Chapter 23: The Captured Imperial Prince of the Enemy Country’s Canary 10

After circling around, Lin Muqing finally got tired. She stretched her delicate, pale arm towards Jun Yuanming, who was beside her.

In a soft, coaxing tone, she said, “Your Majesty, I’m so tired. I don’t want to ride anymore.”

Jun Yuanming, considering that she had only recently recovered, gently reached out and lifted her onto the horse before casually returning to the tent.

“Greetings, Your Majesty. I present to you Lin Shuyi.” Eunuch Qin approached with a respectful bow, then added, “Your Majesty, the Left Chancellor requests an audience.”

Jun Yuanming responded lightly, tousling his disheveled hair, his usually pale face tinged with a faint pink that was much healthier than before.

There was a subtle shift in the atmosphere.

“Is Your Majesty feeling well today?”

“Yes, we will first return to Shuyu Palace.”

“Oh.” She didn’t expect him to be so busy, and she felt that the reminder from others didn’t weigh heavily on her heart.

…

Upon returning to Shuyu Palace, Lin Muqing immediately asked Liu Yu to prepare a banquet.

In the past month, she had little appetite for spicy food. After taking medicine, her skin had absorbed the lingering taste of medicine.

The imperial kitchen was efficient, and the system provided two roasted chickens. Each time the kitchen sent over a lot of fresh ingredients.

Liu Yu was an excellent cook, and with Liu’s help, after half an hour, they managed to prepare sweet and sour fish from West Lake, braised lion’s head, Buddha jumps over the wall, spicy roasted lamb leg, and papaya bone soup. Aside from the soup, the other dishes were adorned with vibrant red chili peppers, and the portions were generous—each dish was a culinary masterpiece.

“Liu Yu, have you learned from the imperial kitchen? These are too delicious to resist,” Lin Muqing exclaimed.

“Spare me,” Liu Yu said, wiping Lin Muqing’s mouth. “You’ll be full soon. Don’t overeat!”

After finishing a table full of dishes, Lin Muqing felt stuffed, her stomach bloated.

“We should go take a walk to digest.”

As they pushed open the scarlet doors of the outer hall, they were “intercepted” by an elderly matron.

The matron, dressed in dark-colored palace attire, scrutinized Lin Muqing with a steady gaze. “Lin Shuyi, the Empress Dowager wishes to see you.”

Her voice was neither warm nor cold, but it carried an authoritative tone.

Lin Muqing had only heard of the Empress Dowager in passing a few times.

The Empress Dowager was known for her austere conduct, reputedly devoutly vegetarian and Buddhist, filled with compassion, and hoping for Jun Yuanming to bear children.

The Empress Dowager had formerly been a gentlewoman, but she was also a shrewd woman who had been in power as the Chancellor, devoted to the late emperor whom she had loved deeply. However, after the late emperor chose to pass the throne to others whom she did not hold dear, she did not give up her plans. Her father was falsely accused and executed, her mother was humiliated and killed, and her son was sent far away to be raised in exile, while she herself was banished to the cold palace.

Eventually, the Empress Dowager regained her clarity, but it was too late, having spent seventeen years filled with regret before being brought back from the cold palace and given the title of Empress Dowager.

Lin Muqing couldn’t help thinking that this felt like the plot of a tragic story, with such sorrowful backstories for the supporting characters, not too unlike their counterparts in a melodrama.

“Then lead the way, Matron,” she said, eyeing the old matron.

Inside the Empress Dowager’s Palace.

Upon entering, Lin Muqing found a dignified and refined noblewoman dressed in plain palace attire seated in a position of authority. She wore no dazzling jewelry, just a string of prayer beads, sitting quietly as if waiting for something.

The Empress Dowager exuded a calmness, the result of having weathered many storms, not appearing as a pious lady paying respect to the divine, yet her demeanor was not unkind—she seemed to be in her thirties, possessing an aura of elegance.

“Greetings, Empress Dowager.” Lin Muqing bowed gracefully.

“Please rise. A-wan, bring some tea,” the Empress Dowager instructed the matron and nodded. “Sit.”

Upon seeing Lin Muqing for the first time, the Empress Dowager was taken aback by her stunning beauty, her skin as smooth as jade.

“Are you feeling well?”

“Thank you for your concern, Empress Dowager. I am much better.”

The Empress Dowager had already been informed by the imperial physician about Lin Muqing’s condition due to the poison inflicted upon her by Consort Chen, which had harmed her health and rendered her incapable of bearing children, thus exchanging measured pleasantries with her.

They moved on to the main topic.

“Did Yuan’er just go to the hunting ground?”

“Yes.” Lin Muqing spoke without much hesitation, sitting elegantly in place, answering questions as they came.

“Lin Shuyi should know that the imperial concubine system is fraught with challenges for producing heirs, and the emperor has invested considerable thought in matters related to it; the palace has been less active in reviewing candidates due to your presence.”

“Since he is currently without offspring, it should not occupy too much of the emperor’s time and energy,” the Empress Dowager remarked, her expression turning suddenly serious, as if she felt Lin Muqing’s words were heavy.

“Isn’t it too soon to worry? Yuan’er’s temperament you might understand, having gone through this for quite a while now.”

Just hearing how Yuan’er was favored by Lin Muqing already sparked uneasy thoughts within her. She was afraid he might develop an exclusive affection for her, leaving his previous favorites behind. The problem was that she was unable to bear children.

This was a solid, undeniable love, with even the emperor’s favored consort being cut out of the picture, revealing just how devoted he was.

What would happen to the empire that Yuan’er had so arduously built?

“Empress Dowager, where did you hear that I am unable to bear children?” Lin Muqing feigned shock, her eyes welling up as she felt herself nearing the brink of breaking down.

She could not have anticipated that this pillow talk would unexpectedly rise to such levels. However, the emotions of the Empress Dowager must surely be the result of her own painful experiences.