"Reporting to...Reporting to the Empress Dowager." The maid choked on her saliva and said tremblingly, "The Imperial Uncle instructed me...I told His Highness about the tragic deaths of all the crown princes since the Qin Dynasty who could not...cannot ascend the throne smoothly, all the way up to the previous dynasty. He told the Crown Prince every...every day. I don't know anything else. Please believe me, Empress Dowager, I really don't know much."
After the maid finished speaking, she kowtowed repeatedly, not daring to look at the Empress Dowager's face, which was as dark as a storm cloud. She kept kowtowing until her head bled, and mumbled incoherently, begging for mercy.
The Empress Dowager gently rubbed her hand on the armrest. She believed the maid's words, but not entirely. However, it was true that she didn't know much. How much could a maid possibly know? "Take her away and interrogate her yourself." The Empress Dowager thought for a moment. As for Zhihai Dao, a thousand-mile dike can be destroyed by an ant hole. Small people have their own ways of being small people.
At first, she didn't understand what Zhao Shu meant by "Let the Crown Prince die." But now she understood: Hao Zi and his son had a brilliant plan—to make the Crown Prince commit suicide!
She must have been blind to have become in-laws with the Hao family and to have a Hao family daughter as her daughter-in-law. She deeply regrets it now. The thought of Hao Zi and his son doing such a thing makes her scalp tingle. They can abandon their own nephew so easily. Fine, very fine indeed. If the princes rebel, will the Hao family have to put righteousness above family ties and offer her head as a sacrifice?
Having received the Empress Dowager's instructions, Zhihai stuffed the cloth back into the maid's mouth and dragged her out. Just as they reached the door, the Empress Dowager suddenly said, "I wish to see Hao Zekai."
"Yes." Zhihai threw the girl away, and the little eunuch hurriedly caught her and dragged her away like a mangy dog.
Zhihai led the Empress Dowager to a side room in Jinlan Palace. Pushing open the door, a musty smell hit them. Zhao Shu had said she would make Hao Zekai wish he were dead, so how could he be comfortable in such a place? It wasn't originally a woodshed, but it had been forcibly transformed into one. No, it was even more nauseating than a woodshed; it was practically a pigsty that had been neglected for a long time.
Hao Zekai, lying on the bed, felt the bright light and slowly opened his eyes. He saw the Empress Dowager's gloomy face, smiled mockingly, and turned his head away.
"The Empress Dowager is as dashing as ever." Hongxia brought over a chair, and the Empress Dowager sat down, chatting casually. She didn't expect Hao Zekai to reply, but instead slowly surveyed her surroundings. "The environment is nice. Although it can't compare to the grandeur of the Marquis of Zhongyong's mansion, it has its own unique charm. I suppose it's quite an experience for someone as pampered as the Empress Dowager to occasionally live the life of an ordinary person. What do you think?"
Hao Zekai is the Empress's elder brother. He is now in his early fifties, only a dozen years younger than the Empress Dowager. In addition, the Empress Dowager takes good care of herself and looks much younger than Hao Zekai.
"You're vicious, and your granddaughter is vicious too! Hmph, you two will be infamous for eternity!" Hao Zekai closed his eyes, as if looking at the Empress Dowager would taint his eyes. Before this misfortune befell him, when he was still the powerful Imperial Brother-in-law, he spoke to the Empress Dowager with some respect and flattery. Now, there was no need to hide the contempt and disdain in his heart. They were mortal enemies, and if he didn't die, he would make Zhao Shu suffer a fate worse than death!
May they all suffer a fate worse than death, and may the Zhao surname be erased from history forever!
The Empress Dowager listened to his words without getting angry. Her face remained as gloomy as when she had just walked in. Her tone was indifferent, and her movements were slow and deliberate. "It's a pity you won't be able to see it. Whether you leave a bad legacy or not is a matter for people to talk about a hundred years from now. I don't care, and I won't know. But I do know that you are already infamous. I suppose you've gotten used to this kind of life. I can't stand the smell of it for even a moment longer."
"You will all die a horrible death! The princes will soon storm the capital and leave your entire families without a burial place." Hao Zekai suddenly opened his eyes, his wolf-like eyes staring intently at the Empress Dowager, as if he wanted to kill her. If a child saw that, they would surely have nightmares; those eyes were too terrifying, as if they could devour a person.
The Empress Dowager, however, showed no fear. She met Hao Zekai's gaze and said, "So, you've colluded with the princes to harm my grandson and seize my son's throne?" She then gave a mocking smile. "Don't you even know if you have the ability? If you want a quick death, then reveal your accomplices!" After saying the last two words, a nonchalant smile appeared on her lips, looking down on everyone with an aura that made people afraid to look directly at her and only want to look up to her. The imposing aura she had cultivated over the years made Hao Zekai feel fear and inferiority from the bottom of his heart.
However, having fallen to such a state, how could he let his enemies have their way? He turned his head and spat in the direction of the Empress Dowager, "Pah! Don't you have enough enemies already? Don't worry, I'll die first, then our Hao family will die first, but we won't be in a hurry to reincarnate. We'll be waiting for you on the road to the underworld, waiting for your whole family, and then we'll settle the score!"
"I'm so sorry to have kept you waiting." The Empress Dowager's gaze fell on his shrunken sleeves. "Are you really planning to hold out to the bitter end? Will it be of any use? Fine, I don't expect you to answer. But I'm only here to inform you because of the Empress. The Crown Prince's leg injury can be healed. What are you after?" She shook her head. Just then, she saw Du Bai return. Remembering the task she had instructed Du Bai to carry out, she was eager to know the result, so she stood up. "It's a pity that the Empress treats you like a brother, sending all the benefits to your Hao family. It's a shame that a married daughter is like water spilled from a cup. How can her maternal family side with her? It's only because I pity her. Otherwise, if you had done something like this, I would have definitely deposed her and kept you company."
Having said that, without even glancing at Hao Zekai, she continued, "You want to kill my grandson, and my daughter will kill you. The poor Empress, should she hate her father and brother or seek revenge on her niece? With a brother as despicable as you, what sins did the Empress commit in her past life? Don't expect anyone to protect your Hao family. If they can't, who are your accomplices? As you say, I've crushed so many people in my life, too many to count. Why should I care who your accomplices are? They're just relatives by marriage or close friends." "Yes, what I want to know is never something I demand a confession from. I don't want to know trivial matters. I originally intended to give you a quick death, but now I see there's no need. Don't think you're on some moral high ground. If you hadn't destroyed the Crown Prince's will to live, if your Hao family hadn't wanted the Crown Prince's life and the gold mine he risked his life for, your father wouldn't be dead, and you wouldn't be this inhuman. Whether I'm ruthless or not, I know myself. Whether my grandson is ruthless or not is none of your business to judge."
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