"I will obey your command."
Song Lingxi looked at Xiao Jin with eyes full of admiration. She trusted the Emperor, and Xiao Jin was the person she trusted most in the palace. He said he could protect her, so she believed him.
"Your Majesty, I will wait with you and my son for your return."
Song Lingxi took his large hand and placed it on her stomach. This action made Xiao Jin extremely happy. For the first time, he felt that Xi'er had truly accepted him.
A hint of tenderness and love appeared in his narrow phoenix eyes. Only he knew that his heart was beating restlessly, as if expressing his joy.
"Take care of yourself and wait for my return."
After Xiao Jin finished speaking, he strode out the door. Only after leaving Fengyi Palace did his imposing aura reappear, his power soaring like a rainbow, his decisiveness ruthless.
Eunuch Li clicked his tongue in amazement, thinking that only Consort Ling could calm the Emperor down; he mustn't afford to offend her in the future.
...
Shou Kang Palace.
The air was filled with the tranquil fragrance of sandalwood. The Empress Dowager held prayer beads in her hands and kept chanting Amitabha Buddha.
She knelt before the Buddha statue, very devout, with a kind and compassionate expression, truly possessing the serenity and mercy of a bodhisattva in the world.
"The Emperor has arrived!"
"Mother."
Xiao Jin arrived at the small Buddhist hall and, seeing the Empress Dowager kneeling in devout worship, knelt down as well, took a stick of incense, and bowed.
May our ancestors bless my son so that he may be born safely and live a long and healthy life.
The Empress Dowager stopped chanting with her prayer beads, her eyes still closed: "Is the Emperor no longer wary of me?"
Xiao Jin, who had been wearing a cold expression, scoffed upon hearing the Empress Dowager's words and asked in confusion.
"Mother, I don't understand. I used to be averse to women, but you wish I could be with women every day so that I could have an heir."
"Now that I have finally found a kind and considerate mother, why did you put out those harmful things? Do you want to harm Xi'er or me?"
Xiao Jin truly didn't know why her mother's attitude had changed so drastically. Before Xi'er came along, she would talk about her every day.
But when Xi'er arrived, she instead harbored malicious intentions towards Xi'er. Some of those drugs were ones he had never even heard of before: safflower, musk, and fire thorn...
"How could you possibly view me like this?"
The Empress Dowager suddenly opened her eyes, her gaze filled with disbelief: "Your Majesty, do you truly not understand my thoughts?"
"That Song woman is a remarried woman, and she's just over two months pregnant now. It was during that time that you knew the child in her womb might be from the Xie family, wasn't it!"
"The things I sent were meant to prevent her from getting pregnant during this period, so as to avoid this situation. I ask you, can you tell the difference?"
The Empress Dowager flicked her sleeves, took Rong Pei's hand and got up, returning to the soft couch, leaving Xiao Jin alone kneeling on the prayer mat.
Xiao Jin closed his eyes. When he first learned that Xi'er was two months pregnant, he was also uneasy, but he never had the idea of abortion.
"Mother, I will not allow you to harm Xi'er. I can only touch one woman. If she is harmed, I will never have another child. I hope you will consider this."
Xiao Jin didn't stay any longer after he finished speaking. He had made up his mind about someone, and he loved everything about that person. So what if the child wasn't his? Could he strangle the person?
No matter how ruthless he is, he wouldn't be so heartless as to not even tolerate a child, especially since that child is Xi'er's own flesh and blood.
But Xiao Jin felt that since he and Xi'er were so loving, she must be carrying his child, his imperial son.
After Xiao Jin left, Rong Pei carefully observed the Empress Dowager's expression. Seeing that her face was so dark it looked like it could drip water, she hesitated for a moment but still didn't speak.
However, the Empress Dowager couldn't hold back any longer. She felt chilled by Xiao Jin's attitude. Who was she working so hard for? Wasn't it all for Xiao Jin?
"Rong Pei, what kind of attitude is that? I was doing all this for his own good, and yet he's blaming me!"
Seeing that the Empress Dowager was furious with the Emperor, Rong Pei quickly tried to comfort her.
"Your Majesty, please don't be angry. It's not good for your health. Have a piece of sweet lychee. The Emperor just got it and brought it to you with great care."
"Hmph, that's all he's good for!"
The Empress Dowager glanced at the peeled lychees, which were crystal clear, plump, and juicy, and her anger subsided slightly.
Having served the Empress Dowager for a long time, Rong Pei naturally knew that the Empress Dowager cared deeply for the Emperor, and that her love for him was coupled with her strictness. However, she shouldn't interfere; whatever the choice, it was up to the Emperor to make the decision.
"This servant believes that no matter whose child Consort Ling is carrying, the next one will surely be the Emperor's. There's plenty of time!"
“What Your Majesty says makes sense. If the Imperial Concubine’s health is harmed, that would truly break His Majesty’s heart. Why don’t you take a step back? His Majesty will surely remember your kindness.”
Rong Pei peeled another lychee for the Empress Dowager and held it to her lips. When the Empress Dowager waved her hand to dismiss her, Rong Pei knew that her words had worked.
He then bowed and quietly withdrew.
The Empress Dowager pondered alone in the hall for a long time, and finally shook her head.
"Forget it, let the emperor do whatever he wants. I'm old and useless."
The Empress Dowager suddenly remembered a saying: "Children are all debt collectors." Thinking about it this way, isn't that true?
In the empty hall, only the Empress Dowager's long, helpless sigh remained.
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