Chapter 80: Past Events - Anhe's Feud with the Empress Dowager?
"Although they didn't publicize it openly, most people in the palace knew about it."
Zhang Sheng answered Zhao Liangxu's question truthfully, but still had doubts: "Godmother, why are you asking this?"
Zhao Liangxu asked another question: "And how did Fangshi behave in the palace?"
“Although the two didn’t deliberately hide their relationship, Aunt Fangshi doesn’t seem very close to Wang Laide. It’s probably just that… she had no choice.” Zhang Sheng’s voice was slightly lower.
After analyzing the relationship between the two, he naturally understood why Fang Shi seemed somewhat cold.
It's only because of Wang Laide's status.
"Then Eunuch An must have told you the reason why the two of them were eating together?"
Zhang Sheng paused for a moment and said, "Even if Godfather didn't say it, we could guess it. It's just that Wang Laide is more useful now that he's in the Emperor's presence."
Zhao Liangxu nodded slightly, then changed the subject: "Zhang Sheng, do you know that the Empress Dowager and..."
"Please forgive me, godmother, it's best if you don't ask about this matter," Zhang Shengfei quickly interrupted Zhao Liangxu.
She brought up Fangshi only to bring up a question that had been hidden in her heart for a long time.
Unexpectedly, Zhang Sheng realized what she was about to ask before she could finish speaking, and then decisively refused.
Zhao Liangxu rolled her eyes slightly, sighed, and said, "Alright."
After Zhang Sheng escorted Zhao Liangxu to the Empress Dowager's palace, he hurriedly took his leave.
Zhao Liangxu had her back to the gate when she heard a questioning voice behind her: "Princess Zhao? You've come to the palace again today? If you had known you were coming back, it would have been more convenient to just stay here."
Jing Shu was about to go out to get her medicine when she saw Zhao Liangxu standing outside the door, so she spoke a few words softly to her.
Zhao Liangxu didn't explain much, she just smiled at Jingshu.
When she entered the palace courtyard, she found Xiaoqing holding a crabapple branch that had been cut in half, looking like she was about to cry. The crabapple blossoms on it were in full bloom, so it was obviously not a twig that needed to be pruned.
Xiao Qing was still holding the scissors in her hand, looking at Zhao Liangxu with a bitter expression.
She said, "Princess Zhao is here again."
She had intended to prune the unhealthy branches next to her, but when she heard Jing Shu say at the door that Zhao Liangxu had arrived, she remembered Zhao Liangxu's relationship with An He, and inadvertently cut off the perfectly good crabapple branch.
Xiao Qing gritted her teeth, feeling it was a pity to throw away the crabapple branch, so she took a vase, inserted the crabapple branch into it, and placed it on the stone table.
While she was busy arranging flowers and pruning branches, she whispered to Zhao Liangxu, "Princess Zhao is here to see the Dowager Consort, right? Please go in quickly."
When Zhao Liangxu entered the Empress Dowager's palace, Xu Huayue asked first, "What has Xiaoqing done this time? It sounds quite lively outside."
He then asked, "You've come to the palace again today? I heard that His Majesty didn't see Eunuch An at the Qianqing Palace. You should know why Eunuch An wasn't at the morning court session this morning."
Zhao Liangxu smiled and said, "I didn't leave the palace. I was with Eunuch An last night." Zhao Liangxu didn't say it too bluntly, but this simple sentence made Xu Huayue frown.
"You and him..."
It's unclear what Xu Huayue was secretly imagining, but she pulled Zhao Liangxu closer to examine her closely and said, "You two, are you really close?"
Zhao Liangxu said, "Our relationship couldn't be better. Eunuch An even told me before that his voice was hoarse because he had taken a drug to make him mute. Just the fact that he can sit down and talk to me about these past events shows how different our relationship is, Your Highness."
Xu Huayue pondered for a moment and said, "That's right. If he even tells you about this, it means he values you quite a bit."
Seeing that Xu Huayue's expression had softened and she seemed thoughtful, Zhao Liangxu pressed her advantage and asked, "Your Highness, I would like to know what kind of conflict Eunuch An has with the Empress Dowager. I asked Zhang Sheng earlier, and he avoided me as if I were a monster. Your Highness, please don't refuse me yet. At least tell me something you think you can tell me. I also want to know some things about Eunuch An's past."
Xu Huayue immediately refused when she heard Zhao Liangxu's question, but after hearing what Zhao Liangxu said next, she weighed the options and said, "You know, some things are better known than known. Sometimes it's not so bad to know less."
"Your Majesty does indeed know some things. When we first met the Dowager Consort, you didn't quite understand the rift between the Empress Dowager and Eunuch An." Zeng Zhaoliangxu asked Xu Huayue why the Empress Dowager Zhou Mingxi had shown such dislike for her as soon as they met.
When I asked Xu Huayue at the time, she just couldn't explain it clearly.
It now seems that she did know a few things about it.
Xu Huayue gave Zhao Liangxu a reproachful look and tapped her on the head: "So this is how you get information out of me."
Zhao Liangxu nodded and said, "But being completely unaware isn't a good thing either, is it? The Empress Dowager has been in the palace for a long time, so she is naturally more familiar with the ways of dealing with power than I am. I know that the Empress Dowager is trying to save me from a lot of unnecessary trouble, but I don't want to be a complete fool."
Seeing that Xu Huayue's expression softened somewhat, Zhao Liangxu said, "If Your Highness feels uncomfortable, then let's consider another approach. People always need to have more information to feel more secure, don't you think?"
Xu Huayue sighed and finally conceded, saying, "You insist on knowing things that won't do you any good."
"How can we know whether it's good or bad if Her Majesty hasn't said anything yet?"
Xu Huayue looked at Zhao Liangxu and couldn't help but laugh: "You're quite good at making excuses."
She stroked Zhao Liangxu's hair and said, "Actually, I don't know the whole story either; I just know a little more than others."
"Eunuch An once served in the Empress Dowager's palace. At that time, the Empress Dowager was still Consort Zhou and was enjoying great favor. Eunuch An's rank was low at that time, and he only did some inconspicuous work in the Empress Dowager's palace."
"At that time, the Empress Dowager did not care much about the servants. Although she could not be said to treat them very well, she was at least not arbitrarily harsh. If it had continued like this, it would not have been a problem."
Zhao Liangxu listened attentively.
"But the late emperor had many concubines, and the favor he enjoyed for a time was just a fleeting moment. After a few months of being favored, those who lost favor always found it hard to endure. She was also quite stubborn, so she always had a harder time than others."
Xu Huayue rarely recalled the past: "Stubbornness can easily turn into paranoia, and her temper will also become bigger. She always finds the palace servants unpleasant. At that time, in the freezing cold, I saw Eunuch An wearing thin clothes and with many injuries on his body. When I asked him, he said that he worked in Consort Zhou's palace. Only then did I realize how harshly she punished the servants back then."
As she spoke, she shook her head: "It's just that the late emperor's favor always circulated among the concubines. I am just a concubine with more experience. I don't have much power. All I can do is talk to the late emperor and ask him to transfer her out of Consort Zhou's palace. It would be better for her to find a tough and tiring job than to be beaten and scolded by Consort Zhou."
"To be honest, I'm ashamed to say this," Xu Huayue lowered her head, "being indifferent to worldly affairs is another way of saying escapism. I only helped Eunuch An because I saw him, but I couldn't let him come to my palace. Helping one person means helping countless others, so I always feel ashamed. I don't even want the things I casually mentioned to His Majesty to leave the palace."
Zhao Liangxu squeezed her hands back; putting herself in her shoes, she could understand.
"It's just that Eunuch An is ambitious and slowly climbed up from the bottom. He also came to my palace to express his gratitude. I don't know how he knew that I helped him once. At that time, I thought he was an exceptionally intelligent person who would definitely be able to make it in the palace. But I never expected him to become like this."
He has become the arrogant and powerful Ninth Prince he is today.
Zhao Liangxu said, "So it was because the Empress Dowager punished Eunuch An so severely back then that the two of them became such bitter enemies?"
Zhao Liangxu recalled how Zhou Mingxi punished the eunuch. Not only did Anhe dislike Zhou Mingxi, but Zhou Mingxi was also extremely annoyed.
She had a vague feeling that there should be more than just these.
“That is something I cannot know, but there is one more thing,” Xu Huayue recalled an old story, “Never mind, I will tell you everything.”
"After she became pregnant, she was triumphant for a while. After giving birth to His Majesty, she received a reward from the late Emperor. During that period, she was considered the most arrogant person in the palace. She took this opportunity to target Eunuch An."
Xu Huayue recalled for a moment and said, "At that time, the Empress Dowager always called Eunuch An to her palace. Eunuch An was a steward in the imperial court and could work under the old eunuchs who were by His Majesty's side. However, their rank could never compare to that of the ladies in the harem."
"It seems that around that time, Eunuch An said something to her that made her very angry in Yu Yue Palace. Her voice was so loud that even the palace servants passing by could hear it."
Xu Huayue smiled helplessly, "I just don't want to know more, so this is all I know. Maybe something happened back then, and the conflict between the two of us accumulated little by little."
She sighed, "I never expected that Eunuch An would ultimately choose His Majesty. Now it seems like he deliberately put Zhou Mingxi on the throne of Empress Dowager, but she's sitting in that position rather awkwardly."
As Zhao Liangxu analyzed this information, although it was only from Xu Huayue's perspective, it was already of great help to her.
What exactly did An He say to Zhou Mingxi?
Or perhaps Zhou Mingxi did something that made Anhe unable to maintain her composure as the head steward of the imperial court, leading her to say something that enraged Zhou Mingxi.
It seems that I should inquire about these matters in person.
Zhao Liangxu was very grateful to Xu Huayue: "Your Highness, these things are very useful to me. At least I am not completely confused anymore. Your Highness is such a kind and approachable elder."
Zhao Liangxu was generous with her praise, and Xu Huayue jokingly scolded Zhao Liangxu twice: "You, how come I always thought you were an honest kid? You've got quite the silver tongue."
"Alright, judging from how concerned you are about Eunuch An, you'll probably be going to see him soon. Go now, but if you're staying overnight in the palace, you can stay here with me too."
Xu Huayue's implication was that she should stay in the palace with Anhe.
Zhao Liangxu smiled and withdrew.
Before leaving, she didn't forget to ask Jing Shu, who had returned with the medicine, whether An He and Li Ying were still in the Empress Dowager's palace.
“There’s no news that His Majesty has returned to the palace; he’s probably still with the Empress Dowager,” Jing Shu replied.
Zhao Liangxu then decided to go directly to the Empress Dowager's palace to join in the fun.
Now that she knows some things, going to the Empress Dowager's palace now gives her the illusion that fortune and power are found in danger, but Zhao Liangxu knows this.
There was no "danger" in Yu Yue's palace, only peace and tranquility.
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Author's note: I've gone over the outline again, and conservatively speaking, there are about twenty more chapters left, or even more if I'm not conservative.
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