Chapter 145: Volume 1, Chapter 145: Consorts Clash

On second thought, if her current identity were discovered, it would implicate Han Xinglan, so after weighing it back and forth, she decided to let it be.

But Rong Luoge could not simply sit there doing nothing; the person sent to deliver the message had not yet returned, and for now she could only wait quietly for news to come back before making plans.

At this time, the atmosphere inside the Daoist temple was indeed tense. Consort Ming was about to drive out the idle bystanders from the temple, but Liu Yingying had already received Rong Luoge's message and, without hesitation, sent someone to deliver a letter to Phoenix Ceremony Palace—and the Empress arrived right at this moment.

The Empress arrived with her full imposing presence on display, looking at Consort Ming and rebuking her angrily: "Consort Ming, what are you trying to do? His Majesty lies unconscious, and instead of attending to him, you are here eliminating dissenters?"

Consort Ming had not expected the Empress to arrive so quickly. Her eyes flickered, and she turned to look at Liu Yingying—that bitch!

Liu Yingying put on a frightened appearance and ducked behind the Empress, her face full of terror, her eye rims so red that tears seemed ready to fall at any moment.

The Empress was extremely pleased with Liu Yingying for delivering the message and naturally wanted to protect her, so she looked at Liu Yingying and said, "Don't be afraid. Even when His Majesty wakes, he will not blame you."

Liu Yingying gazed at the Empress with eyes full of gratitude and thanked her in a soft, gentle voice, "Many thanks, Your Highness."

The Empress nodded, then turned and walked straight toward the main hall of the Daoist temple. Consort Ming, after all, was not the Empress; now that the Empress's imperial presence had arrived, she had no legitimate reason to block her and could only watch helplessly as the Empress entered the inner hall.

After entering the hall, the Empress instantly replaced the hostility on her face with a look of worry, walked briskly to the bed couch, and asked the Imperial Physician, "How is His Majesty's condition?"

The one taking the pulse was the Chief of the Imperial Hospital, who hurriedly replied, "In reply to Your Highness, His Majesty's body is weak and needs proper rest and recuperation."

It was all the same old platitudes, but the Empress could not let her impatience show on the surface. Suppressing the fire in her heart, she asked again in a gentle voice, "When will His Majesty be able to wake up?"

The Chief could not say for certain either and could only shake his head, saying, "If all goes smoothly, His Majesty will be able to wake by tomorrow morning. If not... I fear it may be later."

The Empress's heart was pounding with anxiety. This was the first time His Majesty had been unconscious for such a long time. The news was half good and half bad, so she said, "All of you must do your utmost to treat His Majesty. I shall personally watch over him here."

Consort Ming grew rather anxious, but she had already lost the initiative, having failed to take control of the Daoist temple before the Empress arrived. Now that the Empress was already here, she could only stay by her side, to prevent the Empress from doing anything underhanded.

She only hoped His Majesty would wake soon. As long as His Majesty woke, with just one word from him, how could the Empress continue to be so arrogant?

Consort Ming refused to yield, and though the Empress was suppressing her, she could not forcibly drive her out now either. The two sides thus reached a delicate balance.

The Chief, caught in the middle, was drenched in sweat, feeling his legs trembling beneath him, his face a sickly pale tinged with a hint of green.

Right at this moment, Han Xinglan and Han Yifeng arrived almost simultaneously, the two brothers running into each other outside the Daoist temple.

Han Yifeng's heart skipped a beat, and he had no choice but to step forward and bow, "Eldest Brother."

Han Xinglan gave a slight nod and only then said, "Let us go in together."

Han Yifeng had already arrived, and of course Han Xinglan would not openly send him back and give others a handle against him, so he could only enter the Daoist temple with him.

As soon as they entered, they saw both the Empress and Consort Ming present. Han Xinglan felt a slight relief in his heart—he had not expected the Empress to arrive so quickly. His eyes then turned to Noble Consort Liu standing behind the Empress, figuring that she must have played a part. It seemed that after Rong Luoge received the news, she must have immediately sent word to Noble Consort Liu.

Sure enough, his capable helpmeet.

By contrast, Prince Qi's mood was wretched. Running into the Crown Prince had already vexed him, and he had not expected the Empress to be present as well. Now the atmosphere inside the Daoist temple grew even more bizarre.

The Emperor still lay unconscious on the couch, his face a dark ashen blue, completely unaware of the situation outside.

The time spent waiting was the most tormenting of all.

After another two hours had passed, Worthy Consort Lan, Virtuous Consort Tai, and Gracious Consort Liao all arrived, followed by Lady of Bright Deportment Liu, Lady of Bright Beauty Xu, and Beauty Zhong, who was with child.

The one with the worst complexion among them was Beauty Zhong. Her belly was already showing, and standing among the crowd, nearly everyone's gaze fell upon her, making her somewhat at a loss, her legs going weak beneath her.

The Empress said gently, "His Majesty has not yet regained consciousness. Since you are all here, let us wait together for His Majesty to wake. Please, sit." Saying this, the Empress looked at the palace attendants beside her and instructed, "Add a soft cushion to Beauty Zhong's chair. She is with child and must not be overtaxed."

Beauty Zhong hurried forward to express her gratitude, wanting to say it was unnecessary, but not knowing when His Majesty would wake, and who could say how long they would have to wait here. Her body was heavy with child, and having a cushion was indeed much more comfortable.

The Empress nodded, then looked at Worthy Consort Lan and said, "Where are the two princesses?"

Among those present, the ones who had given birth to princesses were Consort Ming and Virtuous Consort Tai, yet the Empress had asked Worthy Consort Lan, who had no daughters—this was rather interesting.

Worthy Consort Lan had no desire to bring trouble upon herself and immediately spoke up, "I have not seen the two princesses. Upon hearing that His Majesty was unwell, I came at once with everyone to visit His Majesty."

The Empress gave a soft acknowledgment, then turned her gaze to Virtuous Consort Tai.

Virtuous Consort Tai's heart skipped a beat, and she said at once, "Your Highness, Princess Chang'an originally wanted to come with me, but I did not know what the situation was here and feared it would be inconvenient for the princess to come, so I had her wait at Yongfu Palace. Or would you like me to send for the princess now?"

The Empress shook her head. "No need for now. Chang'an is a well-behaved child who gives no cause for worry. Let her stay at Yongfu Palace."

By saying Princess Chang'an was a well-behaved child, who was the Empress implying was not well-behaved?

None other than Princess Zhaoqing, whom the Empress had not mentioned at all!

This infuriated Consort Ming. She had always known the Empress was a true petty person with a kindly face and a poisonous heart, but she was not about to be cowed by her. She said at once, "What could the two princesses do here at a time like this? The people from the Imperial Hospital are coming and going—if the princesses came, not only would they be of no help, they would likely only cause trouble. So I had Zhaoqing wait at Jujiu Palace. If Her Highness the Empress is displeased, I can summon her here at once. There is no need to make insinuations here."

Hearing Consort Ming and the Empress start to quarrel, the others immediately fell silent. They could not afford to offend either of these two grand figures, so they could only lower their heads and play at being wooden statues.

The Empress listened to Consort Ming's words and said casually, "What is Consort Ming feeling guilty about? I did not say anything. Why are you so anxious? Could it be that Zhaoqing is not in the palace?"

Consort Ming's heart skipped a beat. Zhaoqing was indeed not in the palace. After the incident occurred, she had immediately sent her daughter to visit the General's estate—certain matters could not be relayed through palace servants for fear of some mishap. She had never expected the Empress to guess that Zhaoqing was not in the palace.

Consort Ming's mind raced. She absolutely could not let the Empress seize on any leverage.