Fu Yu hooked her finger under Xiao Yuchen's chin, her peach blossom eyes narrowing slightly.
"Be good, and you'll get a reward."
"Then what counts as being good?"
Xiao Yuchen's voice was extremely hoarse.
Fu Yu looked down at his half-open collar and licked her lips.
...
The news that Xiao Yuchen had abandoned three thousand beauties and favored only one woman spread like wildfire.
Apart from the palace maids who served Xiao Yuchen closely and the imperial bodyguard Cheng Ling, no one had ever seen this woman.
Although she stayed close to Xiao Yuchen, she always wore a veil, revealing only her bright and expressive eyes.
The woman had only taken a few steps away from Xiao Yuchen when he impatiently pulled her into his python robe.
Some palace maids with keen ears even heard the woman call out His Majesty's name in a rebellious manner.
She instructed His Majesty to peel lychees for her.
Late at night, the sound of rustling footsteps echoed in Cining Palace.
A carriage drove out of the palace under the cover of night, heading straight for the Xie family.
Xie Yun and his servants stood guard at the door. Once the carriage had come to a stop, he knelt down with a thud.
"Your subject Xie Yun pays his respects to the Empress Dowager."
The father-in-law lifted the curtain and helped Empress Dowager Yu down from the carriage.
Time did not leave many marks on the Empress Dowager's face.
According to seniority and age, Xie Yun is her cousin, but when the two stand together, Xie Yun looks more like her uncle.
"Between you and me, is there any need for formalities? Quickly, introduce me to Zhaohua."
Empress Dowager Yu looked anxious.
Although Xiao Yuchen helped her ascend to the position of Empress Dowager, he was not her biological son after all.
People's hearts are unfathomable, and Empress Dowager Yu could not truly trust Xiao Yuchen.
The Xie family had only two daughters in this generation: Xie Zhaodi and Xie Zhaohua.
Xie Zhaodi was of average talent and beauty, while Xie Zhaohua was exceptionally beautiful and proficient in all the arts, including music, chess, calligraphy, and painting.
Empress Dowager Yu hoped that Xie Zhaohua could seduce Xiao Yuchen and ideally give birth to a crown prince for him.
The group rushed to Xie Zhaohua's bedroom.
Pushing open the door, they saw Xie Zhaohua bound hand and foot, with a strip of cloth stuffed in his mouth.
"this……"
Xie Yun was so ashamed that she couldn't lift her head. "Your Majesty, I'm sorry to have made you laugh. This little brat is so lawless. She actually tried to use the excuse of visiting her family to escape from the palace and find General Pei, who is stationed at the border. Fortunately, I caught her. Otherwise, even with Your Majesty's guarantee, the Xie family would have been..."
Empress Dowager Yu frowned.
He gestured with his eyes to the old woman beside him to remove the strip of cloth.
"Cousin, Zhaohua and I need to talk. You two can go out first."
"Then thank you very much, Your Majesty the Empress Dowager."
Xie Yun bowed and replied.
With the gag no longer in her mouth, Xie Zhaohua immediately pleaded with her aunt for mercy.
"Aunt, please, I don't want to stay in the harem."
"You watched me grow up and loved me the most. Please let me go."
"General Pei is the only one in my heart."
That's enough.
Empress Dowager Yu's icy voice struck Xie Zhaohua's heart like a heavy hammer.
"You're not a child anymore, why are you still acting so impulsively?"
"What woman would truly want to stay in the harem and share a husband with thousands of other women?"
"Only by having power in the harem and gaining favor can the prosperity of the family be guaranteed."
"You are well-read and have witnessed the coldness and warmth of human relationships in the harem since you were a child. How could you not understand this principle?"
Empress Dowager Yu shook her head in disappointment.
She thought Xie Zhaohua had never been favored by the emperor because she didn't understand those seductive arts.
In retrospect, it seems she never intended to make an effort.
“Aunt,” Xie Zhaohua bit her lip, “pleasing that tyrant is pointless. He’ll be killed by the rebels anyway, so…”
"How dare you!"
With a bang.
Empress Dowager Yu slammed her hand on the table, her fair face turning red with anger.
Now, the Xie family and Xiao Yuchen are a community of shared interests, sharing both prosperity and adversity. How dare she curse Xiao Yuchen to be murdered by the rebels!
Empress Dowager Yu's extremely imposing gaze swept over Xie Zhaohua.
She suddenly remembered Xie Zhaohua's childhood sweetheart, Pei Jingheng.
Both the Pei family and the Prince of Zhenbei expressed their dissatisfaction with Xiao Yuchen's plot to seize power. In order to avoid his sharp edge, Pei Jingheng even volunteered to guard the border.
It seems that Xie Zhaohua has definitely been brainwashed by Pei Jingheng.
Xie Zhaohua's eyes were bloodshot. She desperately wanted to tell her aunt that she wasn't making things up, but had actually witnessed the rebels kill Xiao Yuchen.
Even if I told her, my aunt would just think I was delirious and talking nonsense!
"I don't care if you like Pei Jingheng or anyone else, you must stay by Xiao Yuchen's side and you must become the Empress!"
"There's no room for discussion on this matter."
Empress Dowager Yu slowly closed her eyes, her left hand stroking the Buddhist prayer beads on her right wrist.
"Zhaohua has been away for too long; it's time for her to go back."
After saying this, Empress Dowager Yu stood up, and the two maids beside her immediately pulled Xie Zhaohua out and took her directly to the carriage.
"It's all because I failed to properly educate my daughter; she almost ruined everything."
"Further discussion is pointless."
Empress Dowager Yu said calmly, "In a few days, Pei Jingheng will return to the capital to report on military affairs. I will keep an eye on Zhaohua, and you will keep a close eye on Pei Jingheng. Under no circumstances should they be given the opportunity to meet."
"Your subject will remember this."
Xie Yun bent down even lower.
Empress Dowager Yu boarded the carriage and saw Xie Zhaohua with tears in her eyes. She sighed and took out a handkerchief to hand to her.
“Zhaohua, you can’t just think about yourself. Think more about the Xie family and the Yu family. Only when you become empress can the Yu and Xie families rest easy. Otherwise, Xiao Yuchen will never treat us as his own people.”
Empress Dowager Yu pinched her brow in distress. "I thought you were a well-behaved and sensible child, but I never expected you to be so wild. I'm already troubled enough, and you're just adding to my worries."
Annoying?
Seeing this, the nanny quickly massaged Empress Dowager Yu's shoulders and explained to Xie Zhaohua.
"His Majesty recently went on an incognito visit and brought back a young lady. He is extremely fond of her, treating her like a precious gem. The most crucial point is that we still haven't been able to ascertain her identity."
"It must be that His Majesty is intentionally protecting her, fearing that someone might harm her."
Xie Zhaohua's heart tightened.
Could the woman the old woman was talking about be Fu Yu?
That night, it was the only route she could take to lead Fu Yu to Xiao Yuchen's carriage.
Could it be that Fu Yu managed to win over the emperor while hitchhiking, and was even pampered by that tyrant?
impossible!
Xiao Yuchen has an unpredictable, violent, and ruthless personality.
Even Xie Zhaohua could only manage not to anger him; he dared not cross the line at all.
In her past life, she had spent every day with Xiao Yuchen.
No one knows better than her how fastidious, sensitive, suspicious, and averse to women this person is.
How could Fu Yu, that frail woman, possibly catch Xiao Yuchen's eye?
A strange emotion welled up in Xie Zhaohua's heart.
She didn't want to return to the palace, but she wanted to see who this legendary woman who had captivated Xiao Yuchen was!
She received a level of pampering she had never experienced in her previous life with remarkable ease.
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