Chapter 445 - The Emperor Would Probably Summon Her
Chapter 445: The Emperor Would Probably Summon Her
However, she still did not understand the Empress Dowager’s intentions.
The Empress Dowager practiced Buddhism and was not in the palace for most of the time. She seemed uninterested in court affairs, but Lu Yunshuang knew that she kept herself up to date with everything going on in the court despite her apparent indifference.
After a long time, Empress Dowager Xiaojing finally finished her spiritual practices for the day. With the help of her personal maidservant, she stood up, a kind smile blossoming on her well-maintained face.
“I apologize for keeping you waiting, Crown Princess.”
Lu Yunshuang hurriedly got up and curtsied to her. “It’s only proper that I wait for you, Royal Grandmother. It doesn’t matter how long I have to wait.”
Empress Dowager Xiaojing nodded in satisfaction, took Matron Chen’s hand, and sat on the couch.
Lu Yunshuang followed at once.
“Do you know why I summoned you here this time?” After sitting down, Empress Dowager Xiaojing accepted the cup of tea from Matron Chen, took a sip, and spoke slowly.
Lu Yunshuang lowered her head quickly. “I’m too foolish to understand your intentions, Royal Grandmother.”
Empress Dowager Xiaojing sighed. “Not long after I brought you here, the Duke Chen Family’s property was confiscated and seized.”
Lu Yunshuang’s heart sank abruptly at her words, and her fingers gripped her handkerchief tightly.
How could this be?
Empress Dowager Xiaojing glanced at her. “But you don’t need to panic. Your name is not in those ledgers. Even if the Emperor suspects you, he won’t investigate you without conclusive evidence. It’s just a pity that such a good location was taken away just like that, and even a few officials got involved. Fortunately, the officials under investigation didn’t have regular contact with you, so they don’t know much. But that Heir Presumptive Chen, on the other hand…”
Lu Yunshuang’s dissipating worries resurfaced in an instant. However, remembering Chen Xuping’s devotion to her, she said confidently, “Heir Presumptive Chen will never betray me.”
Empress Dowager Xiaojing nodded. “I hope so. Otherwise, the brothels in other places will be discovered, and local officials will be involved. But even so, I suggest that you take precautions as soon as possible in case of any unexpected mishaps. Perhaps you should transfer those people while Heir Presumptive Chen hasn’t given you away, and for the time being, discontinue your business of abducting and selling women.”
Hearing this, Lu Yunshuang gradually calmed down.
At first, she wondered why the Empress Dowager wanted to bring her to Jiuhua Temple out of the blue. It turned out that the Empress Dowager had already learned about the Xiawu brothel incident, so she summoned her to Jiuhua Temple to lie low and discuss the matter with her.
Over the years, Lu Yunshuang had been doing a lot of shady work for the Empress Dowager, such as opening brothels and gambling houses. It was not only for accumulating wealth but also for winning over court officials to serve the Empress Dowager.
She even secretly recruited assassins to eliminate Long Chi’s enemies.
To satisfy the peculiar interests of those court officials, Lu Yunshuang even sent people to search high and low for young women and even pretty boys. If she could buy them at a low price, she would do so, and if not, she would simply abduct them. Her doings remained unexposed thanks to the help of local officials in covering them up. If her actions were ever revealed, not only would she be affected, but those officials too…
However, when she executed these deeds, she always kept a card up her sleeve and let Chen Xuping handle everything instead of doing them herself.
Without Chen Xuping’s help, she would not have gotten anything done at all. Of course, there was also the Empress Dowager’s full support from behind the scenes.
Now that Chen Xuping had taken the fall, she was privately relieved.
Fortunately, all of those deeds were done in Chen Xuping’s name, and she had only shown her face a few times.
If the Empress Dowager had not fetched her to Jiuhua Temple, the Emperor would probably have summoned her too.