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On the carriage, Empress Dowager Zhuang"s reaction was no better than Gu Jiao, Xiao Liulang and Old Chief. Especially, she had just sat down and was yet to stabilize herself. She was scared nearly to the point of falling out of the carriage!
What kind of nonsense was this foolish son up to again?
Hadn"t Imperial Concubine Dowager Jing already been exposed? Why was he still acting?
Could it be that he took the wrong medicine? Or did his brain get stuck in the door?
Empress Dowager Zhuang settled back into her seat, feeling gooseb.u.mps all over. She seemed to hear a creaking sound on the floor even without it being stepped on.
"Let"s go! What are you staring blankly for?"
She impatiently spoke.
If he wanted to go mad, let him go mad on his own. She wouldn’t accompany him!
The coachman received the command and was about to swing the whip in his hand, but the Emperor took a large stride and fearlessly stood in front of the carriage.
No matter how much the coachman listened to Empress Dowager"s words, he wouldn"t dare to drive the carriage over the Emperor. The coachman was dumbfounded and didn"t know what to do for a moment.
The Emperor didn"t make him struggle for too long as he directly leaped onto the carriage.
His movements were too swift, so much so that Eunuch Qin failed to stop him.
Empress Dowager Zhuang, seeing the Emperor suddenly rushing in, instinctively protected the jar of candied fruits in her arms. She had only eaten a few pieces of the candied fruits. Could this foolish son be coming to s.n.a.t.c.h them from her?
She furrowed her eyebrows and asked, "What are you doing?"
This question left the Emperor dumbfounded. Right, what was he doing? Who was he? Where was he?
He understood—— it was the effect of the antidote!
He had taken three pills of the antidote, and the dosage was too high. Even as the ruler of a nation, he couldn"t resist such a terrifying side effect. It was over, he messed up!
He wanted to get off the carriage at once!
He wanted to salvage his dignity!
"Get off the carriage." Empress Dowager Zhuang said calmly.
"I won"t!" The Emperor sat his b.u.t.t down firmly.
Empress Dowager Zhuang couldn"t really kick him off, mainly because it would hurt her foot. She couldn"t be bothered talking with him anymore. Anyway, he wasn"t here to s.n.a.t.c.h her candied fruits, so she simply decided to turn a blind eye to him.
Eunuch Wei also took a seat outside the carriage.
The two most powerful eunuchs in the palace glanced at each other, their eyes filled with ambiguous meaning.
On the way back to the palace, Empress Dowager Zhuang closed her eyes in repose, and the Emperor didn"t dare to disturb her.
It wasn"t until they arrived at the palace and got off the carriage that Empress Dowager Zhuang"s phoenix palanquin came to greet them. Finally, the Emperor gathered the courage to speak up, "Zhen didn"t want it to be like this. Zhen..."
Empress Dowager Zhuang interrupted him impatiently, "What is it? Did you take the wrong medicine? Or did you eat too much and feel stuffed?"
The Emperor looked bewildered. Truly, she was his imperial mother, as she could even guess this!
"Humph!" Empress Dowager Zhuang snorted and headed towards her phoenix palanquin.
Then shamelessly, the Emperor also got onto the phoenix palanquin.
Empress Dowager Zhuang looked at him inexplicably. The Emperor cleared his throat and said, "...Zhen is tired, Zhen doesn"t want to walk."
Empress Dowager Zhuang looked at the imperial sedan hidden behind the artificial hill not far away and asked, "What"s going on with you? What are you scheming?"
The Emperor was confused, "What could Zhen be scheming?"
Empress Dowager Zhuang said with a cold voice, "Does Your Majesty want to promote someone"s official rank? Or dismiss someone from their position? Just say it plainly. There"s no need to beat around the bush with these deceptive tactics."
"Is Zhen that kind of person? Zhen is just..." He wanted to say that he simply wanted to show filial respect to his imperial mother, but he felt that this statement was not very believable. Even Empress Dowager Zhuang wouldn"t believe it, let alone himself.
In the end, he decided to come clean, "To be honest, Zhen took an overdose of the antidote, and all this is due to its effects."
Empress Dowager Zhuang remained silent.
The effects of the antidote were too strong, even stronger than what Xiao Liulang described. At least, that was how the Emperor felt. Though he physically returned to Huaqing Palace, his mind was floating to Renshou Palace.
Despite having dinner at Bishui Alley, it seemed that Empress Dowager Zhuang didn"t eat much. He wondered if she was hungry at this hour.
"Your Majesty, the late-night meal is here." Eunuch Wei announced.
He presented a plate of steaming hot duck soup noodles.
The Emperor looked at the delicious-smelling duck soup noodles but suddenly found that he didn"t have much appet.i.te. "Zhen doesn’t want to eat."
Eunuch Wei hurriedly said, "Your Majesty only had a few bites for dinner."
The main reason was that he became restless and scared upon hearing that he had swallowed three antidote pills. How could he still have an appet.i.te?
Although he was feeling hungry from the aroma of the duck soup and green onions, he didn"t want to eat the bowl of food in front of him.
"The duck soup noodles from Huaqing Palace are not tasty." He complained.
Er... Was he saying that the other late-night meals from Huaqing Palace were delicious, or that the duck soup noodles from other palaces were delicious?
Eunuch Wei pondered for a moment and, relying on his keen intuition, chose the latter option. "Then... Which palace"s duck soup noodles would Your Majesty like to have?"
"How would Zhen know?" The Emperor replied irritably.
The direction was correct, making Eunuch Wei breathe a sigh of relief. He continued, "This servant has heard that there is a new cook in Yongshou Palace. How about trying the duck soup noodles there?"
Yongshou Palace was the residence of Imperial Consort Zhuang.
The Emperor snorted, "The dishes made by Yongshou Palace"s cooks are incredibly tasteless. After trying them once, Zhen never wants to have them again!"
"Then... What about Changchun Palace?" Eunuch Wei suggested. It had been a while since His Majesty visited Imperial Concubine Shu there.
The Emperor heartlessly refused, "The dishes in Changchun Palace are too bland."
Eunuch Wei asked, "What about Kunning Palace? Shall we visit the Seventh Prince along the way?"
The Emperor replied calmly, "Little Seven has been mischievous these days, and Zhen doesn’t have the energy to deal with him."
Eunuch Wei reported several favored imperial concubines in one breath, including Imperial Concubine Yu, the imperial concubine mother of the Third Prince, as well as several recently favored young concubines, all of whom were rejected by the Emperor.
Eunuch Wei had served the Emperor for a long time and had some insight. It was clear that the Emperor had no interest in the three thousand beauties of the harem.
His eyes flickered, and he said, "The little miracle physician mentioned that the dishes cooked in Renshou Palace are good, and their duck soup noodles are exceptional."
As expected, the Emperor straightened his back, "Did the little miracle physician really say that?"
Of course, the little miracle physician never discussed such matters with Eunuch Wei.
But there was a kind of truth called ‘the truth that the Emperor wanted’. Eunuch Wei said with a smile, "Yes, that"s exactly what the little miracle physician said. This servant couldn"t possibly be mistaken!"
The Emperor cleared his throat and said, seemingly helpless, "In that case, let"s go to imperial mother"s palace."
And so, Empress Dowager Zhuang, who was already preparing to sleep, once again saw her foolish son.
"Zhen heard that the duck soup noodles in imperial mother’s palace are delicious." The Emperor brazenly declared.
In any case, it was all due to the effects of the antidote and not his true intention. After figuring it out, he believed he didn"t need to feel embarra.s.sed!
Empress Dowager Zhuang scowled and said, "Renshou Palace doesn"t have a duck today."
The Emperor quickly said, "Huaqing Palace has it! Eunuch Wei, go and bring the duck!"
"Yes!" Eunuch Wei called for a nimble young eunuch who promptly brought a live duck. With all the ingredients in place, the cooks of Renshou Palace reluctantly started preparing the dish.
After finishing a bowl of duck soup noodles, the Emperor contentedly rubbed his round belly. The little miracle physician didn"t deceive him; the duck soup noodles from Renshou Palace were truly delicious!Raz P."s Thoughts
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