They've all separated, so what does it matter to me if they get poorer and poorer?

Chapter 479 The Empress Dowager and Her Son
These words were comforting, and Lady Rong'an felt somewhat relieved upon hearing them.

She smiled and nodded: "Of course! She's worked in a brothel, who knows how dirty she is. What kind of family are we? How could we possibly accept her? Wouldn't that be shameful enough?"

Consort Xue was relieved, but then sneered angrily: "Since Father and Mother disagree, she's holding a grudge and seeking revenge? She's clever enough not to target you and Father, so she's targeting Aunt's family instead? Hmph! Does she think she can force our family to bow down to her like this? Dream on!"

Lady Rong'an: "Who says otherwise!"

Consort Xue added, “Mother, don’t worry, I will not let her be so arrogant. I will take care of this matter! Not only will my aunt be fine, but my cousin will also be safe.”

Originally, she was going to weigh whether or not to get involved, but now, even if it was just to put Xu Zhichun in a better position, she had to get involved.

She wanted to show her that the Rong'an Marquis's Mansion was not something she could scheme against so easily. She wanted to make her face reality. Did she really think she could fight against the Rong'an Marquis's Mansion? How presumptuous of her!
Lady Rong'an was overjoyed, "Thank you, Your Highness! This...this won't have any negative impact on Your Highness, will it?"

"Don't worry, the Empress Dowager is here."

Why not just ask the Empress Dowager for help?
Lady Rong'an was completely relieved.

As soon as her mother left, Consort Xue went to pay her respects to the Empress Dowager and took the opportunity to cry and beg for her help.

The Empress Dowager doted on her youngest son, Prince Yuchang, and wished he could rule the world. However, his rebellion failed, and his entire family committed suicide.

The Empress Dowager almost fell seriously ill. The reason she was still holding on was because Prince Yuchang sent his assassins to risk their lives to deliver his five-year-old son to her.

Now, the child nicknamed Yulang is personally taken in by the Empress Dowager and lives with her in the Cining Palace, sharing meals and lodging.

The emperor was furious about this, but the empress dowager threatened to kill herself, so he had no choice but to give up.

Fortunately, the child was only five years old and couldn't do anything. It was better to raise him in the palace than to raise him outside.

Although it was truly irritating.

The Empress Dowager seems to spend her days chanting Buddhist scriptures and doesn't care about anything else, but who knows what she's really up to?

At least, she knew perfectly well that Consort Xue was not her savior at all. She just happened to need a concubine of high birth in the palace who was tied to her, and Consort Xue was just right, so she went with the flow.

Although Consort Xue was of good birth, beautiful, and quite intelligent, the Emperor was lukewarm towards her even after she had been in the palace for so long. His heart was still with the Empress.

The Empress Dowager watched coldly, it was hard to say whether she was disappointed in Consort Xue.

But she wasn't in a hurry. Her beloved Yulang was still young, and she had to raise him to adulthood, so everything had to be done slowly. Most importantly, she wanted to live to be a hundred years old, and her health had to be excellent; she couldn't afford to get sick.
Consort Xue played the victim and begged the Empress Dowager to save her aunt and cousin. The Empress Dowager was initially reluctant to get involved, but when she heard that the other party was the wife of Marquis Wuxuan, she had a change of heart and agreed to the matter.

She hated Marquis Wuxuan, Xie Feng, and others intensely. If it weren't for them, her beloved child wouldn't have died so tragically.

They drove her youngest son to his death, yet the emperor refused to punish them, instead bestowing upon them high-ranking positions and generous rewards. Why?
Even if his son rebels, so what? He, like the emperor, is a descendant of the late emperor. This empire should rightfully belong to him; if the emperor sits on the throne, so should he. It's just that he's unlucky and can't compete with the emperor.

Even if he rebels, it's just to take back what originally belonged to him; it's just a conflict between him and the emperor.

How big of a deal is this?

The emperor defeated him and taught him a lesson. Why did he have to take his life? Why did he have to order his men to take his life?

She hated it so much!
She wished Xie Feng and Marquis Wuxuan were dead, but even this small request was refused by that unfilial son of the emperor.

Now that Consort Xue had presented her with an opportunity to teach Marquis Wuxuan a lesson, she naturally wouldn't let it pass. The Empress Dowager couldn't even wait until tomorrow; she ordered someone to invite the Emperor over that very day.

The Empress Dowager requested the Emperor to issue an edict pardoning Consort Xue's aunt and cousin.

"They are relatives after all, and it's not a big deal. Why make such a fuss? The Prefect of Shuntian Prefecture is too foolish and inflexible in handling the case. Consort Xue is a timid child and was so scared that she cried in front of me. I felt really sorry for her. Your Majesty, please send someone to tell the Prefect of Shuntian Prefecture to let it go."

"While a country has its laws and a family has its rules, people also need to have humanity, don't you think? Besides, it was just a street fight, and in the end, no real fight broke out, but it caused a huge commotion, leading to someone's exile. That's enough. As for Aunt Bai, a woman's only hope is her only son. She felt sorry for her son suffering and acted impulsively. She should just admit her mistake and correct it. After all, nothing serious happened, so there's no need to hold onto it so tightly."

"One should be lenient when possible."

The emperor was silent.

Hearing the Empress Dowager's words gave him a strange feeling; he couldn't quite put his finger on it, but it was just odd.

The Empress Dowager seemed to be subtly hinting at something and using the opportunity to give a warning.

It's no wonder he was overly sensitive; the Empress Dowager was just that kind of person.

At least for him.

Seeing that the Emperor remained silent, the Empress Dowager's tone hardened: "Is this all the Emperor is going to do to me? Consort Xue is also a member of the royal family. If the Rong'an Marquis's residence loses face, and Consort Xue looks bad, does that mean the royal family will look good? Why do you always have to take it out on your own people!"

The Empress Dowager spoke these words with an unconscious hint of resentment. Upon hearing them, she felt both angry and regretful.

The air stagnated.

The emperor silently mocked in his heart.

"One of us"? What does "one of us" mean? Being one of us is mutual, not one party having to make endless concessions to the other.

"The Empress Dowager hasn't told me yet which family is involved in this conflict with the Rong'an Marquis's relatives."

It certainly wasn't a commoner's family, otherwise the Rong'an Marquis's family would have already bullied others by virtue of their power, so why would they have to complain to Consort Xue and have the Empress Dowager plead for them?

The Emperor was quite curious: whose family was so powerful?

The Empress Dowager said vaguely, "Consort Xue didn't tell me, but that's not a big deal. No matter whose family it is, they shouldn't be so ruthless. Even if we don't look at the Rong'an Marquis's family, we should look at Consort Xue and the royal family."

The Emperor said, “In that case, I will remember this matter and will have someone investigate what happened.”

"Does Your Majesty not trust me?"

"I must get to the bottom of this."

"No matter what I say, His Majesty still doesn't believe me!"

"Even the Empress Dowager doesn't know either. What's wrong with me finding out? If I issue an edict without understanding the situation, wouldn't I become a foolish ruler?"

The Empress Dowager was furious. "The Emperor is right. He is truly a good Emperor. I remember now, it's the Marquis of Wuxuan's residence."

"Now that His Majesty knows, can he issue a decree?"