After leaving the Imperial Study, Xu Zifan indeed went to Anci Palace to see the Empress Dowager, even summoning the imperial physician to show concern. Sure enough, Fu Yuhua's expression relaxed considerably; she said he was too nervous, but a smile played at the corners of her eyes. To have such a powerful and influential person remain devoted to her, making up for the neglect she suffered under the late Emperor, filled her with immense satisfaction.
While the imperial physician examined Fu Yuhua, Xu Zifan wasn't present. He went to a side hall, where Mo Yun, who was already prepared, walked towards him. Under the watchful eyes of others, she respectfully bowed and made way. As Xu Zifan passed her, she flicked her fingernail, and a small, thin scroll of paper fell into Xu Zifan's sleeve pocket. At the same time, Xu Zifan gave her a scroll of paper in the same way. Then she withdrew as usual, and even the three palace maids who were on guard against her didn't notice anything amiss.
Xu Zifan sat down to drink tea and placed the note in his spatial storage: "[Shaohua, see what An San says.]"
Shaohua could control things within the space, quickly opening the note and scanning it onto the screen for Xu Zifan to see. The note listed eighteen names, all of whom were Fu Yuhua's people planted in important positions within the harem—essential agents outside Anci Palace who carried out her clandestine affairs. Other spies naturally existed, but those who weren't assassins didn't need to be eliminated.
Xu Zifan discovered that two of the assassins were close to the emperor. Fu Yuhua might have wanted to protect the emperor, or perhaps she also wanted to exert some control. But ultimately, secretly sending such people to the emperor's side without informing him was the easiest way to create estrangement. The note he gave to An San instructed her to cover up the emperor's movements, prevent the Empress Dowager from knowing his whereabouts, and then leak the Empress Dowager's information to the emperor.
Unexpectedly, he and An San were quite in sync. He had just been about to use this tactic when An San had already investigated all the personnel. Xu Zifan curled his lips slightly, turned off the screen, and leisurely sipped his tea.
A moment later, Fu Yuhua came out. The imperial physician said that Fu Yuhua was often worried and unable to sleep. In fact, the gist of it was that Fu Yuhua had something on her mind. Xu Zifan sensed this and asked her with concern. Fu Yuhua then brought up the matter of choosing an empress, but Xu Zifan had no intention of chatting with her. He simply smiled and said that he already had someone in mind and would guarantee that she would be satisfied. Then he took his leave.
Because of his caring attitude, even though he didn't spend as much time with Fu Yuhua or instruct the emperor as before, neither she nor her son noticed anything amiss. Six years wasn't the only time they could lower the original owner's guard; Xu Zifan could also use those years to make them lower their guard. And he did this deliberately to gain time to consolidate his power.
Although the original owner was the regent, he was not power-hungry and genuinely cared for the mother and son from beginning to end. Naturally, he wouldn't try to cultivate too many confidants to firmly control power. This is why the mother and son were able to depose and kill him in just two years; his power was not stable enough.
In his previous life, Xu Zifan was a sage in the beastman world, founding a nation and essentially doing the work of an emperor for decades. Although the beastman world was still developing and not as complex or treacherous as the court in this world, there were still many similarities in general management, so he handled these tasks with ease. While the mother and son continued their lives as usual, completely unaware, he consolidated his power, compiled various lists, and prepared to strike at the right opportunity.
Dealing with an emperor and empress dowager meant changing the dynasty. His task involved personal grudges and conflicts, but causing national turmoil and harming the people was a grave sin. He had to ensure a smooth transition without major problems, so there was still much to be done. He had a system that allowed him to monitor people's expressions and conversations within 500 meters, providing him with immense convenience and making it easier to determine whether ministers were friends or foes, thus easing his burden considerably.
With the subtle maneuvering of the palace eunuchs and the secret agents, the Empress Dowager remained oblivious to the Emperor's unusual behavior. The Emperor, having composed himself, continued his filial devotion to the Empress Dowager, though a growing resentment had crept into his heart. He now viewed the Empress Dowager's every word and action with a newfound ulterior motive. Two days later, he couldn't resist leaving the palace again. The two palace maids the Empress Dowager had assigned to him for his nights out were utterly uninteresting; they were rather plump, honest in nature, merely pretty, and so obedient they barely dared to smile.
Having just witnessed the beauty of a girl like Furong, how could he possibly find these two palace maids pleasing to the eye? He knew the Empress Dowager had arranged this to prevent him from becoming infatuated with women. The Empress Dowager had mentioned more than once that the late Emperor favored that Consort because of her beauty, causing her and her son to be neglected. Previously, the Empress Dowager had taught him that once he had an heir, he must give the mother some respect and cherish the child, a principle he had always found reasonable. Now that it was his turn, he realized that it was utterly absurd for an emperor to force himself to give respect to women he didn't like. If an emperor couldn't even freely indulge in the women he loved, what use was he?
The rebellious mentality that comes with being a teenager, coupled with a series of events that have occurred in the past few days, has made the emperor's thinking somewhat extreme. He is eager to find something to prove his imperial authority and also eager to find someone to wholeheartedly worship him as the emperor. So, he subconsciously went out of the palace to find Furong.
When he saw the lotus flower, stripped of its embellishments, in a dilapidated courtyard, he was utterly amazed!
When Furong played the zither and sang at Zuixiang Tower, she was glamorous and dazzling. Her fine clothes and accessories perfectly accentuated her beauty, but that was, after all, a brothel, and no matter how beautiful she was, she still had a vulgar air about her. But now it was different. Furong wore coarse cloth clothes, no jewelry, and only a cloth wrapped around her head. She didn't wear any makeup, yet she exuded the pure and innocent charm of a girl next door. Especially her eyes when she looked up at him, so bright and clear, full of joy and gratitude, made him feel completely relaxed, and all his gloom disappeared.
Furong happily entertained him and even cooked for him.
He prepared four dishes and a soup. The dishes were simple, and the taste wasn't particularly good, but Furong's words of gratitude and shame for causing him trouble made him feel that the food contained genuine sincerity, making it more delicious than any meal he had ever eaten. Furong didn't know he was the emperor; she didn't try to curry favor with him, didn't want his money, and even gave him the silver she had saved from embroidery, saying she wanted to slowly repay him the money she had to redeem herself.
Such a kind, grateful, strong, independent, and self-loving woman was his favorite! As a child, he believed his mother was like that, and he deeply admired her when they were each other's only family. But as he grew up, he realized his mother wasn't like that at all; she had taken advantage of the Regent's affection for her, and they had both achieved their success through him. But now he had met Furong, who fulfilled all his beautiful fantasies about women, and he had even received affirmation from her. Furong's importance in his heart had instantly increased several times over.
Before returning to the palace, despite Furong's refusal, he directly ordered a eunuch to buy a three-courtyard house and arranged for a dozen servants and guards to serve Furong. Furong refused to move, so he said that he would like to come and chat with her again in the future, and she couldn't be wronged in a dilapidated courtyard. Only then did Furong reluctantly agree.
The more she acted this way, the more the emperor appreciated her. When he returned to the palace to read the memorials, he would smile and reminisce about them from time to time.
Seeing this, the young eunuch quietly lowered his presence. The more the emperor felt that he had chosen the path for himself, the more he would protect Furong and insist on this choice in the future. During this period, whoever had the highest profile would suffer, because those in power often liked to blame others for leading them astray when things went wrong, so the young eunuch naturally had to be cautious.
The young eunuch was quick-witted and clever. He didn't understand the emperor's memorials, but he was far more cunning than ten emperors could outwit Furong. The emperor found Furong to his liking in every way, but in the eunuch's eyes, Furong was adept at saying one thing to one person and another to another, quick-witted, and subtly revealed the emperor's preferences in conversation, then catered to them, presenting herself as the kind of person the emperor desired. If Furong didn't possess such abilities, she wouldn't have become the top courtesan at the Drunken Fragrance Pavilion, surpassing the four most beautiful courtesans by selling her art but not her body, and even gaining the madam's favor. Compared to that chaotic brothel, what was an emperor who had never seen the world? He was no match for Furong's schemes.
The young eunuch knew that Furong would definitely make a move, and he also had to guard against Furong discovering his disloyalty. So from then on, he obediently served as a young eunuch, diligently learning from his godfather, the head eunuch, and never mentioning anything outside the palace. The emperor, however, was itching to see Furong. Every two or three days, he would leave the palace and go to that residence to find Furong, no longer going anywhere else.
Furong was truly dedicated. Every time the emperor was about to leave, she would use a little trick to keep him thinking about her in the palace. Once, she even had the emperor "accidentally" spill tea on her clothes. The thin dress became semi-transparent after being wet, revealing glimpses of her private parts, which stunned the emperor. Furong blushed and ran back to her room.
Xu Zifan noticed that the emperor was increasingly lost in thought during court sessions, but he didn't remind him. The other ministers naturally assumed that the emperor was still immature, lacked patience, and didn't take state affairs seriously enough. Several ministers who had previously been hoping for the emperor to rule personally sighed inwardly, their strong desire fading.
The first stirrings of love are the sweetest, most dreamy, most intense, and most heart-wrenching time for everyone. No one teaches the emperor this, and his cautiousness in front of the Empress Dowager prevented her from noticing in time. Meanwhile, Xu Zifan, his mentor, was secretly fueling the flames, causing the emperor's heart to be completely devoted to Furong during this period. Although he wanted to assume personal rule, many arrangements were still far off after his wedding, and he had little to do each day. With everything at court proceeding as usual, he naturally wasn't in a hurry to reclaim power, thus allowing himself to focus his attention on Furong.
The "boiling frog" analogy can not only boil the original owner of the body, but also the emperor and empress dowager. Xu Zifan's deceptive appearance and various hidden arrangements made them feel no dissatisfaction with the status quo and no hurry to do anything. They all fell into his trap and followed his plan.
Furong's cunning was an unexpected bonus, saving Xu Zifan a lot of trouble. He didn't even have to lift a finger; Furong simply put on a show, making the emperor witness her being harassed outside. She then tearfully recounted how she had seen too many such incidents and that perhaps she would only be able to avoid harassment once she had a husband to rely on. This provoked the emperor so much that he entered Furong's room that very day and promised her wealth and honor afterward.
Because of Furong's successful scheme, Xu Zifan also decided to propose the most suitable candidate for the position of empress, whom he had carefully selected.