Li Yuanjing was taken aback and answered without thinking, "Of course I love your mother."
Li Chengtai didn’t understand and puffed up his cheeks in frustration. "Sister Le You is afraid of mice, so Grandmother sent Nanny Qian to fetch two cats. The cats ate all the mice inside and outside Cining Palace. But when someone harms Mother, you don’t even punish the villain!"
Li Yuanjing let out a long sigh.
He crouched down to meet his son’s gaze at eye level. "Eradicating mice is easy," he said. "Eradicating human threats is far harder."
Li Chengtai fell silent.
Li Yuanjing patted his son’s head and spoke earnestly. "Imagine you own a vast grassland where a few old oxen graze. These oxen are strong and greedy—they monopolize the richest patches of grass, leaving the younger calves with nothing to eat."
Li Chengtai looked up in confusion. "Then just drive the old oxen away or kill them! That way, the young calves will have grass."
Li Yuanjing shook his head. "The old oxen are powerful and united. If you kill one, the others will band together against you. The young calves are still too weak to help you."
Li Chengtai frowned, his little hands tightening around the palace lantern he held.
Li Yuanjing continued, his voice grave. "So, you must slowly reduce the old oxen’s share of grass and distribute it to the young calves who support you. You must also pit the old oxen against each other until they weaken each other—then strike the final blow. Force them to surrender the grassland, bit by bit."
The Great Qing Kingdom was that grassland, and families like the Xie, Lu, and Tantai were the old oxen. Eliminating them would not happen overnight.
Still too young to fully grasp his father’s words, Li Chengtai muttered sullenly, "I don’t care about old oxen or young calves. I only know you let Mother suffer."
Li Yuanjing patted his son’s small shoulder and sighed. "The stability of the court and the nation comes first. Your mother’s heart is filled with me, but mine is filled with the world."
Of course, Shen Wei held a place in his heart.
But he was, above all, the emperor of Great Qing, responsible for the welfare of his people. He could not risk upheaval in the court for Shen Wei’s sake.
In five years at most, he would uproot the great families and ensure Shen Wei and their children would never suffer again.
Li Chengtai shot his father a resentful glance and grumbled, "Father always makes Mother suffer. Hmph, maybe one day she’ll stop loving you."
Li Yuanjing flicked the boy’s forehead lightly. "Nonsense."
His Weiwei’s heart belonged to him alone—steadfast, unwavering, for all their lives.
The night had grown late, the air turning cool. After a while, Li Yuanjing sent his son back to Cining Palace with an elderly nursemaid and headed toward Yongning Palace.
Under Yongning Palace’s eaves, colorful lanterns glowed brightly.
When Li Yuanjing entered the inner chamber, Shen Wei was reclining on a gilded chaise lounge, reading by lamplight.
The window was open, and the scent of mosquito-repelling mugwort wafted in from the courtyard. Shen Wei wore a pale silk nightgown, her raven hair cascading softly over her shoulders. The candlelight cast a gentle halo around her, illuminating her delicate profile and slender fingers. She looked serene, radiant.
Li Yuanjing was captivated.
He remembered the days in Prince Yan’s Mansion, when Shen Wei could barely write, let alone read poetry. Under his patient guidance, she had mastered calligraphy and devoured histories and classics.
Knowledge refined her spirit, lending her an elegant grace.
Li Yuanjing was pleased.
Loving someone was like nurturing a flower—Shen Wei was the peony he had tenderly cultivated, blooming with his devotion.
Hearing his approach, Shen Wei set down her book and beamed. "Your Majesty, you’ve returned!"
Her voice was like a spring breeze, lively and sweet. Among all the imperial consorts, hers was the most vibrant.
The corner of Li Yuanjing’s lips lifted. How could someone so devoted ever change?
He pulled her into his arms as usual. "Did you drink the antidote?"
Shen Wei nodded, smiling. "I take it every day. My appetite has improved—I ate two full bowls of red rice at noon."
Seeing her rosy cheeks, Li Yuanjing felt at ease.
The book on the table was an old volume titled History of Qing. He flipped through a few pages. "Are you interested in Qing’s history now?"
Shen Wei chuckled. "It was hot today, so the maids aired out the books from the storeroom. I picked this one up on a whim."
Li Yuanjing held her close, his voice low and rough as he recounted, "Over a century ago, the noble families of the fallen Zhao Kingdom amassed power—hoarding land, monopolizing culture and court positions. The saying went, ‘High ranks for nobles, low ranks for commoners.’ Even the emperor had to bow to their whims."
Shen Wei listened quietly, nestled against him.
"Then our ancestor, Li Chao, rose in rebellion. He took the noble families’ genealogies and slaughtered them all—hundreds of clans, until the streets ran red with their blood. The Great Qing Kingdom was built upon their bones."
Shen Wei knew this history.
The founding emperor of Qing had been ruthless. He despised the oppressive noble families and chose the simplest solution: execution.
Name by name, he purged every family of rank.
Rivers of blood had flowed.
Li Yuanjing sighed. "But noble families can never be fully eradicated. The descendants of those who helped our ancestor have, over a century, become new noble houses. As emperor, I cannot let history repeat. I must uproot them—carefully."
Shen Wei squeezed his hand gently. "Your Majesty has endured much."
Li Yuanjing turned to her. "The empress had the imperial physician poison you. I cannot move against her yet. Weiwei, do you resent me?"
Shen Wei shook her head, her smile tender. "You are the ruler of a nation. The greater good must come first. My suffering is nothing, so long as I can remain by your side and see you every day."
She knew Li Yuanjing was weakening the noble families.
She supported it wholeheartedly.
To suppress the nobles, he would elevate commoners—entrusting key positions to them. The Shen family would rise with this tide.
Only with her family’s power could she stand firm. If Li Yuanjing ever turned against her, she would have the means to resist.
Li Yuanjing exhaled deeply and embraced her tightly. "With you, what more could I ask for?"
His Weiwei was always so understanding, enduring hardship for his sake.
The more she endured, the more his guilt grew—and the more he longed to compensate her.
He murmured, "Tomorrow, after I deal with the Tantai family, I will have you oversee the imperial harem in the empress’s stead. Would you like that?"
His duties were endless; he could not watch over the harem constantly.
Granting Shen Wei authority would allow her to protect herself.
To his surprise, Shen Wei’s pink lips pursed, and she shook her head. "Managing the harem sounds exhausting. I’d rather tend to you, care for our children, and honor the dowager empress."
In truth, Shen Wei yearned to seize control of the harem, to wield its power—and to open lucrative trade routes under the imperial banner.
Yet she still had to put on a modest refusal, showcasing her virtuous and humble nature.
Li Yuanjing said, "Be obedient."
Had it been any other imperial consort, they would have been overjoyed upon learning they were to manage the imperial harem, eagerly expressing their gratitude. But Shen Wei alone found the responsibility troublesome—truly one of a kind.
This also proved, in a way, that Shen Wei genuinely cared for the Emperor, lacking the ambition of someone like Noble Consort Shu. Li Yuanjing was quite pleased.
The more his Weiwei resisted, the more determined he was to place this duty in her hands.
Shen Wei quickly glanced at Li Yuanjing, their eyes locking in a silent standoff. Finally, as if conceding defeat, she sighed and nodded reluctantly. "If Your Majesty insists, then this humble consort has no choice but to obey... But if I perform poorly, please do not hold it against me."
