Chapter 997

　　Imperial Concubine Shu Attends to the Bedchamber

　　Without a doubt, there was someone attending to the bedchamber. The unimpeachable behavior that the Emperor had maintained for many years for Imperial Concubine Yun’s sake had finally come to an end in a single night.

　　In truth, Feng Yuheng did not find attending to the bedchamber to be something odd. Instead, it was the over-20-year period of inactivity from the Emperor that she found strange. Thinking back to when the Emperor was middle-aged, though he would not have been as vigorous as in his 20s, that was still when men were near their peaks. To have kept to himself for all of those years and not die from holding it in, he could be considered quite fortunate. She had no desire to speculate on how the Emperor got through all of those years. It was just that when she thought a bit about it, he had managed to endure through his younger years. Why was it that when he reached this age, he suddenly picked things back up? Also, of all the people that he chose, why did he choose Imperial Concubine Yuan Shu?

　　That was right, the person currently in Zhao He Hall was Imperial Concubine Yuan Shu. That voice was very easy to distinguish. The Emperor must be exerting all of his strength to have Imperial Concubine Yuan Shu make that sort of a voice. There would occasionally even be some sounds that could not be held back.

　　Normally speaking in the ancient times, there were many rules pertaining to a member of the imperial harem attending to the bedchamber. Among these rules was one that stated that a member of the imperial harem must not let out this sort of sound. It was considered being rude to the emperor, and this was a problem with her morals. But at this time, Imperial Concubine Yuan Shu was not paying attention to any of this. She was even all too eager to let the entire inner palace, and even extending to the capital and all of Da Shun, know that she had been favored by the Emperor once more. Her son had also been saved from punishment. From this day forward, this inner palace would be her world. It would no longer have any relation to Imperial Concubine Yun.

　　The sounds continued to come from inside the hall, and the lightly-sleeping Zhang Yuan furrowed his brow. He covered his ears in irritation but did not open his eyes; however, it was very clear that he was annoyed.

　　Feng Yuheng did not wait any longer, pulling Xuan Tianming into her space, “Continuing to listen from the outside is no fun. Let’s go in and take a look.” As she said this, she disappeared once more. The two then reappeared in Zhao He Hall.

　　With a member of the imperial harem attending to the bedchamber, the hidden guards naturally stayed far away. It would be best if they did not watch this sort of thing. The two stood behind a screen. Although they could not clearly see the scene inside, the sounds became much clearer. The sound of heavy breathing coming from the Emperor, the sound of bodies coming together, and the sound of Imperial Concubine Yuan Shu’s wanton cries continued to enter their ears.

　　The old emperor was ill? Xuan Tianming was so angry that he wanted to charge in and chop both people up; however, Feng Yuheng shook her head at him, gesturing for him to keep calm. Finally, the sounds from inside stopped, as the old emperor said in a tired voice while panting: “We really have gotten old, yet dear imperial concubine is still so young. Unfortunately, We wasted so many good years in the palace. We really are apologetic toward you.”

　　“Your Majesty, what sort of thing are you saying.” Imperial Concubine Yuan Shu’s voice was changed, and it caused those who heard to feel numb, “You still have not reached 60. How have you become old? Ever since this concubine entered the palace, I have been Your Majesty’s woman. Regardless of how Your Majesty treated this concubine, it’s this concubine’s fate. This concubine is happiest about being able to give birth to a son for Your Majesty while I was young. Whenever I think of our Mo’er, any amount of suffering is bearable.”

　　“Our Mo’er really is Our most beloved child.” The Emperor’s became a little more lively. It was as if he was expressing his thoughts, “Dear imperial concubine, don’t worry. As long as We are around, nobody will be allowed to bully Mo’er. Even if there comes a day when We are no longer around, this country will definitely be handed to Mo’er. I definitely will not treat mother and child poorly.”

　　Feng Yuheng could not bear to continue watching, as she pulled Xuan Tianming and retreated. Only after hiding in the space did she say: “In this sort of situation, I won’t be able to check Father Emperor’s pulse. But listening to how lively his voice is, there should not be anything majorly wrong.”

　　“Hmph!” Xuan Tianming coldly snorted, “What illness could he possibly have? At first, I thought that he might have some sort of plan and was deliberately putting on appearances. Now, it seems that he really is genuinely interested in the wellbeing of those two!”

　　Feng Yuheng helplessly said: “They’re all his women, and you’re all his sons. If he really wanted to treat those two well, there’s nothing that we could say, right? After all, it was indeed our imperial concubine mother who had treated Father Emperor coldly for all of these years. No matter what else is said, he is still a man. But I still feel that something is off about all of this. For a person to change, it is impossible for them to change so suddenly. There must be something that provoked him and brought about such a large change. As for this factor, I believe that it definitely is not the execution of the eighth prince. There is another cause at play, and we need to investigate carefully.”

　　Xuan Tianming nodded, “We should investigate carefully. This Imperial Palace is too unclean.” An exhausted look appeared on his face, as he unconsciously waved his hand and said: “I really am ambivalent in regards to the throne, but I definitely do not want to see the old man give it to old eighth like this. That old eighth might be made to govern the world, but he is definitely not a ruler who will love the people. I cannot just watch Da Shun fall into the hands of someone like this, but right now…”

　　“There’s nothing about right now.” Feng Yuheng said, “It’s just that the Emperor merely gave Imperial Concubine Yuan Shu that sort of promise while in bed. As long as the imperial decree has not been made, it will not come true.”

　　“That’s right!” A look of concern lingered on Xuan Tianming’s face, as he thought for a while longer before saying: “We’re leaving. Go to the inner hall.”

　　Feng Yuheng did as he said and headed in the direction of the inner hall. Once there, she saw Xuan Tianming raise his right arm and gesture. In the darkness, a hidden guard suddenly appeared and kneeled in front of him, silently saying: “Master.”

　　“Un.” Xuan Tianming looked at the person and did not mince any words, directly asking: “What exactly happened in the palace these past few days?”

　　The hidden guard was one of the Emperor’s hidden guards, protecting the old emperor at all times. If the old emperor had been threatened at some point during these past few days, others might not know, but these hidden guards would definitely be able to notice something.

　　But this hidden guard shook his head after hearing these words, replying: “There was nothing out of the ordinary. At the time when Imperial Concubine Yuan Shu was still just a talented lady, she came to request an audience with His Majesty for the sake of the eighth prince, but His Majesty did not agree to it. The two went their separate ways without meeting. After this, His Majesty went to court at the scheduled time and did not do anything out of the ordinary. It’s just that His Majesty suddenly changed his mind when it came time for the eighth prince’s execution. It was because of this that his head began to hurt, and he remained lying down on the imperial bed. But… right now, he’s most likely made a great recovery.”

　　Of course, he had made a great recovery. He was able to have sex with a member of the imperial harem, and he was even quite full of vigor. Where was there any signs of being ill? But speaking of his headache, it made the two think back to what Imperial Concubine Yun had said. The Emperor had also had a headache while in Winter Moon Palace; however, he had completely forgotten about rolling around in pain from the headache.

　　“Master, is there something wrong?” Thought the hidden guard felt that the change in the Emperor was too great, there was nothing else to investigate. They could only view all of this as the Emperor having changed his mind and begun liking Imperial Concubine Yuan Shu. After all, the Emperor supporting a prince because he took a liking to a certain member of the imperial harem was extremely normal.

　　Xuan Tianming also had no desire to say too much, only ordering that person: “Keep a close eye on the Emperor. Also, pay a bit more attention to the people left behind in the palace by old eighth. Once they make any special movements, think of a way to leave the palace to go to the Yu Palace. It’s fine to tell either this prince or Princess Yu. Do you understand?”

　　The hidden guard nodded, “This subordinate will remember this. Master, please be at ease!”

　　Xuan Tianming did not say anything further, as he pulled Feng Yuheng along and hastily blended in with the darkness. The hidden guard also returned to his previous position.

　　Feng Yuheng knew that Xuan Tianming had people in the Imperial Palace, but she never knew that he had eyes staying at the Emperor’s side in the form of hidden guards. She had thought that the hidden guards at the Emperor’s side had been raised by himself and were only loyal to the emperor.

　　Xuan Tianming explained this to her: “The old many has eight hidden guards at his side. Of those, four of them are my people. Another two are seventh brother’s people. As for the remaining two, if my guess is correct, they should be old eighth’s subordinates.” As he said this, he could not help but shrug, “That’s why, look, what good is there in being the emperor? He himself feels like he’s living quite freely and very safely; however, without knowing, everyone is scheming with him in mind. Even his hidden guards had been divvied up.”

　　“But there are still so many people who want to be the emperor.” Feng Yuheng sighed, “In the end, seventh brother and sixth brother really are living freely.”

　　Xuan Tianming laughed, “That’s right! It’s just a pity that old sixth’s imperial concubine mother is completely unreconciled with the current state of affairs.”

　　The two brought Imperial Concubine Yun, who was in the space, and quickly left the palace, heading straight for the Chun Palace.

　　On this night, there were many inside the Imperial Palace who were unable to fall asleep. The members of the imperial harem knew that the situation in the inner palace was changing. It was no longer being claimed solely by Imperial Concubine Yun with a childless Empress. From this, Imperial Concubine Yuan Shu emerged. Just after being given her position back, she actually spent the night in Zhao He Hall, attending to the bedchamber. This was an honor that nobody had enjoyed in over 20 years. They thought and contemplated it, 20 years! However, they had never managed to think of a way to get the Emperor, nor were they able to gain enough favor to climb into the imperial bed. But Imperial Concubine Yuan Shu had done it, and it was based on her nearly having her son’s head chopped off…

　　The people were all thinking, sure enough, a ruler’s thoughts are hard to grasp. They had always thought that the old emperor favored Imperial Concubine Yun’s son; however, who knew that the eighth prince would make this comeback from such a difficult trial. This immediately made it clear whom the old emperor truly favored.

　　This was the equivalent of having old eighth die then revive. The old emperor had already given him everything that he could give. At this moment, there were smarter members of the imperial harem who had already thought that such a change might come in the palace. Starting from when Imperial Concubine Li had been given her position back, following to when her elder sister had also returned to that position, all of the Emperor’s graces had been given to those two sisters. As for the case of the northern part of the city, all of it was pushed onto the Zhu family’s young miss. It was such that the ones to repay for the lives of those in the northern part of the city were Peng Zhou’s Zhu family. But it was clear after thinking about it. The Emperor had made up his mind and wanted to protect the eighth prince, wanting to support this son.

　　There were some who thought even more about it. With all of these graces coming out, would a crown prince suddenly be appointed? That crown prince would definitely be the eighth prince. Then from this day forward, the winds in the palace would be clear. They would need to think carefully about which side they should choose.

　　The members of the imperial harem had their own thoughts. Inside Jing Ci Palace, the Empress also did not sleep this night, as she sat with Feng Zhaolian in a parlor and drank tea.

　　It was after the sixth pot of tea that Feng Zhaolian burped without any concern for appearances. He then helplessly looked at the Empress and said: “We’ve drank so much that there’s water in my throat. I’ve also been to the latrine twelve times. If you have something to say, just say it. If we continue like this, I’m going to begin suspecting that you’re using water torture on me…”