zChapter 998 - Hua’er, Did He Change His Mind? (1/2)

The Empress also felt that too much water had been consumed, but it seemed as though it had all be drank by Feng Zhaolian. She had just held it in her hands to keep up appearances. When it got cold, Fang Yi would replace it with hot tea. In total, she only took three sips. Who could have thought that Feng Zhaolian would be so direct?

She helplessly said: “Who told you to drink so much on your own.”

Feng Zhaolian slapped his thigh: “I say, you really do say some pretty entertaining things for an empress. Dragging me out in the middle of the night to sit here and not giving me anything aside from tea, what else can I do? In any case, couldn’t you give me a pastry to eat? Also, if I don’t drink tea, I would feel sleepy! You might have something on your mind and can’t sleep, but my mind is crystal clear!”

The Empress felt a little on the verge of collapse. Feng Zhaolian looked like a beautiful lady with heavenly beauty. Who knew just how many times more beautiful he was than the Feng family’s Feng Chenyu, but this person was not a real woman. When he wanted to, he could put on quite a good act, but once outsiders left, he would reveal his original personality! Just like that thigh slap, it was truly… to masculine.

“Is your mind really clear?” Though she had her complaints, the Empress was not the type of person to neglect interviewing Feng Zhaolian because of some of his personality issues. She just asked him: “If it really is clear, why have you come to my Jing Ci Palace and refused to leave?”

With Feng Zhaolian having requested it, Fang Yi really brought over quite a few pastries. He was also extremely hungry, saying while eating: “Whether or not I leave is not directly connected to whether or not my mind is clear. My matter has been dragged out for so many years that I have already gotten used to it. That’s why it doesn’t really bother me that much. At most, I will just think about it occasionally. Why has that person still not come to look for you? Or to take a look around Jing Ci Palace to see whether or not the person looking for you has already come, and they’re merely hiding and have not taken the initiative to take the first move.”

“Then have you found them?” The Empress could not get interested in this topic in the slightest, and it seemed like she was forcing her questions out.

Feng Zhaolian had a look of regret and shook his head: “Don’t worry. There really isn’t anyone in Jing Ci Palace, but as for the area around Jing Ci Palace, I really have not had the time to carefully check.”

The Empress laughed, “What is there for this One to feel at ease about? If they come, that’s fine. If they don’t come, that’s also fine. Either way, that’s just life. There are times when I hope that they will act quicker. The sooner that this matter comes up, the sooner it can be resolved. It will also save me from spending my days on edge and being threatened by others.”

“That person can’t threaten you anymore, right?” Feng Zhaolian smiled and said: “That person is climbing high and fast. In just the blink of an eye, she climbed into the imperial bed, but what about you? Your Highness the Empress, how many years has it been since you have last enjoyed being favored?”

The Empress’ face turned red from what he had said, but there was nothing that she could say to refute it. She merely said: “Then just let her continue climbing. This One wants to see if there will come a day when she will climb above this One.”

The two just sat opposite each other from dusk until the sun came up. This continued until Feng Zhaolian could not longer endure and fell asleep. Only then did the Empress call for someone to bring him back to his bedchamber. She, however, continued to sit there without moving.

Fang Yi knew that the Empress was thinking about something, and she could not help but advise: “Your Highness, don’t worry so much. His Majesty favoring any member of the imperial harem is an extremely normal thing. Even if there is no Imperial Concubine Yuan Shu today, was there not Imperial Concubine Yun before? As this servant sees it, His Majesty’s favor being shared is a good thing. If it was just kept by Imperial Concubine Yun alone, that would mean that his heart would not contain anyone else! It’s possible that with Imperial Concubine Yuan Shu starting things off, from this day forward, the inner palace will return to how it was 20 years earlier, returning to normal.”

The Empress heard this and laughed bitterly, “Return to normal, huh? How could that be possible? This One understands him too well. Now, even he is not normal. How can you rely on this inner palace being normal?”

Fang Yi was startled then said: “Your Highness means…”

“Imperial Concubine Yuan Shu used special methods to get to her position. His Majesty’s current favor for her does not come from his heart.” She spoke with absolute confidence, “Although this One still does not know what special methods were used, whether he was drugged or something, this One can guarantee that His Majesty has definitely been fallen for one of Imperial Concubine Yuan Shu’s schemes.” After she finished speaking, she stood up and tiredly said: “Alright, that’s enough. Help this One get washed up and changed. This One will sleep for a while.”

Though she said sleep, how could she possibly fall asleep while lying in bed? It had been over 20 years! The man that she loved had finally broken a peace that had lasted over 20 years at a time like this. In Zhao He Hall, a member of the imperial harem had finally spent the night. Unfortunately, it had not been her, nor had it been Imperial Concubine Yun.

Everyone knew that the Empress was the Emperor’s best collaborator. Over the many years, she had accompanied him in putting on many performances and had many tacit understandings. They had never lost control. She had always believed that those sorts of days would continue like that until a day came when that person came to visit. The Emperor would then follow up on this lead and catch the remnants of a disposed party, turning around and chasing her from the position of empress. With that, her life would come to an end.

Regardless of why the old emperor allowed her to remain in the position of empress, whether he found their partnership to truly be joyous, whether he felt that she had done a good job of managing the inner palace, or whether she was just being used as bait, she had accepted it all. She loved that person. She loved him so much that she was willing to do anything for him. She was even perfectly happy with accompanying the Emperor in “fishing.” Unfortunately, all of this balance had finally been broken in one day and one night.