The Emperor's indifference was too obvious, and the Empress Dowager felt dizzy. Further stalemate would yield no results, so she had no choice but to leave in a huff. When she learned that the Emperor had brought Furong into the palace and settled her in a side hall, she was so enraged that she smashed all the porcelain in the entire bedchamber!
Even in her anger, she couldn't vent her frustration. Such a serious incident had occurred, and she had to maintain her composure and handle the aftermath. Her first priority was to send people to investigate who had injured the emperor, but because the guards had all been arrested by the emperor's men, her people couldn't find them or obtain any useful information. At the same time, she also had to ensure things were settled inside and outside the palace, preventing rumors from spreading that the Empress Dowager's men had injured the emperor, and ideally, even concealing the fact that the emperor was injured.
To everyone's surprise, after the Empress Dowager's people investigated, they discovered that the situation at Furong's residence was so chaotic that no one had even thought to cover it up. Many people knew that Furong had been assassinated and that the Emperor had been wounded in the chaos. This news spread too quickly, along with the previous news of the Emperor's visit to the Drunken Fragrance Pavilion, and even the news that Furong had been brought into the palace.
Rumors circulated about the young emperor's romantic escapades, praising Furong to the skies. They said he fell in love with her at first sight at the Drunken Fragrance Pavilion, immediately spending a fortune to redeem her from her servitude and keeping her in his outer quarters, visiting her daily. Until the harsh and unreasonable Empress Dowager tried to separate the couple and kill Furong, the young emperor bravely intervened, taking a knife himself, risking a break with the Empress Dowager to bring Furong into the palace.
The love story between the Emperor and Furong suddenly became more popular than many traditional folk tales. Women and young women loved to hear it and eagerly inquired about the details. However, the ministers and their wives thought differently. They felt that the Emperor had gone mad and that the Empress Dowager had acted too clumsily. How could she have made such a big fuss over dealing with a courtesan? Wasn't this just making the royal family a laughingstock for the world?
Furthermore, the Empress Dowager's men actually dared to injure the Emperor! Does this mean the power structure is about to change? The Regent is still perfectly fine, yet the Empress Dowager and the Emperor have started fighting? Could it be that their previous guesses were wrong, and the Empress Dowager and the Regent are actually on the same side? If they truly have feelings for each other, making the young Emperor a puppet wouldn't be impossible! If that's the case, then what's the point of supporting the young Emperor? He has absolutely no chance of winning!
And then there's the matter of the concubines. The emperor brought such a famous courtesan from the capital into the palace, bestowing upon her unparalleled favor by allowing her to reside in a side hall of his own bedchamber. Even the empress wouldn't be so intimate with the emperor, demonstrating how much he cherished Furong. Entering the palace as an empress or concubine at this time would only make her cannon fodder, wouldn't it? Not only was she not as beautiful as Furong, but her talents were also inferior, not to mention her ability to please men. Who could possibly snatch the emperor away from Furong? Besides, competing for favor with Furong would be beneath her!
Families who had originally intended to send their daughters to the palace all abandoned the idea. Some were thinking of their daughters' well-being, while others were concerned about the safety and interests of their families. If a girl were to fall from grace in the palace, her entire family might be implicated. Such a delicate time was definitely not a good opportunity for her to enter the palace.
The ministers learned of the situation so quickly because Xu Zifan had informed them beforehand. They already knew the Empress Dowager and the Emperor were arguing over Furong, so naturally they wanted to keep an eye on things. When someone went to find Furong, they noticed immediately and deduced the general situation from the general circumstances. The most surprising thing was the Emperor's injury, which seemed to directly indicate that the Empress Dowager didn't care about the Emperor. In the absence of a clear picture, observing and not betting on either side was the safest approach. For the sake of their own families, no one wanted to interfere in the Emperor and Empress Dowager's affairs.
Only one family was very anxious, and that was the Fu family, the Empress Dowager's maternal family.
Previously, Xu Zifan proposed that Fu Lin's daughter become empress, but the emperor didn't agree at the time, and the empress dowager didn't give a definite answer either. Since then, so many things have happened. Fu Lin is the one most dissatisfied with the emperor. Now, all the officials know that his daughter is going to be empress, and many ministers have specifically congratulated him. Doesn't the emperor's favoritism towards Fu Rong slap his family in the face? This will inevitably lead people to suspect that the emperor's delay in appointing an empress is because he likes Fu Rong and is dissatisfied with Fu Qiuwen. Where does that leave the Fu family's reputation?
There's also the matter of the emperor rebelling against the empress dowager. The Fu family helped the empress dowager put the emperor on the throne, but now that the emperor no longer needs them, he doesn't even give the empress dowager any face? If the emperor can't even tolerate his own mother, what affection does he have for the Fu family?
On one hand, they felt humiliated by the slap in the face; on the other hand, they sensed a family crisis and couldn't sit still. Fu Lin and his wife, along with the Empress Dowager's elderly mother, went to the palace to discuss the matter of establishing an empress. Their thinking was simple: to protect the Fu family, Fu Qiuwen had to become empress. Only then could the Fu family have both an empress dowager and an empress, ensuring their invincibility. Once Fu Qiuwen gave birth to the legitimate son of the empress, they would then support that child, making their position even more secure.
Of course, they wouldn't say that to the Empress Dowager. They were full of sympathy for her, indignation on her behalf, and wanted Fu Qiuwen to enter the palace to accompany her and help her deal with Furong.
The Empress Dowager was already feeling dizzy and unwell, and she had also quarreled with the Emperor. She was overwhelmed by the rumors of the Emperor's romantic affairs that were circulating throughout the capital, so she had no mind to pay attention to her family. She impatiently sent them away before they could say a few words, which made the Fu family feel uncomfortable.
Just then, Xu Zifan entered the palace. News of the emperor's injury was spreading like wildfire, and as the regent, he naturally had to go to the palace to inquire about it.
He first went to visit the emperor, but his expression was not good when he saw the emperor. After asking about the emperor's injuries, he coldly said, "Did Your Majesty really quarrel with the Empress Dowager over a courtesan?"
The emperor's face also turned grim. "What? Does the Regent want to reprimand me?"
Xu Zifan slowly turned the thumb ring on his thumb and said in a deep voice, "Of all virtues, filial piety is the most important. The Empress Dowager has always been kind to you, thinking of you in every way and prioritizing you in everything. If you can't even be filial..."
"If you can't do that, how can you govern the country? Your Majesty, I hope you remember: those who are disloyal and unfilial are worse than pigs and dogs."
"You! You're insulting me?!" The emperor glared at Xu Zifan, like a lion poised to pounce.
Xu Zifan stood up, straightened his clothes, and snorted coldly, "Your Majesty, I dare not. I only wish to remind Your Majesty not to be blinded by women and do things you should not do." He seemed very dissatisfied with the emperor, cupped his hands, and turned to leave, "I heard that the Empress Dowager has fallen ill, so I went to visit her on behalf of Your Majesty."
Seeing Xu Zifan's arrogant demeanor, the emperor wished he could draw his sword and kill him immediately! But in reality, he could only clench his fists tightly on his bed, unable to even utter a reprimand, because real power in the court was still in Xu Zifan's hands. He wasn't a fierce lion at all; he was just a cowardly coward! Realizing this caused the emperor immense pain, as if he were constantly holding his breath, about to explode.
But he had already fallen out with the Empress Dowager, and there was no one left to discuss strategies with him against Xu Zifan. The thought of Xu Zifan so clearly siding with the Empress Dowager finally made the Emperor uneasy. He had to seize power as soon as possible, otherwise his ruthless mother might really depose him. He was absolutely certain that the Empress Dowager had the power to make Xu Zifan usurp the throne and then make her Empress! Therefore, he couldn't remain passive, nor could he trust the Empress Dowager any longer; he had to seize power himself!
Xu Zifan summoned all the imperial physicians from the Imperial Medical Academy to Anci Palace. Upon seeing the Empress Dowager, he ordered all the physicians to examine her and prescribed the most suitable medicine for her to recuperate.
The Empress Dowager felt somewhat relieved upon seeing him. Her son had rebelled and broken ties with her, failing to understand her good intentions; her family, instead of comforting her, were only concerned with their own interests; her trusted confidant had been killed, leaving her with no one to talk to or consult. Fortunately, Xu Zifan genuinely cared for her, even though she had only used him. At this moment, Xu Zifan's actions brought her boundless warmth.
After the imperial physician left, the Empress Dowager looked at Xu Zifan and sighed, filled with emotion. "You know everything? I'm so tired. I have no way to deal with Yang'er and have even hurt the bond between mother and son. Zhongqian, you've always been resourceful. Can you give me some advice on what to do with that woman named Furong? The Emperor is protecting her so much that I can't even touch her."
This time, wanting to say something the Emperor wouldn't know, the Empress Dowager dismissed the palace servants, leaving only her four maids, including Mo Yun, to attend to her. Xu Zifan, sitting opposite the Empress Dowager, raised an eyebrow in surprise, "You intend to punish that woman? Why?"
The Empress Dowager was taken aback. "Zhongqian, do you know about that woman? Yang'er redeemed her from the Drunken Fragrance Pavilion and even kept her in a house. Now he's brought her into the palace and made her stay in the Emperor's bedchamber. If I don't deal with her soon, Yang'er might even make her Empress!"
The Empress Dowager exaggerated her words and even wiped away a tear. But Xu Zifan said, "Empress Dowager, I previously suggested that the daughter of the Fu family could be made Empress, but the Emperor said he needed to consider it. You also said that the daughter of the Fu family was not suitable and that the Emperor should choose for himself. Why are you objecting now that he has someone he loves?"
The Empress Dowager said in disbelief, "How can these be the same? That Furong is a courtesan!"
"That day, I asked the Empress Dowager what would happen if the Emperor chose a commoner from a poor background. You said you didn't care about such things, and even said you could arrange for the woman the Emperor chose to be related to a relative, elevate her status, and properly educate her after she enters the palace so that she is worthy of the Empress's position. I thought you were just being kind and only wanted the Emperor to be happy, so I didn't interfere. I didn't expect you to care so much about Furong's background. If I had known this earlier, I should have stopped him. Maybe he wouldn't have fallen so deeply in love with Furong." Xu Zifan shook his head, seemingly with some regret.
The Empress Dowager was struck dumb. In a flash, she recalled their previous conversation. Back then, she had been determined to have the Emperor marry the Prime Minister's daughter, and unable to refute Xu Zifan, she had deliberately played the emotional card, saying that as long as the Emperor was happy, that was all that mattered. Now she realized that the Emperor had already redeemed Furong from her servitude back then, and Xu Zifan even knew! Thinking back to what she had said that day, she wanted to slap herself. Why had she played the emotional card? Given how much Xu Zifan cared about her, perhaps he would have agreed if she had mentioned the Prime Minister's daughter. How could she have played such a terrible hand!
She couldn't help but resent Xu Zifan in her heart, and said with a stern face, "You're so inconsiderate of Yang'er! How can that kind of woman be compared to a commoner? She's practically a lowly person. She might have even sung songs and served drinks to many ministers and young masters. You... you let Yang'er associate with such people, and now you've even brought her into the palace! How are we going to clean this up? Now everyone knows. What will happen to Yang'er's reputation? Haven't you thought about any of this?"
Xu Zifan said nonchalantly, "You don't even care about your son's marriage, so what grounds do I have to object?"
"You!" The Empress Dowager was speechless, caught off guard. Wasn't Xu Zifan supposed to care about her? How could he be so tactless?
Xu Zifan continued, "If the Fu family's daughter had been chosen as Empress back then, the Emperor would surely be busy with the wedding preparations now, and wouldn't be able to leave the palace for leisure, nor would he be thinking about Furong anymore. However, sometimes fate is like that. As you said last time, Empress Dowager, the Fu family's daughter is not suitable for the Empress position, and the Emperor doesn't need any assistance. Choosing someone who suits his heart is the most important thing. Seeing how much the Emperor cares for Furong, I really can't bring myself to break them up. Empress Dowager, you should hate breaking up couples as much as I do, right? Are you going to do that now?"
Last time, the Empress Dowager deliberately brought up their past, stating bluntly that she disliked anyone interfering in matters of the heart and causing irreparable regrets, all to prevent Xu Zifan from meddling in the Emperor's marriage. Little did she expect that would become a pit she dug for herself, from which she now finds herself unable to climb out. She wanted Xu Zifan to handle Furong, preventing her from clashing directly with the Emperor again, but Xu Zifan refused, unwilling to separate the lovers. This made her regret her actions that day.
Why did you say those things?
The Empress Dowager took a deep breath, composed herself, and changed the subject, "Let me think about this matter some more. There are more important things to consider right now, namely the rumors circulating outside the palace. Zhongqian, you must handle this matter well..."
Before the Empress Dowager could finish speaking, Xu Zifan laughed and waved his hand, saying, "Your Majesty is being far too anxious. It's just a romantic affair. The Emperor possesses the entire realm; why should he care about such trivial matters? As long as the court is stable, no one cares who enters the Emperor's harem. At most, they'll just joke around. In my opinion, the most important thing now is for you to let go of the Emperor. He's grown up; you should let him make his own decisions."
The Empress Dowager was stunned, scrutinizing Xu Zifan's expression. "Zhongqian, do you know what you're saying? Yang'er is still young, and many of his decisions are wrong. How can we let him continue to act recklessly?"
Xu Zifan picked up his teacup, took a sip, and said calmly, "He is the emperor, and I am his subject. I should be loyal to the emperor and love my country, and act according to the emperor's wishes. Now that the court is stable, what can't the emperor do? As long as it's not too absurd, I think they are all trivial matters. Even if Furong really becomes empress, so what? What impact can it have? With me watching, no one will dare to oppose the emperor."
The Empress Dowager was a little flustered. Her greatest reliance was Xu Zifan, but now it seemed that Xu Zifan was on the Emperor's side.
"Zhongqian! That may be true, but I don't believe that Furong is sincere towards Yang'er. I do want him to marry a wife who suits his heart, but a woman from that kind of place, she's got ulterior motives from the start. How could she be good to Yang'er? Aristocratic women are much better raised. I plan to hold a flower-viewing banquet and invite all the eligible girls from the ministers' families to the palace. Perhaps Yang'er will find a girl he likes. What do you think?"
Xu Zifan nodded indifferently, "Your subject has no objection."
The Empress Dowager breathed a sigh of relief, finally finding a way out for herself. But then Xu Zifan said, "As far as I know, all the ministers in the capital know that His Majesty favors Furong. Without absolute support and confidence, I'm afraid no one would dare to enter the palace to compete with Furong. I absolutely do not want my daughter to enter the palace. She will not be attending this flower-viewing banquet. She is currently staying at her aunt's house, and I suggest that her aunt stay away from causing trouble, lest she give you bad advice."
The Empress Dowager felt her son was being disliked. Xu Zifan not only wouldn't allow his daughter to attend the banquet, but he also wouldn't let his sister's family come, as if he were afraid of being chosen by her. She felt a surge of anger in her chest, unable to vent it, extremely frustrated, yet she still forced a smile to indicate that it was alright. She wanted to bring up the matter of the assassin again, but Xu Zifan glanced at the sky and stood up. "The palace gates are about to close. It's inconvenient for me to stay any longer, Your Majesty. I take my leave."
Mo Yun slightly raised her eyes, seeing Xu Zifan's smiling expression and indifferent gaze, and silently looked away. The Prince is truly becoming more and more unfathomable; with just a few words, he has stirred up the Empress Dowager's emotions, making them fluctuate wildly, and she still can't discern his true attitude. It seems she hasn't done enough; she needs to try harder.