When Fu Wu Tian came back, the sun had already set. Steward Zhou did not dare conceal it from him, and immediately told him about what had happened in the daytime. Originally, he thought that the wang ye would be angry, after all, offending the emperor was no small matter. No matter how fond he was of the wang fei, he would not condone this kind of thing. Defying an imperial decree was a huge crime worthy of decapitation. This was what Steward Zhou thought, but wang ye's face did not change one bit.
Translations by Vanilla Muse.
"This matter, this prince does not want anyone else to know, understand?" Fu Wu Tian left this sentence, and then walked past Steward Zhou to head to the study room.
Steward Zhou wiped off his cold sweat and promptly replied, "Understood." Fortunately, he knew that it was a big deal, so he did not go around spreading the news during the day.
–Study Room–
When Fu Wu Tian pushed the door to the study room open and stepped inside, he was greeted with the rare sight of An Zi Ran napping with his head on the table. An Zi Ran's breathing was light and slow, and he did not immediately notice Fu Wu Tian's arrival, until Fu Wu Tian walked over, and then An Zi Ran woke up right away.
An Zi Ran rubbed his face with his hands, wiping away the residual drowsiness. Then he looked towards the new arrival. "When did you get back?"
"Just now."
Fu Wu Tian walked to the front of the desk and looked down at An Zi Ran. One side of the teenager's face was red from lying down on the table, making him seem less indifferent than usual. Fu Wu Tian couldn't help but reach out to touch the youth's cheek. Only after An Zi Ran swatted his hand away did Fu Wu Tian speak. "This prince has already heard about what happened during the day."
An Zi Ran gave an "en" of acknowledgment, but did not react much.
Fu Wu Tian walked around the desk and went behind An Zi Ran. "Don't you want to say something?"
An Zi Ran glanced at him. "Say what? Did I cause trouble for you?"
Fu Wu Tian wrapped a hand around his shoulder. His low laughter sounded in An Zi Ran's ear. Although it was a shallow sound, he could hear it clearly. There was a trace of joy that could not be ignored in the laughter. "Wang fei, this prince is very happy."
An Zi Ran frowned. "Don't misunderstand me."
Fu Wu Tian ignored him and spoke as if to himself, "You helped this prince push away those beauties, which proves that your heart holds this prince."
"I said you're misunderstanding me." An Zi Ran pushed him away, and there seemed to be a lot of anger in the crease between his brows. "If you have time to think about such things, then you should be thinking about what to do with the trouble that will follow. It's very hard for the emperor to get a hold of an opportunity to make things difficult for you, he definitely will not give up."
Fu Wu Tian said, "Since you knew it would be very troublesome, then why did you defy the imperial decree?"
An Zi Ran knew that the other man was testing him, and said coldly, "Could it be that you want me to live the rest of my days inside a bunch of women's vinegar* jar? Sorry, I am a man, I'm not interested in fighting a bunch of women for a man's affection and eating vinegar* all day."
[*T/N: vinegar = jealousy]
"You know that that is not this prince's meaning."
When he walked around the desk, Fu Wu Tian quickly caught him by the waist. The youth was starting to get taller, but there was less and less meat on his body. Before, it was still possible to see a bit of fat on the youth, but not anymore. The meat on his body seemed to be evenly distributed throughout in various places. His features were maturing and becoming more beautiful and handsome. He fondled him admiringly.
An Zi Ran couldn't pry the man's arm open, so he gave up. "I'm talking to you about a serious matter right now."
Fu Wu Tian bowed his head to take in the other's scent. "This prince knows. You don't have to worry about this matter. There will naturally be someone to solve the problem for this prince."
"Really?" An Zi Ran suddenly looked up at him. He knew that the other could not lie, but he was still surprised.
"Of course," Fu Wu Tian nodded confidently.
An Zi Ran asked curiously, "How could that be?"
Fu Wu Tian leaned towards his ear and whispered, "Oh, this matter is directly related to the previous emperor… The rights that he gave this prince wasn't just that…"
After listening to his explanation, An Zi Ran was silent for a while. He looked at him suspiciously. "You are actually the previous emperor's illegitimate child, am I right?"
Xiao Le Zi was extremely excited to report the news of An Zi Ran defying the imperial decree to the emperor. He was Eunuch Wang Ping's favorite person, so he more or less knew a little about what's going on in the mind of the Chong Ming Emperor.
"Fu wang fei is really defying an imperial decree?"
After listening to the news, the emperor's muddy gaze abruptly became concentrated, unexpectedly leaking out a bit of repressed vigor. It was very rare to see such an expression on the lascivious emperor who always indulged in his harem.
Xiao Le Zi became more and more certain that the jun wang was a thorn in the emperor's side. Suppressing the joy on his face, he nodded his head. "This servant repeatedly stressed that it was the emperor's will, but Fu wang fei still insisted that this servant and the beauties leave. Fu wang fei clearly does not put the emperor in his eyes."
"Ha!"
The sudden loud sound scared the eunuch so much that he jumped. He cautiously looke dup and saw a serious and fierce expression on the emperor's face. Scared, he lowered his head again.
Wang Ping turned around and said, "Rest your anger, Your Majesty. Fu wang fei hasn't married into the Fu Palace for more than a year, but he dares to be so bold. He must not be condoned. Your Majesty can arrest Fu wang fei on the basis of defying an imperial decree."
The emperor's face immediately eased. "You are right. Fu wang fei dares to look down on the throne. If I* can't bring him to heel, then what kind of emperor would I be? In the future, how would I be able to convince the masses? Wang Ping, immediately send out my orders, bring a team of guards with you to the Imperial Fu Palace for an arrest. If anyone dares to resist, arrest them too regardless of their identity."
[*T/N: When the emperor says "I" he is using the imperial "I" 朕 zhen]
Since he couldn't bring Fu Wu Tian under control, then let's make a move on his wang fei.
"This servant obeys."
Wang Ping immediately responded. Just as he was about to excuse himself, a bodyguard suddenly came in.
"Your Majesty, the Empress Dowager's servant girl, Bao Zhu, is asking for an audience."
The emperor frowned. "Send in!"
Receiving permission, the servant girl quickly hurried in and knelt down. "This servant greets Your Majesty."
The emperor said, "For what matter did the Empress Dowager send you?"
Bao Zhu replied, "Replying to Your Majesty, the Empress Dowager invites you to Ci Ming Palace for a visit."
The Empress Dowager was his biological grandmother after all, so no matter how unwilling he was, he still had to go for a visit. He couldn't have his own grandmother come over. In the end, the emperor still felt that he should go have a look. In the past, the Empress Dowager rarely called for him, but now she sent a servant girl over to request his presence, so it was not a trivial matter.
–Ci Ming Palace–
The emperor paid his respects to the imperious Empress Dowager, who was sitting upon a luxurious couch. He spoke candidly, "Don't know what Grandmother asked her grandson* to come over for?"
[*T/N: When talking to the Empress Dowager, the emperor refers to himself as "grandson" to show respect. He slips into the imperial "I" with her when he loses his temper.]
The Empress Dowager took the arm of her servant girl, Bao Zhu, and walked slowly down from the raised dais. She was over eighty years old, but she was well maintained and her face was ruddy. It looked like she was only in her sixties or seventies. She did not have a cold aura that pushed others away, but rather appeared to be very harmonious.
"Emperor, I heard that you were going to gift a few talented ladies to the jun wang, is this really true?"