Chapter 176 – The Concubine’s Counterattack: The Most Favored Empress – Mixed Feelings of Joy and Worry (06)
Through the ordeal of drinking medicine, Bai Tang and the Empress Dowager formed a strong bond of friendship built on shared hardship.
Especially since the Empress Dowager liked to invite Bai Tang to her palace to play, and Bai Tang often ran to Cishou Palace to avoid taking his medicine.
But who was Luo Dai? The male protagonist of the world, the invincible guardian deity of Great Zhou.
Every time after court, he didn’t even need to ask the young eunuchs; he would head straight to Cishou Palace and always catch them right on time.
And so, the mother-in-law and son-in-law were both forced to drink the bitter medicine together—a sight so pitiful it would make anyone weep.
The more time she spent with Bai Tang, the more the Empress Dowager felt that he was a kind and gentle child, completely different from the rumors a few months ago that painted him as a gossip-monger.
Puzzled, the Empress Dowager sent her trusted aide, Granny Jin, to investigate thoroughly. She found that ever since Bai Tang entered the palace, he had behaved according to the rules.
As for reporting Ma Aoshan’s illicit affair with a guard, it turned out Bai Tang had merely seen Ma Aoshan getting too close to the guard late at night and feared potential trouble in the harem.
As it turned out, the guard was actually Ma Aoshan’s cousin. Ma Aoshan had not committed any serious wrongdoing—it was merely the people beneath her, trying to curry favor, who trampled Bai Tang’s reputation into the mud.
Realizing this, the Empress Dowager couldn’t help but feel a bit guilty whenever she faced Bai Tang. This child was still physically weak, prone to coughing at the slightest breeze, and had to drink medicine every day—clearly a consequence of her failure to thoroughly investigate the matter.
Yet Bai Tang never blamed anyone, nor did he retaliate against Ma Aoshan when he regained favor. He truly was a rare and admirable child, and the Empress Dowager found herself liking him even more than before.
Although Ma Aoshan was living in Cishou Palace, she stayed in the rear hall’s Buddhist sanctuary and never crossed paths with Bai Tang. With Xiao A at her side, she could keep up with every shift in the palace’s political winds without even stepping outside.
When she found out that not only had Bai Tang won Luo Dai’s favor, but also the Empress Dowager’s affection, her beautiful face twisted with jealousy. The deep envy in her eyes could not be hidden.
He was just a useless child who had once been thrown into the Cold Palace—and yet he managed to rise again? If she could send Bai Tang into the Cold Palace once, she could do it a second time.
Ma Aoshan was not the type to sit and wait for her fate. She had Xiao A exchange for blood packs and pretended to use her own blood to copy Buddhist scriptures for Bai Tang. When the scriptures were presented, even the Empress Dowager—who had been quite displeased with Ma Aoshan—was moved.
Copying scriptures in front of the Buddha while shedding blood? That was truly unprecedented and heartfelt.
The Empress Dowager had previously been hypnotized by Xiao A. Although it didn’t make her completely obedient to Ma Aoshan, it did leave her with a very favorable impression. Now, with this bold gesture, her heart softened. She allowed Ma Aoshan to come out of confinement and even rewarded her with many nourishing supplements, telling her to recover well.
After leaving the Buddhist sanctuary, Ma Aoshan did not return to her quarters. Instead, she came to personally thank the Empress Dowager.
And so, the rivalry between Bai Tang and Ma Aoshan officially began.
“Your servant greets the Empress Dowager.”
The delicate, sweet voice was charming, but the way she referred to herself as a lowly servant carried an air of pettiness. The Empress Dowager turned her head to look at Bai Tang, who greeted her with a bright, radiant smile.
No matter how you looked at it, Tangtang seemed far more composed and generous. Even his soft, childlike reading voice was soothing to the ear.
The Empress Dowager furrowed her brows slightly. “Rise.”
“Thank you, Your Majesty,” Ma Aoshan straightened up and immediately saw Bai Tang sitting beside the Empress Dowager, holding a thick book of stories in his hand. Just before entering, she had heard the two of them laughing together.
“I know you care for me, but you must also watch your words and actions. Right now, you hold the highest rank among the consorts in the harem—you should set a good example for the other court ladies,” the Empress Dowager said earnestly.
“I will strictly follow Your Majesty’s guidance,” Ma Aoshan replied.
Never in her dreams had Ma Aoshan imagined that her chosen form of address—intended to evoke pity from the Empress Dowager—would instead reveal her humble origins and mark her as petty and unsophisticated.
The Empress Dowager waved her hand, signaling her to leave.
Bai Tang never spoke a word to Ma Aoshan from beginning to end. Toward someone who had once harmed him, Bai Tang felt there was nothing worth saying.
As Ma Aoshan stepped out of Cishou Palace, she could still faintly hear the laughter coming from within. She bit her lower lip and forced herself to swallow her resentment. A woman’s revenge might take ten years, but it was never too late. Besides, she had already been released from confinement. The Empress Dowager still felt sorry for her—otherwise, she wouldn’t have rewarded her with so many medicinal herbs.
She glanced back at the serene and peaceful Cishou Palace, then turned away with a gentle, pleasant smile.
When Ma Aoshan had first been granted the title of Guiren (Noble Lady) by the Empress Dowager, she no longer had to squeeze in with the lower-ranked concubines and was given her own residence.
No sooner had she returned to Ganquan Palace than an imperial edict from Luo Dai arrived. On the surface, it claimed to reward Ma Guiren for her hard work copying scriptures before the Buddha, allowing her to rest in Ganquan Palace—but in truth, it was a thinly veiled house arrest.
Ma Aoshan didn’t have much power in the harem and, unlike in the original plot, her influence didn’t reach very far. Though she was bitter upon receiving the imperial order, she had no choice but to remain quietly in Ganquan Palace to “recover.”
With the arrival of spring, the grand conferral of titles within the imperial harem was just around the corner.
…
That day, Luo Dai came to Cishou Palace to discuss the matter of title conferrals with the Empress Dowager. Bai Tang sat obediently to the side, listening quietly. When he heard names being announced—such-and-such Lady to be granted the title of Guiren, another to be titled Daying—his fingers unconsciously tightened around the hem of his robe. Yet even by the end, his name was never mentioned.
A deep sense of sorrow welled up in him. He had just witnessed the grand conferral of titles across the harem, but not even the smallest rank was given to him.
Had everything A Dai said… all been a lie?
The Empress Dowager noticed Bai Tang’s pale face and asked with concern, “Tang Tang, are you feeling unwell? The weather is still chilly despite the early spring warmth—should I summon the imperial physician to take a look?”
“Thank you for your concern, Your Majesty. There’s no need to trouble the physician. I’ll be fine after resting for a while,” Bai Tang replied softly, shaking his head. As for “going back,” he had no status in the harem at all—he didn’t even know where he was supposed to return to.
Still uneasy, the Empress Dowager asked Luo Dai to take him back and have the physician check on him just in case.
The two of them walked back in silence. Bai Tang didn’t dare to speak, and Luo Dai didn’t know how to begin.
What Luo Dai had in mind was to make Bai Tang empress. Compared to that, the promotion of court ladies was insignificant. Naturally, during the discussions at Cishou Palace, Bai Tang’s name hadn’t been mentioned.
But Bai Tang didn’t know that. Feeling despondent, he followed Luo Dai back to Chengan Hall.
Before Luo Dai could say a word, Bai Tang used the excuse of feeling tired and wanting to sleep to send him away. Then, he curled up under the covers and quietly cried.
There was an emotional link between the system and the host. The husky, sensing his sorrow, stretched his stubby little legs and bounded past the palace attendants at the entrance, rushing into the inner hall.
“Woof woof woof~~~” Tang Tang, Tang Tang, are you crying?
“Qiu’er~” Bai Tang hugged the husky onto his lap. “You’re all I have left. I only have you.”
Choking back sobs, Bai Tang told the system how he felt. “What do you think I should do?”
Little did he know, Luo Dai had been standing behind the screen in the inner hall all along, struggling to find the right words to confess and ask Bai Tang to accept becoming the Empress. From behind the screen, he heard every bit of Bai Tang’s sorrow.
Stepping out from behind it, Luo Dai embraced Bai Tang and said softly, “Silly little thing… I told you, in this lifetime, I’ll love only you. But you still won’t believe me.”
Bai Tang was startled by Luo Dai’s sudden appearance—half shocked, half overjoyed.
A Dai hadn’t left—he had stayed, always worrying about me.
But another thought crept in: since A Dai had heard everything, would he want to send me away now?
The two thoughts battled fiercely, but in the end, sorrow won over joy, and his tears spilled out all at once.
“Wuu wuu~~” Bai Tang threw himself into Luo Dai’s arms. “A Dai… do you not want me anymore?”
Seeing the boy sobbing so hard he could barely breathe made Luo Dai’s heart ache unbearably.
He gently patted the boy’s back and kissed away the tears falling down his cheeks.
“Tang ztang, don’t cry. Seeing you cry breaks my heart.”
He took Bai Tang’s hand and placed it over his chest.
“How could I ever not want you? Listen—this heart has always beaten for you.”
“Tang Tang… will you be my empress?”
Will you be my empress…?
Empress…
The crying stopped abruptly. The joy came too suddenly—Bai Tang was stunned, unable to react.
Through hiccupped sobs, he mumbled, “Ah—Ah?”
“Tan Ttang, be my empress. Share the empire with me. Will you?” Luo Dai repeated, his eyes full of love.
Under the intensity of Luo Dai’s gaze, the boy had nowhere to hide. He didn’t speak, but shyly nodded his head.
The moment Bai Tang nodded, Luo Dai’s face lit up with uncontainable joy.
He peppered the boy’s delicate cheeks with kisses.
“Tang Tang… Tang Tang…”
Bai Tang’s face instantly turned bright red. He accepted the affection of the one he loved. Meanwhile, the husky on his lap had long since been tossed aside by Luo Dai.
The poor husky, hurled out the window in a perfect arc: D*mn you, male lead! I curse you to be impotent for life!
But a few system curses with disabled functions were far from enough to affect Luo Dai.
Inside the room, the atmosphere turned increasingly heated. The heavy breaths of man and boy added warmth to the early spring air.
Luo Dai and Bai Tang didn’t go all the way—not because the system’s curse had worked.
But because the young emperor wanted to save their most precious moment… for their wedding night.
He kissed his beloved boy from head to toe, helping him release.
Bai Tang lay completely bare on the silky bedding, his face flushed with embarrassment.
Tang Tang is still too thin, Luo Dai thought as he held the soft, almost weightless body in his arms.
I’ll have to nourish him properly.
Bai Tang had developed a fear of medicine after drinking so much of it—now just the smell made him instinctively want to gag. And as the saying goes, “All medicine carries some poison.”
So today, Luo Dai changed his strategy: he would nourish him through food instead.
Xiao Fangzi brought over a bowl of warm, sweet glutinous rice porridge. A gentle herbal scent wafted from it, not at all unpleasant.
Luo Dai picked up the bowl and stirred it a few times with a spoon.
“No medicine today—just food therapy. It’s not bitter at all, I promise. Be good and eat it all, my Empress…”
Bai Tang’s cheeks flushed red at Luo Dai’s affectionate “My Empress.”
He thought about how he’d be marrying A Dai soon. If he collapsed from weakness during the empress coronation ceremony, wouldn’t that be a disgrace to A Dai?
With that in mind, he looked at the porridge again. No matter how bitter it might be, he would endure it.
The soft, fragrant grains of rice melted in his mouth, carrying only a faint herbal aroma. The taste was surprisingly pleasant—nothing like the bitter medicinal teas he had endured in the past.
The boy’s brows gradually relaxed, and his grim, “prepared to die” expression faded. He didn’t even need Luo Dai to feed him—he reached out and took the spoon himself.
By the time he finished the bowl, Bai Tang gently covered his half-full belly and said, “That was delicious. I want more~”
After all the crying, laughing, and almost making love with Luo Dai earlier, he’d completely exhausted his energy.
Xiao Fangzi quickly brought him another bowl. Bai Tang gulped it down and rubbed his satisfied little stomach.
“Full~”
Author’s Note:
Bai Tang: Your Empress is coming back~
Luo Dai: The spring night is too short. Tang Tang, be good and get back in bed.
Qiu’er (the husky): #%…&**%# (10,000 words of censored cursing)
Xiao A: When will I finally get to be with Qiu’er…
Qiu’er: #%…&*()#% (another 10,000 words of savage insults)