Chapter 134

“If you hurt the prince, what can you do to repent for your crime?!” Consort Li chided Luo Wei.

“Damn you!” Emperor Xing Wu slammed his hand into the armrest of his chair and stood.

“Your humble servant deserves death,” Luo Wei knocked his head even harder against the ground. Everyone, including Luo Wei himself, thought that Emperor Xing Wu’s outburst was at him.

“Come with me to the Hall of Eternal Light,” Emperor Xing Wu wanted to pull Luo Wei up. But under the eyes of everyone here, it would have been too much a display of blatant favouritism for a mere minister.

“Your Imperial Majesty?” Luo Wei’s forehead was a little bruised from all the knocking about, he lifted his head to stare at the emperor, a little dumbstruck.

“Let’s go,” Emperor Xing Wu said, “Are you still not getting up?”

Luo Zhi Yi stood up as soon as Consort Li started yelling at Luo Wei, but she didn’t know how to react to this sudden burst of anger. “Your Imperial Majesty,” Luo Zhi Yi walked to where the emperor and Luo Wei stood, a little wooden, and finally thought to plead for mercy on Luo Wei’s behalf.

“Empress, you should rest,” Emperor Xing Wu said to her when he finally watched Luo Wei get up, “I’m going to head back too.”

When the emperor announced his leave, the three other imperial consorts all stood up as well.

“Beloved consort, you should also head back with the child,” Emperor Xing Wu tossed a look at Consort Li. The smile that’d been in those eyes so often in the past two days was nowhere to be found, he was once again, that impenetrable Emperor Xing Wu.

Consort Li finally realized what had happened. She finally remembered that Luo Wei was someone favoured by the emperor at the moment. Emperor Xing Wu was the one who allowed Luo Wei to hold her son. For her to criticize Luo Wei, it was as if she was criticizing the emperor himself. Consort Li wanted to kneel and beg for forgiveness from the emperor, but he’d already left with Luo Wei in tow.

“Dear sister Li,” Luo Zhi Yi said with a rare tone of anger, “Please see yourself out.”

Consort Li held the tenth prince as she stood there awkwardly. The other three imperial consorts were all rather happy at her misfortune on the inside. Looks like this Consort Li was stupid too. She forgot how much or little she mattered to the emperor with the birth of just a son.

“Please see yourselves out, sisters,” Luo Zhi Yi refused to look at Consort Li anymore. The tenth prince was no longer as adorable as he was in her mind, “I would like some rest.”

“We shall excuse ourselves too,” The princes bid their farewells a step ahead.

As Long Xuan left, he cast a look at Consort Li. She looked so pitiable as she stood there. When he thought of what she’d done when his own mother, Consort Liu, had lost favour, Long Xuan could only sneer inside. This woman had gotten too arrogant from birthing a son, it was time for her to suffer like his mother had suffered before. Not only that, how could she act that way to Luo Wei. Long Xuan exited the Hall of the Gracious Phoenix with Long Yu, his thoughts were full of how much Consort Li deserved what she got.

After everyone left. Consort Li began to cry as she watched Luo Zhi Yi. “Sister, I didn’t mean to act that way towards the third young master, I was only worried for the tenth prince, and acted on impulse, please, I beg of you, don’t be angry with me.”

Luo Zhi Yi’s heart hurt as she thought of the bruises on Luo Wei’s forehead just now. If she knew that would be the outcome, she wouldn’t have asked Luo Wei to hold Consort Li’s son. Right, Consort Li’s son, Luo Zhi Yi realized at that moment that this son was Consort Li’s and not her own. Perhaps she’d really been empress for too long. Hearing the princes calling her Imperial Mother over and over again, she almost forgot that other than Long Yu and his two brothers, all the other princes had their own birth mothers.

“Elder sister,” Consort Li called out to Luo Zhi Yi again, carrying a weak timidity in her voice to humble herself.

“Luo Wei is a mere minister,” Luo Zhi Yi said, “If you saw something wrong with the way he acted, then why shouldn’t you punish him as you see fit? I’m tired, and sister, you’re still recovering from the birth, it’s time you left with the tenth prince.”

Consort Li knew she’d done something worse than stupid, but as she watched Luo Zhi Yi sitting herself down for some tea, the only thing she could do was pay her respects and lean on her servant as she took her leave.

“Your Imperial Highness,” Shang Xi walked up to Luo Zhi Yi.

“Go and check on the third young master,” Luo Zhi Yi said, “Take some of the bruise ointment we have and give it to him, if he’s still in pain, make sure you call an imperial physician to see him.”

“Understood, I’ll go right now,” Shang Xi accepted quickly and turned to leave.

“Wait,” Luo Zhi Yi stopped Shang Xi again, “Tell him to come see me again before he leaves, so I can see him and make sure he’s ok.”

“I understand,” Shang Xi went to fulfill the empress’ commands.

And thus, Luo Zhi Yi sat here and let herself wallow in the anger a little more. Luo Wei was the Luo family’s treasure right now, even her sister-in-law, Bo Hua, couldn’t say anything harsh to him. And now Consort Li had to go and give him a good seeing to. The thought made Luo Zhi Yi feel as if something were stuffed in her chest, blocking it until she felt worse and worse.

“Your Imperial Highness,” Madam Xue entered from the outside, until she stood in front of Luo Zhi Yi, and whispered, “Just now, as His Imperial Majesty left, I saw him giving the third young master a seat on the soft sedan. It didn’t seem as if His Imperial Majesty wanted to blame the third young master any, so please don’t worry too much.”

“Good, good,” Luo Zhi Yi patted her chest, “Xiao Wei’s health has never been that great, I was really worried that something would happen to him. This Consort Li is beyond reason. Would Xiao Wei really let the tenth prince drop? Just look at how outrageously she acted!”

“Your Imperial Highness,” Madam Xue massaged Luo Zhi Yi’s shoulder as she spoke, “Consort Li had just given birth to a son, she must be proud. It’s not unexpected that she’d be a little out of line, after all, doesn’t this mean she’ll have something to rely on from now on?”

Luo Zhi Yi didn’t say anything else, but standing as close as she is, Madam Xue could see a touch of anger on her gentle and temperate mistress’ face.

Inside the Hall of Eternal Light, Luo Wei entered behind the emperor and immediately fell to his knees with a thud, “Your Imperial Majesty, I’ve wronged the prince and deserve death, I await your sentence.”

“Get up,” Emperor Xing Wu could finally help Luo Wei up himself now. Once he felt Luo Wei’s hand, the icy coldness of it made the emperor’s expression drop, “Are you cold?”

Luo Wei quickly responded, “I’m not.”

Emperor Xing Wu looked up and down at Luo Wei, and saw that he was wearing enough today, then that must mean the chill is something inherent to his condition. With that, Emperor Xing Wu held Luo Wei’s hand in his own, and breathed some warmth onto them before rubbing Luo Wei’s hands. At the same time, he spoke to Zhao Fu, who was attending to them, “Quick, go fetch a hand warmer.”

“Your Imperial Majesty?” Luo Wei felt some disdain towards this action of Emperor Xing Wu’s. Other than Wei Lan and his family, he hated when other people touched him, “Your Imperial Majesty, I’m honestly fine,” He didn’t dare to pull his hands out of the emperor’s grasp, so he redoubled his efforts in telling the emperor that he wasn’t cold.

Zhao Fu came back very quickly with the hand warmer, offering it to Luo Wei with both hands. As for the way the emperor acted towards Luo Wei, Zhao Fu chose not to see it.

With the hand warmer present, Emperor Xing Wu finally let go of Luo Wei’s hand, but reached out to touch the slight bruise on his forehead, asking softly, “Does it hurt?”

Luo Wei shook his head. He really didn’t understand why Emperor Xing Wu care for him this much. What was this seemingly unconditional kindness for?

“I’ll go and fetch the imperial physician,” Zhao Fu saw the emperor’s gaze turning his way, and quickly spoke up.

“No, there’s no need,” Luo Wei said, “Your Imperial Majesty, I’m fine, really.”

“Go,” Emperor Xing Wu spoke to Zhao Fu instead.

The eunuch slipped out to fetch the physician.

“Don’t think too much about what happened to the tenth prince,” Emperor Xing Wu said finally to Luo Wei, “And there’s no need to pay any mind to what Consort Li said.”

Luo Wei still responded with declarations of his guilt, but curiosity was sparking in his mind. If he really hurt the tenth prince, would the emperor act the same way?