Chapter 78: The Empress Dowager and the Emperor

Xuan Yuanling didn’t say much more to Shen Qing. After their brief conversation, he left as well.

The smile on his face gradually faded. “Let’s go to Shouxiang Palace.”

Zhao Hai wished Shen Qing could have talked a bit more with the Emperor. He sighed inwardly—of course the Emperor would have someone handle the Empress Dowager’s forty-fifth birthday celebration. But it was one thing for the Emperor to take the initiative, and quite another for the Empress Dowager to stay silent while secretly urging court officials to pressure the Emperor into making it grand. Those were two entirely different matters.

Why did the Empress Dowager always like to pull these kinds of stunts? Previously she’d forced the Emperor to visit the Empress’ palace, and now that her own birthday was approaching, why couldn’t mother and son speak openly with each other? If she wanted something more elaborate, they could have discussed it. Why go so far as to rally court officials just to give the Emperor a hard time?

Getting the court involved like this was practically the same as pointing at the Emperor’s head and calling him unfilial.

When the Emperor arrived at Shouxiang Palace, he naturally came to see the Empress Dowager.

The Empress Dowager didn’t leave her quarters often. Aside from the Empress, only Consorts Ru, Yu, and Chun had the rank to greet her regularly—and that only applied to daily greetings, not special occasions.

The Emperor also came to greet her, though rarely. Those monthly greetings were as fixed as the nights he spent with the Empress.

Now, seeing the Emperor arrive, the senior maid of Shouxiang Palace was extremely nervous. When the Empress Dowager had secretly criticized the Emperor’s lack of filial piety and pushed officials to submit memorials, she had already worried he’d be furious. And sure enough, here he was today.

Why did she have to stir things up? The maid couldn’t persuade the Empress Dowager either.

It was simply a mess.

Xuan Yuanling entered Shouxiang Palace with a dark, stormy expression. At the time, the Empress Dowager was sipping tea. When she saw him, she frowned. He hadn’t sent word in advance—she was already displeased.

Every time he came, his face looked so sour. Did he even regard her as his mother? There wasn’t a trace of respect.

“The Emperor is here early today. Cuiyun, pour a cup of tea for His Majesty,” she said.

Cuiyun was filled with unease but had no choice but to obey.

She knew full well the Emperor was probably in no mood for tea right now. And this tea…

“This is tribute tea from Qianzhou. I recall that Qianzhou suffered floods this year—endless rain, treacherous mountain roads. To prevent accidents during delivery, I had exempted Qianzhou from sending tribute,” Xuan Yuanling said, gazing at the Empress Dowager. He himself hadn’t even had a taste of Qianzhou’s tribute tea this year, yet it had appeared in the Empress Dowager’s palace.

At his words, the Empress Dowager’s expression turned sour. “When the late Emperor was alive, this tea was never lacking in my palace. Now that you are Emperor and I am the Empress Dowager, am I not even entitled to what I had as a consort?”

Xuan Yuanling slammed the teacup down with force. “Regarding the matter of your upcoming birthday, I’ve come today specifically to ask why you’ve conspired with court officials to pressure me.”

The Empress Dowager frowned. She knew she hadn’t been entirely in the right, but still refused to take full blame. “You rarely come to pay respects, and the Empress has no legitimate heir. If I don’t make a show of things at a time like this, how will the world perceive you? The late Emperor was known far and wide for his kindness and filial piety. And you…”

The more she spoke, the more it felt like the sky was falling for the servants nearby. Cuiyun and Zhao Hai both felt like they couldn’t remain standing any longer and were about to kneel.

“Enough!” Xuan Yuanling sneered coldly. “Since the Empress Dowager wants a grand celebration, I will of course arrange it. That way, everyone can see just how harmonious and loving we are as mother and son.”

The final words were spoken through clenched teeth, thick with sarcasm. With that, he turned and stormed out of Shouxiang Palace.

The Empress Dowager was furious at the sight of him leaving so abruptly. She grew so enraged that her head spun and her vision darkened. Cuiyun rushed to support her, her heart full of fear.

“Your Highness, what is the point of this? He is the Emperor. What good does it do to argue with him?”

The Empress Dowager’s fingers trembled. “Look at what kind of unfilial son I raised. If he hadn’t kept distant from me all these years, hadn’t been cold with the Empress, if he’d produced a legitimate heir by now, would I have had to go this far? Instead of being grateful, he comes to reprimand me!”

Cuiyun hesitated, wanting to speak but unable to. The Emperor was no longer the child the Empress Dowager could manipulate at will.

But she dared not say that aloud. Knowing the Empress Dowager’s temper, Cuiyun understood that the more she tried to reason, the more stubborn she’d become. It would only make things worse. For now, she could only try to comfort her. Thankfully, the Emperor had said the celebration would be held—he still cared about the Empress Dowager. Hopefully, she would come to her senses. After all, it was the Empress Dowager who held that title because she was the Emperor’s mother—not the other way around.

Meanwhile, Xuan Yuanling, having just exited Shouxiang Palace, immediately ordered someone to inform the Empress that the Empress Dowager’s birthday would be celebrated in grand fashion—so that everyone could witness how “harmonious and loving” they were as mother and son.

As he said this, he let out a cold laugh. “‘Rarely pays respects, and the Empress has no legitimate heir’? Are they afraid that my attitude might jeopardize the Chen clan’s future?”

Zhao Hai kept his head down low, not daring to speak. But Xuan Yuanling suddenly asked, “Do you know why I’ve never allowed the Empress to become pregnant?”

Zhao Hai didn’t dare answer.

“I’ve always feared that the tragedy of my youth would befall my own children. She thinks I don’t know? How many times did I fall ill as a child—how many of those were because of her? All under the guise of ‘preserving me,’ saying that I was too weak and fragile to survive harm.”

Xuan Yuanling laughed bitterly at his own words. “She only showed concern for me in front of my father. Aside from urging me to strive for my father’s favor, all she ever taught was that without ambition, there’s no place in the palace. Does that feel like a mother-son relationship to you? She never acted like a mother—so how was I supposed to act like a son? Thinking back now, the only time she ever truly said a kind word to me was just before I ascended the throne.”

He sneered. “And the Empress? Her nature is even more ruthless than the Empress Dowager’s. A parent who loves their child plans for the long term.”

If the Empress had a child, the power struggles in this palace would double. His other children would never be safe. Just like back when Empress Jingxian was alive—how many children in the harem died because of inner palace strife and battles over succession? The title of ‘legitimate heir’ was indeed exalted.

Even knowing that not having a legitimate heir wouldn’t stop future power struggles, he still couldn’t bring himself to allow it.

And besides—if the Empress Dowager treated him this way just because he was the legitimate heir, then what would happen if the Empress had one of her own? Would she aim to rule behind the curtain next?

Zhao Hai felt a pang in his chest. The Emperor’s childhood had been harsh—if he hadn’t been hurt so deeply back then, would he still be so haunted by it now? The pain lingered in his heart, and he couldn’t let it go.

Between the Empress Dowager and the Emperor—this was a knot that could never be untangled.

Xuan Yuanling rode in the imperial carriage to the imperial study. His chest was heavy with anger. Left alone, he began reviewing memorials. When it came time to choose a consort for the night, he couldn’t help it—his thoughts drifted to Shen Qing, to how she’d respectfully greeted the Empress that morning. And in the end, he selected Shen Qing’s name.

Over in Shen Qing’s quarters, she had already sensed something was wrong from how quiet and tense the Emperor’s attendants had been. She sent Wang Lu to investigate, and soon learned about the Empress Dowager’s birthday.

Then she was puzzled—just how had the Empress Dowager, with that level of emotional and political intelligence, survived the previous era of palace intrigue?