Chapter 54 Why take out your anger on the child when you've rejected him so easily? ...
His eyes were as dark as night, filled with an indescribable pain.
All the wounds suffered on the battlefield, and the open and hidden attacks she endured in the imperial court, were not as hurtful as her casual words at this moment.
“Every time I think I’m getting a little closer to you,” his voice was so low it was almost broken, “you always do this, using the coldest way to keep me at arm’s length.”
The candlelight crackled and flickered in his eyes, reflecting a rare vulnerability.
At this moment, he was no longer the emperor who held the power of life and death, but just an ordinary man who had tasted disappointment time and time again as she distanced herself from him.
Fangru was slightly taken aback by his sudden anger, but she still straightened her back and said in a calm tone: "Your Majesty, I am just doing my duty."
"Your duty?" Zhou Ling practically spat out the words through clenched teeth. He took a step closer, his gaze sharp as a knife. "Is your duty to be like a wooden puppet, indifferent to everything? Or is it like at Taiye Pond, keeping me a thousand miles away, that's your duty?!"
"Your Majesty!" Fangru finally raised her voice, stung by the sharpness in his words. A hint of suppressed pain flashed in her eyes. "In Fengyi Palace, I was ungrateful. Now, I am careful with my words and actions, and strictly abide by the palace rules. Am I wrong again? What exactly does Your Majesty want from me?"
"What do I want from you?" Zhou Ling repeated her words, his eyes churning with emotions, as if he had a thousand words to say, but in the end it turned into a cold laugh, with a hint of self-mockery, "I don't even know what I'm expecting."
He looked at her cheeks, slightly flushed with excitement, and her eyes, which were trying to remain calm but couldn't hide her inner turmoil. The anger and disappointment in his heart intertwined, and he felt an urge to destroy her mask.
He drew closer again, his aura dangerously enveloping him, his voice low and oppressive: "Perhaps, I just want to see how long you can maintain this calm and composed demeanor?"
The emotions churning in Zhou Ling's eyes suddenly turned deep and dangerous.
Looking at the aloof and composed face before him, at her eyes that seemed forever calm and undisturbed, an almost obsessive thought suddenly seized him: perhaps words are ultimately pale, only the most intimate contact can tear away her layers of disguise and touch the real, flesh-and-blood her.
He suddenly reached out and grabbed her wrist, the force so strong that her slender joints throbbed slightly.
He pulled her into his arms, his hot breath brushing against her forehead, his voice hoarse and undeniably aggressive: "Since you don't know what to do, then... let me tell you what I really want."
Fangru's heart skipped a beat at his sudden action. She struggled to break free from his hold, but couldn't budge him an inch. In desperation, she tilted her head back, a clear resistance flashing in her eyes, and blurted out, "Your Majesty, have you forgotten what you said? Your words are golden, you said yourself... that you would never set foot in Yilan Palace again, that you would never... touch me again!"
These words were like the sharpest ice pick, instantly piercing through all of Zhou Ling's feigned strength and anger.
He suddenly loosened his grip on her wrist, and she froze on the spot as if she had been burned.
So... she remembered.
She remembered it so clearly, word for word.
It turns out that her resistance at this moment did not stem from shyness or reserve, but from the angry words he had uttered in a fit of rage and disappointment.
She was using his own words to shut him out.
The raging anger was extinguished as if doused with ice water, leaving only an endless chill and dull pain that spread from the bottom of my heart, instantly sweeping through my limbs and bones.
He slowly released his hand, and even subconsciously took a step back, widening the distance between them that had been too close.
The aggressive intensity he had just displayed vanished, replaced by a deeper, more piercing sorrow in his deep eyes, where the surging desire had been replaced by a more profound and poignant sadness.
He twitched the corners of his mouth, trying to reveal his usual mockery, but it only turned into a bitter smile.
“Good… very good.” His voice was low and hoarse, carrying an undisguised weariness and self-mockery. “You really are… extremely disgusted with my touch.”
He gave her one last deep look, his gaze so complex that it inexplicably tightened her heart—a look of disappointment, sadness, and a kind of desolation she couldn't understand.
Without another word, he abruptly turned around, carrying with him the lingering scent of ambergris and an even stronger sense of loneliness, and strode away without looking back, leaving her alone in the empty and cold side hall.
Fangru stared blankly at his retreating figure as he disappeared outside the palace gate. The feeling of his forceful touch still lingered on her wrist, and in a corner of her heart, a subtle pain rose because of his last look.
...
The sounds of string and wind instruments filled the Hanxu Hall, and amidst the clinking of glasses, a harmonious and joyful atmosphere prevailed.
Zheng Yu, a senior official in the Ministry of Justice, sat in a seat at the back, absentmindedly sipping his wine.
My gaze occasionally swept towards the throne, and I saw the Empress Dowager lovingly teasing the Prince Cheng in her arms. The child's innocent laughter added a touch of liveliness to the solemn banquet.
What should have been a harmonious scene of a family enjoying their grandchildren turned into a thunderbolt the moment Zheng Yu saw the child's face, exploding in his mind.
He stared intently at that small face, nearly dropping the white jade wine cup in his hand.
This child... those eyebrows and eyes...
A chill ran up from the soles of his feet, instantly freezing his limbs and bones.
He suddenly turned his gaze to the head of the concubines' table, where the newly promoted Consort Zhi was smiling at the Empress Dowager and the prince, her demeanor graceful and radiant.
It is widely rumored in the palace that His Majesty dotes on Consort Zhi, and that she gave birth to the eldest son three years ago, thus elevating her status as the most powerful woman in the harem.
But... Zheng Yu's fingertips dug deeply into his palm. Since His Majesty returned to the court from the common people, his reputation for not being close to women is known throughout the court and the country. There are even secret rumors of "homosexuality". The harem is practically non-existent. How could a three-year-old child suddenly appear out of nowhere?
There was already speculation in the court that the child was probably adopted from somewhere by His Majesty in an attempt to quell public opinion.
But Zheng Yu knew perfectly well that things were far more terrifying than that!
He not only recognized the true identity of the "Consort Zhi," but also knew with absolute certainty that the child's biological father could not possibly be the current emperor!
This is a heinous crime of deceiving the emperor and confusing the royal bloodline, punishable by extermination!
Cold sweat instantly soaked through his undershirt, sticking to his back and sending shivers down his spine.
He sat stiffly in his seat, the surrounding noise seeming to be blurred through a thick layer of glass.
This matter was of utmost importance; he wished he could instantly turn into dust and disappear from this great hall.
Reporting him means death; not reporting him means certain death. If the truth comes out in the future, he, a senior official in the Ministry of Justice who participated in the investigation, will be considered an accomplice for not reporting the truth. At that time, it would not be an exaggeration to execute his entire family!
Fear, like cold vines, tightly coiled around his heart, almost suffocating him.
He numbly raised his glass, trying to use the wine to calm the turmoil in his heart, but found the fine liquor unbearably bitter.
Time seemed to stretch out, each breath feeling like being fried in a pan of oil.
His gaze involuntarily followed the figure of the Prince Cheng. The child's innocent smile now seemed like a death warrant to him.
Just as he was trembling with fear and could barely bear the immense pressure, the Empress Dowager seemed to have grown tired of playing with her grandson. With a smile, she handed the prince to the wet nurse who stood by her side, and whispered a few instructions. Judging from her lip movements, she seemed to be instructing the wet nurse to send the prince back to his birth mother, Consort Zhi.
An opportunity! Or rather, an ultimatum!
Seeing the wet nurse turn to leave with the baby in her arms, Zheng Yu's taut nerve snapped!
He suddenly stood up, his movement so forceful that it nearly overturned the table in front of him, drawing surprised glances from several officials nearby. He disregarded all that and practically stumbled as he rushed to his seat, stopping the old nanny who was on her way to fetch a hand warmer for the Empress Dowager by a pillar leading to the side hall.
"Granny! Granny, please wait!" His voice was dry and hoarse from extreme tension.
The old nanny stopped, frowned, and looked at the unruly official with displeasure: "Lord Zheng, what's the matter that you're so flustered? Her Majesty the Empress Dowager is having a banquet. We can discuss this later." Her tone was as arrogant and indifferent as ever.
Zheng Yu went all out!
He quickly glanced around to make sure no one was watching, then abruptly shoved a fine ancestral jade pendant into the old woman's hand. Leaning forward, he whispered urgently and clearly in a voice only the two of them could hear: "Old woman! Your humble servant, Zheng Yu, has a catastrophic disaster that must be reported to the Empress Dowager immediately! This matter concerns the true bloodline of the princes and the very safety of the Great Xia Kingdom! Delay will only lead to unforeseen changes! The Empress Dowager... will surely see you upon hearing this!"
The old nanny was initially displeased by his actions of stuffing things into her mouth, but when her fingertips touched the warm texture of the jade pendant and she heard him utter words such as "royal bloodline" and "safety of the nation's foundation," her expression suddenly froze.
She raised her eyelids and carefully examined Zheng Yu. She saw that his face was ashen, his forehead was covered with fine beads of cold sweat, and his eyes were filled with immense fear and a desperate determination that was not feigned.
The silence lasted only a moment. The old nanny quickly put the jade pendant into her sleeve, her face regaining its placid expression. She nodded slightly and said in a low voice, "Lord Zheng, please wait here for a moment."
Then, she turned around and, with her usual steady steps, quietly returned to the Empress Dowager's side. Taking advantage of the opportunity to pour wine, she leaned down and whispered in the Empress Dowager's ear for a long time.
The dignified and leisurely smile on the Empress Dowager's face slowly faded away at a visible speed, and her eyes suddenly became extremely sharp.
She glanced intently at Prince Cheng, who was being carried by his wet nurse to the concubines' seats, and then casually swept her gaze over Consort Zhi's radiant face. Without making a sound, she raised her hand to rub her temples and said softly to the emperor beside her, "Your Majesty, I am a little tired. I will go and change my clothes and rest for a while."
Zhou Ling was talking to a member of the imperial clan beside him when he heard this. He turned around and asked with concern, "Is the Empress Dowager feeling unwell? Should we summon the imperial physician?"
"It's alright. I'm getting old, and a few drinks can make me a little tipsy. I'll be fine after a rest." The Empress Dowager smiled and waved her hand, then rose from her seat with the help of palace servants.
When the Empress Dowager left her seat, the singing and dancing in the hall paused slightly. The people exchanged subtle glances, but then continued to chat and laugh as if nothing had happened. However, the music seemed to be a little more hurried than before.
Fangru sat alone in a relatively secluded spot among the concubines, trying to minimize her presence.
She keenly noticed the fleeting solemn expression on the Empress Dowager's face as she left her seat, as well as the meaningful glances exchanged between some officials at the table, and felt inexplicably uneasy.
About an incense stick later, the old nanny appeared silently again in front of the concubines' seats. This time, she went straight to Consort Zhi, bowed and whispered a few words.
Consort Zhi's perfect smile froze for a moment. Although she recovered quickly, Fangru, who was closer, still caught a glimpse of the panic in her eyes.
Consort Zhi's eyes darted around rapidly, as if she were urgently thinking of a solution. Her gaze swept across the table and finally landed on Fangru, who was alone and seemed indifferent to worldly affairs.
A glint of calculation flashed in her beautiful eyes.
She immediately put on a gentle and approachable smile again, and carrying Prince Cheng, she walked calmly towards Fangru, her voice neither too loud nor too soft, just loud enough for the nearby concubines to hear:
"Sister Chen," she called affectionately, pushing the child who was playing with her sash forward. "The Empress Dowager has suddenly summoned you, and it may be inconvenient for you to go with the prince. Sister, you are thoughtful, calm and steady. Please look after Cheng'er for a while. I will be right back and will repay you handsomely."
These words were spoken so quickly and urgently that Fangru was not given a chance to react or refuse.
Before she could finish speaking, Consort Zhi had already placed the soft, small child, still smelling of milk, into Fangru's arms without saying a word. She then immediately turned around, took the hand of a palace maid, and followed the old nanny away with slightly hurried steps.
Fangru was stunned by this sudden "entrustment" and instinctively wrapped her arms around the soft little body in her arms.
Prince Cheng seemed a little uncomfortable in the unfamiliar embrace. He squirmed, tilted his little face up, and looked at her curiously with a pair of big, dark eyes that resembled his "mother's".
The child's pure and innocent gaze contrasted sharply with the intense unease in her heart, causing her to stiffen as she held the child.
This is hardly a "heavy responsibility," it's clearly a "hot potato"!
Meanwhile, inside the side hall, the atmosphere was completely different from the peaceful revelry outside.
The Empress Dowager sat on the throne, holding a cup of freshly brewed hot tea in her hands, but she did not drink it. Instead, she gently stirred the floating tea leaves with the lid of the cup, her gaze like a cold blade, scraping over the Consort Zhi below who was trying to remain calm.
"Consort Zhi," the Empress Dowager began slowly, her voice low but carrying a long-suppressed sense of oppression, "I have just heard some rumors... about the background of Prince Cheng. Do you know Zheng Yu, the Assistant Minister of the Ministry of Justice? Zheng Yu just reported to me that there are other secrets about Prince Cheng's background. Do you know anything about this?"
Consort Zhi's hand trembled slightly in her sleeve, but she forced a faint, innocent, and aggrieved smile, as if she had been greatly slandered: "Your Majesty, please be wise! Cheng'er is His Majesty's own flesh and blood, and Heaven and Earth can bear witness to this! I don't know what kind of villain dares to fabricate such vicious rumors, slander the imperial heir, and sow discord among the imperial family? I beg Your Majesty, please do justice for me and Cheng'er!" As she spoke, her eyes even reddened slightly, her acting was very convincing.
The Empress Dowager watched her performance with cold eyes, unmoved, and simply said, "Since that's the case, in order to silence the gossip and clear your and the prince's names, let Zheng Yu come here for a face-to-face confrontation. Summon Zheng Yu!"
"Summon Zheng Yu." The eunuch's high-pitched voice echoed in the hall.
The air inside the hall instantly became as tense as a fully drawn bowstring.
Consort Zhi lowered her eyes and gently pressed a silk handkerchief to the corner of her eye, a gesture that perfectly concealed the fleeting panic in her eyes. However, beneath that panic lay a deeper, almost imperceptible, certainty. Before leaving her seat to see the Empress Dowager, she had secretly ordered her trusted maid to quickly report to His Majesty.
This thought calmed her flustered mind a little.
She knew His Majesty well; whatever his reasons, he would never allow Zheng Yu to speak nonsense in front of the Empress Dowager and escalate the situation beyond repair.
At this moment, all she needed to do was wait patiently for the figure that would inevitably come to her rescue.
As she expected, a moment later, instead of the sound of Zheng Yu's footsteps arriving as summoned, she heard a suppressed commotion and a few indistinct whispers outside the hall, followed by heavy and hurried footsteps approaching from afar.
The palace doors were pushed open, and instead of Zheng Yu, it was Li Zuo, the commander of the Imperial Guards, who was dressed in armor and had a solemn expression.
He strode forward, knelt on one knee before the Empress Dowager, and reported in a deep voice, loud yet with a hint of deliberate intent: "Your Majesty, Lord Zheng Yu suddenly fell ill during the banquet. His face was deathly pale, he was drenched in cold sweat, and he was in excruciating abdominal pain. He was unable to walk and was urgently escorted back to his residence by his servants for medical treatment. He was unable to come to confront me. I have already checked, and this is indeed the case."
Consort Zhi breathed a barely perceptible sigh of relief and straightened her back slightly.
The Empress Dowager frowned and looked sharply at Li Zuo, as if trying to find a flaw in his face, but Li Zuo kept his head down and his expression remained respectful.
Just as the stalemate was at its peak, another steady and familiar footstep approached from afar, clearly reaching the ears of everyone in the hall.
Emperor Zhou Ling lifted the curtain and entered, his black dragon robe gleaming with a majestic yet cold luster in the flickering candlelight.
His gaze calmly swept across the scene in the hall, lingering for a moment on the seemingly weak and helpless Consort Zhi, before turning to the Empress Dowager, bowing respectfully, and speaking with composure:
"It is my fault for disturbing Your Majesty's enjoyment of the banquet. What is troubling Your Majesty?" He seemed completely unaware of what had just happened.
The Empress Dowager snorted coldly and briefly explained the matter.
Upon hearing this, Zhou Ling's face revealed a perfect balance of helplessness and determination. He stepped forward, looked directly at the Empress Dowager, and said in a resolute tone, "Mother! No one knows Cheng'er's background better than I do. He is indeed my flesh and blood, without a doubt."
He paused, his voice softening, yet still resonating clearly throughout the side hall:
"I have a deep and abiding affection for the Consort, and Cheng'er is the child I have longed for. The baseless slanders of a few petty people are nothing but jealousy, an attempt to disrupt the peace of the palace. I urge Your Majesty to see through this and not to believe these rumors, which will only cause you more trouble and chill the hearts of the Consort and me."
His words were forceful and decisive, characterizing Zheng Yu's accusations as "jealousy" and "unfounded slander," thus completely silencing the Empress Dowager's further inquiries.
The Empress Dowager looked at the Emperor and Consort standing side by side before her, one dignified and protective, the other pitiful and charming, their cooperation seamless.
Then, thinking of Zheng Yu, who had "suddenly fallen ill" and had already left the palace, how could he not understand the crux of the matter? The emperor was determined to protect him to the end, even going so far as to use the power of the Imperial Guard to intercept witnesses!
Her face was somber, her chest heaving slightly, and a surge of anger mixed with disappointment welled up inside her.
She gave the emperor a deep look, her gaze complex and unreadable, containing anger, inquiry, and a hint of barely perceptible weariness.
In the end, she said nothing more, but slammed the teacup in her hand on the table beside her, then stood up with a flick of her sleeve, leaving the side hall without looking back, exuding a chilling aura.
Inside the hall, only Zhou Ling, Consort Zhi, and a few palace servants remained, silent as cicadas in fear.
...
Fangru sat at the banquet holding Prince Cheng, the child playing with a mutton-fat jade pendant in her arms, making soft, babbling sounds.
"Good boy, your mother will be back soon."
Fangru hummed a Jiangnan folk tune softly, her fingertips gently combing through the child's fine hair.
About an incense stick later, Consort Zhi returned gracefully.
Perhaps because she had escaped unscathed from the Empress Dowager's presence, a subtle sense of relaxation flickered across her face. She stepped into the banquet hall, her gaze fixed intently on Fangru and the child in her arms.
Consort Zhi approached Fangru with a gentle and approachable smile, her voice neither too loud nor too soft, just loud enough for the neighboring tables to hear clearly:
"Thank you so much, Sister Chen. You've really helped me a lot."
She spoke with a smile, then extended her well-maintained hands, painted with bright nail polish, and naturally reached out to take the child.
Fangru breathed a sigh of relief, just about to return this "hot potato" safely.
However, just as the child was about to leave her arms and return to his birth mother's embrace, Fangru clearly caught out of the corner of her eye that Consort Zhi's right hand, seemingly in a position to support the back of the child's neck, suddenly and secretly pinched the back of Prince Cheng's delicate neck with the long, sharp tip of her nail!
"Ooh..." The child's delicate skin could not withstand such force. The sudden stinging pain made his little face scrunch up, and his big, dark eyes instantly filled with tears. He let out a whimper of grievance and pain.
The sob was like a signal.
Consort Zhi immediately took the opportunity to hug the child tightly into her arms. Her right hand seemed to be gently and rhythmically patting the child's back, but in fact, from an angle that others could not see, her thumb was pressing precisely and heavily on a specific acupoint on the child's back.
Fangru's heart sank. She had once seen the illustrations and instructions for this technique in the treasured books of the Imperial Medical Academy. It was one of the secret massage techniques in the palace used to soothe frightened children. It emphasized gentle pressure to calm the mind and promote the flow of qi. However, if the opposite was done and the pressure was deliberately increased, it would strongly stimulate the child's meridians, causing severe discomfort and crying!
really!
"Wow!"
Prince Cheng seemed to be pierced by an invisible needle, and suddenly burst into a heart-wrenching cry.
The crying was sharp and urgent, completely unlike the usual whining and pouting.
The little body trembled violently in Consort Zhi's arms. Because she cried so hard and so intensely, she even started hiccuping. Her little face turned red, as if she was about to suffocate.
This sudden change was like a boulder smashing the calm surface of the banquet!
The laughter and chatter at the neighboring tables abruptly stopped.
The musicians' movements slowed down, and the sounds of string and wind instruments gradually became sparse and out of tune, eventually coming to a complete stop.
A variety of gazes, some surprised, some puzzled, and some with a sense of anticipation, converged from all directions, focusing on the concubine holding the child and Fangru standing there dumbfounded.
The entire banquet fell into an eerie silence, broken only by the Prince's increasingly heart-wrenching sobs.
Consort Zhi raised her head at the opportune moment. Her beautiful eyes, which had been smiling just moments before, were now brimming with tears that seemed about to fall. Her long eyelashes were wet with tears, making her look even more pitiful.
Holding her child, who was crying so hard he was almost convulsing, she hurried toward the emperor toward the throne, her voice trembling with just the right amount of disbelief:
"Your Majesty! Your Majesty, please look at Cheng'er!"
She showed Zhou Ling the child's red, swollen face and slightly damp hair, as well as to everyone else in the room who could see it. "Your Majesty... Your Majesty has only been gone for the time it takes for an incense stick to burn. I don't know what Consort Shen did to Cheng'er. Why... why is the child crying like this?!"
At this point, she choked up at just the right moment, her voice breaking as if her heart was breaking uncontrollably. She turned slightly to the side, turning the child to the view of more people. Beneath his collar, askew from his struggle, a fresh, fine, yet clearly visible red mark on the back of his neck was clearly visible in the bright candlelight.
"Your Majesty, I know..." Consort Zhi's tears finally slid down her smooth cheeks. She looked in Fangru's direction, her eyes filled with pain and incomprehension. "Your Majesty, I know that Consort Shen may hold a grudge against me because of some trivial matters in the past, but... but Cheng'er is still just a child who doesn't understand anything! He is His Majesty's flesh and blood, the eldest son of the Great Xia Dynasty. What has he done wrong? Why take your anger out on a child..."
Her words were filled with anguish and injustice, perfectly portraying the image of a mother who had suffered countless grievances and loved her son dearly.
The room erupted in an uproar!
Whispers spread like a tide.
Under the watchful eyes of everyone, the crying child with an injured neck, coupled with the Imperial Concubine's tearful accusations, almost pushed Fangru into a desperate situation where she could not defend herself.
Fangru stood there, able to clearly feel those gazes falling on her as if they were real, some filled with doubt, some with disdain, and some with schadenfreude.
She watched as the smugness and ruthlessness flashed across the Consort's tearful eyes, and as she looked at the Prince's face contorted in pain from having his genitals pressed, a chilling anger and a strong sense of powerlessness surged into her heart.
She took a deep breath, forcing herself to calm down, and her gaze involuntarily fell upon the throne.
Zhou Ling put down his wine glass. His handsome face showed no emotion, but his deep eyes were staring intently at her, filled with complex and unfathomable emotions.
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