Chapter 587: Simply Monstrous!
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As Mei Yusi had said, Mingzhu encountered no harassment along the way and smoothly arrived at Changxin Palace. Mu Gugu greeted her, supporting her with sadness evident in her voice. “I never expected this…”
Mingzhu squeezed Mu Gu’s hand to indicate there was no need to be sad. Fu Zifei wiped her tears and approached from the side, reaching out to support Mingzhu. “Auntie, you’ve come! I’ve missed you so much.”
Mingzhu raised her hand toward Fu Zifei, signaling her to stay away. Fu Zifei felt very embarrassed and was about to pretend she didn’t understand, intending to move closer regardless, when a stern-faced matron behind Mingzhu stepped forward and blocked her path. Unconvinced, Fu Zifei tried to push her way through again, but the matron respectfully took her arm and, with lowered eyes, said, “This old servant will support you, Miss.”
Fu Zifei was about to get angry when she felt a sharp pain in her arm, and then she was led away to the other side by the matron against her will. Throughout the entire process, she didn’t even have a chance to object, and the matron remained deferential, showing no sign of disrespect.
“Aunt!” she angrily looked at Mingzhu, but saw that Mingzhu was just walking ahead without paying her any attention. Then she looked at Su Mei, whose eyes were openly filled with disdain. Fu Zifei clenched her fists tightly. Let’s see how long you can be so arrogant!
“Uncle!” Fu Zifei looked angrily at Mingzhu, but Mingzhu just kept walking without even looking at her. Su Mei’s eyes were filled with disdain, and Fu Zifei couldn’t help but clench her fists tightly, waiting for the right moment to strike back.
Mu Gugu supported Mingzhu into the main hall and whispered, “Your Majesty, Ying Wangfei has arrived.”
Mingzhu knelt down and greeted, “Greetings to the Great Empress Dowager, may you live a thousand years.”
The Great Empress Dowager, reclining against a beauty cushion with her back to Mingzhu, faced the autumn light outside the window and said softly, “Rise, it’s been a long time since I’ve seen you. I’ve missed you a lot. I heard about your recent troubles, so I had you brought to the palace to see you.”
After a long silence from Mingzhu, the Great Empress Dowager frowned and turned her head. Mu Gugu stepped forward and whispered, “Ying Wangfei can’t hear.”
A hint of pity flashed in the Great Empress Dowager’s eyes, but it quickly disappeared. She gestured for Mu Gugu to help Mingzhu up. “It’s my negligence. Please, sit. What about Zhuang Zhuang?”
Su Mei gestured a few times to Mingzhu, who lowered her eyes and said softly, “The recent situation has been too chaotic, and I’ve been busy. The child is still young, so I dare not bring him here to disturb you, Your Majesty.”
The Great Empress Dowager’s eyelids twitched, and she said calmly, “Is that so?”
Mingzhu remained silent with her head down, and Su Mei pretended not to understand.
After a while, the Great Empress Dowager turned to the others standing by, including Fu Zifei and Su Mei, and said, “You all may leave.”
Su Mei and Su Momo pretended not to hear, while Fu Zifei couldn’t help but feel triumphant. It was one thing to bully her, but openly disrespecting the Great Empress Dowager was asking for trouble. It would be best to kill these arrogant slaves and see if they could still be so proud.
The Great Empress Dowager was clearly very unhappy. She put down her teacup heavily, and Mingzhu said, “You can leave first.” Then she pointed to Su Mei and said, “You stay.” Regardless of the Great Empress Dowager’s expression, she added, “I can’t hear, so keep this girl here to serve as my ears.”
The Great Empress Dowager raised an eyebrow. “I want to speak with you alone.”
Mingzhu nodded, and Su Mei silently withdrew, while Mu Gugu brought pens, ink, paper, and inkstones and stood by the door, not participating in their conversation.
After a moment of silence, the Great Empress Dowager wrote, “Do you hate me so much?”
Mingzhu shook her head. “Does Auntie hate me?”
The Great Empress Dowager chuckled bitterly. Her own child had married and completely betrayed her, helping another man plot against her. How could she not hate? But she had no children, only grandchildren. She had treated Mingzhu like a daughter for so many years, so how could she easily let go of that affection?
Mingzhu didn’t ask further, softly saying, “We have different paths and cannot cooperate. There’s no hatred or disdain between us, right? I can’t persuade Auntie, and Auntie can’t persuade me. So, if Auntie wants to discuss this issue with me and advise me, there’s no need. If you want to talk about family matters, let’s not mix in political affairs, or we’ll have nothing to talk about.”
The Great Empress Dowager’s hand trembled slightly as she wrote, “You haven’t visited the palace for a long time. Don’t you miss me? What do you think after seeing me this time?”
Mingzhu looked at the Great Empress Dowager and whispered, “I miss you, but because I know Auntie doesn’t want to see me, I can only do this.” As for what she thought after seeing the Great Empress Dowager this time, it was simply that the Great Empress Dowager had truly aged and weakened, but she didn’t want to say it aloud and give the Great Empress Dowager more to worry about.
The Great Empress Dowager realized that there was indeed nothing more to say between her and Mingzhu. Unwilling to give up, she began to ask Mingzhu about the incident at the Fu Mansion yesterday. Mingzhu described it in detail, and the Great Empress Dowager was greatly surprised, writing sternly, “What kind of thing is that? Why is it so powerful?” She thought for a moment and wrote again.
She knew about gunpowder, but it was difficult to use. Even if the fuse was lit, it might misfire, and sometimes it would suddenly explode. Therefore, it was rarely used, even in siege warfare. The situation Mingzhu described was quite unbelievable—children playing together could suddenly cause an explosion? That was simply uncanny!
Mingzhu shook her head gently. “Who knows? Whatever it is, someone wants to exterminate the Fu clan.”
Someone wants to exterminate the Fu clan! The Great Empress Dowager’s thoughts swirled. She wasn’t stupid; at this point, she had already understood very clearly that someone indeed wanted to wipe out the Fu clan. Who could it be? Apart from the Mins, Zhongshan Wang, Yuwen You, and others, there was no one else she could think of. She asked herself, even if our paths diverge, she wanted Yuwen Fu to ascend the throne, while Fu Cong wanted Yuwen Chu to ascend. Did that mean she really wanted the clan to be destroyed?
Seeing the Great Empress Dowager lost in thought, Mingzhu didn’t disturb her and quietly sat beside her. After a while, the Great Empress Dowager sighed softly, touching her forehead. “When I entered the palace years ago, I was three years younger than you, but I was just a child. However, I had to do better than many others, absolutely no room for error. It was truly exhausting to live like that. I just wished, if I had a daughter, I would let her live freely and as she pleased. But I didn’t have one, only you.”
Mingzhu couldn’t hear, allowing the Great Empress Dowager to speak her mind freely. “I’m about to die. I thought I could hold on until then, but in reality, I know I can’t. Liang Youyi’s medicine is becoming less effective, and each time the pain is worse than before, like descending into h*ll. These days, I dream a lot, often seeing the late Emperor come back to find me. I think… I’m going to die.”
The Great Empress Dowager held her forehead, whispering, “Last time, Fu Er went to see you and told me he didn’t want to be emperor, he just wanted to live. But I wonder, can he really survive?”
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