The Imperial Harem

In Changxin Palace, the Empress Dowager was restless and unable to calm down to tailor a cultivation technique for the new emperor.

She paced back and forth for a long time.

"Guards! Prepare the carriage for the Jiaofang Palace in the Weiyang Palace!"

It was almost exactly 7 PM when the Empress Dowager stopped and summoned the palace servants.

"Your Majesty, it is too late now. The Jiaofang Palace is likely heavily guarded and difficult to enter..."

"There's no need to fear Li Guang; he wouldn't dare harm me!"

A palace eunuch offered a word of advice, but the Empress Dowager immediately stopped him and instead ordered that carriages and horses be prepared quickly.

The carriage was quickly led out, and eight palace lanterns were hung high above it.

Two demonic horses, their eyes gleaming with ghostly fire, trotted along with small, quick steps. Once the Empress Dowager had entered the carriage, these two nocturnal steeds began to gallop at full speed.

"Entry into the Weiyang Palace is forbidden at night. No one may enter Weiyang Palace without His Majesty's special permission!"

After running for fifteen minutes, the reprimanding voice arrived as expected.

The Empress Dowager ignored the guards' shouts and lifted the curtain of the carriage. Under the light of the eight palace lanterns, the Empress Dowager's face was clearly visible.

The feeling of her head being locked on surged through her mind, and the Empress Dowager suddenly turned her face, her gaze fixed on the dark figure that was difficult to see clearly in the darkness.

She pointed to her head, gave a soft hum, and then pulled her head back out of the carriage.

"Quickly report to His Majesty, the Empress Dowager has entered Weiyang Palace tonight!"

Li Guang's voice rang out just as the Empress Dowager had hoped, and then the imperial guards quickly relayed the message.

No matter how fast a carriage travels, it can't outpace the speed of sound. Without needing to think too much, the Empress Dowager knew perfectly well that once she stepped into the Jiaofang Palace, the new emperor and empress would surely come out to greet her.

She breathed a sigh of relief, but when she touched her forehead, the Empress Dowager realized that it was covered in cold sweat.

Li Guang, the chief guard of the Weiyang Palace, was granted the right to kill anyone who trespassed without following the rules, as ordered by the late emperor. With this decree in hand and Li Guang's great reputation, few dared to disobey. Only the powerful Empress Dowager forcibly confiscated Li Guang's Heaven-Shaking Arrow.

Within the main hall of the imperial palace, only the Empress Dowager had the authority to disregard the rules of the Weiyang Palace.

At this moment, the Empress Dowager is well aware that she has won her gamble.

Once something happens, it will happen again. Li Guang dared not target the Grand Empress Dowager, and now he dares not target the Empress Dowager, thus allowing her to pass smoothly.

Years later, Emperor Jing's previous laws and decrees were no longer valid, which made Li Guang increasingly constrained.

The Empress Dowager was filled with anxiety and uncertainty as the carriage sped past the palace gates and through the passageways.

"Jiaojiao, is His Majesty still practicing martial arts?"

When the carriage came to a stop, the Empress Dowager lifted the curtain and saw only the Empress and four palace maids greeting her outside the Jiaofang Palace. This made her frown slightly, and she turned to ask the Empress.

"Your Majesty, His Majesty should be in the room of that singer at Princess Pingyang's residence right now!"

The empress bowed and presented the gift, but when she raised her head, she was already delivering a very rapid complaint.

"His Majesty is completely infatuated with this woman, neglecting state affairs and martial arts, and has not returned home at night for quite some time!"

"Oh?"

The Empress Dowager alighted from her carriage and glanced at the Empress.

Even emperors, who possess vast empires, can't resist the temptation to pluck fragrances from women of different types, no matter how beautiful the women in their palaces are.

It's not surprising that a new emperor might like other women; it would be perfectly normal for him to like ten or eight more women in the future.

As the empress, as long as she could maintain her position, she could only choose to be tolerant in such matters. After all, the emperor, not the empress, truly held the supreme power of the Great Han Dynasty.

Perhaps due to her youth and lack of shrewdness, the Empress failed to see through the matter and instead harbored various grudges.

"I heard that Jiaojiao has recently had some conflicts with a woman surnamed Wei!" the Empress Dowager asked.

"Mother, it's that woman surnamed Wei," the Empress complained, "She's been bewitching His Majesty lately, relying on her singing skills. I figured His Majesty is at a crucial stage of his spiritual practice and can't afford to waste any time, so I asked you to have someone scare her!"

"This is alright!"

The Empress Dowager waved her hand, indicating that the Empress's behavior was not inappropriate.

"Where are His Majesty and that woman surnamed Wei?" the Empress Dowager asked.

"His Majesty was furious about this matter and appointed Wei Changjun and Wei Qing as Attendants-in-Ordinary. The woman surnamed Wei's status has also risen accordingly, and she is now able to move into the Imperial Chamber!"

"So she was in the boudoir!"

The Empress Dowager's visit to the Jiaofang Palace at night was not to listen to the Empress's nagging, but to seek out the new Emperor for communication.

She couldn't interfere with the new emperor's pursuit of new lovers. At this time, the empress was staying in the Jiaofang Palace, while the favored woman was only in the Shufang Palace. This was a clear distinction in treatment.

This was a treatment reserved for those who had been favored by the emperor; it's highly likely that the woman had lived with other palace maids before entering the palace.

The Empress's mother was Princess Dou, who had been pampered and accustomed to a life of luxury since childhood. She treated moving into the Jiaofang Palace as if she were moving house, showing no gratitude or appreciation whatsoever.

But for the Empress Dowager, who had risen to power after years of navigating the treacherous waters of the harem, these were all experiences she had gone through.

She was a successful woman by Emperor Jing's side, but hundreds or even thousands of other women disappeared from the palace like weeds.

Women like the one surnamed Wei were common in the palace; their lowly status destined them to be mere playthings, to be forgotten once the emperor grew tired of them.

The Empress Dowager offered several words of comfort, which greatly pleased and reassured the Empress.

"I'll take Mother to the Empress's chambers!"

Upon hearing that the Empress Dowager had some important business with the new Emperor, the Empress quickly offered her services.

"No need, you should get some rest. I know where Shufang is!"

The Empress Dowager reached out and grabbed a lantern. She walked away quickly, leaving the Empress chasing after her for several steps, but she felt that she could not keep up with the Empress Dowager's rapid pace.

"The Empress Dowager has been keeping a close eye on His Majesty's cultivation. That lowly servant has delayed His Majesty's time and will surely be reprimanded by the Empress Dowager!"

Since the new emperor ascended the throne, the Empress Dowager has been strictly controlling his spiritual practice. In addition to daily instruction from renowned teachers, she has also arranged for many people to customize his spiritual practice before allowing him to study according to the prescribed rules.

Under such rigorous training, the new emperor has hardly relaxed in recent years.

Anyone who allows the new emperor to become complacent will become a thorn in the Empress Dowager's side, and may even provoke more obvious targeting than the Empress and Princess Dou.

Watching the Empress Dowager's departing figure, the Empress lazily stretched, feeling that tonight was truly a pleasant and comfortable night.

"Chu Fu, why hasn't that female physician Chunyu Tiying returned yet?"

The Empress felt relieved and then asked a woman dressed as a palace maid beside her.

"Your Majesty, our Great Han Dynasty has a vast territory. If Chunyu Tiying does not enter the city but practices medicine in the countryside, it will be very difficult to find her," replied the woman whom the Empress addressed as Chu Fu.

"Our Imperial Medical Academy is terrible!" the Empress said angrily. "I've spent fifty million coins there, and they've given me so much medicine, but my stomach hasn't swelled up at all!"

"Your Majesty, please don't worry. Childbearing is something that can't be rushed. I've heard that some men in the common folk have health problems, which makes it difficult for women to conceive. Perhaps this isn't a problem with Your Majesty's health!"

"Um?"

The Empress tilted her head and thought for a long time. In the end, she felt that what Chu Fu said might have some merit.

If it's not that she's physically weak, but rather that the new emperor has health problems, then all the medicine she's taken over the years will have been for nothing.

The person who truly needs medical attention may not be her, but rather the new emperor.