Chapter 491: Extra 7: Zhaozhao Gets Her Wish

Chapter 491: Chapter 488: Extra 7: Zhaozhao Gets Her Wish

The year Princess Baocheng was born, the reign title was changed to Chengzhao.

In the thirteenth year of the Chengzhao era, Emperor Wu Su abdicated. Prince Yuan Heng was made Prince Yu, with the Northwest Eighteen States as his fiefdom.

Ji Qingwu was reluctant to let her son go to such a remote place, but it was Yuan Heng’s own request, so she could only agree.

Princess Baocheng had been close with her older brother since childhood and insisted on going with him. Ji Qingwu saw the two siblings off at the palace gates, gently suggesting that if they missed their mother, she could visit them at any time.

Under their father’s increasingly impatient gaze, Yuan Heng and Baocheng quickly boarded the carriage and departed.

Princess Chen Zhao ascended the throne as Empress, retaining her former title.

The court officials did not object too strongly to the Empress’s ascension. Thanks to Emperor Wu Su’s capable governance and the national fate system in Ji Qingwu’s hands, Beili was peaceful and prosperous, the very picture of a flourishing state.

The Empress inherited a peaceful and prosperous era. The court officials only hoped she would be a ruler who maintained the status quo, but the Empress had other ideas. Just half a month after her ascension, she made a major move in the imperial court.

Recently, Nanchu had been stirring up trouble at the border, sending rogue soldiers across the line to cause disturbances and bully local women, children, and the elderly.

The Empress immediately issued a decree, dispatching Wei Ting with troops. He was not only to take the heads of those rogue soldiers but also to seize five towns on Nanchu’s border.

Lu Juan, Li Chengxun, and the others were veteran ministers. Having long served Emperor Wu Su, they had adopted a cautious style of planning before acting. This newly ascended Empress, however, clearly did not take after her father.

Empress Chenzhao’s specialty was cutting the Gordian knot.

Her temperament was unlike Emperor Wu Su’s; she was more like Empress Mingde, always greeting people with a smile. No matter how the court officials objected, she would reply with a smile. However, her gentle words concealed sharp barbs that struck home, leaving the ministers speechless.

After the court session ended, the Empress summoned Wang Wanbai to the Diligent Governance Hall.

She smiled and gestured for her to sit, asking, “Do you resent Us? You waited so long for the clouds to part, and We sent General Wei away just a month after you were finally wed.”

Wang Wanbai gave a helpless smile. “How could I dare?”

After waiting for thirteen years, Wang Wanbai had gone from sixteen to twenty-nine. She had been called a shameless social climber more than a few times, both openly and behind her back.

But thankfully, within her lifetime, the thick cloud over Wei Ting’s heart finally dissipated.

Empress Chenzhao said, “From the moment you became a female official, you sought opportunities to enter Our service. Everyone knows that you and Wei Shisi are Our confidantes. The Wei Family has long been inextricably linked with Us.”

Wang Wanbai sighed softly. “The General’s willingness to serve Your Majesty isn’t because of me and Wei Shisi.”

Empress Chenzhao understood the meaning behind her words. The corners of her lips curled up. “Don’t sell yourself short.”

“By the way, We intend to select an Imperial Consort. Go to the Imperial Household and find Mr. Dong. Help him screen the portraits.”

Wang Wanbai asked, “Does Your Majesty have any preferences?”

Empress Chenzhao smiled and winked at her. “As if you don’t know what kind I like?”

Wang Wanbai smiled in agreement and respectfully withdrew.

The Diligent Governance Hall returned to silence, with only the sound of the water clock dripping.

Empress Chenzhao closed her eyes to rest for a moment. Hearing a slight movement in front of her, she opened her eyes and said, “Why have you revealed yourself?”

Five years ago, Si Hai had been assigned to Chenzhao as a Hidden Guard.

Si Hai said respectfully, “A message from the Hostage Mansion. He wants to see you.”

She gave a light laugh. “No rush. I’ll go tonight.”

The Empress picked up a memorial, written by Lu Juan, advising her not to be hasty in deploying troops. She tossed it aside. No one could stop a decision she had made. Besides, this wasn’t a rash move, but one she had been plotting for a long time.

She looked up and saw that Si Hai hadn’t vanished but was still standing before her.

Si Hai found himself comparing the Empress before him, wearing her golden jade hair crown, to the little girl who used to laugh while eating sweet cakes. Her features had changed. She resembled her Imperial Father more and more, with a steady gaze that held a sharp edge.

Empress Chenzhao asked, “Is there something else?”

Before he could catch himself, Si Hai spoke his mind. “Your Majesty should not go see him.”

The Empress raised an eyebrow. “Was it because We tolerated your transgression last time that you now think you can take a mile for every inch?”

Si Hai was no longer the thin-skinned youth of the past. “I misspoke,” he said, his expression blank.

That transgression had occurred on Chenzhao’s eighteenth birthday. She had deliberately tried to entice Si Hai into drinking, not knowing it was his first time. A single cup had been enough to knock him out.

She had leaned in close to observe the staid Hidden Guard, only to have him brazenly kiss her on the cheek.

The Empress didn’t dwell on the matter. ‘If a Hidden Guard has feelings for me, it only makes him more loyal, more willing to protect his master and lay down his life for me.’