Even the late emperor never apologized to the Empress Dowager!
In history, has there ever been an example of an emperor apologizing to a concubine?
Li Yuanjing couldn’t bring himself to swallow his pride, and Shen Wei, too, refused to take the first step toward reconciliation. He hadn’t expected her to be so stubborn at heart—a revelation that both surprised and intrigued him.
Shen Wei was an inexhaustible treasure, always offering something new, luring him to dig deeper.
"Your servant takes her leave," Shen Wei said, seemingly oblivious to the twists and turns of Li Yuanjing’s thoughts. With perfect propriety, she curtsied and turned to leave, her child in tow.
At the doorway, she suddenly paused and glanced back at Li Yuanjing across the courtyard.
The spring night was bathed in moonlight, clear as water.
Shen Wei seemed to have a thousand words left unspoken, but in the end, she departed in silence, her heart heavy.
Li Yuanjing watched her slender figure retreat, his gaze burning so intensely it might have scorched through her back.
...
Shen Wei returned to Yongning Palace.
Instead of changing her clothes or resting, she first checked the luggage prepared for her trip to Anguo Temple. The Empress Dowager, still unwell and worried about the Zhao Yang Princess far away in the Kingdom of Yue, had asked Shen Wei to visit the temple to offer prayers and incense for the princess’s safe delivery.
She would depart the day after tomorrow.
"My lady, everything is packed. Should we bring imperial guards for protection?" Cai Lian asked.
Shen Wei replied, "We’ll return within a day, traveling on the royal road. There’s no danger."
Cai Lian fretted, "Though Anguo Temple is a royal temple, it’s still not the palace. My lady, wouldn’t it be safer to have guards?"
Shen Wei met her gaze and enunciated each word, "Unnecessary."
Having served Shen Wei for years, Cai Lian had long mastered the art of reading her mistress’s moods. Sensing something unspoken, she nodded firmly. "As you wish, my lady."
...
...
Shen Wei and Li Yuanjing remained locked in their cold war. To the outside world, the once-glorious Noble Consort Chen had fallen from grace.
There are no walls without cracks.
Even the Empress, imprisoned in Kunning Palace, caught wind of the news. At first stunned, she then stumbled back to the prayer hall in a frenzy, lighting incense with trembling hands.
"Blessings of the Bodhisattva! That wretch has finally lost favor—heaven has eyes!" The Empress laughed wildly.
She had always known the emperor’s heart was cold—no woman could hold his affection for long.
The brighter Shen Wei’s glory, the more tragic her downfall would be.
The Shen family would sooner or later be purged, their lineage erased.
The cramped, dim prayer hall echoed with the Empress’s mad laughter. She doubled over, clutching fistfuls of incense ash, tears and mucus streaking her face.
After what felt like an eternity, soft footsteps approached from outside.
The only outsider who ever visited Kunning Palace was her daughter, Li Yao. With spring’s arrival, Li Yao had brought her mother two spring robes, a pair of cotton boots, and a thin quilt.
The sight of the Empress’s deranged state froze Li Yao in fear and sorrow. She stood at the threshold and called softly, "Mother?"
The Empress snapped her head up.
Sunlight seeped into the hall, illuminating her gaunt, skeletal face—her eyes sunken, skin sallow, body emaciated. She lurched forward and seized Li Yao’s hands. "Yao’er, my sweet daughter, our chance has come!"
Li Yao frowned. "Mother, don’t speak nonsense."
The Empress cackled, her pitch-black eyes bulging unnaturally. "That Shen wretch has lost favor! That Lu Xuan wretch is dying! My time has come! The emperor will remember my worth, release me, and restore me to my rightful place as the mistress of the harem—ha ha ha ha!"
Her shrieks were shrill and piercing.
Li Yao barely recognized this raving woman as her mother. She stumbled back. "Mother, stop this!"
But the Empress raved on, "Once I regain power, I’ll slaughter Shen and her bastard child, then elevate the Tantai family. I haven’t lost! I can still rise again!"
Her words grew increasingly unhinged, her face twisting with madness. Li Yao could bear no more.
Wiping her tears, she turned and fled Kunning Palace.
The Empress staggered back to the prayer hall and resumed her fervent chanting. "Bodhisattva, let that Shen wretch die soon—tomorrow, if possible."
Incense smoke coiled thickly around the shrine.
Amid the acrid fumes, the Bodhisattva’s serene face remained unchanged.
...
...
Changxin Palace.
The stench of medicine permeated the bedchamber. Noble Consort Lu Xuan lay weakly on the bed, her face ashen and gaunt.
"Cough—cough—" The medicine she had just swallowed was expelled by violent spasms. Dizzy and faint, she gasped for breath.
Her maid, Qi, hurried over, patting her back and wiping the medicine from her lips.
The Lu family had collapsed—its main lineage imprisoned, the Duke of Lu and others sentenced to execution in autumn. Powerless to stop her family’s ruin, Lu Xuan had wasted away from grief, her health deteriorating daily.
Now bedridden, she had even lost custody of her son, whom Li Yuanjing had entrusted to another concubine. Defeated in every way, she knew her end was near.
She could feel life slipping away. Changxin Palace was her prison, her tomb—she might never see the plum blossoms bloom this year.
"What news from outside?" she whispered hoarsely during a rare moment of clarity.
Qi answered in a hushed voice, "My lady, there is good news. The emperor has ignored Noble Consort Chen for a month. Today, she left the palace for Anguo Temple to burn incense for the Empress Dowager. In my humble opinion, with her favor lost, she clings to the Empress Dowager’s goodwill to preserve her status."
Lu Xuan’s eyes fluttered open.
A low, mirthless chuckle escaped her.
"Noble Consort Chen... cough... is nothing special after all," she rasped.
When Shen Wei had first returned to the palace, she had swiftly eclipsed both the Empress and Lu Xuan with the emperor’s favor, basking in unrivaled glory. Lu Xuan had almost believed the emperor truly loved her.
But now it was clear—Shen Wei was never the exception.
The emperor remained as cold and heartless as ever. The Shen family would simply be the next Lu family.
A bitter smile twisted Lu Xuan’s lips. As she laughed, hot tears spilled into her hair.
...
...
Chang’an Palace.
Having finished reviewing the day’s urgent memorials, Li Yuanjing lifted his gaze to the sky outside—blue and bright, perfect for spring. After sipping his tea, he summoned De Shun.
Without being asked, De Shun volunteered, "Your Majesty, Noble Consort Chen left for Anguo Temple early this morning. With the Zhao Yang Princess nearing her due date in the Kingdom of Yue, the noble consort went at the Empress Dowager’s request to pray for her safe delivery."
Li Yuanjing shot him a look. "When did I ask about Noble Consort Chen?"
De Shun promptly feigned remorse, playfully slapping his own cheek. "Ah, this servant spoke out of turn! How presumptuous of me!"
