Chapter 267 Watching the Show
The next morning, before dawn, the sky outside the window was still a deep, dark black.
While Shen Qingci was asleep, she vaguely felt a rustling sound coming from beside her.
She groggily opened her eyes and saw Chu Jichen quietly getting up and changing his clothes in the dim morning light.
She struggled to sit up, but a warm, large hand gently pressed her back down.
“You went to bed late last night,” Chu Jichen leaned down and placed a gentle kiss on her forehead, his voice low and husky, “Sleep a little longer.”
Shen Qingci hummed in agreement and then fell into a deep sleep again.
However, she didn't sleep for long. Less than half an hour later, she opened her eyes again.
"Wanqing!" she called out.
Wanqing immediately carried a copper basin and hurried in from outside the door: "Miss, you're awake?"
"Your Majesty... has entered the palace, hasn't he?"
After receiving an affirmative answer, Shen Qingci immediately threw off the brocade quilt and got up.
Wanqing quickly stepped forward and draped an outer robe over her shoulders, her voice carrying a hint of comfort: "Miss, please rest a little longer. His Majesty specifically instructed before he left that you... should get some rest."
A glint of anticipation flashed in Shen Qingci's eyes.
“There will be plenty of opportunities to rest later,” she said slowly. “But I can’t miss today’s big show.”
Wanqing's eyes lit up instantly. She leaned closer, lowered her voice, and asked curiously, "What big show is it?"
A cruel smile slowly curved Shen Qingci's lips: "Today, Your Majesty will reintroduce Huo Yunting, who has been brought back from the dead, to all the civil and military officials."
“Not only that,” she said, her voice full of amusement, “we will also grant him official titles and ranks.”
"This matter," she looked at Wanqing, her eyes full of calculation, "Madam Huo... probably doesn't know about it yet, right?"
She couldn't help but chuckle softly, her laughter filled with boundless pleasure: "Now, I'm actually quite glad I didn't just kill that old hag. Otherwise, we wouldn't have been able to watch this good show today."
Without further delay, she ordered Wanqing in a deep voice, "Send a message immediately! Have your people planted in the Huo family 'inadvertently' reveal to Old Madam Huo that Huo Yunting is not only alive, but has also become His Majesty's confidant and is about to be appointed as a second-rank Assistant General!"
Wanqing's eyes instantly shone like two stars!
"This servant understands!" Her voice was filled with barely suppressed excitement. "Didn't Old Madam Huo think the Huo family was completely finished before, and she was acting crazy and suicidal all the time?"
"To suddenly learn that my eldest son, who was supposed to have died unjustly, has actually become His Majesty's trusted minister! This... this is more interesting than a theatrical performance!"
"This servant will take care of it immediately!"
Wanqing accepted the order and left, while Shen Qingci leisurely ate breakfast, changed into an ordinary plain dress, and put on an inconspicuous human skin mask.
Once everything was arranged, she had an inconspicuous blue cloth carriage prepared and quietly drove out of the Regent's Palace, heading straight for the palace gate.
Sure enough, as soon as she arrived at the palace gate, she saw the Huo family's carriage, which was no longer as luxurious as it used to be, parked alone in a corner not far away.
Shen Qingci's carriage was also parked in another, more secluded corner.
She waited quietly.
About half an hour later, officials finally began to emerge from the palace gates one after another after court.
The curtain of the Huo family's carriage was immediately ripped open!
Madam Huo alighted from the carriage herself, pulled back the curtain, and craned her neck, anxiously searching among the officials who emerged.
Finally, she spotted an official who had previously had some connections with the Huo family, and rushed forward without hesitation to block his path.
"Lord Zhang! Lord Zhang, please wait!"
When the official saw it was her, a look of disgust flashed across his face, as if he wanted to avoid her at all costs.
But when he recalled Huo Yunting, who had suddenly appeared in the Golden Hall that day, his initial disgust was immediately replaced by a hint of shrewdness and calculation.
He stopped, forcing a distant smile: "So it's... Old Madam Huo. May I ask what brings you here, Old Madam?"
"Lord Zhang," Madam Huo's voice was filled with barely suppressed excitement and anticipation, "I...I heard that today in the court, my eldest son Yunting...he...he was even granted an official position by His Majesty?"
"That is indeed true." Lord Zhang nodded and said in a calm voice, "General Huo is a lucky man. Not only did he survive the calamity, but he also turned misfortune into blessing and gained His Majesty's appreciation and trust."
“Now,” he said, his voice carrying a perfectly measured hint of envy, “he is now a second-rank official, the Grand General Who Assists the State.”
Upon hearing this, Madam Huo felt an overwhelming surge of joy that instantly welled up within her!
She was so excited that her whole body was trembling, and her wrinkled face was full of pride and triumph!
"Good! Good!" she murmured to herself, her voice filled with boundless pride, "My son... my son is indeed promising!"
After Lord Zhang left in a hurry, she waited anxiously at the palace gate for a long time. Finally, surrounded by a group of officials, the figure wearing a brand-new second-rank military officer's uniform and standing tall and straight like a pine tree appeared in her sight!
Old Madam Huo could no longer contain herself!
She shoved aside the old woman beside her and staggered toward the figure!
"Ting'er—! My son—!"
Old Madam Huo rushed forward and grabbed Huo Yunting's arm tightly. Her old eyes, which were already red and swollen from crying, instantly welled up with turbid tears!
"Ting'er! My son! You...you really didn't die! You've finally returned!"
As she cried, she greedily groped his body with her withered hands, as if trying to confirm whether the person in front of her was real or a hallucination caused by her longing.
"Mother... I thought I would never see you again!" Her voice was filled with the relief of surviving a disaster and endless grievances. "After I found out about your accident, it felt like a piece of my heart had been ripped out! Day and night, I couldn't eat or sleep!"
"Now," her voice suddenly rose, filled with accusation, "your good-for-nothing brother has also been beheaded and his head displayed in public for framing loyal officials and plotting rebellion! My Huo family... my Huo family now only has you left as its sole heir!"
“These days, Mother has been struggling to keep this family, which is already on the verge of collapse, all by herself. It’s been so hard for her!”
"Mother has finally waited for you, you've finally come back!"
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