Chapter 84
Empress Dowager Liang stared in horror at the box of sandalwood, unable to hold back any longer. She shook her head, crying, "Take it away! Take it away quickly! I don't want it! I don't want it!"
Emperor Chengyuan's eyes were as cold as ice, but he asked with concern, "What's wrong with Mother? Don't you usually love these things the most?"
Empress Dowager Liang fell off her chair, but no one came to help her up.
She grabbed Emperor Chengyuan's robe, "Your Majesty, you can't treat me like this! I am your biological mother!"
Emperor Chengyuan lowered his head, his expression somber. "Of course I know that the Empress Dowager is my biological mother. So, I am simply giving her some good things as a sign of filial piety."
"If Mother doesn't accept it soon, I'll get angry!"
Empress Dowager Liang cried in utter disarray, “Your Majesty, I was wrong, I was really wrong, I don’t want that incense, I really don’t want it.”
Emperor Chengyuan helplessly advised, "How can that be? This is to ensure that Mother lives to be a hundred years old!"
"Or does Mother really dislike my things? Didn't Mother like the rare flowers that Prince Li sent her before? She even made them into incense and has been using it ever since."
Empress Dowager Liang collapsed to the ground, completely losing all hope of survival.
She finally understood why Prince Li had died suddenly!
Because the emperor knew everything!
He knows everything!
Now that the emperor has killed Prince Li, he no longer cares about the mother-son bond and is going to take action against her.
Liang Tai was pale with shock, unsure whether she felt regret or something else.
But she didn't want to die, she really didn't want to die!
She was the Empress Dowager, the most honored mother of the Yuan Dynasty. How could she die?
Emperor Chengyuan slowly said, "I have made Mother Empress Dowager, the most honored person in this harem. No one can climb over you anymore. What else could Mother possibly be dissatisfied with?"
"Am I being too good to the Empress Dowager? Should I be like the late Emperor, constantly warning and suppressing you? Making you live in constant fear? Is that the right thing to do?"
Empress Dowager Liang suddenly raised her head, her scarlet eyes filled with resentment. "The most honorable? Emperor, how dare you say that? In the entire palace, even those dog servants don't respect me. What difference is there between me and a bird locked in a splendid cage?"
Besides her noble status and the abundance of food, clothing, and daily necessities, what else does she have?
You might even be secretly mocked by others!
What's the point of being an empress dowager?
Emperor Chengyuan's expression turned cold. "Does Mother wish to go to the imperial mausoleum to keep vigil for the late Emperor, or would she prefer to go down and join him directly?"
Empress Dowager Liang shrank back in fear. "No, no, Your Majesty! I am your birth mother. To harm your mother is an outrage against Heaven and Earth! You will be condemned by the world! You will be punished!"
Emperor Chengyuan rested his arm on the golden dragon armrest, his handsome and gentle smile once again resembling that of a noble young master. "What are you saying, Mother? How could I possibly harm you?"
"If Your Majesty is worried that there is anything wrong with this incense, I will immediately have the entire Imperial Hospital examine it, or I can have the Duke of Liang's mansion find a renowned folk doctor, so that Your Majesty can use it with peace of mind."
Empress Dowager Liang shook her head frantically, "I don't want it! I don't want it!"
Emperor Chengyuan sighed, "Fine, since the Empress Dowager doesn't want it, I'll have someone send it to the Duke of Liang's residence in her name, along with the incense she made. After all, the Empress Dowager always cares about her family and always sends good things there, so I naturally won't go against her wishes."
Empress Dowager Liang was terrified. The emperor's meaning was clear: if she didn't use it, then the entire Duke of Liang's mansion would have to use it.
He's going to slaughter the entire Liang State Duke's mansion without shedding a drop of blood!
How dare he?
"Your Majesty, you can't do this! You can't!"
Empress Dowager Liang screamed and tried to knock over the box of sandalwood, but then she heard Emperor Chengyuan say slowly, "It's alright, Mother doesn't like this box. I have several more boxes over there."
Empress Dowager Liang collapsed to the ground, weeping bitterly, "Emperor, please spare me, spare the Liang State Duke's Mansion! I truly know I was wrong. I will close the palace and never step out of Cining Palace again!"
Emperor Chengyuan seemed not to understand, "Mother, what are you doing? How could I possibly allow you to close the palace? I still want to be filial to you and let you enjoy your old age in peace."
"Mo Zhi, help the Empress Dowager up."
Mo Zhi handed the box in his hand to the eunuch behind him and stepped forward to help the Empress Dowager sit back down in her chair.
Emperor Chengyuan said with a smile, "It just so happens that the Empress Dowager is here today, and I also have some good news to tell you."
The Empress Dowager trembled, fearing that the good news the Emperor had mentioned was about dealing with her blood relatives.
Emperor Chengyuan seemed oblivious to the Empress Dowager's fear, and was in high spirits. "I have found a woman I desire, and soon I will welcome her into the palace as Empress. Mother, you will have a daughter-in-law. Are you happy?"
The Empress Dowager's eyes snapped open in utter shock. She couldn't believe that this cold-blooded and terrifying monster before her would have a woman he liked? And even wanted to make that woman Empress?
In her heart, this so-called biological son was a tyrannical and perverse monarch who would only do evil deeds all his life and would be overthrown by the people of the world sooner or later, leaving a lasting stain on his reputation.
It's even less likely that anyone will truly care for him; he's destined to be alone for life, without any descendants!
Is he going to marry the empress now?
The Empress Dowager was filled with disgust. She was definitely a wicked woman who stirred up trouble and aided and abetted the tyrant. She was just like him!
But she dared not show it at all, and nodded stiffly, "I'm... happy."
Emperor Chengyuan was satisfied. "She's a good girl, kind and gentle. Mother will definitely like her, won't she?"
What could Empress Dowager Liang say? She could only nod!
Emperor Chengyuan added, "If I make her Empress, the Empress Dowager and the Duke of Liang's Mansion will definitely give their full support."
Empress Dowager Liang gritted her teeth and continued nodding.
Emperor Chengyuan smiled and said, "That's excellent."
He waved his hand, and the eunuch took the box of sandalwood away.
Emperor Chengyuan said regretfully, "Since the Empress Dowager doesn't like it now, I'll keep it for now and give it to the Empress Dowager and my maternal grandfather when I have better sandalwood later!"
Empress Dowager Liang's expression stiffened.
The emperor's meaning was clear: if Empress Dowager Liang and the Duke of Liang's family continued to act recklessly, neither of them would escape those two deadly things.
Empress Dowager Liang was heartbroken. How could there be such a tyrannical ruler who had lost all conscience?
He'll get his comeuppance! He definitely will!
Emperor Chengyuan looked over with a half-smile.
Empress Dowager Liang hurriedly lowered her head, not daring to show the slightest disobedience to him.
"No, Your Majesty, I wonder which noble lady you admire?"
Emperor Chengyuan said calmly, "Your mother will know in a few days, there's no rush."
Empress Dowager Liang could only nod stiffly, not daring to ask any more questions.
She suddenly asked in a panic, "Your Majesty, Qinghe hasn't come to pay her respects to me for several days. Where has she gone?"
Could it be that Qinghe was also secretly executed by the emperor?
Empress Dowager Liang was trembling all over. This damned tyrant.
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