Chapter 37 - 2#
The Empress Dowager probably noticed Concubine De’s restlessness and called a female official to make some calming soup. Shoukang Palace naturally had a small kitchen, so it was easy to make something.
Concubine De quickly said: “Empress Dowager, this concubine only needs to rest for a while, no need to worry.”
The Empress Dowager said carelessly: “How can that be? If your body can’t hold up, how will you bear children for the emperor in the future?”
Concubine De’s panic seemed to be seen through by the Empress Dowager at a glance. The fingers hidden in her cuffs subconsciously clenched the handkerchief, and she said softly: “This matter always depends on fate. If fate doesn’t come, it can’t be helped.”
…Was the Empress Dowager’s words a warning to her?
The Empress Dowager smiled slowly: “Exactly, the matter of heirs is ultimately determined by heaven. If heaven wants you to have them, you will have them. If heaven doesn’t want you to have them, even if you fight for it, it’s impossible.” Her fingers slowly landed on the chessboard, as if she was about to place another piece.
Concubine De’s mind was no longer on the chess game.
She looked at the situation on the chessboard and knew that in a moment, she would definitely lose.
“This concubine is afraid she doesn’t have such fate, but Noble Consort sister, she was very much liked by His Majesty some time ago, maybe there is still a chance…”
Concubine De said in a soft voice.
It wasn’t that she deliberately wanted to mention the Noble Consort, but in fact, the only person who could compete with her was the Noble Consort.
“Noble Consort?”
The Empress Dowager seemed to find it interesting, raised her eyebrows, and then smiled and shook her head.
“Her, hehe, maybe.”
Those meaningful words made Concubine De’s heart inexplicably jump.
Just then, the female official who had gone out to get the calming soup for Concubine De rushed in, her face a little off.
She approached the Empress Dowager and whispered something in her ear.
The voice was very low, but because of the close distance, Concubine De still vaguely heard a little.
“…Surrounded… Imperial Guard… No entry or exit…”
Her face turned slightly pale, and she subconsciously looked at the palace gate.
The Empress Dowager looked calm, just pursed her lips, “He has the Imperial Guard, but do you think I will let myself be slaughtered?” She wiped her mouth with a handkerchief and gave a cold smile.
In the rain, outside Shoukang Palace, two groups of people stood silently.
One group guarded Shoukang Palace, while the other surrounded the entire Shoukang Palace.
Drip, drip, drip—
The rain was still falling. Concubine De’s gaze slowly fell on the Empress Dowager, and with a slightly light tone, she asked:
“Empress Dowager, did you… do something?”
Otherwise, why would she have such a calm reaction.
The Imperial Guard surrounded Shoukang Palace, which was by no means a small matter.
The Empress Dowager’s face did not change: “This is not something you children should know.”
Concubine De closed her eyes and said softly: “It’s not something this concubine should know, but it’s something Noble Consort sister can know, right?”
She met the Empress Dowager’s gaze.
“What did you, exactly, order the Noble Consort to do?”
Rumble, rumble, strangely, the sound of rain was mixed with the roar of thunder, continuously, under the dark sky, Shoukang Palace hurriedly lit candles, only then was there enough light.
The flickering light and shadow fell on the Empress Dowager, making it difficult for Concubine De to see her face clearly, only hearing her cold words.
“Concubine De, remember your status. Don’t ask what you shouldn’t ask.”
…
Wet, sticky, exuding a scorching aura, as if it could burn a person up, the heat enveloped Jingzhe.
His consciousness was blurry, and his throat was dry.
“…Water, drink some…”
Someone lifted his body and pressed something against his lips. He took a sip, and the sweet taste that soothed his throat made him subconsciously want to drink more.
But he was weak and powerless. He raised his hand, but it was limp, and it backfired. His neck was cool and wet, and he accidentally spilled the water.
Jingzhe whimpered and was hugged again.
Then, a soft touch covered him. In the exchange of lips and tongue, he tasted the water that quenched his thirst again. For that little bit of moisture, Jingzhe tried very hard, very actively.
He heard…
Rong Jiu’s laughter.
Very pleasant.
But also very annoying.
But he… for a moment, couldn’t remember why he was angry.
“Sleep.”
After several times, he was finally fed. A pair of large hands landed on his back, patting him gently, as if it were a nameless comfort.
Jingzhe vaguely felt that he had forgotten something… but he was too sleepy, too tired, he couldn’t even speak, and fell asleep in Rong Jiu’s arms again.
Only after Jingzhe fell asleep did Rong Jiu withdraw his hand.
The drooping sleeve covered his bloody wrist, which was still slowly seeping blood. It had just been roughly wiped, revealing tender flesh.
Ning Hongru lowered his head, just a few steps away.
“Your Majesty, Zong Yuanxin is already waiting outside the hall.”
Emperor Jingyuan did not move, so Ning Hongru also maintained that posture without moving.
The smell of blood at the tip of his nose was very distinct.
It was lingering and disgusting.
Ning Hongru, in fact, disliked this smell very much.
It always reminded him of the aura that once lingered in Xiefang Hall. Even though many years had passed, it was still so unpleasant.
After a long while, Emperor Jingyuan finally moved, raised his hand to cover the person on the bed with a quilt, and after making sure it was tucked in tightly, he stood up.
Ning Hongru followed closely behind Emperor Jingyuan. A master and a servant went outside. Zong Yuanxin had already come up to greet them, grabbed his wrist, and his brows furrowed.
In Zong Yuanxin’s opinion, Emperor Jingyuan’s injury was not serious.
Although it was bloody, it was a superficial wound after all, and the tendons were not really severed. It would be fine with good care. It was undoubtedly a waste of his talent to have him look at this kind of wound.
But he was still angry.
Zong Yuanxin blew his beard and glared: “I said before the next stage, you must take good care of yourself and build up the foundation of your body, only then can you take the medicine, Your Majesty, you…” His nose moved flexibly, as if he smelled something.
This strange look flew towards Emperor Jingyuan.
Emperor Jingyuan said indifferently: “Can you bandage it? If not, change someone.”
Zong Yuanxin jumped up. How could he let someone else take over his patient, especially Emperor Jingyuan! He immediately retracted the teasing words he was about to blurt out and sullenly treated the emperor’s wound.
He was bandaging over there, while Ning Hongru stood behind Emperor Jingyuan and said softly: “Shoukang Palace has been surrounded, no one can get out. It’s just that Concubine De… is still in Shoukang Palace.”
Emperor Jingyuan closed his eyes, letting Zong Yuanxin do as he pleased.
As long as Ning Hongru’s peripheral vision caught a glimpse of the shining silver needle in Zong Yuanxin’s hand, he couldn’t help but look away and continue: “Most of the Gu worms in the palace have been cleaned up. It’s strange to say, for some reason… they seem to particularly favor Your Majesty’s location.”
After Huang Yijie fell into a coma, the Gu worms lost control and should have wreaked havoc everywhere.
These Gu worms were said to be inferior, but they were carefully cultivated by Huang Yijie. If ordinary people encountered them, they would be gnawed down to white bones.
When the guards were driving them away, they did find a few white bones, and their identities would have to be identified one by one after the incident.
But the reason why it didn’t cause a serious disaster was what Ning Hongru said.
For some reason, they frantically flocked to Fengxian Hall.
This was the most dangerous place for them, and as a result, they were all caught in one fell swoop.
Emperor Jingyuan just nodded, and Ning Hongru continued to speak until Zong Yuanxin finished bandaging his wrist, and he had just finished saying what he should say.
Only one last thing remained.
Emperor Jingyuan had already stood up, obviously about to go to Shoukang Palace.
Ning Hongru subconsciously took two steps after him and said in a low voice: “Your Majesty, if the one in the hall… wakes up, how should he be dealt with?”
The emperor always appeared in front of Jingzhe with the identity of Rong Jiu, and Ning Hongru was well aware of this. If he acted rashly without knowing His Majesty’s thoughts, Ning Hongru felt that his head was not enough to be chopped off.
“As you,” Emperor Jingyuan just said one word, then stopped, as if silent, and after a moment, he said coldly, “Try not to let him know.”
This was a change of mind.
Ning Hongru bowed, watching Shi Lijun follow Emperor Jingyuan away. Then, he looked behind him with a headache.
If Emperor Jingyuan didn’t care about his identity being known by Jingzhe, it would be convenient for Ning Hongru to handle it. After all… that was the emperor. If he wanted to have a few male favorites or male concubines, what was so strange about that? As long as he wanted, he could naturally do it.
But now, he wanted to keep people in Qianming Palace, but not expose his identity. Wasn’t the emperor making things difficult for him?
Jingzhe had been in the palace for so many years and was a smart person.
In this palace, what status was matched with what furnishings, these were all symbols of identity, and ordinary people could not use them. Just like in this Qianming Palace, there were dragon patterns everywhere. Unless Jingzhe was blind, he would definitely find out when he woke up in the bedroom.
But His Majesty’s reaction was enough to show his importance to Jingzhe… so much so that Emperor Jingyuan could always accompany Jingzhe and play house with a disguised identity.
Heaven knows, Ning Hongru had never seen His Majesty so hesitant.
When this hesitation appeared on a little eunuch, he sincerely felt a potential danger.
His Majesty… seemed to value Jingzhe a little too much.
Ning Hongru walked back with a headache.
Suddenly thinking of the Empress Dowager, his mood inexplicably improved.
No matter how much of a headache he had, it was nothing compared to the Empress Dowager’s.
Right now, the one in Shoukang Palace probably still thought that she had the power to contend with His Majesty the Emperor. If Prince Rui was still around, it would indeed be possible, but the Empress Dowager…
Ha, the reason why Emperor Jingyuan still kept the Empress Dowager was not out of reverence for the power of the Huang family behind her, but because of Empress Dowager Cisheng. That woman, even though she had been dead for a long time, still had an indelible influence.
Ning Hongru lowered his head and stopped thinking.
The words “Empress Dowager Cisheng”, even in Qianming Palace, were somewhat of a taboo.
He changed his train of thought and pondered the important matters at hand.
Every one of them was more urgent than this boring matter.
…
Drip, drip—
The rain had lessened, and after the thunder roared, the sky actually became a little brighter. Outside Shoukang Palace, the guards bathed in the rain were like hard rocks, motionless.
Concubine De’s heart beat faster and faster. It was a sense of panic that she couldn’t control.
She neither knew the reason why the Imperial Guard surrounded Shoukang Palace, nor did she know why the Empress Dowager was still so calm and composed, as if nothing had happened.
Wasn’t the Empress Dowager afraid?
Just as she was feeling uneasy, the Empress Dowager frowned slightly and looked at the female official: “Why is this tea so hot?”
The female official immediately lowered her head and said softly.
“This servant will go and change it immediately.”
“Forget it.” The Empress Dowager said indifferently, “There’s no need.”
Just as Concubine De felt strange and wanted to look over, there was a strange sound at the palace gate.
“Clang—”
She immediately looked at the palace gate.
A crisp sound broke the silence. The clash of sharp weapons, the slaughter of flesh and blood, this sound that seemed to only appear in dreams, instantly filled Concubine De’s ears.
In just a short moment, an extremely fierce battle broke out outside.
The Empress Dowager’s always calm expression finally changed.
She squinted her eyes slightly, her fingers unconsciously rubbing her fingertips, revealing a bit of suspicion.
Could it be that Huang Yijie had failed?
But…
Before she chose Huang Yijie, she had also gone through a long selection process.
Huang Yijie thought that the Huang family had done nothing after learning about the worm witch. But in fact, her daily actions were being watched, and her every move was recorded.
The Empress Dowager was very interested in them.
To make such a strange person work for her, she had to grasp her lifeline and master her foundation.
Between the two worm witches, the Empress Dowager chose Huang Yijie, but not the old worm witch, for two reasons. One was that Huang Yijie could enter the palace and approach the emperor logically. The other was that she was young and easy to control by her side.
The older a person gets, the more cunning they become.
Like that old worm witch, she was old and cunning. When the Huang family sent people, she knew that the situation was not right. She would rather die than let her granddaughter enter the palace.
Heh, there was no need to keep such an old thing.
As early as after Huang Yijie entered the palace, the old worm witch died quietly under the Empress Dowager’s hint, and no one would find out.
After Huang Yijie entered the palace, although her actions were not as smooth as the Empress Dowager imagined, they were also effective. She gradually controlled many insects in the harem and found out a lot of news for the Empress Dowager that she couldn’t get before.
Even if the Huang family didn’t want the Empress Dowager to act rashly, the killing intent in her heart was getting heavier day by day.
The emperor’s side had silently gained so much power. If he was allowed to continue, and with his active attitude towards seeing a doctor, wouldn’t she have to wait for a long, long time?
She had waited for so long, she was already annoyed, and could no longer bear it.
The attack on the Huang family was the last straw that broke the camel’s back. She once again decided to use Huang Yijie.
Even if Qianming Palace had a way to prevent the spread of Gu worms, Huang Yijie’s life Gu had already devoured the lives of many people. Even if the emperor had “Song of Sorrow” in his body, Huang Yijie could still control him.