Wang Shun first suspected he was seeing things and couldn’t help but look more closely.
Li Yue lifted his hand and patted the table, speaking with some displeasure: “If you’re going to pay respects, look at me. What are you looking at the Empress for?”
So—it really was the Empress.
Wang Shun’s heart gave a hard thump. He quickly knelt down and begged for forgiveness.
This wasn’t his fault—what kind of place was the front hall?
How could he have imagined that the Empress would be here?
But regardless, his behavior just now was far too discourteous.
If His Majesty chose to hold it against him, he could only obediently accept it.
Meng Fu closed the book in her hands and said softly to Li Yue: “Your Majesty, don’t scare Lord Wang. He didn’t know I would be here.”
His Majesty snorted but said nothing.
Meng Fu then said to Wang Shun: “It was this palace who wanted to take a look at some case files. I troubled Lord Wang to make a trip.”
Wang Shun didn’t know what to say.
Reason told him he should remind the Emperor that the Empress ought not to be in the front hall.
But the Empress’s manner was so gracious, and for some unknown reason, gave him a strange sense of familiarity.
He really couldn’t bring himself to say those words.
“Rise,” said Li Yue.
“Then… the case files…” Wang Shun asked.
Meng Fu said: “Just bring them here to this palace.”
A palace servant came forward, took the case files from Wang Shun, and brought them before Meng Fu.
Meng Fu flipped through two pages and smiled as she said: “I’ve long heard His Majesty say that Lord Wang solves cases like a deity. Now that I’ve seen it, it truly lives up to the name.”
Wang Shun couldn’t help but feel a surge of joy in his heart.
He looked at Li Yue with eyes that practically shone—
His Majesty actually praised him like this in private?
Li Yue was so creeped out by the way Wang Shun looked at him that he nearly got goosebumps.
He opened his mouth to speak, but when Meng Fu gave him a look, he silently swallowed the words back down.
Fine.
If the Empress said he said it, then that meant he had said it.
Meng Fu, while boiling frogs in warm water, also took the opportunity to find some inspiration for writing.
After roughly reading through the case files, she asked Wang Shun: “Lord Wang, how did you come up with these investigative methods? They’re truly eye-opening.”
Wang Shun lowered his head, slightly embarrassed, and said: “Your Ladyship praises me too highly. I just read a lot and accumulated some experience.”
Meng Fu nodded and said: “Experience is good. With the Court of Judicial Review in your hands, His Majesty can also rest assured.”
Wang Shun couldn’t help but glance in Meng Fu’s direction.
The Empress was sitting there peacefully. Sunlight from the window spilled down, as if cloaking her in a thin layer of golden gauze.
The scene before his eyes and a scene in his memory gradually began to eerily overlap.
That was in the seventh month of last year.
His Majesty had also been sitting by the window, and had earnestly said to him: “Lord Wang, with you in charge of the Court of Judicial Review, I am very much at ease.”
Wang Shun’s eyes began to heat up—he actually felt like crying.
Before his tears could fall, he heard His Majesty say, with some disdain: “Enough, hurry and withdraw.”
Wang Shun’s surging emotions were instantly suspended in mid-air—neither up nor down. Only after he exited Zichen Hall did he suddenly realize that he should have reminded His Majesty that the Empress ought not to appear in the front hall. But by then, the opportunity had already passed.
That day, His Majesty didn’t summon just Wang Shun in the front hall, so very soon, nearly all the court officials knew about the Empress going to the front hall.
The civil and military officials of the entire court were deeply displeased and felt this matter must be stopped. But strangely, those who had actually seen Her Majesty in Zichen Hall—like Wang Shun—were not very enthusiastic about protesting the Empress’s presence in the front hall. Every time someone asked what Her Majesty did in Zichen Hall that day, a nostalgic expression would appear on Wang Shun’s face.
It made others suspect that Wang Shun and the rest must have either taken the wrong medicine or eaten poisonous mushrooms.
The ministers wanted to bring the matter up during court, but since all these “witnesses” kept silent, it was hard for them to press the issue.
Wei Jun’an found this completely unacceptable. For several nights in a row, he couldn’t sleep. He finally decided that things couldn’t go on like this—he had to become one of the witnesses himself, then he could speak out against it with justified reason and name.
The Empress not managing the inner palace yet interfering in front court affairs—what sort of propriety is that!
Oh, right… it seemed His Majesty didn’t even have a harem.
Even so, she still shouldn’t be interfering in the front court.
Wei Jun’an wasn’t the only one who thought this way. People from the Chancellery (门下省) and the Six Ministries also each sent representatives to admonish His Majesty.
When Wei Jun’an arrived, Deputy Minister of the Chancellery Zhao Feiyuan and Minister of Rites Zhang Songzhi had already gone into the hall.
He could only wait outside.
Wei Jun’an felt that these two colleagues of his were both smooth talkers; maybe they would resolve this matter without him needing to act.
But after more than half an hour had passed, the two of them also staggered out of Zichen Hall in a daze. Their steps floated, and strange smiles hung on their faces.
Wei Jun’an immediately went over to ask them what on earth had happened.
Zhao Feiyuan and Zhang Songzhi looked as though they had just awakened from a dream, their faces full of shame.
They had failed their fellow colleagues’ expectations.
It wasn’t that they wanted it this way—they had clearly thought through everything they meant to say.
But as soon as they opened their mouths, they were scolded silly by His Majesty.
That, in itself, wasn’t a big deal. Since His Majesty ascended the throne, they’d been scolded by him plenty.
But the shocking thing was—the Empress actually managed to calm His Majesty down.
And what’s more, she comforted them and even praised them, saying they had done well recently and had relieved His Majesty of many worries.
They felt like they had seen, in Her Majesty the Empress, the gentle version of His Majesty they remembered from long ago.
And now, facing Wei Jun’an’s disappointed and resentful gaze, the two of them were covered in cold sweat. Finally, they shook their heads and said to Wei Jun’an: “Lord Wei, we have failed the task. It’s up to you now.”
Wei Jun’an couldn’t understand what kind of flood dragon or wild beast could have turned them into this. He hesitated for a moment and asked Gao Xi, who was guarding the entrance: “Is Her Majesty also inside?”
“Yes,” said Eunuch Gao, “Her Majesty came early this morning.”
Wei Jun’an frowned deeply.
“This is outrageous! How could His Majesty allow the Empress to enter?”
Gao Xi smiled and said: “Lord Wei, you also know—His Majesty hasn’t been in a good mood these days. As servants like us, we don’t dare approach. Only Her Majesty dares to comfort him a bit.”
Wei Jun’an was not satisfied with this explanation and said: “Even so, the Empress shouldn’t be staying inside! The inner palace must not interfere in state affairs—this is a rule passed down from the ancestors!”
Gao Xi kept a polite, smiling face and said nothing.
The ancestral rules… well, His Majesty hadn’t exactly followed many of them.
Lord Wei still hadn’t figured that out?
Already the Grand Chancellor (中书令), yet still this rigid and by-the-book—it simply wouldn’t do!
Wei Jun’an entered the hall with a long face.
In his heart, he warned himself: No matter what His Majesty says later, he must hold fast to his principles—he must not allow the Empress to continue staying in the front hall and meddling in state affairs.
But just as he stepped inside the hall—
A cup came flying and smashed hard at his feet.
Wei Jun’an was so startled he jolted, nearly losing his soul.
He froze in place, looked up, and saw His Majesty with a furious expression, clearly on the verge of smashing something else.
The Empress stood beside His Majesty, lightly tugging his sleeve and whispering softly into his ear.
She whispered for quite a while, yet His Majesty’s anger still did not subside.
Seeing that Wei Jun’an had arrived, Meng Fu quickly said to him: “Lord Wei, you’ve finally come. His Majesty hasn’t been feeling well these days. The Imperial Physician came to check and said it’s excessive liver fire and that anger harms the body. But you also know His Majesty’s temper—he gets angry eight times a day. Now even this consort can’t calm him down. You’ve come at the right time—please help talk him down.”
Wei Jun’an: “……”
When had he ever been able to talk His Majesty down?
His Majesty let out a cold laugh, as if mocking Wei Jun’an’s incompetence.
Meng Fu raised her hand and gently stroked His Majesty’s chest, speaking softly: “Lord Wei is just worried about you. Why are you like this?”
His Majesty gave another snort.
Wei Jun’an hadn’t forgotten why he came. But if what the Empress said was true—for the sake of His Majesty’s health—then Her Majesty should indeed stay by His Majesty’s side more.
After all, when His Majesty looked at them, it only seemed to make him angrier.
But… what about his original principles?
Wei Jun’an suddenly fell into deep inner conflict.
Meng Fu glanced at him and continued: “Lord Wei works hard every day for state affairs—it’s not easy for him. Don’t keep nitpicking at him. Look how much Lord Wei cares about you—knowing you’re unwell, he didn’t even go home after court, but came straight here to check on you.”
…Though that wasn’t actually the reason.
Seeing that His Majesty was no longer as angry as before, Wei Jun’an would have to be a fool to contradict the Empress at this moment.
His precious principles… might not hold up anymore.
This quickly?
Meng Fu continued to coax: “Lord Wei is a pillar of the court, your left arm and right hand. If you and Lord Wei have disagreements in political views, talk them through—don’t always get angry, alright?”
“You also know Lord Wei’s heart is full of loyalty and devotion to the ruler and the country. Even if he sometimes overthinks things, officials like Lord Wei—loyal to the core—are hard to come by nowadays.”
After coaxing His Majesty, Meng Fu turned and looked at Wei Jun’an, asking: “Isn’t that right, Lord Wei? His Majesty often gets angry with you, but it’s because he values you. Lord Wei, you absolutely mustn’t let His Majesty down.”
Wei Jun’an felt the words sounded somewhat familiar.
He looked up and saw not far away, Her Majesty the Empress was smiling at him, her gaze full of earnest expectation.
Wei Jun’an froze.
What virtue or ability did he possess, to be trusted so deeply by both the Emperor and the Empress?
After a long while, he solemnly nodded and answered, “Yes.”
When Liu Changlan arrived outside Zichen Hall and learned that Wei Jun’an had already gone in to request an audience with His Majesty, he obediently waited outside.
All the colleagues who had entered Zichen Hall and met the Empress had come out behaving strangely.
Wei Jun’an was a seasoned veteran—surely he wouldn’t end up like them, right?
Not long after, he saw Wei Jun’an emerge from Zichen Hall with a dazed expression.
Liu Changlan quickly walked over and saw that Wei Jun’an was actually standing outside Zichen Hall with a faint trace of sorrow on his face—there was even a bit of nostalgic emotion in his expression.
Liu Changlan was baffled.
He didn’t understand.
He couldn’t make sense of it anymore.
He furrowed his brows hard.
What was with Wei Jun’an’s expression?
Don’t tell him… he also ate poisonous mushrooms this morning?
Just what kind of mushroom was this, with such potent effects?!
He took another step forward and asked Wei Jun’an: “Lord Wei, what happened to you? Did His Majesty scold you?”
But even if His Majesty had scolded him harshly, Wei Jun’an shouldn’t have this kind of… theatrical attitude.
What on earth was inside Zichen Hall?
Wei Jun’an raised his hand and wiped the corners of his eyes—though there were no actual tears—and let out a heavy sigh. He turned to Liu Changlan and said: “I don’t know what happened. Just now, inside Zichen Hall, the moment I saw the Empress smile at me… I suddenly felt like crying. I’ve embarrassed myself before you, Lord Liu.”
Liu Changlan: “?”
Wei Jun’an, are you sick?!
Do you even remember why you went in there?
Who told you to go in and watch the Empress smile?!