The Prime Minister's Darling
Chapter 719 - 719 335 Tricked her (two updates)

Chapter 719: 335 Tricked her (two updates) Chapter 719: 335 Tricked her (two updates) Everyone, including the emperor, was utterly stunned by the scene unfolding before their eyes.

Just a moment ago, the Empress Dowager Jing, who seemed so sickly that she might collapse at the slightest breeze, had suddenly, with her bare hands, caught a dart aimed at her life.

This… this was way too shocking!

Everyone was so overwhelmed by the surprise that no one spoke for a long time.

Logically, since a hidden weapon had been fired from the box that Marquis Xuanping personally handed to Empress Dowager Jing, he should have immediately been accused of attempting to assassinate her. However, the fact that Empress Dowager Jing had caught the dart with her bare hands had so drastically contradicted everyone’s understanding that no one thought of Marquis Xuanping at all.

Well, even Marquis Xuanping himself had completely forgotten about his own existence.

“Mother, Mother Empress…”

The Emperor stuttered out a sound.

Empress Dowager Jing abruptly snapped back to her senses, swaying slightly. Her fingers loosened, and the dart fell onto the shiny floor with a thud.

Only then did everyone else recover, their eyes widening in unison.

Nurse Cai’s eyes flickered, and she slapped the box out of Empress Dowager Jing’s hand, “How dare you, Marquis Xuanping! You actually tried to assassinate our Empress Dowager in the Huaqing Palace! Fortunately, our Empress Dowager, being a descendant of a general, learned some martial arts from her grandfather. Otherwise, you might have succeeded by now!”

The grandfather she mentioned was Empress Dowager Jing’s father. After she was honored as a concubine, her maternal family also rose to prominence. Her father was honored as the Earl of Yong En and given the rank of a fourth-grade general.

Before that, the Earl of Yong En was merely a sixth-rank captain.

Calling her a descendant of a warrior might’ve been a bit of an exaggeration. However, when one rose in ranks, their past could be embellished and glorified, and history could even be forgotten.

Therefore, everyone believed Nurse Cai’s words that the Empress Dowager Jing was indeed a worthy descendant of a warrior.

Consort Zhuang sneered, one of the few who scoffed at the scene.

Her aunt was a descendant of scholars, and Empress Dowager Jing was hailed as a descendant of warriors. The people of Zhaodu all agreed—they were the ‘two beauties of Zhaodu,’ one of literature and one of martial arts.

Did she think she could match up to her aunt and be called one of the two beauties?

Consort Zhuang dabbed her nose with a handkerchief and laughed softly, “After all these years, it seems the Empress Dowager’s skills have not changed a bit. Still so agile.”

“This…” Nurse Cai was rendered speechless.

Empress Dowager Jing responded with a smile, “I’ve neglected practicing martial arts since I entered the palace, and I’ve become rusty. When I moved to the nunnery later, whenever I had free time, I would practice to pass the time. Cough, cough…”

As she was speaking, she started to cough and cover her mouth, “But I’ve been sick lately and haven’t been able to practice.”

The Emperor paused, “Before… you never mentioned…”

They had gone through some tough times in the palace.

After Empress Zhuang was sent to the Cold Palace, they, as a mother and her three children, lost their protector and endured a lot of bullying.

He remembered the time when a favored imperial concubine, who was beneath his mother in rank, let her dog attack Ning An, who was standing beside his mother.

His mother shielded Ning An with her own body and ended up covered in bites, while Ning An also suffered minor injuries.

“Mother, if you knew martial arts, why didn’t you…” The Emperor’s words hung in the air as he suddenly realized it might be seen as distrust of Empress Dowager Jing.

Empress Dowager Jing gave a bitter smile, “Are you referring to the time when Ning An and I were bitten by the dog of Consort Mu? Consort Mu was Consort Liu’s minion. If I could avoid it once, I couldn’t avoid it forever. Consort Liu wanted to see me injured. If I didn’t show her my wounds, would she have let it go? It was unfortunate that Ning An was also lightly injured. But at least it let Consort Liu vent some steam. Otherwise, our situation would have been much worse.”

Nurse Cai quickly added, “That’s when the Empress Dowager injured her leg. The Empress Dowager didn’t want to worry Princess Ning An and Your Majesty, so she kept it a secret. After that, whenever it rained, her leg would hurt as if it was being pierced by needles. And in recent years, it has gotten worse. Even on sunny days, her leg would suddenly hurt. That’s why she often falls.”

Martial artists are not immune to injury. For example, Marquis Xuanping had sustained a back injury on the battlefield.

The doubt in the Emperor’s eyes disappeared, replaced by guilt, “It was my fault for blaming you, Mother.”

He took Empress Dowager Jing’s hand and gently patted her back to soothe her.

The Emperor, who had just been favoring Consort Zhuang, now coldly glared at her.

Consort Zhuang realized her mistake, lowered her head and curtseyed, “Your Majesty… what I meant was, fortunately the Empress Dowager didn’t neglect her practice, otherwise she might have met with disaster today.”

Heh, practising martial arts? Why haven’t I heard of it before?

Nurse Cai handed her a warm cup of tea.

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