tkworld Chapter 264 Regent
Chapter 264 Regent
After paying his respects at the Imperial Ancestral Temple, Li Yuanke went to the Cining Palace to bid farewell to the Empress Dowager and asked Shen Shixi to escort him out of the city.
The Empress and others wanted to escort him, but Li Yuanke refused, ordering them to remain in the palace and take good care of their imperial heirs.
At the city gate, Li Yuanke, clad in battle armor, gleamed in the sunlight, his already handsome figure appearing almost divine.
Li Yuanke hugged Shen Shixi tightly, saying, "This time, I can't celebrate your birthday, but I'll make it up to you with a big one next year!"
"What kind of time is this to be talking about this!"
Shen Shixi put a strange bracelet on his left wrist, with twelve buttons made of rubies around it.
"In a critical moment, press this button. Make sure it's at least 300 steps away from you, and try to aim it at the key point. After pressing it, try to lie prone on the ground."
There was also a bag of ammunition hanging from his waist. "Loading is simple. Just flick this, load it, and pull it down, with the pointed end facing outwards!"
"good!"
Before the assembled officials and the three armies, Li Yuanke kissed her and whispered, "Nie Yunshen has already stationed himself at Longshou Mountain. Li Yuanzhi and the Pei family will likely mobilize the Xingli Army. In this critical moment, you must protect yourself and wait for my return!"
The Xingli Army numbered 50,000, and its commander was Xue Shunde, Li Yuanzhi's maternal uncle. He was not very good at fighting, but he had strong connections. Because of Empress Wenzhen, he had been well taken care of by the late emperor in the past.
"Yes, you too, you must come back!"
"Go up to the city wall, I will watch you go up, and then you will watch me leave!" Li Yuanke mounted his horse and stood still.
Shen Shixi then turned and went up the city wall, while Li Yuanke watched her back.
Several years ago, when Shen Shixi left the capital for a trip, he watched her leave silently from this very city tower. At that time, she only brought two maids with her and no attendants, as if she knew that he would send someone to follow her.
Shen Shixi stood on the city wall, watching Li Yuanke turn his horse around. His lips told her, "Wait for me to come back!"
She waved to him.
"Any news from Yang Shougui?"
Bai Kui said, "Your Majesty, are you really still hoping for the Emperor's return? Didn't you say you wanted to be an empress and take seventy-two male concubines?"
Bai Kui has a round face and a pair of bright, clear eyes, making her look rather simple and silly.
Shen Shixi chuckled and pinched her cheek. "Do you remember one year when we were sheltering from the rain in the mountains, and all my clothes were soaked? The old lady from the hunter's family who was also sheltering from the rain took out her best set of clothes and gave them to me to change into?"
"Yes, I remember. That old lady was really kind. She even had her son go into the mountains to hunt rabbits for us to eat."
"Yes! Another time, we were in Jiangnan, and we were so thirsty on the road that an old man hoeing the fields gave us all the hawthorn water that his wife had prepared for him."
Bai Kui nodded again, "I remember, he said his wife got up early to make it for him, and he loved drinking it. He even asked us if it was good, and if we liked it, we could come to his house to drink it."
"Yes! Look, the people of this land have never let me down! How could I bear to let them down?" Shen Shixi walked down the city wall. "Let's go back, we still have many memorials to read!"
"I would rather the world betray me than I betray the world!" I can't forget this saying!
Li Yuanke turned his head and glanced back, thinking to himself, "That bastard, I haven't even gone far and he's already impatient to leave."
With the army in full force, he walked at the very front, and Shen Shixi could no longer see him.
Inside the palace, as soon as Shen Shixi returned, Li Fude came up to her and whispered, "Your Majesty, the Prince returned to the palace a stick ago. He went to Cining Palace first, and now he's gone to Huilan Palace, where Consort Xie is staying!"
"Keep an eye on him! Ignore him, and report any movements to me immediately."
Li Yuanke originally intended to take Li Fude away and leave Jiang You for her to use, but Shen Shixi did not allow it. She told Li Yuanke to take Jiang You away and leave Li Fude behind.
Li Fude then ordered someone to keep an eye on that area.
A moment later, Li Fude entered, "Your Majesty, something terrible has happened!"
Shen Shixi didn't even look up, and asked, "What happened? The sky isn't falling!"
Li Fude hesitated, then said, "Your Majesty, Prince Chang Le and Consort Xie... they are committing illicit acts! However, in my humble opinion, they have been tricked!"
Last year, the arid areas of Huaizhou switched to planting potatoes, sweet potatoes, corn, and cotton, resulting in a bumper harvest. Combined with the income of the local laborers, life was much better than in previous years.
After everything was settled, Li Yuanyin returned during the New Year, and the Empress Dowager was heartbroken!
Shen Shixi abruptly stood up and walked outside. "Notify the Censorate to take away everyone in Huilan Palace who knows anything about this. They must not leak a single word!"
"yes!"
She added, "Issue a decree that all concubines are strictly forbidden from stepping outside the palace gates! All palace maids and eunuchs must remain in place and not move an inch. Anyone who disobeys this decree will be punished on the spot!"
"yes!"
After saying that, she hurriedly went to Huilan Palace.
In the Cining Palace, the Empress Dowager was stunned upon hearing the decree. Enraged, she overturned her teacup. "The Emperor has just left! What is Shen Shi trying to do?"
Qingruo rushed in and dismissed everyone in the hall. "Your Majesty, something terrible has happened!"
"What is it? Isn't it just Shen's outrageous behavior? I'm going to ask her if she still intends to..."
Qingruo fell to the ground, crying out, "Your Majesty, the Prince is in trouble! He and Consort Xie, the two of them... this servant can't separate them!"
Upon hearing this, the Empress Dowager felt dizzy, but she couldn't afford to fall down right now. She helped the person onto the phoenix carriage and hurriedly arrived at Huilan Palace.
When Shen Shixi arrived, the two had already finished their business.
She had already ordered her men to separate the two men and allowed them to put on clothes, but their hair was disheveled and they were very messy.
Upon seeing this, the Empress Dowager was enraged. She stepped forward and slapped Xie across the face, shouting, "You wretched woman, you wretched woman! I told you I couldn't let you live!"
Li Yuanyin had long since become a quail, kneeling on the ground trembling.
Shen Shixi closed his eyes briefly. "Issue an imperial decree to the Imperial Household Department: demote Xie to commoner status, order her execution, and return her body to the Xie family!"
"Shen Shixi!" Li Yuanyin shouted, "We were all framed today!"
Shen Shixi ignored him and issued an imperial edict: "The Prince of Changle, Li Yuanyin, is guilty of immorality. His title is hereby revoked, and he is temporarily imprisoned in Xian'an Palace. He is not to leave without imperial decree, and no one is allowed to visit him!"
Li Yuanyin was completely stunned.
The Empress Dowager was also incredulous, saying, "Shen, do you still have any respect for me?"
Shen Shixi looked directly at the Empress Dowager. "Empress Dowager, has the Emperor ever been in your eyes?"
The Empress Dowager found it unbelievable that Shen Shixi would treat her like this. Who was she? She was the Empress Dowager of the Great Zhou Dynasty. Even the Emperor dared not be presumptuous in front of her. How dare Shen Shixi!
"How could I not respect the Emperor? The Emperor is my son!" The Empress Dowager was furious.
"His Majesty has issued an edict forbidding anyone from visiting! In this palace, without the Empress Dowager's permission, who could enter? Who would dare to enter? Has the Empress Dowager ever taken the imperial edict seriously?"
The Empress Dowager could not refute this. She took a deep breath and said, "You have always been intelligent. Can't you see that they were framed?"
Shen Shixi sneered, "If Prince Chang Le doesn't come, even if someone has malicious intentions, do you think they can be allowed to have an affair remotely? Your Majesty, you bear a large part of the responsibility for Li Yuanyin's current behavior and his erroneous actions."
Raising children without proper education, spoiling them excessively—you are far inferior to the former Empress Dowager Zhao! Born and raised in the royal family, you should understand better than anyone what the dignity of the royal family means. A slight collapse of that image will cause the people to lose faith, and the world will rise up against you!
The Empress Dowager was truly in the wrong, so she softened her tone and said, "Then we can't strip her of her title. Just order Xie to commit suicide. As long as this matter is kept secret, no one outside will know. What harm will it do to the Emperor's reputation?"
"With your outburst, the whole world knows. Doesn't the Emperor's reputation suffer? And Yuan Yin, you two grew up together. Are you really so heartless towards him?"