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Grannie Cai let out a sigh.
His Majesty... It had been several days since he last came to pay his respects to Imperial Concubine Dowager Jing.
Grannie Cai spoke with a serious tone, "Imperial concubine dowager, His Majesty... He..."
Imperial Concubine Dowager Jing nodded her head faintly, "I understand. It"s my mistake. I gave him the wrong medicine."
Grannie Cai looked at Imperial Concubine Dowager Jing with a complex expression, "Imperial concubine dowager..."
Imperial Concubine Dowager Jing calmly said, "Rest now."
"Yes."
Just as Grannie Cai was helping Imperial Concubine Dowager Jing up, a startled cry from Hui"an came from outside the door, "Your Majesty!"
A glimmer of light suddenly flashed in Imperial Concubine Dowager Jing"s dim eyes, and she tightened her grip on Grannie Cai"s hand.
…...
In the tea room, Imperial Concubine Dowager Jing and the Emperor faced each other, kneeling on their respective cushions. In the middle, there was a long rectangular table with a freshly brewed pot of floral tea and some vegetarian snacks from the temple.
"Have some tea." Imperial Concubine Dowager Jing placed a cup of floral tea in front of the Emperor.
The Emperor looked at the cup of tea but didn"t reach out to take it. His gaze fell on the delicate vegetarian snacks instead, "Does imperial concubine mother really enjoy eating vegetarian food?"
Imperial Concubine Dowager Jing looked at him with a slight confusion.
Grannie Cai quietly left the room and said to the few young nuns outside, "You can all rest now. You"re not needed here."
The young nuns returned to their meditation rooms.
Grannie Cai closed the door behind them and silently stood guard in the corridor.
Imperial Concubine Dowager Jing poured herself a cup of floral tea as well. Despite her age, her well-maintained fingers lightly held the teacup and she smiled as if nothing had happened. "Your Majesty, are you asking if I like eating vegetarian food? At first, I couldn"t get used to it, but after eating it for so many years, even if I didn"t like it, I should be accustomed to it by now."
"That said, imperial concubine mother doesn’t like being in the nunnery?" The Emperor keenly grasped the implication in her words.
Imperial Concubine Dowager Jing slightly furrowed her brows and set down the teacup. "That"s not what I meant. I was just making an a.n.a.logy. I don"t dislike eating vegetarian food at all."
"But you also don"t like it." The Emperor retorted.
The crease between Imperial Concubine Dowager Jing’s eyebrows tightened as she looked at the Emperor, "Did Your Majesty come here so late just to argue with me?"
The Emperor gave a bitter smile and said, "Fine, then let Zhen ask a different question." He raised his gaze and looked directly into Imperial Concubine Dowager Jing"s eyes. "Do you truly consider Zhen your own son?"
"Your Majesty, you"re becoming more and more peculiar with your words. What do you mean by asking if I truly consider you my own son? I raised you. Shortly after you were born, you were brought to my palace... While you may not be my biological child, in my heart, you and Ning"an are the same! You are both my flesh and blood!"
"Imperial concubine mother, mentioning this reminds Zhen of something. Around the time of Zhen’s birth, the Empress seemed to be close to giving birth as well. However, she ended up delivering a stillborn child, which angered the late Emperor. If it weren"t for this, Zhen would have been imperial mother’s child, right?"
Imperial Concubine Dowager Jing"s heart skipped a beat!
"You..."
The Emperor didn"t miss the flicker of guilt within Imperial Concubine Dowager Jing"s eyes. His clenched fist, hidden beneath his wide sleeve, tightened suddenly. "It was you who caused the Empress to give birth to a stillborn child, wasn"t it? That’s right, if it weren"t for the Empress"s stillbirth, why would there be a need for an imperial concubine to raise a prince? Zhen should have been raised under the Empress"s care!"
Imperial Concubine Dowager Jing"s tightly clenched fingers gradually loosened, and she lifted the teacup to take a sip of tea. After a moment, she said, "When I first entered the palace, I hadn"t yet formed a relationship with the Empress, and I didn"t possess such means to cause her to deliver a stillborn child. It was done by Imperial Consort Liu, whether you believe it or not."
The Emperor spoke sternly, "Of course, Zhen doesn"t believe it. It’s just that after all these years, Imperial Concubine Liu is dead, and the palace maids who a.s.sisted in the Empress"s delivery are also dead. There"s no way to uncover the truth anymore."
Imperial Concubine Dowager Jing sneered, "So, Your Majesty came this time to force a confession from me?"
This version of Imperial Concubine Dowager Jing felt unfamiliar to the Emperor, "Imperial concubine mother, you were not like this before."
Imperial Concubine Dowager Jing laughed coldly again and again, "Before, my son didn"t abandon me, so of course I didn"t need to be like this!"
"So, it"s Zhen’s fault." The Emperor"s throat moved with difficulty, "Why did Zhen turn out this way? Imperial concubine mother knows better than anyone else, right?"
Before Imperial Concubine Dowager Jing could ask, "Why would I know?", the Emperor took out two pill bottles and poured their contents onto the table.
Imperial Concubine Dowager Jing"s face changed, and she held her breath!
The Emperor didn"t come to interrogate Imperial Concubine Dowager Jing. He didn"t need a precise confession from her. He came to tell her that he knew, that he knew everything.
Their bond of many years was certainly not fake. Even with the effects of the black pills, the rupture at this moment pained him deeply.
"Imperial concubine mother, there"s no need to explain or defend yourself. Don"t explain. Zhen won"t believe a single word you say from now on... Zhen... Zhen won"t come to the nunnery anymore... Take care of yourself, imperial concubine mother."
The Emperor, suppressing the throbbing pain in his throat, stood up and walked towards the door. Just as he pulled the door open, he suddenly halted his steps, turned back, and chokingly said, "Also... Zhen supposes imperial concubine mother won"t need the Dragon Shadow Guards anymore... Zhen is taking the Dragon Shadow Guards back from today."
Imperial Concubine Dowager Jing tightly clenched her fists, her body trembling all over, her eyes shimmering with tears, but she couldn"t utter a single word!
"Your Majesty!" Grannie Cai knelt down and pleaded.
The Emperor walked away without looking back.
Imperial Concubine Dowager Jing"s blood boiled with anger and humiliation. She raised her hand and swept the table full of snacks and tea utensils onto the floor!
"Imperial concubine dowager!" Grannie Cai rushed into the room, her face pale with shock.
Imperial Concubine Dowager Jing stood up, stepping on the shattered porcelain fragments on the ground. Blood flowed along the winding tea spills, staining the floor.
"Imperial concubine dowager, you"re injured! Please lift your foot, let this servant take a look!" Grannie Cai urged anxiously.
However, Imperial Concubine Dowager Jing ignored Grannie Cai as well as the pain in her foot. She continued to step on the pieces of porcelain deeply embedded in her sole, and in a disheveled state, she hurried back to her own chambers.
She opened a mechanism and opened the hidden compartment from under the bed, taking out a box from within.
The black medicine and white medicine had long been stored separately from the imperial decree.
She still had one final card to play, she still had it!
If she were to die, she would take Zhuang Jinse down with her!
If she couldn"t live in peace, Zhuang Jinse shouldn"t either!
"Imperial concubine mother, are you looking for this?" A voice suddenly came from the doorway.
Imperial Concubine Dowager Jing snapped open the box, looking at the empty container, then turned her gaze to the Emperor, who held the shining imperial decree in his hand.
The Emperor"s heart was in pain, but his eyes were filled with despair and coldness.
With reddened eyes, he stared at Imperial Concubine Dowager Jing, who was clearly disheveled in appearance, before walking away with the imperial decree in his hand.
"No—" Imperial Concubine Dowager Jing abruptly lunged towards the Emperor.
However, before she could take a step, she was firmly blocked by the Dragon Shadow Guard who descended from above!Raz P."s Thoughts
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