Chapter 98 : A Choice To Make
Although the Empress was the highest-ranking person in the Golden Dragon Palace after the Emperor, she always felt intimidated by her eldest stepson, Xie Jianshen.
In order to command everyone’s respect and attention, the Empress decided to pick a fight with Xie Jianshen not long after she ascended to the position.
One time, she summoned Xie Jianshen to the Eternal Spring Palace to drink tea together with other noble omegas.
The simple tea gathering took on a different turn when the Empress challenged Xie Jianshen to a small poetry competition.
When Xie Jianshen chose to recite a political poem, she accused Xie Jianshen of harboring ill intentions toward the empire. In the end, Xie Jianshen was forced to kneel on a stone pavement for three hours.
The Empress smugly watched as Xie Jianshen obediently carried out the punishment. He did not utter a single word of objection, but then he marched into the Golden Dragon Palace to show his father the bruised knees that resulted from the Empress’ abuse of authority.
The Emperor abandoned his agenda of the day and headed right into the Eternal Spring Palace. He proceeded to scold the Empress harshly in front of all her maids and servants, calling her a beast who preyed on the previous Empress’ children.
From there on, he also refused to frequent her palace. The Eternal Spring Palace was slowly becoming the Cold Palace*. The Empress had to go beg for the Emperor’s forgiveness for six months straight before the Emperor’s heart softened and he was willing to frequent her palace again.
That was when the Empress understood that in the Emperor’s eyes, Xie Jianshen was worth a thousand times more than her. The Emperor’s favor granted his sons irrevocable immunity toward anyone, including the Empress.
After the incident, most of the noble families understood that the Empress and Xie Jianshen did not get along well. The two omegas were tactful and polite to each other whenever they happened to meet, but the mutual dislike was as clear as day.
It thus came off as a surprise when Xie Jianshen took the initiative to pay his stepmother, the Heavenly Empress, a visit three days after the heavenly troops left Golden Dragon City to fight the demons at the Human Realm.