Part 2
The Empress Dowager was stunned, then retorted, “Xunling sincerely wanted to apologize to her, yet she refused even to see her face. The Empress certainly puts on quite an air! She watched helplessly as your cousin knelt outside; could she have any good intentions? In Aijia’s view, she clearly holds a grudge because Aijia ordered Lin Nanjun to stay at Shicui Palace!”
A palace attendant stepped forward, patted the Empress Dowager’s back, and poured a cup of tea to moisten her throat.
Gu Zhen turned his head slightly. When he met Zhao Yiyi’s indifferent eyes, calm as water, his heart grew cold inch by inch. Today A-Qi was here and had ordered someone to inform him because he had personally witnessed it.
But what about the times he didn’t witness?
How many other times were there?
It turned out that in private, she had suffered so many grievances. For the sake of a niece, and over a matter that wasn’t even her fault, Mother would scold her like this.
“Then it wasn’t the Empress who ordered her to kneel,” Gu Zhen said flatly, glancing behind the screen and speaking before the Empress Dowager could open her mouth. “Look at what Mother is saying. With tens of thousands of palace servants in this Forbidden City and millions of subjects in the realm, if one could see the Empress just by kneeling outside, that would be far too easy.”
“In the future, who would still take the rules seriously?”
Everyone was shocked. No one had expected the Emperor to say such a thing. Even the Prince of Yan, who had sent someone to call him, had only thought to bring the Emperor over to ease the situation slightly.
They never expected him to say these words.
He Xunling hurriedly looked up toward the outer room, panicked for no reason. Immediately, she comforted herself: It’s fine, it’s fine.
My aunts all said the Emperor has never cared for the Empress. Today, I fear, he won’t stand up for her either.
And since I fainted from kneeling outside Jiaofang Palace, by logic and emotion, I am the more pitiful one.
With the Emperor present, the Empress Dowager’s expression softened somewhat, though she remained dissatisfied. “How can that be the same? Xunling is your cousin; how can she be counted alongside others?”
A light chuckle suddenly sounded in the hall, exceptionally clear in the quiet room.
“Mother.” Gu Zhen called out gently. The previous hostility faded, and he returned to his usual appearance of a gentle, modest gentleman. “All the people under heaven are Zhen’s subjects.”
—The implication was that He Xunling was no different from anyone else.
The Empress Dowager also understood his meaning. Her chest felt tight, but she couldn’t think of a rebuttal for a moment.
Zhao Yiyi covered her lips and coughed twice. Gu Zhen swept a glance at her and continued, “Mother, moreover, the Empress’s wind-cold has not fully healed. Since Miss He knew the Empress had caught a chill, making such a scene at Jiaofang Palace—did she deliberately not want the Empress to recover?”
Inside the screen, He Xunling had been settled on a low couch. Startled, she almost immediately scrambled up and knelt on the floor. “Your Majesty, this subject’s daughter… this subject’s daughter had no such intention.”
The Empress Dowager looked at Zhao Yiyi and indeed saw her face was pale, her usually rosy lips devoid of blood.
Although, seeing that face, she looked even more pitiable and lovely.
“Your Majesty… Your Majesty, this subject’s daughter knows her mistake…”
The Empress Dowager felt uncomfortable and said awkwardly, “She didn’t mean that. She just thought to offer an apology to the Empress. Emperor, you are overthinking it.”
Out of the corner of his eye, seeing Zhao Yiyi’s hands tightly clasped, her knuckles white from the force, Gu Zhen felt increasingly breathless. He let out a cold laugh and deepened his voice to ask, “Zhen also caught a wind-cold a few days ago. Because Mother ordered Lin Nanjun to stay at Shicui Palace, Zhen sent someone to the Imperial Medical Bureau but came back empty-handed. Why didn’t Miss He come to apologize to Zhen? Does she not hold Zhen in her eyes?”
Hearing this, the Empress Dowager also remembered Wu Mao coming over that day, mentioning the Emperor had caught a chill and his treatment was delayed.
She hurriedly asked, “Emperor, are you feeling better these past two days?”
Gu Zhen said, “Although it is not serious, having been delayed that day, I still feel unwell all over.”
Suspicion floated in the Prince of Yan’s heart. He went to Zichen Palace almost every day; how did he not know when his Imperial Brother had caught a wind-cold? He looked over in confusion, only to feel his brother’s complexion was normal, showing no sign of illness.
The Empress Dowager was flustered for a moment. “This… this…”
“Your Majesty, this matter is this subject daughter’s fault. Because of me, both Your Majesty and Her Highness were delayed. My crimes are unforgivable. I truly should not have begged at Jiaofang Palace for so long, making things difficult for Her Highness.”
Gu Zhen said indifferently, “It is good that you know.”
The Empress Dowager huffed, “The Emperor is acting strange today. Aijia asks you, the Empress ordering someone to kneel under the sun for so long—is that not a cruel act?”
Gu Zhen turned his head, only to see the Empress still bowing her head, her eyes lowered, not saying a word.
Is she so incapable of defending herself?
A flash of anger crossed his heart. Gu Zhen slammed his teacup heavily onto the table. “She wanted to kneel herself; it originally had nothing to do with the Empress. Moreover, even if the Empress punished her to kneel, does Mother really intend to punish the Empress over such a trivial matter?”
The Empress Dowager was greatly shocked, evidently not expecting her son to say such things. “Emperor!”
Gu Zhen said, “No matter what, it is not right for Mother, for the sake of an outsider, to demand the Empress apologize to an outsider, and even ground the Empress for it.”
Seeming to have no intention of discussing further, the Emperor rose straight up, intending to walk out.
Before leaving, he turned his head to glance at Zhao Yiyi, frowning. “What are you standing there for?”
Zhao Yiyi understood, stood up, curtsied, and withdrew.
“Since Miss He has apologized to the Empress, remember to come to Zichen Palace another day and apologize to Zhen personally,” Gu Zhen added closely as he stepped out of the main hall.
The Emperor and Empress left one after the other, and the atmosphere in the hall instantly loosened.
Regarding the Emperor’s actions, everyone was somewhat confused. Before, it seemed he was humiliating the second Miss He and the Empress Dowager, but that last sentence seemed like…
He Xunling felt a flash of secret joy in her heart and breathed a sigh of relief.
I knew it. His Majesty doesn’t like the Empress at all.
Though confused in their hearts, the crowd was certain of one thing: His Majesty had just backed up the Empress.
This matter was quite rare to everyone.
Even the Empress Dowager didn’t recover for a long time.
She thought she understood her own son somewhat. He, who had always disliked the Empress, had actually come specifically today to back her up?
The Empress Dowager knew well that the Emperor did not visit Wanchun Palace frequently. Today, he had absolutely come with a specific purpose.
On the way back, neither of them took a carriage.
Walking along the long palace path, Gu Zhen couldn’t help but turn to look at her. Although she looked haggard and had just endured a scolding, she wore rare, exquisite makeup and her hair was neatly combed.
He knew the Empress was born with good looks and rarely wore makeup on ordinary days.
Even when he went to Jiaofang Palace to see her in the morning, she had a plain face.
Presumably, she had applied the makeup specifically to come to Wanchun Palace.
Today she wore a lotus-root colored silk skirt, paired with a goose-yellow blouse and a rosy-cloud patterned shawl. Under the glimmering light, she appeared even more radiantly beautiful. Her soft fingertips were still white, making one frown just looking at them.
For the first time, Gu Zhen reached out and took her hand.
It was very soft, very delicate, like fine silk.
But in the next instant, it was flung away.
“Your Majesty.” Zhao Yiyi pursed her lips, asking him with a trembling voice, “Could you… could you please stay further away from this consort?”
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