Chapter Eighty-Two: The Crown Prince Has Disappeared Again

Within these emotions surged sympathy, gratitude, regret, and above all, a profound sense of guilt. The complex blend of feelings made Zhu Hao inwardly curse himself—what a fool he was, unable to distinguish friend from foe, mistaking the one who had always protected him and his mother as an enemy!

Contemplating this, Zhu Hao knelt once more and bowed deeply. “Your son was wrong. I beg Mother Empress to forgive me! I prostrate myself to atone for my offense!”

Empress Guo looked at Zhu Hao kneeling before her. A gentle smile appeared on her face as she said, “Rise. You and Youxiao are both good boys, both my children—I will not blame you. Now, tell me, what is it you want me to do by coming to me today?”

Now that Spring Peach had torn away her mask of cold severity, Empress Guo revealed a gentleness Zhu Hao had never felt before. For the first time, he sensed in her a mother’s loving care.

Zhu Hao briefly recounted the situation outside, then said, “The greatest problem now is that Crown Prince Brother has been seized by Lady Li. We must get him out of her palace and then prove that Consort Dowager Zheng’s last will is a forgery. If we do this, even without Father’s edict, Crown Prince Brother can rightfully succeed to the throne.”

Hearing this, Empress Guo remained silent for a long while, gazing at Zhu Hao. At last, she sighed softly, “It seems everyone in the palace has underestimated you. I always thought you were just a mischievous child, not as obedient and sensible as Youxiao. I never imagined you could disguise yourself so well at your age. You are indeed more capable than Youxiao. When he ascends the throne, you must assist him well. Youxiao is kind-hearted and does not understand the schemes of the court. If any treacherous ministers appear at his side, you must remove them for him. This is my final request of you.”

Zhu Hao felt that something was amiss, but with so many pressing matters on his mind, he pushed the thought aside and replied, “After Crown Prince Brother ascends the throne, naturally you, Mother Empress, will oversee the court from behind the screen, assisting him. With you at the helm, I doubt any villainous ministers would dare approach him. I will do my utmost to help restore the prosperity of our Ming Dynasty!”

Listening to Zhu Hao, Empress Guo lifted her gaze to the sky, murmuring, “Me? Assist? Ah—if only. I hope I will have that chance…”

Zhu Hao did not quite catch her whispered words, but seeing the melancholy on her face, he could not help but feel uneasy.

After a moment, Empress Guo said, “Youjian, there is no time to lose. Come with me now to Lady Li’s palace and bring your Crown Prince Brother out. I do not believe that in the harem she can defy me!” The “she” in her words referred not only to Lady Li, but also implicitly to Consort Dowager Zheng.

Hearing this, Zhu Hao had no objections and nodded. “Your son obeys.”

With that, Empress Guo led Zhu Hao and her attendants out of Kunning Palace toward Lady Li’s residence. On the way, Zhu Hao voiced a question that had troubled him earlier. “Mother Empress, was it not you who designated Lady Li to care for Crown Prince Brother? If you issue a decree and I deliver it, she would have to hand him over. Why must you lower yourself to go in person?” His words were a subtle probe, testing whether Lady Li was truly a spy and whose side she was on.

Empress Guo sighed, “You are still too young to understand. Although Lady Li is in name the one I appointed to care for the Crown Prince, in reality she was a spy placed by Consort Dowager Zheng. At first, for the sake of the late emperor’s heir, I kept her under strict surveillance, but she did nothing out of line. Later, as the Crown Prince grew, he moved to the Eastern Palace and was no longer in her care. I thought she was no longer a threat and paid her no heed. I never expected she would act now—it was my own oversight.”

Hearing this, Zhu Hao finally grasped the truth. “So Consort Dowager Zheng was right—Lady Li really is an infiltrator. This is going to be troublesome.”

With this in mind, Zhu Hao tentatively asked, “Mother Empress, even if Lady Li is Consort Dowager Zheng’s spy, as mistress of the inner palace, surely she would not dare defy you?”

Empress Guo understood his concern, and after a moment’s hesitation, replied with confidence, “She would not dare go against me!”

As they spoke, the group arrived at Lady Li’s palace. The eunuch in Empress Guo’s retinue announced in a loud voice, “Her Majesty the Empress has arrived!”

At the proclamation, the palace maids and eunuchs inside fell to their knees, but the mistress herself was nowhere in sight. This slight caused embarrassment to Empress Guo. After all, she was the lord of the harem—yet upon visiting the quarters of a mere consort, she was not received. How could this be tolerated? She snapped, “Where is your mistress? Did she not hear that I have arrived? Why does she not come to greet me? Such audacity!”

A trembling young eunuch answered, “Your Majesty, our Lady is not in the palace. We beg your forgiveness!”

Empress Guo’s expression eased somewhat at these words—better she was absent. She let it go and continued, “I have heard the Crown Prince is here. Bring him to me at once, I will take him back to the Eastern Palace.”

The eunuch replied nervously, “Your Majesty, this servant dare not conceal anything. Earlier, His Highness was indeed here, but now he is gone—Lady Li has taken him out.”

Empress Guo’s face darkened, her brows knitting in displeasure. “Where has your mistress taken the Crown Prince? Speak truthfully!”

The eunuch hastily kowtowed. “Your Majesty, this servant truly does not know!”

Fury flared in Empress Guo’s eyes. “Your mistress is gone and you claim not to know? You are clearly hiding something from me!”

She turned to her attendants. “Seize these deceitful servants and give each fifty strokes with the staff!”

With her command, the palace was thrown into chaos. Empress Guo continued, “I refuse to believe I cannot pry the truth from their mouths!”

The maids and eunuchs in Lady Li’s palace fell to their knees, crying for mercy. “Your Majesty, spare us! We truly do not know where Lady Li has gone!”

Their pleas were desperate, for fifty strokes of the staff could be fatal—many would not survive thirty, especially the eunuchs, whose frail bodies rarely withstood even twenty.

Their cries did not sway Empress Guo, though Zhu Hao felt a pang of pity. Yet he knew now was not the time for compassion—finding his elder brother was urgent. Any further mishap would only complicate matters.

At Empress Guo’s order, the servants were swiftly forced to the ground. The crack of staffs on flesh resounded through the halls, mingled with the screams of the punished—a hellish symphony.

Zhu Hao, watching the pitiful scene, saw many fall silent mid-cry. Unable to bear it, he pleaded, “Mother Empress, I believe these servants truly do not know. Right now, finding Crown Prince Brother is more important. I beg you to show mercy and spare their lives.”

Empress Guo sighed. “Youjian, it is good that you have a merciful heart. But today, since you call me Mother, I must teach you a lesson: never waste your kindness on servants like these, for it will only lessen their awe of you. In time, they will dare to slight you. Throughout history, there have been many cases of servants bullying their masters in the harem—take heed!”

She glanced at the bloodied servants. “But since you have pleaded for them, I will not go against your wishes. They may truly be ignorant. Today I will let them go.”

Zhu Hao had to admit her words were wise. He nodded. “Mother’s teaching, your son will remember.”

Empress Guo nodded in satisfaction, then ordered the executioners, “Enough, cease!”

At her command, the beatings stopped. The surviving palace maids and eunuchs hastily knelt, expressing their gratitude. “Thank you, Your Majesty, for sparing our lives!”

Empress Guo did not look at them, only spoke coldly, “Let this be a lesson to you. In future, you must know where your mistress goes at all times.”

She paused, then added, “You need not thank me—thank the Fifth Prince. If not for his intercession, none of you would be walking away alive today if you could not say where your mistress had gone.”