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Old Chief continued, "Not many people know about this, and the rumor outside is that Imperial Concubine Dowager Jing requested to leave the palace and live in a nunnery herself. I only learned from His Majesty that Zhuang Jinse drove away her closest friend in order to consolidate her power."
Xiao Liulang frowned and said, "His Majesty must think that Empress Dowager"s kindness to him and Imperial Concubine Dowager Jing all those years was a carefully planned scheme, and that Empress Dowager only wanted a puppet."
Old Chief agreed deeply, "Yes, His Majesty does think that way. In fact, not only him, but everyone in the world thinks the same. Even Empress Dowager"s clan, the Zhuang Family, thinks that Empress Dowager has been playing this game for so many years."
Everyone in the world sympathized with Imperial Concubine Dowager Jing and the Emperor, and no one cared about Zhuang Jinse"s gradually chilling heart.
No one asked if there was another motive behind Zhuang Jinse"s betrayal of her closest friend.
Whoever was weaker was right.
Zhuang Jinse"s strength destined people to fear her, hate her, scorn her, and wish to eliminate her, but no one would cherish her.
All the bad things would be easily counted on her head, who told her to disregard the rules? Who told her to cling to imperial power?
……
The sun was setting.
The evening glow fell on the eaves of Renshou Palace, casting a layer of dazzling golden light.
Empress Dowager Zhuang had just finished handling nearly half of the court affairs, and her whole person looked exhausted.
The days in the palace were not as leisurely as outsiders imagined. The piles of doc.u.ments, the endless political affairs, and the never-ending disputes all mercilessly wore down people"s will.
"Empress Dowager." Eunuch Qin entered slowly and handed her a cup of scented tea with concern. "Take a break and have a meal. These doc.u.ments can wait until tomorrow."
"Tomorrow has its own doc.u.ments." Empress Dowager Zhuang perked up again and picked up another memorandum. "Aijia is not hungry."
Eunuch Qin spoke earnestly, "You still have to eat something, even if you"re not hungry. If Your Majesty exhaust yourself, Young Miss Gu will be distressed again."
Hearing this, Empress Dowager Zhuang became angry and coldly glared at him, "Don"t always go to her for every little thing in the future! Don"t think Aijia really can"t chop off your head! There had been four eunuchs serving by Aijia’s side, don"t forget how the first three died!"
All of them were beheaded by you...
Eunuch Qin touched the neck on his shoulder and said bitterly, "Yes, this servant won"t dare anymore."
"Empress Dowager, Empress Dowager!"
The palace maid named Fei Cui rushed in with excitement.
Empress Dowager Zhuang was annoyed, and anyone who angered her would face death!
Empress Dowager Zhuang wasn’t a good person. She had killed people she didn’t have to kill, why else she was called vicious!
"Drag her out——"
As the words "and beat her to death" were about to be spoken, Fei Cui gasped for breath and said quickly, "Lord Xiao has arrived!"
Her next words seemed to have a life of their own as they slid right back down to Empress Dowager Zhuang"s stomach.
Empress Dowager Zhuang rolled her eyes and said, "Let him in."
Eunuch Qin smiled secretly.
Xiao Liulang entered the study in the side hall. Empress Dowager Zhuang, who looked through doc.u.ments absent-mindedly, asked, "Didn"t you leave already? Why did you come back?"
Listen, listen, listen, what kind of petulant tone was this?
Eunuch Qin outside the door almost laughed out loud. Senior Compiler Xiao came this morning to deliver something, but he didn"t see a certain someone and left.
Xiao Liulang said, "Come to have a meal."
Empress Dowager Zhuang sneered, "Isn"t there any food at home? You have to come to Aijia"s place to eat?"
Xiao Liulang nodded straightforwardly, "Yes, there"s no food to eat at home."
He had become shameless, obviously being led astray by that old man, Huo Xian!
Empress Dowager Zhuang glared angrily.
Eunuch Qin coughed lightly and said, "Empress Dowager, shall I have someone prepare the meal?"
"Thank you, Eunuch Qin." Xiao Liulang turned to Eunuch Qin and said.
"Ey!" Eunuch Qin happily agreed and went off.
Empress Dowager Zhuang gritted her teeth, "Great, each and every one of you forgetting your responsibilities and boundaries. Is it true that the owner of Renshou Palace is no longer surnamed Zhuang?"
Dinner was served in the Lingxiang Pavilion, which was located in the same side palace as the study room.
Empress Dowager Zhuang displayed no intention of going to dine.
Xiao Liulang couldn"t help but feel a little bit sad as he said, "Grandaunt, I"m hungry."
Empress Dowager Zhuang rolled her eyes and reluctantly put down the doc.u.ments in hand, then went to the Lingxiang Pavilion with Xiao Liulang.
Eunuch Qin didn"t know that Xiao Liulang was coming, but he had prepared some dishes that he knew Xiao Liulang would like, as he had been to Bishui Alley many times before.
Empress Dowager Zhuang dismissed the palace servants who were serving the food.
Xiao Liulang picked up a piece of green vegetable with his chopsticks and offered it to Empress Dowager Zhuang.
Empress Dowager Zhuang frowned and said, "Aijia doesn’t eat that!"
"I want you to try it." Xiao Liulang replied. He then picked up a slice of pork belly and removed the fatty part before offering it to her.
Empress Dowager Zhuang"s face turned black with anger.
"Are you here to have dinner with me or to pick a fight?" She exclaimed. She was very angry and the consequences could be severe.
Feeling down, Xiao Liulang said, "I never had dinner with my grandmother when I was a child. She didn"t like my mother, so she didn"t like me either."
Empress Dowager Zhuang"s anger was halfway up but dissipated when she heard this.
She had heard something about the relationship between Princess Xinyang and Old Madame Xiao. Old Madame Xiao had originally taken a fancy to a gentle and graceful daughter from a wealthy family.
But the one Marquis Xuanping married home was a lofty and imposing woman who couldn"t be scolded or beaten and to whom she had to bow every time they met.
Old Madame Xiao was so upset that she reportedly didn"t like Princess Xinyang"s son very much, but she was very fond of the two concubine-born grandsons.
Xiao Liulang didn"t care about this, he just wanted to elicit some sympathy.
As expected, Empress Dowager Zhuang felt sorry for him and didn"t want to offend him anymore. With a look of disgust and resentment on her face, she reluctantly ate the piece of vegetable.
Xiao Liulang"s lips curved up slightly, barely noticeable.
After that, Xiao Liulang made up a lot of his own miserable days under Old Madame Xiao"s control, successfully tricking Empress Dowager into eating all the food she didn"t want to eat.
When Empress Dowager Zhuang finally realized what had happened, she found that she had eaten half a bowl more than she usually did.
This was her normal amount of food in Bishui Alley, but her appet.i.te had decreased by more than half since returning to the palace. She had even lost weight.
Even a fool could tell that Empress Dowager Zhuang enjoyed the meal more than usual.
After eating, Xiao Liulang didn"t rush back but instead went to the library that Empress Dowager had built for him.
The library was opposite Empress Dowager Zhuang"s study, across a small garden.
Eunuch Qin was very considerate and opened the window for him.
Empress Dowager Zhuang could turn her head and see Xiao Liulang buried in his studies at the window of the library.
Empress Dowager Zhuang"s restless mood suddenly became calm. The deep inner palace was a lonely place, especially at night. It was a loneliness that could drive one mad, make one feel helpless, and make one try to escape but never be able to.
Empress Dowager Zhuang had lived in the inner palace for decades, and had never felt that it was her home. But at this moment, looking at the figure of the young man and feeling his silent companionship, Empress Dowager Zhuang felt a sense of peace and tranquility that she had never felt before.
Empress Dowager Zhuang looked at the doc.u.ments again for a while, but it was getting late and she only had a small pile left to read. She didn"t intend to read them anymore and told Eunuch Qin, "Tell him that Aijia wants to rest, and he should also go back."
Eunuch Qin smiled and agreed, "Yes."
He had tried to persuade her many times, but the Empress Dowager refused to listen. It was still Lord Xiao who always had a way.
"Wait." Empress Dowager Zhuang called out to Eunuch Qin again. "Send two dark guards to escort him along the way. Better safe than sorry. He and Aijia are too close, and Aijia is worried someone might harm him."
It was especially easy to take action on a dark and windy night.
As for after he returned to Bishui Alley, with JiaoJiao and Gu Yan’s dark guards around, there was no need to worry .
"Yes."Raz P."s Thoughts
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