Huh? The Tyrant Cries After My Inner Thoughts Were Exposed!-Chapter 16: Heir of Prince Han

Although it was restarted three times, Su Juan never had much of an impression of the Empress.

This Empress didn’t like lively occasions. It is said that she was originally an illegitimate daughter of the Xie Family, and she and the Emperor, who was then just a Prince, were deeply in love. She married him as a Concubine, and after the Emperor ascended the throne, he defied all opposition and made her the Empress.

However, the Empress seemed to have no desire for power, living in the harem, always eating vegetarian and chanting Buddha.

When Su Juan met the Empress, the Empress was dressed plainly, waiting in the hall. She respectfully performed the courtesy, "This concubine greets Your Majesty the Empress, wishing Your Majesty prosperity and peace."

As she bowed her head, the Empress looked at her, somewhat distracted at first, then invited Su Juan to sit beside her and accompany her for tea.

Su Juan quietly observed the Empress, unable to help but sigh, [Both are from the Xie Family, Xie Xun is flamboyantly dressed every day, using precious items to style his hair, adorned with valuable things, hanging four or five pieces of jade on his belt every day...]

[Yet this Empress is plainly dressed, completely different from him.]

[As expected, Xie Xun is indeed showy.]

The Empress was slightly taken aback at first, and then smiled warmly, "There is a child in my Xie Family, probably around your age. Have you met?"

Su Juan, of course, knew she was talking about Xie Xun.

Su Juan: "To the Empress, I have met him."

The Empress asked softly, "I have seen that child not often, what impression do you have of him?"

As she asked, her gaze also fell on Su Juan, the more she looked, the more she liked her. This sense of familiarity, even she couldn’t explain why.

Su Juan was momentarily stunned, why did the Empress suddenly ask her impression of Xie Xun?

This was indeed a difficult situation. Xie Xun was a younger generation of Empress Xie, and it’s not that she meant to speak ill of Xie Xun, but if she told the truth, wouldn’t it offend people?

Su Juan pursed her lips, thought for a moment, "To the Empress, this concubine thinks, Heir Xie is outstanding, with a jade-like face, impressive character, and exceptional literary talent... he is undoubtedly a true gentleman."

Even someone as composed as the Empress almost choked on her tea at that moment.

She took a handkerchief from the nanny beside her, wiped herself as she coughed lightly, "I didn’t expect you to have such a high evaluation of him."

Although she wasn’t very familiar with Xie Xun, considering what Su Juan said, she also knew that person couldn’t match even half of it.

"But listening to this, why do I feel you’re describing Liu Xuan, the heir of Earl Shengping Mansion?"

Su Juan subtly wiped away sweat, smiling awkwardly, "Really? This concubine was talking about Heir Xie."

The Empress looked at her and laughed, "It’s hard for you to tell the truth, you truly are an honest child."

Being praised by her like this, Su Juan felt guilty.

[Isn’t it said that the Empress is reclusive and doesn’t know much about outside affairs, how come she even knows about Liu Xuan?]

[Heaven knows I was just praising Liu Xuan... It’s really too difficult to praise Xie Xun.]

[Judging by the Empress’s reaction, I probably didn’t expose myself, right?]

Su Juan slightly calmed her restless little heart.

[Sigh, so hungry, if only I had brought that big pancake to eat in the carriage.]

Seeing Su Juan’s distressed and aggrieved look, the Empress called someone over and gave a few low-key instructions.

Before long, the palace maids brought a lot of food, a dazzling array, making Su Juan’s eyes warm.

[It looks so delicious...]

[Isn’t it said that the Empress eats vegetarian and prays, being very frugal?]

[Why were so many foods brought, doesn’t seem like one person can finish them, could it be there’s some for me?]

Su Juan licked her lips, swallowed her saliva, "Empress, this is?"

Seeing her reaction, the Empress’s gaze was filled with a smile, "I had you come into the palace so early, you probably haven’t had breakfast yet, are you hungry?"

Su Juan’s face warmed, was she really that obvious about being hungry?

"A bit."

The Empress smiled, "These are pastries just made by the Imperial Kitchen, have a taste."

I usually like to eat something sweet, so the Imperial Kitchen sends some lightly sweet food over daily.

Yesterday at the feast, she noticed that Su Juan’s taste was somewhat similar to hers, liking sweets, what a coincidence.

"This concubine thanks the Empress."

After thanking, Su Juan started using her chopsticks, the Empress was easy-going, the hall didn’t have as many rules as other places, and she didn’t restrict how much Su Juan ate of these foods.

With Su Juan for company, the Empress ate more today than usual.

The hall rarely had both laughter and warmth like now, the Empress, who had eaten vegetarian and chanted Buddhist scriptures, lived a melancholic life for decades, seemed like she changed into a different person today.

The nanny beside her watched with genuine happiness in her heart.

Seeing how much the Empress liked this Heir Consort, it seems that the Heir Consort will often come to the palace in the future, so I need to ask the Imperial Kitchen to prepare more food.

...

After the midday meal, the Empress needed to rest, and only then did Su Juan leave. Before she left, the Empress rewarded her with a lot of things and handed her a jade token, letting her know that if she wanted to eat pastries in the future, she should come to the palace. With this jade token, she could pass in and out of the palace gates unrestricted.

Holding the token, Su Juan noticed its unique pattern and studied it for a long while, feeling that the pattern seemed quite familiar.

Not having time to think too much, when the palace maid led her through the Imperial Garden, Su Juan saw a noble-dressed man approaching from the opposite side. Tall in stature, appearing around thirty, followed by two guards holding swords, exuding a commanding presence.

Su Juan was not unfamiliar with him, having dealt with him during the previous two restarts.

Even if she had never seen him before, she could guess the person’s identity, as only the acclaimed father and son of Prince Han could roam freely in the palace with guards carrying swords.

"This concubine meets Heir Han."

Heir of Prince Han, Song Jingwen, nodded slightly. He saw Su Juan at yesterday’s feast, the young lady was continuously eating on the surface, while thinking quite a bit in her mind, leaving a deep impression on him.

"Sister-in-law, no need for formality; we are of the same generation, no need for such courtesy when we meet in the future."

Su Juan responded, reflecting,[Heir Han truly deserves his reputation for campaigning all over; he is markedly different from the flowery-faced young men in the Capital City in recent years, full of masculine energy, even his words are invigorating.]

Song Jingwen was slightly stunned, remembering recent years in the Capital regardless of commoners or family scions, many applied powder on their faces to make their skin appear fairer and more attractive. He suddenly smiled, if a person in the military like himself were to do so, would he not lose his imposing atmosphere before the enemy?

Leaving the palace, Su Juan reviewed all she knew about Prince Han’s father and son in her mind.

It’s said that Heir Han followed Jin’s top martial artist in his youth, going to war with Prince Han at fifteen, achieving great military success, yet he was the most amiable heir among the kings, marquises, and dukes in the Capital, without any airs and treated subordinates especially well.

It was for this reason that the praises for Prince Han’s father and son filled the Capital, and the Old Emperor also greatly relied on them.

Song Qianfan always regarded this father and son as adversaries, viewing them as the biggest threat in the struggle for succession.

Su Juan believed that the Old Emperor initially chose Song Qianfan, not only because he had some talent and reputation, but more so probably because he felt the killing aura of Prince Han’s father and son was too strong, fearing that if Prince Han ascended the throne in the future, he might neglect state affairs, incite wars, causing the people to suffer, and chaos in politics.

The Old Emperor had these concerns, but choosing Song Qianfan was clearly an unwise decision.