Chapter 76: Old Woman Barging In

Chapter 76: Old Woman Barging In

After confirming that being abducted was indeed just an accident and that his life was not in danger, Prince Donghai became furious. However, the person he hated the most was not Han Ruzi, but the Empress Dowager. “She locked me up for so long, and I tried to please her in every possible way every day. To my surprise, she just threw me out without any explanation. Two eunuchs tossed me onto the carriage, and I thought...”

Prince Donghai shivered. At that moment, he thought his life was coming to an end, which was why he didn’t dare to make a sound all the way.

“Whom did the Empress Dowager eventually choose to be Emperor?” Han Ruzi only cared about this matter.

“Who else? Both of us were thrown out, she must want to be the Emperor herself!”

“That’s impossible, isn’t it?” Han Ruzi found this notion unbelievable. He turned to Yang Feng, who was walking over, and asked, “Has there ever been a female emperor in history?”

“Only in ancient legends.” Yang Feng stopped in front of the carriage, glanced at Prince Donghai inside, and frowned. He wasn’t interested in whom the Empress Dowager would make the emperor, but he felt that this second carriage was a nuisance. “We have to send him back.”

“Send me where?” Prince Donghai refused to get out of the carriage, gripping the carriage window tightly. “I’m not returning to the palace. I mean, I’m not returning with you. I’m going to the Southern Army to find my uncle and ask him to send me back to the palace...”

Yang Feng abruptly dropped the carriage curtain, turning to Han Ruzi, “We need to send him back to the Cui clan.”

The Manor Clerk had gone to the Bureau of Imperial Clan Affairs to report to his superior, leaving only the Manor Marshal stationed at the Manor, completely at a loss and pacing anxiously. At that moment, he walked over, grabbed Yang Feng’s arm, “Steward Yang, you have to take responsibility for this. I’m just a minor official. I have elders and children depending on me. I can’t afford the trouble...”

Yang Feng patted the carriage, “The person inside was mistakenly picked up. You should return him to the residence of Grand Tutor Cui Hong.”

The Manor Marshal vigorously shook his head, “I won’t do it, this matter has nothing to do with me.”

“The Manor Clerk’s job is to assist the Manor in liaising with various departments of state. What’s the Manor Marshal’s job again?”

The Manor Marshal was speechless. In theory, he was responsible for the safety of the Manor, but the last thing he wanted to deal with right now was this kind of situation.

“The person in the carriage isn’t a family member of the Marquis and is not authorized to be here. Please handle it, Manor Marshal.” Yang Feng pushed Han Ruzi towards the backyard.

Prince Donghai lifted a corner of the carriage curtain, still refusing to come out. He shouted, “Han Ruzi, don’t leave me here, send me back to the Cui’s! You personally send me, not this guy.”

Han Ruzi wanted to speak but was pushed forward by Yang Feng and couldn’t stop. Not far away, a eunuch rushed over from behind, panting, “The people from the Cui clan have arrived, and there are quite a few.”

Yang Feng stopped. “They came fast. Lord Marquis, you stall them for a while. Don’t let them through this door, and don’t talk too much.”

“Me?” Han Ruzi didn’t feel confident, “I’m afraid I can’t...”

“Every situation is a learning experience.” Yang Feng patted the Weary Marquis’s shoulder, turned around, and walked back to the front of the carriage. He called the coachman to drive the carriage into the backyard, followed behind, and ignored whatever Prince Donghai was yelling from inside.

Han Ruzi was in a frenzy. This was not the same as facing the rebels in the palace. Among those who were barging into the Manor, there could be relatives of Cui Xiaojun, which could make things quite awkward.

Yang Feng walked away with a flick of his wrist. Han Ruzi could only figure it out on his own and ordered Zhang Youcai to call over all the eunuchs who had followed them from the palace. They formed a line to block the second gate, and by then, the shouting outside the main gate was already audible. The Manor Marshal was panicking and kept slapping his head; he couldn’t afford to offend the Weary Marquis, and even less the Cui clan.

Han Ruzi called the Manor Marshal over, “Do you want to welcome the Cui clan?”

The Manor Marshal vigorously shook his head.

The old woman was not used to being contradicted. She became even more irate, her eyebrows raised, her fighting spirit boiling over. “My granddaughter married an Emperor, are you an Emperor?”

“Xiaojun married Han Ruzi, and I am still Han Ruzi.”

“Ha, listen to your own name! A man who was once Emperor, and you yet call yourself ‘Ruzi’, a child! Xiaojun must not be ruined in your hands. Even if you two have consummated your marriage, which you have not, the Cui clan can still marry her off to a better match.”

Han Ruzi grew even more furious. His decision to share a bed with Cui Xiaojun without consummating the marriage was a palace secret. It was unfathomable how this old woman found out, and she even dared to speak it out loud. It was hard to imagine her as the mother of a top-ranking official of the court.

Having reached this level of anger, Han Ruzi instead cooled down and smiled, “Xiaojun was previously the Empress, but now she is the Lady of the Weary Marquis. If you wish to marry her off to someone better, do you intend for her to be installed as Empress again?”

The young man’s smile made the old woman pause, causing her to take another look at him. The old woman said, “What, do you think the Cui clan is unable to do so?”

The sky was already dark. Since the Empress Dowager had sent out Prince Donghai, she must have already made her move. Whatever of the outcome, it would not be favorable for the Cui clan. The old woman obviously had no knowledge of this, and Han Ruzi smiled again, saying, “Has Noble Consort Cui arrived?”

Han Ruzi looked behind the old woman. There were many women following her, but none of them seemed like the mother of Prince Donghai.

Although Noble Consort Cui was also a consort of the Graceful Emperor, she had not received any further appointment, she could not be called Grand Consort.

The old woman stepped back, “My daughter isn’t here...” Before she finished her sentence, she stepped forward again, glaring and saying: “Stop beating around the bush. After tonight, your life will be in danger. don’t think about involving my granddaughter.”

The old woman led her people and insisted on breaking in, shouting “Xiaojun”. A dozen eunuchs blocked the door, refusing to give way.

Han Ruzi did not want to argue with women, and under the protection of Zhang Youcai, he stepped back. Zhang Youcai, watching the spectacle eagerly, said, “I’ll go help,” and then rushed into the fray.

A woman was squeezed out, stumbling. Han Ruzi stepped forward to steady her, whispering, “Mother-in-law.”

The mother of Cui Xiaojun smiled embarrassingly and immediately pushed away her son-in-law, hiding in the crowd.

While a group of women and eunuchs were arguing fiercely, a young man rushed in from the outside of the gate. He looked around in the crowd and shouted, “Laojun! Laojun!”

It turned out that “Laojun”, was the correct address for old Lady Cui, Han Ruzi thought. Xiaojun must have been dearly loved by the old woman, hence the affectionate nickname “Xiaojun”.[1]

The man called several times, and the chaos finally stopped. The old woman, who was still in highly spirited, was reprimanding the eunuchs in a spray of spit, and it took her a while to turn around. She couldn’t distinguish between friend and foe for a moment and even vented her anger on her own people, “Sheng, you’ve arrived just in time. Quickly drive these dog eunuchs who are blocking the road away. Oh, has any news been released from the palace?”

The man named Cui Sheng was a son of Grand Tutor Cui and had come specifically for this matter. He stepped forward and said, “Things are not good, I heard that Prince Donghai was also sent out of the palace, he came out with my sister.”

Prince Donghai had gotten in the carriage inside the palace, and the escorts did not know who was in it. The Cui clan had no prior knowledge of this. The old woman was stunned, “Prince Donghai is about to become the emperor, how could he be sent out?”

Cui Sheng was upset, “The Empress Dowager that old... old... she has installed someone else as emperor. All officials are rushing to the palace, and all city gates are closed, no one is allowed to enter or leave, I couldn’t go out to inform my father.”

The old woman didn’t believe it and shook her head repeatedly, “It’s impossible. The Graceful Emperor only had two sons. One is here, he’s the deposed emperor, and the other is Prince Donghai. Who else could the Empress Dowager install as emperor?”

Cui Sheng was so anxious that he was stamping his feet, “I haven’t found out the exact news yet, but I heard that several important ministers are very supportive of the new emperor, thinking that he is the most suitable one.”

Han Ruzi, like everyone else, was puzzled. Suddenly, he noticed that Yang Feng had come out from the inside at some point, standing among a group of eunuchs, his face as solemn as still water.

[1] Laojun means “Elder Jun”, and Xiaojun means “Little Jun”. The implication here is that Laojun and Xiaojun were close, hence Xiaojun was nicknamed after Elder Jun.

← CH 75Advertisement