Chapter 813 A Dream of Youth 345

Since it's a matter of Buddhist prayer beads and incense, let's trace the source. These things are all documented, so it's quite quick to investigate.

The person ultimately found out was someone no one expected, because the incense was provided by the Imperial Household Department, which was not the problem. It was the incense that was mixed with something on the Buddhist beads, which caused the emperor's health problems.

So the focus is on the Buddhist prayer beads, but these prayer beads were actually given to the emperor by Consort Shu.

When the Empress Dowager sent people to Consort Shu's small Buddhist shrine to look for her, the palace staff discovered that Consort Shu had already hanged herself.

Thus, the trail went cold.

Who was responsible? King Zhao? Or someone else?

This incident reminded the Empress Dowager of the time when the Empress was frightened by a cat and went into premature labor. Was it her good-for-nothing niece who did it, or was she instigated by someone and used as a pawn?

All of this came to an end with the death of Consort Shu, leaving no trace.

Yan Xi helped the Empress Dowager sit down slowly, gently comforting her. When she looked up, she met the eyes of Eunuch Ding, who had just come out of the inner room. The two stared at each other silently for a second before looking away.

Ding, the eunuch, slowly stepped forward to report the Emperor's latest situation to the Empress Dowager.

Even though the Empress Dowager knew that it was most likely King Zhao who had done all this, she had no choice but to choose him.

However, this was a decision she had made long ago. Everything would wait until the Northern Jin army was driven out of the Great Zhou. The Empress Dowager gripped the armrest of her chair tightly. "Yanxi, you should stay at the Prime Minister's house for a few days during this period."

With so many affairs in the imperial court and harem, she inevitably couldn't attend to the child.

Yan Xi shook her head, hugged the Empress Dowager's waist, and choked out, "Yan Xi won't go anywhere. I'll stay in the palace with Grandmother and Father. You're all I have... Grandmother, you can't abandon Yan Xi..."

The Empress Dowager was heartbroken by his crying.

"I didn't want to abandon you." The Empress Dowager wanted to harden her heart, but seeing Yan Xi crying so hard she was about to faint, she couldn't bring herself to do it and kept Yan Xi with her.

Unlike princes, Yan Xi, even as the eldest princess, shouldn't be targeted too much.

In the end, the Empress Dowager still allowed Yanxi to stay and attend to her, since she could hardly trust anyone else.

After seeing the Empress Dowager off, Yan Xi sat in the seat that the Empress Dowager had just occupied. Even though there were still tears on her face, she showed no expression whatsoever.

In fact, there was nothing wrong with the Buddhist prayer beads, but she wanted people to mistakenly believe that there was something wrong with them, in order to convey that the emperor was poisoned, not that he had a stroke.

However, no one expected that the news would be sent out so soon that Consort Shu died.

If Yan Xi only had suspicions at first, she is now certain that Consort Shu has a problem. However, she is still unsure whether Consort Shu is working for Prince Zhao.

Ding, the eunuch, did not understand, because King Zhao was the biggest beneficiary. If not him, then who could it be? Or rather, who could rival him now?

Yan Xi couldn't explain it either. She felt as if she was being blinded and couldn't see the intricacies of the situation.

"Eunuch Ding, I'm afraid I'll have to trouble you to take care of Father Emperor here."

"This is the old servant's duty."

In fact, he had already prepared to be buried alive with the emperor, but Yan Xi found him and handed him a letter from Xie Ning.

People in positions like theirs, what genuine feelings could they possibly have? They were mostly hypocritical. For Eunuch Ding, there were only three people he had ever truly cared for in his entire life.

One was the emperor, and the other was his adopted son.

The emperor was the master he had followed since childhood, and his adopted son was the one who inherited his mantle, which can be considered a succession.

The last person he could truly open his heart to was Xie Ning.

In all his years of life, Xie Ning was practically his only true confidant.

Xie Ning deliberately stopped somewhere to talk to him about treating the palace maids, but it was only to tell that little palace maid.

Having spent many years in the palace, he was well aware of Xie Ning's underhanded tactics, but he simply pretended not to know.

A little investigation afterwards revealed the whole story.

If Xie Ning's kindness was directed at a lowly palace maid, it would be more accurate to say that she saw the shadows of other palace maids in that maid, understood their suffering, and did her best to lend a helping hand.

For someone like Eunuch Ding, who puts on a smiling face but is cold-hearted, such kindness may seem foolish, but it has genuinely saved some lives. What if one day I also need such kindness?

Therefore, they never look down on them.