chapter 5
chapter 5
With the Chu clan won over, my next concern was the empress dowager’s return.
According to the floating comments, she would be Wang Chaolu’s strongest ally in the struggle to become empress. Once she returned, she could suppress me at every turn until I had no room to fight back.
I considered killing her outright, but the risk was too great.
Instead, I sent word to Father and ordered him to arrange a few incidents along her journey.
The day before the empress dowager left for the capital, a fire broke out at the Thousand Buddha Temple. It was discovered early and burned only a woodshed and several empty meditation rooms. An investigation concluded that the dry weather had allowed a stray spark from the incense burners to reach the firewood.
The next day, a landslide blocked the mountain road with a boulder. Once the attendants finally moved it, the imperial horses came down with violent diarrhea.
I heard the empress dowager had been dozing inside the carriage when a terrible stench woke her. Had the curtains not been so thick, the spray of manure might have struck her face.
They changed carriages, but by the time she reached the palace she looked visibly haggard and nearly fell while dismounting.
Pei Yangxi had originally led every consort and concubine to welcome her at the Wuyang Gate. He intended for her to honor Wang Chaolu publicly and promote her to Consort Xian.
The air was crowded with comments congratulating Wang Chaolu in advance on becoming one of the Four Consorts.
[Her lover is the emperor and her son is the crown prince. What kind of glorious heroine fantasy is this? I’m loving every second!]
[Lulu gets everything without lifting a finger. So much better than those vicious supporting women tearing each other apart.]
To everyone’s surprise, the empress dowager never raised the matter. She spoke with her son and exchanged a few perfunctory words with me, nothing more.
When she showed no sign of acting, Pei Yangxi offered her an opening.
“Thanks to Mother’s prayers, the harem has welcomed two imperial children. Ah Ci, as empress, deserves great credit.”
It sounded like praise for me, but once again I was only a bridge. If the empress dowager asked about the children, Wang Chaolu’s name would inevitably arise.
The empress dowager did not take the bait. She merely nodded to me. “The empress has endured much to bear an imperial heir.”
I curtsied modestly and kept the conversation flowing without mentioning Wang Chaolu once.
Beside us, Wang Chaolu was frantic. Afraid of losing her chance, she took a risk and pressed a hand to her chest, coughing until everyone looked at her. Then she lifted those misty eyes.
“Forgive me, Empress Dowager. The little prince will accept no one else, so I must care for him day and night. I have been rather weary.”
The same excuse in the same pitiful tone.
This time, Pei Yangxi did not scold her. He waited for his mother to speak.
She merely said, “You have worked hard.”
Wang Chaolu bit her lip and swayed. She gazed imploringly at Pei Yangxi, desperate for her lover to defend her.
She had humbled herself for years, all so she could finally hold her head high after bearing an imperial son. Pei Yangxi had promised that the day the empress dowager returned, she would become one of the Four Consorts. Then she would no longer have to kneel before everyone she met.
Pei Yangxi could not meet her eyes.
In the past, his public rebukes had always protected her. Today, however, another rebuke might destroy her path to promotion.
Helpless, he tugged secretly at his mother’s sleeve, begging her to intervene.
The empress dowager said only, “Lady Wang is tired. She should return and rest.”
[What the hell? Why won’t this old hag say anything?]
[My poor girl is about to shatter. Won’t someone help her?]
[Did we trigger some hidden plotline?]
[I want to rush in and tear the empress apart so she can give Lulu her place.]
Wang Chaolu fled with her face covered, leaving Pei Yangxi aching for her.