Chapter 105 (End of Main Text)
Of all the princes now, only the Ninth Prince is being taught state affairs by Emperor Xuanpei, just like in the past... In this palace, ultimately, a mother's status depends on her son, and a son's status depends on his mother.
Even because of the Ninth Prince, not many court officials stood up to object to Emperor Xuanpei's appointment of a new empress.
Once the imperial edict was issued, the twelve palace offices and the Ministry of Rites were to jointly prepare for the empress's investiture ceremony.
Even though the official investiture had not yet taken place, the day after the imperial edict was proclaimed throughout the land, the concubines in the palace had already gone to Guanju Palace with great enthusiasm.
Even Consort Zhang, who had always been on equal footing with Ah Zhu, took the initiative to sit in the lower position this time.
Because Ah Zhu repeatedly declined with a very serious expression, the concubines did not directly perform the grand ceremony of paying homage to the Empress when they went to pay their respects.
Seeing that Consort Zhou, who was recuperating in the palace due to illness, was among the concubines who came to pay their respects, A-Zhu even showed her some gentle concern.
"Is Consort Zhou feeling any better? Is she still coughing at night?"
"Thank you for your concern, Your Majesty." Consort Zhou smiled humbly. "Thanks to Your Majesty's blessings and the generous gifts you have bestowed upon me, I am much better now."
Sitting below Consort Zhang, Consort Tang smiled and continued, "Who says otherwise? Now that Your Majesty is overjoyed, we concubines are all feeling refreshed and clear-headed because of this joy."
Upon hearing Consort Tang's words, the concubines in the hall smiled politely. Judging from the harmonious and joyful scene, anyone who didn't know better would think they were close relatives.
After the greetings were over, Consort Zhang stayed behind.
Seeing that Consort Zhang was addressing the Empress and about to bow, A-Zhu quickly stopped her.
Now, Ah Zhu is long past the age of being jealous and competitive, and she no longer needs pretentious posturing or empty titles to back her up.
She and Consort Zhang had been friends for decades.
In this palace, the higher your position, the fewer people you can actually speak to; even one person is a rare find.
"It's already boring enough in this palace, and I can only talk to my sister for a few minutes."
A-Zhu pulled Consort Zhang to sit in her original seat.
"I still have to worry about those empty reputations in front of outsiders. Now that there's no one else around, sister, please let me relax a bit."
Seeing that A-Zhu was still behaving in the same way, Consort Zhang felt relieved, and her eyes even showed some fine wrinkles because of her smile.
"Haha, this day has finally come."
Consort Zhang nodded and smiled repeatedly, her expression practically screaming with delight.
"Wang Yushu valued her position as empress and her son's position as crown prince all her life, but now she has nothing left."
"If it weren't for the Crown Prince... the deposed Crown Prince was truly benevolent and filial, would she still be alive today?"
Look, even though they haven't seen each other for more than ten years, Consort Zhang still misses Empress Wang so much.
Indeed, with three bloody lives separating the two, there's no way that Consort Zhang and Empress Wang will ever be able to reconcile in this lifetime, not even a little sympathy or sighs are possible.
Consort Zhang couldn't bring herself to crush the deposed Empress Wang while she was down.
"A-Zhu," Consort Zhang turned to look at A-Zhu, "on the day of your coronation ceremony, I will have many palace servants outside Changyang Palace offering their congratulations..."
A-Zhu: ......
In terms of closeness, Consort Zhang is naturally closer. A-Zhu nodded somewhat helplessly: "Sister, you can make the decision. However, Prince Qinghe is still waiting in his fiefdom, so we still have to be mindful of some things."
"A-Zhu, don't worry, I won't make things difficult for you."
Consort Zhang nodded, her expression a mixture of smile and sorrow.
"If I really had the determination to risk everything and take Wang Yushu to the underworld with me, I wouldn't have had to wait until now to kick her when she's down."
"Let's just consider this a final act of venting... Mao'er wrote that the garden she's building separately in the mansion is almost finished." Consort Zhang's eyes were full of anticipation and longing: "Ping'er can recite the Three Character Classic fluently now."
The people Consort Zhang cherished and missed were all thousands of miles away, and there was nothing left for her to hold onto in the palace.
Meeting Consort Zhang's gaze, A-Zhu slowly nodded, saying only, "Sister, just leave as soon as possible in the future."
"Thank you, A-Zhu."
Watching Consort Zhang leave with a relieved and satisfied expression, A-Zhu sat quietly, without moving.
Even without being told, A-Zhu could tell that Consort Zhang was eager for the Ninth Prince to ascend the throne as soon as possible.
Everyone tacitly harbored their own thoughts.
Because of the saying "a new emperor, a new court," people started taking sides early on.
No wonder emperors throughout history became more suspicious, sensitive, and paranoid as they aged, wanting to hold everything firmly in their hands.
They were filled with apprehension towards the princes who were young, strong, and outstanding, and were even willing to provoke bloody battles among them.
Ah Zhu closed her eyes and tilted her head back, her heart calm—she was ready to sit on the throne of the empress.
Holding fast to her unwavering belief that she would stand by the emperor through thick and thin, that's how she's lived all these years.
A-Zhu even dared to swear to Heaven that she had not lied to Emperor Xuanpei about this affection.
After all, it's a lifelong commitment; how can that be called a lie?
However, it's best to be cautious about the position of crown prince.
Ah Zhu gently reminded herself—Ah Zhu, you must always put His Majesty first.
......
Consort Zhang was indeed a woman of her word, a person of her word.
On a fine day when the autumn wind had just begun to blow and the sky was clear and the breeze was gentle, the emperor, accompanied by his ministers, held a grand ceremony in front of the Hall of Supreme Harmony to confer the title of empress. A group of palace maids with clear voices sang joyfully outside the Changyang Palace.
"Get them all out!"
"Get out! Get far away from here!"
"You bitch!"
"You lowly servant who has usurped a high position!"
The commotion couldn't be concealed, and Wang Yushu was indeed nearly driven mad.
Even though Empress Wang had been deposed and moved to another palace, Consort Zhao still followed the deposed empress to Changyang Palace.
Zhao Jieyu knew very well that this was her punishment, but also her chance to make amends by keeping an eye on Empress Wang and prevent her from causing any major trouble.
Therefore, she persuaded and stopped the Empress Wang, who was so emotionally agitated that she lost control, and prevented her from committing a bloody crime on this joyous day.
"I am a noblewoman of the Wang family, and the Princess Consort of the Prince of Qin, betrothed by the late Emperor!"
"She is the Empress of the Great Yuan Dynasty, the Empress Dowager who is the mother of the nation!"
Surrounded by palace servants, Wang Yushu screamed hysterically.
"I also have two sons, and my son is the Crown Prince!!!"
"That lowly maid Jiang is nothing more than a foot-washing maid who serves me to cleanse my feet. What merit does she have?"
Exhausted from her cries, Empress Wang nearly collapsed into Consort Zhao's arms, being dragged along. Tears streaming down her face, she murmured repeatedly, "What virtue or ability does she possess...?"
*
The events that occurred in Changyang Palace during the coronation ceremony were quickly reported to the Ninth Prince.
Ah Zhu had told the Ninth Prince many times that he could not interfere in the power struggles among the concubines in the palace. Even a minor concubine like Bao Lin was his father's woman and his elder.
But the deposed empress harbored deep resentment towards Azhu.
The palace is filled with such resentment and disregard for consequences, and the deposed crown prince is still alive... Who knows what shocking things Wang Shi might do if she is released from the palace in the future, forcing the deposed crown prince to "set things right"?
The Ninth Prince was exceptionally handsome even as a child, and although he has grown up a bit, he still has a face as beautiful as jade, with a gentle and clear appearance.
He remained silent, sitting in the heavily lit hall, his drooping eyelashes casting shadows over his eyes, making him appear somewhat cold and austere.
"Chen'er".
Upon hearing the very familiar voice, the Ninth Prince subconsciously looked towards the palace entrance and saw his mother.
The Ninth Prince was taken aback, then quickly stood up with a smile to greet him.
He reached out and helped A-Zhu into the hall. "Why did Mother come at this hour?"
"If anything happens, just send a palace servant to summon me."
“The palace servants below say you’re resting very late every day these days…” A-Zhu glanced to the side, and Lü-Fu quickly placed the food box in her hand on the table.
"I made some Eucommia ulmoides, Fritillaria cirrhosa, and ginseng chicken soup in the small kitchen, and I thought I'd bring some over for you."
"Thank you, Mother."
Seeing that Green Lotus had nimbly scooped up the soup, the Ninth Prince picked up the bowl and began to drink.
After drinking most of it in one gulp, the Ninth Prince smiled and nodded repeatedly at Ah Zhu, saying, "Indeed, the soup stewed in the Empress Dowager's palace is the best."
Ah Zhu was amused by the Ninth Prince's series of actions.
"Since it tastes so good, you should come to Mother's palace to drink it often."
Seeing the Ninth Prince's eyes crinkle with laughter as he nodded repeatedly, Ah Zhu couldn't resist and gently patted his head with a smile.
The Ninth Prince didn't dodge, and even rubbed against A-Zhu's hand like he did when they were children.
“Mother Consort handles matters in the palace.” A-Zhu patted the Ninth Prince’s shoulder and said softly, “Your father has softened a bit now, and he has more smiles on his face.”
Seeing Ah Zhu's smiling yet affirmative gaze, the Ninth Prince slowly nodded, a smile appearing on his face as well: "Mother, rest assured, I know what I'm doing."
*
One happy event after another occurred in the palace. Less than three years after the Empress's coronation ceremony, the Ninth Prince was appointed as the Crown Prince.
As a result, the Crown Prince hadn't even had a chance to settle into his position in the Eastern Palace before he was forced to set off again for Jiangnan Circuit due to the salt tax issue.
In Hanyuan Hall, watching the Ninth Prince and the Seventh Princess bid farewell to her and Emperor Xuanpei and leave together, Azhu couldn't help but stand up.
Emperor Xuanpei grasped Azhu's hand.
"Let them go."
Emperor Xuanpei smiled and put his arm around Azhu, saying softly, "While I still have some strength left, let's deal with these people as soon as possible, so that Chen'er won't have such a hard time in the future."
The sunlight outside the hall was perfect, its golden rays like scales, falling on the glazed tiles as if they were draped in a hazy golden light, bright and dazzling.
Watching the two figures walking side by side, full of vigor and gradually disappearing into the distance, A-Zhu slowly nodded.
"Alright."
......
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Author's Note: Thank you so much, my lovely readers, for making it to the end! A deep bow of gratitude! Thank you all so much! And finally, a big hug, a lift high, and a kiss to all my little darlings! [Heart][Heart][Heart][Heart]
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