Chapter 419 Warning
"I don't think so."
Meng Lingge remained indifferent, leaving no room for negotiation.
"My mother knows that the Emperor doesn't want to betray me or hurt me, so he's completely unguarded around me. How could I possibly scheme against him, disappoint him, or send my man to another woman's bed?"
"I couldn't do that, not even a normal woman could."
Meng Lingge felt disappointed. She had thought that the Empress Dowager would at most ask her to persuade Wen Zhiming, or to pray to the gods and Buddhas to grant her a child as soon as possible.
Unexpectedly, the Empress Dowager actually asked her to have a child through surrogacy. This was an utterly absurd thing, whether for her, Wen Zhiming, the girl, or even the child born.
The Empress Dowager is so desperate for a grandson that she can make such an outrageous idea sound incredibly appealing.
Seeing Meng Lingge's determination, the Empress Dowager also got angry. She knew that this method was not aboveboard, but if Meng Lingge could give birth, why would she have to come up with such a shady idea?
She did the bad thing, but Meng Lingge got all the benefits. Why shouldn't she agree?
And to say that a normal woman couldn't do that, does that mean she's abnormal?
The Empress Dowager's face showed anger, and her voice rose several decibels.
“Lingge, you can’t be so selfish. You can’t have children. Have I ever caused you any distress or said a bad word about you all these years? Not to mention the Emperor, he obeys you in everything. How can you bear to let the Emperor have no children and let me hold my grandchildren? Let alone in the royal family, even for ordinary officials, merchants, or even common people, having no offspring is a serious offense.”
The palace maids were all waiting outside the door. The Empress Dowager had been talking quietly with Meng Lingge, and no one could hear what they were saying.
However, the Empress Dowager spoke with great emotion and did not control her voice, so the palace maids at the door could hear her clearly.
The Empress Dowager and the Empress were arguing for the first time, but it was about such an important matter as the imperial heir. The palace maids who heard this did not dare to come in to offer advice. Their eyes flickered and they lowered their heads.
Meng Lingge stood up, her voice gentle, but her attitude remained unchanged.
"Mother, whether you want to put someone in the Emperor's bed or take a concubine for him is your business. As long as the Emperor agrees, I will not stop you. But if you want to do it through my hands, to make me personally send another woman to my husband's bed and then painstakingly raise a child that has nothing to do with me, that is absolutely impossible."
"I have made my meaning very clear, Your Majesty. There is no point in saying more. Your Majesty still has matters to consider regarding the matter of the eldest grandson, so I will not disturb you any longer. I take my leave."
After saying that, she turned and left, her departure remarkably swift and decisive.
The Empress Dowager, her eyes red with tears, still had much to say but couldn't bring herself to utter any more harsh words. She pointed tremblingly at Meng Lingge's retreating figure.
After Meng Lingge left the courtyard, the Empress Dowager smashed all the pomegranates on the table onto the ground. Looking at the pomegranate seeds rolling all over the ground, she sighed deeply, rubbing her forehead.
After Granny Qian came in, she cleaned up the mess while comforting the Empress Dowager.
"You and the Empress have had a harmonious relationship for so many years. The Empress won't really be angry about the few words you said in the heat of the moment."
After Wen Zhiming ascended the throne, he brought back all the servants of the Prince of Anshun's mansion who had been exiled to the frontier to the capital. Several of the old women who had served the Empress Dowager entered the palace, and the Empress Dowager's favorite was still Granny Qian.
The Empress Dowager looked disappointed.
"She's not angry, but I am. Tell me, how spoiled has the Emperor made her? I hadn't even finished speaking when she turned and left. What kind of junior is she?"
Granny Qian swept up all the pomegranates on the ground, went around behind the Empress Dowager, and massaged her shoulders.
“You don’t usually speak to the Empress like that. Besides, what you just said may not seem wrong from your perspective, but from the Empress’s point of view, it was indeed quite harsh.”
She watched Meng Lingge and Wen Zhiming get married, and secretly hoped that the young couple would live happily ever after, and also hoped that the Empress Dowager and Meng Lingge could get along harmoniously.
Now that the Empress Dowager is so eager for a grandson that she is acting recklessly, if her personal nanny doesn't keep an eye on her, the relationship between the mother-in-law and daughter-in-law will only get worse.
The Emperor's heart and eyes are always on the Empress. If this continues, it won't be a good thing for Cixi Palace.
Upon hearing this, the Empress Dowager's anger subsided somewhat, but a new worry returned to her eyes.
"The Empress has left just like that. I wonder if she will tell the Emperor what I said today. If the Emperor finds out that I schemed against him like this, I'm afraid he will make a scene."
If things had gone well, it wouldn't matter how much Wen Zhiming made a scene. But now that things hadn't gone well, he had already offended his daughter-in-law. If he were to offend his son as well, it would truly be a case of losing more than he gained.
"The Empress is a respectable person; she shouldn't speak ill of us behind our backs."
Granny Qian was also unsure, but at this moment she could only comfort the Empress Dowager.
While the Empress Dowager and her servant were sighing in Cixi Palace, Meng Lingge had already gone straight back to Fengyi Palace.
The Empress Dowager's words rippled through her mind, but left little trace. Compared to the Empress Dowager's absurd plan, she was more worried about Chunhong.
Chunhong, who saved her and Woyu, is now on the verge of death. Her most urgent tasks are to find out who poisoned Chunhong and to find out who was behind the poisoning.
Meng Lingge first went to Chunhong's resting place and arranged for several trustworthy people to watch over her day and night.
She then went to the Imperial Hospital to ask Lushu how confident she was in finding the antidote. When she arrived, she saw Lushu and Xu Wangyan together, very close to each other, carefully studying the medicinal herbs. Seeing how focused the two were, Meng Lingge felt more confident about finding the antidote.
She did not disturb the two of them.
On the way back, they heard that the two young eunuchs who had been injured along with Chunhong had died.
Both men were killed, fatally with a single blow.
When the guards heard the commotion in the room, they rushed in and saw a black figure jump out of the window and escape. The guards immediately gave chase, and when the figure was surrounded and had nowhere to retreat, he committed suicide on the spot.
When Meng Lingge arrived, Jiang Lin had already pulled off the mask of the dark figure, who turned out to be a eunuch from Wen Woyu's courtyard.
However, the person was already dead and could not be interrogated.
But without a doubt, this was the person who poisoned Wen Woyu the previous two times.
The poisoner is dead, but Meng Lingge's worries have not diminished at all. This person was just a suicide bomber, and now that he's dead, it will be even harder to catch the real culprit.
The fact that the perpetrator refused to surrender even at the cost of his life is enough to suggest that Wen Zhiming's guess was likely correct.
"Your Majesty, this is what I found in the room of the two injured people. It must have been left by the murderer."
Jiang Lin took out a note from his pocket and presented it to Meng Lingge. When Meng Lingge reached out to take it, he took a step back.
"Your Majesty, just take a look. These words were written in blood. Be careful not to soil your hands."
After saying that, he unfolded the note. Meng Lingge first smelled a bloody odor, and after enduring the nausea, she glanced at it and her face turned pale.
It was the same font as the one I saw on the wooden board during the day, only this one was written in blood, adding to the eerie and chilling atmosphere.
If she does not flourish again, Chunhong will surely be slaughtered.
The eight blood-stained characters were chilling to the bone at first glance. The added warning made Meng Lingge feel instantly uneasy.
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