Chapter 69 Attendant Thirty-Three
Before even stepping over the threshold of the main gate of the Shōnin-den, Shinju smelled the scent of sandalwood and cosmetics, which he had never seen before. So he stopped, opened his divine sense, enveloped the entire palace, and carefully investigated.
A few breaths later.
She actually dared to come?
Shinjuku's eyes narrowed, and he clenched his fists tightly.
Behind the myriad of lines in my consciousness, I saw the figure of the Poison King sitting upright on the left side of the Arhat bed, while on the right side sat an elderly man dressed in an elegant vest, exuding grace and poise.
"How is the dragon's health?" The old man's voice sounded very gentle and kind, surprisingly young.
"It'll be ready soon," the Poison King replied.
The old man remained silent for a moment before saying in a trembling voice, "That's good, that's good. I won't be tossing and turning all night anymore..."
At this moment, the old woman behind the old man interrupted, wiping her eyes with a handkerchief, and said eloquently, "Your Majesty, you do not know, no matter how I try to persuade the Empress Dowager, she insists on lighting lamps to pray for Your Majesty at midnight, and always stays up until dawn before going to sleep. Alas, the Empress Dowager's health is not good when it is cold, and her cough has become much worse recently."
The Prince of Zhen laughed, "No wonder I recovered so quickly; it turns out my mother was worried about me."
The old man, who was also the Empress Dowager, tapped the jade ring on the little finger of the teacup on the table in the center of the daybed, and the scene fell silent for a moment.
The King of Zhen summoned Tang Quan and said, "Later, add some nourishing and cold-dispelling medicinal herbs to the Empress Dowager's palace."
Tang Quan agreed, and then, under Granny Qin's scrutinizing gaze, retreated to the door.
Meanwhile, Shinju, who was still standing outside, suddenly felt an urge to rush in and tear off the Empress Dowager's human mask. Just thinking about the truth he had learned from Fuyin in the Taoist temple's underground chamber filled him with a surge of rage, and his beautiful cat-like eyes almost widened in shock.
How could there be such a shameless person?
But Shinjuku clearly spoke too soon; it was only after the Empress Dowager's words that the true meaning of a despicable person was fully revealed.
The Empress Dowager's hands, adorned with numerous jade rings, rubbed together like walnuts, making a rattling sound. Then, the sound suddenly stopped, and the Empress Dowager spoke: "I believe that the arrest warrants for the two masters should be withdrawn."
The King of Zhen immediately closed his eyes, and only opened them after a few breaths. He stared straight ahead and said, "Why do you say that, Mother? Those two forged elixirs, openly escaped from prison, and plotted to kill me. On every single charge, was it wrong of me to issue an arrest warrant for such criminals?"
The Empress Dowager said lightly, "It's not that I don't want Your Majesty to issue a warrant, you can just send your secret guards to search for them privately, why make such a big fuss and ruin the reputation of the Taoist temple... They have always been dedicated to offering my eternal lamp, I just don't want to let them down."
The King of Zhen's dark eyes were unfathomable. His gaze moved down and fell on the watery stain hanging at his waist before he quietly loosened his embedded molars.
"If the Empress Dowager thinks the reputation of the Taoist temple is more important than my life, then what she is praying for at night is probably not my safety," the Prince of Zhen said coldly.
“Your Majesty, how can you do this! It will hurt the Empress Dowager’s feelings so much… How could the Empress Dowager not care about Your Majesty—” Granny Qin hurriedly said.
The Empress Dowager slammed her hand full of jade rings against the table, making a piercing sound, clearly furious. "I'm worried about the reputation of the Taoist temple, but isn't it all for the Emperor's sake?"
Seemingly realizing she had lost her composure, the Empress Dowager paused before saying, "May the God of Fortune bless our nation. His Majesty should not have allowed another Taoist temple to be built on the original site of Yun Guang. This is a great disrespect to the God of Fortune! Fearing divine punishment from the God of Fortune, I have been pleading with him day and night, begging him to forgive His Majesty's unintentional mistake. Who would have thought that something would still happen?"
As the Empress Dowager spoke, she silently recited two phrases towards the east, her hands forming an unreadable hand gesture, appearing devout.
"All of this could have been avoided. There is still time to turn things around. Let's see if His Majesty believes me."
What a well-acted show. Shinju listened expressionlessly. If he hadn't known that the siege beneath the Taoist temple was ordered by the Empress Dowager, he might have been fooled by her claim of being devoted to the Emperor.
Could the King of Poison really believe it? Shinju couldn't help but look at the King of Poison, trying to find some clues.
The King of Zhen tried to pick up the teacup beside him, but his trembling hand betrayed his wavering mind.
The Empress Dowager secretly watched the commotion on her right out of the corner of her eye, a hint of smugness flashing in her eyes.
A moment later, the King of Zhen snapped his fingers and ordered his guards, "Withdraw the warrant." After saying that, he picked up a purple clay monk's cap teapot and filled the Empress Dowager's teacup with tea.
The Empress Dowager raised an eyebrow, picked up her teacup, and took a small sip.
Seeing that the Prince of Zhen had been persuaded, the Empress Dowager tapped her jade ring lightly on the table and continued, "I did not wish to interfere in state affairs, but there is one more matter that I must mention to Your Majesty."
The King of Zhen turned his head away, waiting for the Empress Dowager to continue.
"Between nations, harmonious coexistence is better than hostility. Struggles are merely games; there are no permanent enemies. Invading their territory might bring misfortune. Dongchuan has recently dried up, and locust plagues are raging everywhere… If Feng Kingdom seizes this opportunity to retaliate, I am truly afraid…" The Empress Dowager suddenly grabbed the Prince of Zhen's hand, her eyes instantly reddening, tears streaming down her face. "I worry about the Emperor… He will suffer retribution. Return those three cities; consider it a blessing for the people."
The King of Zhen's knuckles twitched slightly, and the veins on the back of his hand, which was covered by the Empress Dowager's hand, bulged uncontrollably. His dark eyes were as somber as if a storm was brewing.
The anger in Shinju's eyes intensified.
Is this something a queen dowager could say?! She makes no mention of the frontier that was invaded first. The invasion of enemy territory was not only for deterrence and retaliation, but also to establish a buffer zone and relieve pressure on the ten border cities. Nianguo had finally regained the upper hand, yet she demands to kneel before the enemy. How dare she make such an absurd demand? Where does she place the hundreds of brave soldiers who died in battle?!
Shinjuku didn't know how King Juzu had managed to hold back, but he certainly couldn't. Just as he was about to charge in recklessly, he noticed two people walking in from outside the Seijin Hall.
It was Consort Yan and her personal servants.
Suddenly, Shinju stopped in his tracks, deliberately revealing the hem of his robe adorned with brocade python patterns. Sure enough, a maidservant noticed and tugged at Shinju's sleeve.
"Your Highness, there's someone over there. It looks like so-and-so," the maid whispered a reminder.
"Who goes there?" Consort Yan glanced impatiently in that direction, then immediately perked up and urged her maid, "I've caught them! Sneaking around like that, they must be eavesdropping on the Empress Dowager and His Majesty's conversation inside."
The maid glanced at the distance between the side room in the palace and where the person was. Clearly, a large front courtyard and main hall separated the two places; how could she possibly be eavesdropping? But her hesitation earned her a fierce glare from Consort Yan. The maid could only steel herself and raise her voice, shouting, "Who's sneaking around there? Are you eavesdropping?!"
Shinju stepped out from the shadows of the tent at the opportune moment, nodded to Consort Yan, and said, "Greetings, Your Highness. I was merely wandering around nearby, waiting for Your Majesty's summons."
Consort Yan did not respond. Her unfriendly gaze swept across his face before she looked away, and then she secretly pinched the maid's lower back.
The maid winced in pain, her face twitching. She quickly scolded, "Eunuch Qing, don't try to argue. Let's go in and let the Empress Dowager judge this."
Shinjuku stood there quietly, his warm gaze unexpectedly giving off a chill that made the maids hesitate.
However, the situation did not remain tense. Shinjuku nodded slightly and, with a gentlemanly gesture, gestured for them to go first.
Consort Yan flung her plain gauze robe aside and stormed off to the side room.
Tang Quan summoned Consort Yan to an audience, but then saw Zhen Su and Consort Yan enter the side room one after the other, causing both the Prince of Zhen and the Empress Dowager to be momentarily stunned.
Consort Yan performed a curtsy, smiled sweetly at Prince Zhen, and then familiarly moved to the Empress Dowager's knees to exchange pleasantries.
Shinju then landed behind him, bowed to the people on either side of the daybed, and said briefly, "Greetings, Your Majesty, and greetings, Empress Dowager."
The King of Zhen's gaze swept over Zhen Su for a while, as if checking him for dirt or grime, fearing that he might be bullied by Consort Yan. Seeing that there was nothing amiss, the King of Zhen's originally fierce black eyes suddenly became like a clean inkstone, faintly reflecting light.
"Come here," the King of Poison called the person to his side.
Unexpectedly, Granny Qin suddenly exclaimed in a shrill voice, "Isn't this against etiquette? Why doesn't Eunuch Qing kneel before the Empress Dowager?"
Shinjuku and the King of Poison both glanced at her at the same time.
Before the King of Zhen could speak, Zhen Su replied, "I was unaware that the seal-bearer had a ritual of kneeling before the Empress Dowager, and this is not a formal occasion."
The Empress Dowager curled her lip and pretended to accidentally brush against the teacup. The purple clay teacup shattered on the ground with a "bang," scattering fragments everywhere.
A shard of metal grazed the surface of Shinjuku's boot, leaving an unsightly scratch. Shinjuku looked down at the seated Empress Dowager with an unchanged expression. Although he did not say a word, his slightly raised chin conveyed a strong sense of contempt.
Granny Qin was immediately enraged. She swayed her hips as she walked around the side of the bed, stood in front of Shinju, and glared at him angrily.
At this moment, the Prince of Zhen deliberately misinterpreted her actions and said leisurely, "Thank you for your hard work, Granny."
He then added, "Even if Qingqing weren't the one in charge of the seal, I would have already exempted him from kneeling. Speaking of which, I still remember that Fuyin and Wenbi also received special permission from the Empress Dowager, and they didn't even kneel before me." The Prince of Zhen pronounced the word "Qing" very softly, making it sound like he was calling "Qingqing." Consort Yan's face immediately darkened, and she unconsciously clenched the Empress Dowager's hem, making it wrinkle like dried plums. In her heart, she kept cursing why this damned vixen hadn't died on the frontier.
The Empress Dowager's face stiffened, her anger flaring. She had intended to give the eunuch a warning, but the Prince of Zhen's mention of the two criminals at this moment was clearly a dig at her. What kind of person was he? What kind of status did she have? You foolish ruler, you actually dared to reprimand the Empress Dowager for such worthless scoundrels?!
Granny Qin was stunned. Seeing that the Empress Dowager had no intention of speaking up, she could not muster any more anger and could only kneel on the ground to clean up the broken teacups.
Seeing the faces of those people as if they had swallowed flies, Shinju felt slightly pleased, but recalling the Empress Dowager's earlier remarks, he could only think of speaking up.
At this moment, the King of Zhen gave him a look that said, "Don't be impatient." Only then did Shinju turn his toes and walk straight to stand next to the King of Zhen.
Tang Quan, who was standing guard by the door, couldn't help but glance a few more times at Masakuni, who was said to have gotten pregnant. After their eyes met, she gave him an approving look before turning back.
Consort Yan was shocked that even the Empress Dowager couldn't deal with this person. Her eyes were filled with resentment, but she was helpless. The maids behind her didn't dare to move an inch, let alone mention the eavesdropping. It was such an obvious frame-up, and the Emperor's obvious favoritism made it impossible for her to win.
Just as the room was so quiet you could hear a pin drop, the Empress Dowager's voice suddenly rang out, "Your Majesty, have you considered the matter we were just discussing?"
Shinju retracted his tiger's mouth and once again fixed his gaze on the King of Poison.
However, the King of Zhen suddenly stood up, casting a shadow with his taller and more imposing figure, completely enveloping the Empress Dowager and Consort Yan.
Then he slightly raised his chin, his gaze as if looking at filth was exactly the same as that of someone just now.
The Poison King said, "I have already considered it. Whatever you have done, I will return to you in full. Tang Quan, see the guests out—"
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Author's Note: [Edited] I've revised the portrayal of the Empress Dowager and changed some details.
[Hands clasped in prayer] My calligraphy skills are too poor, I'm sorry, I keep revising it.
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