CHAPTER 244: CHAPTER 243: WAS SHE EVER WRONG?

Local officials, seeing the situation turning sour, sent petitions to the Imperial Court one after another.

The petitions were passed up the hierarchy, level by level.

Unable to manage the situation, the Ministry of Revenue had no choice but to present the petitions to the Emperor.

Zhao Junyao was not an omnipotent god.

Confronting such a matter for the first time, he too was distressed.

Li Shengan tiptoed in.

"Your Majesty..."

"The Empress Dowager... says she... has a matter to discuss with Your Majesty!"

"She requests Your Majesty’s presence!"

Zhao Junyao lifted his head. He thought for a moment and decided he had to show respect to his birth mother.

So, he tossed the petitions aside and stood up.

"Help me change my attire!"

「Ningshou Palace.」

The Emperor arrived swiftly.

After changing his garments and freshening up, much of Zhao Junyao’s fatigue had dissipated.

He masked his worried expression, presenting an appearance of filial respect and gentleness.

As soon as he entered, Zhao Junyao smelled the scent of medicine.

"Mother, are you ill?"

Sister Qing stepped forward to greet him.

"I pay my respects, Your Majesty!"

"You may rise."

Zhao Junyao walked further inside. He saw the Empress Dowager lying in bed, facing away, her expression indiscernible.

"Your son pays his respects, Mother. Are you unwell? Has an Imperial Physician been summoned?"

Zhao Junyao’s tone was filled with anxiety.

He was the epitome of a dutiful son.

The Empress Dowager neither spoke nor moved.

Sister Qing shook her head with a sigh. She led the Palace Maids and eunuchs out, then also stepped out, closing the door behind her.

Zhao Junyao sensed that something was amiss.

"Mother?"

"What has happened?"

Finally, the Empress Dowager slowly turned her head.

She looked at Zhao Junyao, her expression a mixture of exasperated anger, as if at iron that would not become steel, and profound grievance.

"Emperor,"

"I never imagined, after raising you for so many years, that you would..."

Zhao Junyao was somewhat bewildered.

"Mother, what are you talking about?"

The Empress Dowager chuckled, her anger evident, and slowly sat up.

"Was it not you who said you wanted to appoint Lady Xia’s son as Crown Prince?"

Zhao Junyao was completely stunned. His expression shifted from anxious to incredulous.

"When did I ever say such a thing?!"

Appoint a Crown Prince? That was absurd. He didn’t even have a son, so what Crown Prince was there to appoint?

Zhao Junyao could never have imagined that the words he had spoken in Lady Xia’s presence could be so twisted, embellished, and widely spread in a form so distorted he himself could barely recognize them.

The Empress Dowager scoffed coldly.

"If you hadn’t said it, how would others know? How could it have been spread around?"

"Emperor, you are my everything. Seeing you happy, I turned a blind eye to that Lady Xia and didn’t interfere too much!"

"But now it seems I was wrong!"

"That woman is a vixen, and she’s getting greedy!"

Zhao Junyao’s expression darkened.

"Lady Xia is not that kind of person!"

The Empress Dowager was relentless, snorting disdainfully.

"Hmph! I say but a word or two, and you immediately leap to her defense?"

Zhao Junyao looked at the Empress Dowager, his gaze chilling, a sense of irritation rising within him.

Is she just being deliberately unreasonable? Lady Xia has always been extremely cautious. What fault could she possibly have? In the Empress Dowager’s eyes, are only women from the Shih Family considered proper ladies? Are all other women vixens?! The Empress has been in the palace for many years and has never received a kind look from the Empress Dowager. Is the Empress a vixen too, then?

Zhao Junyao’s earlier concern and worry vanished, his face now heavy with solemnity.

"Mother, if you are ill, then please rest and recuperate."

"It would be best for you to pay less attention to the idle gossip in the palace!"

With that, Zhao Junyao turned to leave.

As he was leaving, he saw Sister Qing guarding the door and instructed her,

"Sister Qing, please take good care of the Empress Dowager. I will visit again in a few days."

After saying this, he strode away without looking back.

"Yes, Your Majesty. Farewell!"

Sister Qing curtsied, waiting until the Emperor was out of sight around the corner before entering the inner hall.

Inside the chamber, the Empress Dowager was extremely upset. Her face was pale, and her hands trembled as she wiped away tears with a handkerchief.

"He... he did this deliberately!"

Sister Qing could only try to console her.

"Empress Dowager!"

"Appointing the Crown Prince is a major affair of the Imperial Court. His Majesty doesn’t even have a single Prince yet. How can you fall out with the Emperor over mere palace rumors...?"

"Don’t you think the Emperor is heartbroken by this?"

The Empress Dowager shook her head, still wiping her tears.

"You don’t understand..."

For the sake of the Shih Family, she had sacrificed too much. Only by successfully preserving the Shih Family’s glory and prosperity could she convince herself that her past choices were correct. Otherwise, she would have betrayed her own heart. She would regret it for a lifetime—indeed, she had already spent more than half her life mired in regret and guilt, hadn’t she? That was why she was so fixated.

Sister Qing’s eyes also reddened.

"No matter what, the Emperor is still your son!"

"Appointing a Crown Prince is such a critical matter of state; how could the Emperor possibly make rash promises...?"

"The Harem is always stirring up trouble, hoping for chaos. Don’t you understand that yet?"

Most importantly, it wasn’t worth damaging the mother-son relationship over such unverified rumors.

The Empress Dowager remained silent for a long while.

Finally, she sighed.

"I know you’re right, but I just can’t help myself..." she said, shaking her head.

"Never mind. Bring the medicine; I’ll drink it."

Sister Qing’s expression softened slightly.

"It’s cold now. I’ll go warm it up for you."

As she spoke, she tucked the Empress Dowager’s quilt in more snugly and left with the medicine bowl.

The Empress Dowager closed her eyes and sighed.

Just... let it be for now. I’ll investigate secretly. If they are indeed just rumors, then so be it. But if that Lady Xia truly did bewitch the Emperor into making some promise, then she won’t live to see another day!

「After leaving Ningshou Palace.」

Dusk was approaching, the sun gradually setting.

The chill in the air intensified, growing heavier.

Zhao Junyao did not return to Zhaochen Palace. Instead, he went alone to Taiye Pool.

It was still the first lunar month, and Taiye Pool was covered with a thick layer of ice. It was frozen solid, so hard it couldn’t be chipped, incredibly firm.

He unfastened his black Cloud-patterned Cloak and handed it to Li Shengan.

Beneath it, he wore a snow-white Dragon Robe, its edges and dragon motifs embroidered with gold thread.

Wearing thick-soled Purple Gold Dragon-Patterned Boots, he took a few steps onto the ice.

Then, he lay down on the icy surface.

White ice, a snow-white figure, and the blood-red sunset reflecting on the frozen surface, devoid of any warmth.

"Your Majesty!"

Li Shengan cried out in alarm but then remained quietly to the side.

He didn’t dare to call out again; he still wanted his head to remain on his shoulders for some time to come.

Zhao Junyao lay there on the ice.

A quarter of an hour passed...

Two quarters of an hour...

Half a Shi Chen...

A full Shi Chen!

The sky had turned completely dark. Li Shengan was frantic with anxiety, feeling as if ten thousand ants were crawling all over his heart, yet he still dared not utter a word.

Just then, Zhao Junyao finally stood up.

He walked towards Li Shengan, radiating a bone-chilling cold.

"Return to the palace!"

He picked up the cloak, casually slinging it over his shoulders, and strode forward.

In the night air, the black cloak billowed out like the wings of a great eagle about to take flight.

Li Shengan composed himself.

"Yes!"

He then hurried after Zhao Junyao, trotting to keep up.

He’s up! That’s good, that’s good! he thought with considerable relief. If His Majesty’s sacred person had frozen, even a hundred of my heads wouldn’t be enough to atone for it!