The Prime Minister's Darling
Chapter 751 - 751 347 Mother and Son United (An update)_3

Chapter 751: 347 Mother and Son United (An update)_3 Chapter 751: 347 Mother and Son United (An update)_3 Empress Dowager Zhuang: “…”

Empress Dowager Zhuang took a deep breath to suppress the turmoil in her heart: “Weren’t there eight? Why are there only five now?”

If she normally ate three a day, and she was told she could have an extra five, wouldn’t that make eight?

Well, she had held back today, and hadn’t eaten a single one.

With her mouth full of candy, Gu Jiao ambiguously replied, “There are only five… If you don’t believe me, try to think again…”

Empress Dowager Zhuang replayed her earlier words in her mind.

“Eat three candies a day?”

She hadn’t agreed to it at the time.

Then the lass said—

“Four?”

“Hmm… five?”

It seemed that she indeed didn’t add “more” to those last two sentences.

Empress Dowager Zhuang slammed her fist on the petition!

…How careless she had been!

Gu Jiao treated her grandmother gently, primarily respecting the older woman’s opinions. She explained everything transparently, without hiding anything from her.

The emperor was not so fortunate. The old priest kept luring him deeper into one trap after another, causing him to stumble so miserably that he was unable to get out of the hole.

However, the emperor clearly harbored strong aversion to the idea of cooperating with Empress Dowager Zhuang: “Everything else is fine, except for this! I’ll never go along with that poisonous old hag!”

The old priest iterated earnestly, “Your Majesty, this is not the time for being stubborn. It is crucial to expose the real culprits who are maneuvering behind the scenes. Is your face more important, or the lives of the imperial concubine, or Jiaojiao? Forget about Jiaojiao. She’s not yours anyway.”

Listen, what on earth is he saying? Why is the junior divine physician not related to him?

So, only that poisonous hag, Zhuang Jinse, would care about her, while he would regard her with indifference, wouldn’t he?

“I misspoke.” The old priest apologized sheepishly. “I mean, at least Jiaojiao can fend for herself. The imperial concubine has been left fragile from the persecution of the previous favored concubine. If an assassin were to attack her, it would be impossible to prevent it.”

This was what the Concubine Jing herself and her servants had said. Concubine Jing had old wounds, and she was very weak!

Finally, the emperor was persuaded.

Therefore, the scene that shocked all the courtiers in the next morning’s court appeared—the emperor and Empress Dowager Zhuang actually entered the Jinluan Hall together.

Weren’t these two known for disdaining each other’s presence even within the same courtyard? Why did they come to the court meeting together? Usually, it was either Empress Dowager Zhuang arriving first or the emperor coming first. In any case, they avoided meeting face-to-face.

Both of them arrived at the entrance of the Jinluan Hall. The emperor stopped, offered a slight smile to Empress Dowager Zhuang, and made a gesture, saying, “After you, mother.”

Empress Dowager Zhuang was taken aback. She very nearly picked up her shoe and smacked him upside the head!

It took all of Empress Dowager Zhuang’s strength to hold back. She simply nodded and gracefully stepped over the threshold.

The Civil and Military Officials all knelt down in welcome on both sides, holding up their hu boards.

Empress Dowager Zhuang was the first one to move forward. As she stepped up to the dais, Eunuch Qin cleared his throat. Her lips twitched slightly, and she halted her movement and extended her hand.

The emperor felt like grabbing a shoe and knocking himself out.

How was this going?!

The Huo fellow hadn’t mentioned this beforehand!

The emperor suppressed the involuntary twitch in his heart and held Empress Dowager Zhuang’s wrist.

Acting like a loving mother and filial son, they ascended the staircase together. Once seated in their respective places, both of them unobtrusively wiped their hands!

Emperor: Disgusted!

Empress Dowager Zhuang: Ha, who isn’t!

The morning court was unusually harmonious today—the emperor dealt with a high-ranking official from Empress Dowager Zhuang’s camp. Empress Dowager Zhuang didn’t intercept him; on the contrary, she praised the emperor for being sharp-eyed and doing the right thing.

The Empress Dowager Zhuang spoke with concerned tones, suggesting that the emperor’s health seemed to be weakening and advising him to take care of his body and not to ruin his health because of state affairs.

“Your words are most wise, mother, I will keep them in mind,” the emperor respectfully responded, his voice directed towards the bead curtains.

The civil and military officials could hardly believe their eyes and ears.

To actually witness the emperor and the empress dowager reconciling in their lifetime, was it they who had gone mad, or everyone around them?

The news was too shocking, and even the two opposing factions of officials were equally silenced.

Merely showing proof to the civil and military officials was not enough; the whole harem also had to be aware of it.

Therefore, after court, the mother and son went for a stroll in the Imperial Garden, chatting and laughing along the way, comfortably at ease.

“Your Majesty, it’s time to laugh,” Eunuch Wei reminded.

The emperor clenched his fist, letting out a hollow, laughter without soul, “Ha ha ha!”

“Empress Dowager, it’s your turn,” Eunuch Qin reminded.

Empress Dowager Zhuang rolled her eyes and let out a forced laugh, “He he he.”

In just a day, the gossip of their reconciliation had spread throughout the six palaces.

Empress Xiao was the first to rush to the Huaqing Palace to ferret out the news: “Your Majesty! I’ve heard rumors that you and the Empress Dowager have…” She paused when she saw someone sitting next to the emperor and bowed, “Imperial Concubine Mother.”

The quiet Imperial Concubine smiled slightly, “Empress, come sit.”

“Yes.”

In fact, with her status, Empress Xiao didn’t need to bow to an Imperial Concubine at all, but since the emperor regarded her as his biological mother, Empress Xiao had no choice but to play the role of a dutiful daughter-in-law.

Empress Xiao sat down on the other side of the Quiet Imperial Concubine.

The Quiet Imperial Concubine smiled and asked, “Empress, what did you want to ask His Majesty earlier?”

Empress Xiao looked at the two of them, hesitated for a moment, and said, “I’ve heard a few things about His Majesty and the Empress Dowager. I came here to verify if they were true.”

The emperor spoke openly, “Since you all know already, there’s no need for me to say more.”

Empress Xiao couldn’t hide her surprise, “So it’s true? But why?”

It was indeed strange for two people who had been fighting for ten or twenty years to suddenly reconcile. To avoid arousing suspicion, the old sacrificial official found a seamless reasoning for their reconciliation.

The emperor’s memory was not bad; he didn’t forget his lines. He said, “Empress, do you still remember the incident over ten years ago when Xiao Hen was poisoned near Renshou Palace?”

Empress Xiao’s eyes turned cold: “Of course, I remember!”

Xiao Hen was her elder brother’s legitimate son, her most beloved nephew. She would never forget the grudge of him nearly being poisoned to death in her lifetime.

The emperor said, “The killer has been found. It was not the Empress Dowager who ordered it, but someone else behind the scenes. I have misunderstood the Empress Dowager all those years and she has suffered from false accusations for which I am very ashamed.”

The last few sentences were difficult for him to utter, but the old sacrificial officer told him that these lines were crucial, and if not said, could not be convincing.

He seriously doubted that the old sacrificial officer was using work matters to achieve personal ends!

“What? Someone else? Who?” Empress Xiao asked urgently.

The Quiet Imperial Concubine lowered her eyes, picked up the teacup and quietly took a sip.

The emperor said, “The person who poisoned Ahen was Zhang Xiu, who used to work in the Shanggong Bureau and was very close to me.”

Empress Xiao: “Your Majesty…”

The emperor sighed with self-blame: “I never expected her to do such a thing. It was my oversight. A while ago, she committed suicide by hanging. A friend of hers took her possessions. It wasn’t until a few days ago that this friend discovered a secret from many years ago from her belongings.”

Empress Xiao stood up abruptly: “Your Majesty, I don’t believe it!”

The old sacrificial officer didn’t tell the emperor that Zhang Xiu was indeed the killer. He just used it as an excuse to announce to the outside world.

The emperor believed what he said was false, and Empress Xiao also believed that the emperor was deceived. None of these mattered. What mattered was that the person who ordered Zhang Xiu to do the killing would know it was true.

As long as she believed it, that was enough.