Chapter 23 Having honed his "martial arts" skills, Ah Zhu finally aimed his powerful gaze...
In no time at all, Eunuch Chen, who had rushed into the palace, pounced on the dragon bed.
Most of the candles in the hall had been extinguished, leaving only a few lamps illuminating Emperor Xuanpei in a dim light, his gaze deep and unfathomable.
All the emperors of the Yuan Dynasty were tall, including Emperor Xuanpei, who had thin lips and a high nose. Coupled with his indifferent attitude, he seemed particularly unapproachable.
He sat quietly on the footstool, the five-clawed golden dragon embroidered on the hem of his robe coiled on the couch, and the jade-inlaid golden crown he wore had been removed as he fell asleep, so a few strands of his hair were now loosely draped over his shoulders.
"Your Majesty."
After calming himself down, Eunuch Chen bowed and approached.
After just a quick glance, he immediately knelt down and put shoes on Emperor Xuanpei.
"Even though it's summer, it's not yet the hottest period of summer. The nights are chilly in Jinzhuan. Your Majesty, please take care of your health."
Emperor Xuanpei looked down at Eunuch Chen, remaining silent for a moment.
The late emperor was deeply troubled.
When he was young, Emperor Xuanpei particularly disliked his father’s cold and chilling speculations, which were like needles that would suddenly prick you and cause pain, but if you tried to find them, you could never find them.
Bloodline inheritance... or perhaps the long time spent in the palace had subtly influenced him, and when he looked back, that suspicion was also branded on Emperor Xuanpei himself, deeply ingrained and indelible.
Emperor Xuanpei, who had become accustomed to turning a blind eye, had an unusually good memory.
He clearly remembered Ah Zhu—that day, kneeling and crawling around in the grass outside the Imperial Garden, looking completely disheveled.
Since everything is in such a mess, there's not much to say.
Emperor Xuanpei only saw her gloomy face, her mournful sighs, and her silly smile that seemed to change her expression.
Emperor Xuanpei believed that their first encounter was 80% accidental, but he met Azhu again in Kunning Palace the second time.
Emperor Xuanpei's voice was still somewhat hoarse when he spoke: "The palace maids who served tea at Kunning Palace today..."
They're here, they're here.
Hearing Emperor Xuanpei's question, Eunuch Chen, who bowed and stepped aside, felt a sense of relief, as if a weight had finally been lifted from his heart.
Having already thoroughly investigated A-Zhu's background countless times and almost memorized it by heart, Eunuch Chen composed himself and began to explain in great detail.
"Your Majesty."
"The palace maid who serves tea today was selected from the Yeting Palace in early May and went to Kunning Palace to serve."
“She…” Eunuch Chen did not use the word “slave” and carefully said in a very tactful way, “She was originally a descendant of the Jiang family, named Jiang Zhu.”
Emperor Xuanpei suddenly raised his eyes: "The Jiang family?"
"Yes," Eunuch Chen replied. "Back then, after the Jiang family was convicted, the entire family was imprisoned."
"Originally, the women were all to be sent to the brothels to become government-run prostitutes..."
At this point, Eunuch Chen raised his head slightly, glancing at Emperor Xuanpei's expression with a hint of cautious flattery.
"His Majesty is benevolent. Back then, he made an exceptional exception and allowed Lady Jiang's youngest daughter to enter the palace as a maid. He also exempted her from the post of Xin Zhe Ku and only assigned her to the Yeting Palace."
The Jiang family... Suddenly hearing about the place pulled out from the bloody disaster, Emperor Xuanpei fell silent.
When Emperor Xuanpei was young, he heard of the Jiang family because of the famous Miss Jiang in the capital—she was the woman that Crown Prince Chongde admired and wanted to bring into the Eastern Palace as a concubine.
Later... the late emperor went mad, in a way that Emperor Xuanpei could never have imagined.
When Emperor Xuanpei heard about this, he even suspected that his father had been poisoned.
The late emperor, who had gone mad, was capable of killing even the empress and his own son. What was the Jiang family compared to that?
Naturally, they too were stained with blood and became burial victims.
The brutal massacre began with Consort Feng.
However, Consort Feng lost two sons in succession and then resolutely hanged herself. Even her ashes were... The late emperor, in the prime of his life, went mad and died vomiting blood, which ruined his reputation and destroyed his good name.
Empress Hui, Crown Prince Chongde, Consort Jiang, and Prince Yunqing were all sentenced to death... as well as other princes who were imprisoned.
Everyone involved in this messy affair met a bad end.
If we want to settle accounts now, we'll probably have to chase them all the way to the underworld to get a clear answer.
Emperor Xuanpei did not deny that he was actually a beneficiary of this disaster.
After all, no matter how outstanding your talent, elegance, or how clever and resourceful you are, you cannot withstand the emperor's decisive action.
With this execution, all the male members of the Jiang family were sentenced to immediate beheading, to be executed along with the Crown Prince when the late emperor ordered his death.
After the women of the Jiang family were transferred from prison to the brothel, they committed suicide out of anger and unwillingness to be humiliated... Only five-year-old Jiang Zhu survived.
Emperor Xuanpei, who led his troops into the capital amidst turmoil, would not consider any hidden circumstances or whether someone was innocent or not.
All he knew was that this disaster, which was about to cause chaos throughout the world, had to be swiftly and decisively suppressed.
Of course, it's hard to say whether the young Emperor Xuanpei at the time still retained some of the compassion that ordinary people have.
Or perhaps, upon hearing that the entire Jiang family had been wiped out, he felt a pang of pity... In any case, after hastily ascending the throne, Emperor Xuanpei issued six imperial edicts, one of which was for the Jiang family, or rather, for Jiang Zhu, who had survived.
Since the rights and wrongs, the grudges and grievances of that year have all been buried underground with the remains, Emperor Xuanpei will not touch them.
But the little girl who was once tear-streaked and filled with fear is still fearful now, but she has specially put on a hairpin in her hair... Emperor Xuanpei gently closed his eyes.
As an emperor, he was suspicious of everything in the world.
Including those wonderful unexpected encounters, and even the more something suits his taste, the more he scrutinizes it.
A beautiful woman, already blossoming into a graceful young woman, was so close to him, with an air of wantonness. It would be a lie to say that one wasn't somewhat moved.
It had to be her.
"Jiang Zhu," Emperor Xuanpei murmured to himself, but said nothing more, only waving his hand with his eyes lowered.
Seeing this, Eunuch Chen, who had been quietly standing guard nearby, bowed and quietly withdrew.
......
Kunning Palace
Inside the side room, Ah Zhu, the "dream-disturbing spirit" who had kept Emperor Xuanpei awake for so long, was also awake.
Seeing Ah Zhu return to the house dejectedly, her face pale and gloomy, she said: "She messed up the job."
The other people in the room knew exactly what Ah Zhu was going to do, so they naturally didn't press Ah Zhu about his embarrassing situation.
Hearing that the Empress had not blamed them, they breathed a sigh of relief and could only offer a few words of verbal comfort to A-Zhu.
As it grew late, and remembering they had to get up early for work the next day, they went to bed.
Lying on the couch, unable to sleep at all, Ah Zhu, after much agonizing thought, carefully considered her future duties.
Everyone in the palace said that Empress Wang and the Emperor were a young couple.
Such a couple's companionship and loving relationship over the years is truly rare.
Therefore, even though she had become Empress, Empress Wang was not immune to the jealousy and resentment of ordinary women, especially since she was at odds with Consort Zhang, who was favored by the Emperor in the Nianfu Palace.
Ah Zhu felt that now that she had entered the gates of Kunning Palace, she was a member of Kunning Palace, and naturally she had to wholeheartedly help their Empress solve her problems.
A-Zhu, who was skilled at flattery and sycophancy, understood very well that since she flattered the nobles, the nobles naturally also had people they needed to serve.
In this palace, the person above everyone's head is undoubtedly the Emperor.
During the few days that Ah Zhu served in Kunning Palace, she also got a sense of Empress Wang's temperament—this empress was particularly fond of putting on airs, and even seemed a little awkward about not being able to lower herself.
Tell me, how can someone with this temperament compare to the radiant, charming, and tender Consort Zhang?
Therefore, what the Empress needs now is a way to soften her stance with the Emperor.
Just imagining the silent atmosphere between Empress Wang and the Emperor... I know this job is really difficult.
You might even need someone extremely shameless and incredibly flexible to act as the stepping stone.
Coincidentally, Ah Zhu is least afraid of being shameless.
She was only afraid that she was useless and could not serve her master well.
Presumably, the Empress personally selected her to come to Kunning Palace and treated her with great favor... that's the meaning behind it.
A-Zhu, who felt she had thought things through clearly, clenched her fists and secretly vowed: she would do her best to serve the Emperor and make him happy to come to Kunning Palace... Only in this way could she live up to the Empress's great kindness.
The loyal Ah Zhu was instantly filled with energy, closed his eyes, and fell soundly asleep.
A note from the author:
----------------------
Ah Zhu (rubbing his hands together): Your Majesty, just you wait and see. I guarantee I'll make the Emperor happy and understand everything.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
