"What is it?" the emperor asked in a deep voice, his tone carrying a hint of displeasure.
The eunuch outside the door cautiously replied, "Your Majesty, it was Consort Shu who came to bring you lotus seed soup, saying it would help you cool down."
The emperor snorted coldly and cursed, "Get rid of my temper? I get angry just looking at her. Tell her to get lost."
Suddenly there was silence outside the door.
After a while, a crying voice was suddenly heard, "Your Majesty, I am innocent! Your Majesty, don't you know what kind of person I am? There must be a misunderstanding. I beg Your Majesty to investigate."
When the emperor heard her disregard for etiquette and shout directly from outside the door, he was furious and his face turned black.
"Let her in here. I want to see if there's any misunderstanding," the emperor said angrily.
He was talking and got tired, so he asked for a drink to quench his thirst, but this lackey wouldn't even serve him a cup of tea.
After the emperor finished speaking, he glanced at the man in black robes.
The man in black robes sneered and hid, but his eyes revealed a hint of gloom.
When will this life of hiding and dodging end?
The door opened, and Consort Shu entered, immediately kneeling on the ground and kowtowing.
The emperor glanced behind her; there was nothing there.
The emperor's face darkened. "Where's the lotus seed soup?"
Consort Shu, who was about to cry, froze. She had only said it casually.
The emperor's face darkened, and he couldn't be bothered to pay her any attention.
Consort Shu cried out, "Your Majesty, I have been wronged! Yan'er must have been framed! I beg Your Majesty to thoroughly investigate this matter!"
The emperor sneered, "Injustice? How come you don't even know what your good son did?"
Consort Shu was stunned and looked at the Emperor in confusion. Wasn't it just that the Fourth Prince had exposed his frequenting of brothels?
What else could it be?
Seeing that she knew nothing about it, the emperor's expression softened somewhat.
He thought it was his beloved concubine who instigated it, but it seems his son is too ambitious.
"See for yourself," the emperor said coldly, throwing the memorial to Consort Shu.
He's so angry!
"Liu Decai, is he dead? Do you want me to die of thirst?" the emperor roared at the door.
Consort Shu's hand trembled as she held the memorial, feeling a pang of embarrassment. It turned out that the Emperor had just asked her if she was thirsty.
It seems I can't get something for nothing anymore; what if the Emperor summons me like he did today?
The eunuch outside the door hurriedly brought in a cup of tea, saying, "Your Majesty, please forgive me, Your Majesty, please forgive me."
After reading the memorial, Consort Shu turned pale. How could this be?
How could her Yan'er recruit soldiers and do such a rebellious thing?
No, that's impossible, impossible.
"Your Majesty, Your Majesty, this must be a misunderstanding. Yan'er must have been framed." Consort Shu kowtowed and hurriedly explained.
The emperor looked at her with a deep gaze. "Oh? You just said it was slander, and now you say it again. What did you slander him about before?"
Consort Shu paused in her kowtowing, her whole body trembling. "Your Majesty, your concubine..."
"Speak!" The emperor uttered a single word, and the oppressive aura of an emperor swept over her, causing Consort Shu's legs to go weak.
Sensing the emperor's impatience, Consort Shu hurriedly said, "Your Majesty, Yan'er is still young, and it's only natural that he's curious about the outside world. Please don't blame him."
"The outside world? Ha, you're good at covering for him. A prince who neglects his duties all day and spends his days in brothels, is that a small matter?"
The emperor continued, "He does nothing so that I don't notice him, so he can secretly recruit soldiers and horses to usurp the throne, right?"
Upon hearing the words "usurpation," Consort Shu turned deathly pale and collapsed to the ground.
He quickly realized what was happening and hurriedly got up, saying, "Your Majesty, please spare my life! Your Majesty, Yan'er must have been instigated by a villain. This must not have been his intention."
The emperor scoffed, "Hmph, what was his true intention? To kill me?"
The imperial concubine hurriedly explained, "No, no, Your Majesty, it's not like that..."
The emperor didn't want to waste words with her. "Guards, escort the Imperial Concubine back to her palace. The weather has been dry these past few days, so she should stay in the palace."
"Your Majesty..." Consort Shu wanted to say something more, but was pulled out by the guards who came in from outside the door.
The emperor stared at the closed door and asked skeptically, "Tell me, does she really not know?"
The man in black robes gave a chilling smile. "You've known for a long time that all the women in your harem can perform opera."
The emperor looked at the memorial that the eunuch had put back on the table and sighed.
"I thought the third prince would be good, but he has disappointed me greatly. Now, only the fourth and seventh princes of my princes have any ability. This matter..."
The man in black robes sneered, "Then let your men investigate. Don't wrongly accuse the Seventh Prince, who wants to take your place."
Cining Palace.
The Empress Dowager knelt on the cushion, chanting Buddhist scriptures.
The old nanny next to her also knelt down behind.
After a while, the Empress Dowager opened her eyes, respectfully kowtowed, and then raised her hand.
The nanny quickly stood up and helped the Empress Dowager to her feet.
The Empress Dowager placed her hand on the nanny's arm and walked out, saying calmly, "Did Consort Shu go to see the Emperor?"
The old woman answered in a low voice, "Yes, she went to the Emperor and cried for a while. She must have angered the Emperor and was put in solitary confinement to reflect on her actions."
The Empress Dowager remained expressionless. "She is not fit for high society. The Emperor took pity on her and made her a Noble Consort, but she did not cherish it and insisted on walking into the line of fire."
The old woman sighed, helped the Empress Dowager sit on the soft couch in the outer room, and then deftly handed her a cup of tea.
"The Empress Dowager is right, some people just aren't destined for it," the old nanny said with a smile.
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