"Saffron is banned in the Back Palace, why would you gift this to the empress?" The empress dowager asked as she regained her composure.

"Imperial Mother must know that it can help in preserving beauty," was all Emperor Xing Wu said in response.

The empress dowager spoke up again, "This is a palace rule, you broke it just because it 'preserves beauty'?"

The emperor looked at the empress dowager, "Imperial Mother, the empress is the mistress of the Back Palace. We're you obeying the rules when you treated her like that? She's my empress and the mother of the nation. Are you making an attempt to embarra.s.s me?"

The empress dowager finally couldn't sit still anymore, she stood and sneered at the emperor, "So now I can't even control my own daughter-in-law!"

"If the empress did anything wrong, I will hold her accountable myself, it has nothing to do with Imperial Mother." The emperor sneered right back at her.

"Uou!" The empress dowagers face flushed red, she pointed at Emperor Xing Wu, unable to speak.

"And all of you!" Emperor Xing Wu cast his gaze over the consorts in the grand hall, "You all stood while the empress kneeled. What kind rules are you obeying?!"

This put the fear in all the consorts in the hall, and every one of them fell to their knees.

"Get out of my sight and go back to your own places!" Emepror Xing Wu shouted with anger, "All of you can kneel for a night as punishment!"

The consorts were shaking like leaves now, each shuffling out on their knees. Even though Emperor Xing Wu was seldom gentle with them, he never got this angry at them either.

Emperor Xing Wu then looked at Consort Liu, still prostrated on the ground. His expression softened a little, "You're not in good health right now, go rest for now. It makes me glad to know that you have a deep sisterly bond with the empress."

"Y-Your consort humbly obeys your command," Consort Liu's voice shook, "Your consort humbly thanks Your Imperial Majesty." At this point, she was no longer able to figure out Emperor Xing Wu's actions today. Was it because he trusted the empress deeply, or was it because he knew how she'd been trying to plot against the empress? Her heart was full of fear and suspicion, but she wouldn't dare show it in front of the emperor.

"Long Xuan," Emperor Xing Wu addressed him, "After you help your mother back to her hall, go to the empress' hall and kneel there! One of them is your Imperial Mother, the other is your Consort Mother, can you not distinguish between them? If you're trying to observe filial piety(1), can't you at least figure out who you're supposed to direct it at?"

Long Xuan knelt as he spoke, "Your son understands his wrongdoings."

Emperor Xing Wu thought Long Xuan's little outburst earlier. He speculated that perhaps maybe Long Xuan also knew the truth behind the matter, and with that thought he kicked Long Xuan over on the ground, "Get out of my sight!"

"Your Imperial Majesty!" The empress dowager shouted, "Are you doing this so you can make me watch?!"

Emperor Xing Wu turned to look at his own birth mother, "I'm the master of this empire, and Imperial Mother," He sneered, "I won't forget that your surname is Rei Mu(2)."

Rei Mu, a clan with hundred years' history, yet they've been wiped out along with Marquis Zhen Guo. The only person left of this clan was this empress dowager at the Hall of Longevity. The empress dowager bit her lips hard, almost enough to draw blood. This was her, Rei Mu Wan's birth son. She thought of everything to make him emperor, but now this was all she was getting in return.

"Imperial Mother, you should rest," Emperor Xing Wu finished with this, and turned to leave.

"Why are you keeping Luo Wei with you?" But the empress dowager opened her mouth again and asked suddenly.

"Wei Er is intelligent with great potential, someone who can be shaped into something great," Emperor Xing Wu answered, "I'm hoping that he'll be there to support the Crown Prince when the time comes."

"Can't the people in the imperial study tutor him? Can't his father tutor him? Why does he need stay in the Hall of Eternal Light and burden Your Imperial Majesty so?" The empress dowager smiled coldly, "I feel like I recognize his face when I saw him just now."

Emperor Xing Wu's face was without emotion, "We Er is one of the Luo family's sons, and my nephew through the empress, is it wrong for me to want to tutor him myself?"

"You have no intention of getting close to your own princes, your own flesh and blood," The empress said, sternly, "But you somehow want to go and play uncle with Luo Wei? Is the Luo family not powerful enough yet? How much more favor are you planning to give them?!"

Emperor Xing Wu chuckled grimly, "What great advice, Imperial Mother. I know not to let the Luo family become the Rei Mu clan of yesteryear. You can rest a.s.sured that this won't happen."

The empress dowager watched as the emperor left. She wanted to cry but couldn't manage to do it, only managing to let out a great laugh. This was retribution! This was retribution for all the endless people she'd hurt in the Back Palace over the years!

FOOTNOTES:
1. Filial piety - The deference and respect that a person owes to their parents as a child. The original text doesn't seem to clarify what the emperor meant by distinguis.h.i.+ng between the Imperial Mother and the Consort Mother. It may be because at some point, Long Xuan misspoke, and called his mother "imperial mother" by accident. Or it may be that as a prince of the palace, he should always show more respect, love, and deference to the empress, since she is the rightful mother of the nation.
2. Rei Mu - A compound surname. In China, some surnames are made up of two characters instead of one. These are rare, and more often than not originate from non-Han Chinese. This translation chooses to separate each proper name by itself, which may cause some confusion with it comes to compound surnames. To make clear, Rei Mu Wan, the empress dowager's surname is Rei Mu, her name is Wan.

TRANSLATOR'S NOTES:
THIS CHAPTER FELT SO GOOD!!!! Even though the emperor didn't go straight up against the consort, he showed the empress dowager what's what!! : ) Thank y'all for all the support again. It makes me really happy to read all of your comments, and I'm going to do my best to keep up the speed of the translation!