Chapter 755: Chapter 750, Chapter 751: The Rift Between Emperor Yong’an and Empress Zhao
On the other side, as soon as Empress Zhao returned to her chamber, she instructed the palace maid to prepare hot water for a bath. Although what happened earlier was completely accidental, Empress Zhao felt somewhat guilty towards His Majesty, so she planned to take a bath to wash off the scent she had acquired from holding Chen Mo.
Just then, an eunuch approached, saying that His Majesty wished to see her.
Empress Zhao recognized this eunuch as the one serving by the Emperor’s side.
She asked him to wait a moment, then went to the dressing table, sprayed some perfume on herself, tidied up her dress, and followed the eunuch towards the sleeping quarters of Emperor Yong’an.
When Empress Zhao arrived, she found Emperor Yong’an sitting on the floor drinking wine. He appeared to have drunk quite a lot, with a few disorganized wine bottles nearby. Emperor Yong’an’s cheeks were flushed, and he was surrounded by the smell of alcohol. Upon hearing the commotion, he looked up at the approaching Empress Zhao and said, "Empress, you’ve come."
"Your Majesty, what’s wrong? Why have you drunk so much wine?" Empress Zhao hurriedly stepped forward to assist Emperor Yong’an, then turned back to angrily berate the eunuch who had followed her in: "How did you take care of His Majesty?"
"Forgive us, Empress." The eunuch fearfully knelt down.
"Don’t blame them, it’s I who wanted to drink. You may leave now." Saying this, he shook off Empress Zhao, continued to sit down, and drink wine. After the eunuchs left, he wanted to pull Empress Zhao down to drink with him.
Empress Zhao, blushing, said, "Your Majesty, have you forgotten? I cannot drink alcohol."
"Look at my mind, I nearly forgot. Don’t blame me, Empress."
"Your Majesty, where are these words coming from? How dare I blame Your Majesty?"
Empress Zhao thought Emperor Yong’an was truly drunk and didn’t dwell on his earlier rude actions. While cleaning up the things on the floor, she softly asked, "Has something sad happened to Your Majesty?"
She knew Emperor Yong’an wouldn’t get drunk for no reason.
Emperor Yong’an looked at Empress Zhao’s beautiful face, wanting to say that she knew in her heart, but whether it was fear of Chen Mo behind her or a faint hope that it was a misunderstanding, he acted drunk and asked, "Did the Empress just visit the Empress Dowager?"
Empress Zhao nodded, "Unfortunately, the Empress Dowager claimed to be ill and didn’t see me."
At this point, just as Empress Zhao was about to express her suspicions of the Empress Dowager to Emperor Yong’an, he asked, "Did the Empress see King Wei?"
Although Emperor Yong’an’s eyes didn’t directly look at Empress Zhao, his peripheral vision remained fixed on her.
He then saw Empress Zhao’s expression panic, and her gaze avoided his.
Empress Zhao said, "No. What would King Wei be doing at Shoukang Palace? Did the Empress Dowager summon him?"
Hearing Empress Zhao lie to him, Emperor Yong’an felt a sharp pain in his heart. If he hadn’t seen it with his own eyes, he might have believed her.
Empress Zhao noticed Emperor Yong’an’s sudden silence and guessed his drunkenness was possibly related to the Empress Dowager and King Wei.
Could it be that His Majesty already knew the affair between the Empress Dowager and King Wei?
Was His Majesty unable to do anything about King Wei, only able to vent his emotions through drinking?
"Yu Shu, you wouldn’t betray me, would you?" Emperor Yong’an suddenly looked up at Empress Zhao’s eyes, even calling her by her pet name.
Hearing these words, Empress Zhao felt her previous suspicions were correct, that the Empress Dowager had indeed betrayed the Imperial Family.
She earnestly looked at Emperor Yong’an, "Of course, I am Your Majesty’s Empress."
"Can I trust you?"
"Your Majesty, are you really okay? Why suddenly ask such questions?"
"Answer me."
"Your Majesty can trust me, just as I will always trust Your Majesty." Empress Zhao grasped Emperor Yong’an’s hand, speaking earnestly.
After receiving Empress Zhao’s assurance again, Emperor Yong’an could only laugh in his heart, cutting off that sliver of hope that it was Chen Mo who forced her and not Empress Zhao’s own volition.
He asked, "Yu Shu, what do you think of King Wei?"
Empress Zhao looked around, and just as she was about to say "harboring ulterior motives, concealing a sinister heart," she suddenly remembered the palace was filled with Chen Mo’s people. If King Wei’s men heard this, it would cause trouble for the Emperor.
Therefore, she offered some objective comments on King Wei.
Listening, Emperor Yong’an felt Empress Zhao was defending Chen Mo, speaking on his behalf, which hurt him even more. Unable to control himself, he shouted angrily, "Nonsense, King Wei is ambitious and more cunning than the Xu Thief or Lu Bandits. He dares to come and go freely in my harem and slaughter members of the Imperial Family; he has no regard for me..."
"Your Majesty, you’ve drunk too much." Seeing Emperor Yong’an speak so loudly, Empress Zhao was frightened. If Chen Mo heard this, it would be disastrous. She quickly tried to cover for Emperor Yong’an, raising her voice so Chen Mo’s spies outside could hear:
"Your Majesty, you’ve misunderstood King Wei. King Wei works tirelessly for the nation, nothing like you described. You’ve truly drunk too much, let me help you to rest."
"I’m not drunk." Emperor Yong’an pushed Empress Zhao away. Hearing his Empress defend Chen Mo so strongly, his heart’s sorrow was about to overflow.
"Your Majesty." Empress Zhao couldn’t stand steady and was pushed to the ground, looking at him in a daze. It was the first time Emperor Yong’an treated her this way.
At the same time, she thought Emperor Yong’an was truly drunk.
"This empire was built by the Grand Ancestor Emperor, it’s the Chu Clan’s empire, not Chen Mo’s." Emperor Yong’an continued to vent.
