tallest building

Chapter 385 Household Confinement

While Grand Tutor Dong was still being buried, the Emperor, citing the Empress's excessive grief, sent many people to the Empress's palace to serve her.

The Dong family was busy with the funeral arrangements and naturally had no time to go to the palace.

The Emperor sent condolence gifts out several times in the Empress's name, and Yu Lu was even sent to deliver them.

Once the Dong family saw that Yu Lu had been released, they had even less to worry about and thus became even more relaxed.

That day, the Empress felt she had recovered a little and wanted to go for a walk.

"The weather has cleared up, I'd like to go for a walk outside," the Empress said.

"Your Majesty, you are currently unwell, and it's cold outside, so it's best if you don't go out." Among the people sent by the Emperor, Zhang Ma was the leader, and he looked at the Empress expressionlessly.

"What? You think you can make decisions for me now?" The Empress's voice was not loud, but it clearly carried a accusatory tone.

“How could this old servant dare to make decisions for Her Majesty the Empress? I was only acting out of concern for Her Majesty’s safety,” Zhang Ma said slowly and deliberately. “Besides, His Majesty has already given instructions beforehand…”

"I am the Empress! Who dares to disobey my words?!" The Empress was enraged when he invoked the Emperor to intimidate her, and she shouted angrily.

"Your Majesty, please calm your anger!" Everyone in the room knelt down at once. "Please take care of your health!"

Seeing the people kneeling all over the ground, the Empress couldn't leave even if she wanted to.

"Very well! Since I cannot leave the palace, then summon Consort Wen to serve me." The Empress said haughtily, "Why hasn't she come to pay her respects these past few days?"

She had no intention of letting Wen Mingqian and his mother off the hook. She had been too heartbroken these past few days and had forgotten about her biggest threat.

However, she was still somewhat naive.

"Your Majesty, Consort Wen has been serving His Majesty these past few days," said Zhang Ma. "Your Majesty, please just give us any instructions you may have."

"Ha! This is outrageous!" the Empress sneered. "Even a lowly servant like you dares to speak to me like that! Guards! Drag him away and have him beaten to death!"

But when she finished her hysterical outburst, she found that no one around her had moved at all. Zhang Ma was still standing there, her old eyes coldly staring at her.

"You...you dog servants all deserve to die!" The Empress was so angry that she grabbed a teacup from the side and threw it away. Zhang Ma turned to the side, and the teacup smashed to pieces on the ground with a crash.

But what good would that do? Zhang Ma simply instructed the maid beside her, "Clean this place up, and don't leave any broken porcelain shards."

The little palace maid obediently followed orders and took a broom to clean the floor.

"I want to see the Emperor! I want to see the Emperor!" The Empress was completely enraged. "I want to ask him face to face! I want to get to the bottom of this!"

“Your Majesty, please calm down. His Majesty is busy with countless affairs of state and has many important matters to attend to. If you cannot share His Majesty’s burdens, you should at least make things easier for yourself,” Zhang Ma reminded her.

"You dog of a servant! How dare you lecture me?! My father has not yet been buried! I want to see my father! I want to mourn for him!" The Empress shouted wildly as if grasping at a straw.

Chunying and the others who had previously served her all lowered their heads, not daring to meet her gaze, because the Emperor had already given the order that everything must be done according to Zhang Ma's wishes.

At this moment, the Empress felt like a trapped beast, confined within the palace.

Nothing could cause her more pain than this; she would have even picked up a knife and started slashing wildly if there had been one nearby.

However, she had no knife at hand, so she could only vent her anger on anything she could get her hands on.

Teacups, vases, and ornaments were all thrown on the ground by her.

Broken and cracked pieces littered the ground. The palace servants dared not stop her, only muttering incessantly, "Your Majesty, please calm down," "Your Majesty, please calm down." To her, this was nothing short of ear-piercing cacophony.

Finally, Zhang Ma spoke up: "Her Majesty the Empress is so distressed by missing the Grand Tutor that she has gone mad. Quickly order the imperial physician to prescribe some calming medicine."

After a while, the medicine was ready. The Empress was exhausted and sat there panting.

Chunying brought the medicine and knelt on the ground, pleading, "Your Majesty, please take the medicine."

"I am not sick!" The Empress angrily knocked over the medicine bowl.

“Go and boil some more.” Zhang Ma remained unmoved.

Another bowl of medicine was quickly brewed, but the Empress once again unceremoniously overturned it. Zhang Ma, however, seemed to be testing her patience, and ordered someone to brew another bowl.

And so, from morning until noon, the Empress spilled dozens of bowls of medicine.

But every time she spilled a bowl, a new bowl would be brought over soon after.

Finally, the Queen was exhausted.

She lay back on the bed without saying a word and, in her extreme exhaustion, fell asleep.

Then she started having nightmares again.

In her dream, Shen Fu, dressed in white, came to her side.

This time, she did not accuse or blame the Empress. She simply looked at the Empress coldly, a mocking smile on her lips.

"You vile woman! You're the root of all this trouble!" The Empress roared in her dream. She lunged at Shen Fu, trying to strangle her, but she only missed.

She then reappeared behind the Empress, still with that same confident and disdainful expression.

The empress scolded her and cursed her, but it was no use.

She simply watched coldly, with a slight smile.

Finally, the Empress awoke from her dream at dusk, the faint scent of plum blossoms still lingering in her nostrils.

At first, I thought it was a lingering feeling from a dream, but then I realized it wasn't; there was indeed a large bunch of early-blooming plum blossoms in the room.

The Empress couldn't remember how many years it had been since she last saw plum blossoms. Since killing Shen Fu, all the plum trees in the palace had been cut down.

She would not allow Shen Fu's favorite flower to appear in the palace again, not wanting the emperor to be reminded of her by its appearance, nor wanting it to disgust her again.

"Where did these plum blossoms come from?" the Empress asked coldly, sitting up. "Throw them out!"

"Your Majesty, this was specially sent by His Majesty. He said that since you cannot leave the palace, enjoying the flowers in your room will surely lift your spirits," said Zhang Ma, who came in from the outer room.

"Ha!" The Empress sneered, "The Emperor wants me to admire plum blossoms? Why would the Emperor want me to admire plum blossoms? Doesn't he know that plum blossoms are what I hate most?"

"Her Majesty the Empress is a little delirious from her illness. You've always loved plum blossoms." Zhang Ma's expression was neither sad nor happy; he knew all too well how to torment the Empress.

"I don't like plum blossoms, did you all hear me? Take this thing out of here! Otherwise I'll smash it!" The omnipresent, cold fragrance of plum blossoms was stimulating every nerve of the Empress, and she felt like she was going crazy.

“Your Majesty, this is a gift from His Majesty. If you dare to destroy it, it would be a great disrespect to the Emperor.” Zhang Ma said with a blank expression, not even wanting the Empress to see his emotions.