Chapter 17
"Ask him to come inside" Maid bowed and went away.
It was the wedding day of the nation's emperor and empress and also the day when Xiao Feng would be crowned as the empress. Xiao Feng was already dressed in a vermillion red dress. She had a mesmerizing look but her eyes were ice cold.
For the second time, she said goodbye to her maiden family and get into the sedan. The sedan was prepared as a lotus and curtains covered her from the outside world. The entourage was long and everyone was celebrating her wedding. She did all rituals on the way to the palace hall.
Emperor was waiting for her in the great hall and took her and went towards the throne. Everyone kowtowed welcoming their new empress and the emperor guide his empress to sit on the throne. Xiao Feng finally smiles a little at the emperor.
"Long live the emperor! Long live empress!"
Xiao Feng was in the peony palace, sitting and Weining brought the medicine.
"Your majesty, the medicine" Xiao Feng nodded and took it and put the bowl back on the tray, after a while emperor came inside and signaled all the maids and eunuchs to go away after the eunuchs prepared the dining table.
Xiao Feng came to the table and sat down and poured some wine into a cup.
"Your majesty, drink some wine" Emperor drank the wine.
"It's been 2 years"
"Right, I am sorry for my rudeness that day"
"I know you have your problems" Xiao Feng nodded and look at the plates of food that are her favorites. Xiao Feng was astonished and looked at the emperor.
"Wasn't it your favorite? Have a taste. I made it"
"You made it?" Xiao Feng asked making the Emperor nod. Xiao Feng smiled. Taking a bite of one of the dishes.
"Who will believe that an emperor will cook for the empress?"
"It's for his empress" Xiao Feng smiled. In Xiao Feng's mind she thought "as long as I am your wife, I will fulfill my duty as a wife. After all, I can't hate you and Shan Yuan, I will try to forget him and if one day both of them fight against each other I will not take any of your sides"
"Okay, then. I have personally designed a peony palace and about its garden and palace, I remember you have some ideas since young. Since you're the empress you can arrange it as your wish"
"y-you still remember?" Emperor smiled.
"Also, Imperial consort Shu and concubine Wei will pay their respect from tomorrow onward"
"Right, I was going to ask his majesty"
"Concubine Wei?"
"No. I knew about it already. Concubine Wei is a princess of the Wei kingdom. Daughter of the crown prince and the sister of the general who rescued you" Emperor nodded.
"I was going to ask you that you haven't visited consort Shu at least once. You should not show favor to one alone"
"That"
"Your majesty!"
"Just call me like previous"
"Brother Zheng?" Xiao Feng chuckled. "it's not appropriate. Your majesty, tomorrow just visit consort Shu"
"But"
"Not buts. She must be sad you should visit everyone in the harem equally, also I heard there is a little prince. What's his name?"
"He? He is Shu Sheng"
"Sheng and Zheng" Xiao Feng smiled.
"And this" Xiao Feng gave a royal heirloom she asked to make.
"Royal heirloom?" Xiao Feng nodded and drag the emperor out of her palace and close the door.
"Empress, Xiao Feng. Open the door"
"If you don't visit imperial consort, Shu, tomorrow don't come to peony palace"
"Xiao Feng, let me in. I will go tomorrow"
"No, and thank you for the dinner" Maids and eunuchs chuckle at their emperor and empress's childish behavior. Finally, the emperor accept the defeat and went back to his palace.
It was morning and Xiao Feng woke up and drank the medicine given by Weining and ask them to help her to get ready and already dress for the day and went to the imperial kitchen and made nourishing soup and ask a eunuch to send it to the emperor.
"Let's go to the royal memorial" Xiao Feng went to the imperial memorial and burn incense.
"Uncle, I have done what you asked. May you rest well in heaven"
In the great hall, the eunuch served the soup to the emperor.
"Your majesty, her majesty woke up before the dawn and prepared it for your majesty by herself" Emperor smiled and drank the soup.
Xiao Feng was in the empress dowager's palace.
"Xiao Feng, pay her respect to the empress dowager and princess dowager"
"Xiao Feng, stand up. You're now empress"
"But I am still Xiao Feng" Both empress dowager and princess dowager chuckled.
"Xiao Feng, I decide to prey for the kingdom in the temple"
"But suddenly?"
"Xiao Feng, I was waiting for you to enter the harem. Now you're here. Please understand me" Xiao Feng sighed. "Also, Xiao Feng, can you take care of it?"
"I understand you, empress dowager. Uncle already asks me, that as long as kingdom Sui is there, nothing will happen to anyone from the royal family. I will prepare for you to go to the temple. When will you depart?"
"Tomorrow" Xiao Feng looked at her and then nodded.
"Xiao Feng, I also don't want to be in the palace anymore. I am already old. You're here to protect the Xiao family. I will go back to your grandfather's hometown" Xiao Feng looks at her grandmother. She felt helpless at the moment like no one is there for her. She looked away and stand up.
"I see, Weining! Prepare empress dowager and princess dowager's departure" Xiao Feng turned and went away. She was angry at the same time sad. She just came to the palace and both her aunt and grandmother trying to run away from the palace problems putting all the responsibility on her. "I brought this for myself. I fight alone all the way and I can do it in the future too" When Xiao Feng came back to peony palace, she had a few tears in her eyes that she didn't know there were. She wiped them off and sat down harshly in a chair.
"Your highness, imperial consort Shu, concubine Wei has been waiting for a while to see your majesty," A eunuch said. Xiao Feng wiped her eyes and sat down in her seat and signal them to come inside.
"Imperial Consort Shu, pay her respect to the empress"
"Concubine Wei, pay her respect to the empress"
"Please rise and sit down. Serve tea" The tea was served and both consorts and concubines drank the tea.
"Empress the tea is so fragrance and has a mellow taste," Consort Shu said and Xiao Feng smiled.
"This is a special tea from Qiu Yue. Weining sends each consort Shu and concubine Wei a tea party"
"Yes"
"Qiu Yue? Isn't it the famous Tea house in the capital?"
"Indeed"
"Thank you, empress, for sending tea from Qiu Yue. I have tasted tea from QiuYue once and it was in the top taste" Xiao Feng smiled.
"This must be a little prince?"
"Yes, your highness"
"Bring it" Weining look at a maid who went inside and brought a box and serve it to concubine Wei's maid.
"It's for a little prince"
"Your highness, I"
"Consort Shu, I know your matter. I think concubine Wei wouldn't mind for the emperor to visit consort Shu, right?"
"I wouldn't dare"
"You wouldn't dare? I heard that for the 7 days consort Shu enter harem emperor hasn't visited her once but stay in your palace"
"It's not like that, it's just his majesty likes to spend time with me," she said giving a mocking smile.
"How dare you to talk back to empress like that?" She just ignored Weining.
"I am talking with the empress, not some servants" Xiao Feng smiled.
"Concubine Wei, this is Sui, not Wei. And Weining is not some servant she is one of the trusted people I have and also a higher rank than a concubine. Don't test my limits by behaving as your will as a concubine" She quickly knelt.
"Have some mercy. Even though I am a concubine Sheng'er is my son"
"You're blackmailing because you give birth to a prince?"
"I am not" She hugged Sheng tightly as he struggles a bit to get away from his mother's grip.
"Mother!"
"See, empress. He is my son. So"
"Don't you know that his majesty's son should call mother for the empress"
"Weining" Weining looks down and stops talking.
"Concubine Wei, are you threatening me with the fact of having a prince? Do you think that I and Consort Shu can't bear a child for the emperor? And no one predicts the future. Consort Shu, today his majesty will come to visit you. I have already talked with his majesty and don't make the harem a funny place. Weining, ask imperial momos to teach concubine Wei, the rules of the Sui kingdom harem. Since concubine Wei is from Wei, she may haven't learned about it. I forgot that concubine Wei is the daughter of the crown prince but not the emperor's daughter. So don't be too harsh. She may doesn't know what happens in a harem even if it's in the Wei kingdom" Consort Shu smirk.
"Your highness, if the emperor knows that" Xiao Feng throws an edict she has written to the ground.
"Initially I want to give you face for giving his majesty a prince but I think you still don't deserve it. Concubine Wei, I am telling you I am in a bad mood so don't test me when I am saying kindly accept it. In the future, more people will enter the harem there are only 3 for now and it is already out of control. What will people think about it? They will tell princess royal grand who advised the late emperor in the court can't even handle a harem problem after becoming the empress. Weining makes sure before teaching concubine Wei, she will kneel in front of the royal memorial. She has already married the emperor of Sui. She should learn to be a Sui woman. Not a Wei princess"
"Yes, your highness"
"About little prince…."
"Please have mercy for the prince" Xiao Feng ignored her.
"Ask Grand tutor Zhu to be prince Sheng's teacher" Everyone was astonished. "And invite the little young master's around prince Sheng to the palace"
"Yes, your highness"
"Concubine Wei, you can go now" Concubine Wei didn't go as the two maids were going to take her away. At the time emperor stepped in as two maids let go of concubine Wei.
"Your majesty, the empress was too harsh on me and prince Sheng. She bullied me" Xiao Feng put her hand on her forehead took a deep breath and let it out. She was enough with today's problems.
"Your majesty, concubine" Weining look at consort Shu and shook her head not to say anything and she stopped talking.
"Your majesty, do you want me to let go of concubine Wei?"
"It's not why I came here, empress is in the charge of the harem, so you can take any decision and I will not interfere. I heard that when coming back after visiting empress dowager and princess dowager you were in a bad mood"
"Thank you, your majesty, for your care. I am okay. Just empress dowager wanted to prey in the temple and she will depart tomorrow. I already asked Weining to take care of it. I was going to tell you when you came back from court and grandmother wants to visit grandfather's hometown. It's what happened" Emperor nodded.
"And this" Emperor took out a tang Hulu out. Xiao Feng looked embarrassed at him. Which could be seen also as shy by another person.
"Father, Sheng'er want" Emperor looks at his son a little helpless. Xiao Feng went near the emperor and took the tang Hulu.
"Father will" Xiao Feng stopped him from talking and went near prince Sheng and give the candy to him.
"Sheng'er will be a good boy, right? If you're a good boy aunt will give your more candy"
"Singer is happy" Xiao Feng pats his shoulder and came back toward the emperor.
"Sheng'er should call you as an imperial mother"
"It's okay"
"Then empress, please take care of the harem for me" Xiao Feng nodded and the emperor went away Xiao Feng signaled the maids and they took concubine Wei away.
"You can give Sheng'er to nanny Gu"
"Empress?" Prince Sheng's nanny looks at the empress.
"And give that medicine to concubine Wei, after kneeling for 2 hours concubine Wei will have bruised knees"
"I mean empress, I was prince Sheng's nanny for the last 2 years"
"Don't you know that it was nanny Gu, who take care of the emperor? It's a blessing for prince Sheng to be raised under nanny Gu's care"
"I am sorry" She gave the little prince's hand to nanny Gu and take the medicine and went away.
"Consort Shu, his majesty will equally visit everyone in the harem. Do your best to serve the emperor" Consort Shu smiled happily.
"Yes"
"Consort Shu, your sister,"
"S-she, my second sister is in the cold palace"
"I am going to free everyone in the cold palace"
"Thank you, your highness. Though I don't have a close relationship with my elder sisters they weren't much worse for me either"