The Great Empress Dowager smiled faintly. “Yes, I underestimated him and underestimated Old Six. But it doesn’t matter. When all is said and done, after everyone has done their best, everyone must accept their fate.”
Xia Xue brought a chair over, and Mingzhu sat down. She then accepted the tea brought by Su Mei and took a slow sip. “Yes, I will wait here with the Great Empress Dowager.” By now, she could
Xia Xue brought over a chair, and Mingzhu sat down, taking the tea handed to her by Su Mei. She took a slow sip and said, “Yes, I will stay here and wait with the Great Empress Dowager.” At this point, she was almost certain that the Great Empress Dowager had indeed made a move, and all she could do now was keep her detained. If anything went wrong, it could serve as a last bargaining chip.
The Great Empress Dowager gestured to Mingzhu, “Go ahead, I’m tired and need to rest.” She then laid down, no longer paying attention to anything else.
Fu Zifei, fuming nearby, exclaimed, “Fu Mingzhu is arrogant and disrespectful, showing no regard for her elders. Please, Great Empress Dowager, punish her!”
The Great Empress Dowager glanced at her and said, “I’ll let the Empress handle it.”
Fu Zifei was momentarily speechless, then she became embarrassed and angry, her face turning red. If she could handle it herself, was there a need to complain here?
Mingzhu completely ignored Fu Zifei and calmly instructed Xia Xue, “There’s trouble brewing. Go tell Mei Yusi to send someone to guard County Prince Xiangcheng.”
The Great Empress Dowager’s calm expression finally showed a hint of flaw as she looked incredulously at Mingzhu. “How could you do this?”
Mingzhu said expressionlessly, “Does the Great Empress Dowager think that County Prince Xiangcheng shouldn’t be protected?”
The Great Empress Dowager sneered and fell silent.
Outside the hall, Ji Hui and Wet Nurse Xiao’s servant looked at the table, chairs, tea cups, and other items in astonishment. Wet Nurse Xiao’s hands and feet were trembling. They had been in the palace for some time, and they had seen storms, but none had ever made them feel so scared. The reason was simple: in the past, no matter how the Great Empress Dowager fought with Yuwen Chu, she could always maintain a delicate balance, and they didn’t have to worry about trouble affecting them.
But this time was different. The Regent Wangfei came aggressively, and she had just openly expressed her unfriendliness towards Ji Hui. If the Great Empress Dowager fell, would they be next? Wet Nurse Xiao’s palms were full of cold sweat, and she looked at Ji Hui in fear. “Miss, what should we do? Should we go to Chongzheng Hall? His Majesty will surely protect us.”
Ji Hui looked towards the sky, where the flowing clouds and the blue sky were serene. She shook her head gently. “No, we’re not going anywhere. We can’t go anywhere. Let’s go back to our rooms and wait.”
Wet Nurse Xiao felt like crying. She held Ji Hui’s hand and pulled her back. “Let’s go burn some incense in front of the Bodhisattva. Maybe if the Bodhisattva sees our sincere hearts, he’ll spare us.”
Mingzhu finished the entire pot of tea and watched as the shadow outside the window gradually shifted. Her mood became increasingly restless. Xia Xue came in and whispered, “County Prince Xiangcheng has been taken to the Chongzheng Hall by His Majesty. Mei Yusi suggests to Wangfei that she should not mention this matter again, pretending not to know or have forgotten.”
In other words, Yuwen Guang still had some brotherly affection for Yuwen Nuo. He knew that things had changed, and his first reaction was to bring his youngest brother by his side for protection. From this, he didn’t believe the Great Empress Dowager, nor did he believe Yuwen Chu or Mingzhu. He only believed in himself.
This was understandable. Mingzhu accepted Mei Yusi’s suggestion and asked in a low voice, “What’s the situation in the court and the city? Is the family and the mansion peaceful? Are there any news from outside the city?”
Xia Xue shook her head. “No news, but during this trip, the palace seems to be functioning normally, without any chaos. Mei Yusi hasn’t received any bad news either.”
In the capital, the court, and even the palace, everything seemed calm, not following the chaos outside the city. What did this mean? Mingzhu looked at the serene Great Empress Dowager and suddenly realized that the Great Empress Dowager was probably making a desperate move, putting all her strength and chips into action to remove Yuwen Chu.
Firstly, there was no abnormality in the capital, the palace, which wouldn’t startle the snakes, making it easier for them to relax their guard and increasing the chance of success.
Secondly, rather than spreading out their forces, it was better to strike with all their might. Imagine, if Yuwen Chu disappeared from this world, would everything he had painstakingly built still be useful? Without legitimacy, everything would be in vain. If the Regent died, he died. It wouldn’t be possible for Zhuang Zhuang to come out and continue his work.
At least, everything would still be Yuwen Guang’s. Even if the Great Empress Dowager couldn’t take over again, it had nothing to do with the Regent’s mansion. Yuwen Chu had set a bad precedent, and he had incited the thoughts of the imperial princes while he was alive. If he died, what then? Naturally, the capable would take over.
Mingzhu nervously contemplated. Soon, she found a flaw in this operation. Because this situation didn’t bring any benefits to Yuwen Guang and his brothers, if the Great Empress Dowager really wanted Yuwen Guang and his brothers to be direct beneficiaries, there should be a more careful plan to follow, such as killing those who needed to be killed and removing those who needed to be removed. But there was nothing.
There were no signs, and the plan might not even be well thought out. Yet the Great Empress Dowager acted rashly, which could only mean one thing: she couldn’t wait any longer.
Mingzhu stood up and asked the palace maid, “How long has Jiang Zhouzi not been called into the palace to treat the Great Empress Dowager’s illness?”
The Great Empress Dowager lying on the bed blinked, and Fu Zifei sneered, “It’s really rare. Auntie suddenly has a conscience today and actually remembers this. Didn’t you take Jiang Zhouzi away and forbid him from treating the Great Empress Dowager’s illness, wanting to let the Great Empress Dowager die from her illness?”
The sides had torn their faces apart, and Mingzhu said coldly, “Escort the Empress out. She’s making too much noise here, which is not conducive to the Great Empress Dowager’s recuperation.”
Fu Zifei angrily cursed, “Fu Mingzhu! You’re so arrogant! You even dare to dictate to the current Empress! Traitor! You’ll have a bad end! I’ll make your treacherous deeds known to the world…”
There was no turning back on this path now. Mingzhu waved her hand, indicating to take Fu Zifei away. Sang Shen was brought in, trembling as she said, “Master Jiang comes to the palace to check the pulse every other day and adjusts the prescription with the Imperial Hospital. There has never been any oversight.”
Everything seemed to be proceeding as usual, but it still didn’t seem right. Mingzhu said hoarsely, “Summon Jiang Zhouzi to the palace immediately. I want to see him right away.”
The sky gradually darkened, and a bright star appeared in the sky. A palace maid hurried in and whispered to Mingzhu, “Mr. Jiang followed His Highness to Jishan Camp. It is said that there is an old man there who is seriously ill and urgently needs treatment.”
This was ridiculous! Mingzhu suppressed her anger. “What about Tang Chunlai? Let him come into the palace immediately!”
