Chapter 90: The Emperor Decides

Xitan Courtyard.

Even though Wan Tang was pregnant, Chu Yunzheng still rested here.

The candle flame flickered, and as Chu Yunzheng held his brush reviewing the memorial, he suddenly felt his sleeve tighten.

Looking down, he saw Wan Tang leaning by the desk, her slender fingers tugging his sleeve corner lightly, like a begging cat.

"Emperor," her voice stretched soft, "I am weary."

The vermilion brush hovered in midair, Chu Yunzheng raised an eyebrow: "I recall someone just now said they wanted to read the Classic of Mountains and Seas."

"My eyes hurt," she said confidently, thrusting her icy fingertips into his palm, "It will only get better if the Emperor warms them."

Snap! the memorial shut.

Chu Yunzheng suddenly wrapped his arms around her waist, and amid gasps lifted her onto his knees.

The scent of dragon's saliva mingled with the pear blossom fragrance in her hair, lingering at his nose; he pinched her chin lightly and said, "Delicate."

Wan Tang seized the chance to loop her arms around his neck, her fingertips twirling his fallen hair: "Will the Emperor punish me?"

Chu Yunzheng suddenly lowered his head and bit her earlobe: "Punish you—tonight you'll add fragrance to my red sleeves."

【Tangtang looks splendid, but still many times feels that the scummy dragon and Tangtang are giving me a look.】

【Can you be awake? The countdown to the snow disaster is only two days away; will the scummy dragon you speak of still protect Wan Tang at all costs?】

【Yes, when the snow disaster arrives, it's not only a major event of the Former Dynasty, but also a major event of the Imperial harem. If expenses are cut, can Wan Tang still fare well?】

【Whenever a matter requires a large amount of silver to resolve, the ones who suffer are the heads of households.】

The cold wind swirled snowflakes that pounded the window lattice, producing a delicate rustle.

Li Ping'er stood in Langxia, watching the snow fall heavier, her brows involuntarily knitting: "This snow keeps falling endlessly, truly makes one feel stifled inside."

Wan Tang pulled her fox fur tighter, but her gaze fell on the two young palace maids in the courtyard.

They were laughing as they built a snowman, their frozen, reddened little hands scooping the packed snow, their laughter crisp and pleasant.

In a daze, she seemed to see herself ten years ago.

The snow that winter was heavier than now.

Thirteen-year-old Wan Tang lived in the drafty Side Hall, adding the last piece of coal into the coal basin.

Xu Luoyan was arrogant and overbearing; the family's influence was still less than today, and she hadn't even been able to see the Emperor.

The most detestable thing was that she was accustomed to spending lavishly, and after winter came, she was penniless.

Xu Luoyan, wrapped in a brocade blanket, was still shivering: "Freezing to death! You useless thing, you can't even bring coal!"

"Miss, endure a bit longer," Wan Tang took off her own cotton jacket and draped it over her, "I (serving woman) will go to the Imperial Household Department and plead again."

She knelt in the snow for a full two hours, her knees numb, and finally obtained half a basket of damp, inferior coal.

When she returned, she saw Xu Luoyan kicking apart the little snowman she had built: "Ugly to death!"

Seeing her return, she grabbed a snowball and smashed it onto her face, "Dragging around, trying to freeze me to death?"

But the next day, Xu Luoyan again pulled her to build a new snowman in the courtyard.

That day, Xu Luoyan smiled rarely, shoving her frozen hand into her embrace: "Warm me up!"

The snow then, landing on the face, seemed not so cold.

When did it start to change?

Wan Tang clearly remembered that it was the day Wang Jingyi's gold-embossed family letter was delivered to the palace.

Xu Chengyuan quelled the vassal king's rebellion, and the Xu Family regained imperial favor.

After reading the letter, Xu Luoyan turned and slapped her: "Lowly brat! Who gave you permission to touch my jewelry!"

"I want to vie for favor; find me a way so I can spend a night with the Emperor."

"Your Highness?" Li Ping'er's call pulled her back to reality.

A gray pigeon fluttered and landed on the eaves.

The young eunuch tiptoed, caught the pigeon, and retrieved the Secret Letter from its leg.

Wan Tang unfolded it, and a faint smile curled her lips.

"Supplies are ready; when will the silver be allocated?"

Silver?

She chuckled lightly: "Open the storeroom. Apart from court officials, all congratulatory gifts from others are to be accepted and recorded meticulously."

Xiao Shunzi was so anxious she kept rubbing her hands: "Your Highness, if this gets entered into the register..."

Wan Tang said evenly: "Let them have it!"

"It doesn't matter."

Kunning Palace's Jiangjin Xianglu exhaled a heavy water fragrance, Xiao Mingshu's hand holding the brush hovered in midair, a drop of ink Snap! fell onto the xuan paper, spreading a blot.

"Your Highness," Bai Wei gently said, cradling a tea cup, "The gifts collected at Xitan Courtyard these two days are almost piled beyond capacity."

The wolf-hair brush Clack! rested on the jade brush stand.

The Empress slowly wiped her fingertips with a silk handkerchief, the snow-white silk gradually staining with ink marks: "Absurd."

The snowlight outside the window reflected on half of her face, from furrowed brow to upturned lip in an instant.

She suddenly let out a light laugh: "After all, being an orphan, I can't help but be swayed by gold and silver."

Bai Wei, understanding, leaned in: "Shall we invite the designated women of each department to join the fun?"

"Proceed," Xiao Mingshu turned the page of the sutra, the golden armor scraping the paper with a faint sound, "I, the Empress, want to see whether she has the nerve to accept it."

Incense swirled within the hall, Bai Wei lowered her voice: "Gift-giving among consorts only earns a reputation for greed."

"But if one accepts a designated woman's gift, that is a grave crime of colluding with the Former Dynasty."

Xiao Mingshu suddenly used golden scissors to lift the lampwick, the flame Crackle! leapt higher, casting a dim haze in her eyes, "A wise person knows when to stop."

The Empress tore up the scripture she had just copied.

Snow‑white fragments fluttered down into the charcoal basin, and in an instant turned to ash.

"If she insists on seeking her own death," Xiao Mingshu said, gazing at the rising blue smoke, a cold curve lifting the corner of her mouth, "how could this palace stop her?"

Outside the Xizhan courtyard, the gift‑bearing procession had queued at the corner of the palace road.

Brocade boxes and lacquer trays filled the side hall; the junior eunuchs, clutching the gift list, shuttled back and forth, the rustle of vermilion brushes drawing on the book sounding rustly.

"Your Highness, the Minister of the Ministry of Rites' wife and the Minister of the Ministry of Rites' clerk's wife have arrived."

From outside the hall came the sound of a messenger, and several women in splendid robes entered gracefully.

Their hair ornaments of pearls and jade swayed lightly; their smiles were deferential yet did not reach their eyes. Behind them, a maidess held a gilt box; when opened, it revealed a complete set of jade hairpins, the water‑type jade of excellent quality, instantly indicating a high price.

Xiao Shunzi's face changed slightly, and leaning close to Wan Tang's ear whispered, "Your Highness, these ladies are in‑laws of the Xiao Family; the one dressed in crimson‑purple is the blood sister of Minister Xiao's sister‑in‑law."

Xiao Shunzi's voice was extremely low, audible only to the two of them.

The hall fell silent in an instant, and everyone's gaze quietly shifted toward Wan Tang.

Wan Tang lowered her eyes, sipped her tea, and placed the tea cup gently on the desk, producing a faint sound.

"Accept it," she said, a slight lift at the corner of her mouth, her voice clear and crisp, without any hesitation, "record it in the register, be meticulous."

Xiao Shunzi's eyelids twitched, about to speak but stopped, and saw Wan Tang already smiling as she turned to the ladies: "Ladies, your intentions are noted; this palace is heavy, I cannot sit long. Another day I will invite you for tea."

The ladies' smiles stiffened; evidently they had not expected such decisiveness, and they bowed and took their leave.

When they left, Li Ping'er stamped her foot anxiously, "Your Highness! They are members of the Xiao Family!"

Wan Tang's fingertip brushed over the still‑wet inked names on the gift list, and she laughed lightly, "What are you afraid of?"

She lifted her gaze, a sharp glint in her eyes, "If they dare to give, why should this palace dare not receive?"

Xiao Shunzi worried, "But if it reaches the Former Dynasty…"

"The wider it spreads, the better," Wan Tang looked toward the snow swirling outside the window, her tone light and airy, yet each word was like ice, "I want to see, since it's a gift, the more the better."

A hint of bewilderment showed in Xiao Shunzi's eyes; she felt increasingly unable to read Wan Tang.

【Wan Tang has gone mad! So inflated? Even if she wants money, she wouldn't go this far.】

【Why do I have a feeling that she seems to know that in two days, the snow disaster will arrive?】

【Even so, doesn't she know that when those ladies brought the gifts, they consulted her register and then handed them over immediately?】

【Not to that extent; the Emperor handles myriad affairs, such a small matter likely won't be reviewed until midnight.】

Wan Tang's face bore a smile.

She went herself to the small kitchen to prepare sweet soup.

She sent it over.

When they arrived at Yangxin Hall, the Imperial Kitchen's Nubi were still standing outside, carrying the dishes.

Wan Tang arrived.

Seeing Wan Tang, no one dared to stop her; they could only let her in.

The fragrance of the sweet soup wafted through Yangxin Hall; Chu Yunzheng scooped a spoonful of lotus seeds and laughed, "Why are you cooking yourself today?"

Wan Tang lifted the kettle to add tea for him, a trace of stove ash on her sleeve, "Your Highness, I saw that you have been sleeping lightly these days, so I simmered some soothing soup."

Her gaze swept over the pile of memorials on the dragon desk; she casually returned the scattered vermilion brushes to the edge of the ink slab, "These memorials, even if the Emperor were to review them until the third watch, would not be finished."

Chu Yunzheng grasped her wrist, his fingertip brushing over the red burn mark on her thenar, "Did it burn?"

"No problem," Wan Tang withdrew her hand, straightening the crooked memorials, "But Emperor, even when busy, you must eat."

The candle flame crackled, casting their overlapping silhouettes onto the screen, resembling an ordinary couple.

Chu Yunzheng suddenly said, "Your complexion has been good lately; have the harem affairs been running smoothly?"

"With the Emperor's protection, the sisters treat me very well," Wan Tang pursed her lips and smiled, "The gifts delivered these days are nearly filling up the storeroom."

"Since they've been sent, you just keep them."

Chu Yunzheng stirred the sweet soup, "Those who come to curry favor won't be short of this amount of silver. You have no maternal clan to rely on; keep it as your own money."

Wan Tang's fingers abruptly twisted the sash tight, and she glanced at Li Defu standing in the hall corner, about to speak but hesitated.

"What is it?" Chu Yunzheng set the bowl down.

"I have said before that I am not cut out to be a steward," she said, her voice gradually lowering, "Minor squabbles I can handle, but if a major incident arises, I would be at a loss."

"Speak clearly."

Wan Tang shook her head, her lips turning pale.

Chu Yunzheng waved his hand to dismiss the crowd; once the hall doors closed, he pulled her onto his lap and said, "With no one else present, I am your husband."

"Whatever it is, I have you under my protection; you can speak boldly without worry."

"Between you and me, it is different from ordinary people."

"Since the Emperor has said so, you may not blame me for lacking discernment," Wan Tang said, her hand that clutched his collar trembling slightly.

Seeing Chu Yunzheng nod, Wan Tang finally said, "Several ladies from the Xiao Family brought a set of jade hairpins, worth no less than ten thousand gold."

She lifted her face, waterlight shimmering in her eyes.

"Your Highness, I am genuinely very frightened."

After speaking, she presented a ledger with both hands, "Your Highness, who came, when they came to present gifts, what they said—I have recorded everything in the case."

"I hope the Emperor will review it."

Chu Yunzheng's eyes suddenly deepened, his fingertip brushing her trembling eyelashes, "What are you afraid of?"

"With me here."

Chu Yunzheng, upon hearing this, felt a shock in his heart, yet inevitably a hint of sweetness emerged.

Look.

This stubborn, ox‑like woman has finally been conquered by me.

She still has to rely on me to succeed…