Chapter 508: Chapter 274: He Underestimated Big Brother
The next day, after the morning court, Duke Zhen was summoned by Empress Xie.
As Duke Zhen expected, as soon as Empress Xie saw him, she mentioned the matter of Prince Jing being entrusted by the Emperor to serve as the Minister.
Duke Zhen did not interrupt Empress Xie, quietly listening to her speak at length.
The more Empress Xie spoke, the more excited she became, but she suddenly realized her brother’s indifferent expression, causing the smile on her face to freeze and a flash of anger to rise in her heart. She shouted discontentedly, "Brother!"
Duke Zhen looked at Empress Xie and calmly said, "Finished?"
Empress Xie most disliked Duke Zhen’s calm demeanor, as if everything was within his control.
"Brother, what do you mean?"
Duke Zhen did not answer Empress Xie’s question but instead asked, "What do you mean?"
Seeing Duke Zhen still with an indifferent demeanor, Empress Xie’s heart felt like it had been doused with cold water, plunging her into an ice cellar.
She stared blankly at Duke Zhen, unresponsive for a long time.
Duke Zhen saw Empress Xie’s incredulous expression and sighed slightly in his heart. However, his expression remained cold.
"What do you want me to do?"
Upon hearing Duke Zhen say this, Empress Xie finally snapped back to reality, immediately glaring at Duke Zhen with eyes full of anger. She sharply questioned, "Brother, you know perfectly well what I want you to do. Are you playing dumb with me now?"
Feigning ignorance, Duke Zhen patiently asked again, "What do you want me to do?"
Empress Xie was so angry that her face turned crimson, her eyes blazing as she stared at Duke Zhen. She roared at him, "I want you to support Qi as the Crown Prince! Do you hear me?"
Duke Zhen ignored Empress Xie’s raging demeanor and still indifferently asked, "And then?"
Seeing Duke Zhen’s unperturbed expression, Empress Xie’s face turned livid with anger. She glared at Duke Zhen and said through gritted teeth, "Then depose Zhao Xuan!"
"Impossible!" This time, Duke Zhen did not question Empress Xie further but instead decisively spoke out.
Empress Xie had anticipated Duke Zhen would say this, yet she still held a sliver of hope that her brother would stand by her side. However, upon hearing Duke Zhen’s refusal, Empress Xie felt both furious and aggrieved, filled with resentment.
With eyes reddened from anger, she still contained her raging fury and asked Duke Zhen word by word, "Why!"
Seeing Empress Xie’s face, meticulously adorned with makeup, twisted in anger, Duke Zhen’s gaze and expression remained unchanged.
"I have said that our Xie family only supports the Crown Prince, not anyone else, including Prince Jing!"
With a crack, Empress Xie raised her hand and shattered the teacup on the table beside her.
The sound echoed loudly within the quiet Zhao Yang Palace. Jiang Chuan and the others standing at the door felt a surge of fear upon hearing the teacup shatter.
They quickly lowered their heads, softening their breaths, fearing they might incur Empress Xie’s wrath at this moment.
"In what way is Qi inferior to Zhao Xuan?" Empress Xie shouted fiercely at Duke Zhen.
Duke Zhen replied indifferently, "Qi is not the legitimate eldest son!" He added, "We’ve discussed this matter before."
Empress Xie’s eyes turned blood-red from rage, her always dignified face now appeared terrifying.
"Brother, you are Qi’s uncle, his real uncle!"
Duke Zhen said indifferently, "I am also the Crown Prince’s real uncle!"
"You..." Empress Xie pointed angrily at Duke Zhen, almost unable to catch her breath from rage.
"Sister, don’t get so upset first." Seeing Empress Xie on the verge of fainting from anger, Duke Zhen spoke soothingly to calm her, "Let’s have a good talk today."
Empress Xie, trembling slightly with rage, looked at Duke Zhen with eyes full of resentment.
"You... what is there left for us to talk about..." After speaking, tears of anger streamed from Empress Xie’s eyes.
"Sister, haven’t you thought about why the Emperor suddenly appointed Prince Jing as Minister?" Duke Zhen, patient and gentle in tone, continued to speak, "Do you really think the Emperor values Prince Jing and wants to give him an opportunity?"
Empress Xie said angrily, "Isn’t that the case?"
He knew his sister hadn’t thought it through.
"Of course not, the Emperor is trying to drive a wedge between us." Duke Zhen sighed inwardly, noting how inferior his sister was compared to the eldest sister, "to incite infighting within our Xie family."