The Fearless Empress - Chapter 7

The young empress was unusually well-behaved tonight she didn’t even steal a kiss. As dawn broke, she slipped out through the window.

After returning to her palace, she caught a couple of hours of sleep before rising.

During breakfast, she cleverly dismissed all the palace maids, keeping only her personal attendant by her side.

The empress had countless attendants, each with their own duties. Since entering the palace, the young empress had observed carefully, and among them all, only Li Yao had shown her genuine concern.

An empress without the emperor’s favor was even less regarded than the emperor’s own attendants. Countless people mocked her behind her back, though she pretended not to hear.

She asked Li Yao, “What happened with the punishment of the Rong family?”

At this, Li Yao’s face turned pale, and she replied nervously, “Your Majesty, why ask about such things? The emperor would be displeased if he knew.”

The young empress popped a dumpling into her mouth, unimpressed, and glared. “Everyone else is the emperor’s eyes and ears, only you are nothing or would you rather cozy up to them?”

In the palace, everyone clawed their way upward.

Li Yao lowered her gaze, hands clenched, her shoulders trembling slightly. “This servant doesn’t know much. Your father is aware of it.”

The young empress was stunned. What did this “aware” mean?

“Who investigated the case?” she asked, changing her approach.

“The Court of Judicial Review and the Ministry of Justice handled it jointly. If you’re truly curious, you could ask the Vice Minister of the Court of Judicial Review. This servant only knows the case was investigated thoroughly, with no wrongful accusations.” Li Yao chose her words carefully. “You know how it is, even those in the palace sometimes accept small favors.”

The Rong family had deep roots in the capital, their influence vast. But with so many members, mistakes were inevitable.

The young empress seemed to understand now and continued her breakfast nonchalantly.

Had the Gu family also meddled in the Rong family’s affairs for the sake of the empress’s position?

A single piece of meat had driven a pack of foxes to fight tooth and nail. How much more would they fight for the grand title of empress?

After breakfast, the young empress donned a warm cloak. Li Yao handed her an exquisite hand warmer before withdrawing.

By the time she reached the warm pavilion, she was the last to arrive. Today, Silent Beauty was absent.

The young empress glanced around curiously, but Noble Consort Ming remarked, “The food and charcoal here must be paid for from our allowances. Silent Beauty might drop by occasionally, but she can’t come every day.”

“You have to pay to come here?” The young empress’s eyes widened. Wasn’t this her own home?

Cheng Sangyi was too stingy.

Noble Consort Gui picked up a pancake and tossed it playfully. “Even at home, you’d have to tip the servants who bring you food. Here, it’s just on a larger scale. Your Majesty hasn’t learned yet. Next month, you can foot the bill, alright?”

“Alright, I understand,” the young empress agreed readily.

Then, Noble Consort De suddenly said, “Your Majesty has been in the palace for over ten days now, yet there’s been no movement from the Jade Terrace.”

With the empress’s arrival, the affairs of the inner palace should naturally fall to her. But the young empress spent her days idling here, clearly without real authority.

Noble Consort Gui spoke up, “Does Your Majesty hold the Phoenix Seal?”

“No,” the young empress shook her head.

The other four exchanged glances. Noble Consort Gui, bold as ever, joked, “The emperor has essentially married an empress for nothing giving her no authority at all. Tomorrow, we should have the Censorate impeach him. Installing an empress without granting the Phoenix Seal is simply outrageous.”

The young Empress remained silent, for the Marquise had not mentioned the Phoenix Seal. She smiled faintly, feigning indifference, and said, “His Majesty may have his own thoughts.”

“Could it be he’s truly waiting for his ‘White Moonlight’ to return?” Consort Ming drew a tile, her eyes crinkling with joy at the good draw. “Your Majesty, you should hurry and make the Emperor fall for you.”

At the mention of the White Moonlight, the group immediately perked up with gossipy delight, their eyes sparkling with amusement as they teased about the Emperor.

Noble Consort remarked, “The unattainable always stirs desire.”

Virtuous Consort chimed in, “That’s inevitable. Once obtained, how could it remain precious?”

Wise Consort rested her chin on her hand, her delicate brows arching playfully. “Who knows? His Majesty might still be thinking of bringing her back to the capital.”

Consort Ming added, “Do you think the Emperor has people keeping tabs on Rong Han at all times?”

The conversation flowed freely, with the young Empress listening while nibbling on dried meat. Yet, despite all the chatter, no one seemed to know that the White Moonlight had been reduced to a pitiful state.

Having indulged in gossip for so long, she felt it was only fair to contribute. Leaning in, she whispered, “Someone from the Gu family returned from Dengzhou and saw the Rongs.”

The four women froze, curiosity gleaming in their eyes. Tilting her head with a light laugh, she continued, “Rong Han is now skin and bones, her complexion sallow, she’s become a ‘Black Moonlight.'”

“Oh? So the Emperor truly hasn’t intervened?” Wise Consort chuckled, side-eyeing the seemingly innocent young Empress. “Your ‘someone’ is quite vague did you send people to investigate her yourself?”

“Why would I bother?” the young Empress huffed.

Noble Consort’s expression darkened, her heart pounding unusually fast as she refrained from speaking. All present had once witnessed Rong Han’s beauty, and now, hearing of her wretched state, they felt a chill not just for her fate, but also at the Emperor’s indifference.

It was utterly terrifying.

Noble Consort pushed away her tiles and stood, her palms marked with nail imprints. Claiming discomfort, she excused herself and left.

The other three didn’t fare much better, each making excuses to flee. Only the young Empress remained, hugging her dried meat as she munched away, the warmth of the pavilion now hers alone. A mischievous glint flashed in her eyes. “Whether she’s the White Moonlight or not, a little test will reveal the truth. What’s there to fear?”

Before leaving, she took an entire box of dried meat to enjoy later.

The gathering ended unusually early, just in time for lunch.

After the meal, the young Empress stepped out to bask in the sun. Not far into her stroll, she spotted the hurried figure of Silent Beauty. Intrigued, she approached.

“Silent Beauty, what’s the rush?”

Silent Beauty halted, her delicate face still heartbreakingly lovely, her waist so slender it seemed it could be snapped with a touch, painfully thin.

The young Empress patted her own waist. Did Cheng Sangyi prefer them this thin? Should she lose weight too?

Panting, Silent Beauty replied, “I heard His Majesty is boating on the lake. Your Majesty, would you care to join?”

“Who is he boating with?” The young Empress was skeptical. Cheng Sangyi had worked late into the night, only settling the matter of Prince Guangling at dawn. With such clear skies and bright sunshine, why would he suddenly go boating?

If she was foolish, why was Silent Beauty equally thoughtless?

Silent Beauty hesitated, unable to answer. Seeing through the ruse, the young Empress turned to leave.

Undeterred, Silent Beauty hurried after her, lifting her skirts. “Your Majesty, don’t you miss the Emperor?”

The young Empress ignored her. Of course she missed him she sneaked into his chambers at night. There was no need to take risks in broad daylight.

With Cheng Sangyi’s perpetually stern face, only in sleep did he soften into something resembling ‘gentle as water.’

“I don’t want to. I’d rather go see the plum blossoms. If you wish to go boating, go by yourself. Let me remind you, the Emperor is extremely busy, especially at year’s end. How could they possibly have time for leisure boating? Who gave you this news? You’d better verify it to avoid any mishaps later.”

The young Empress’s well-meaning advice actually made Lady Mo halt her steps.

With a knowing smile, the Empress added, “Do let me know what you find out.”

Without such amusing incidents, life in the palace would be dreadfully dull.

After basking outside for a while, the young Empress led her attendants back to the palace.

An elderly matron who had accompanied her into the palace quietly approached, offering an arm to escort her inside.

The Empress lowered her eyes slightly. At her tender age, she hardly needed assistance if anything, the frail old woman should be the one being supported!

Suppressing her annoyance, she took her seat. The matron glanced outside before speaking: “The family has sent word, hoping you could investigate the Emperor’s stance on the Jiangnan grain scandal.”

“What grain scandal?” The Empress sighed. Troubles never ceased apparently, someone thought she was enjoying herself too much.

No one had mentioned this during today’s gossip session.

Ah, right. The gathering had ended early. Still, the Gu family’s efficiency in relaying news was truly impressive.

As the Empress mused to herself, the matron continued: “This winter, grain prices in Jiangnan skyrocketed. When the Emperor sent investigators, they found only ten percent of the reserves remained in the warehouses. The rest had vanished like ghosts, no one knows where.”

“A minor deputy magistrate took the blame when imperial inspectors arrived. The Marquis wants to know whether the Emperor actually believes this explanation.”

The Empress found this absurd. How could she possibly know whether Cheng Sangyi believed it?

Even if she asked directly, would the Emperor give an honest answer?

Sure, they’d shared a bed twice, but they weren’t that close yet.

Waving dismissively, she refused. The matron pressed urgently: “The family is desperate your mother has fallen ill from worry!”

“What does the grain warehouse scandal have to do with her?” The Empress wasn’t foolish. “Did our family take bribes?”

The matron lowered her head, stammering incoherently.

The Empress’s suspicions were confirmed her family had indeed profited illegally. Remembering the Rong family’s downfall, a chill ran down her spine. “Tell them to clean up their act. Have they forgotten what happened to the Rongs?”

The matron nodded, not daring to argue further, only urging Her Majesty to act quickly.

The Empress felt utterly vexed. Repaying kindness had become such a burden.

After the matron left, she collapsed onto the phoenix bed, suddenly regretting her decision to repay this debt.

Palace affairs were far too complicated.

After resting for two hours until nightfall, she hastily rose, ate supper, dismissed the palace maids, and climbed out the window again.

This time, she didn’t head to the bedchamber but went straight to Zichen Hall instead.

Midway, she paused why was she going to Zichen Hall?

She couldn’t even read. Even if she saw confidential documents, they’d be meaningless to her.

She needed to learn characters first, but how?

The young Empress’s clear eyes clouded with uncertainty. Who could teach her calligraphy?

Better return to the bedchamber!

Sitting on the imperial bed, the Empress rubbed her temples. How could she convince Cheng Sangyi to teach her characters?

After prolonged deliberation, she pulled out a dried meat strip and nibbled on it. This was too difficult.

Chewing thoughtfully, she decided tricking Cheng Sangyi might be her best option. The Emperor was erudite teaching her shouldn’t be challenging.

But how to arrange the lessons?

In dreams?

Entering the mortal’s dreams?

No, entering human dreams invited lightning strikes. Far too dangerous.

This was even harder than ‘being favored’. By comparison, sleeping with Cheng Sangyi seemed like the easiest thing.

The little empress continued to rack her brains, eating one piece of dried meat after another. Just as her cheeks ached from chewing, footsteps sounded outside.

Cheng Sangyi had returned.

The little empress hastily scrambled onto the beam. As soon as she curled up, she looked down and froze in shock.

Her dried meat was still on the imperial bed!

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