Chapter 418 That can only be what Your Majesty meant!
The empress dowager sat alone on the couch in Yongshou Palace, looking out the window with empty eyes at the sky framed by the palace walls. Her thoughts involuntarily drifted back to her youth.
At that time, she was innocent and kind. She believed that good and evil would be rewarded in the end. She acted uprightly and never had the intention of harming others.
However, even if she did nothing, others would press on step by step, crushing her kindness and innocence bit by bit, and forcing her to become a vicious woman who is even a stranger to herself!
In order to survive in this cannibalistic harem, she went through many life-threatening situations before she gave birth to a child and avoided being killed. She then exhausted all her efforts to push Zhang Chengyan to the throne, hoping to have a stable and noble old age.
But fate played a trick on her. She only enjoyed the honor of a queen mother for a few short years before she was imprisoned in the Yongshou Palace.
She is only in her forties now and has many decades left in her life. Is she going to be trapped in this dark and cage-like Yongshou Palace until the end of her life?
She slowly turned her head and looked at the loyal nanny who had served her for many years. Her voice was a little hoarse, "Mammy, tell me...what on earth have I lived for in this life? In the first ten years at home, I could live comfortably. But since I entered the palace, I have been revolving around the late emperor and living only for him. After I had a child, I put all my thoughts on the child, hoping that he would be successful. I finally got to the throne and thought I could breathe a sigh of relief, but I started to worry about my grandson again. Thinking about it, I have never really lived for myself for a day."
She sighed, "Now that the emperor has a son, I am the empress dowager. I should be respected by everyone in the harem and enjoy all the honors. But now I am locked up in this Yongshou Palace and can't even step out of the palace."
Zhang Chengyan was even more ruthless. Apart from appearing during festivals, he was rarely seen on weekdays.
If the Queen Mother did not have some old connections outside, she would probably have no idea what the outside world has become like.
Nanny listened to the Queen Mother's confession, feeling distressed. She picked up the teacup that had been prepared on the table, handed it to her, and advised her gently, "Your Highness, please stop thinking about these troubles. Drink some tea and calm down. Now that the little prince is by your side, things will get better slowly."
The Queen Mother took the teacup, but only took a sip before putting it down again. "Yes, if the Queen hadn't come to visit me so often and sent the little prince to my side, I would have died of depression a long time ago."
At this point, the Queen Mother seemed to have thought of something and suddenly asked, "Mammy, how long do you think I can live?"
The nanny didn't even think twice, "Your Majesty is blessed with great fortune, and will surely live a long life!"
"Live a long life?" The Queen Mother murmured repeatedly, but there was no joy on her face, instead there was a trace of sadness. "If I really live a long life of a hundred years, then wouldn't I have to be locked up in this palm-sized Yongshou Palace for more than fifty years?"
This is still an optimistic estimate. If something happens to Zhang Chengyan one day and the new emperor ascends the throne, her life may be over.
Or, without the Queen's help, her future life would probably not be easy.
After all, the biggest obstacle for her, the queen mother, to live a peaceful and comfortable life is her own son!
The Queen Mother stood up, ignored the nanny, and walked straight towards the inner room.
The nanny hurried forward and wanted to go in to take care of her, but she stopped her with her hand, "Don't come in, I want to be alone for a while."
After saying this, she closed the door of the inner room.
…
In the blink of an eye, another half month passed.
The harem seems peaceful, but in fact, there are undercurrents.
Yunhe was playing hide-and-seek with the eunuchs in the palace as usual, when suddenly a man jumped out from nowhere and pushed him hard!
He staggered and almost hit his head on the stone of the rockery. Fortunately, he used his hands to support himself, so his head was not injured, but his hands were covered in blood.
When Bai Wutong learned about this, she was suddenly filled with anger. She was almost certain that the mastermind behind this was Su Zhaoyi!
But this time was different from the last time. Last time, Yunhe could still tell the name of the palace maid Ruyu, but this time, Yunhe couldn’t even see what the person who pushed him looked like!
If you rashly cause trouble for Su Zhaoyi without any evidence, it will only backfire and she might even accuse you of something.
After much thought, Bai Wutong decided to find Zhang Chengyan first.
When Zhang Chengyan heard about this, he was furious and immediately ordered his trusted ministers to investigate the matter thoroughly and find the murderer who dared to attack the prince!
However, several days passed and there was no progress in the investigation.
Fengyi Palace.
Yingchun hurried in, "Your Majesty, someone saw Su Zhaoyi limping out of the Yangxin Palace. It seems that she was caught attacking the Crown Prince!"
Bai Wutong's heart moved, "What's going on?"
Yingchun described it vividly, "My queen, I heard that the emperor called Su Zhaoyi to the Yangxin Palace and severely reprimanded her, saying that she was acting recklessly and pushing her limits. He also made her kneel on the ground for a long time! Su Zhaoyi was terrified and cried and begged the emperor not to blame her, saying that it was all the maids around her who acted on their own and it had nothing to do with her. In the end, the emperor relented and only let her kneel for two hours before letting her go."
Bai Wutong nodded, not surprised. She had expected it to be Su Zhaoyi. "I know."
Although the emperor has already punished, this matter will never end so easily!
As Yunhe's mother and the mistress of the harem, she has the right and the responsibility to seek justice for her son!
She waited quietly to see if Zhang Chengyan would take the initiative to tell her about this.
However, as the day passed and it was almost dark, there was no movement from Zhang Chengyan's side, as if nothing had happened.
However, Su Zhaoyi has become much more honest. She no longer shows off like before, but stays in her own palace, never going out of the main door or the secondary door, as if she was under house arrest.
Moreover, in the afternoon, all the palace maids around her were replaced.
Seeing that Zhang Chengyan had no intention of explaining himself, Bai Wutong decided to go and ask in person!
Hall of Mental Cultivation.
When Zhang Chengyan saw her coming in, a trace of guilt flashed across his face. He pretended to be calm and asked, "Wutong, why are you here suddenly?"
Bai Wutong didn't beat around the bush and got straight to the point, "Your Majesty, I came here to ask, has the murderer of Tui Yunhe been found?"
Zhang Chengyan's eyes dodged for a moment, "There were many people at the scene, and the situation was a bit chaotic..."
Before he could finish, Bai Wutong interrupted him, "Your Majesty, as the mistress of the harem, I must have known that Su Zhaoyi had changed a group of palace maids. Your Majesty, Su Zhaoyi is just a mere Zhaoyi, and she doesn't have the power to privately replace all the palace maids around her. Unless I agree, it can only be your will!"
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