Chapter 1915 - 1853: The Empress Dowager Makes the First Move
Chapter 1915: Chapter 1853: The Empress Dowager Makes the First Move
Ah Jiu and Wufu only had to give a little guidance on their side to lead Commander Zhao in the direction they had set, but they hadn’t expected that someone would be even more direct and faster than they were.
At Cining Palace, Empress Dowager Mo flipped through the scriptures submitted from Wufu’s side and rubbed her temples.
She truly had never seen handwriting this ugly.
"Your Grace, when one copies scriptures, it’s the heart that matters, not the characters. As long as the Princess Consort has filial devotion toward you, that is enough!" Nanny Shui said.
Empress Dowager Mo let out a cold snort, set the Classic of Filial Piety aside, and said, "Have they gone to summon the Emperor?"
"They have already gone." Nanny Shui hesitated for a moment, then asked, "Your Grace, do you really mean to go that far?"
Empress Dowager Mo closed her eyes briefly and said, "I am tired. I don’t want to keep trading barbs with them. Lady Song has already made a move against Ah Jiu and the others; I cannot just stand by and watch. Her child cannot have died for nothing, and neither can mine. I only have this one child—I cannot let her harm him."
Nanny Shui said no more. She and Empress Dowager Mo were of one mind, and so was the Prince.
Master and servant were speaking when someone outside announced, "His Majesty has arrived."
Empress Dowager Mo straightened her back and watched Emperor Yan walk in.
"Your son greets Royal Mother." Emperor Yan bowed to Empress Dowager Mo.
Empress Dowager Mo lifted her hand slightly. "There’s no need for such ceremony, Emperor. Sit." She turned to Nanny Shui. "Bring His Majesty a cup of Longan Ginseng Tea."
"Yes."
Emperor Yan raised an eyebrow. "May I ask what Royal Mother has summoned your son here for?"
It was rare for her to take the initiative to call him to Cining Palace.
Empress Dowager Mo did not speak. She waited until Nanny Shui had served the tea, then gave her a small nod.
Emperor Yan held the tea cup, unable to help feeling a bit surprised.
A moment later, Eunuch Ning came in pressing down a little eunuch whose face was filled with terror, and bowed to the two of them.
Emperor Yan looked at the little eunuch, then at Empress Dowager Mo, his eyes narrowing slightly.
Empress Dowager Mo signaled Eunuch Ning with her eyes, and Eunuch Ning kicked the little eunuch in the back of his knees, knocking him to the ground, and said, "Aren’t you going to tell everything you know?"
"Spare my life, Your Majesty, spare my life, Empress Dowager. This slave only overheard something, I didn’t do anything at all. Your Majesty, spare my life." The little eunuch first began knocking his head against the floor with dull thuds.
"I told you to say what you know—don’t add anything extra." Eunuch Ning kicked him again.
The little eunuch rolled on the floor, then scrambled up quickly and knelt, his face twisted in a wail. "This slave, Cheng Gui, is from the same hometown as Eunuch Wang Xi. On the night of the Longevity Festival, Eunuch Wang called this slave aside..."
Cheng Gui went on to recount what he knew—the inside story of that scheme on the night of the Longevity Festival: whose instructions Wang Xi had followed, what role he had played in the plot, and what he had helped bring about—each point made clear.
"...Eunuch Wang said he probably wouldn’t live, so he pulled this slave aside to say these things, to entrust his last wishes. He even gave this slave fifty taels of gold, telling this slave to redeem his manhood for him, so he could at least have a whole corpse. Your Majesty, this slave truly doesn’t know anything else!" Cheng Gui knelt on the ground, shivering.
Emperor Yan held that cup of Longan Tea, looking down at the little eunuch from above. Only after quite some time did he speak: "So what you’re saying is that the Empress set up that trap to target both Us and the Princess Consort of Jin?"
"This slave only heard Eunuch Wang say so—I don’t know anything else." Cheng Gui was so terrified that his tears kept falling, his body trembling even harder. He could even feel the executioner’s blade hanging right over his head.
Emperor Yan watched him for a moment, then turned to Eunuch Ning. "Drag him out."
At this indifferent order, Cheng Gui’s body jolted. He was done for; he was definitely not going to live.
He regretted it; had he known, he would never have listened to that secret. The more you know, the quicker you die.
"Spare my life, Your Majesty, spare my life, Empress Dowager, wuu..." Cheng Gui shrieked his pleas for mercy, but was mercilessly dragged away.