At most, she wanted him to divorce his wife or take some noble young lady as a secondary consort.
A bunch of ignorant women.
All they ever did was obsess over their tiny little sphere of influence and insist on dragging him into it.
How utterly tiresome.
Huangfu Xiao didn’t notice that, as he left the residence, a servant hidden in the shadows at a street corner had been watching him the entire time.
When he saw Huangfu Xiao board his carriage and head toward the imperial palace, the servant immediately turned and hurried away.
…
Inside the palace, the Empress paced back and forth with a deeply furrowed brow, repeatedly glancing toward the entrance.
Quite some time had passed since she had sent someone to summon Huangfu Xiao.
Why hadn’t he arrived yet?
Unable to hold back any longer, she asked her personal attendant,
“Did the messenger clearly tell Xiao’er that I had an urgent matter?”
“He did, Your Majesty.”
“Perhaps His Highness was delayed by something.”
“Please don’t worry too much.”
The attendant replied respectfully.
The Empress was speechless.
How the hell am I supposed to stay calm?
My son’s throne is about to slip away!
Do you understand? It’s slipping away!
Thinking of the information she had just received, the Empress nearly ground her teeth to pieces.
That old Emperor…
She had served him for her entire life.
And how had he repaid her?
When they were young, he doted solely on the late Empress Yuan and barely acknowledged her existence.
After Empress Yuan died, Su Qing appeared…
And once again, he treated her with indifference.
Had she not painstakingly won over the late Empress Dowager…
She would never even have become Empress.
She had schemed every step of the way, exhausting every trick she knew.
And throughout all these years…
She had only ever wanted one thing.
Now…
Even that was about to be taken from her.
At that moment, a wave of bitterness welled up inside her.
Only then did she remember…
The Emperor had never loved her.
If the late Empress Dowager hadn’t disliked Empress Yuan and wanted someone to compete with her…
She wouldn’t even have been allowed through the palace gates.
Just as the Empress was becoming increasingly anxious and frustrated, Huangfu Xiao finally arrived.
The moment she saw him, all the anger she had been suppressing exploded.
“I sent for you over an hour ago.”
“Why are you only arriving now?”
“Did Mother summon me for something?”
In stark contrast to the furious Empress, Huangfu Xiao remained as calm as ever.
The Empress shot him a glare before turning to her attendant.
“Leave us.”
“All of you.”
“Yes, Your Majesty.”
The attendant immediately led the palace maids out.
Once everyone had left, the Empress looked coldly at Huangfu Xiao.
“You’re becoming more and more disrespectful toward me.”
“I have done no such thing.”
Huangfu Xiao replied lightly.
Yet beneath his calm expression lay unmistakable contempt and disdain.
The sight of it infuriated the Empress.
But…
He was her own flesh and blood.
He simply didn’t know it.
He doesn’t know…
He isn’t guilty…
She repeated those words to herself over and over before finally suppressing the rage in her heart.
Then she spoke coldly,
“Forget it.”
“I’ve received some information.”
“It concerns you, and it’s extremely unfavorable.”
Huangfu Xiao raised an eyebrow.
“Oh?”
The Empress almost exploded.
“Oh?”
Oh your head!
Seeing his indifferent attitude, she suddenly wanted to see whether this fool could remain so composed after learning Ling Yu’s true identity.
With that thought, she let out a cold laugh before dropping a bombshell.
“The Minister of Revenue, Ling Yu…”
“…is actually Huangfu Yi’s son.”
Huangfu Xiao: ?
Huangfu Xiao: !
He froze completely.
The composed expression on his face instantly shattered.
For a moment, he even suspected he’d misheard.
“W-What… did you say?”
“I said…”
“The Minister of Revenue, Ling Yu, is actually Huangfu Yi’s son.”
“His biological son.”
The Empress repeated each word with a cold sneer.
“Impossible!”
Huangfu Xiao’s face darkened immediately as he stared at the Empress with hostility.
“Mother…”
“Some jokes should never be made.”
The Empress let out another cold laugh.
“You think…”
“I’m joking with you?”
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