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The sky in the seventh month got darker earlier than in the sixth month.
When the Emperor came out of the imperial study, the sky was left with only the last trace of gray-blue, and by the time he walked back to the Huaqing Palace, even the last glimmer of light had disappeared.
Night fell, and the stars shone in the sky.
The Emperor entered Huaqing Palace, and the palace servants bowed to him one after another.
He asked, "Is the Imperial Concubine Dowager able to sleep in peace?"
A young eunuch replied, "Responding to Your Majesty, she is not."
The Emperor said to Eunuch Wei, "Zhen will go and check on the Imperial Concubine Dowager, you can retire first."
But this old servant is not tired.
Alas.
Eunuch Wei reluctantly agreed, "Yes."
The Emperor went to the bedchamber of Imperial Concubine Dowager Jing. She was kneeling in front of the Buddha’s niche, holding Buddhist prayer beads in one hand and tapping the wooden fish with the other. Her eyes were closed as she devoutly recited Buddhist scriptures.
The Emperor did not disturb her and waited quietly until she finished tapping the wooden fish.
When Grannie Cai helped her up, she seemed to notice the shadow on the ground and turned her head to look, then she said with a wry smile, "When did Your Majesty come? How long have you been here?"
The Emperor replied, "Zhen just arrived. Listening to imperial concubine mother reciting the scriptures for a while, Zhen’s heart suddenly became peaceful."
Imperial Concubine Dowager Jing looked at him and asked, "Is Your Majesty troubled by something recently?"
Naturally he was, with natural disasters like torrential rains, bandits and man-made disasters, and there was even the news of the State of Chen's border becoming restless again. Moreover, the culprit who had attempted to assassinate Imperial Concubine Dowager Jing hadn’t been found yet.
There were the civil and military officials of the State of Zhao to deal with the former issues, but the Emperor was simply at a loss with the latter.
"It’s nothing much. It's just the exhaustion from dealing with state affairs. Zhen is just slightly tired." The Emperor decided not to let Imperial Concubine Dowager Jing worry.
"Grannie Cai, go to my room and bring the nerve-calming incense." Imperial Concubine Dowager Jing ordered.
"Yes." Grannie Cai answered and withdrew.
The Emperor helped Imperial Concubine Dowager Jing to the Qiuhua Hall.
The two of them seated themselves on the chairs.
A young palace maid served some light refreshments and scented tea, which Imperial Concubine Dowager Jing liked. The Emperor preferred Longjing tea, it was just that he couldn't drink strong tea at night.
"Bring some fruits." Imperial Concubine Dowager Jing instructed.
"Yes." The young palace maid turned around and brought a plate of fresh grapes and a few delicious pears.
Imperial Concubine Dowager Jing intended to peel a pear for the Emperor but as soon as she picked up the knife from the table, the Emperor's tea cup fell to the ground with a loud crashing noise.
"Your Majesty, are you alright? Is it hot?" Imperial Concubine Dowager Jing asked in surprise.
"It’s nothing, Zhen just didn't hold it properly." The Emperor replied, feeling a cold sweat for some reason.
What was wrong with him?
All Imperial Concubine Dowager Jing did was peel a pear for him, but a scene from his nightmare where his Imperial Concubine Mother Jing was wielding a knife and attacking him flashed through his mind.
It must be because he was so exhausted lately that his mind wasn’t working properly.
Imperial Concubine Dowager Jing put down the knife and the pear, and picked up a cloth to wipe the tea off the Emperor's clothes but the Emperor unconsciously leaned back.
Imperial Concubine Dowager Jing looked at him in confusion, her hand frozen in midair.
The Emperor realized his mistake and secretly scolded himself for being unfilial. Imperial concubine mother cared so much for him all these years, how could he act so cold to her?
He took the cloth from Imperial Concubine Dowager Jing's hand and said, "Zhen will do it himself lest imperial concubine mother get her clothes wet."
"All right." Imperial Concubine Dowager Jing smiled.
Fortunately, the Emperor did not lose his composure again. The pair of mother and son chatted happily until Eunuch Wei came to report that Old Chief was requesting an audience with the Emperor. The Emperor said goodbye to Imperial Concubine Dowager Jing and left.
"I'll have someone send a nerve-calming incense to your bedchamber." Imperial Concubine Dowager Jing said.
"Thank you, imperial concubine mother," The Emperor replied with a smile.
The Emperor went to the imperial study.
Old Chief respectfully saluted and said, "Your Majesty, this official pays his respects."
The Emperor sat down behind his desk and snorted, "Enough with these formalities. Why have you come to the palace so late?"
"Your Majesty, JiaoJiao was attacked by assassins!"
"What?!" The Emperor exclaimed, jumping up from his seat. "How could this happen? Where is she? Is she injured?"
Old Chief sighed inwardly, thinking: It’s good that you still have a conscience and know to be concerned about JiaoJiao.
"Your Majesty, please do not worry. This happened several days ago and her injuries are not serious." Old Chief responded.
The Emperor breathed a sigh of relief, but then furrowed his brows again, "How many times has she been attacked?"
"Three times." Old Chief answered, although it was really only twice. One time was when she and Rui Wangfei went to the nunnery and were rescued by Ning Wang, and the other was when she encountered the Dragon Shadow Guard and was helped by Gu Changqing not long ago.
Old Chief had no intention of telling the Emperor that the other attacker was a member of the Dragon Shadow Guard. Xiao Liulang had told him something before he left for the palace. It turned out that the late Emperor didn’t leave the Dragon Shadow Guards only to the current Emperor, but also to Princess Xinyang.
As for whether there were still others, Xiao Liulang was not clear.
Old Chief dared not say for certain that there were none.
The Emperor seemed unaware that apart from the ones assigned to him, there were still other members of the Dragon Shadow Guards in the State of Zhao.
As for whether that old fox Imperial Concubine Dowager Jing knew or not, it was hard to say.
But what if she knew and insisted that it wasn’t the Dragon Shadow Guards by her side who had attacked JiaoJiao? Wouldn’t that implicate innocent people?
The Emperor's expression turned cold when he learned that the little miracle physician had been attacked so many times.
"Why didn't you tell me this earlier?" He asked, looking accusingly at Old Chief.
Old Chief wore an expression of injustice on his face.
Raz P.'s Thoughts
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