Chapter 1280 - 37: The Emperor Turned Into a Dog
Chapter 1280: Chapter 37: The Emperor Turned Into a Dog
The fall of the Cao Family was too fast and too sudden, catching everyone by surprise.
The entire Cao Family was executed, their properties confiscated, and their servants seized for other transactions.
Cao Guiren shivered in fear; her maternal grandmother’s family and the Shu Imperial Concubine were distant relatives. She thought she would also be implicated, but upon investigation, it turned out that the so-called distant kinship was merely a nominal relationship recognized by her grandmother, with no blood relation. Since her family was completely unaware, they were spared. However, she was terribly frightened and hid in the palace for many days, not daring to go out.
Meanwhile, Shu Imperial Concubine had not yet been stripped of her title and was still being served with good food and drink in the Cold Palace. Yet the attendants serving her never spoke a word to her, no matter what she asked.
She demanded to see the Emperor every day, but he never appeared. Even when she used the unborn child as a threat, the Emperor still did not show. Gradually, she came to terms with reality. The Emperor seemingly knew everything. Keeping her alive was also for the sake of the child in her womb. She must take good care of this pregnancy; it might very well be her ticket to turning the tide.
However, on a stormy night, a silhouette appeared by the bed of the sleeping Shu Imperial Concubine, a dagger ruthlessly plunged into her swollen belly.
Shu Imperial Concubine awoke in agonizing pain, and a flash of lightning illuminated the assailant’s face.
Liu Yin?!!
"Wretch, fool! If not for you, Master’s grand plan would not have failed! How could Master die? My child is fatherless because of you, you deserve to die!" Liu Yin’s face twisted with rage, her smile incredibly sinister.
At this moment, Shu Imperial Concubine realized everything. The child in her womb? Could Liu Yin have secretly conceived with her older brother? Had he promised her something, making her so loyal!
"Help!" Shu Imperial Concubine cried out loudly despite the pain.
Liu Yin dropped the dagger and tried to flee, but was apprehended by palace attendants who came running at the sound.
Shu Imperial Concubine survived, but the child in her womb was killed by Liu Yin’s stab.
The more than six-month-old fetus was already fully formed.
Upon hearing Eunuch Xue’s report, the Emperor had mixed feelings. There was some regret, heartache too, but mostly relief. If this child had been born, it would have been unjust for him. Because his birth was unwelcome, and his maternal family guilty.
As for Shu Imperial Concubine, the Emperor stripped her of her title, leaving her to fend for herself in the Cold Palace.
In the dead of night, cries were often heard from the Cold Palace—of a woman claiming to be an imperial concubine, saying her son would become Emperor, and she the Empress Dowager. Sometimes she would wail, admitting mistakes to the Emperor.
...
Later, the Emperor had other Princes and Princesses, but his favorite was still the Princess. Even if the Emperor had other favored concubines in the future, none could surpass the Empress’s status. The Empress Dowager once fell sick, claiming to have dreamt of the late Emperor, afterwards devoting herself to vegetarianism and prayer, rarely appearing before others.
Prince De and Prince Ping wholeheartedly assisted the Emperor, ushering in a golden age for the Great Zhou Country.
Years later, the Emperor stood atop the city wall gazing into the distance, suddenly turning to ask Prince De, "Do you like dogs?"
"Ah?" Prince De was momentarily stunned, then nodded, "I like them. Why does the Emperor suddenly ask this question?"
"I like them too." The Emperor nodded, then looked up at the sky, saying with deep meaning, "Though I like them, I never wish to change again."
"Ah?" Prince De looked perplexed, what was the Emperor talking about?
And Shu Imperial Concubine never understood the meaning of the Emperor’s last whispered words even until her death.