The little nun could no longer cope, she had only heard about the cruelty of the Imperial Palace, but never experienced it for herself.
Choked with sobs, she rushed to the Huaqing Palace.
"Let me see His Majesty! The Dowager Empress has gone a whole day without eating or drinking...if this continues...if this continues... she will fall sick..."
She cried out loudly.
This is a mortal sin within the Imperial Palace.
She didn’t realize just how lucky she was not to be dragged away and punished according to palace laws.
"What’s all the commotion outside?" The Emperor set down his papers, rubbing his brow in confusion.
Eunuch Wei spoke quietly: "It’s the small nun from the Dowager Empress’ side... she says... the Dowager Empress has not eaten all day."
The Emperor’s brows furrowed.
Eunuch Wei gauged the Emperor’s reaction: "Your Majesty, shall I go check it out?"
The Emperor opened his mouth.
He hesitated, for a moment, he actually wanted to nod.
Then he was scared by his own thoughts. In the past, he would immediately put aside his official duties to visit her as soon as he heard any news of the Empress Dowager. Why wasn’t he as anxious now when she hadn’t eaten or drank anything for an entire day?
He shouldn’t be like this.
He closed his eyes and said: "I’m going to the Nunnery."
Eunuch Wei: "Yes."
The Emperor didn’t take a sedan, but walked over there with Eunuch Wei.
The Empress Dowager loved peace and quietness, so the original site chosen was quite remote, and due to urgency, the Nunnery wasn’t built to be very big.
Shrouded by the twilight, it looked even more diminutive and desolate.
Seeing the Emperor arrive, the little nun was overjoyed: "Your Ma— "
The Emperor didn’t look at her, merely raising his hand slightly.
At once, the little nun was stunned by his majestic aura.
The light in the Buddha Hall was on, a lonely figure projected onto the paper window, the Emperor walked towards it.
In the chilly Buddha Hall, the Empress Dowager sat alone on the ground. She tried to straighten her back, but seemed to be unable to resist the passage of time, showing a hint of frailty that came with age.
The Emperor suddenly felt a sour feeling in his heart: "Mother Empress..."
Seeing her in such a state, the Emperor felt a deep pain in his heart. frёewebηovel.cѳm
The Empress Dowager stared at him and asked: "Then Your Majesty... won’t you doubt me again from now on?"
"I..." The Emperor hesitated for only a very brief moment, "I won’t."
The Empress Dowager lowered her gaze.
...
"So, Empress Dowager Jinghuang had kept her secrets so deep." On the carriage ride back, Gu Chengfeng couldn’t help but sigh to Gu Jiao.
Gu Jiao would never discuss these matters with him. Gu Jiao rarely spoke; their friendship was built by helping Eunuch Qin to feed his turtle. Therefore Eunuch Qin told him everything.
What shocked Gu Chengfeng the most was that Empress Dowager Jing could even drug her own adopted son, the Emperor. How could she bring herself to feed him so many strange concoctions? Wasn’t she afraid she might end up driving him mad?
"Women’s hearts are the deadliest!"
His remark had a double meaning and was an attempt to tease Gu Jiao.
But Gu Jiao showed no reaction at all.
Gu Chengfeng only felt as if he had punched a pile of cotton.
The carriage was leisurely moving. Suddenly,a thought struck Gu Chengfeng and he smirked: "You swapped the black and white medicines earlier, right? So, if she tries to drug the Emperor again, things will backfire on her, right?"
Under the dark sky at night, the Nunnery was silent, only the Kitchen was filled with the noisy sound of stir-frying.
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