Chapter 3616: The Most Favoured Woman in the Inner Palace (35)
Chapter 3616: The Most Favoured Woman in the Inner Palace (35)
Dowager Consort Xuan sat stiffly on the dragon throne with her back as straight as a board. With every official in the court staring at her, she was so nervous she could barely control the twitching of her facial muscles.
The crowd performed the formal salute, calling out ‘long live the emperor’ three times, and then paid their respects to Dowager Consort Xuan.
“Rise,” Dowager Consort Xuan said. Her voice trembled slightly.
Prince Li, one of the three regents, immediately asked, “Your Highness, where is the dowager empress?”
Dowager Consort Xuan was so tense her voice lacked its usual steady tone. At the end of the day, she was just a sheltered woman. She had wanted the glory of her son being emperor, yet it galled her that another woman was the one carrying him to court.
She had craved this honor, but now she was so embarrassed she was breaking out in a cold sweat. She finally understood what it meant to ‘sit on a bed of needles.’
“The dowager empress is unwell, so she asked me to bring the child to court. If you have matters to discuss, speak plainly,” Dowager Consort Xuan said with a stiff smile.
The officials exchanged glances. The chief eunuch shouted, “If there are matters to report, speak now. Otherwise, the court is dismissed.”
Finally, Scholar Gu stepped forward. “Your Highness, the Rong tribes have been constantly harassing the borders of our empire. As the weather grows colder, these tribes will cross the border to plunder our lands.”
These barbarians did not know how to produce for themselves. They only knew how to pillage.
“The army stationed at the border requires grain, but the treasury is empty. We are at a loss for how to proceed,” Scholar Gu said.
Of the three regents, Scholar Gu was the only one speaking. The other two simply stood there with aloof, knowing expressions. The scholars from humble backgrounds held little power, and among the three regents, Scholar Gu was the weakest.
Dowager Consort Xuan was completely dumbfounded.
She didn’t know a thing about such matters.
Furthermore, the mere mention of war made her heart race with fear. She thought for a moment and then asked, “What was the result of your discussions?”
If there was no money in the treasury, what was the point of asking her? Dowager Consort Xuan felt she shouldn’t have come at all. She should’ve left this mess for the dowager empress to handle.
A heavy silence fell over the court as everyone looked at her. Dowager Consort Xuan’s legs had gone numb from sitting, and her arm was aching from holding the child, yet she didn’t feel right handing him over to the nearby maids.
Everything felt like a disaster.
She felt like her whole world was falling apart.
Her mouth twitched. Seeing that the atmosphere was becoming too awkward, the chief eunuch shouted, “If there are matters to report, speak now. Otherwise, the court is dismissed!”
The officials were confused. Had they not just spoken?
Dowager Consort Xuan was starving, and being stared at by so many people put immense pressure on her. “This matter shall be discussed again later. Court is dismissed.”
She stood up, her legs nearly giving way from numbness. Several times during the session, the sleeping child had knitted his eyebrows. She had been terrified he would wake up and start a scene, which would have been incredibly humiliating.
As she left, she nearly tripped over her long skirts.
The moment she was out of the hall, she handed the child to her attendants and shook out her aching arms. She truly couldn’t take much more of this.
When she reached Ning Shu’s palace, she found her leisurely eating breakfast. Compared to her own haggard state, the dowager empress looked perfectly relaxed.
Ning Shu sipped her porridge and looked at the pale Dowager Consort Xuan. “Would you like to eat?”
“Thank you, Your Highness.” Dowager Consort Xuan was indeed hungry, and she had much to say to Ning Shu.
The maids set out a bowl and chopsticks for her. Dowager Consort Xuan asked Ning Shu, “Do you usually read the imperial memorials?”
“I do not. The three regents present the important matters during the morning court sessions,” Ning Shu said tonelessly.
The danger of this arrangement was that any memorials criticizing the regents would likely be suppressed, or even used to purge their political enemies. Ning Shu wanted to read the memorials, but as the regent dowager empress, her current role was primarily to be the one who looked after the child.
Dowager Consort Xuan felt a bit better hearing this. Otherwise, she would have suspected the dowager empress had intentionally failed to warn her about the officials’ reports.
“What happened? Is there some trouble?” Ning Shu wiped her mouth with a handkerchief and rinsed her mouth before spitting into a spittoon.
“They say the barbarians are causing friction at the border. The weather is getting cold, and the frontier guards need grain, but the treasury is empty.”
Dowager Consort Xuan spoke with deep melancholy. Even if they wanted money, they couldn’t produce it. It was an unsolvable problem.
Ning Shu simply said, “If we don’t have it, there is nothing to be done. No way at all.”
Dowager Consort Xuan rubbed her forehead. “Your Highness, I am feeling a bit unwell. I cannot go to court again tomorrow.”
She didn’t want to get involved in such things at all. Since it concerned major state affairs, she felt she couldn’t handle the pressure. If she made a wrong decision, the entire country would curse her name.
She would much rather stay in the inner palace and raise her daughter to be a pampered princess. She only had this one daughter, the emperor’s sister, and she hoped the girl would have a happy, peaceful life.
Ning Shu said calmly, “You’re quitting after just one day?”
“Your Highness is teasing me. I know my own limitations,” Dowager Consort Xuan said, sounding a bit self-conscious.
Ning Shu smiled faintly. “I’m afraid I’ll have to trouble you to go to court for the next several days. I have been far too tired lately and need to rest.”
Dowager Consort Xuan: …
“Just consider it a favor to me,” Ning Shu added.
Seeing Ning Shu put it that way, Dowager Consort Xuan couldn’t very well refuse.
However, she felt that Ning Shu was simply trying to dodge the issue, waiting for the crisis to be resolved before returning to court and leaving the mess in her hands. To Dowager Consort Xuan, the regency felt like a hot potato.
Seeing Ning Shu so relaxed made Dowager Consort Xuan feel even more restless. Why should she be the one going to court for the dowager empress while the other woman sat back and enjoyed herself?
For several days in a row, Dowager Consort Xuan attended court. The discussions always centered on the border crisis, and the court was a chaotic mess of arguments that left her stunned.
She was exhausted, especially since the officials kept asking her to make a decision.
Although she didn’t understand state affairs, she knew enough to avoid taking the blame for a disaster. She simply smiled, and kept on smiling.
The matter was discussed for days without any resolution.
In the inner palace, Ning Shu did as she pleased. She showed no sympathy for Xuan, who was being roasted over a fire and was physically and mentally drained.
At one point, she went to Fu Min’s palace. Fu Min had not expected the dowager empress to visit her, so she quickly stood to welcome her.
As Ning Shu entered Fu Min’s hall, she was greeted by the heavy scent of sandalwood incense. A Buddhist shrine had been set up in the room. It seemed Fu Min was now devoting all her time to her religious faith.
Fu Min served Ning Shu some of the palace’s finest tea. Ning Shu smiled as she took a sip, then said, “Produce the secret decree the late emperor left for you. I wish to see it.”
She spoke plainly and directly, with no attempt to hide her intent.
Fu Min’s expression shifted. She clearly hadn’t expected Ning Shu to know about the decree, nor had she expected her to ask so bluntly.
Fu Min said unnaturally, “Your Highness, I have no such decree.”
“There is no wall in this world that does not leak air. I still know a thing or two about what goes on in this inner palace,” Ning Shu said gently. “The late emperor is gone, and the concubines left behind are all pitiable women.”