174 Imperial Relatives

"Screw work," Wei Yi Yi mumbled as she continue to lead the concubines to the horse stable.

"I don't even care anymore," she cursed but then put the servants to work, delegating tasks like a good manager. They all run around the place immediately while the rest guide their mistresses to wait aside.

In an organized mess, the servants gave the equipments a final appraisal before arranging the horses and taking them out of their stable.

The empress crossed her arms and glared at them. It was like her eyes turn into daggers ready to cut them. Their movements turn rigid but they dare not slacken and acted more precise, making their work more efficient.

Grinding her teeth, Wei Yi Yi flicked the end of her robe and turn away from the people. "Arrange what needs to be arranged," she ordered. Each word heavier than the next. 

The movement that everyone is making is tempting her to target them!

"Check for safety as well. If an accident occurs, Bengong will have you all rolling into the mud!" Her mood burns into her lungs which turn her breathing laborious. The suffocating feeling could be felt by those around her as well. 

Wei Yi Yi watched from the sidelines and turn everyone away using her mood. While she was fanning her anger away, other members of the imperial clan made their appearance.

Although there were no elders in the imperial palace, such as the important empress dowager, it did not mean that the older generation ceased to exist. Some of the emperial uncles were titled 'kings' and govern lands of their owns. They were sent far away the capital to avoid threats on Jiang Yu's early reign and they rarely visit, or rather, allowed to visit the palace. Even until now, the emperor is trying to cheat them of their lands and power.

A minority of the imperial family lives in the capital. But they were the one that the emperor deliberately left at his side. They are wholely dependant to the throne which rendered them useful pieces for political marriages. 

In Wei Yi Yi's judgment, they were like a big corporate. They all came together by calculating each other. There was no 'blood' but only 'benefits', yet, the system operates well because a 'department' still needs to depend on another 'departments'.

The family that's part of the imperial clan cannot rebel directly. While the emperor cannot knock them down completely. They needed the prestige of the throne while their existence gives power to the emperor.

The empress, while fully aware of their presence, ignored them. However, they cannot do the same. The moment they catch a glimpse of the empress, they went closer and greeted her without a bit.Find authorized novels in Webnovel，faster updates, better experience，Please click www.novelhall.comfor visiting.

For them, the empress is comparable to a rare commodity. From youth until adulthood, she's in the middle of countless rumors. 

She was the most precious daughter of the prime minister but was thrown heartlessly by her father into a political marriage. Others said she was indifferent but for the others, she was the most caring. It was said that she's kind but then also aloof; Proud yet warm; A craze with an obsession towards the emperor; An unloved empress as well as favored. 

While no one could tell the truth out of all the contradictions, the empress seldom meets people. At one point, they cannot help but think that the rumors were deliberately made to hide her. 

The empress' name is influential yet they cannot help but feel how illusionary she is as well. Now that she showed herself, they cannot help but swarm around her. 

As the one who put the crown into the emperor, no one doubts the influence of the prime minister. But for the empress, was she a paper tiger sheltered by her maternal family after all? Or perhaps the pieces in her hands were enough to secure her place without care for others? The more they thought, the more heated the gaze that they use to look at Wei Yi Yi. 

In nothing but a glance, Wei Yi Yi impression of them hit the negatives. If she could be civil towards others then these aunts and uncles could fake goodwill. They smiled creepily at her and she could already hear the imaginary sound of the abacus in their head.

They were counting her value right in front of her face! Is she being evaluated by pounds? Or are they putting prices on her parts by parts? 

Wei Yi Yi tolerated them by convincing herself that they are all adults here. She heard one after the another the same customary greetings. 

"Bringing so many consorts in the autumn hunt, the empress is surely magnanimous. It was no doubt that the emperor favors you," Lian Furen, whom Wei Yi Yi lost count from which nth uncle's wife is, said with mix tone. She sent a look towards Xie Yu and the others who were reaching for the reigns of their horses. "I just didn't know that they will join the hunt as well."

Guessing other people intention gave her an additional headache. Wei Yi Yi did not care for this person so she spoke without caring how they perceive her meaning. "Aren't Bengong younger sisters such beautiful ornaments?" The empress beamed in respond. "Hiding them in a small miniature garden is a pity, does it not?"