Chapter 373 - Chapter 373: No Way Out Anymore
Chapter 373: No Way Out Anymore
Translator: Dragon Boat Translation Editor: Dragon Boat Translation
“You went to the Prime Minister’s Residence?”
“Yes.”
Xiao Jin looked at her in surprise. “You hate him so much. Why did you still go?”
“I saw his name marked out in your book, so I went,” Su Ying said matter-of-factly.
Besides, she really didn’t hate Su Yulun. There were very few people she hated because she would usually take revenge on the spot.
“You did it for me?”
Su Ying was puzzled. “Why? Is there a problem?”
Xiao Jin reached out and pulled her into his arms and rubbed his chin against her neck. “No.”
“If there’s no problem, why are you hugging me suddenly? Let go. 1 want to eat.”
Xiao Jin let go of her reluctantly. He felt that Su Ying had really done a lot for him. Even if she didn’t think much of it, in his eyes, she was giving in to him.
Lin Zhuyu looked at Xiao Jin with a disgusted expression as she carried the food container. Why was he still pestering the Crown Princess Consort at this time? Didn’t he know that the Crown Princess Consort was hungry?
“Your Highness, eat something first,” Lin Zhuyu said to Su Ying.
Lin Zhuyu placed the food container on the table with a loud bang. It sounded particularly jarring.
Xiao Jin frowned slightly. He found Lin Zhuyu increasingly annoying.
Why was she still such an eyesore after getting married?
Su Ying didn’t notice the exchange between the two of them at all. She picked up her chopsticks and started eating.
As the night deepened, the Imperial Palace fell into silence.
The Empress Dowager had been stabbed by Prince Ma while trying to save Emperor Kangze in the chaos. Under the treatment of the Imperial Physician, she finally regained consciousness at night.
At that point, Prince Ma’s sword was about to stab Emperor Kangze to death, but the Empress Dowager had charged out too suddenly, and the sword went askew and stabbed her butt instead.
Even though she wasn’t hit in the vital part, Prince Ma’s strike was ruthless nonetheless. The Empress Dowager’s entire ass was almost pierced through. Her condition at that time was also very precarious.
The pain that soared to the sky made the Empress Dowager’s face turn pale, but when she thought of Prince Ma’s predicament, the anxiety in her heart was even more unbearable than her wound.
“The Empress Dowager is awake. The Empress Dowager is awake.”
When the palace maid saw the Empress Dowager open her eyes, she immediately went to the outside of the hall and summoned the Imperial Physician.
The Imperial Physician hurriedly entered the inner hall to check the Empress Dowager’s pulse. “It’s good that Your Imperial Highness has regained consciousness.” If a person could regain consciousness, that meant there was basically nothing serious with the injuries.
The palace maid poured a cup of warm water and carefully served it to the Empress Dowager.
After the Empress Dowager drank it, she could feel that her hoarse throat felt much better.
“How is His Majesty?” The first thing the Empress Dowager said was to ask about Emperor Kangze’s condition.
“Your Imperial Highness, don’t worry. His Majesty regained consciousness yesterday.”
The Empress Dowager automatically equated regaining consciousness with being fine.
“It’s good that His Majesty is fine. It’s good that he is fine.”
The palace maid brought in some rice soup and fed it to the Empress Dowager. The Empress Dowager was still too weak and soon felt a wave of sleepiness. Before long, she fainted.
When she woke up again, it was pitch-black.
The Empress Dowager felt her throat itching unbearably and wanted to call the palace maid in to serve her, but just as she moved, she saw a black shadow sitting on a chair not far away.
The Empress Dowager got a shock. Before she could speak, she saw the other party’s appearance clearly.
“Rui’er?”
When the figure heard the voice, he slowly raised his head and looked in the direction of the Empress Dowager. It was also this glance that allowed the Empress Dowager to see his eyes hidden in the darkness. They resembled those of a venomous snake.
“Your Imperial Highness is awake.”
Prince Ma spoke in a low voice.
The Empress Dowager’s heart was in her mouth. She thought that Prince Ma had already escaped from the palace after that night. She did not expect him to still be in the palace. He was really bold!
“You… you…” The Empress Dowager almost didn’t dare to make a sound. She was afraid that the palace maids would discover Prince Ma’s existence if she make the slightest sound.
“Why are you still in the palace? Are you crazy?”
Prince Ma stood up. The faint moonlight shone on his body, making him look as if he was covered in a layer of frost.
“Mother, now that things have come to this, 1 have no way out anymore.”
The Empress Dowager’s eyes became red-rimmed when she heard the word “Mother.” Memories from the past surged back into her mind like a tide. Tears flowed out of her eyes as she gripped Prince Ma’s hand tightly.
Back then, who would have thought that the previous Emperor would snatch an official’s fiancee? The Empress Dowager was engaged to the eldest son of General Wei Wu’s residence at the age of thirteen. The two of them were also in love like two innocent teenagers. The Empress Dowager even gave her most precious thing to her fiance on her fifteenth birthday.
It was just that she did not expect that the previous Emperor would take a fancy to her and did not mind risking a bad reputation to bring her into the palace to become his concubine.
When she entered the palace, she was already three months pregnant. After the previous Emperor found out, not only did he not get angry nut he also let her give birth to the child. He even wanted to raise the child like his own.
However, the Empress Dowager did not trust him at all. After the child was born, she thought of a way to bring him out of the palace and look for a dead baby to deceive the previous Emperor.
And the child who was sent away back then was Prince Ma.
The Empress Dowager hated the previous Emperor and the Imperial Family of the Chu State. If not for them, her fiance would not have been killed after she entered the palace.
All these years, she had been hiding in the harem and constantly seeking favor from the previous Emperor, all in order to stabilize her position so that she could secretly help Prince Ma.
Prince Ma didn’t disappoint her either. He quickly found an opportunity to follow the war generals and make a name for himself, thereby gaining Emperor Kangze’s appreciation.
However, just as Prince Ma was about to stab Emperor Kangze with his sword, the Empress Dowager suddenly hesitated because Emperor Kangze was also her biological son.
“Rui’er, the Grand Mentor’s faction has already lost power. How are you going to bring down Xiao Jin, who has already become the Crown Prince, all by yourself? You’d better take Chen’er and leave. When you leave the capital and return to your fiefdom, Mother guarantees that no one will make things difficult for you.”
How could Prince Ma be willing to give up now?
“Mother, do you want me to be manipulated by them for the rest of my life just like Father was? Since things have come to this, it’s better to risk it all for a try. You have to help me.”
The Empress Dowager looked at the brimming ambition that could not be concealed in Prince Ma’s determined eyes, and her heart gradually sank to the bottom of the abyss.
“Why are you so muddle-headed!” Even though she was the Empress Dowager now, she did not think that there was anything good about being in a high position. The higher one stood, the stronger the wind one had to face. Not everyone could withstand it.
Prince Ma’s eyes turned sharp. “If Mother doesn’t help me, then I’ll do it myself. If 1 die, Mother doesn’t have to collect my corpse. Just let me rot in this dark palace.”
“Are you not going to care about your Princess Consort and your son?”
“They know what 1 want to do.”
How could the Empress Dowager idly watch him send himself to his death?
“How do you want… me to help?” After a long silence, the Empress Dowager spoke with difficulty.
In the darkness, Prince Ma’s eyes gradually turned bloodshot. “So what if Xiao Jin is the Crown Prince? I can definitely make him fall into eternal damnation. Mother, you only need to…”
The Empress Dowager half-closed her eyes and listened to Prince Ma’s words. Her breathing gradually became rapid.
After saying his piece, Prince Ma grabbed the Empress Dowager’s hand. “Mother, you will definitely help me, right?”
The Empress Dowager’s eyes quivered, but she finally gritted her teeth and nodded.
A gleeful look of victory flashed across Prince Ma’s eyes. “I knew it. Mother always doted on me the most..”