Rebirth of the Abandoned Male Empress

Chapter 4

Chapter Four:
“That Fool is Wanted.”

__

A few weeks later, news and rumors spread like wildfire throughout the five nations. First, there was news that the emperor had secretly been hiding an empress all along, which explained his lack of urgency in selecting one of his concubines as Empress. However, the Empress had been kidnapped, leaving the emperor with no choice but to issue a decree and seek cooperation from the nations to find his beloved.

The second set of rumors centered around the second wife of Sect Leader Shen, a rather scandalous woman known for her questionable activities. Some rumors even suggested that she sought relations with young men twice her age and paid them for their services. After all, why else would they associate with someone like her? There were also allegations that she masterminded the Empress's kidnapping to secure her daughter's position in the emperor's harem. Solid evidence, including letters exchanged between her and her lover discussing the abduction plan, along with a cache of jewelry and the clothes and weapons used in the crime, was discovered by the emperor himself.

As a result, the entire Shen family was under arrest. For the time being, the man who had kidnapped the Empress was in the custody of Prime Minister Dong Haitao, who was determined to extract information about the Empress's whereabouts. Until he was proven innocent and the Shen family cleared of involvement in the crime, they would remain under arrest. Should they be found guilty, the entire sect would face punishment for seven generations, and Sect Leader Shen would be stripped of his position as Governor in the Imperial Court.

"Heavens! What did you expect? Concubine Mengtao is so full of herself that she forgets her true place!" one older woman exclaimed as she and other ladies gossiped by the river while doing laundry. Xiaoniao and Lixin happened to be resting nearby, and they couldn't help but overhear the conversation. They had been traveling non-stop for a week or two, with three more days to go before reaching their destination.

"If I recall correctly, didn't her mother work at the Flower Fragrance brothel?" another lady mentioned while rinsing her clothes. The rest of the women nodded in agreement.

"You're absolutely right! No wonder she can't resist throwing herself at every strapping young man she sees!" a third lady chimed in.

"It looks like the Shen clan's pristine reputation will be tarnished because of her greed. I feel sorry for the poor little Empress, torn away from her beloved by Concubine Mengtao just to push her daughter into the emperor's arms. Hmph! I don't want to be unkind, but that daughter of Concubine Mengtao doesn't seem as divine as they proclaim her to be!" the first lady stated.

"I couldn't agree more, Sister. The emperor doesn't seem interested in her at all, and His Majesty appears to have eyes only for his beloved. I heard from people in the capital that the emperor is planning to dismiss the harem, but his ministers won't agree," added the second lady.

"Not only that, my scholar brother, who works in the Imperial court, told me that His Majesty specifically recalled Marshall Wu from the South just to dispatch him in search of the Empress in every nation. Even the Prime Minister, who is wealthy, offered a hefty sum of gold as a reward for anyone who can locate the Empress, all to ease the emperor's worries. Ayah! Who would have thought that one person could create such chaos?" the third lady contributed.

Xiaoniao couldn't help but choke on his apple as he listened to their conversation. He frantically wiped the trail of apple juice from his mouth using his sleeve and stared awkwardly at them.

'They said Empress, are they referring to me? Nah, impossible. They said the Empress is a woman, so it's highly unlikely,' he thought.

"But, Sister, I heard that the little Empress is a male. Do you think it's true?" the second lady asked.