May this scumbag husband, who favored his concubine over his wife, rest in peace.

The emperor did not deny it, and took two steps forward to help the empress dowager sit down: "Mother, the third son has ambition, isn't that a good thing? Why are you so angry?"

"What kind of good thing is this!" the Empress Dowager roared. "What kind of place is the barbarian tribe? When they submitted to the Great Zhao, we still had troops stationed there to keep an eye on them! Now the barbarians are in turmoil, and we don't even know what their situation is. Sending the Third Prince here at this time is just sending him to his death!"

"Mother, it's not that serious," the Emperor said. "In the secret letter Huyan Zhuo sent back a couple of days ago, he said that he killed a former leader of his tribe. The situation has eased a bit now. Maybe by the time the Third Prince and the others arrive, the internal strife among the barbarians will have been quelled."

Hearing this, the Empress Dowager calmed down, but she was still not entirely convinced: "Is it true?"

"How could I dare to deceive Mother?"

The Empress Dowager was then somewhat relieved.

After drinking two cups of tea, the Empress Dowager's mind became increasingly clear: "Judging from your words, you knew all along that the Third Prince had left?"

"I dare not deceive Mother. I saw the Third Prince before he left," the Emperor said. "I also gave him permission to go with him."

Now that the person is gone, it's time to tell the whole story.

Sure enough, upon hearing this, the Empress Dowager's eyes widened again: "What did you say?! You agreed?!"

"……yes."

Although the delegation was large, all the members were on file, and it was easy to find out if there was one more or one less. How could the King of Chu, such a big and healthy person, have sneaked in unnoticed?

"You, you—" The Empress Dowager pointed at the Emperor, too angry to speak for a long time, "What a good father you are! You're too good! How can you drive your own son to his death!"

"Mother, this is not a dead end," the Emperor said in a deep voice. "Over the years, I have come to realize that although I have several princes, to be honest, I think none of them are of great use."

"Except for the third son."

After hearing the emperor's words, the empress dowager's irritability and anger mysteriously dissipated by more than half.

She finally calmed down, but after thinking it over carefully for a while, she couldn't help but sneer: "Useless? If you were really useless, why would you have sacrificed two ministerial positions?"

When the Prince of Jin and the Prince of Wei wanted to marry into the two ministerial offices respectively, the Empress Dowager was extremely dissatisfied. She used the excuse that it was a family matter and made a big fuss in front of the Emperor, but she couldn't go against the Emperor's wishes and had to let him have his way.

He was more decisive than anyone else back then, but now he thinks that the other person is not up to the task?

Thinking of this, the Empress Dowager's anger, which she had just suppressed, began to rekindle.

The emperor sighed helplessly, "Mother, back then I was just curious to see what those two were capable of."

The Empress Dowager sneered again: "Looking at all these years, you've even lost two ministerial positions, and you still haven't made up for it. Your eyesight is really terrible."

The emperor remained completely unperturbed even when his own mother pointed her finger at him and berated him.

The relationship between the mother and son is now many times better than before. The Empress Dowager's words were harsh, but they made sense.

The emperor had no shortage of people who fawned over him, and when he first heard the empress dowager scolding him as before, he even felt a little affection for her.

The moment this thought crossed the emperor's mind, his expression turned strange.

Friendly my foot!

Seeing the Emperor's ever-changing expression, the Empress Dowager frowned: "What, did I say something wrong?"

"...No," the Emperor said. "Your Majesty is right. My judgment is indeed not as good as yours. But now, I am placing my hopes on the Third Prince. I wonder what Your Majesty thinks?"

“What opinion could an old woman like me with failing eyesight have?” the Empress Dowager said. “Whether he can live up to your expectations or not, you’ll see for yourself when he returns.”

Although the emperor addressed him affectionately as "Third Prince," the Empress Dowager knew perfectly well that the two of them were discussing political affairs.

Since it was a political matter, she naturally wouldn't make any definitive statements, lest she cause trouble for the King of Chu.