The Tyrant’s Drama Queen Empress

CHAPTER 26: He Also Wants a Daughter Like This

　　In the Ministry of the Six Departments, Minister of Revenue, Minister Qu, was buried in paperwork at his desk. The ice in the room sent out a cool breeze that drove away the stifling heat, and his mood was good. Outside, a stream of flattering voices drifted in, and he caught the words “Minister Shen” floating through the noise. Minister Qu frowned. This Shen Kangzheng, seemed to be getting less meticulous in his work than before.

　　Ever since Shen Kangzheng’s daughter, Shen Ling, had been granted the title of Bao Fei by His Majesty, his influence in the ministry had only grown. Minister Qu and Shen Kangzheng were both ministers in the Six Departments, but Minister Qu held the real power of the Ministry of Revenue. Shen Kangzheng’s position in the Ministry of Personnel wasn’t nearly as strong. The two vice ministers there—one backed by Prime Minister Yang and the other unaffiliated but talented and loyal solely to the Emperor—held most of the actual authority. Shen Kangzheng's appointment as Minister of Personnel was a result of the power struggle between these two factions; neither wanted the other's person to become Minister of Personnel, so they chose the moderate Shen Kangzheng.

　　Now, they probably all regretted it.

　　What they had assumed was that Shen Kangzheng was merely a harmless figurehead, uninterested in power, keeping everyone at ease. No one expected him to be cunning. He kept up the appearance of disinterest, but once his daughter secured her place in the Emperor’s harem, his true nature revealed itself.

　　Now, no one dared to challenge Shen Kangzheng in the Ministry of Personnel.

　　That is the advantage of having a talented daughter.

　　Minister Qu had no daughter of his own at the right age. If he did, he would have sent her to the Emperor’s Palace too. If she had even half of the Bao Fei’s skill in winning favor, Minister Qu wouldn’t have to watch Shen Kangzheng revel in his success from the sidelines.

　　Shen Kangzheng had completely changed his old ways. He was constantly requesting silver from the Ministry of Revenue, and Minister Qu couldn’t exactly refuse him. Maintenance of the exam halls across the empire—denying funds would have delayed the civil service exams. Officials retiring and returning home—denying funds would have dampened their motivation to serve the state. Minister Qu kept a tight rein on the Ministry of Revenue. How could he ever deal calmly with Shen Kangzheng, who constantly asked for funds and had once been weaker than him?

　　And Shen Kangzheng had used this silver to boost his reputation even further. The Capital now whispered Shen Kangzheng’s name with respect, calling him a righteous and just official.

　　Vice Minister Tang, noticing the change in Minister Qu’s expression, stood and walked over to him.

　　Vice Minister Tang’s face showed his displeasure as he said, “Minister Qu, should I go out there and make them keep quiet? You work so hard for the treasury and the court, yet they not only fail to ease your burden but also chatter outside while you’re working. You have a good temper, but you can’t let them get away with it every time. Someone has to teach them a lesson.”

　　Minister Qu raised an eyebrow, “A lesson? They’re not under my Ministry of Revenue. Who exactly am I supposed to demand a lesson from?”

　　Vice Minister Tang replied, “They’re officials from the Ministry of Personnel, which falls under Minister Shen’s jurisdiction.”

　　Minister Qu looked at him sharply. “You’re suggesting I go demand an explanation from Minister Shen?”

　　Vice Minister Tang nodded, “Yes, My Lord. You probably don’t realize how arrogant the Ministry of Personnel officials have become. They used to act as steadily as their Minister Shen, but now, for some reason, they’ve changed. Our ranks are low, so our words carry little weight. But you are different, My Lord. If you speak to Minister Shen, these people won’t dare disturb you like this anymore.”

　　Minister Qu chuckled as he put down his brush. “And what would that change? As long as that Bao Fei in the Palace has the Emperor’s favor, he will never lack flattery and compliments from outsiders.”

　　His gaze was sharp. “You're standing up for me, but you have your own ulterior motives. Do you feel you're not as prestigious as the officials in the Ministry of Personnel, and that you receive less tribute from your subordinates? Or are you interested in my position as minister and trying to sow discord between me and Minister Shen?”

　　Vice Minister Tang froze and bowed nervously. “My Lord, I never thought that way.”

　　Minister Qu waved his hand and softened his tone. “Just focus on your duties. Thinking too much about other matters won’t change a thing.”

　　He added with meaning, “Even looking at all the ice we use in this office, you shouldn’t have any complaints about Minister Shen. I do have a small issue with him, but I know better than to let it cause trouble.”

　　Minister Qu’s tone carried subtle weight. “This ice is delivered from the Ice Department, and the daily supply is far more than before. It’s thanks to a new method of ice-making, offered to the Emperor by the Bao Fei. We should thank the Emperor, and thank the consort. By extension, we should also have some gratitude toward her family.”

　　Vice Minister Tang, no matter what he was thinking privately, bowed and made a show of humility. “Yes, My Lord. I will remember your words.”

　　Minister Qu nodded. “Go on, get back to your work.”

　　After Vice Minister Tang left, Minister Qu picked up his brush again, but he couldn’t bring himself to write. He closed his eyes to hide his frustration. All these benefits Shen Kangzheng received came from Bao Fei in the Palace. Minister Qu couldn’t help but feel a pang of regret—why wasn’t the Bao Fei his daughter?

　　“Ah-choo!” Shen Ling sneezed, completely unaware that she was the culprit behind Minister Qu’s private sorrow.

　　Liu Zhu asked, “Your Grace, are you alright? Should we head back to the Chang Le Palace?”

　　Shen Ling moved the chili she’d been holding under her nose away. “I’m fine. The smell was just too strong—it made me sneeze a little.”

　　After Shen Ling came to the Imperial Garden to fly kites, other people in the palace gradually came to fly them too, but they didn't dare to fly them anywhere else, only in the Imperial Garden. At first, Shen Ling used the rough kite that Xie Yuanxun had made for her, but there were too many people playing in the Imperial Garden, and her kite accidentally got tangled with someone else's string and fell into the water, getting wet. When she picked it up, there were two holes in it. Shen Ling originally wanted Liu Yun to mend it. Liu Yun was the palace maid Shen Ling had met who knew how to make kites. But she realized Liuyun couldn’t recreate the rough, handmade feel of Xie Yuanxun’s work. So Shen Ling tried mending it herself with a needle and thread, but the more she patched it, the worse it got. In the end, she just stored it in the warehouse.

　　She had already decided that if Xie Yuanxun ever asked, she’d tell him she was just being careful and didn’t want to play with it, but she certainly couldn’t admit that she’d ruined the kite until only the frame remained.

　　Today, since people were flying kites again in the Imperial Garden, Shen Ling had come for a walk. The chili in her hand was one she’d just spotted there.

　　When she realized that the chili was actually appreciated as a flower, she stared in dreamy disbelief, speechless.

　　Shen Ling examined it carefully. It was exactly like the chili she remembered. Her gaze then fell on two other chili plants in the garden, well cared for by the palace staff. They were thriving, and if it weren’t for how familiar the fruit looked, she might not have realized it was actually chili.

　　Her mouth watered. “Pull them all out and send them to the Imperial Kitchen. I bet the chefs will be conquered by the spice.”

　　Liu Zhu shook her head, warning her, “Your Grace, no one has ever eaten these before. They’re only appreciated as flowers. They may look novel, but eating them will upset your stomach. I’ve heard that an elderly eunuch in the Palace once secretly ate some that had fallen to the ground and suffered terrible stomach pain. He… died from it. Your body is far too precious for you to even try.”

　　If anything happened to Shen Ling, they’d all pay with their heads.

　　Shen Ling asked curiously, “You mean he actually died from eating these chilies?”

　　—It must have been that he wasn’t used to such intense spice. The first time he tried it, his stomach couldn’t handle it. With his old age and weak immunity, it pushed him over the edge.

　　To dissuade Shen Ling from wanting to eat the chili peppers, Liu Zhu described the old eunuch's death as extremely horrific and tragic. Shen Ling listened and slowly went numb. She really wanted to ask Liu Zhu: are we sure he died from chili, and not from some other poison?

　　Shen Ling didn’t give up. The Imperial Kitchen could make spicy dishes, sure, but the spice was nothing compared to what she wanted. It was the same mild heat as regular green peppers she’d eaten before—barely any burn at all. Finally finding these bright red, fiery, super-hot chilies, Shen Ling was determined to eat them.

　　She missed that feeling of fire crawling up her tongue and throat, that pure, thrilling burn.

　　Liu Zhu knelt down, pleading, “Your Grace, it's truly inedible. If you want to eat them, I'll stop you even if it kills me.”

　　Shen Ling helped her up, but Liu Zhu promptly dropped to her knees at her feet again, showing with full effort just how far she was willing to go to stop Shen Ling from eating the chilies.

　　Shen Ling rubbed her forehead and explained, “These chilies are safe to eat. They aren’t poisonous and won’t hurt anyone.”

　　Liu Zhu still didn’t believe her. “Your Grace, you say they’re safe, but what about that elderly eunuch who ate them before and died?”

　　Shen Ling shook her head. “That was just an accident. Look, they’re grown as ornamental flowers in the Imperial Garden. If they were really poisonous, who in their right mind would cultivate them here? It doesn’t make any sense, does it?”

　　Liu Zhu remained stubborn. “But the eunuch died.”

　　Shen Ling’s eyes twitched. “That was his personal issue. Otherwise, do you think anything would happen if I ate them?”

　　Liu Zhu repeated firmly, “But the eunuch died.”

　　Shen Ling went quiet for a moment, then let out a small sigh. Convincing people was hard, but she knew Liu Zhu only cared for her safety.

　　After thinking for a moment, Shen Ling proposed, “Alright. If you’re worried about these chilies, let the kitchen feed them to animals first… no, better—feed them to the prisoners. See if anyone dies from eating them. If no one does, then you can’t stop me from eating them anymore.”

　　Liu Zhu finally nodded, reluctantly agreeing.

　　Shen Ling happily sent the chilies to the Imperial Kitchen, then wandered through the Imperial Garden again, thinking maybe she could find something else edible along the way.    

　　Unbeknownst to her, in the Imperial Garden, a few palace staff in both the east and west sections were quietly tracking Shen Ling’s movements with their eyes.

　　In the east, a palace maid in pink exchanged a glance with her companion. “She’s coming. We can start now.”

　　In the west, a plain-looking eunuch in blue squinted and smiled at the person beside him. “We should get over there and start cleaning.”

　　The two groups ended up bumping into each other. The pink-clad maid and the blue-clad eunuch exchanged glances and assumed the other was just a passerby, an unimportant character. They positioned themselves where they needed to be, went about their tasks, and began speaking.

　　The pink-clad maid said, “These white peonies are so beautiful. Did you know that back when Empress Mu was alive, she loved white peonies more than anything...”

　　The blue-clad eunuch replied, “A few days ago, His Majesty and the Bao Fei came to the garden to fly their kites. The Palace has been lively ever since. Honestly, I haven’t seen a scene like that since Empress Mu was still around...”

　　Huh?

　　Huh? Huh?

　　Both groups stopped mid-sentence and looked up at each other, question marks practically hovering above their heads. Wait… why are they talking about Empress Mu too?

　　The pink-clad maid thought: I only mentioned Empress Mu because Jing Fei ordered me to. He must have just happened to talk about her at the same time.

　　The blue-clad eunuch thought: I finally got an order from the Princess’s Manor outside. I have to get this right and not disappoint Marquis Xue. She probably mentioned Empress Mu by accident too.    

　　So they started talking again.

　　The pink-clad maid said, “Empress Mu was chosen by the late Emperor to be His Majesty’s consort. I heard that after she entered the Palace, she immediately won His Majesty’s favor. He would only see her and hardly anyone else in the Palace. Don’t you think that’s a lot like the Bao Fei now?”

　　The blue-clad eunuch replied, “Empress Mu loved lively gatherings and was kind-hearted. She came from the Duke of Mu’s household. If it weren’t for the arrogance of some people in the Mu family dragging her down, she wouldn’t have died under His Majesty’s hands. But His Majesty… for her sake, he not only punished the Mu household but also had the whole family prepare burial goods for her. His care for Empress Mu was different. Those are all old stories from back then, very few people know. I only remembered because of how much favor His Majesty shows the Bao Fei now.”

　　The pink-clad maid blinked, “……”

　　The blue-clad eunuch also went quiet, “……”

　　They looked at each other again, suspicion in their eyes. Why was the other talking about Empress Mu too? And mentioning the Bao Fei? Could the other person have also been sent to mess with Bao Fei?

　　Shen Ling stayed still, listening to them. She raised an eyebrow. Her favor with His Majesty was being compared to Empress Mu’s?

　　Shen Ling knew Xie Yuanxun had an Empress, though he had already killed her. But now, listening to their ‘whispering,’ she sensed a strong whiff of conspiracy.

　　These were two separate groups, right?

　　Shen Ling’s eyes swept across the pink-clad maid and the blue-clad eunuch, taking in every detail.  

    

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