Chapter 366

Chapter 366 The Emperor still felt it was not enough. He was left with nothing but disgust and revulsion toward Consort Li, and issued another order. "Investigate everyone Consort Li came into contact with during her time in the prince's residence and after entering the palace. If anyone is suspicious, deal with them directly. The rest are to be sent away to hard labor and are not to serve by the side of any imperial consort or concubine." Jing Wu: "Your servant receives the order!" Ritualist Hui listened from the side, utterly bewildered, and felt a nameless dread creeping over her. Consort Li was a princess presented by the Luosha Kingdom after the Emperor ascended the throne—when had she ever been in the prince's residence?! The Emperor had bestowed no small number of honors upon Consort Li, yet now, whenever he mentioned her, his mouth was filled with nothing but loathing. In an instant, a terrifying suspicion surfaced in Ritualist Hui's mind. She was not particularly good at controlling her emotions, and whatever she thought was written plainly on her face. Her complexion turned extremely ugly in an instant. After the Emperor finished his arrangements, the anger in his chest finally eased somewhat. He turned his head and saw Ritualist Hui's face full of shock and fear. His heart sank, and he grew even more irritated. He flicked his sleeve. "Take good care of the Third Princess. I still have matters to attend to, so I'll be going now." Ritualist Hui actually wanted to persuade him to stay, but she could not gauge the Emperor's temper, and she feared that if she spoke, she might say the wrong thing and only make him dislike her more. She could only bow respectfully. "Your concubine sees the Emperor off." The Emperor turned and left without looking back. The Emperor was simply vexed and did not want to stay in Ritualist Hui's palace watching her feign composure. But after leaving Yongming Palace, he did not know where to go for the moment. He thought of going to Zhaohua Palace, but since Xie Run had gotten involved in this matter, he would inevitably have to answer a few questions, and the Emperor was in no mood to explain. He had only walked a few steps when he saw two familiar palace maids approaching from the opposite direction. One of them was carrying ginseng soup. Upon seeing the Emperor, she exclaimed excitedly, "This servant greets the Emperor!" The Emperor paused. "Which palace are you from?" The palace maid gazed at the Emperor with eager eyes and said with a bright smile, "To answer the Emperor, this servant is from Fanghua Palace. Acting on the orders of Hua Zhaorong, I have come to present ginseng soup to the Emperor." The Emperor suddenly regretted not having rushed straight to Zhaohua Palace the moment he left Yongming Palace. The palace maid continued, "Your Majesty, my mistress has been feeling unwell lately. She has summoned the imperial physicians, but to no avail. She suffers terribly every day." "This morning, when she saw the jeweled hairpin Your Majesty bestowed upon her, she suddenly burst into tears. It seems that in her pregnancy, she has been thinking too much—longing for Your Majesty." The Emperor's tone was neither heavy nor light. "If she is overthinking in her pregnancy, why don't you servants do more to comfort her?" "Or am I keeping a bunch of you around to be useless gluttons?" The palace maid was so frightened her face changed color. She immediately crouched into a bow. "This servant would never dare!" The Emperor did not spare them a single glance and walked straight past. Only after the Emperor's figure had disappeared did the palace maid who had spoken quietly glance back. Seeing no one, she let out a complete sigh of relief, her body nearly collapsing against her companion. After a moment, she said, "Just now, the direction the Emperor was heading in seemed to be toward Zhaohua Palace." The other palace maid quickly said, "Should we tell our mistress? If she finds out, I'm afraid she'll be angry again." When there was no heir, she could not compete with Consort Zhaode. Now that she was pregnant with the Imperial Heir, she still could not compete. "Of course we must tell her!" "Our mistress sent us specifically to deliver the ginseng soup, hoping to invite the Emperor to our palace. Now that the Emperor has gone to Zhaohua Palace and we failed to invite him, if we don't confess, how will we explain ourselves later?" When the two returned, Hua Yu in Fanghua Palace heard the news and flew into another fit of anger. The Emperor's arrival at Zhaohua Palace brought joy to the entire palace. Xie Run had no idea that the Emperor had come to Zhaohua Palace specifically because he had seen Hua Yu's people and did not want to go to Fanghua Palace. She simply welcomed him with a smile, showing not a trace of worry from her ongoing 'legal dispute.' "It's still snowing heavily outside—why has Your Majesty come?" Xie Run's features were clean and pure, without a trace of makeup. She rose and gently helped the Emperor remove his great cloak. She remembered that the Emperor had gone to see the Third Princess today. When Wu Baolin had lodged her accusation against her at Fengyi Palace, the Emperor had not come. Half the day had already passed, and now the Emperor had suddenly appeared at her palace—it was quite unusual. After all, if he had truly wanted to come, he would have come long ago. Not coming meant the Emperor had not actually wanted to come, but for some reason, he had changed his mind. The Emperor looked down at her face and felt nothing but comfort. His tone unconsciously softened. "As soon as I left Yongming Palace, I ran into Hua Zhaorong's people." Xie Run understood immediately and suppressed a smile. "Your Majesty, Hua Zhaorong is now carrying the Imperial Heir. Your Majesty should go see her more often." "I hear this pregnancy has been somewhat difficult for her. These past few days, she has been summoning the imperial physicians every day." The Emperor caught the teasing and amusement in her words and said with a hint of helplessness, "It's precisely because I don't want to see her that I came to Zhaohua Palace to escape the noise." "The imperial physicians said her pregnancy is progressing steadily enough. All her various discomforts are merely the result of excessive anxiety." The Emperor sighed. "You should know as well—she has always been prone to making mountains out of molehills." "If I went to see her today, who knows what would happen?" Hua Yu was one of the few pure love-obsessed women left in the harem, her heart and eyes filled with nothing but the Emperor. Others fought to the death, seeking nothing more than heirs and rank, but she only wanted the Emperor's affection—to see him every day, to cling to him. The Emperor was, after all, just an ordinary man. He liked women who were simple and adorable, but he also disliked being clinged onto too tightly. Thus, every time he favored Hua Yu for a while, he would grow annoyed by her clinging, and then he would neglect Hua Yu for a period of time. Now that Hua Yu was pregnant, the Emperor took the opportunity to bestow upon her brother, General Hua, a marquis title. It was an unparalleled honor and favor, and he also wanted to take the chance to enjoy some peace and quiet. Who would have thought that after becoming pregnant, Hua Yu would find even more excuses to cling to the Emperor, sending soups to the imperial study at every turn, or claiming stomach discomfort every few days and sending people to request an audience with the Emperor. The Emperor, utterly vexed by this, began to seek peace and quiet everywhere, retreating to other palaces. Thanks to Hua Yu, the consorts in other palaces who had not seen the Emperor for a long time all managed to catch a glimpse of him once or twice. Xie Run smiled. "Isn't this temperament of hers something Your Majesty himself has spoiled?" The Emperor's expression turned somewhat complicated for a moment. After warming himself by the fire in the room, the Emperor finally asked, "Where's Taotao?" "Children can't be kept cooped up; she's playing in the bamboo grove out back." The Emperor took Xie Run's hand and held it to warm it. "Today, Wu Baolin made a scene at Fengyi Palace and wronged you. Do you blame me for not coming to see you?" Human nature is truly strange. The Emperor had not wanted to come to Zhaohua Palace because he feared Xie Run would pour out her grievances and harp on the poisoning incident. But when he arrived at Zhaohua Palace and saw that Xie Run did not mention a word about Wu Baolin, the Emperor could not help but bring it up himself. Xie Run looked at the Emperor with slight surprise. "What is Your Majesty talking about?" "If I have not done anything, what is there to worry about?" "Rather, if Your Majesty truly came to see me, in the eyes of others, they would all think Your Majesty favors me, and that Your Majesty's handling of matters is not impartial enough. That would be when I would truly feel wronged." Xie Run's acting was not particularly outstanding, but truth mixed with falsehood was the most convincing. Her gentle voice carried a hint of dissatisfaction: "Wu Baolin has always been narrow-minded. She carries the Imperial Heir and could go into labor at any moment." "If she lodges a complaint, and then Your Majesty immediately comes to my palace, and she gets anxious and it affects the Imperial Heir in her womb, then I would have to suffer another injustice." "Then should I not have come at all?"