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Empress Dowager Zhuang took a deep breath and suppressed her anger, "Wasn't it supposed to be eight pieces? Why did you leave only five?"
She was originally allowed to eat three candied fruits per day, and then adding the five pieces, shouldn’t she receive eight candied fruits?
She had even managed to resist eating any today too.
Gu Jiao, with her mouth full of candied fruits, said incoherently, "Five is right... If you don't believe me, think again..."
Empress Dowager Zhuang recalled her exact words in her mind.
"You can eat three more pieces of candied fruits every day!"
She didn't agree at that time.
And then the girl said——
"Four pieces?”
“Five pieces?"
It seemed that she had indeed not added the word "more" in the last two sentences.
Empress Dowager Zhuang pounded the memorandum with her fist!
... She got careless!
Gu Jiao was very gentle to Grandaunt. She respected Grandaunt's opinions and opened up about the incident without concealing anything from her.
The Emperor, on the other hand, didn’t receive the same treatment. Old Chief dug pit after pit for him to fall into, making it impossible for him to climb out.
But one thing was clear. The Emperor was also strongly resistant to cooperating with Empress Dowager Zhuang. He said, "Everything else is fine, but this matter is unacceptable! Zhen doesn’t want to have anything to do with that vicious woman!"
Old Chief said gravely, "Your Majesty, now is not the time to be stubborn. It is important to identify the true culprit behind the scenes. Is Your Majesty's face more important than Imperial Concubine Dowager Jing's life? And JiaoJiao's life too. Well, let’s not talk about JiaoJiao's life. Anyway, she has nothing to do with Your Majesty."
Listen, listen! What kind of nonsense was this!? How could the little miracle physician have nothing to do with him?
Was he saying that only Zhuang Jinse, that vicious woman, would care for her in this world and that he would abandon her?
"This official misspoke." Old Chief apologized sheepishly. "What this official meant was that JiaoJiao should at least be able to protect herself. Meanwhile, the imperial concubine dowager was persecuted by Imperial Consort Liu in her early years and still suffers from old injuries. If an assassin were to target Imperial Concubine Dowager Jing again, it would be hard to prevent."
This was what Imperial Concubine Dowager Jing's own people said. Imperial Concubine Dowager Jing was weak due to her old injuries!
The Emperor was eventually persuaded.
Hence, the next day at the morning court, a scene that shocked all the civil and military officials unfolded. The Emperor actually went to the imperial audience hall with Empress Dowager Zhuang!
These two people couldn’t even tolerate each other’s presence when they appeared in the same courtyard, so how come they showed up at the morning court in the same hour today? Normally, either Empress Dowager Zhuang or the Emperor would arrive first, never did the two of them meet face to face like this.
When the two arrived at the entrance of the imperial audience hall, the Emperor stopped and gave Empress Dowager Zhuang a slight smile. He made a gesture of invitation and said, "Imperial mother, please."
Empress Dowager Zhuang got goosebumps and almost hit him on the head with the sole of her shoe!
Empress Dowager Zhuang had to exert great effort to control herself. She nodded her head and walked calmly across the threshold.
The civil and military officials on both sides knelt and greeted them with their ceremonial tablet in hands.
Empress Dowager Zhuang led the way and as she was about to climb the steps, Eunuch Qin cleared his throat. Empress Dowager Zhuang's mouth twitched and she stopped, extending her hand to the Emperor.
Now it was the Emperor's turn to almost hit himself on the head with a shoe sole.
Must they even do such a thing?
That fellow surnamed Huo mentioned nothing about this, okay?
The Emperor controlled his internal convulsions and held Empress Dowager Zhuang's wrist.
The two of them ascended the steps and sat in their respective positions under the display of motherly compassion and filial piety. Afterward, they both discreetly wiped their hands!
The Emperor: Disgusting!
Empress Dowager Zhuang: Ha, who isn't disgusted?
Today's court session was exceptionally harmonious. The Emperor dealt with an official from Empress Dowager Zhuang's camp, and Empress Dowager Zhuang not only did not obstruct him, but also praised him for his discernment.
Empress Dowager Zhuang spoke with concern about the Emperor's health, saying that he seemed to have lost weight. She told her that he should take better care of himself and not to damage his health by staying up late dealing with state affairs.
"Imperial mother's words are true. This son will remember." The Emperor, facing the direction of the beaded curtain, said respectfully.
The civil and military officials almost suspected that they had gone deaf or blind!
To see the Emperor and Empress Dowager reconcile in one's lifetime, either the two of them had gone mad or everyone else had!
This news was so shocking that even the officials who were supposed to be fighting each other to the death were stunned into silence.
But it wasn’t enough to let the civil and military officials see it; it had to be known by everyone in the harem.
Therefore, after the court session ended, the pair of mother and son strolled through the imperial garden, chatting and laughing all the way, looking very content.
"Your Majesty, it's your turn to laugh." Eunuch Wei reminded him.
The Emperor clenched his fist and laughed soullessly to the sky, "Hahaha!"
"Empress Dowager, it's your turn now." Eunuch Qin reminded her next.
Empress Dowager Zhuang rolled her eyes and smiled without a trace of emotion, "Hehe."
In less than a day, everyone in the imperial palace heard that the two had put aside their differences.
Empress Xiao was the first to come to the Huaqing Palace to inquire, "Your Majesty! This Empress heard that you and the Empress Dowager..." She paused halfway through her sentence upon seeing the person sitting next to the Emperor. She greeted, "Imperial concubine dowager."
Imperial Concubine Dowager Jing smiled slightly and said, "Empress, come and sit down."
"Yes."
In fact, Empress Xiao, as the Empress, did not need to bow to an imperial concubine dowager, but the Emperor regarded her as his own mother, so Empress Xiao had to be a filial daughter-in-law.
Empress Xiao sat down on the other side of Imperial Concubine Dowager Jing.
Imperial Concubine Dowager Jing asked with a smile, "What did the Empress want to ask Your Majesty just now?"
Empress Xiao looked at the two of them, hesitated for a moment, and then said, "This Empress heard some rumors about Your Majesty and the Empress Dowager and doesn’t know if they are true or not, so this Empress wanted to ask His Majesty himself."
The Emperor spoke frankly, "Since you know all about it, there's no need for Zhen to say more."
Empress Xiao couldn't hide her surprise, "So it's true? Why?"
It was indeed strange for two people who had been fighting for more than ten years to suddenly reconcile. To avoid arousing suspicion, Old Chief had come up with a flawless excuse for their reconciliation.
The Emperor had a good memory and did not forget his lines. He said, "Do you remember more than ten years ago when Xiao Heng was poisoned near Renshou Palace?"
Empress Xiao's eyes grew cold, "This Empress certainly remembers!"
Xiao Heng was the legitimate son of her elder brother and her most beloved nephew. He was almost poisoned to death, and she would never forget this grudge in her lifetime!
The Emperor said, "The culprit has been found, and it wasn't at the instruction of the Empress Dowager. There's someone else behind this. Zhen has misunderstood the Empress Dowager all these years, letting her suffer an injustice. Zhen is truly sorry."
The last few sentences were difficult for him to say, but Old Chief said they were the key lines that had to be spoken in order to gain people's trust. 𝒻𝓇𝘦𝘦𝘸𝘦𝘣𝓃ℴ𝓋𝘦𝑙.𝒸ℴ𝑚
He strongly suspected that Old Chief was just being biased and unfair!
"What is Your Majesty saying? There's someone else behind this? Who is it?" Empress Xiao asked three questions in a row!
Imperial Concubine Dowager Jing lowered her eyes and quietly took a sip of tea.
The Emperor replied, "The person who poisoned Ah Heng is named Zhang Xiu. She used to work in the Imperial Household Department and was considered one of my people."
"Your Majesty..." Empress Xiao uttered.
The Emperor sighed in self-blame, "I didn't expect her to do such a thing. Zhen was careless. A few days ago, she suddenly hanged herself. One of her acquaintances took away her belongings, and it was only a few days ago that the acquaintance discovered a secret from many years ago in her belongings."
Empress Xiao stood up directly and said, "Your Majesty, this Empress doesn’t believe it!"
Old Chief didn’t tell the Emperor that Zhang Xiu was really the culprit. As far as the Emperor was concerned, it was just an excuse for the ears of the public.
The Emperor naturally believed that this matter was fake, and Empress Xiao thought that the Emperor was being deceived. However, none of this mattered. What mattered was that the person who instructed Zhang Xiu would understand that this matter was true.
As long as the mastermind believed their act, that was enough.
Raz P.'s Thoughts
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