End of Chapter 401 (First Update)
"Impossible—what makes you think you can—Zhuang Jinse, what makes you think you can—"
Behind her came the hoarse roar of Consort Jing, accompanied by the sound of tables and chairs falling to the ground. However, with the Dragon Shadow Guards inside, Empress Dowager Zhuang was not worried that Consort Jing would be able to rush up.
Empress Dowager Zhuang left the room without looking back.
The emperor stood at the door, completely dumbfounded.
Clearly, he had been eavesdropping the whole time and had heard every single word.
Consort Jing revealed many inside stories, but his focus was only on the last one. He looked at Empress Dowager Zhuang, nervously and anxiously clutching the hem of his robe, and said awkwardly yet excitedly, "I...I am the Empress Dowager's biological son, right?"
Empress Dowager Zhuang gave him a look of disdain: "Didn't I already say it wasn't true!"
He has a pretty loud voice.
The emperor peeked out and looked towards Consort Jing inside the room, giving Empress Dowager Zhuang a knowing look.
He then followed Empress Dowager Zhuang into the next room.
"What are you doing here?" Empress Dowager Zhuang asked bluntly.
The Emperor chuckled: "I know the Empress Dowager said that on purpose for Consort Jing to hear. I am indeed the Empress Dowager's biological son!"
Empress Dowager Zhuang: "..."
Why won't this person listen?
She doesn't even recognize the child she gave birth to, right?
Empress Dowager Zhuang glanced down at the emperor's lower abdomen and said, "I gave birth to a boy who doesn't have a penis!"
The emperor squeezed his legs together, looking aggrieved.
Just when Empress Dowager Zhuang thought her foolish son understood her meaning and would finally stop being silly, the emperor said with a pitiful expression, "I don't care about Xiao Hong, Xiao Hong is my own son!"
Empress Dowager Zhuang, unable to bear the sight: "..."
Can she refuse because she looks ugly?
In the other room, the old Marquis and Gu Chengfeng stared at each other.
Gu Chengfeng stood in the center of the room with his head drooping, like a little quail caught red-handed.
The old Marquis sat down in his chair with a grand air, looking at Gu Chengfeng with a complicated expression: "What are you doing here?"
This story begins with Gu Chengfeng's chance encounter with the emperor. Gu Jiao risked her life to give him and Empress Dowager Zhuang a chance to escape. He ran forward recklessly, even losing his mask in the process. Therefore, when he encountered the emperor and the old marquis, the old marquis recognized him at a glance.
The only saving grace was that he didn't fight anyone at that time, and only used a little bit of his lightness skill.
Gu Chengfeng stammered, "I... I was in Bishui Hutong at the time. His Majesty came to Bishui Hutong to look for the Empress Dowager. I heard it in the study. I was worried about the Empress Dowager's safety, so I came out to look for her too. I... I also wanted to do my part."
It's strange that an ignorant and incompetent young dandy would want to do his best for the Empress Dowager.
The old lord asked again, "Did the guards just let you out like that?"
Gu Chengfeng said without changing his expression, "I... took out the token of the Marquis of Ding'an's mansion and said that I was your grandson, and they let me pass."
The old marquis was skeptical, but more concerned with how the man met the Empress Dowager and how he knew martial arts than how he left the city.
Gu Chengfeng didn't know whether his grandfather knew about Empress Dowager Zhuang's exile to the common people, since Empress Dowager Zhuang had always claimed that she had spent the previous year recuperating in the imperial palace.
Worried that he might have said something inappropriate, he said, "What's there to not recognize? It's not like I've never been to the palace before! When I visited Consort Shu, I saw the Empress Dowager from afar, and I saw her several times! And once, when I accidentally got lost, it was the Empress Dowager who had someone show me the way. I've never told you this before, because I know you all dislike the Empress Dowager."
The first few lines were thought up on the way back, while the Empress Dowager's directions were something he made up on the spot.
This perfectly explains why he went out to find the Empress Dowager, because the Empress Dowager had helped him before!
He was returning the favor!
Wow, how did I suddenly become so smart!
That's so true to me!
"As for martial arts, sigh, I don't know any martial arts at all! I just have a little bit of lightness skill, which I secretly learned from my elder brother!"
Perfect logic!
He's so good at it!
Where did this ability to fabricate short stories come from? It feels strangely familiar...
The old Marquis still found it strange, but he couldn't really find anything wrong with it. He couldn't very well ask Empress Dowager Zhuang for confirmation, since she was too lazy to even talk to the emperor, let alone him.
Leaving the manor secretly at night is punishable, but considering Gu Chengfeng's merit in saving the Empress Dowager, the old Marquis allowed him to return by carriage.
Immediately afterwards, the old Marquis went to report back to the Emperor, repeating Gu Chengfeng's words again, probably worried that the Emperor would become suspicious of why their son was hiding his talents and whether he was secretly plotting something.
After all, after the incident involving Consort Jing, the old Marquis clearly felt that the Emperor no longer trusted him as much as before.
The emperor was still immersed in the immense joy of possibly being his mother's biological son, and had no time to doubt this or that. He praised Gu Chengfeng and commended the old marquis for his excellent teaching.
The fact that Consort Jing was a remnant of the previous dynasty no longer needs any further proof; the charge is established. Moreover, she stole the late emperor's edict and plotted to murder the empress dowager of the country, making her crimes heinous and unforgivable.
If Consort Jing were to actually take Empress Dowager Zhuang to the border, the consequences would be unimaginable.
The Empress Dowager's life would be in danger, the royal family's reputation would be ruined, and the morale of the army would be low... The Zhao Kingdom would be plunged into unprecedented turmoil.
This time, the emperor showed no mercy whatsoever.
He arrived at the room where Consort Jing was being held.
Consort Jing had stopped struggling and sat slumped in her chair with a blank expression, like a soulless shell.
The emperor's gaze swept over her wrists, which were bloodied and mangled from the ropes rubbing against them as she struggled. He said nothing and had Eunuch Wei bring the things in.
Consort Jing seemed to finally come to her senses. She turned around, her face still streaked with tears, and said in a hoarse voice, "Hong'er..."
The emperor said with disgust, "Don't call me Hong'er, you are not worthy."
Consort Jing smiled self-deprecatingly and looked at the Emperor, saying, "Hong'er, you only hate your mother so much because you're under the influence of the drug. Once the effects wear off, you'll know that in your heart, your mother is a hundred times, a thousand times more important than that woman Zhuang Jinse!"
The emperor's gaze was as piercing as the winter wind: "You're wrong! Regardless of whether the medicine works or not, I will no longer trust you, nor will I ever consider you my true mother again!"
"Is that so?" Consort Jing chuckled twice, revealing an innocent yet bewitching expression. "Then what are you doing here? Do you want to get information out of me? Well, I'm afraid you'll be disappointed. I won't say anything."
The emperor knew she would react this way; the descendants of the former dynasty's assassins still possessed the mindset of assassins. He didn't expect to pry any information out of her: "I've come to see you off on your final journey."
Consort Jing's body stiffened slightly.
Eunuch Wei stepped forward carrying a tray with a bottle of poison and a piece of white silk on it.
Consort Jing could no longer laugh: "You really... are so heartless... you and your son... are both so heartless... you... you..."
She didn't cry, but large tears still fell down her cheeks.
The emperor showed no mercy: "As mother and son, this is the last bit of dignity I'm giving you."
"Dignity? You killed your mother... what dignity do you have to talk about!" Consort Jing cursed, spitting as she spoke, then burst into maniacal laughter. "Truly worthy of being your father's own son... you will get your retribution... you will get your retribution!"
The emperor would not be swayed by a few curses: "I am the Son of Heaven, I was born in accordance with the will of Heaven..."
Consort Jing interrupted him: "The Emperor? Hahaha, you've probably forgotten how you got your throne!"
The emperor pondered for a moment, then nodded and said, "That's right, it was Empress Dowager who planned this for me, so I am grateful to her. From now on, I will never displease her again."
After saying that, he turned and left the room, not even sparing Consort Jing a glance.
...
A major event occurred in the capital in August—the Empress Dowager Jing passed away. Since her current status is still Abbess Jing'an, it is more accurate to say that Abbess Jing'an passed away.
Master Jing'an always presented herself as frail and weak, so Princess Rui brought doctors from Miaoshoutang to her home twice to treat her, and the Emperor also brought her back to the palace to recuperate.
It has to be said that her feigned frail health was a huge help; almost no one suspected that her passing was suspicious. Upon hearing the news, everyone thought, "Sigh, with such poor health, it's no wonder she didn't make it through the year..."
However, there were also some unpredictable aspects. For example, everyone thought that the emperor would restore Jing'an Shifu's status as a concubine, posthumously confer upon her the title of Empress Dowager, and bury her with the rites due to an Empress Dowager.
But the emperor did not do so.
She was accompanied by Abbess Jing'an until her encoffining and burial.
When the news reached Biyue Hutong, Gu Jiao, Xiao Liulang, and Gu Chengfeng were all there.
"His Majesty really..." Gu Chengfeng was shocked. As one of the people in the know that night, he naturally understood that there was another reason for Consort Jing's passing, but he did not expect that His Majesty could really do this.
Do you feel sympathy?
The answer is no.
That old hag committed numerous evil deeds, wreaking havoc in the harem for many years, causing the Empress Dowager and the Emperor to turn against each other and almost die at each other's hands, not to mention the innocent Princess Ning'an.
As long as she remains, she will always be a huge hidden danger to the court.
Empress Xiao handled all the funeral arrangements for Consort Jing, and the Emperor didn't even show his face.
The emperor decided to send someone to the border. He originally intended to send Gu Changqing, since Gu Changqing held a position in the army and was someone who could be sent out openly.
Unfortunately, Gu Changqing had left the capital and had not returned. This matter was urgent, so the emperor thought for a moment and summoned Tang Yueshan and the old marquis to the palace.
He handed the token that allowed him to mobilize the Dragon Shadow Guard to the old Marquis and solemnly said, "I entrust this token to you in the hope that you can accomplish three things for me—first, recall the Dragon Shadow Guard; second, thoroughly investigate the situation at the border; and third… bring Princess Ning'an back safely!"
The old marquis never expected the emperor to entrust him with such an important task. He was stunned for a moment, then clasped his hands in a fist and said, "Your subject... accepts the decree!"
The emperor then looked at Tang Yueshan: "I don't need to explain your mission to you, do I?"
Tang Yueshan clasped his hands in salute: "Your subject hereby pledges that he will not return to the court until all the former dynasty's followers have been killed!"
Happy New Year!
(End of this chapter)
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