Chapter 108: Conflict Between Aunt and Nephew

Outside, heavy rain was pouring down. The rain hitting the ground created a mist, shrouding the vast palace complex in a veil of fog.

 

Inside the red palace hall, the Empress Xiao Qi looked at the young man in front of her with a tone of slight reproach: “Didn’t I tell you to wait until the rain stopped before coming? Why did you come now?”

 

“Mother summoned me, how could I dare delay?”

 

Though her tone was one of scolding, her eyes were full of joy. “You! I didn’t call you for anything important, just wanted to discuss something…”

 

Before the Empress could finish her sentence, there was a sudden commotion outside. The sound of rainwater dripping from the eaves and splashing onto the stone slabs, which would normally be a poetic scene, was shattered by the sound of hurried footsteps.

From outside the hall, voices of panicked palace attendants could be heard. The Empress and Prince Lu exchanged puzzled glances and stood up.

 

“The Crown Prince?” The Empress Xiao Qi looked at the figure who had just arrived, surprised. “What is this about?”

 

Qin Yi stood at the entrance of the hall, silhouetted against the light. Behind him, the grand palace and the pouring rain became mere backdrop, leaving him, tall and slender like a sharp sword, cutting through the gray rain. The entire hall seemed to brighten because of his presence.

 

Perhaps because of his hasty arrival, a mist of rain still clung to his body. Lanyu, standing behind him, looked as though she wanted to stop him but had been unsuccessful.

 

“Why am I here? Does the Empress truly not know?”

 

The Empress furrowed her brow, sensing something unusual. Qin Yi, however, didn’t wait for her response. He slowly stepped into the hall, his eyes sweeping over the palace maids and eunuchs, and asked, “Which one of you spilled the ice? Who was it that knocked over the soup?”

 

Lanyu’s body trembled slightly at those words, finally understanding that the Crown Prince had come to demand an explanation.

 

“No one will speak? Incompetent in their duties and now protecting guilty servants,” Qin Yi’s eyes bore down coldly, his voice suddenly sharp and icy. “Does no one dare to admit it?”

 

The palace maids and eunuchs who had caused the incident could no longer hold back. With a thud, they knelt down. “Mercy, Your Highness! It was us, clumsy and careless, who collided with the Crown Princess.”

 

Everyone in the hall was terrified, keeping their heads low. The Empress Xiao Qi was furious at the sight and snapped, “Crown Prince, this is my Phoenix Palace. What is the meaning of this?”

 

“Oh, so you do remember you’re the Empress.” Qin Yi turned to look at her with scornful eyes. “I was beginning to think you couldn’t even control the people in your own palace.”

 

Lanyu broke out in a cold sweat without realizing it. She took a deep breath and stepped forward to bow to Qin Yi. “Your Highness, today it was the fault of these clumsy palace maids and eunuchs who accidentally offended the Crown Princess. It was my failing as the head maid. Please, forgive me.”

 

“They can’t even hold a bowl properly, and those carrying the ice managed to spill it all. Inside the Imperial Palace, if they can’t manage such simple tasks, what use are their eyes and hands?” Qin Yi’s gaze was chilling, and his words sent a cold fear through everyone present. “Since the Empress can’t discipline them, I’ll do it for her. Guards, take them away.”

 

The kneeling servants were terrified. When the Crown Prince took matters into his own hands, no one came out unscathed. In a panic, they scrambled towards the Empress, pleading incoherently, “Your Majesty, please! Spare us, Your Highness, have mercy! Please, Your Majesty, save us!”

 

Before they could reach the Empress, two arms grabbed them and restrained them. The eunuchs who took action were well-trained, with steady postures and sharp eyes. In one swift movement, they firmly subdued the servants and dragged them out roughly.

 

The Empress clenched her fists tightly. It was clear that Qin Yi’s display was meant to send a message. Prince Lu, unable to bear it any longer, shouted angrily, “Crown Prince, don’t be too arrogant! This is still our mother’s palace. She is the Empress. Aren’t you afraid of what Father will say when he finds out?”

 

Qin Yi laughed softly at his words, the sound clearly audible in the hall. “You’re almost at the age to marry, and yet when something happens, you still call on Father? How commendable.”

 

Prince Lu was enraged, veins bulging on his hand. “You…”

 

“Prince Lu!” The Empress raised her voice, stopping Prince Lu, and then coldly turned to Qin Yi. “The Crown Prince is indeed impressive, disposing of people in my palace as he pleases. The Emperor rules with filial piety. Aren’t you afraid of being accused of disrespect towards your mother by the whole world?”

 

“Stop flattering yourself. My mother is the late Empress Wenxiao, the rightful Empress, married by formal rites with the blessings of Heaven and Earth. And you… what are you?”

 

The Empress Xiao Qi was instantly silenced. When she entered the palace, she had been five months pregnant, and her coronation ceremony had been greatly simplified. It couldn’t compare at all to the grand ceremony of the previous Empress. This had always been a source of pain for her. She thought that as long as she became the Empress, with victory on her side, no one would dare mention the past. And indeed, many avoided talking about it. But who could guarantee what people said behind closed doors? High-ranking individuals like Qin Yi, Chu Jinyao, and even Noble Consort Shu, a senior from the imperial household, dared to openly despise her.

 

The Empress Xiao Qi, at the peak of her anger, became unusually calm. She smoothed out her sleeves and smiled mockingly at Qin Yi. “So, the Crown Prince still remembers the past. But, who is the Empress now?”

 

Everyone knows how to strike where it hurts; it’s just a matter of who can be shameless enough to do it.

 

The Empress’s shamelessness angered Qin Yi, who looked at her with extreme disdain. After glancing at her briefly, he turned his gaze away, as if looking at her any longer would sully his eyes.

 

Qin Yi said, “You, deserving of the position of Empress? Ever since you entered the palace, the dirty things you’ve done are known to everyone. I’ve just been too disinterested to deal with you. But you made the mistake of targeting her. Empress, you should be thankful that nothing happened to Jinyao today. Otherwise, it wouldn’t be me standing here; it would be the Imperial Clan Court. I have all the evidence of your attempts to harm the imperial offspring. If the court and the Grand Secretariat learned of it, even the Emperor couldn’t protect you. I suggest you pray every day for the Crown Princess’s safety. If anything happens to her, you’ll fall from where you climbed up.”

 

The Empress was both furious at Qin Yi’s disrespect and terrified by his threat. “You wouldn’t dare! The Emperor explicitly ordered…”

 

Qin Yi laughed derisively, his scorn unconcealed. The Empress then realized her own naivety.

 

The Emperor did indeed issue a gag order forbidding them from spreading the matter. But Qin Yi, being who he was, wouldn’t care about a mere order.

 

Qin Yi chose to conceal the matter only to show some face to the Emperor. But if he truly decided to make it public, would the Emperor strip him of his position? The worst Qin Yi would face would be a rebuke or a brief period of house arrest, but for the Empress, it would be her downfall. Public opinion and court pressure alone would be enough to ruin her.

 

In the imperial family, there are no private matters. The affairs of the harem and the heirs are never just the Emperor’s business.

 

The Empress knew well that Qin Yi wasn’t one to make baseless threats, but she couldn’t risk it. If Qin Yi did expose the matter, or worse, secretly fuel public opinion, how would she survive? Would she rely on the Emperor? Even if the Emperor spared her life, could he guarantee her position as Empress?

 

The Empress trembled with anger but found herself unable to say a word. Prince Lu, seeing his mother insulted, was furious and rushed forward to confront Qin Yi.

 

But he was just a fifteen-year-old boy. The young nobles of the capital flattered him, but what power did he have against his elder brother, who had governed and fought in battle? He was effortlessly restrained by Qin Yi’s eunuchs, unable to fight back. As he watched, Qin Yi looked at him with contempt, as though he were a mere child: “Isn’t it about time for you to marry? At least then you might stop acting like a child clinging to his mother. No other prince behaves like you.”

 

Seeing her precious son restrained, the Empress’s eyes filled with rage. “How dare you! Who gave you the authority to touch Prince Lu? And you, you blind fools! Why aren’t you over here beating these filthy eunuchs to death?”

 

Even in the harem, insults were usually more graceful. The Empress Xiao Qi’s crudeness revealed the depth of her hatred for Qin Yi. However, her words didn’t faze him at all. With a casual wave of his hand, the eunuchs released Prince Lu and respectfully retreated behind him. Qin Yi watched as the Empress rushed to her son’s side, embracing him as though they had narrowly escaped death. He chuckled softly and said, “I have plenty more evidence. If the Empress wishes to test me, feel free.”

 

Without waiting for a response, Qin Yi turned and left. As he reached the door, he paused and said, “Since the Empress’s servants are so incompetent, unable even to serve properly, the Crown Princess won’t be coming here to pay her respects anymore.”

 

The rain, which had started fiercely, finally began to lighten at dusk. The sound of raindrops outside gradually softened, signaling the storm’s end.

 

With the rain easing, the palace’s spies and messengers began moving again, and news spread through the palace.

 

“The Crown Princess fainted in the rain?”

 

“Yes.” The head eunuch carefully observed the Emperor’s expression, choosing his words cautiously. “Most women are frail and susceptible to cold. After waiting in the rain for so long, it’s understandable that the Crown Princess would feel faint.”

 

The Emperor sighed and shook his head. “So many years have passed, and she’s still like this.” When she was young, he had seen the Empress’s jealousy as a charming, girlish trait. But now, as a mother, her pettiness was simply immature.

 

The head eunuch remained silent. When an Emperor loves, everything about a person is endearing. But once feelings cool, even once-loved traits become flaws.

 

After a moment of quiet contemplation, the Emperor frowned, feeling that today’s events had gotten out of hand. Not only was the Empress at fault, but Qin Yi had been far too aggressive. Even if the Empress had been unkind, she was still the Empress, the Emperor’s rightful wife. It should have been the Emperor’s place to deal with her. As Crown Prince, Qin Yi had overstepped, reprimanding servants and speaking disrespectfully. What kind of image did that project?

 

The Emperor sat in silence, gazing at the incense burner on his desk. The head eunuch lowered his eyes, barely daring to breathe, and the only sound that filled the hall was the steady patter of the rain outside. After a long while, the Emperor sighed. “I came to this summer palace to escape the confinement of the Imperial Palace, to relax. But between the troubles with Consort Lian and now the Crown Princess, it’s even more chaotic than in the palace. After this rain stops, the weather will likely cool. Have the Ministry of Rites prepare for our return to the capital.”