Queen Wang stared at the tightly closed door in front of her. A fierce impulse welled up in her heart. She yearned to fling open the door, barge in, and tear the face of that man who only knew how to feign supernatural powers and spread fallacies. She even longed to behead him and expose his corpse in the wilderness to vent her pent - up fury.
"Has His Majesty said when he'll finish the discussion with Lord Cang?" she gritted her teeth and asked.
Eunuch Bao replied, "This... Your servant doesn't know."
"Go and inform His Majesty that I'm just here to send some soup and will leave right after." Queen Wang's tone was extremely firm.
However, Eunuch Bao knelt before Queen Wang and kowtowed, saying,
"Forgive your servant, Your Highness. Even your servant is not allowed to enter the imperial study now. If we were to disturb Lord Cang and cause a mistake in his divination, resulting in the wrong person being chosen and ruining the fortune of the Great Chu, your servant would be a sinner through the ages, Your Highness!"
Queen Wang was so angry that a dull pain surged in her chest.
Knowing that she wouldn't be able to see the emperor today, she took a deep breath and said, "If His Majesty is free, please send someone to inform me in the Palace of Gathered Elegance."
Eunuch Bao could only keep saying "Yes".
Inside the imperial study, hearing the sound of the queen's entourage gradually fading away, the emperor could no longer contain his emotions. Pointing at the closed door, he said to Cang Xuan on the arhat couch,
"Look, look! Even the queen has been alarmed and came with hot soup to 'visit' me!"
"I gave the Yan family three more days, and they're already so impatient. If I order the Yan family to leave the capital for Xuancheng tomorrow, will Yan Huan even dare to lead the capital guards to force me to change my decision?"
The more he spoke, the angrier he became. The emperor slammed the brush washer on the table to the ground, shattering it into pieces.
Cang Xuan glanced at the debris on the ground, took a sip of tea, and said with a smile, "Everyone knows that Your Majesty is a benevolent ruler, open - minded and willing to listen to advice. Naturally, they still hold a glimmer of hope."
The emperor roared angrily, "Even though I'm willing to accept advice, it's all for the sake of the country. Yan Huan has committed the crime of disrespect. If I pardon him today just because of others' pleas, there will be many more 'Yan Huans' following his example tomorrow. Then what's the meaning of my being the emperor?"
Cang Xuan said meaningfully, "Your Majesty, this is just the first day."
Yes, it was already so annoying on the first day. How could he endure the next two days?
For now, he could avoid the hassle by staying with Cang Xuan. But what about after Cang Xuan left?
The emperor stole a glance at Cang Xuan and sighed, "Alas, if only there were a quiet place for me to hide."
After saying that, he stole another look.
Seeing that the man opposite was just lowering his head and studying the divination plate in his hand, the emperor couldn't help but feel a bit anxious.
"Cang Qing, why don't you do a divination for me to see if I can avoid this mess in these three days?"
Cang Xuan replied "Yes" and began to cast a divination for the emperor.
Before Cang Xuan could interpret the divination, the emperor leaned forward and asked, "How is it?"
Cang Xuan said, "Within three days, the dragon (referring to the emperor) is in the north. There is a risk of being slandered."
Didn't this divination mean that he would surely be unlucky because of the Yan family's matter in these three days?
The emperor pressed on, "What does this divination mean?"
Cang Xuan looked up, with a smile on his lips, and said what was on the emperor's mind, "Leaving the palace can solve the problem."
"Then let's do it!" the emperor said immediately. "I'll stay at your mansion for a few days. Just in time, you can also take this opportunity to summon the soul of that woman for me."
"But Your Majesty is the Son of Heaven. It's inappropriate to leave the palace rashly. If anything unexpected happens, there will surely be chaos in the court, and your servant will be hard - pressed to shirk his responsibility." Cang Xuan refused the emperor, looking extremely troubled.
The emperor said, "Cang Qing, you don't need to worry. This is my imperial edict. You're just following the order, and no one can blame you. I can guarantee that no matter what happens after I leave the palace, I'll pardon you from any guilt."
Since the emperor had said so, how could Cang Xuan refuse?
He stood up, bowed to the emperor, and said, "Your servant obeys the order."
...
When Queen Wang returned to the Palace of Gathered Elegance, her mind was still in turmoil. The words of Eunuch Bao, "Lord Cang and His Majesty entered the imperial study and haven't come out since", kept echoing in her ears. Unable to contain her anger any longer, she swept the fruits and pastries on the table to the ground!
The sound of the porcelain shattering echoed throughout the Palace of Gathered Elegance. Chen Fang stepped forward, held the queen's hand, and said with concern,
"Your Highness, take care of your own body. Don't hurt yourself."
Queen Wang looked at her and said hatefully, "Chen Fang, you heard it too. His Majesty is with that scoundrel again! This time, he didn't even bother to see the court officials who were kneeling outside to plead for an audience. Do you think they're doing something shady inside?"
Chen Fang was so frightened that her face turned pale. She said, "Your Highness, why would you think like that? Your servant has never heard that His Majesty has a fondness for men."
Everyone knew that Cang Xuan could freely enter and leave the imperial study.
Both in the court and in the harem, there were countless people jealous of his favor with the emperor.
Everyone thought that Cang Xuan was trusted and favored by the emperor because he had the ability to see into the secrets of heaven. No one had ever thought about the relationship between the emperor and Cang Xuan in that way.
But Queen Wang and Wang Chongling knew better than anyone else that the reason Cang Xuan was favored by the emperor and had risen to the top of the court officials was not because of his stargazing and divination skills, but because of his face and eyes.
Cang Xuan's appearance was extremely similar to someone who should have been long gone from this world.
Over the years, the emperor had respected and loved her, always putting her first. He had also cared about the crown prince and had several imperial heirs with other concubines.
She thought that after all these years, the emperor had already forgotten that person.
But two years ago, when the emperor brought Cang Xuan into the palace from outside, established the Observatory for him, and honored him as the chief minister of the cabinet, Queen Wang realized that the emperor had never forgotten that person.
She had suspected Cang Xuan's identity, but she clearly remembered that when that person "died", there was no child in her womb, and Cang Xuan's age didn't match either.
Even so, it was enough to drive Queen Wang crazy with jealousy.
Because this just proved that in the emperor's heart, that person was still more important!
Even if he was just a substitute with a similar face, and had climbed to such a high position, how could one not be on guard?
Queen Wang said hatefully, "One day, I'll tear that scoundrel into pieces!"
...
On the road in Shengjing City, an unremarkable carriage was slowly moving forward.
Because the style of the carriage was so ordinary, it didn't attract anyone's attention. However, no one knew that inside this carriage were the emperor of the Great Chu and the chief minister of the court.
The emperor had taken off his dragon robe and was wearing a commoner's brown satin shirt. He had also slightly disguised his face, looking completely different from before, just like a wealthy gentleman.
And Cang Xuan had also changed his appearance. His eye - catching looks had become ordinary, and his magnificent eyes had turned dark brown. If thrown into the crowd, people would probably forget his face after just one glance.