Chapter 28: Wow, She Actually Fainted from Anger

The Empress Dowager ground her teeth, glaring at him!

He paid her no heed, only turned his eyes toward Zhu Wuhuan and extended a hand. “Empress, come here. Let Us see—were you frightened?”

All the excitement and blood-boiling admiration Zhu Wuhuan had just felt at watching him boldly rebuke the Empress Dowager evaporated the instant he reached out his hand.

She no longer found him manly or domineering—only doggish.

【Come to you? Ha! When I threw myself at you earlier, did you catch me? You stood there and let me fall flat, didn’t even lift a hand. And now you feign concern, beckoning me over? Ha! I’m a woman far above your reach now!】

She considered pretending to faint, to avoid this tyrant’s false solicitude.

But just as she slackened her body, ready to topple onto the stone table—she saw someone beat her to it.

The Empress Dowager had fainted!

She lifted her gaze—it was true!

The Empress Dowager, after being bluntly scolded by her daughter-in-law, then abandoned by her son who not only failed to defend her but even stood with his wife against her, could no longer endure. Accustomed to luxury and deference all her life, how could she bear such humiliation?

Stifled with fury, she’d collapsed from her own rage!

“Mother!”

Feng Changye, still exasperated by Zhu Wuhuan’s inner mutterings, suddenly saw his mother faint. Shocked, he hurried forward to catch her.

“Fetch a physician!” he commanded down toward the garden.

Too far from the palace to summon imperial doctors in time, he could only send for a local physician.

Scooping his mother into his arms, he strode down the rockery steps.

Zhu Wuhuan exhaled in relief—saved from having to let him take her hand and put on a show of concern.

Casting a glance at the Jin Prince still kneeling in the neighboring garden, she called to Ji Yunzhang, who was about to follow the Emperor. “Go and bring the Jin Prince to the Chen residence. When the Empress Dowager recovers, His Majesty will interrogate him.”

Ji Yunzhang hesitated briefly, looked up at her, then bowed. “This general obeys the Empress’s command.”

With that, he leapt away into the neighboring garden.

Only then did Zhu Wuhuan descend the rockery at her leisure, following Feng Changye’s party toward the Chen family’s main hall.

…

A quarter-hour later, the physician arrived.

After taking the Empress Dowager’s pulse, he knelt to report to Feng Changye.

“Your Majesty, the Empress Dowager fainted from anger and agitation. It is not serious. She will awaken after a rest. I will prescribe some medicine; once she takes it, she will be well.”

“Prepare it,” Feng Changye said with a nod.

Once the physician departed, he lowered his gaze to his unconscious mother, his eyes gleaming faintly.

To speak a treasonous thought—

This fainting truly came at just the right time!

The corner of his lips curved as he gestured to the attendants. “Attend the Empress Dowager carefully.”

Then he strode out of the room.

In the courtyard outside, Grand Academician Chen and his family stood respectfully, Zhu Wuhuan among them.

The moment Feng Changye emerged, he motioned for both Chen and Zhu Wuhuan to follow him.

The farther they walked from the Empress Dowager’s chamber, the colder his voice became.

“Chen Rong.”
“Your servant is here.”

The Grand Academician dropped to his knees at once, awaiting imperial orders.

Feng Changye fixed his gaze on him. “Quickly, have your household summon the six ministers, the Left and Right Chancellors, and the generals of State Protection, Town Defense, Champion, and Huaifa—all to your residence to meet Us!”

He paused, his brow furrowing. “Exclude the Minister of War!”

The Minister of War was Song Anqiao’s father, and right now Feng Changye’s distaste for that woman extended to her father as well.

Hearing this, Chen Rong’s head shot up, instantly recalling the Empress’s earlier accusation of the Jin Prince’s disloyalty.

Could it be that His Majesty intended, while the Empress Dowager lay unconscious, to convene the court and deal with the Jin Prince?

Not daring to hesitate, he kowtowed deeply. “Your servant obeys!”

He rushed away to dispatch his most trusted guards to summon each official.

Feng Changye then turned to Zhu Wuhuan, his words direct.

“We must seize the chance while Mother lies insensible to assemble the chancellors, ministers, and generals, and place the Jin Prince under confinement!”

Zhu Wuhuan stared at him in surprise.

So decisive?

Though startled by his firmness, she couldn’t help feeling pleased.

Yes—if they bound the Jin Prince now with civil and military officials present, by the time the Empress Dowager awoke, the matter would already be sealed. She could wail and rage at the Emperor, but she could not rage at the gathered officials—this was a state affair, beyond her meddling!

In the Great Ning, this Empress Dowager had no real authority; unlike Cixi in later Qing times, she could not command the government above the Emperor. Otherwise, would she have fainted in frustration just now, still powerless to even depose a single Empress?

“Your Majesty is wise,” Zhu Wuhuan said, bowing.

Feng Changye, hearing her inner voice, silently wondered—what was this “Qing dynasty”? Who was this “Empress Dowager Cixi” who could override the Emperor and seize power? Were those emperors such useless men?

He pushed the thought aside and met Zhu Wuhuan’s gaze.

“Empress, We cannot confine the Jin Prince without cause. When the ministers arrive, We shall have Ji Yunzhang recount, word for word, all that you and the Jin Prince said in the garden.”

“Though this will justify Our actions against the Jin Prince, it will also expose your past acquaintance with him, damaging your reputation…”

“Empress, will you resent Us?”

Hearing his explanation, Zhu Wuhuan’s surprise only grew.

In her heart, she thought:

【You’re supposed to be a tyrant! Shouldn’t you just decide this unilaterally? Why bother explaining it to me first?】

【Do you realize that by giving me an explanation, you don’t look like a tyrant at all?】

【Could it be…your reputation really was ruined by the Jin Prince? That you yourself aren’t the cruel despot history describes?】

【But then again, the bloodshed and killings in the coming years seem to be true as well…】

Confused, she looked at him, feeling she understood him less than ever.

She dismissed the thought and smiled serenely.

“Your Majesty need not worry for this concubine. I am of the Zhu family. Our loyalty to Your Majesty is witnessed by Heaven and Earth. If it eases Your Majesty’s burdens, what does my reputation matter?”

After currying favor for her family, she continued.

“Besides, I am no fool. I know that even if Your Majesty had every witness at the rockery silenced today, the matter of my former ties with the Jin Prince would eventually spread.”

“The Empress Dowager knows it, the Jin Prince’s confidants know it.”

“Once the Jin Prince is struck down, they will retaliate, spreading it throughout the city—claiming that Your Majesty confined him out of jealousy over his bond with me!”

At this, Zhu Wuhuan bowed deeply.

“My past with the Jin Prince is my own doing; I blame no one. Whatever consequences follow when the truth comes to light, I am willing to bear them myself.”