Ashes to Crown

Chapter 200: Chapter 29: An Audience (2)

Mrs. Qi could only grab her and hiss through gritted teeth, ”This is the Imperial City. If you don’t start behaving, I’ll send you right back home.”

Normally, such a threat would have frightened her, but not this time. Qi Leyun even seemed to get a second wind. ”The Empress specifically asked to see us.”

The girls nearby who overheard Qi Leyun immediately began to giggle, exchanging knowing glances and nudges.

The group instantly grew a bit livelier.

The older ladies felt rather helpless. While there had been no official decree, this group of girls had been the first to learn of the Empress’s banquet and bring the news home. And considering the Empress was Chu Zhao, they could all guess what that implied.

Ordinarily, when ladies-in-waiting entered the palace, they would at most bring their daughters-in-law. Girls of fourteen or fifteen were not to be brought along. But this time was different; they had no choice but to bring them.

Just look at these girls, so utterly ill-mannered.

”What’s there to be afraid of?” Qi Leyun muttered. ”Back in the day, she was even more ill-behaved than us. She won’t hold it against us.”

That was a damn fool thing to say. Mrs. Qi forgot all about propriety and smacked her. ”Say one more word, and see if I don’t send you home right now. I’m your mother, no one can blame me for it! Besides—have you all forgotten how rude and unfriendly you were to her back then?”

The elders might not have seemed to care about the squabbles between the girls, but that didn’t mean they were unaware. They simply chose not to intervene most of the time.

”How did you treat her back then? She was new to the city, a stranger in a strange land, so she didn’t dare to do anything. But things are different now.”

”She invited you all here today to ’reminisce.’ What exactly you’ll be reminiscing about, however, is anyone’s guess.”

Her mother’s sudden tirade left Qi Leyun stunned. ’That’s right... I almost forgot.’ She remembered Chu Zhao’s temper all too well. When Liang Qin had said a few bad words about her father, Chu Zhao had beaten and berated her. In the end, the entire Liang Family was convicted of a crime and exiled to the Border County—

And before the Chu Garden Literary Meeting, their own attitudes toward Chu Zhao had been just as bad as Liang Qin’s, if not worse!

’She isn’t actually going to settle old scores with us today, is she?!’

In an instant, all the girls hunched their shoulders and peered cautiously ahead. They had reached the Inner Palace, and all the ladies-in-waiting had stopped, waiting for the Empress to ascend her throne before they could enter the hall.

But there was one exception.

A girl walked past the crowd and started up the steps, one by one. Her clothes were plain, but the other girls recognized her at a glance.

Chu Tang.

”Chu Tang came, too,” someone muttered, slow on the uptake.

Everyone around them silently cursed the speaker for stating the obvious.

Ever since Chu Zhao had been named Empress, the Chu Family had all but vanished from the Capital City, keeping their doors and windows tightly shut. But the moment they decided to step outside, they were undeniably a part of the Royal Family.

Of course the Chu Family would attend this banquet. And though the heads of the family were still absent, a girl from the family had come.

This girl was Chu Zhao’s cousin—a bona fide member of the Royal Family.

Chu Tang kept her head down as she ascended the steps, feeling the countless gazes on her back—gazes filled with envy and awe.

’It has always been me, Chu Tang, following behind others, casting looks of envy, awe, and adulation. I did dream of being treated this way one day, but I never thought that day would come so soon.’

’And this... this is more stunning than anything I could have ever dreamed.’

Chu Tang lifted her head and looked toward the grand hall before her, where she could vaguely make out the figure of a woman seated within.

...

...

Chu Zhao saw the light in Chu Tang’s eyes and found her own thoughts drifting. In her past life as Empress, the first time Chu Tang saw her, there had also been a light in her eyes.

But that light had been for the palace, not for her.

When Chu Tang had looked at her, she had made no effort to hide her indifference.

But now, things were different.

”How am I supposed to greet you?” Chu Tang asked in a low voice, testing the waters with a curtsy. ”Greetings, Your Majesty.”

Ah Le chuckled from the side. ”Miss Ah Tang, you’re a young lady from the Capital City. Don’t you know?”

Chu Tang sighed. ”Not every young lady in the Capital City is qualified to enter the Imperial Palace. This is my first time here.”

She looked around as she spoke, her expression filled with awe.

”This is the Imperial Palace Hall.”

Despite her words, and despite the many palace maids and eunuchs standing attentively in the hall, Chu Tang felt no nervousness, only excitement. Perhaps it was because the girl seated in the center, dressed in the formal robes of an Empress and holding a cup of tea, seemed as relaxed and at ease as if she were in her own home.

Chu Zhao smiled. ”There’s no rush for all that. You’ll learn it in no time. For now, please, sit.”

Chu Tang assented and took a seat beside Chu Zhao.

”Is everything all right at home?” Chu Zhao asked.

’Since entering the palace that night, she hadn’t once been back out. Xiao Man had left people to keep an eye on the Chu Family, and any orders she had—such as locking Chu Lan up and forbidding him from seeing anyone—were relayed through her.’

Chu Zhao asked again, ”Your father isn’t angry, is he?”

Chu Tang first nodded, then shook her head. ”Everything at home is fine. Father hasn’t made a scene. He hasn’t said a word.”

She added this last part specifically to show that she knew nothing.

’In truth, when she saw the look of terror on her father’s face and thought back to that night... the young Princely Heir had been hidden in their home, and Chu Zhao had fought her way out with him. What did that mean?’

’It meant the young Princely Heir had nearly come to harm in their house.’

’And that danger had to be connected to Chu Lan.’

’Otherwise, when the late Emperor rewarded Chu Zhao for her meritorious rescue, how could Chu Lan not have rushed out to claim some of the credit? Instead, he had fainted from fright, muttering that he was finished, that his entire family was finished.’

Chu Tang had immediately locked up Chu Lan and Mrs. Jiang, dismissed all their attendants, and personally stood guard to ensure not a single word leaked out of the Chu Family estate.

Mrs. Jiang must have guessed what was happening, too. She had grabbed Chu Tang’s hand and wept, ”Is she going to have us killed to silence us?”

Chu Tang had considered it, but she shook her head. ”No.”

’Silencing them now wouldn’t benefit Chu Zhao in the slightest. If she’d wanted them dead, the guards at the door that night would have ”cleaned them up” along with everyone else. It would have even added to Chu Zhao’s prestige—an entire family sacrificed to protect the young Princely Heir.’

’Killing them now would only invite speculation.’

’Chu Zhao wasn’t that stupid.’

’And Chu Zhao... wasn’t that cruel.’

The girl before her looked at her and nodded. ”Good. I can rest easy with you handling things.”

Chu Tang said, ”I can’t say I’ve done a perfect job. After all, Ah Zhao, you’re involved in matters of great importance.” She pressed a hand to her chest. ”I just did my best, hoping only not to cause you any trouble.”

Chu Zhao glanced around. ”Ah Le, have them withdraw for now.”

”Yes, Your Majesty,” Ah Le replied. With a wave of her hand, all the palace maids and eunuchs in the hall immediately filed out.

”That night, your father tried to kill the young Princely Heir,” Chu Zhao said to Chu Tang.

The color drained from Chu Tang’s face. She shot up from her chair. Her suspicions were confirmed. As Chu Zhao continued to speak, the words seemed to enter one ear and leave the other, a loud ringing sound filling her head—

’It’s over, it’s all over. Even with Chu Zhao as the Empress, the Emperor will never forgive us.’

”But you don’t need to be so afraid,” Chu Zhao’s voice cut through her panic. ”Your father is your father, and you are you. The two are not the same.”

’Not the same? Parents and children are one and the same. The child must pay for the father’s debts.’ Chu Tang stared at her, her eyes vacant.

”Your father was deceived by the Heir of Zhongshan King and pledged his life to the King of Zhongshan,” Chu Zhao said. ”So, you simply have to not be deceived by the King of Zhongshan, and pledge your life only to His Majesty.”

She finished with a faint smile.

”Just like my father and me. You see, the late Emperor and His Majesty hold no grudges against us.”

’That’s right.’ Chu Tang’s senses returned, and she collapsed back into her chair. ”Ah Zhao, of course I’m the same as you and your father.”

Chu Zhao nodded and pushed a cup of tea toward her. ”Have a taste. It’s palace tea.”

Chu Tang didn’t stand on ceremony. She picked it up and downed it in one go. ”It really is better than what we have at home.”

Chu Zhao couldn’t help but laugh. ”Sister Ah Tang, you’re much braver than I imagined.”

’To hear what her father has done and immediately be able to drink tea without a care.’

”That’s because you’re here, Ah Zhao,” Chu Tang said with sincerity.

Chu Zhao looked at her. ”And what if I weren’t?”

’What if she weren’t? What does that mean?’ Chu Tang froze.