"Her Majesty the Empress Dowager is recovering well, even better than I expected," Song Xibai said earnestly. "However, if Her Majesty wants to return to her former state, she still needs to train every day without interruption."
The Empress Dowager was somewhat excited upon hearing this: "Can it really be restored to its former state? Completely restored?"
"There's a 70-80% chance it won't be a problem."
Song Xibai replied conservatively.
"Seventy or eighty percent is fine, that's fine too."
The Empress Dowager was very happy. As long as she could walk and take care of herself, she did not ask for anything more.
She held Song Xibai's hand, her face beaming with smiles, and chattered on and on.
Song Xibai listened to everything, and after finishing, she couldn't help but ask a question.
"What exactly caused Her Majesty's sudden stroke?"
The Empress Dowager's expression suddenly turned cold.
At this moment, the old nanny came over: "What else could it be? Isn't it because of the Zhu family? Hasn't Her Majesty done enough for them? They all come to the Empress Dowager whenever they have trouble. Her Majesty the Empress Dowager's life isn't easy either, and she still has to worry about them, getting no credit and only complaints. What's the point!"
The old nanny was indignant and spoke out for the Empress Dowager.
Song Xibai did not ask any further questions. He comforted the Empress Dowager with a few words before getting up to take his leave.
As soon as she left, the Empress Dowager couldn't help but let out a long sigh.
“You said this girl and I are not related, and back then I even... But at the critical moment, she put aside her past grievances and saved my old life. My own blood relative is not even as good as an outsider.”
The old woman bent down.
"Your Highness, what are you planning to do? What about Miss Biao..."
The Empress Dowager's expression turned cold.
Where is she?
"He's still locked up in the small Buddhist shrine! He keeps begging for mercy."
"Gag her and bring her over."
At the Empress Dowager's command, the old nanny immediately left.
Before long, several rough-looking old women helped the disheveled Zhu Qianqian into the room.
After the old woman released her grip, Zhu Qianqian hurriedly knelt on the ground and kowtowed forcefully.
"Grandma! Grandma, you've finally agreed to see me! I was wrong, Qianqian really knows she was wrong! Can you forgive Qianqian?"
Zhu Qianqian's face was covered in tears, and large teardrops kept falling.
In the past, the Empress Dowager would have felt sorry for her when she saw how pitiful she was, but now the Empress Dowager only felt tired and disgusted.
She patted the bed frame, her tone curt.
"Now you know how to beg for mercy? Back then, you were cursing me behind my back, calling me a useless old hag, and instigating people in my palace to betray their masters. Didn't you think about this day when you did all that?"
The Empress Dowager still felt heartache and a slight headache when she thought about what happened that day.
She took two deep breaths and waved dejectedly at the old nanny.
“Send her out of the palace and to the Discipline Nunnery in the Western Hills.”
Upon hearing this, Zhu Qianqian's eyes widened in disbelief.
The Discipline Nunnery was a place in the capital specifically for disciplining female relatives who had made mistakes; once you went in, it was difficult to get out.
"No, no, no! Please! Great-aunt, please don't send me to the monastery. I was wrong, I was really wrong. I promise I'll listen to you from now on, please!"
She crawled forward on her knees, trying to rush to the Empress Dowager, but was quickly pulled back by an old woman.
The Empress Dowager closed her eyes and turned her head away from looking at her.
"Take him out!"
The old woman gagged Zhu Qianqian again and forcefully pulled her down.
Zhu Qianqian tried to escape, but how could she possibly be a match for the strength of these old women? In no time, she was bound tightly and sent out of the palace without even a bundle.
As soon as she left, Renshou Palace quickly became quiet again.
The Empress Dowager closed her eyes, leaning against the headboard, seemingly lost in thought.
The old nanny came in carrying a bowl of bird's nest porridge.
"Your Majesty, this is the finest bird's nest, just freshly made in the kitchen. Would you like to try some?"
The Empress Dowager opened her eyes and drank half a bowl of water from the old nanny's hand.
The old woman knew that although she looked calm, she must be very sad inside. After thinking for a moment, she decided it would be better to change the subject to something safer.
"What does Your Highness think of Consort Xi? This old servant finds her to be quite well-behaved and sensible; no wonder the Crown Prince likes her so much!"
The Empress Dowager, with her eyes half-open, spoke slowly.
"The Crown Prince seems gentle and easy to talk to, but he is actually quite stubborn inside. The Empress passed away early, and his father, the Emperor, has become increasingly strange and dislikes him in recent years. This child is also lacking someone who truly cares for him."
"The Crown Princess is too proper and has been raised too rigidly by the Zhao family, losing her feminine grace. Qianqian is also spoiled... Sigh, if only we had insisted on letting Xiuxiu enter the palace back then."
Xiuxiu was another girl from the Zhu family. She was originally supposed to be given to the Crown Prince as a concubine, but she fell into the water in her boudoir and was rescued by someone, losing her reputation. In the end, she was replaced by Zhu Qianqian.
With the Empress Dowager's shrewdness, how could she not see the problems from back then? The Zhu family is also not at peace, which is clearly the work of the Zhu family.
However, the Empress Dowager at the time was biased towards her own family and forced the Emperor and Empress to agree to replace her.
Now, it's too late for the Empress Dowager to regret it.
Seeing this, the old nanny could only say, "The eldest daughter has married quite well. She's far away from the capital, avoiding much trouble."
The Empress Dowager sighed: "Her temperament is somewhat similar to that of Consort Xi. Her tone of voice is also similarly gentle, which immediately calms people down. If nothing had happened back then, she would definitely have won the Crown Prince's favor if she had entered the Eastern Palace."
However, since it has already happened, there's no point in thinking about it anymore.
Moreover, the Empress Dowager also knew that while the Crown Princess could tolerate Consort Xi, she might not be able to tolerate Zhu Xiuxiu.
After all, Xiu Xiu almost became the Crown Princess, but was eventually appointed as a Liangdi (a concubine rank). If she had entered the Eastern Palace, her status would have been second only to the Crown Princess, the principal wife. Moreover, she had the Zhu family and herself backing her up, constantly threatening the Crown Princess's position.
As for Consort Xi, although she was also a Consort and was quite favored by the Crown Prince, she had no powerful family connections, so her high rank was of no use.
On the contrary, despite her relatively low rank upon entering the Eastern Palace and her constant troublemaking, Qianqian has managed to stay with the Crown Princess for so many years. It's just a pity that she herself is incapable of having a child!
While the two old people chatted, Song Xibai dragged his tired body back to the East Palace.
As soon as she entered the east side hall, she almost collapsed.
Fortunately, Wei Hong was always attentive and held her up at the crucial moment.
"master!"
Wei Hong called out softly.
Song Xibai leaned on her shoulder and spoke weakly.
"I'm so tired... Help me to bed for a while. Go get my nasal pot."
Wei Hong carefully helped her walk towards the bed, and did not forget to turn around and tell Fu Liu to fetch the nose pot.
That nose pot was the one Song Xibai had used for Princess Qin before; it had an excellent effect on refreshing the mind.
Fu Liu hurriedly retrieved the snuff bottle. Song Xibai took a breath, and instantly, an incredibly cool sensation entered her brain.
She regained some consciousness, then felt a chill and touched her forehead.
Then he looked annoyed.
I can't feel whether I'm hot or cold when I touch myself!
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com