Chapter 88: Rumors
The moon hung high in the sky, starlight falling like threads. Zichen Palace was still lit with warm lights, making the stone steps before the courtyard gleam.
After drinking the sobering soup, Gu Zhen closed his eyes to catch his breath for a while. When he opened them again, the hall had fallen silent once more. The spacious inner hall, with furnishings exquisite and magnificent in every detail, felt empty.
His brow darkened, and a look of confusion appeared on his face. He asked in a low voice, “Where is the Empress?”
Wu Mao, standing to the side, hurriedly replied, “Her Highness has returned to Yande Palace.” Seeing his dazed expression, he added, “Her Highness only left after seeing Your Majesty finish the sobering soup with her own eyes.”
Gu Zhen’s eyelashes trembled slightly. His large hand gripping the armrest of the low table tightened and loosened intermittently.
Suddenly, the image of her grabbing his arm and questioning him—asking if he wanted to use this to make her grateful—surfaced in his mind. His expression stiffened involuntarily.
Reaching out to press his brow, Gu Zhen asked in a deep voice, “Did she… say anything?”
Wu Mao paused, then bit the bullet and replied, “Her Highness only said to let this servant take good care of Your Majesty.”
Candlelight mixed with moonlight shone on the floor mats of Zichen Palace.
Gu Zhen gave a light laugh. On that handsome and solemn face, there was a trace of bitterness.
Perhaps it was a moment of impulse, or perhaps he had been stifled all night, but borrowing the courage of the alcohol, he had told her his hidden thoughts.
Jealousy.
How could he not be jealous?
He had been burning with jealousy and rage at that time. He didn’t know how much strength it took to suppress the anger in his heart. Remembering it now, he was still uneasy.
But that was his Yiyi. Even if he felt awful, even if he was angry, he couldn’t bear to say a harsh word to her.
Even if he wanted to move against Lu Xianshan, he had to weigh the affection between her and Lu Xianshan.
Childhood sweethearts.
He had never hated a phrase as much as he did right now. Yet, he couldn’t help but secretly hope: what if the person who was her childhood sweetheart was him?
But in this world, there are no “what ifs.”
“Light a few more lamps; the light is a bit dim today.” After tending to his scars, Gu Zhen straightened his collar and stood up to walk to the desk. He flipped through the memorials on the desk casually, his brows knitting almost imperceptibly. “Regarding the matter of Zhao Weimin, have the rumors in the court implicated the Empress recently?”
Although he didn’t ask explicitly, Wu Mao knew exactly what he was referring to.
With the Marquis of Huai’an in trouble over such an old scandal, countless eyes in the capital were fixed on it. They were all respectable people of status; everyone originally thought the lawsuit was just the Zuo family venting their anger and that it would eventually blow over.
Who would have expected that the Luoyang Governor would actually be bold enough to pass a sentence?
After the matter was settled, the entire court and public were in an uproar. Following that, they discovered that the Emperor had no intention of rebuking the Governor who dared to sentence his father-in-law; his attitude was practically laid out in the open.
Just as glorious as Zhao Weimin was when he became the Emperor’s father-in-law, he was equally desolate now that he had fallen.
Former acquaintances avoided him like the plague. Let alone retainers, even relatives rushed to distance themselves from him.
He was the Empress’s biological father. Naturally, all sorts of rumors and gossip would drag the Empress into it.
“Privately, people are indeed discussing this matter.” Wu Mao considered for a moment, choosing his words carefully. “Because Your Majesty has kept people watching, no one dares to speak of it openly.”
Looking at the content of the memorial impeaching the Empress, written in black and white, Gu Zhen’s eyes darkened slightly. He said, seemingly nonchalant, “Is that so?”
Although it was just a minor official with no reputation, it was enough to show the probing intent of the officials.
It was almost written on their faces.
A trace of ruthlessness suddenly appeared in Gu Zhen’s eyes. The hand clutching the memorial tightened abruptly, almost crushing it into powder within his palm.
Since they wanted to slander and malign his Yiyi, they should be prepared to pay the price.
The edict impeaching the Empress had been delivered to the Emperor’s desk for several days, sinking like a stone into the sea without any reply.
After waiting for a long time, the person who submitted the memorial finally couldn’t hold back and raised it during the morning court session.
“The Empress’s father violated the law, and the Empress is at fault for failing to restrain him.”
Gu Zhen sneered inwardly, then found it somewhat incredible. He scolded coldly, “Absurd! When the Marquis of Huai’an committed such scandalous acts, the Empress was still a young child. How could she restrain him?”
After that, without another word, he directly ordered the man dragged out and stripped of his official post.
The court finally fell silent. After witnessing that man’s fate, no one dared to mention the matter again.
After experiencing these several instances of thunderous methods, the officials had to acknowledge that the young Emperor, like his father before him, was not one to accept a disadvantage in the struggle between monarch and ministers.
Actually, whether this matter had anything to do with the Empress wasn’t important. What was important was that the one in trouble was the Empress’s biological father. With such a notorious father, the Empress inevitably became a target for everyone’s criticism.
In several matters, the court officials had been suppressed by the Empress until they couldn’t breathe. Now that they finally encountered an Empress who wasn’t favored by the Emperor, they didn’t care about much else.
On this note, someone suggested the Emperor fill the harem, but the Emperor deflected it: “Zhen is busy with government affairs and has no leisure time for the harem.”
However, the “harem” in the officials’ minds wasn’t just for that. Someone boldly replied, “The harem is without concubines; Your Majesty should consider the matter of heirs.”
Gu Zhen’s expression remained unchanged as he said indifferently, “Given Zhen’s age, considering the establishment of an heir is a bit too premature.”
Fine.
If the Emperor himself wasn’t anxious, and they kept urging him every day, it would become their fault.
Some clever ones thought that given the Emperor’s current age, not establishing an heir had its benefits.
If an heir were established now, as the Emperor grew older, the conflict with the Crown Prince would inevitably increase, and one of them would eventually lose patience.
After the court session, Gu Zhen asked, “Where is the Empress?”
Wu Mao said, “Her Highness went to the official prison today to see the Marquis of Huai’an.”
Gu Zhen’s footsteps paused, his brow furrowing slightly, but then he suddenly changed direction.
It was the way out of the palace.
Wu Mao was stunned. But if he weren’t sharp, he wouldn’t have been able to serve the Emperor for so many years. In an instant, he knew where the Emperor was going and hurriedly followed, asking, “Will Your Majesty ride a horse or take a carriage?”
Gu Zhen glared at him before dropping a single phrase, “Riding,” without even taking the time to change out of his light purple round-collar robe.
He walked a few steps before reacting, then doubled back to Zichen Palace to change clothes.
Wu Mao breathed a sigh of relief and used this bit of free time to hurriedly prepare the horses.
This was Zhao Yiyi’s first time at the official prison, and the first time she had seen what a prison looked like.
Unlike the messy and dilapidated cells in storybooks, the official prison, specifically for detaining former high officials, was relatively clean and tidy, with separate rooms.
When Zhao Yiyi was supported inside by palace maids, Zhao Weimin was already sitting at the table waiting for her.
The father and daughter hadn’t seen each other for a long time. For a moment, there was a sense of speechlessness between them.
“Greetings to Your Highness…” Zhao Weimin pressed against the table to stand up, intending to bow to her.
In the past, whether sincere or fake, for the sake of everyone’s face, Zhao Yiyi wouldn’t have let him finish this bow; she would have had the palace servants help him up long ago.
Today, she just watched coldly, waiting until she was seated in the armchair before slowly saying, “Rise.”
A trace of displeasure flashed across Zhao Weimin’s face. His breathing was slightly heavy, but he endured it in the end.
“I heard someone was practically threatening death to see me. What is the matter?” Zhao Yiyi didn’t bother beating around the bush with him. She picked up the tea cup, glanced at it, then frowned slightly and tossed it aside, waiting quietly for him to speak.
Zhao Weimin was left hanging by her attitude, but he had to force a gentle expression: “I haven’t seen Your Highness for a long time. This subject was deeply concerned, which is why…”
Zhao Yiyi swept a glance at him, directly interrupting the rest of his words: “Who exactly is Father concerned about? No need to talk in circles like this.”
Zhao Weimin’s face turned green then white, filled with embarrassment.
“Your Highness, this subject was falsely accused by the Zuo family. But the Luoyang Governor… actually sentenced it. It is truly an injustice.”
“Injustice?” Zhao Yiyi looked as if she had heard something amusing. She leaned back lightly against the chair, tapping her fingers. “Was Father forced by someone to commit adultery with the Xu woman? or is Zhao Shunnian actually Father raising a child for the Xu woman, and not really Father’s son?”
Zhao Weimin’s expression became even more awkward, his face flushing red. “Why must Your Highness speak so unpleasantly!”
Zhao Yiyi smiled, her voice indifferent. “Unpleasant? Since Father dared to do it, do you not dare to hear it?”
“You think it’s unpleasant now? When you were having an affair with the Xu woman back then, did you consider whether it was unpleasant? Did you consider my mother? Where did you place my mother!”
Zhao Weimin held his breath, his hand gripping the tea cup trembling uncontrollably.
It was from anger.
Zhao Yiyi swept a rough glance over him, then sneered, “Since you dared to do it yourself, what is there to fear? Moreover, the case is already settled. Do you expect me to go to His Majesty and plead for mercy?”
A person like him actually had moments where he cherished his reputation.
It was simply laughable.
Anger rose in Zhao Weimin’s heart. He wanted to explode several times, but thinking of his other purpose today, he held it back.
“Asking Your Highness to come today… my case doesn’t matter. Mainly, I have a request.” He straightened up and cupped his hands. “Shunnian is young, and Lianzhi isn’t doing well in the Zuo family. Plus, their mother is weak and kind. Today, this subject just wants to beg Your Highness to look after them a little.”
So it was for Mrs. Xu and her children.
He had been muddled for half his life, cold and thin-blooded for half his life, yet in this world, there were actually people he was willing to plan for with all his heart.
It was just a pity. He had a wife and concubines, sons and daughters. But the people who could make him expend this effort were not his wife, nor those children.
It was a mistress and illegitimate children.
“What mother?” Zhao Yiyi suddenly lifted her eyes to look over. Her face changed drastically as she threw the cup in front of him. “Just a mistress, yet you dare say she is my mother!”
Zhao Chen, who had accompanied her today, heard this and said indignantly, “Father insisted on seeing Elder Sister himself. Now that you’ve seen her, you don’t have a single word of concern, yet you delusionally want to use Elder Sister to wipe away their stains?”
Zhao Weimin was squeezed by this barrage of words. His lips trembled, and his breathing became uneven.
Zhao Yiyi completely lost interest. She stood up, her brow carrying a strong disgust, frighteningly cold.
“If Father is here for these matters, there is no need to find me. That I haven’t moved against them is already my last shred of kindness. You still want me to take care of them? Keep dreaming!”
Zhao Weimin turned from shame to anger, his voice instantly rising much higher: “The Empress is so heartless, refusing to even care for her own kin. Have you ever thought, with you being so cold-hearted and unfeeling, what His Majesty would think if he knew!”
Zhao Yiyi gave him a cold look. She simply looked down at him from above, her expression filled with pity, unwilling to pay him any heed.
She didn’t speak, and Zhao Weimin’s expression became increasingly manic. However, before his next sentence could leave his mouth, a steady voice came from afar: “What Zhen thinks is not for you to worry about!”
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