This was a very good thing.
But Empress Fu's presence was also a destabilizing factor.
She had to be kept firmly pinned down!
"Summon Gao Lan."
On the way, Liu Xie ordered someone to summon Gao Lan.
Before long, Gao Lan arrived, before Liu Xie reached Zhen Mi's bedchamber.
"What are Your Majesty's orders?"
"Build a Weiyang Palace within the palace..." Liu Xie began, then shook his head and corrected himself. "Never mind. Building a new palace would cost a fortune, exhausting the people and draining the treasury. Find a more spacious palace hall and rename it Pepper Chamber Hall, to serve as the empress's bedchamber. All arrangements must meet the standards befitting an empress."
"Yes."
Gao Lan accepted the order and was about to leave when Liu Xie called him back.
"Pepper Chamber Hall is the empress's bedchamber, so security must be strict. Find a confidant you trust absolutely to lead the Feathered Forest Guard in guarding it. Select the palace maids who will attend her from respectable commoner families. They need only have clean backgrounds; noble birth is not required."
"Furthermore, the empress has worried excessively about my safety over these past three years and developed a severe ailment of the heart. She needs quiet rest. No one is to disturb her recuperation."
Gao Lan asked, "Your Majesty, what if the Imperial Father-in-Law requests an audience with the empress?"
Liu Xie frowned slightly. After a moment's consideration, he said, "If the Imperial Father-in-Law requests an audience with the empress, report to me immediately."
"Your subject will obey Your Majesty's decree!" Gao Lan already understood.
His Majesty intended to place the empress under house arrest.
No one except the Imperial Father-in-Law would be allowed to see her.
Even the Imperial Father-in-Law would need His Majesty's permission to visit.
After