“Chen’er, have you not seen how busy your father has been with state affairs all these years? Do you think I don’t wish to spend more time with her? But how could I possibly spare the time?”
Prince Ning’s plea left the Emperor with a strange expression. After a pause, he looked at him with a helpless demeanor and said,
“I understand, Your Majesty. But even just the time to make pastries for the Empress Dowager—back then, though you were equally busy, you still often accompanied me and my mother, even personally making osmanthus cakes for the Empress Dowager. Could it be that the reason you’re so overwhelmed now is because of the poison in your body?”
Prince Ning clearly didn’t buy the Emperor’s excuse. In the past, his father had been just as busy, yet he often found time to accompany him and his mother, even visiting the Empress Dowager together. State affairs had been handled with ease. But now, the court was clearly divided into two factions: the Prince Ji faction and the faction led by the Emperor’s elder brother, the Sun family. The two sides were evenly matched in power.
The Prince Ji faction held military power, but the Emperor’s decisions in governance clearly leaned toward the Sun faction. Though the Sun family had achieved little in the grand scheme of the empire, thanks to the Emperor’s favoritism, they had gradually become a force to be reckoned with.
The two opposing forces often left the Emperor in a dilemma, unable to make decisive judgments.
In the past, though his father had also favored certain ministers, it was never as extreme as it was now. He remembered his father’s teachings on the art of rulership when he was young—that a ruler must never rely solely on one or two factions to sustain the entire court.
The court was composed of various departments, each with its own indispensable role. If any one faction grew too powerful or too weak, the entire governance would lose balance—exactly as it was under his father’s rule now.
When he was younger, he hadn’t noticed, but as he grew older, he increasingly felt that his father seemed to be losing control over imperial authority. He was constantly caught in dilemmas, unable to make decisions, and his personality had become indecisive—almost unrecognizable—since his mother’s death.
Unable to comprehend how his father could have changed so drastically, Prince Ning could only ask him directly.
“Chen’er, if you hadn’t asked today, I would never have told you. Years ago, when I led the campaign against the southern nomadic tribes with your late uncle, Prince An, I was unknowingly poisoned. Though I’ve kept it hidden all these years, the torment of this illness is known only to me and Empress Sun. I know you’ve never been close to her, but without her constant care, I fear I would have already…”
At Prince Ning’s question, the Emperor’s expression flickered briefly, though the shift was so subtle that only Wanqing seemed to catch it.
The Emperor spoke earnestly to Prince Ning in front of her, revealing his illness before falling into a weary silence.
“Father, I will do everything in my power to assist Miss Mu in finding the antidote for you. Once you recover, our family will be at peace, and I believe the empire will grow stronger than ever.”
Hearing this, Prince Ning could say no more. Overcome with regret and sorrow for having misjudged his father, he looked at him with remorse and sincerity.
“Good. I have never distanced myself from you or your grandmother, nor have I ever doubted you as my heir. It’s just that Empress Sun has cared for me all these years. Since I cannot secure her future, I’ve shown some favor to her family. You don’t blame me for that, do you?”
The Emperor nodded in relief, as if a long-standing rift between father and son had finally been mended. He spoke openly, something he rarely did, and even asked for Prince Ning’s understanding.
“How could I blame you when I didn’t know the truth? Rest well, Father. I will return with Miss Mu to prepare.”
Seeing his father humble himself to apologize, Prince Ning could press no further. With a heart at ease, he bid farewell, noticing the Emperor’s exhaustion.
“Very well. Xiao Xu, escort Miss Mu and His Highness out of the palace.”
The Emperor glanced at Wanqing one last time before nodding to Eunuch Xu, who bowed in acknowledgment. As the Emperor turned back to the documents before him, his mind was anything but calm.
*So alike. Exactly alike. As if carved from the same mold.*
Unbeknownst to Wanqing and Prince Ning as they left the palace, the Emperor’s expression darkened with concealed fury the moment they were gone.
“Xiao Xu, accompany me to the Empress’s chambers.”
Empress Sun, dressed in resplendent robes, emerged from her palace with her attendants to greet him.
“Leave us,” the Emperor commanded coldly. Once the servants had withdrawn, leaving only him and the Empress, he stepped closer, his voice low and stern.
“Empress, you told me the girl was her daughter sent away from the palace. Why did you never mention she looks exactly like her mother?”
“Your Majesty… after all these years, have you still not forgotten her?”
Empress Sun’s dignified composure shattered. She hesitated before looking at him with sorrowful eyes.
“What do you think?” The Emperor’s reply was icy, his gaze piercing.
“Your Majesty… but she was your sister-in-law. She never held you in her heart—no matter how well you treated her, she only ever loved your elder brother…”
Her words struck the Emperor like a physical blow. He recoiled as if disgusted, his expression twisting with fury and resentment.
“Even if she never cared for me, just seeing her was enough. You—”
He looked at the Empress with such revulsion it was as if she were filth.
“I didn’t kill her—she would have allied with other ministers to kill you! Was I wrong to protect you, Your Majesty? Yet after all these years, you still blame me…”
Tears welled in Empress Sun’s eyes as she staggered back, her voice trembling with grief and disbelief.
“You weren’t wrong—except in killing her. Even if you took from her what I desired, I will never forgive you. And one more thing: Nightshade’s actions are slowly eroding everything we’ve built. Stay away from him, lest you find yourself poisoned one day without even knowing. Consider this a warning, out of respect for our years together. And the osmanthus cakes I asked you to learn—have you mastered them yet?”
The Empress’s pleas left the Emperor unmoved. His tone was frigid as he delivered his final words, watching her face pale with despair. Only when he mentioned the cakes did a faint light return to her hollow eyes.
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