Su Shunhe was a man of the world, and the Empress Dowager's question did not make him flustered at all. He glanced at Jiang Ling and said to the Empress Dowager, "A distant relative is nothing to be surprised about. My younger sister is unruly and ignorant. I hope Your Majesty will forgive her!"
Jiang Ling and A Shu did not cause any trouble at the flower viewing banquet, and the Empress Dowager was in a good mood and did not pursue the matter further.
"Well, since you're here, why rush to take her back? If you ask me, Third Brother, all of A-Shu's mischievous nature is because of you keeping her in check!" the Empress Dowager said, squinting her eyes.
Su Shunhe naturally dared not refute the Empress Dowager's words, while A-Shu simply scratched her head and chuckled.
Jiang Ling's heart was pounding, and her mind was racing. She didn't know if this was her only chance, but she had no choice but to take the gamble. Since she was going to die anyway if Su Shunhe found out, she might as well give it a shot.
Thinking of this, Jiang Ling rushed to the Empress Dowager, knelt down on both knees, and began to kowtow frantically.
Jiang Ling kowtowed deeply, and after only a few times, her forehead was bleeding from the impact with the hard stone slab.
All of this happened so fast that no one, including the Empress Dowager, could react in time!
"Protect!!! Add!!" The eunuchs seemed to wake from a dream, shouting incessantly in their high-pitched voices.
Upon hearing the sound, a large group of guards immediately surrounded Jiang Ling, protecting the Empress Dowager completely.
"Empress Dowager! Can you please hear me out?" Jiang Ling continued kowtowing, bloodstains already appearing on the cold gray floor.
The Empress Dowager squinted and looked Jiang Ling over with interest. She waved her hand and said to the eunuch beside her, "Let them go first!"
With the Empress Dowager's order, the eunuchs and guards dared not disobey. The eunuch waved his hand impatiently, and the guards who had been so imposing just moments before all hung their heads and returned to their posts to perform their duties.
But those sharp, hawk-like gazes did not leave Jiang Ling.
"Stop kowtowing, just tell me what's on your mind!" The Empress Dowager glanced at Jiang Ling and said calmly.
"How dare you!" Su Shunhe panicked a bit. He roared and rushed to Jiang Ling, grabbing her by the sleeve and trying to drag her outside.
Even an ordinary person could see something was wrong in this scene, let alone the Empress Dowager.
With a stern face, she said to the eunuch beside her, "Stop those two!"
The eunuch's shrill voice pierced the sky, and the guards once again surrounded Jiang Ling and Su Shunhe. However, due to the Third Prince's status, the guards only surrounded them and did not do anything further.
"Third son, get her off us! What kind of behavior is this in broad daylight!" the Empress Dowager said to Su Shunhe with a stern face.
This time, Su Shunhe was completely at a loss. He glared at Jiang Ling angrily, slapped her hard across the face, and then kicked her several times.
Pain, like a thousand arrows piercing her heart, spread back and forth across Jiang Ling's body. Jiang Ling gritted her teeth and stubbornly endured without making a sound.
The flower-viewing banquet had been ruined by Su Shunhe. The sensible women had already scattered like birds and beasts, but A-Shu stood there in a terrified state, staring blankly at the scene before her.
"Enough! Pull him away! What kind of behavior is this!" Having ruined the Empress Dowager's flower-viewing banquet, the Empress Dowager was clearly furious. She scolded Su Shunhe, who had been abusing her.
Su Shunhe showed no intention of stopping and continued to assault Jiang Ling, who was lying on the ground.
After an unknown amount of time, the guards pulled open Su Shunhe, whose eyes were bloodshot and face was filled with anger, and Jiang Ling was able to escape by sheer luck.
She endured the excruciating pain as she stood up from the ground, staggered and swayed as she walked to the Empress Dowager, and knelt down straight down.
The cold gray stone slabs, though smooth, were unusually hard. Jiang Ling felt a sharp pain in her knees and instinctively gasped.
"Your Majesty...please forgive this woman for deserving to die!" Jiang Ling bowed and kowtowed, her movements almost prostrate on the ground.
The Empress Dowager raised an eyebrow, her anger evident without her imposing manner. She said nothing, but simply waved her hand, ordering the guards to take Jiang Ling, A Shu, and Su Shunhe away.
In Qirong Palace, the Empress Dowager sat on her phoenix throne, her expression as still as water.
She glared angrily at the three people kneeling below, her flower-viewing party ruined.
The three of them had different expressions: A-Shu was mostly fearful, Su Shunhe was resentful, and Jiang Ling was full of grievances.
"Your Majesty, please forgive this woman for her death!" Jiang Ling said first.
"What do you mean by death penalty? You went to all this trouble just to see me! Now that you've seen me, say what you have to say!" The Empress Dowager glanced at Jiang Ling and sat in her chair, sulking.
"Shut up if you don't want to die! Otherwise, I'll make you regret it!" Su Shunhe threatened Jiang Ling and shouted angrily.
A-Shu looked around blankly, somewhat at a loss. She still couldn't understand why her usually good-tempered older brother had suddenly become a different person, beating her dear sister like a madman. She couldn't understand why the two of them, who had only met once, were acting like enemies.
Helpless, she knelt on the ground, her back gradually soaked with cold sweat.
"Third Prince! I'm still here!" The Empress Dowager slammed her hand on the chair and scolded.
Just moments ago, Su Shunhe was fierce and aggressive, but now he could only lower his head in resentment and occasionally glare at Jiang Ling with sharp eyes.
"I have come today hoping that Your Majesty will rescind your decree!" Jiang Ling took a deep breath and said to the Empress Dowager.
"Your Majesty?" The Empress Dowager looked at Jiang Ling with a puzzled expression.
He stroked his chin, frowned, and asked, "Your Majesty? What does this have to do with Your Majesty?"
Now that things have come to this, Jiang Ling has no intention of hiding anything.
She straightened her back and told the Empress Dowager everything except for Nianci. To prevent the Empress Dowager from not believing her, Jiang Ling even took out the seal that the Emperor had previously bestowed upon her from her bosom.
The eunuch carefully placed the seal on a square tray and presented it to the Empress Dowager.
The Empress Dowager frowned, picked up the seal, examined it carefully to confirm its authenticity, and then frowned again as she said to Jiang Ling, "Since it is an imperial edict issued by the Emperor, why are you disobeying it? Aren't you afraid that the Emperor will punish you with death?"
Jiang Ling had already guessed what Su Shunhe was saying. She glanced at Su Shunhe's gloating eyes, took a deep breath, and said to the Empress Dowager, "I believe that His Majesty's bestowal of the title of Anren upon me, a mere village woman, is sufficient proof that His Majesty is a wise ruler!"
"If he is a wise ruler, how could he issue such an imperial edict!"
"Outrageous!" The Empress Dowager slammed her hand on the chair and shouted at Jiang Ling.
"Your Majesty, I have been too lenient with you! Do you know that every word you utter now could be grounds for a death sentence?"
Jiang Ling looked up at the Empress Dowager, gave a bitter smile, and continued, neither humble nor arrogant, "Of course I know, but Empress Dowager, I want to ask you, why did His Majesty issue an edict to force me, a widow, to marry someone else? Putting aside me, what about my four children? Moreover, what if I have someone I truly love?"
"this……"
"His Majesty has arrived!"
A sharp sound entered Qirong Palace, followed by a figure striding into the room.
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