The Xuanwu Emperor patted her little head: "A job well done deserves a reward."
He looked at Fang Rumeng: "As for how to reward, let the Chief Costume Officer decide, and then report it to the Internal Affairs Department."
Fang Rumeng's face lit up with joy: "On behalf of the embroiderers in the Costume Department, I thank Your Majesty and Concubine Zhen."
Tomorrow was the New Year's Banquet, but Empress Zhu was still sulking with the emperor and had no intention of attending.
Or rather, she was waiting for the emperor to come and sweet-talk her.
The New Year's Banquet was the grandest festival of the year. The emperor and empress's attendance would demonstrate harmony in the royal household, promising a peaceful and prosperous year ahead.
However, the Xuanwu Emperor seemed to have no intention of reconciling. With the banquet just a day away, no one had come to deliver her newly made clothes or inquire about her arrangements for the evening.
What she didn't know was that the emperor had already handed over all banquet matters to the Internal Affairs Department, using the empress's alleged headache as an excuse to prevent palace staff from disturbing her rest.
"Your Highness..." Fen Yun looked worriedly at the empress, who had been sitting silently by the window all morning. Biting her lip, she knelt down and kowtowed: "Empress, I beg you to apologize to the emperor. If not for yourself, think of the Fifth Prince! If you fall, how will the Fifth Prince survive?"
"Wah... wah..." As if sensing Empress Zhu's sorrow, the Fifth Prince in the wet nurse's arms let out a cute cry, waving his little hands, wanting Empress Zhu to hold him.
The Fifth Prince was almost a year old. Children in the palace matured early, and he had already sensed his mother's sadness and disappointment from her expression. He wanted to comfort his mother with his little hands.
Those lifeless eyes shed tears upon hearing the Fifth Prince's cries.
Empress Zhu, her voice hoarse, said: "Bring the Fifth Prince to me."
The wet nurse glanced at Fen Yun, worried that the empress's unstable emotions might harm the Fifth Prince.
Fen Yun directly took the Fifth Prince and placed him on Empress Zhu's lap. The Fifth Prince immediately stopped crying, his eyes curving into crescents as he smiled, uttering for the first time a not-quite-perfect: "Mo... mo... mother..."
"The Fifth Prince called you!"
This single word, "mother," ignited all of Empress Zhu's fighting spirit.
She seemed to see her deceased eldest and second princes, their faces gradually merging with the Fifth Prince's, becoming her third child.
Suppressed, broken sobs escaped her lips as she held the Fifth Prince tightly. Her tears soaked the little one's shoulder, but he knowingly stretched out his arms, also tightly embracing Empress Zhu's neck, and even pressed his head against her cheek.
Seeing this scene, Fen Yun also shed tears: "Your Highness, see? The Fifth Prince knows how good you are to him!"
Indeed!
Even such a small child knows who truly cares for him, able to give you a hug and comfort you when you're sad.
The emperor, a grown man, kept stabbing her heart time and time again.
Couldn't he give his lawful wife a way to save face?
No!
She couldn't sit idly by and wait for doom.
Empress Zhu wiped away her tears, her gaze gradually hardening. Taking a deep breath, she said: "Fen Yun, we can't let Concubine Zhen... stay any longer."
Previously, she hadn't taken harsh measures, thinking Concubine Zhen posed no threat to her position. No matter how favored she was, she was still just a concubine, unable to affect her status as the rightful empress.
But the emperor's actions this time made her acutely aware of how terrifying it was when a monarch's love was given solely to one person.
Today she might be Concubine Zhen, tomorrow she could be Noble Consort Zhen, and later she could become Imperial Noble Consort...
Eventually, she, the empress, would have to abdicate.
Even if it meant the emperor would hate her for the rest of his life, it didn't matter. The position of empress could only ever be hers.
"Empress, Eunuch Jiang Chuan from Hexi Palace is here."
The voice of a young eunuch sounded from outside. Empress Zhu concealed the ferocity in her eyes and had the wet nurse take the Fifth Prince away.
With Fen Yun's assistance, the empress covered her tear stains. Only when no traces could be seen did she walk out from the inner hall.
Jiang Chuan had been waiting for quite a while, but he showed no signs of annoyance or impatience. He still very properly led his people to pay respects to Empress Zhu.
Empress Zhu, harboring anger, didn't call for them to rise. So Jiang Chuan knelt obediently, without a trace of resentment.
"Hmph!"
The cold snort sounded chilling and aloof in the spacious hall.
Empress Zhu glanced sideways: "It seems Concubine Zhen has raised a few loyal dogs. I wonder if these dogs know that they eat food provided by me, and should show respect to their true master."
Hexi Palace... no... strictly speaking, all the palace servants in the entire harem were Empress Zhu's servants.
The salaries of the harem were all allocated by her.
It was she, the rightful empress, who fed these dog servants.
Jiang Chuan smiled: "Your Highness, you're mistaken. Our lady only keeps one dog, named Laiguo. It usually eats the chicken, duck, fish, meat, and vegetables that we servants in Hexi Palace raise. But as Your Highness said, it is indeed a loyal good dog. Your Highness truly has discerning eyes."
The implication was clear: I and the others are people, not dogs. Concubine Zhen has never treated us as dogs. But Hexi Palace indeed has a dog named Laiguo, it eats food provided by Concubine Zhen, which has nothing to do with Empress Zhu. It is indeed a dog loyal only to Concubine Zhen, as Your Highness's wise eyes can clearly see.
This was more than just a double entendre.
Firstly, it suggested that Empress Zhu didn't treat servants as people but as dogs, implying that all who served her were dogs.
Secondly, it stated that they didn't eat food provided by Empress Zhu, they were the emperor's people, and since the palace had assigned them to Concubine Zhen, they were Concubine Zhen's people, with a clear conscience.
Thirdly, it implied that Hexi Palace was self-sufficient, working for themselves and providing for themselves, not relying on Empress Zhu's support. Servants working for wages was a matter of course, or did she expect them to serve for free?
Fourthly, it acknowledged that Empress Zhu had good judgment, knowing that Hexi Palace's servants were loyal to Concubine Zhen, so there was no point in trying to sow discord.
Empress Zhu was so angry that her fingers clenched tightly. The veins on her temples, hidden beneath her black hair, bulged terrifyingly.
Jiang Chuan knew well that after a slap, one should offer a sweet date, otherwise this face-conscious empress might take serious action.
He shifted his kneeling position to reveal two palace servants behind him carrying something: "Your Highness, these are clothes made from the new palace brocade from the Costume Department. Concubine Zhen thought they must have been delivered to the wrong place. Such magnificent clothes should be for Your Highness to wear at tomorrow's New Year's Banquet. So... she quickly ordered me to bring them to you."
Delivered to the wrong place?
That was impossible. How could the Costume Department... unless it was the emperor!
Empress Zhu first smiled coldly, then excitedly stood up: "Did the emperor send you?"
