Kunning Palace.
In the Buddhist temple, sandalwood incense was curling up. The empress dowager knelt in front of the Buddha, twirling the beads in her hand and praying for the emperor.
A maid wearing a Qiuxiang-colored jacket came in and approached the Queen Mother and said, "Your Majesty, Prince Rui is here to see you."
The Queen Mother immediately opened her eyes, a smile appeared on her face, she stretched out a hand, supported the nanny's arm, and walked out.
In the front hall, a young and handsome man stood by the window, teasing the parrot in the cage.
The man had a pair of romantic and affectionate peach blossom eyes, and the corners of his lips were naturally upturned. Even with a blank expression, he looked as if he was smiling. He was none other than Pei Heng, the fourth prince among the eight.
Pei Heng's mother, Concubine Hui, was the niece of the empress dowager. Therefore, among all her grandchildren, Pei Heng was the most loved by the empress dowager.
That's why the Queen Mother was so happy when she heard that Pei Heng had arrived.
As soon as he saw the Queen Mother come out, Pei Heng put down the parrot and went up to her. "Grandma, I miss you so much. Do you miss me too?"
The Queen Mother pretended to be displeased. "Why am I thinking of you, a monkey? Tell me, you never come to the temple unless you have something important to do. Why are you thinking of Grandmother this time?"
Pei Heng sat on the footrest in front of the Queen Mother, picked up the beauty hammer and diligently massaged her legs. "Grandmother, look at what you said. Can't your grandson come to see you if he's fine?"
She acted coquettishly and made the empress dowager smile happily.
"Grandma, when I came here, I noticed that the peonies in the garden were in full bloom. Would you like me to take a walk with you to admire the flowers?"
As he spoke, Pei Heng gave the Queen Mother a slightly heavier squeeze on her shoulders. Something clicked in her mind, and she nodded, "That's fine. I haven't been out and about for a long time, and my old arms and legs are getting rusty."
"Grandma, how are you old? Look at your black hair and smooth, fair skin. If someone didn't know you, they would think you were my sister."
The Queen Mother spat at him, "What nonsense are you talking about! I already have a grandson as old as you, how can I not be old?"
Having said that, she was still very happy to be coaxed by Pei Heng.
Pei Heng helped the old lady out, and when he crossed the threshold, he reminded her, "Be careful, don't trip."
"Grandma has walked this path so many times, how could she possibly trip?"
"Okay, okay, it's my grandson who's been too talkative."
The grandparents and grandchildren came to the garden talking and laughing.
Not only the peonies in the garden are blooming beautifully, but other flowers are also blooming well. It’s just that they are too regular and look lacking in spirit.
The real flowers bloom in the mountains and fields. There are no good flowers blooming in the deep palace.
The Queen Mother and Pei Heng walked slowly among the flowers, not allowing the palace servants to follow them. When they reached a purple violet, Pei Heng plucked a flower and pinned it in the Queen Mother's hair. He stepped back, examined it carefully, and clapped his hands in admiration, "Only a flower as majestic and noble as this is worthy of you, Grandmother."
The Queen Mother patted his arm and said, "Why did you pick such beautiful flowers? I'm old now, and it's inappropriate for me to wear flowers. I won't let people laugh at me."
Pei Heng disagreed, "Grandmother, 'Don't laugh at me for wearing flowers in my old age, for time never defeats beauty.' In my grandson's heart, you are the most beautiful, and no one can surpass you!"
The Queen Mother was immediately comforted by him.
It's no wonder that she dotes on this grandson the most. In addition to his dual identities as her grandson and nephew, it's also because Pei Heng is the one who is most willing to spend time and effort to make her, an old lady, happy.
The eldest grandson was raised by Mrs. Huo, and he has always been more respectful than close to her as his grandmother.
The second grandson was spoiled by Zhang to the point of being ignorant of his own limitations. He acted arrogantly in front of her, not even paying attention to her grandmother. But it turned out that he was the bastard born from the adultery between that bitch Zhang and the imperial tutor, bringing shame to the entire imperial family!
Let’s not mention it!
Needless to say, the third grandson was Huo's biological son. Not only did he not respect her, but he would also help his mother to deal with him. He would rather get close to the old woman of the Huo family than come to Kunning Palace.
Now that he's resurrected from the dead and back in the capital, he's acting like a scoundrel, killing people everywhere! He even kills her family members, not even caring about her grandmother!
The fifth grandson has a mother who comes from a merchant family. She has also picked up the merchant's habits and manners. She only has money in her eyes and hangs out with those merchants all day long. She absolutely dislikes this.
The rest of the grandsons are not very capable.
After counting and counting, only the fourth grandson suits her best.
Thinking of this, the Queen Mother looked at Pei Heng with even more loving eyes.
The grandfather and grandson walked into the pavilion, which was open on all sides. They could observe what was happening around them at any time while talking here without having to worry about anyone eavesdropping.
After sitting down, the Queen Mother said, "Tell me, what do you want to say by bringing Grandmother here?"
Both of them knew that the palace was now guarded by Pei Ji's men inside and outside. If they were not careful, their conversation today would probably reach Pei Ji's ears tomorrow.
Pei Heng lowered his voice: "Grandma, Pei Ji is seriously ill and has been in a coma for five days!"
The Queen Mother was so shocked that she almost stood up. "What? Is this news true?"
Pei Heng nodded. "How could I dare to speak so much in front of you if I didn't have any accurate information?"
The Queen Mother digested the thought for a moment, her smile growing wider. "Great! I told you this beast has been killing so many people, and sooner or later he'll get his comeuppance. And now, it's come true!"
Out of her disgust for her daughter-in-law, Mrs. Huo, the Queen Mother also had a bad face towards Pei Ji, her son. Normally, she was just being nice to him for the sake of face.
After Pei Ji returned to the capital and found out that the Empress Dowager's family, the Marquis of Changyang Mansion, was also one of the culprits in framing the Huo family, he mercilessly imprisoned all the people in the Marquis of Changyang Mansion. Anyone who had committed a crime would be dealt with according to the law without mercy.
Among them, the Marquis of Changyang committed the most serious crime and was torn into pieces by five horses. Of course, Pei Ji took the opportunity to take revenge, but more importantly, the Marquis of Changyang deserved it.
Marquis Changyang was the empress dowager's younger brother. The empress dowager hated Pei Ji to the core because her brother died so tragically.
However, Pei Ji's methods were too powerful and his actions were too cruel, so the empress dowager had to endure it temporarily.
Now that she knew Pei Ji was seriously ill and had been in a coma for five days, how could she not be happy? She almost wanted to celebrate with all her might!
"Grandmother, this matter has been kept secret by Pei Ji's people, but I have a special information channel, so I was able to learn about it. Now, we have to take advantage of his illness to kill him, otherwise once he wakes up, we will have no chance!"
The Queen Mother held his hand tightly and said, "Heng'er is right. This opportunity is given by God. If we don't take it, we will suffer the consequences. We must seize the opportunity!"
A moment later, a eunuch came galloping on horseback and stopped at the gate of the Prince's Mansion. Without waiting for the horse to stop, he jumped off the horse and climbed the steps in three or two steps.
But he was stopped by the black-armored guards at the door.
"Get out of the way! Something happened in the palace, and we need to see His Royal Highness the Crown Prince!"
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