Ci Ning Palace

Upon hearing that the Empress Dowager was feeling unwell, Emperor Yuanjia came over after the morning court session.

The Empress Dowager was leaning against the head of her bed, with the Empress, Consort De, and Consort Xian all attending to her. When they saw Emperor Yuanjia, the consorts naturally gave up their positions by the bedside.

“How does Imperial Mother feel?” Emperor Yuanjia sat by the bed, looking at the Empress Dowager with concern.

The Empress Dowager looked older than she had during last year’s Dragon Boat Festival banquet, and she had also grown thinner. Her face was heavily powdered, not wanting others to see her haggard appearance.

Looking at Emperor Yuanjia, the Empress Dowager smiled: “Just a minor cold, nothing serious. Is Your Majesty busy? If so, please hurry back to handle state affairs.”

As emperor, Emperor Yuanjia was never not busy, but since he had already come, he naturally wanted to spend more time with his mother.

“Today is fine, your son will spend more time with Imperial Mother.”

A palace maid brought over the medicinal soup. Emperor Yuanjia took the bowl and personally attended to the Empress Dowager, taking her medicine.

While drinking the medicine, the Empress Dowager gazed intently at her emperor son, her heart filled with countless emotions.

She had given birth to two sons in total. Her eldest son had been clever since childhood – quick at learning reading, martial arts, and everything else. He was the most outstanding among all the princes, and the late emperor also valued the eldest son greatly. At that time, besides competing for favor with the late emperor’s new and old loves, the Empress Dowager devoted almost all her remaining attention to her eldest son, both supervising his studies and guarding against those who might harm her eldest son.

The Empress Dowager of that time was convinced that as long as her eldest son remained well, he would inherit the throne in the future, allowing her to become the Empress Dowager with unlimited glory.

Compared to the eldest son, the newborn younger son, who only knew how to eat, drink, and sleep, could simply be left to the wet nurses to care for.

As the eldest son grew older, competition with other older princes became increasingly fierce. The Empress Dowager became more and more cautious in protecting her eldest son. If the younger son came over to cause her trouble, the Empress Dowager only felt annoyed and would always tell the wet nurses and palace maids to quickly take the younger son away. Despite all her devoted efforts, the eldest son still died in the struggle among princes. The Empress Dowager was devastated with grief. After recovering her spirits, she began pouring all her maternal love and ambitions onto her younger son.

But by then, the younger son had already become distant from her.

To win back her son’s heart, the Empress Dowager should have sent Shou’an Jun out of the palace, but Shou’an Jun’s beauty made the Empress Dowager feel that keeping her might prove very useful.

Indeed, she fell into those women’s trap and angered the late emperor. At the critical moment, the Empress Dowager sent Shou’an Jun before the late emperor.

The late emperor’s eyes went straight, and he tried every means to obtain Shou’an Jun.

The Empress Dowager thought Shou’an Jun would be very happy to climb into the late emperor’s bed. What surprised the Empress Dowager was that Shou’an Jun was quite scheming – she could retreat unscathed from the late emperor’s hands without angering him enough to punish her.

The Empress Dowager admired Shou’an Jun’s abilities, but she could not accept that her son held such respect for a wet nurse.

If Emperor Yuanjia only rewarded Shou’an Jun with gold, silver, and jewels, the Empress Dowager wouldn’t care. But the Empress Dowager knew very clearly that Emperor Yuanjia’s feelings for Shou’an Jun might be deeper than those for her, his birth mother. This was what the Empress Dowager could not let go of most. She had fought in the harem her entire life, and so many noble-born consorts had been defeated at her hands – why should a lowly official’s wife win her son’s filial devotion?

After taking the medicine and talking with Emperor Yuanjia for a while, the Empress Dowager suddenly remembered something and looked at Consort De: “Where were we just now in our conversation?”

Consort De’s heart jumped.

She hadn’t said anything just now – it was the Empress and the Empress Dowager who had mentioned matters concerning Duke Ying Mansion, while she and Consort Xian had only been listening.

At last year’s Dragon Boat Festival dragon boat banquet, the Empress Dowager and Empress had verbally made things difficult for Wei Rao. Emperor Yuanjia, whether because of Shou’an Jun or Consort Li, had shown obvious favoritism toward Wei Rao. If she were to discuss Wei Rao and her heir Lu Zhuo’s marital discord now, how would Emperor Yuanjia view her?

Consort De felt anxious, but facing the Empress Dowager’s sharp gaze, she could only try to lean toward Wei Rao’s side: “We were talking about Duke Ying’s heir. We don’t know what the heir did to anger his newlywed wife enough to make her return to her maiden home. Everyone outside is discussing this matter now.”

The Empress Dowager sighed and looked toward Emperor Yuanjia: “I remember when that boy Lu Zhuo was seriously ill and seemed beyond saving, it was Raorao who magnanimously rushed into a wedding ceremony for him. At that time, Your Majesty even ordered the Imperial Wardrobe Office to work through the night making wedding clothes for Raorao. It’s only been such a short time, and Lu Zhuo is already bullying Raorao. He has failed both Raorao and Your Majesty’s kind intentions. He should be punished.”

Consort De looked at the Empress Dowager in surprise. Had the sun risen from the west? The Empress Dowager was speaking up for Wei Rao?

Emperor Yuanjia smiled: “Their private marital affairs – why should I interfere? I have time to accompany Imperial Mother, but no time to meddle in such idle concerns.”

The Empress Dowager thought to herself: When Wei Rao was rushing into marriage for Lu Zhuo, how did you have such idle time then?

“If Your Majesty has no time, then I’ll issue an imperial edict to Duke Ying Mansion, telling Lu Zhuo to treat Raorao better. The Lu family has been loyal ministers for generations – they shouldn’t gain a reputation for repaying kindness with resentment over this matter.” The Empress Dowager spoke as if seeking justice for Wei Rao.

Her abnormal behavior finally made Consort De realize what was happening. Newlywed couples all go through a period of mutual adjustment. When a young wife gets angry, once she’s coaxed, she’ll come back. It’s not a big deal. But if the Empress Dowager truly issued an imperial edict to blame Lu Zhuo, Lu Zhuo and the entire Duke Ying Mansion wouldn’t dare violate the Empress Dowager’s will, but they would certainly hate Wei Rao for causing them to be blamed by the Empress Dowager.

If things escalated that far, Wei Rao would find it even harder to establish herself in Duke Ying Mansion.

Such a vicious scheme made Consort De, even as just an observer, feel chills down her spine.

Emperor Yuanjia seemed to seriously consider the suggestion of an imperial edict, then held the Empress Dowager’s hand: “Imperial Mother is unwell and should focus on recuperating. Leave this matter to me. I’ll summon Lu Zhuo and give him a good scolding.”

The Empress Dowager nodded: “That works too. In any case, Consort Li has merit in raising a dragon son for Your Majesty, and Wei Jin is a clean and good official. We cannot let anyone bully their daughter.”

Emperor Yuanjia’s smile faded.

Consort De nearly wanted to kneel before the Empress Dowager. Every sentence seemed to be spoken for Wei Rao’s benefit, but in reality, she was even trying to trap Consort Li.

After leaving Ci Ning Palace, Emperor Yuanjia went to the Imperial Study, handled two memorials, and had someone go to the Shenwu Army camp to summon Lu Zhuo.

At the Shenwu Army camp, the Duke of Ying was discussing the recruitment of new soldiers with the military officers.

In last year’s great battle with Wuda, the Shenwu Army’s fifty thousand elite troops suffered a total loss of eight thousand men, with over five thousand killed in action and over two thousand wounded and unable to fight.

The current dynasty deployed twenty-four imperial guard units throughout the country, with the top four armies guarding the capital having the strongest combat effectiveness, elite soldiers, and fierce generals. The Shenwu Army could maintain its position as the foremost among the top four armies, most favored by the emperor and respected by the people, not only because of the leadership abilities of the Lu family men from Duke Ying Mansion, but also because every soldier was truly a pillar of the nation, selected from thousands.

In other imperial guard units, soldiers might include clan members placed there by military officer families, but every soldier in the Shenwu Army was carefully selected by Shenwu Army representatives sent to various locations.

Now that the new year had passed, the Duke of Ying was preparing to send people to various locations to select recruits. According to previous years’ selection locations, there were twenty-four prefecture cities in total, with each selection point having quotas for recruits.

A map of the entire nation hung in the main tent, and the Duke of Ying personally assigned selection points to the military officers responsible for recruitment.

Lu Zhuo should have been responsible for the Capital Region area, but after scanning the map, Lu Zhuo suddenly stepped forward and said to the Duke of Ying, “Grandfather, let me go to Jin City.”

Everyone looked over in confusion. For this heir, the Capital Region was the most comfortable selection point, while Jin City was the northernmost selection point, where it might still be snowing. Why would the heir choose such a difficult assignment?

Others could be advised, but if the Duke of Ying questioned this now, it would seem like he was reluctant to let his grandson suffer hardship, so he agreed directly.

They had just finished assigning selection points when someone came from the palace, summoning Lu Zhuo for an imperial audience.

Lu Zhuo was secretly startled. Even if Emperor Yuanjia hadn’t summoned him, he would have needed to enter the palace anyway. What a coincidence.

Racing all the way, Lu Zhuo entered the palace and waited outside the Imperial Study for two quarters of an hour. After two cabinet ministers came out, Eunuch Kang finally came to summon him in.

Eunuch Kang stopped and waited in the outer hall.

Lu Zhuo’s heart stirred slightly. After entering the hall, he saw Emperor Yuanjia reviewing memorials and bowed low in prostration.

Emperor Yuanjia glanced at him and conveyed the Empress Dowager’s meaning while making annotations.

Having encountered the assassin sent by the Empress Dowager, Lu Zhuo understood the Empress Dowager’s murderous intent toward Wei Rao even more clearly than Consort De. Upon hearing this, he kowtowed: “Your Majesty, your subject already knows his wrong. Whatever punishment Your Majesty imposes, your subject willingly accepts. However, if the Empress Dowager issues an imperial edict, it might bring shame to your subject’s ancestors. One person’s error should be borne by one person – the crime should not extend to family members. Therefore, your subject humbly requests that the Empress Dowager withdraw her edict.”

Emperor Yuanjia did not commit, put down his vermilion brush, and looked at Lu Zhuo with scrutiny: “First, tell me how you bullied Wei Rao.”

Lu Zhuo immediately felt panic. What he had insulted was Wei Rao’s mother, Xiao Zhou Shi’s remarriage, but Xiao Zhou Shi had remarried to Emperor Yuanjia. If he spoke of this, the imperial favor that the Lu family ancestors had earned with their blood would likely be destroyed by his hands.

“Your subject is too ashamed to speak. Please forgive your subject’s transgression.” Lu Zhuo pressed his forehead tightly against the golden bricks on the floor, beginning to worry that Emperor Yuanjia would press the matter further.

Emperor Yuanjia wasn’t that idle. Between husband and wife, how big could the matter be? A little coaxing would settle things.

“Your quarrel even alarmed the Empress Dowager. To put the Empress Dowager at ease, you should quickly coax Wei Rao properly.” Emperor Yuanjia picked up another memorial and opened it.

Lu Zhuo breathed a sigh of relief, maintaining his kowtowing posture: “Your subject understands. However, your subject offended her too severely this time and needs a significant gift to earn her forgiveness. After much thought, your subject could only think of one thing.”

How intelligent was Emperor Yuanjia? He put down the memorial and stared at Lu Zhuo: “Playing coy with me now? What, you can’t produce such a significant gift yourself and have come to ask me for one?”

Lu Zhuo was embarrassed: “Your Majesty is wise. Such a significant gift can only be granted by Your Majesty.”

Emperor Yuanjia: “Let’s hear it.”

Lu Zhuo spoke a few words in a low voice.

Emperor Yuanjia tapped the memorial under his palm and granted the request.

Moments later, Lu Zhuo walked out of the Imperial Study with a grave expression, as if he had just received a scolding from the emperor.

The Empress Dowager’s spies naturally conveyed this information to her.

The Empress Dowager was very pleased. Lu Zhuo had been scolded by the emperor because of Wei Rao. Regardless of the severity, this would only deepen Lu Zhuo’s dissatisfaction with Wei Rao. Even if Lu Zhuo followed the emperor’s wishes and sought Wei Rao’s return, a husband harboring resentment would never truly treat his wife well.

Speaking of which, she should thank Wei Rao herself – marrying into a prestigious family yet still not being satisfied, relying on her beauty to make a big fuss over small matters out of petulance. She was reaping what she sowed.

Fanning the flames, the Empress Dowager had people spread word that Lu Zhuo had been blamed by Emperor Yuanjia for driving away Wei Rao.

For uninformed common people, they already felt that Wei Rao, as a new daughter-in-law, returning to her maiden home in a huff was improper and violated wifely virtue. So many wives in the world suffered some grievances in their husbands’ families to greater or lesser degrees. If everyone were as narrow-minded as Wei Rao and ran back to their maiden homes, disrupting their husbands’ peace of mind and delaying their husbands’ important affairs, wouldn’t chaos ensue?

Upon hearing that Lu Zhuo had been scolded by the emperor, criticism of Wei Rao in the marketplace grew heavier, saying she was spoiled and arrogant, that the heir had condescended to ask for her return twice, yet she was still putting on airs and refusing to come back.

Besides blaming Wei Rao, the women also criticized Shou’an Jun together, believing Shou’an Jun shouldn’t have taken Wei Rao in and indulged her temperament.

Amidst this chorus of criticism, Lu Zhuo set out for the third time with gifts of apology.

“Young Master, you shouldn’t go! Women all need discipline. The more you indulge her, the more disobedient she becomes. Give her the cold shoulder for a while, and she’ll come back on her own!”

Some men stood in the crowd, offering advice to Lu Zhuo in a tone of experienced people.

A’Gui glared at that person. If you don’t understand, don’t meddle. With the young madam’s beauty, would the young master be willing to be separated from her for a long time?

Lu Zhuo hadn’t wanted to pay attention, but as more and more people joined in agreement, Lu Zhuo had to put on a bitter smile, looking sorrowful: “It was I who wronged my wife. Whatever anger she feels is justified. I only seek her forgiveness – what talk is there of discipline? As long as she’s willing to return to the mansion with me, whatever she says, I’ll do in the future, agreeing to everything.”

All kinds of onlookers heard this, especially the men – their eyes nearly popped out!

The women, however, were moved to deep envy by Lu Zhuo’s handsome appearance and the deep affection in his eyes. If only a man would treat them this way – they’d die without regret!