The head palace maid, Shanhu, said anxiously, “Your Majesty, His Majesty favors you, and everyone in the palace can see it. Why do you still want to deliberately anger His Majesty?”
“I don’t want to upset him, but the thought that he doesn’t believe what I say makes me feel terrible.” Zhuang Fei lowered her eyes, a hint of disappointment flashing in them.
“Your Majesty, if you argue with His Majesty, aren’t you giving others an opportunity?” Shanhu said worriedly.
A hint of melancholy appeared in Zhuang Fei’s eyes.
“What does it matter who he likes or whether I give others a chance? No matter how well I do, if he’s meant to like someone, he will still like them. If he has feelings for me, even if I’m angry with him, he will naturally protect me.”
“Just like today?” Shanhu asked.
Zhuang Fei was taken aback, and her anger instantly dissipated by more than half.
She stopped mentioning the Emperor and instead instructed Shanhu, “Tell Nanny Ping to be extra careful with the Eldest Princess’s diet from now on.”
“Yes.” Shanhu replied, sighing.
“Your Majesty usually seems to dislike the Eldest Princess, but today you were so angry that you beat Shu Fei. It turns out you care about the Eldest Princess very much…”
“When did I ever care about her!” Zhuang Fei retorted coldly.
However, because of the Eldest Princess’s poisoning, she was not in the mood to attend tonight’s palace banquet and took sick leave.
…
Shu Fei returned to Jingxi Palace.
After taking her pulse, the imperial physician prescribed medicine. Her injuries were quite severe, so she needed to rest in bed for several days.
But there was a palace banquet tonight, so after taking her medicine, Shu Fei forced herself to wash and prepare.
“Your Majesty, this Zhuang Fei is truly lawless…” Zhen Zhu said angrily.
Shu Fei sneered, “A fool like her would have died eight hundred times over if it weren’t for the Emperor’s protection. The reason I didn’t deal with her before was simply to keep her around so the Emperor would feel at ease. Since she’s courting death, I’ll send her on her way.”
Zhuang Fei is not a threat; the real trouble is the Emperor.
It needs to be done so cleanly that not a trace is left, so that the Emperor will not notice.
She needs to carefully consider and make proper arrangements for this matter.
“Is everything arranged for tonight’s palace banquet?” Shu Fei asked.
Because the Emperor observed three years of mourning, there were no banquets in the palace.
This Mid-Autumn Festival family banquet is the first royal family banquet held since the Emperor ascended the throne. As the person in charge of the six palaces, Shu Fei naturally had to ensure that everything was perfect and that no one could find fault with her.
The royal family and relatives will all know that she is the true uncrowned empress.
(The birthday banquet was organized by the Ministry of Rites.)
“Everything has been arranged, and most of the royal family members have arrived, but… Prince1王, wàng: king or prince. See details below. Yu has not yet arrived.” Zhen Zhu replied.
Prince Yu…
Shu Fei’s eyes flickered slightly.
Among the late Emperor’s sons, besides the Crown Prince and Prince Ying, there are some other princes of noble status.
The Third Prince, Prince Yu, is one of them.
His birth mother is De Fei during the reign of the late Emperor, and his wife is the legitimate daughter of the Duke of Xue’s family—the younger sister of the former Crown Princess.
He is the brother-in-law of the late Crown Prince and is the Crown Prince’s right-hand man.
If the current Emperor had not ascended the throne, he would surely have been the most powerful prince among the imperial family.
Even without the former Crown Prince, Prince Yu was originally more noble than Helian Qi.
That being said, most of the late Emperor’s sons came from better backgrounds than Helian Qi.
Prince Yu had always followed the lead of the former Crown Prince and had never thought much of Helian Qi. When Helian Qi ascended the throne, he was the most resentful of all.
During the last birthday banquet, he was not in the capital because he was inspecting the border regions.
He just returned to the capital a while ago.
There might be some good stuff to watch tonight.
Shu Fei felt much better after thinking about this.
Suddenly, she was even more looking forward to tonight’s palace banquet.
*****
Translator’s Encyclopedia
The Title of Wang (王)
In ancient China, Wáng (王) originally signified the supreme “King” or “Son of Heaven” during the Shang and Zhou dynasties. Following the creation of “Emperor” (Huangdi) by Qin Shi Huang, “Wang” was downgraded to a high-ranking noble title, typically translated as “Prince” or “King”, often granted to imperial family members or meritorious officials.
- Shang & Zhou Dynasties (Pre-221 BCE): Wang was the title for the sovereign ruler, equivalent to King.
- Imperial Times (Post-221 BCE): The Emperor (Huangdi) became supreme, while Wang became the highest rank of nobility, often referring to a royal prince or king of a subordinate fief.
- Rank Hierarchy: Within the nobility hierarchy, often defined as wujue (five ranks: duke, marquis, earl, viscount, baron), Wang was generally positioned above or outside this standard system, representing royalty.
Types of Wang:
- Qing Dynasty: Wang was divided into two main, hereditary ranks: Qinwang (亲王) – Prince of the First Rank and Junwang (郡王) – Prince of the Second Rank.
- Ming Dynasty: Princes with limited, localized authority, often given the title Wang.
Wang should not be confused with the common Chinese surname Wang (王), which has a different character origin, though they share the same spelling in Pinyin.
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wannaberecluse On SRTT Chapter 98.2