Chapter 274: Volume 1, Chapter 274 — The Empress Throws Her Weight Around

Xu Shuyuan emerged from Yuzhao Gong, her back drenched in cold sweat. The weather was bright and sunny, yet after her initial excitement, a chill crept into her heart.

The Empress Dowager had long wanted to control the draft selection, and Xu Shuyuan could guess a fair bit of what she was thinking. All that effort and labor—wasn't it simply to pave the way for the Su family's girl?

Who would have thought that after all that work, the Empress had now reaped the harvest. The Empress Dowager was probably sick with rage.

Moreover, the Empress's attitude was nothing like her previous air of indifference to everything. She had seized the Empress Dowager's authority over the candidates the moment she stepped in—the new official was lighting her first three fires.

As someone who had hitched herself to this cause, she couldn't drag things down. Having boarded the Empress's ship, she had to see the road through to the end. There was no room for regret.

Lady Zhenshen naturally received the news as well. It took her quite a while to recover her wits. The shock to her heart was no less than a small earthquake, and fury followed close behind.

From the moment the news of His Majesty's edict conferring her title arrived, she had not had a single moment of peace. How could Rong Luoge sit in the Empress's seat?

Hadn't her father objected in court?

Had so many noble and powerful families simply agreed?

How was that possible?

Back then, her father had said that with the stigma of being remarried, Rong Luoge could at most reach Noble Consort, or Imperial Noble Consort at the very utmost. But now?

Song Huihe had long had her eye on the Empress's seat. To say she treated it as a sure thing in her basket would be an exaggeration, but it was close enough. The only rival she considered a threat was Su Ying. She never expected His Majesty to confer the title on Rong Luoge!

On what grounds?

Song Huihe hadn't slept well all night, and now today she received this news.

Good heavens, this was truly something else. The moment she sat on the Empress's throne, she wanted to throw her weight around?

Song Huihe recalled the arrangements at Yurui Palace and hurried to tidy herself up before going over to take a look. The Empress Dowager's side was most likely finished. Though she was glad to see the Empress Dowager fall—after all, the Empress Dowager had given her no shortage of grief these past days—she was even less willing to see Rong Luoge triumphant.

Song Huihe and Xu Shuyuan came face to face outside Yurui Palace. The two locked eyes, their expressions appearing perfectly calm, but what lay in their hearts was anyone's guess.

"Greetings, Lady Zhenshen." Xu Shuyuan, being of lower rank, stepped forward to pay her respects, lest Song Huihe find grounds to seize upon.

Song Huihe looked at Xu Shuyuan, suppressing the fury in her heart and trying her best to keep her expression calm, and asked, "Why is Xu Shuyuan here?"

"By the Empress's command, I have come to take over affairs at Yurui Palace. The Empress Dowager overexerted herself with the draft selection and fainted. The Empress feels deeply guilty and uneasy. The moment her confinement ended, she took matters over so that the Empress Dowager could rest and recuperate properly." Xu Shuyuan raised her voice—not just for Song Huihe to hear, but for everyone in Yurui Palace as well.

Song Huihe nearly spat out a mouthful of blood. Rong Luoge's thick-skinned shamelessness knew no bounds. She had clearly seized the Empress Dowager's authority, yet she crowned it with the fair name of filial devotion and tender care.

Was there anyone in this world more sinister and cunning than her?

Song Huihe was so angry her face turned ashen black, but under the watchful eyes of the crowd and without solid evidence, she dared not show dissatisfaction toward the newly installed Empress. Even if she was dissatisfied with this Empress, with the imperial edict issued, Rong Luoge was the Empress, nailed down and sealed tight!

"The Empress is truly understanding." Song Huihe gritted her teeth and could only squeeze out this one sentence. If made to praise her one more word, she would have turned on her heel and walked away.

Hearing Song Huihe's words, Xu Shuyuan immediately chimed in, praising the Empress as a paragon of supreme virtue and perfection.

Song Huihe: …

Why did you have to run your mouth!

Not only was Rong Luoge shameless, Xu Shuyuan was now every bit her equal. Truly birds of a feather, utterly despicable!

Xu Shuyuan entered Yurui Palace and looked at Song Huihe, saying, "Has Lady Zhenshen come for some particular matter today? Perhaps you should go first?"

Song Huihe gave Xu Shuyuan a deep look and said with a cold expression, "Since Xu Shuyuan is acting on the Empress's command, naturally you should go first."

Xu Shuyuan smiled. "Then I shall respectfully comply."

Song Huihe: …

Xu Shuyuan looked at the candidates, now all gathered together, and addressed them: "The Empress Dowager labored tirelessly over palace affairs until she overexerted herself and fainted. The Empress was deeply worried and, the moment her confinement ended, took over all matters of the draft selection single-handedly. There is no need for concern, everyone. The Empress Dowager has already been examined by an Imperial Physician, and she will recover with proper rest. As for the specifics of the draft selection, the Empress says everything shall proceed according to the Empress Dowager's wishes. Please do not worry."

Not to mention Song Huihe, even the group of candidates was stunned for a moment. They had assumed that once the Empress took over, she would surely make changes—at the very least, weeding out those who posed a threat.

Yet the Empress was continuing according to the Empress Dowager's edict?

This…

The crowd looked at one another. The cluster of flower-beautiful candidates didn't know what to say and could only bow in unison and accept the decree.

It was very strange, wasn't it?

Su Ying then stepped forward through the crowd and looked at Xu Shuyuan, speaking with a face full of worry, "Lady Shuyuan, I wish to visit the Empress Dowager. I wonder if I might be permitted? I am truly worried about the Empress Dowager's health. I beg Lady Shuyuan to grant this."

Xu Shuyuan thought to herself that the Empress had predicted things perfectly—Su Ying was indeed going to do this. She immediately said, "Before I came, the Empress specifically instructed me that if Miss Su had any concerns about the Empress Dowager's health, she was naturally welcome to visit. Family affection is a great virtue. Miss Su is the Empress Dowager's own niece—it is only right."

Su Ying thanked her with a face full of gratitude, but in her heart she felt a sense of foreboding. Things seemed to be going too smoothly.

Something seemed off, but she couldn't put her finger on it.

"Miss Su, please wait a moment. I shall go with you shortly." Xu Shuyuan smiled, then turned to everyone else. "If there is nothing else, you are all dismissed. Rest today, and we shall continue tomorrow."

Fu Shuangshu and Kang Hualu exchanged a glance. Both their expressions were less than favorable. After Xu Shuyuan left with Su Ying, the two dared not linger and immediately returned to their rooms to avoid trouble.

After closing the hall door, the two exchanged a look, and Kang Hualu spoke first: "What do you think the Empress means by this?"

How could Fu Shuyshu know? She shook her head, then sighed. "You really can't compare one person to another. Who could have imagined that the moment Noble Consort Rong's confinement ended, His Majesty would eagerly make her Empress? Who could have imagined it?"

Indeed, no one had imagined it. The moment the conferment edict was issued, Yurui Palace had erupted into an uproar.

Everyone had eagerly entered the draft selection—wasn't it because the Empress's throne was vacant and everyone had a chance?

Now it was settled. The draft selection hadn't even produced results, and someone was already sitting on the Empress's throne.

Empress Rong had His Majesty's favor, she had a son, and now she was also mistress of the Six Palaces. How could anyone compete with that?

Who could be confident of bringing down the Empress within two or three years?

If they couldn't, then in another three years the palace would hold another draft selection, and a fresh batch of tender young girls would enter the palace. What would become of them then?