In the Fengluan Palace, Dugu Lanyue rubbed her temples, her brows knitted tightly.
"Why does that Huo Wei come to pay his respects every day? Who on earth arranged this for him?
Now the whole palace is rife with rumors. I'm the queen after all. If these rumors reach the emperor's ears, it'll spell big trouble!"
As a woman, she felt deeply hurt by these blatant rumors.
Aunt Meijiang said, "This old servant has already given orders to strictly investigate those spreading the rumors, but it's no use as long as the Prince of Yuzhang keeps coming to the Fengluan Palace so frequently."
Just as she was speaking, Huo Wei came to pay his respects again. Dugu Lanyue was annoyed even at the sight of him. This man had brought her nothing but trouble.
"Huo Wei, you really don't need to come and pay your respects every day. Haven't you heard the wild rumors in the harem?"
Huo Wei sat on the mahogany chair in the Fengluan Palace, in the seat of honor. Dressed in a black robe embroidered with gold thread, his eyes and eyebrows carried a frosty chill.
"I'm just following the emperor's order. How could I dare to defy it?"
Dugu Lanyue was worried about falling out of favor. She had been poring over the records for days and found that Murong Min had visited Zhao Chuyan's palace twice.
She walked up to Huo Wei in her red phoenix robe and asked in confusion, "Why? Why is it the emperor's idea?"
The whole harem was abuzz with rumors about the ambiguous relationship between the Prince of Yuzhang and the queen. No grown - up prince, especially a prince with a different surname, would visit the queen's palace every day.
With so many visits, how could people not be suspicious?
Huo Wei let out a cold laugh. "I thought the queen was much smarter. It seems you still haven't seen through it.
Your beloved emperor may not want the queen's power to be too stable. Of course, the same goes for me."
That day, when Murong Min told Huo Wei to keep an eye on Dugu Lanyue, it was just a guise, or perhaps it was just the emperor's natural suspicion.
The logic was simple. How could one monitor the queen just by coming to pay respects?
It wasn't until the rumors spread that Huo Wei realized that Murong Min not only wanted to curb the queen's influence but also hoped that he would relinquish his power over the imperial guards.
The emperor didn't care about these ugly harem rumors. His strategy was truly masterful.
Dugu Lanyue paced back and forth in the hall, deep in thought.
"I understand. It seems the emperor is still wary of you and me."
Both of them were intelligent people. There was no need to spell things out.
However, Dugu Lanyue didn't know how to break this deadlock.
She rubbed her temples constantly, her head throbbing with pain.
Murong Min was indeed a suspicious man. Perhaps he had been dissatisfied when she easily gained power in the harem last time.
Murong Min only liked good - looking but useless concubines. He didn't like them to be too shrewd.
Seeing her discomfort, Huo Wei was silent for a moment, then said in a deep and magnetic voice, "I'll handle it."
Dugu Lanyue turned around and stared at him. "What are you going to do?"
Huo Wei got up and left the Fengluan Palace without elaborating. His face was clearly gloomy as he left.
What Dugu Lanyue didn't expect was that Huo Wei's solution was so... peculiar.
In the Fengluan Palace, Dugu Lanyue exclaimed in disbelief, "Did he castrate himself just to quash the rumors?"
Yu Zan came forward.
"Your Majesty, this servant heard the imperial physician who came to take the queen's pulse whispering to another servant.
He said that the Prince of Yuzhang was injured in the long - term wars and suffered from a hidden ailment, so he was impotent. Now the news has spread.
He's just like a eunuch in the palace, so the rumors have been self - refuted."
Dugu Lanyue was stunned for a moment. "What? Impotent?"
She didn't believe it. She would rather believe that Huo Wei castrated himself after leaving the Fengluan Palace than believe in this hidden ailment.
That time in the cave, and that time in the Prince of Yuzhang's mansion... Something wasn't right.
Aunt Meijiang was also worried. Her eyes turned cold.
"Yu Zan, go and make a rose dew for the queen. Remember to add honey and milk."
Yu Zan forced a smile, but she was actually unhappy.
She had specifically inquired about the Prince of Yuzhang's recent affairs in order to gain some credit in front of the queen. She didn't want to be under Aunt Meijiang's thumb in the Fengluan Palace forever.
However, Aunt Meijiang had too much say in the Fengluan Palace. Now that she was deliberately sent away, Yu Zan had no choice but to obey.
After Yu Zan left, Aunt Meijiang said, "Your Majesty, you've had several encounters with the Prince of Yuzhang. Can't you tell the truth?"
Dugu Lanyue frowned, sensing something was wrong. If it was true, all her plans would be in disarray.
She felt as if the sky was about to fall.
"At first, I thought it was impossible. I thought Huo Wei was lying.
But now the news has spread, and it came from the imperial hospital. Even the emperor has bestowed a lot of medicinal materials on the prince's mansion. It really seems to be the case.
As for me, if I don't think about it carefully, it's okay. But if I do, there are so many problems.
That time in the cave and in the prince's mansion when we were drugged, an ordinary man would have lost control. But nothing substantial happened between Huo Wei and me."
Aunt Meijiang clutched her chest. "Good heavens! If the Prince of Yuzhang is really like a eunuch, all the efforts the queen has made to seduce him will be in vain.
No wonder the Prince of Yuzhang remained unmoved by the queen's wiles and beauty. It turns out he's impotent!"
Dugu Lanyue paced back and forth in the hall.
"A man who isn't lecherous and only cares about power has no weaknesses.
If it's true that Huo Wei has a hidden ailment, all our plans will fall apart.
That woman Zhao Chuyan has been trying hard to regain the emperor's favor recently. I haven't even had the time to deal with her, and now Huo Wei has pulled this on me.
I have no idea how to deal with Huo Wei now. He'll only be more difficult to handle."
Aunt Meijiang said, "The Prince of Yuzhang may be the most difficult person to deal with in Northern Yan. The queen tried to seduce him with beauty, touch his heart with affection, and tempt him with power, but he remained unmoved.
Such a person is not like a human at all. All humans have emotions and desires, but he's like a heartless god that mere mortals can't subdue."
Dugu Lanyue frowned, then raised her eyebrows slightly.
"Didn't the Second Prince Murong Hua report that the hot - spring palace is almost renovated?
These days, Huo Wei hasn't come to my Fengluan Palace on the pretext of treating his illness. I must personally invite him to the hot - spring palace.
Maybe it's a woman's intuition, but I don't think Huo Wei is completely unresponsive to women."
She still wanted to try and seduce Huo Wei one more time. She couldn't just believe the words from the imperial hospital. She only trusted what she saw with her own eyes.
The hot - spring palace had finally been renovated after consuming a great deal of manpower and resources.
There were only a few minor procedures left, and all the hot - spring areas had been renovated.
Before she set off, she asked, "Has the Prince of Yuzhang agreed to go to the hot - spring palace to recuperate?"