Free Web NovelChapter 237: Chapter 237: He Is the Emperor; He Can Pamper You, but He Will Not Love You
Wei Ting stopped in his tracks at the sound.
Madam Wei’s cane struck the ground with a thud.
In a powerful voice, she said, "Are you going to see Princess Wei now? Have you looked at the time? It’s the middle of the night!"
Wei Ting glanced at the moon hanging in the sky.
He replied nonchalantly, "Young people still have energy at this hour. Grandmother, you should get some rest."
A servant boy at the door respectfully relayed a message, "Princess Wei has already retired for the night. She said she will return to the palace tomorrow after lunch."
Wei Ting drew out a long "Ohhh," then said, "Then I’ll go see her tomorrow."
Only after watching her troublesome grandson return to his own room did Madam Wei finally go to rest.
Once inside, Wei Ting dismissed the servants.
When he looked up again, his eyes held not a trace of drunken haze.
His mind perfectly clear, he sat down and gazed at the thousand-year-old orchid in his hand, fiddling with its petals with his finger.
He then plucked a single blossom and placed it back in the brocade box filled with old keepsakes.
「The next morning.」
Wei Liru accompanied Madam Wei for breakfast. The grandmother and granddaughter didn’t speak much; their polite interactions were tinged with a cold and distant air.
Just as they were finishing, Wei Ting finally sauntered in.
Wei Ting’s face showed the fatigue of a hangover. Even if he hadn’t actually been dead drunk last night, the Emperor had truly forced a lot of wine on him, making a headache the next day unavoidable.
He plopped down carelessly, earning a glare from his grandmother.
Madam Wei asked, "Why didn’t you attend the morning court session today?"
Wei Liru put down her soup bowl and added, "Grandmother, don’t be angry. You can tell from Brother’s face that he isn’t feeling well."
Madam Wei’s tone toward her was much gentler.
"Your Highness, you may not know this, but last night Wei Ting got dead drunk in a drinking contest with the Holy Emperor."
Today, there had been no news of Emperor Wu Su canceling the morning court.
The Emperor himself attended the morning session on time, yet Wei Ting had taken leave to hide in the manor, which was bound to attract baseless criticism again.
Although Madam Wei’s tone was severe, she still instructed Nanny Cao to set out a bowl and chopsticks for him and had the kitchen prepare a few more of his favorite breakfast dishes.
Wei Liru asked expectantly, "The Emperor was drinking last night? Did he and Brother have a pleasant conversation?"
Seeing Madam Wei’s sour expression, Wei Ting remained silent.
The corners of Wei Liru’s mouth turned down as well.
Ever since she learned that Wei Ting had offended the Emperor and been demoted, she had been looking for a chance to return home. Princess Qingyun’s wedding provided the perfect opportunity, so she begged the Empress Dowager for permission to visit her family.
Fortunately, the Empress Dowager was in a good mood due to the happy occasion and granted her a day and a half to be home as a special favor.
Now, not only had the political winds of the court shifted, but she too was feeling the repercussions in the rear palace.
The palace servants were experts at seeing which way the wind blew, and there were already many she could no longer command.
Wei Liru sighed. "Brother, did you defy the Emperor again? How could you be so foolish?"
Wei Ting heard no concern in her voice, only blame.
He finished the half bowl of soup his grandmother had served him before saying, "It’s not that I intentionally defied him. The Emperor’s moods are fickle and change in an instant. How am I supposed to keep up?"
Wei Liru put down her bowl and chopsticks, having lost her appetite.
She said anxiously, "An emperor’s wrath and his favor are both graces from the throne. Brother, you are his subject. You should obey him."
Wei Ting picked up some rice noodles with his chopsticks, placed them in his bowl, and glanced at her.
"The Emperor wants my military authority. Tell me, should I give it to him or not?"
Wei Liru was too shocked to speak.
’So the Emperor wanted my brother’s military authority. If he didn’t want to give it up, his only choice was to resist. The result of that struggle was Wei Ting losing his position as General Zhenbei, now demoted to Commander of the Vanguard Camp. But if he had given it up, regardless of what happened to the Wei Family, my own future in the rear palace would have come to a standstill. I might have even faced bullying later on.’
After the brother and sister finished their meal in silence, Madam Wei went to pray to Buddha, and the two of them left the courtyard.
When they reached a pavilion, Wei Liru had her maid, Bita, wait at a distance.
With no one else around, Wei Liru asked nervously, "About the military authority... what are your thoughts, Brother?"
Wei Ting replied meaningfully, "I’m more interested in hearing your thoughts."
Wei Liru paused, not mentioning the military authority.
Instead, she asked, "Is the matter between you and Ji Qingwu true? I don’t recall you ever mentioning it in your letters home. Were you two really together in the Northern Border Army?"
Wei Ting gazed at her. "You’re very concerned about this?"
Wei Liru said, "I mentioned to you last time that the Emperor treats that Ji Wu in a special way. At first, I thought she was a relative of the Empress Dowager and that the Emperor wouldn’t let the Ji Family become too powerful. As long as she didn’t enter the palace, she posed no threat to me."
"But I heard from the Empress Dowager that one day, Ji Qingwu stayed in the Emperor’s Diligent Governance Hall for a long time before she came out."
Wei Liru continued, "It was the same day you and Prince Yong were kneeling outside the hall as punishment."
For a moment, Wei Ting’s body went stiff.
Wei Liru watched his expression, wondering just how much Ji Qingwu meant to her brother.
"Brother, if you want the military authority, you absolutely cannot think of marrying Ji Wu anymore."
’So Ji Qingwu really was inside that day. And here I thought I’d mistaken the back of that figure dressed as a palace maid.’
The number of women who could enter the Diligent Governance Hall could be counted on one hand.
From Phoenix Palace, only the Empress Dowager and Princess Consort Wei had ever entered, and even then, only briefly for official business.
But Ji Qingwu could stay for hours at a time.
Regardless of the Emperor’s intentions or whether he planned to take her into his harem, Ji Qingwu was the Emperor’s woman. He could no longer touch her.
Military authority and her—these two were Emperor Wu Su’s "reverse scale"; touching them meant inviting his wrath.
If Wei Ting, in his greed, tried to have both, he would be doomed beyond redemption.
Wei Liru turned her head to the side, looking at Wei Ting’s tense jawline.
’If Brother offered his military authority in exchange, perhaps the Emperor would agree to his previous marriage proposal.’
Wei Liru asked, feigning indifference, "What do you want more, Brother? Whatever you desire, I can accept it."
Wei Ting turned to look her in the eye and said directly, "And what if I said I want the military authority more?"
The moment he spoke, a deep sense of disappointment flashed in Wei Liru’s eyes.
The early morning sun wasn’t intense, and it felt warm on the skin, but Wei Liru felt a chill run through her entire body.
Wei Liru’s little act was completely transparent to Wei Ting.
"Liru, after all these years in the palace, you still haven’t learned to hide your true feelings."
In the sunlight, Wei Liru’s face was so pale it was almost translucent.
She admitted honestly, "I don’t want Ji Qingwu to enter the palace."
"It’s just that before she appeared, I was the most special one to the Emperor in the rear palace. Even without..."
Wei Liru lowered her head. "The Emperor used to visit me in Guanju Palace every month. But now, it’s difficult for me to even see him."
Wei Liru had a proud nature; when had she ever looked so desolate?
Wei Ting sighed. "Liru, I told you long ago, he is the Emperor. He can dote on you, but he will never love you. You were stubborn and insisted on entering the palace, thinking you would be the exception. But look at you now."
