Chapter 565 - Chapter 565: Chapter 552: House Arrest (1/2)

Chapter 565: Chapter 552: House Arrest

“You should pay closer attention to managing your inner court!”

Chu Shengrui said with a gloomy face, “To manage the world one must first manage his own household, if you can’t even settle family matters, what can I expect you to do?”

Both Chu Yunhe and the Empress were taken aback by his words.

Is the emperor going to disregard them for this, even affecting the matter of succession to the throne?

“Father, this humble son has done wrong, this humble son has done wrong…” Chu Yunhe repeatedly kowtowed.

“Your Majesty, this concubine has made a mistake, please be lenient towards Yunhe.” The Empress also quickly pleaded for mercy, her voice trembling somewhat due to extreme fear.

Chu Shengrui looked at Chu Yunhe and the Empress, who were weeping bitterly at this time. The look on his face didn’t soften but rather became even more serious.

The empress is his wife, the master of the imperial harem. She should set an example for women in the world.

However, this empress of his is somewhat superficial. Many things she does lack the virtue and magnanimity that an empress should have, instead, she always thinks of her self-interest.

And the son she raised turned out to be the same.

Chu Shengrui gave a sigh in his heart.

When he was a prince, he was neither from the main line nor the eldest. He was born to a concubine of low rank, and he was not taken seriously at first. It was only after he showed his learning and his siblings were born that he gained favor in front of the late emperor.

Later, as his eldest brother suddenly passed away and the second brother harbored ulterior motives, the emperor’s throne fell onto him.

When he inherited the throne, he followed the wishes of the late Empress and married a woman of humble birth, who is now the Empress, and had a legitimate son.

Because he was neglected when he was young, he had to strive to overcompensate, and he also expected the same from his wife to shoulder great responsibilities and set a good example.

But now, his favoritism toward his daughter-in-law Mrs. Liang, his indulgence of Chu Yunhe, and his blow to Chu Yunzhao’s marriage, everything, he saw.

It reminded him of the many things he had not been able to control and the annoyance he had felt when he was oppressed by the previous empress. He felt more and more contempt for the Empress kneeling in front of him.

At this moment, he was also quite dissatisfied with Chu Yunhe.

As the legitimate and eldest son, his identity is extremely prestigious. He already has all these advantages. As long as he obeys the rules and strives for progress, the position of the crown prince will naturally be his.

It was for this reason that he personally arranged a marriage for Chu Yunhe with the legitimate daughter of the Wang family. However, Chu Yunhe just squandered these arrangements by favoring concubines and suppressing his wife, thus attracting criticism.

Chu Shengrui was becoming more and more annoyed. Especially when he saw the Empress and Chu Yunhe kneeling for a long while, uttering only words of apology and begging for forgiveness.

They couldn’t say a word about their future plans, let alone justify themselves.

Chu Shengrui was enraged by Chu Yunhe’s weakness and incompetence. He waved his hand and said, “Since you both have admitted your mistakes, go back and reflect upon your actions! Without my decree, you are not allowed to step out of the palace!”

The Empress and Chu Yunhe were both taken aback upon hearing this.

He didn’t specify who needed to reflect and was not allowed to go out, which means both of them.

Being reprimanded by his father is no big deal for Chu Yunhe, considered as a young prince who incited the emperor’s anger, would just be regarded as youthful impetuosity by outsiders.

But she was the Empress, and being grounded meant losing face throughout the palace and maybe even in the whole capital city.

More importantly, if she were grounded, it would signal to the world that she was out of favor and her son was also out of favor. How could she secure the throne for Chu Yunhe then?