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Old Marquis’s movements were so fast that Imperial Concubine Dowager Jing didn't even have time to react. In the blink of an eye, he had taken her to the door.
Of course, the main reason was that she didn't expect Old Marquis to suddenly do this. In short, she was completely caught off guard.
The one who was even more caught off guard was the Emperor.
The Emperor looked at Old Marquis dressed in his night attire, then his gaze shifted down at Old Marquis’s hand holding the wrist of Imperial Concubine Dowager Jing, his mind exploded in an instant!
He only heard a buzzing sound, and then his entire mind went blank!
The stimulation of this scene was too great, so great that he was speechless!
Old Marquis stopped in his tracks.
Obviously, he didn't expect to run into the Emperor at this time. When he passed by the imperial study, he saw that the lamp was still on, so he thought the Emperor would be working on memorandums for a long time.
Imperial Concubine Dowager Jing was the first to react; she quickly pulled her hand away.
However, Old Marquis instinctively grabbed her hand back, and only after he had done it did he realize that it was such an inappropriate action. Unfortunately, the disaster had already been created.
The Emperor was furious and yelled in a thunderous rage, "Gu Chao!"
Old Marquis trembled and let go of Imperial Concubine Dowager Jing's hand.
The other one startled by the Emperor's furious shout was Grannie Cai, who had just returned from the latrine.
Seeing Imperial Concubine Dowager Jing and Old Marquis inside the door, and the furious Emperor outside the door, what else could Grannie Cai not understand?
She cursed inwardly. How could such a big mess occur when she just went away for a little while?
If she had known earlier, she would have held it in and stayed put!
The Emperor tightly clenched his fist, almost using all his strength to suppress the impulse to order Old Marquis to be beheaded. He squeezed out each word from his gritted teeth, "Gu Chao! What is going on? You had better explain it clearly to Zhen!"
If it were Old Chief here, there would be countless eloquent words to smooth things over. Whether the Emperor believed it or not, it was another matter. In any case, he wouldn't admit it even if he died. He would toughen his scalp and say something like "the relationship between this official and the imperial concubine dowager is pure and innocent!"
But Old Marquis wasn't that kind of person. On the battlefield, he was a brilliant strategist, surprisingly sly and deceitful, never tiring of trickery. However, once he left the battlefield, his mind seemed to stay there too.
In private, he was a person with a straightforward and honest character, lacking the cunning and shamelessness of Old Chief when it came to such matters.
If the Emperor had not caught him, he could have avoided explaining himself, but since the Emperor had already found out, there was no point in trying to explain his actions.
He immediately knelt down and banged his head on the ground, causing the floor to almost crack.
"Your Majesty!" He raised his head and said in a grave tone, "This official is guilty!"
Grannie Cai seized the opportunity to point her finger at him and said, "Of course you're guilty! As a loyal subject of the Emperor, he placed great trust in you, but you broke into the palace in the middle of the night and tried to abduct the imperial concubine dowager!"
Admit it, Old Marquis, admit it! Quickly shoulder the blame alone and don't implicate the imperial concubine dowager!
A seemingly inconspicuous eunuch quietly retreated behind a big tree not far away, and ran all the way to Renshou Palace to report to Eunuch Qin about the situation at Huaqing Palace.
Aiyo, what a bastard he would be if he didn't watch the fun!
Eunuch Qin happily went to report to Empress Dowager Zhuang.
"What's so interesting about this?" Empress Dowager Zhuang had no interest in the romantic affairs of Imperial Concubine Dowager Jing.
But Eunuch Qin wanted to see it!
He was dying to see it!
Eunuch Qin persuaded her, "It won't hurt to take a look. Your Majesty has been playing this game with the Emperor for so long, it's time to see some results! If you trample on her earlier, you won't have to keep the act anymore, right?"
Empress Dowager Zhuang thought it was feasible, so she put down the memorandums in her hands and went to Huaqing Palace.
The atmosphere at Huaqing Palace was so tense that everyone was breathless; the palace servants were all kneeling on the ground and trembling with fear.
"Her Majesty the Empress Dowager has arrived——"
With Eunuch Qin's announcement, everyone lowered their bodies even further.
Imperial Concubine Dowager Jing and Grannie Cai coincidentally glanced her way. Empress Dowager Zhuang was wearing a luxurious and expensive phoenix robe, embroidered with soaring phoenixes on the robe and wide sleeves. She walked slowly in the dark, giving people an inexplicable sense of pressure as if she was a judge.
Old Marquis and the Emperor silently confronted each other and didn’t look towards Empress Dowager Zhuang, but even so, they still felt her aura.
Eunuch Wei bowed to Empress Dowager Zhuang.
Empress Dowager Zhuang walked up the steps, scanned the crowd with a light gaze, and asked, "Oh, it's so late, but Huaqing Palace is still so lively. Even Old Marquis Gu came. Why is he kneeling? And in the meditation room of Venerable Sister Jing An even."
The Emperor realized that Gu Chao was kneeling in the wrong place. He clenched his teeth hard and commanded, "Get out and kneel for Zhen there!"
Old Marquis knelt in the courtyard.
Empress Dowager Zhuang leisurely asked, "What happened? Why does Your Majesty want to punish him with kneeling?"
Grannie Cai hurriedly said, "Empress Dowager, you don't know. Old Marquis sneaked into the palace in the middle of the night and tried to kidnap the imperial concubine dowager. If His Majesty had not arrived in time, the imperial concubine dowager would have been in danger."
Empress Dowager Zhuang raised an eyebrow, "Oh? Kidnapped the imperial concubine dowager? Aijia remembers that there were Dragon Shadow Guards left by the late Emperor in Huaqing Palace. Are all of them dead? Does His Majesty still have to come and rescue the imperial concubine dowager himself?"
As soon as these words came out, the Emperor's expression changed in an instant!
He was so angry that he had forgotten that he had sent the Dragon Shadow Guards to protect Imperial Concubine Dowager Jing.
That’s right. With the Dragon Shadow Guards around, how could Gu Chao have approached Imperial Concubine Dowager Jing?
Could they have been lured away again!?
But even if they’d been lured away for a while, he had been here for so long, the Dragon Shadow Guards should have come back by now.
And yet, the Dragon Shadow Guards had never appeared from beginning to end, so there was only one possibility: Imperial Concubine Dowager Jing had let them withdraw!
Therefore, it wasn’t Gu Chao who tried to kidnap Imperial Concubine Dowager Jing!
It was the two of them...the two of them...
The Emperor forced himself not to think of the next words, but Eunuch Qin blurted them out in surprise, "Ah! In the middle of the night, Sister Jing'an wouldn't be trying to escape from the palace with Old Marquis, right?"
Eunuch Wei echoed, "Yes, yes! Imperial concubine dowager is not actually trying to escape the palace, is she?"
Grannie Cai was going crazy. She glared at Eunuch Wei, wondering whose side he was on!
Eunuch Wei covered his mouth, realizing he had said too much.
"Eunuch Qin! Watch your words!" Grannie Cai shouted sternly.
But what was the use of shouting loudly? It was nothing but a false bravado.
The fact was right in front of them. No amount of arguing could change the fact that the Dragon Shadow Guards didn't take action.
Through the dark night, Imperial Concubine Dowager Jing looked across the threshold at Empress Dowager Zhuang.
Empress Dowager Zhuang had no heirs, yet she was able to remain steadfast in the imperial harem for many years. Was it all just luck?
It wasn’t that she didn’t know those tricks, it was just that there were things she disdained to fight for.
This seemed to create a misconception in some people's minds that she was no more than that, that she could do nothing but take the blame and be cold-hearted.
Zhuang Jinse was prideful.
And the prideful Zhuang Jinse wouldn't come to watch the excitement around Imperial Concubine Dowager Jing, let alone throw stones at her.
She couldn’t be bothered.
Zhuang Jinse had changed.
She was still proud, but now she had something more than pride.
Imperial Concubine Dowager Jing clenched the Buddhist prayer beads in her hand.
Empress Dowager Zhuang sneered, "Aijia has asked you several times over the years if you wanted to come back to the palace, and you said you didn't need to and that you were doing well in the nunnery. Aijia thought you were just being polite."
As she spoke, she gave Old Marquis a meaningful glance, "So it was true."
Empress Dowager Zhuang stopped there and turned to leave with Eunuch Qin.
Grannie Cai anxiously opened her mouth, "Empress Dowager! You can't say that! When did you ever ask imperial concubine dowager if she wanted to come back to the palace?"
Did Empress Dowager Zhuang really ask that?
Of course not.
However.
Were they the only ones allowed to accuse her?
In this situation, with the right time and the right place, she was going to push her into the pit!
Empress Dowager Zhuang, who bowed down for five candied fruits, was so domineering!
Men were always particularly sensitive about this kind of thing. Because they were sensitive, they were also suspicious. Empress Dowager Zhuang's words undoubtedly became the last straw that broke the camel's back.
Grannie Cai knelt down and begged bitterly, "Your Majesty! Don't listen to Empress Dowager's nonsense! Imperial concubine dowager and Old Marquis Gu are innocent! Imperial concubine dowager never said such words to Empress Dowager! And Empress Dowager never sent anyone to invite imperial concubine dowager back to the palace! Imperial Concubine Dowager is Your Majesty’s imperial concubine mother! You have to believe her! Your Majesty! You must believe imperial concubine dowager——"
The Emperor's heart ached.
It hurt more than when he found out that Old Chief was posing as his father.
Perhaps it was because he subconsciously understood that there really was nothing going on between Old Chief and Empress Dowager Zhuang. A woman like Empress Dowager Zhuang did not need any man.
She was too dominant and too powerful.
However, his imperial concubine mother Jing was weak and helpless, and Gu Chao had saved her life before as well.
Back then, when he hesitated whether to agree to Gu Chao's request for marriage, it was she who spoke up for Gu Chao.
Could it be... Could it be that she really had feelings for Gu Chao in her heart?
He looked at Imperial Concubine Dowager Jing with a hurt expression in his eyes and said, "If Zhen hadn't happened to stumble upon you two, would imperial concubine mother have already gone with him?"
In that moment, he finally understood where his sadness came from.
Even if Empress Dowager Zhuang had a man, she would not give up her power and the country.
She would still be the lofty Empress Dowager Zhuang and his imperial mother. No matter how much he hated her, despised her, or loathed her, he could never get rid of her.
But imperial concubine mother Jing had been willing to give up on him.
She did not want him, did not want her own son.
The Emperor's throat tightened with pain.
He turned around and held back his tears, "...You guys can go."
Raz P.'s Thoughts
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