Chapter 273 – The Emperor’s Mysophobia (1)
The more Lu Wushuang stewed in thoughts, the more despondent she was. But was there anything she could do? The two months of confinement seemed so much better than these past few days of blatant rejection.
To the world, she had been forgiven, but only she knew she was still paying the huge price for breaking into the Palace of Heavenly Purity. She didn’t dare to think for how long this would continue … if this would go on forever … More than the seclusion it was his indifference towards her that was piercing her heart. The man who once doted on her without a care in the world, who held her in the palms of his hand, had not once seen her.
Her moment of anger and impulse had cost the lives of many of her retainers that night. Several eunuchs and maids under her had been put to death with the exception of Aunt He ( aka Dai Ping) who had served her since she was little. Dai Ping and Qiu Yan were the only maids that she could trust and rely on. Although she was aching to go see him again, she was afraid that he might punish her even more harshly this time.
“Wang Fei.” Qiu Yan walked in.
Lu Wushuang turned to her with joy on her face. “Is His Majesty here?”
Qiu Yan shook her head slightly, not wanting to see her mistress’s disappointment she placated her. “Wang Fei, His Majesty might be busy right now, he may come later.”
“Withdraw.” Lu Wushuang waved impatiently and walked around grumpily in her chamber.
She had to restrain herself from breaking into the Palace of Heavenly Purity again. She wanted to question Mo Rongzhan: did he forget everything he said to her, that he would use his lifetime to treat her nicely? Was this the “nice” he meant?
Did he forget that she saved his life!
“Wang Fei, it’s rather late now, you should please rest.” Dai Ping urged softly.
“Aunt He, is His Majesty never coming to my palace again?” Lu Wushuang smiled bitterly. Her confinement had been lifted for a few days now but the reins of the inner palace still remained with the empress dowager, seemingly Mo Rongzhan had no intention of giving it back to her. Half a year, was all the time she had enjoyed the glory before losing it all. Her heart was hurt as if it was stumbled with thousands of needles.
“How can that be!” Dai Ping hurriedly spoke. She pitied her mistress’s plight, she had always treated her as her own child. “His Majesty must be busy with the affairs of the state, so how would he have time to visit?” She comforted softly.
Lu Wushuang flashed a smile that looked worse than crying. “Then why did he have time to go to Xu Huiru’s palace yesterday?”
Dai Ping was speechless, she did not know how to comfort her anymore. She worried that she would go find the emperor impulsively. If something like the last time were to happen again, she might lose her life too.
“Wang Fei, now that new people have entered the harem, it is completely normal that His Majesty feels fresh. Instead of waiting here, why not try doing things that would please him?” Dai Ping could only offer a concrete distraction knowing well how this woman’s mind worked. She was someone riding a tiger, she had come too far to dismount now. Regardless of the path she chose, her fate was strongly tied to her mistress’s position in the harem. So, she might as well help her stand up again, give it her all to win or lose.
Lu Wushuang looked at her in perplexion “Aunt He, what do you mean?”
“Wang Fei, His Majesty respects the empress dowager and cherishes the little prince the most. You haven’t been acquainted with her, so why not take this chance to impress her? His Majesty will surely pay attention to you by then.” Dai Pin suggested in a whisper.
“Empress Dowager?” Lu Wushuang said reluctantly, “The empress dowager even wanted to arrange the marriage between Liu Hua and His Majesty. She doesn’t like me at all, despite the efforts I put in.”
“Wang Fei, Princess Liu Hua hasn’t entered the harem even now, which hints that His Majesty doesn’t like her. Empress Dowager never mentioned it again, so you should just forget about it too.”
There was another reason why Lu Wushuang didn’t want to please her mother-in-law: it was a known fact that the empress dowager liked Lu Yaoyao, and for some inexplicable reason she had always felt that her little cousin would be her nemesis.
“Don’t you want to see His Majesty? He greets the Empress Dowager at Cining Palace every day.” Dai Ping pressed on.
Didn’t they say- if you love the master, you must love his dog? History stood proof to all the bribes and favors the favorite eunuchs and maids were showered with, all in a bid to win over the Buddha. Since there was no way to directly approach the emperor, they could only take a meandering path. Besides, it was his mother and little brother, a lot better choice than lowering oneself to his retainers.
Lu Wushuang’s eyes lit up as she grasped the crux of the words. She did want to see Mo Rongzhan. “Then let’s greet Empress Dowager tomorrow.” She declared with an exceptionally pretty smile.
“Wang Fei, you can’t behave the same way like before in front of the Empress Dowager, you need to be … softer.” Dai Ping couldn’t help remind her. She had always been haughty and conceited before her mother-in-law, it was all ok in the past when she was still favored. But since things had taken a drastic turn, it would be best if she could ingratiate the empress dowager like Xu Huiru did, otherwise how could she be happy?
“I see.” Lu Wushuang nodded slightly. I would treat her like Old Madam Lu.
Seeing that she seemed to understand, Dai Ping, inwardly heaved a sigh of relief.