The Prime Minister's Darling novel Chapter 841

Chapter 841: 387 The Majesty of an Emperor (One More Chapter)

By this time, even if the Empress Dowager Jing suddenly became a master of the martial arts, the Emperor would not have been surprised in the least.

The death of a person’s heart is but a momentary affair.

Or perhaps, his heart had been slowly withering for a long time, yet he refused to believe it, always waiting for so-called evidence, always hoping they could return to how things once were.

As it turned out, the past was nothing more than an illusory bubble.

With the Dragon Shadow Guard present, no matter how formidable the expert, they could not break through.

Behind him came Empress Dowager Jing’s cries and roars, tinged with a hint of hoarseness and exhaustion, along with her low sobs and loud weeping.

The Emperor did not look back even once.

It seemed that the heavens were not in tune with his mood at that moment; they did not bring the abrupt storm he might have expected, and the night was unsettlingly still.

He returned to Huaqing Palace.

The night had deepened; apart from the night-duty eunuchs, the rest of the Palace maids had gone to their residences to rest.

Eunuch Wei walked ahead of the Emperor with a lantern in his hand.

Perhaps sensing the Emperor’s poor mood, he had dared not speak along the way, but concerning whether the Emperor wished to sleep, he still mustered the courage to ask, "Shall your servant prepare the bathwater?"

The Emperor said numbly, "I’ll go to the Study Room to look over some documents for a while."

He could not sleep.

"Yes." Eunuch Wei did not insist further; after escorting the Emperor into the Study Room, he stepped out and instructed the junior eunuch to visit the Imperial Kitchen and have them prepare some clear porridge and snacks.

The Emperor had been spending a great deal of time in the Study Room lately.

Eunuch Wei, observing the Emperor’s face that looked as if it had been struck by lightning seventeen or eighteen times, leaving it a mess, did not even dare to step forward to offer tea.

Sighing, Eunuch Wei stood guard at the door, thinking to himself what a mess it had been. How had Empress Dowager Jing ended up completely torn apart within a single day?

He always had a feeling that something was off, but he could not put his finger on it.

The Emperor was truly pitiable.

The Emperor was truly suffering.

The Emperor...

What sort of Emperor indeed... A eunuch like himself pitying the Emperor, had he become ridiculously idle?

The Emperor pinched the bridge of his aching nose.

He suddenly realized he did not understand the deceased Emperor at all.

This imperial edict must not be kept; rather than letting worries breed overnight, he threw it directly into the brazier and burned it.

As the flames danced, the face of the Dowager Empress, not as it was now, weathered by time, but of her youth when she surpassed all in the Imperial Harem, flashed inexplicably through his mind.

The legitimate daughter of the Zhuang family, a smile that captivated the city, a second smile that captivated the nation—the collective beauty of three thousand ladies in the harem couldn’t compare to a fraction of her charm.

He still remembered the first time he went to her presence, merely looking at her caused him to blush.

After returning, he told Empress Dowager Jing, "Mother is truly beautiful!"

Was it that time... that the seeds of jealousy had been sown in Empress Dowager Jing’s heart?

The Emperor closed his eyes in self-reproach.

"Why did you harm Empress Dowager Jing? Why didn’t you save Father? What exactly are you planning?"

"For the sake of holding all power to yourself, you didn’t spare even those closest to you, you are a poisonous woman!"

"The Liu family plotted against you, and it was Empress Dowager Jing who took a stabbing for you, she almost lost her life!"