Chapter 616 Your Majesty, may you have good fortune!
Xie Shang said, "Yan'er and You'er, stop bothering your great-grandmother. She came from a very far place. Let her go back to the palace to rest, okay?"
"Alright." The two said in unison, "Respectfully escorting our great-grandmother back to the palace."
Xie Shang added, "Consort, why don't you hurry up and arrange a palace for the Empress Dowager? The Empress Dowager likes tranquility and also enjoys Buddhist practices, so it must be arranged according to her preferences."
Gao Qingtong quickly replied, "Yes."
The Empress Dowager looked at her two great-grandsons and wondered who had taught them. Was it their mother?
Recalling Jiang's formidable appearance, disgust flashed in her eyes. The empress Xie Shang was going to marry was ambitious. Emperor Huijing had actually issued an edict that the empress would never be deposed. Was he coerced or bewitched?
The current emperor seems to be too fond of her. For an emperor to be sentimental is a major taboo in the royal family, and emperors who are sentimental never have a good ending.
After seeing off the Empress Dowager, Xie Shang took the two children directly to Chenxi Palace. He knew that the Empress Dowager would not leave until she saw Xie Minmin and Xie Yun.
He merely sent a letter to the Northwest informing Prince Kang of the disreputable things Xie Minmin and Xie Yun had done, without issuing an imperial edict summoning Prince Kang to the capital. Therefore, Prince Kang dared not easily enter the capital.
Since the Empress Dowager had secretly gone to the Northwest, she would definitely come back to care about the lives of her grandchildren once she knew about this news.
Xie Shang recalled that when he was young, he secretly went to the Hengyang Palace to visit the Empress Dowager. At that time, he thought that if he couldn't win the Emperor's favor, he would win the favor of his grandmother. However, he was wrong.
The Empress Dowager knew that his father was the emperor, so she directly expelled him from the Hengyang Palace. At that time, he had only one thought: since everyone disliked him, he would become the leader of the Great Zhou Dynasty and no one could drive him out.
In the heart of the Empress Dowager, only the children of Prince Kang were her beloved grandchildren. She disliked her father, and by extension, she disliked his children as well.
At that time, he had no idea why the Empress Dowager hated his father; he thought there couldn't be such great hatred between a mother and son.
Now, seeing the Empress Dowager running around for Prince Kang's child, he only finds it laughable.
He wanted to let the Empress Dowager and Prince Kang know that the Xie family's empire had not declined under the Emperor's rule, and that they were wrong.
All the servants of Chenxi Palace waited at the door. Granny Wang's eyes were swollen from crying when she learned that the Empress had returned to the Jiang residence.
Xie Shang asked, "Where is Yuan'er?"
Granny Wang said, "It's too cold outside, so I didn't dare to bring him out. He's in the Empress's main bedroom. Ever since the Empress left the palace, the eldest prince and the eldest princess insisted on staying in the main bedroom, so I brought the fourth prince to stay there as well. Now that the Empress has returned, I had someone clean up the room."
"No need. After the Empress returns to the palace, she will move directly to Kunning Palace. Granny Wang, you should pack your things and go out of the palace to welcome the Empress back!"
Granny Wang's eyes were red. "As an empress, she should live in Kunning Palace. Living in Chenxi Palace all the time will cause gossip. His Majesty should have welcomed the Empress there long ago. I have already made preparations for when the Empress will return to the palace."
"Let the Ministry of Rites make the arrangements. We'll set an auspicious date before the new year. I want to hold a new wedding ceremony with the Empress, which will also be her coronation ceremony."
Granny Wang said, "It's so rushed before the New Year. The New Year is just around the corner, and the weather is still so cold." Can't we wait until it gets a little warmer after the New Year?
"I don't want to wait any longer. She has completely forgotten that we were husband and wife. I want to marry her again and make her my empress. Ruan Ruan may not be used to many things after she comes back, so she will need Granny Wang to teach her more."
Granny Wang paused again, "Preparations for the Empress's coronation ceremony's dress began a year ago. Kunning Palace has also been renovated, so there's nothing lacking. As long as the Empress returns, it can be held anytime." The coronation ceremony dress is far more magnificent and noble than the bride's wedding dress.
Xie Shang frowned and said to Granny Wang, "She is very concerned about the concubines in my harem now. Granny, please think of a solution for me."
Granny Wang thought to herself, "Back then, the Emperor never refused anyone who came to him."
She sighed. Men are all two-faced, and the Emperor is no exception. The Empress never cared how many women the Emperor had, but he deliberately ignored her to torment her and drive her away. Now he's asking me for help. I have no idea. May Your Majesty have good luck!
Seeing that she remained silent, Xie Shang continued, "If I were to disband the harem, it would be unrealistic. The ministers would not agree. As the emperor of the Great Zhou, I naturally have to consider the stability of the Great Zhou. As long as Ruan Ruan can enter the palace safely, I can maintain a nominal harem."
Upon hearing this, Granny Wang was terrified and quickly said, "I am just a woman and don't understand any grand principles, but I do know the importance of the Emperor's harem. If the harem is merely a facade, it might cause dissatisfaction among the concubines and even lead to trouble." She dared not say anything that would affect the court.
But Granny Wang didn't want to wrong the Empress.
A woman's jealousy is immeasurable. As long as there are women in the harem, there will be strife. The empresses all appear to be on good terms, but life in the deep palace is unbearable! No one can say what will happen in the future. Even if the emperor is currently so affectionate and willing to create a harem for the empress, as time goes by and the empress grows older, there will be more temptations to seduce the emperor. Who can say what changes might occur? The so-called harem is just a facade.
The Emperor came to consult with a mere maid, probably because he trusted her.
All that could be heard was Granny Wang saying, "Actually, Her Majesty is the most sensible. Under her management, everyone in the harem behaves themselves. Her Majesty the Empress is kind-hearted and no matter how the ladies try to make things difficult for them, she is unwilling to do so. I think the key is still the Emperor's attitude. Everything depends on what the Emperor does to keep Her Majesty's heart."
Xie Shang fell into deep thought.
Granny Wang then reminded her, "Consort Zhang and Consort Pan are both about to give birth; their due dates are only a few days away."
Xie Shang felt completely overwhelmed after hearing this. He had long forgotten about it. Why had he favored them in the first place? At that time, he was angry with Jiang Fenghua and thought that she only loved his position as empress. He even kept delaying the empress coronation ceremony.
Seeing that his face was very pale, Granny Wang made an excuse, "This servant will go and make something for His Majesty to eat. Your Majesty, please rest for a while."
At this time, Xie Ziyan and Xie Hongyou were playing with Xie Hongyuan. They even found various portraits of Jiang Fenghua and hung them in the house. Every day they would tell him that the woman in the portraits was their mother.
Xie Hongyuan was too young to walk or talk. His older siblings would tease him and he would laugh. When looking at portraits, he would occasionally utter the words "Mother Empress".
Granny Wang, Lianye, Hongxiu, and others took good care of them. Although Consort Gao was now in charge of the harem, they did not allow her to have much contact with the princes and princesses.
Human nature is unpredictable, and they dare not take risks.
Xie Shang picked up his youngest son and said, "I am your father, call me father."
Xie Hongyuan stared at him coldly. He had never learned to call his father "Father Emperor," and Xie Ziyan and Xie Hongyou had forgotten to teach him either.
The youngest son was a star chosen by Master Wu Zi, who was believed to be able to change the fate of the Great Zhou Kingdom's demise. He wanted to see what his youngest son was capable of.
Next, Xie Hongyuan peed all over his father.
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