Chapter 305: Drive You Mad
<Previous Chapter<Table of Contents>Next Chapter>
Empress Dowager Min originally intended to use this opportunity to make Mingzhu slip up, but she didn’t expect her to admonish her so justly and fiercely. She was first surprised, then unable to maintain her composure, she became angry. However, wanting to scold back with her usual royal authority, she had to first defend herself, to indicate that she hadn’t cursed the Great Empress Dowager as Mingzhu claimed. So, she gritted her teeth and said angrily, “Little Sister misunderstood, l…”
Mingzhu cursed fluently, not wanting to give her any chance. She immediately exclaimed, “I know the Empress Dowager’s status is noble, and no one dares to provoke her. But even a saint must adhere to rules, principles, and etiquette. Otherwise, what’s the point of being a saint? Even if you want to charge me with disrespect today, I will say that the Empress Dowager is wrong! Since the founding of our dynasty, successive emperors have governed the country with filial piety. The Empress Dowager is tarnishing His Majesty’s reputation!
Back then, when the late Emperor passed away prematurely, who disregarded the pain of losing her son, bravely withstood the pressure from all sides, and supported His Majesty’s ascension to the throne? It was the Great Empress Dowager! His Majesty was young, and the Great Empress Dowager couldn’t help much. It was the Great Empress Dowager who risked everything, despite her old age and declining health, to manage state affairs and maintain the stability of the Yuwen clan’s rule! The Empress Dowager lacks other abilities, but even her duty as a mother cannot be fulfilled. She has driven a wedge between His Majesty and the Great Empress Dowager, destabilizing the hearts of the people. If the late Emperor were alive, he would have deposed you!”
She cursed vehemently, while Empress Dowager Min was left speechless, unable to retort. She could only angrily rebuke, “Shut up! Who gave you the courage to dare disrespect me like this? I’ll have you…”
“Honest words offend the ear, but they benefit action. I simply speak the truth. You want to tear me apart just because I speak the truth? When did you become so cruel?” Mingzhu interrupted, feigning surprise and sadness, loudly expressing her astonishment. She felt a sense of satisfaction, thinking that as long as she occupied the moral high ground and dared to speak out, she could render the other party powerless to retaliate. It was no wonder those literati cursed even at the risk of their lives. Those pedants who provoked those they couldn’t afford to provoke could only die after cursing, while she, as the daughter of a powerful figure, wouldn’t die so easily in the short term. Therefore, she felt even more relieved and satisfied.
Seeing her twist the truth, Empress Dowager Min had only just started speaking, yet Mingzhu was already threatening to tear her apart. This made Empress Dowager Min tremble with anger, her lips turning pale. She gestured randomly at the people around her and ordered, “Guards, drag this nonsensical and disrespectful person away! She’s not allowed to enter the palace again!”
The palace attendants of Zhaoyang Palace were eager to act, but after witnessing Hai Momo’s execution, they hesitated. On the other hand, those from Changxin Palace were watching eagerly, waiting for the palace attendants from Zhaoyang Palace to make their move.
Mingzhu recalled Jiang Shanshan’s behavior and, imitating her, covered her face and cried out loudly in shock and sorrow, “What did I say wrong? Why is it so hard to tell the truth? Although I’m not good with words, I’m doing this for your sake, Empress Dowager. You need to see the bigger picture! Otherwise, if there’s a rift between the Great Empress Dowager and His Majesty, what good does it do for the country? Please don’t hit me. I promise not to reveal anything about cursing the Empress Dowager… Help! I’m so scared! But I’m truly doing this for you, the Great Empress Dowager, and His Majesty!”
Empress Dowager Min was truly on the verge of being infuriated. Pointing her finger at Mingzhu, she angrily exclaimed, “Fine, fine, what a well-raised daughter of the Fu family! Who gave you the audacity to behave so outrageously?”
Suddenly, Mingzhu felt that Empress Dowager Min was actually far more reasonable and elegant than herself. Seeing her feeble attempt at scolding, Mingzhu cried even louder, “Speaking the truth and reasoning, why would anyone need courage for that? Is Empress Dowager incapable of being corrected? Shouldn’t I ask the ministers upfront whether this is reasonable? If so, what is the purpose of advisors?”
Empress Dowager Min felt she couldn’t stay here any longer, or she might truly go mad from anger. She could only exclaim loudly, “Absurd! Absurd!”
The palace attendants of Zhaoyang Palace noticed her outward strength but inner weakness and quickly offered her a way out, saying, “Ying Wangfei has lost her senses, gone mad and senseless. Your Majesty, please overlook this matter. Let’s return.”
This pretentious thing, she used to think she was just a honest but foolish person, but now it seems she’s just as shameless and cunning as that old hag! Empress Dowager Min looked at the tears and terrified expression on Mingzhu’s face, secretly wishing to torture her hundreds of times over. Suddenly, an idea struck her, so she propped her hand against her forehead, pretending to be harshly affected by Mingzhu’s words, about to faint, in order to seize the opportunity to step down gracefully, and to use it as evidence that Mingzhu had indeed driven her to faint.
Surely, once this story spread, people would only remember the arrogance of the Fu family’s daughter and their immense power. Who would bother investigating the root cause of the incident?
Propping her forehead, just as she was about to faint, Empress Dowager Min saw Mingzhu clearly, she quickly covered her chest and cried out, “My heart hurts so much, I can’t breathe!” and collapsed, conveniently caught by Su Lan and Sang Shen.
Empress Dowager Min missed her chance and felt resentful, but fainting couldn’t be abandoned halfway. She had to follow through, so she also pretended to faint. At that moment, Yuwen Chu entered, rushing to hold Mingzhu first, then looked at Empress Dowager Min with great concern and asked, “I greet Your Majesty, what happened?”
Having been caught off guard twice, Empress Dowager Min was displeased. She thought it was even better now that Yuwen Chu had arrived, so she could blame both of them, letting everyone know that it was this couple who had made her faint. So she decided to firmly continue with the fainting act.
Seeing this clearly, Yuwen Chu quickly threw out a sentence, “Her Majesty wants to kill Min Shilang.”
He was referring to Min Shilang, Empress Dowager Min’s second older brother, who was the Shilang of the Ministry of Revenue. Empress Dowager Min was greatly surprised and immediately forgot about pretending to faint. She asked urgently, “Why?”
Yuwen Chu, with lowered eyelids, respectfully replied, “Min Shilang’s handling of a military expenditure went awry.”
Empress Dowager Min had been suppressed by the Fu family for many years. She had finally managed to get Min Shixing promoted to the Minister of War, and Min Shiwang was appointed as the Shilang of the Ministry of Revenue. Empress Dowager Min absolutely couldn’t allow anyone to remove these two from their positions. Without caring to deal with Mingzhu, she hurriedly left with her attendants.
“I respectfully send off Your Majesty,” Yuwen Chu bowed and gestured to Sang Shen, “Under the command of the Great Empress Dowager, I am to escort Ying Wangfei out of the palace. Please inform the Great Empress Dowager and summon the imperial physician.”
<Previous Chapter<Table of Contents>Next Chapter>
