The abstinent prince, practicing Buddhism, is seduced by a voluptuous beauty into breaking his vows.

Chapter 150 I'm not made of dough

The imperial edict summoning the Empress Dowager arrived early the next morning.

Su Yaoyao had just finished breakfast and was nestled in Xiao Chenyuan's arms watching him review official documents. He had one arm around her and the other holding a pen, occasionally pinching her waist.

"The Empress Dowager summoned me?" Su Yaoyao looked at the imperial edict, raising an eyebrow. "So soon?"

Xiao Chenyuan put down his pen, picked up the imperial edict, and glanced at it.

He said in a nonchalant tone, "If you don't want to go, then you don't have to."

"How can that be? The Empress Dowager summons her, and the future Crown Princess doesn't go. Wouldn't that be blatantly handing her leverage?"

Xiao Chenyuan looked down at her, "I'll go with you."

Su Yaoyao smiled, stood on tiptoe, and kissed him on the chin.

"Isn't Your Highness pretending to be sick? How can someone pretending to be sick run around everywhere?"

Xiao Chenyuan frowned slightly.

Su Yaoyao patted his chest, "Don't worry, I'm not made of dough. She's not going to eat me, is she?"

She stood up, straightened her clothes, and turned to leave.

Xiao Chenyuan watched her figure disappear through the door, his face darkening.

"Ling Feng".

"exist."

"Keep a close eye on Shou Kang Palace."

------

Shou Kang Palace.

When Su Yaoyao followed the eunuch into the main hall, the Empress Dowager was sitting at the head of the table.

"Greetings to the Empress Dowager." She bowed respectfully.

"Yaoyao is here?" The Empress Dowager raised her head and beckoned to her. "Come, come, sit next to me."

Su Yaoyao followed the instructions and sat down on the embroidered stool below the Empress Dowager.

The Empress Dowager looked her over, her gaze as kind as if she were looking at her own granddaughter.

"Good boy, you're so handsome. No wonder Yuan'er is so fond of you."

Su Yaoyao lowered her eyes, adopting an obedient demeanor: "Your Majesty flatters me."

The Empress Dowager smiled, picked up her teacup, and took a sip.

"Yuan'er, that child, has had a hard life. His mother passed away early, and I felt sorry for him. He was aloof and not close to me. Now that he's grown up, he finally has someone who cares about him, and I'm so happy."

Su Yaoyao sneered inwardly.

Your mother passed away early—don't you know how she died?

On the surface, however, she remained obedient: "Your Majesty is merciful."

The Empress Dowager put down her teacup and looked at her.

The Empress Dowager added, "Yuan'er is a good child in every way, except that he's too strong-willed. He shoulders everything himself and refuses to let anyone help him. You are his future Crown Princess, so you should try to persuade him more."

"Your subject will respectfully follow the Empress Dowager's instructions."

The Empress Dowager nodded, then changed the subject, patting her hand as if coaxing a child.

"I've brought back a young lady, Your Highness's cousin. She's from the Shen family, well-educated, gentle, and virtuous." She paused, "I'm thinking of letting her enter the Eastern Palace to help you share some of the burden."

Su Yaoyao rolled her eyes inwardly.

"You should have seen Qinghe yesterday. The child is quite handsome and gentle. I think Yuan'er should also have someone who cares for him—"

"Of course, we'll have to ask Yuan'er's opinion on this. I'm just discussing it with you."

discuss?

Is this a discussion?

This was clearly a scheme to first summon her, then use both soft and hard tactics to get her to "voluntarily" agree.

Then, the Empress Dowager can say to Xiao Chenyuan, "Look, your wife has agreed, what else do you have to say?"

Su Yaoyao sneered inwardly, but on her face she showed a troubled expression.

"Your Majesty," she lowered her head, her voice timid, "this humble woman... dares not speak."

The Empress Dowager raised an eyebrow: "What is there to be afraid of saying? I will stand up for you."

Su Yaoyao bit her lip, as if gathering her courage before speaking:

"Your Highness, I naturally wish for more people around you, for a more lively atmosphere. But Your Highness's temperament... the Empress Dowager knows it too. If he doesn't like it, I dare not advise him..."

As she spoke, her eyes reddened again.

"Last time, I mentioned it briefly, and Your Highness... and then..."

The Empress Dowager's gaze sharpened.

"So what?"

Su Yaoyao lowered her head, her voice even softer: "You've only ignored me for three days..."

The Empress Dowager remained silent.

Su Yaoyao lowered her head, her shoulders trembling slightly, looking exactly like a pitiful person who had been wronged but dared not speak out.

But inside, he was laughing hysterically.

Xiao Chenyuan hasn't spoken to her for three days?

What a joke, that guy would be miserable if he ignored her for even a quarter of an hour.

But the Empress Dowager didn't know.

The Empress Dowager looked at her like this, and a complex emotion flashed across her eyes.

"Alright," she softened her voice, "I understand. Don't cry."

Su Yaoyao wiped away non-existent tears from the corners of her eyes and nodded obediently.

The Empress Dowager then said, "But Yaoyao, you must understand. The Crown Prince is no ordinary person; he will inherit the throne. He cannot have only one person by his side."

She paused, then looked at Su Yaoyao meaningfully.

"If you want to stay in that position, you have to learn to be magnanimous."

Su Yaoyao sneered inwardly.

Generous?

She thought to herself, "But someone won't allow it!"

However, she remained obedient on the surface: "This subject understands. I have remembered the Empress Dowager's teachings."

The Empress Dowager nodded in satisfaction.

"Good child, I heard your mother passed away early?"

Su Yaoyao's heart tightened.

"Yes."

The Empress Dowager sighed, "Poor child. A motherless child knows best how to read people's expressions."

She looked at Su Yaoyao with a kind gaze that gave one goosebumps.

"If you need anything in the future, just come to me. I'll take care of it for you."

Su Yaoyao nodded in agreement, but alarm bells were ringing in her mind.

The old lady was subtly trying to win her over.

What do you mean by "I'll take care of things for you"? You clearly just want her to get eyeliner done.

Your Highness, all these women are trying to seduce you. No wonder you were aloof from women before; it makes sense now.

Just then, a burst of laughter came from outside.

"It's so lively here, Mother!"

The Empress walked in with a smile, followed by a figure—Xiao Yi.

The young prince was dressed warmly today, his cheeks were rosy, and he looked around as soon as he entered the door.

"Sister Yaoyao!" His eyes lit up when he saw Su Yaoyao, and he was about to pounce on her.

The Empress pulled him back: "Stop fooling around, first pay your respects to the Empress Dowager."

Xiao Yi obediently bowed and said, "Yi'er greets the Empress Dowager."

The Empress Dowager looked at the child, her gaze softening slightly: "Yi'er is here too, come quickly and let your grandmother take a look at him."

Xiao Yi ran over, and the Empress Dowager touched his face.

"This child looks much better. He's also stronger than before."

The Empress laughed and said, "Indeed, it's all thanks to Yaoyao. The medicine she brought from the Northern Desert has kept Yi'er's asthma from recurring since he took it."

The Empress Dowager looked at Su Yaoyao, "Oh? Yaoyao has this skill?"

Su Yaoyao said modestly, "I just asked someone to find some medicine, and the imperial physicians treated me very well."

The Empress Dowager nodded and said nothing more.

"Mother, Yi'er said he wanted to pay his respects to the Empress Dowager, so I brought him along."

The Empress Dowager nodded: "You've put your heart into this."

The Empress smiled and then looked at Su Yaoyao.

"Mother, Yaoyao is spoiled and doesn't know any rules. Please be more lenient with her."

The Empress Dowager smiled and said, "The Empress certainly cares about Yaoyao."

The Empress nodded, took Su Yaoyao's hand, and said, "She's my own niece. Who else would I fall for if not her?"

She paused, then changed the subject.

"By the way, what were the Empress Dowager and Yaoyao talking about just now? I overheard them from afar, and it seemed like they were mentioning some kind of young lady?"

The Empress Dowager twirled her prayer beads.

"I was thinking of having that Miss Shen, whom I brought back, enter the Eastern Palace to serve Yuan'er. I was just talking to Yao Yao about it."

The Empress raised an eyebrow and glanced at Su Yaoyao.

Su Yaoyao lowered her head, looking obedient.

The Empress smiled.

"It's good that the Empress Dowager is thinking of the Crown Prince. However, the Empress Dowager knows the Crown Prince's temperament. Once he's made up his mind, nothing can change it. As for taking a concubine... I'm afraid he'll have to give his own approval."

The Empress Dowager looked at her.

"Does the Empress think I'm meddling?"

"I wouldn't dare," the Empress said with a smile. "I just think it's best to let the young people make their own decisions. We elders should just watch from the sidelines. Interfering too much will only make us unpopular."

That's a polite way of saying it, but the meaning is clear—don't worry about it too much.

The Empress Dowager paused in her hand, which was holding Buddhist prayer beads.

The atmosphere inside the hall became somewhat subtle for a moment.

Su Yaoyao kept her head down, seemingly indifferent to her surroundings, but inwardly she was clapping wildly.

Aunt, you really are my dear aunt!

That was a brilliant move to defuse the situation!

The Empress Dowager was silent for a moment, then suddenly smiled.

"The Empress is right. I am old and can no longer concern myself with such matters."

She looked at Su Yaoyao, her gaze still kind.

"Yaoyao, don't take it to heart. I was just saying it casually. Yuan'er's affairs are naturally up to him to decide."

Su Yaoyao raised her head and smiled sweetly, "Your Majesty is too kind. I am deeply grateful for Your Majesty's consideration for His Highness."

The Empress Dowager nodded and picked up her prayer beads again.

"Alright, I'm tired too. You may go."

The Empress rose, bowed, and led Su Yaoyao out.

As soon as she left Shou Kang Palace, the smile on the Empress's face faded.

"What did she say to you?" she asked.

Su Yaoyao thought for a moment and then briefly repeated what she had just said.

After listening, the Empress remained silent for a moment.

"The Empress Dowager's side is not simple."

Su Yaoyao didn't reply, but just listened quietly.

The Empress continued, "Back in the late Emperor's harem, there were countless concubines, but only she ultimately ascended to the position of Empress. What do you think she relied on?"

She paused, then gave a cold laugh.

"Kind and benevolent face? Buddhist devotion and vegetarianism? That's all an act for others to see."

Su Yaoyao's heart skipped a beat, but her face remained impassive: "Your Majesty means..."

The Empress looked at her, her gaze sharpening.

"You are my niece, and the Crown Prince is raised under my name. It is both morally and logically my duty to protect you."

She paused.

"The Crown Prince's current high regard for you is both a good thing and a bad thing... The Empress Dowager..."

Su Yaoyao waited for the next part.

The Empress did not continue, but simply said, "Just remember to stay away from the Empress Dowager. Avoid going to her place as much as possible."

Su Yaoyao nodded: "I understand."

The Empress looked at her, remained silent for a moment, and then suddenly sighed.

"Alright, you're a smart person, I won't say any more." She turned around.

"The Empress's death was suspicious. I just wanted to find a way to survive for myself and Yi'er. Yao Yao, you know what I mean."

Su Yaoyao nodded: "This subject will remember."

The Empress looked at her with a complicated expression.

Xiao Yi held Su Yaoyao's hand and chattered away.

"Sister Yaoyao, I haven't seen you in so long! When will you come play with me again?"

Su Yaoyao smiled and patted his head: "We'll come to see you when your Crown Prince brother recovers."

Xiao Yi blinked: "Is the Crown Prince really sick? He looked perfectly fine the last time I saw him."

Su Yaoyao: "..."

This kid has a really sharp eye.

The Empress coughed lightly from the side.

Xiao Yi immediately shut up.

"Let's go back. Yuan'er must be getting impatient."

She turned and left, her phoenix robe casting a long shadow on the palace path.

Su Yaoyao stood there, watching her back, her heart filled with mixed feelings.

Was this aunt genuinely helping her, or did she have ulterior motives?

She remembered what Xiao Chenyuan had said—the Empress is not simple.

But she did manage to get herself out of a difficult situation today.

Su Yaoyao shook her head and stopped thinking about it.

The person must be getting impatient waiting in the direction of the Eastern Palace.