Chapter 444 The Empress Dowager Faints

Inside the imperial study, the air was as stagnant as lead, and the tense relationship between the emperor and his subjects was about to break.

In this suffocating silence, Yongtai's hurried and chaotic footsteps suddenly sounded outside the hall.

He almost stumbled in, bowed and walked quickly to Yan Shixu's side, his voice shrill and unusually panicked:

"Your Majesty! Your Majesty! The Empress Dowager has issued an imperial decree, urgently summoning Your Majesty and the Empress to the Cining Palace immediately! Princess Taiping...she...she ran to the Cining Palace, clutching Princess Jiahe's belongings...and made a daring appeal! In her grief and rage, she caused the Grand Empress Dowager...to faint!"

"boom--!"

This news shocked everyone in the imperial study.

Over the past two days, every misfortune has clearly been a carefully woven web of discord by the enemy! The Imperial Sister knew this perfectly, yet she still fell headfirst into this trap. What a fool!

Yan Shixu turned around suddenly, and the black dragon robe was wrapped in a biting cold wind, instantly sweeping across the entire space.

That handsome face was covered with frost, and the rage of thunder was about to burst out!

"Go to the Cining Palace!"

His voice was as cold as ice, and every word was filled with anger.

"Another person should be dispatched immediately, traveling 800 miles to Taozhou to summon Prince Consort Chen to return to the capital immediately!"

Five years ago, shortly after Princess Taiping gave birth to Jiahe, her husband Chen Lisheng took the initiative to request an imperial decree to go to Taozhou to supervise the construction of the canal.

Taozhou was suffering from drought and people's livelihood was in dire straits. Yan Shixu had already intended for King Cheng to go there to govern.

Since Chen Lisheng had asked for it, Yan Shixu agreed.

At that time, Chen Lisheng not only took away his sister Chen Yian who was brought back from Jingsi Temple;

He also took away his two sons and one daughter with Princess Taiping on the pretext of "broadening their horizons", leaving only the youngest son Jiahe with Princess Taiping.

Previously, people thought it was because Jiahe was too young to withstand the long journey.

Now that Jiahe has died suddenly, Princess Taiping's personality has changed drastically, and she has acted in such an extreme way...

Yan Shixu narrowed his eyes dangerously, a cold light flashing——

Chen Lisheng, I'm afraid he already knew something!

…

Cining Palace.

This palace, which has gone through three dynasties and should have been the most peaceful and harmonious place in the palace, is now plunged into suffocating sorrow and chaos.

Princess Taiping, Yan Shishu, was dressed in plain white, without any jewelry, and her figure was emaciated, like a paper figurine from which all life had been drained.

She knelt straight before the Grand Empress Dowager, tightly holding a small goose-yellow palace dress in her arms.

Those were the clothes Jiahe was wearing when she died.

The fabric seemed to still have the unique sweet milky scent of my little daughter.

At this moment, it was completely covered by an lingering, cold breath of death from the underworld.

The tear marks on Yan Shishu's cheeks had long since dried and cracked.

Her eyes were terrifyingly empty, but deep within them burned an almost insane stubbornness and deep resentment.

"Grandmother...Mother...Jiahe...my Jiahe...her death was so unjust..."

She buried her head deep in the small palace dress, her shoulders shaking violently. Her voice was hoarse and broken, and every word was full of tears.

"She's only five years old... so sweet... so tiny... I wouldn't even dare step on an ant..."

"It was those people... those evil ghosts with rotten stomachs who killed her!"

"They didn't even spare a single child! They even wanted to gouge out my vitals!"

Her voice suddenly rose, as sharp as tearing silk, tearing through the heavy air.

"Grandmother! Mother! Please help Jiahe! Please help me!"

"If I can't give Jia He justice! I... I will smash my head against the wall and die in this Cining Palace today! Follow my Jia He! Even on her way to the underworld, I will protect her and prevent her from being frightened or bullied again!"

This desperate scream, repeated over and over again, was like a poisoned dagger, piercing the hearts of the two old men in the hall.

The Queen Mother stood beside the Grand Empress Dowager's bed, her face as pale as paper and her eyes red and swollen.

Listening to her daughter's tearful accusations, her heart was torn as if by a knife, and her internal organs seemed to be crushed, but she felt powerless to change the situation.

She could only tightly clutch the handkerchief in her hand, her knuckles turning white, and tears silently fell like rain.

The Empress Dowager closed her eyes and leaned against the pillow, her skinny wrists hanging limply on the edge of the bed, allowing Judge He to feel her pulse with bated breath and concentrated.

On that face full of the vicissitudes of life, there was only a gray and dead silence.

Just now, Yan Shishu, holding Jiahe's relics, broke through the palace servants' obstruction and threw herself at the feet of the Empress Dowager.

She cried and recounted how Jiahe was forced to death by the prince, and how tragic and horrific her death was...

Every word and sentence was like a tearful accusation, pointing all the blame at the prince and even more at the emperor's "favoritism" and "unfairness".

She shouted at the top of her lungs, asking why she didn't seek justice for Jia He, the innocent and tragically dead, and why she condoned the "violent and immoral" crown prince.

The immense pain of losing her daughter, the anger that had nowhere to vent, and the despair that her daughter's death was downplayed completely overwhelmed the noble princess's sanity.

She even forgot that the imperial grandmother in front of her, who had always loved her so much, was now old and frail and overwhelmed.

The Empress Dowager, whose energy had been almost exhausted by Jiahe's untimely death, was suddenly hit hard by this heart-wrenching accusation and her granddaughter's hysterical resentment!

A fishy and sweet taste suddenly rushed up my throat!

A mixture of shock, anger and pain burst out from the Empress Dowager's cloudy eyes.

She raised her finger tremblingly, pointing at the crazy Yan Shishu, her lips twitching violently.

It seemed as if he wanted to rebuke her for her stupidity, to awaken her mind that was completely blinded by hatred...

However, I couldn't catch my breath!

The Empress Dowager's vision suddenly went dark, her body stiffened suddenly, and a short and terrifying gasp came from her throat.

Then, he fell down limply and completely lost all consciousness.

The hall was instantly turned upside down! Exclamations, cries, and chaotic footsteps exploded like boiling water!

The Queen Mother was so horrified that she almost fainted on the spot and screamed for the imperial physician.

Judge He rushed in, rolling and crawling.

In the past two years, the Empress Dowager's health has long been at the end of her strength and she is on the verge of death.

This time, he fainted again due to anger, and the consequences... are unimaginable!

The entire Cining Palace was engulfed in panic and chaos.

Everyone's eyes were fixed on He Yuanpan, their hearts were in their throats, and even their breathing became lighter.

The Queen Mother looked at her daughter, who had disheveled hair, resentful eyes, and was almost unrecognizable. She was overwhelmed by great disappointment and heartache.

She took a deep breath, her voice filled with unprecedented coldness and determination:

"Come here! Take this evil creature to the entrance of the main hall and make him kneel down! She will get up when the Empress Dowager wakes up! If he dares to make any more noise, the punishment will be doubled!"

After the Empress Dowager's decree came down, the palace ladies dared not disobey and suppressed their fear as they stepped forward to pull Yan Shishu away.

"Get out of here! Who dares to touch me?" Yan Shishu struggled and roared, like a mother animal protecting her cubs.

The Queen Mother rushed to her in two steps, tears in her eyes, but raised her hands high!

“Bang!”

A loud and clear slap echoed in the hall, which had become noisy again after the dead silence, and made people tremble.