Chapter 218: The Empress Dowager Faints from Rage
The Chrysanthemum Banquet continued.
Originally, the Empress Dowager should have appeared at the flower banquet.
But someone came to report that something had happened at the Empress Dowager's Kunning Palace, and she would be temporarily unable to attend.
The Empress frowned, sensing an unusual atmosphere and feeling somewhat uneasy. She instructed everyone to continue enjoying the flowers while she stood up and sent someone to investigate what was going on.
With the Empress gone, the flower-viewing guests felt less restrained and became even more relaxed.
Yin Pin pulled Chu Hongyu to sit beside her and said irritably, "When did you offend Consort Yuan? Did you intentionally bump into her and knock her over?"
Chu Hongyu stuck out his tongue: "Imperial Grandmother, you're mistaken. I didn't do it on purpose."
Yin Pin had also been displeased with Consort Yuan for a long time, so she didn't press the matter further and had someone bring food for the two children.
Chu Hongyu ate by himself, while Yin Pin patiently fed Changsheng bite by bite.
After a while, her attendant came over and whispered, "Your Highness, earlier when Little Li went to the Prince's mansion to deliver items, he overheard something."
Yin Pin's hand paused. For her attendant to report something regardless of the occasion meant it couldn't be ordinary matter.
After finishing feeding the pastry in her hand, she smiled and said, "You two must be tired from being here. It's time to go back and rest. Come, Imperial Grandmother will take you back to the palace."
Chu Hongyu was somewhat reluctant to leave.
He secretly glanced in Yun Chu's direction.
There had been constant stream of ladies and young misses coming to speak with his mother - how annoying.
It seemed he wouldn't find an opportunity to be alone with his mother.
Well, it's only a matter of a few days anyway.
The siblings secretly waved goodbye to Yun Chu and obediently followed Yin Pin back.
On the way, the attendant quietly reported what she had heard: "...Little Li said that a few nights ago after midnight, His Highness brought a woman back from outside, hiding her in the mansion and forbidding anyone from seeing her..."
"What?!" Yin Pin was utterly astonished. "Third Brother would do such a thing?"
Her son had absolutely no interest in women. If it weren't for the children needing maids to attend to them, there probably wouldn't be even one young woman visible in the Prince's mansion.
She found it extremely difficult to imagine Yi bringing a woman back to the mansion late at night.
"Little Li deliberately stayed at the mansion a bit longer and made some indirect inquiries. He found out that the woman is actually staying in Yanhui Court," the attendant said. "Yanhui Court - that's where His Highness resides. Having that woman stay there - does it mean he wants to make her the Princess Consort? Your Highness, could His Highness's refusal of the imperial marriage decree be related to this woman?"
Deep furrows appeared between Yin Pin's eyebrows: "It might very well be the case. Have Little Li make several more trips. Find out the woman's name, background, her relationship with Third Brother, and Third Brother's attitude toward her - investigate everything clearly."
The attendant accepted the order and went to carry it out.
Meanwhile, Kunning Palace was in complete chaos.
The old attendant whose arms had been severed knelt before the Empress Dowager, weeping bitterly: "...Prince Pingxi did this intentionally to show Your Highness - he's slapping you in the face, Your Majesty..."
"Crash! Bang! Crash!"
The Empress Dowager smashed all the teacups on the table onto the floor.
The eight people specifically chosen to collect heart's blood for Ruier were her trusted aides. Seven were dead, and the only remaining one had both arms severed and had become useless.
She was left without a single capable person by her side.
"Chu Yi!" the Empress Dowager roared in fury. "This family has always treated him well, never wronging him in any way!" How dare he strike against me!"The old matron endured the pain and said, "This old servant suspects that Prince Pingxi and the eldest daughter of the Yun family might have an illicit affair..."
"Oh, is that so?" A cold smile appeared on the Empress Dowager's lips. "A widow, a discarded woman—Chu Yi dares to get involved with her? And he even ruined my plans for this woman. Good, very good. In that case, I’ve come up with another plan..."
"Empress Dowager! Empress Dowager!" A palace maid rushed in frantically from outside. "Something terrible has happened!"
The Empress Dowager’s expression was icy. "Don’t be so flustered. Speak!"
The maid hurriedly replied, "Young Master Feng... he fell off his horse!"
The Feng family was the Empress Dowager’s maternal family. They had two sons, both her nephews—one was the Chariot and Horse General guarding the Southern border region, and the other was a third-rank official in the court, Lord Feng.
The Empress Dowager relied heavily on her maternal family. Upon hearing this, she stood up from her chair. "How badly is he injured?"
"He... he’s dead..." The maid trembled with fear, dropping to her knees with a thud. "And... just now, Prince Pingxi sent someone to deliver a jade pendant."
The jade pendant was presented, causing the Empress Dowager’s vision to darken. It was a Feng family heirloom.
This meant that Prince Pingxi was directly responsible for Young Master Feng’s death, and he had openly declared it to her—both a provocation and a warning!
The old matron nearby cautiously asked, "Empress Dowager, since Prince Pingxi acts so recklessly, should we still seek revenge?"
The Empress Dowager closed her eyes and slumped back into her chair. "We have no choice but to ask the Emperor to intervene. Even if he only orders twenty lashes, it would still vent some of our anger."
No sooner had she spoken than another young eunuch hurried in.
This eunuch served Prince Zhuang. The Empress Dowager’s heart tightened. "Has Rui'er had another relapse?"
"Your Majesty, just now... His Highness went to the Imperial Study!" The eunuch knelt on the ground to report.
The Empress Dowager breathed a sigh of relief. If he could go see the Emperor, his health must be stable. She assumed he was seeking justice for his deceased Feng cousin.
"His Highness... His Highness went to ask the Emperor to revoke his title and fiefdom as Prince Zhuang!" The eunuch burst into tears. "By the time I was on my way to Kunning Palace, His Highness had already left the capital by carriage!"
"What?!"
The Empress Dowager’s blood surged with rage. Unable to contain her emotions any longer, her eyes rolled back, and she collapsed to the ground.
The affairs of Prince Zhuang and the Feng family had caused an uproar.
Young Master Feng’s death from a fall off his horse was said to be the result of his frequent abuse of the horse, which drove the animal into a frenzied gallop until he fell to his death.
Meanwhile, Prince Zhuang’s sudden request for the Emperor to revoke his title and fiefdom made many court officials sense something unusual.
"My cousin actually gave up everything," Chu Yi said with a grim expression. "Leaving the Empress Dowager, leaving the capital, stripped of his princely title and status—it seems he won’t live much longer."
And indeed, he shouldn’t.
Hundreds of palace maids had died to prolong his life until now. So many innocent lives lost in the depths of the palace—he truly deserved to die a thousand times.
But he also knew that these things were not Chu Rui’s wish; they were all orchestrated by the Empress Dowager.
Cheng Xu stepped forward and whispered, "Yin Pin has sent Little Li Zi again."
Chu Yi curled his lips. "Arrange for some people to receive Little Li Zi and 'accidentally' leak all the information about that woman."
Cheng Xu scratched his head. "If this gets out to the Yun family, I’m afraid..."
"That’s why I’ll go and inform her first," Chu Yi stood up. "Has the green crystal I brought back earlier been packaged?"This was a precious item he had shamelessly begged from his father, the Emperor. He was certain it would bring a smile to Yun Chu’s face when he presented it to her later.
However, before he could even step out of the palace gates, Gao Gonggong from the palace arrived. “Your Highness,” he said, “His Majesty requests your immediate presence. The Empress Dowager has fainted from weeping in the Imperial Study. Your Highness must proceed with caution.”
Chu Yi rolled up his sleeve. “Take a look, Gao Gonggong,” he said. “I was injured in the palace and must seek medical attention now. I will come to the palace later to apologize.”
To express his regret, he slipped a money pouch to Gao Gonggong, then mounted his horse and rode off.
Gao Gonggong was utterly dumbfounded.
Prince Pingxi had already killed seven or eight people from the Empress Dowager’s palace, and the Empress Dowager had even claimed that Young Master Feng’s death was linked to Prince Pingxi. She had tearfully accused him before the Emperor, sobbing uncontrollably.
How could Prince Pingxi still have the mind to attend to other matters?
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