kvmb Chapter 189 Should We Do It?
Chapter 189 Should We Do It?
Big man?
Lu Yangyang looked at him in surprise and asked softly, "What do you mean?"
“My lord, I’m telling you this, but don’t say it was me who told you,” Xiao Dong scratched his head, craned his neck to look around, and only after making sure no one was there did he whisper, “Actually, I’m not sure either. A friend of mine said that he saw him enter a big mansion one day every month. That mansion is said to be owned by royalty. I’ve never seen the owner of the house. He always comes and goes in a sedan chair or carriage and has never shown his face.”
"Do you know which company owns it?" Lu Yangyang pressed.
Xiao Dong shook his head: "I don't know. Those important people wouldn't live in the south of the city, but I know the location, and I can take you there."
Lu Yangyang nodded, thought for a moment, and then stuffed two more pieces of silver into his hand: "I can't let you make a wasted trip, let's go."
If His Highness the Crown Prince has ordered Ah Liang to be interrogated, he should have taken note of these details. But since she's already here, there's no harm in taking a look.
Lu Yangyang followed Xiao Dong around several streets before finally finding the mansion he had mentioned. Xiao Dong whispered, "Most of the houses around here belong to merchants, and some are vacant year-round, rarely occupied. This mansion occupies an entire alley, and few people come here. However, the carriages that come and go are always very wealthy, so the neighbors say that it's where royalty lives."
Lu Yangyang thanked him but didn't go into the alley. She just remembered the location, walked around the area for a bit, and then left.
After running around for most of the day, it was already afternoon when we returned to the Duke of Sheng's mansion. There was a family banquet at the Duke of Sheng's mansion that evening, but I guessed that no one would be in the mood to eat it today.
Lu Yangyang was exhausted these past two days, so she changed her clothes and went back to catch up on her sleep.
Unbeknownst to her, the palace was in complete chaos at that moment.
Since the news of the Qinglian Temple's heart-nourishing pills broke this morning, the Empress Dowager has fainted three times. The imperial physicians from the Imperial Hospital are kneeling all over the Cining Palace, and the Emperor is sitting in the outer room with a sullen face, so that all the palace servants in the room are too scared to breathe.
It wasn't until the nanny beside the Empress Dowager came out and bowed to the Emperor that she said, "Your Majesty, the Empress Dowager has awakened."
The emperor rose and went into the inner palace.
As soon as they entered, they heard the Empress Dowager's weak sobs: "Emperor, Emperor, please tell the imperial physician to give me a bowl of medicine and let me go. How can I have the face to live in this world now? Late Emperor, please take me away! I have no face to live anymore—"
The emperor rushed over, and the empress dowager leaned weakly against the old nanny. Broken pieces of medicine bowls littered the ground, and palace maids were kneeling on the ground cleaning them up.
"Mother, A-Que was wrong in this matter. I will scold him later. Please calm down and don't hurt yourself. Quickly go and bring the Empress Dowager another bowl of medicine," the Emperor ordered.
"Why should I drink any more medicine? Just give me a bowl of poison! I have no face to live! What wrong has Zong Que done? Ah, he only hates me, his grandmother! He resents me! He resents me for punishing the Empress back then, causing her miscarriage and harming her health. He's taking revenge on me, letting the whole world trample on my face, making history condemn me, and making me a sinner for all time!"
The Empress Dowager, always well-preserved and valuing her appearance above all else, now resembled an ordinary old woman, her hair disheveled, her eyes bloodshot, pounding her chest repeatedly, sobbing: "What sins have I committed that he hates me so much? I still remember the way he looked at me when he was so young. He resented me, he just wanted revenge, he just wanted revenge... He might as well have just given me a bowl of poison to send me to my death. He tortures me like this, his heart is so poisonous, born cold-blooded, without a shred of humanity—"
"Mother, Mother, please calm down, calm down. Don't overthink it. How could A-Que think that way? He was just investigating the case and found out. We can't expect him to pretend he didn't know. But he's young and impetuous and didn't handle things properly. I've already ordered him to come to the palace immediately. I'll have a good talk with him and have him come to apologize to you, Mother." The Emperor patiently persuaded her. Seeing the palace maid bring the medicine, he personally took it, walked to the bedside, and scooped some medicine with a spoon, not bringing it to the Empress Dowager's lips: "Mother, please at least drink a sip. The imperial physician said you haven't had a drop of water since this morning. This can't go on..."
After a standoff with the emperor, the empress dowager finally opened her mouth and drank the medicine, but as soon as she took a sip, she slumped to the side and vomited it all up.
The nanny quickly helped her clean and wipe her mouth.
The Empress Dowager leaned weakly into the nanny's arms, and said listlessly to the Emperor, "Your Majesty, I only have a few days left to live. Now I don't even have a posthumous title. Please have pity on me..."
The emperor handed the medicine bowl to a palace maid beside him and sighed, "Mother, rest well and don't think too much. I'll go and have a good talk with A-Que."
The Empress Dowager remained silent, tears streaming down her face. Helpless, the Emperor stood up and left Cining Palace with his entourage.
As soon as they left Cixi Palace, the emperor asked Feng Kang, "Has Aque arrived?"
Feng Kang replied cautiously, "I've already sent someone to the Dali Temple to invite His Highness back. Your Majesty, Consort Shu sent someone to inquire that the Imperial Concubine is ill, and today's palace banquet..."
The emperor's face was extremely grim.
After a long pause, he finally spoke: "Go and tell Consort Shu that the Mid-Autumn Festival palace banquet will proceed as scheduled, and let her take the place of the Noble Consort."
"Yes." Feng Kang hurriedly responded, then called over a young eunuch and sent someone to report the news.
The emperor returned to his study and waited until the sun was setting before the crown prince finally arrived.
The emperor ordered everyone to leave, even sending Feng Kang to guard the gate.
Only the father and son remained in the imperial study.
"Son, tell your father what you're really thinking. You've uncovered this case, a major one. I support you in your investigation, but this matter concerns the Empress Dowager, your own grandmother. Now that things have escalated like this, how are we going to clean up this mess? Think about your father too. Today, I can't even hold my head up in front of my mother!" The Emperor pulled up a prayer mat and sat down next to the Crown Prince, even shorter than the prince in his wheelchair. Like an ordinary father, he earnestly complained to his son.
“Let’s talk this over and find another way, okay? Let’s at least save your grandmother’s face. You have no idea what happened this afternoon…”
Before the emperor could finish speaking, the crown prince interrupted him: "Crying, making a scene, threatening suicide, or accusing me of being malicious, cold-hearted, and deliberately retaliating against her because of what happened to the empress dowager back then, making her suffer. What else?"
The emperor choked up, awkwardly touching his nose and coughing twice: "A-Que, your grandmother is old, don't take it to heart. But can we discuss this matter again? A-Que, your father is only doing this for your own good, this matter..."
"Please go and tell the Empress Dowager that there are several boxes of bones in Qinglian Temple that are still in Dali Temple. If she makes a fuss again, I will send them to her and let her watch over them day and night. I will decide whether or not I should handle this case."