like the Empress Dowager? He was just acting on a whim. The way the Empress Dowager looked at him emboldened him.
Neither Bai Yuhan nor Bai Shangwen knew that any woman who dared to get involved with the harem would not live long; Xie Shang was merely giving Bai Shangwen a different way to die.
Meanwhile, Lin Feng and his men escorted Bai Shangwen away overnight.
In the Cining Palace, Xie Shang walked up to the Empress Dowager and said, "Your Majesty need not concern yourself with the affairs of the inner palace. Since Your Majesty is unwell, please stay in the Cining Palace and recuperate. If I hear of Your Majesty doing anything immoral again, please go to the Hengyang Palace to accompany the Grand Empress Dowager!"
Seeing her son's cold attitude, the Empress Dowager said, "No matter what, I am your mother. You cannot treat me like this."
The mere mention of the word "mother" chilled Xie Shang to the bone. "Have I ever had a mother since I was a child? Has my mother ever truly cared about me? I am nothing more than the 'imperial heir' in the Empress Dowager's eyes. In the Empress Dowager's heart, the imperial heir is far more important than her son. Does the Empress Dowager even act like a mother?"
The Empress Dowager was dumbfounded. "Only by being born from my womb can you become the heir to the throne, have the right to compete for the throne, and sit on the throne. What's wrong with being the heir to the throne? Do you want to be a commoner, a powerless and helpless commoner? I'm doing all this for you."
The Empress Dowager roared, "For your sake, I have endured humiliation and hardship. No matter how much your father despises and looks down on you, I have always fought against him..."
"Enough! I've had enough of your 'it's for my own good' rhetoric. You're trying to get me opportunities, to make a good impression on Father Emperor," Xie Shang said coldly. "Even without the Empress Dowager's constant planning, I am still the Emperor of Great Zhou. Even if you hadn't married Jiang Fenghua for me, I would still be the Emperor of Great Zhou. These are Father Emperor's decisions, not Mother Empress's. In Father Emperor's eyes, Mother Empress is nothing."
Xie Shang knew how to kill someone by destroying their spirit.
As a mother, hearing these words from her child caused her immense heartache.
"The Empress Dowager is my birth mother. I dare not and cannot forget her kindness in giving me life and raising me. I will always keep her in mind and take good care of her. The Cining Palace is magnificent and I believe the Empress Dowager will like it very much. From now on, the Empress Dowager can live out her days here. The Empress Dowager should not interfere in the affairs of the harem."
"What do you mean? You want to confine me to Cining Palace? I am your mother," Empress Dowager Cheng said coldly. "Why would you do this? I have devoted myself to you. You were only this small when you were born, and I raised you to this age. I have never wronged you; it has all been for your own good."
Xie Shang's eyes were filled with grief. "My mother raised me, and at the same time, my every move was under your surveillance. You would know everything as soon as there was the slightest movement. I was so suffocated by your watchful eye. I always thought that I was just a 'royal heir,' a royal heir who was useful to you, not a person. Now you are sending women to my side to produce a royal heir. Are you trying to disgust Jiang Fenghua, or are you trying to win over a royal heir to control him?"
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