"No one can give me courage. I have been timid since I was young. But even the most timid person will become bold when provoked," Jinghui said in a light tone. She stood up and walked to the table, poured herself a cup of Lu'an tea, held it in her hand, and looked down at the empress dowager. After a pause, she continued, "If you ask me when I became bolder, it might be when the empress dowager sent someone to pick me up from Mount Wutai."
"I knew early on why the Xu family was willing to keep me, a singing girl's illegitimate daughter, and why the Queen Mother raised me in Mount Wutai and sent people to train me carefully. Since I was eight years old, I knew that I would serve an old man, an old man who was twenty years older than me and had countless women. Because of my face that was exactly the same as my aunt's, I never slept well since I was eight years old. I survived until I was sixteen, twenty, and thirty. Just when I was lucky, I didn't expect..." Jinghui paused, pursed her light red lips, and said coldly, "You finally remembered me again. With just a few words, I had to enter the palace, and then the nightmare of so many years became true. Do you know what it feels like?"
"Why are you saying all this? As a daughter of the Xu family, shouldn't you make some sacrifices for the Xu family?" The Queen Mother said impatiently, "Why do you feel wronged? You are now wearing silk, satin and jewels, and you are the most respected woman in front of His Majesty. The Imperial Noble Consort is dead, and I'm afraid it won't be long before you can climb to that position. In the future, if you can be more pregnant and give birth to another prince, you will have the final say in the harem. So why do you feel wronged? What right do you have to blame me?!"
"Yes, only when someone cares about you will you feel wronged and complain. What can a lonely person like me have to complain about?" Jinghui curled her lips in self-mockery, took a sip of tea, raised her head and looked at the Queen Mother, and suddenly laughed, with a mocking and playful smile, "So, since entering this palace, I have nothing to complain about. It is said that once you enter the palace, it is like a deep sea. I have really learned a lot of skills, such as revenge and rooting out the weeds. If I were still as pure and harmless as before, how could I become the most respected woman in front of His Majesty? Queen Mother, don't you think so?"
"What do you mean by that?" The Queen Mother said this with a breath in her voice. Her heart was beating fast. She looked at Jinghui anxiously and worriedly, "What do you want to say?"
"Empress Dowager, are you really curious to know why Xu Chengjin suddenly made the wrong decision and dared to point his sword at the capital?" Jinghui still smiled, and that smile was like a spring flower swaying in the wind, fresh and peaceful.
"It's... it's you!" The Queen Mother's eyes suddenly widened. She looked at Jinghui in disbelief. After a long while, she spoke again, "Impossible! This is absolutely impossible! Although Cheng Jin has a quick temper, he has always been the most obedient. He... he absolutely cannot do this behind my back..."
The Queen Mother could not continue, because she suddenly realized that Xu Chengjin had indeed started a rebellion in Southern Xinjiang without her knowledge. She knew nothing about it from beginning to end. If it were not for Chi Chongyuan's secret letter, she would have waited until Xu Chengjin died without knowing the reason...
wrong!
If it weren't for Chi Chongyuan's letter, she would have no way of knowing what happened in Southern Xinjiang, and Zhong Zhiheng would have never taken his anger out on her, so...
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
