A Foodie Transmigrated into the Palace

Chapter 359: Chapter 359 She Can’t Save Him at All

The Empress spoke, tears welling in her eyes. ”All these years, if it weren’t for my Wetnurse Nanny, Sister Ji, I truly don’t know how I would have survived.”

Lady Fan’s complexion gradually paled, and she seemed somewhat at a loss. How could she not know about these things?

However, raising a daughter is less worrisome. They grow up without much fuss. Sons are different. They are mischievous and troublesome, requiring much more attention. So, she wasn’t in the wrong, was she?

Having composed herself, Lady Fan stood up, her tone righteous. ”Mengzhen, no matter what, he is your second brother! You are both my children. Once you rescue him, I will ensure your second brother comes to apologize to you personally! Ah? Good child, Mother knows you are a good child!”

Lady Fan said this as if it were her due, her voice filled with righteous indignation.

The Empress regarded Lady Fan as if she were a stranger and took two steps back. Yet, she still said, ”Mother, what if I don’t save him?”

In truth, she simply couldn’t save him! The Emperor had sent these gifts; they likely served as a warning. She was a woman, expected to obey her husband upon marriage. Therefore, she was powerless in matters of the court!

She spoke this way because of the frustration bottled up inside her for so many years. She had to find an outlet, to vent it all! Even if it was just for the brief satisfaction of speaking her mind, wouldn’t her heart feel a little lighter?

However, Lady Fan failed to see her daughter’s despair. Anger welled within her, but this was Jiaofang Hall. She dared not cause a scene and could only suppress her fury as she said, ”Mengzhen, your father’s health is steadily declining, and the family relies entirely on your two brothers to support it... If your second brother is gone, our family will only have your eldest brother left! Do you have the heart to allow that?”

Lady Fan’s gaze was like one fixed upon a traitor, as if the Empress herself were the one plotting her son’s demise.

The Empress, her face cold, looked at her mother. Even now, did Mother still not understand that she, the Empress, wasn’t the one in control? Mother would only desperately push her into a pit of fire. Was she truly destined to sacrifice everything for the Fan Family, to not even have a life of her own? Hmph... What more was there to say?

The Empress flicked her sleeve, turned, and sat down in the chair. With a cold laugh, she said, ”Whether I have the heart or not, it is not for me to decide! If Mother wishes to plead, she might as well go to the Emperor. Why come and trouble me?”

Having spoken, the Empress sipped her tea with a cold smirk.

Lady Fan trembled with rage. ”You... You unfilial daughter!”

The Empress set down her teacup with a CLINK. ”Mother, you accuse me of being unfilial, but you must provide evidence. How have I been unfilial? Have I committed patricide or regicide? Or have I disobeyed you, Mother?”

With these words, the Empress stood up, her face a mask of cold mockery. ”Since Mother does not treat her daughter as a daughter, then why should I treat Mother as my mother!”

Seeing that the Empress was unmoved by harshness, Lady Fan had to soften her approach. After a series of heavy sighs, she began to dab at her eyes with a handkerchief, weeping pitifully. Lady Fan cried bitterly, complaining about how unreliable Old Master Fan had been over the years. She spoke of how he had brought so many concubines into the household, leaving her, the legitimate wife, with no place to stand. She lamented how difficult her life in the household would become if she were to lose a son, how she would be marginalized! Finally, she recounted her many years of suffering, implying that her neglect of her daughter was due to her own helplessness.

The act was convincing. The Empress thought. Had it not been for her own experiences, she might have believed it.

It was a pity. Lady Fan’s theatrics could never deceive an Empress who had survived for so many years in the deep palace.

So...

In the end, Lady Fan failed. The Empress remained unswayed by either soft or hard tactics.

She ordered a table of fine dishes from the Imperial Kitchen. The Empress ’comforted’ her mother, and the two ate together, seemingly harmonious but inwardly estranged. After a hasty meal, Lady Fan hurriedly left the palace.

After the Empress had washed up and was lying on the soft couch, Sister Ji stood beside her, offering advice. ”Your Majesty, regarding the Second Young Master...”

The Empress was also worried. He was, after all, her own brother; it would be a lie to say she wasn’t distressed. But she was truly powerless in this matter.

”Sister...” The Empress’s voice trembled. ”I will try to sound out the Emperor on this matter! But... as for overturning the verdict, I’m afraid that’s impossible!”

The Emperor’s dissatisfaction with the Fan Family was not new, and now her second brother had stirred up such enormous trouble. He was caught with irrefutable evidence; the proof was as solid as iron. So, as a woman confined within the deep palace, what could she possibly do!

Tears fell from the Empress’s eyes.

Sister Ji found no words to comfort her, only looking as if she wanted to speak but hesitated.

”Sister, if you have something to say, just say it!”

After a moment’s thought, Sister Ji spoke. ”Your Majesty, Lady Fan also has her hardships. Even though Your Majesty is in the Harem, your maternal family should still be a source of support. Why must you let relations become so strained...”

The Empress wiped her eyes and gave a cold laugh. ”Sister, did you hear what Mother said? Every word was like a knife to the heart!” As she spoke, tears uncontrollably slid down her cheeks again.

Sister Ji was about to say something more when they heard footsteps from outside.

”The Emperor has arrived!”

Hearing this, the Empress quickly wiped her tears and rose from the couch to welcome him.

By then, Zhao Junyao had already entered.

”Greetings, Your Majesty!” The Empress knelt before the Emperor, her head lowered.

Zhao Junyao said indifferently, ”Rise.”

The Empress rose. Palace Attendants came forward in turn to serve them, then withdrew in an orderly manner, leaving only the Emperor and Empress in the room.

This was, after all, his principal wife’s bedchamber, so he could act as he pleased. Zhao Junyao half-lounged on the couch, casually flipping through a book.

The Empress stood to one side, her expression complex. The Emperor... his thoughts were too difficult to fathom. On one hand, he spent night after night in Jiaofang Hall; on the other, beyond the palace walls, he intended to execute her own brother. This... The more she considered it, the more uneasy she felt.

Zhao Junyao flipped through his book, his gaze occasionally flicking towards the Empress. He knew she had something to say, so he was in no hurry, slowly turning the pages.

Indeed, the Empress opened her mouth, then hesitantly spoke with difficulty, ”Your Majesty... about my second brother’s situation...”

Hearing this, Zhao Junyao thought, It’s starting.

After a moment’s thought, he set the book aside and looked up at the Empress. ”What do you want to know?”

The Empress suddenly knelt, her heart in turmoil. ”Your Majesty, my intention is not to ask you to bend the law for personal reasons or engage in corruption, but...” Clenching the handkerchief tightly in her hand, the Empress gritted her teeth and said, ”He is, after all, my biological brother. I wish... to know more details. Please forgive my transgression, Your Majesty!”

Having spoken, the Empress kowtowed.

Zhao Junyao watched her, his face expressionless. As if he had anticipated this, he instructed Li Shengan to bring over a memorandum, which he then tossed to the Empress. ”See for yourself!”

The Empress hesitated for a moment, then, steeling her resolve, picked up the memorandum and began to read. The memorandum detailed the cause, process, and outcome of the case with great clarity.

The Empress quickly scanned it and then promptly closed it. Her second brother was truly too reckless! To beat people to death over such trivial matters. If it had been one or two, that might have been one thing, but there were over a dozen! Simply too outrageous! No wonder he was caught with his hand in the till, with no way to salvage the situation!