The Prime Minister's Darling
Chapter 805 - 805 374 Abuse the Scum (third update)

Chapter 805: 374 Abuse the Scum (third update) Chapter 805: 374 Abuse the Scum (third update) Her expression clearly showed no guilt, when by all rights she should have none, but the suspicion in the Emperor’s heart grew like bamboo shoots after the rain, gaining a segment on the way, and another when he saw her in person.

The Emperor said in a serious tone, “Very well, if Mother wishes to hear, then I will tell Mother. Today, the young divine doctor was attacked and nearly injured. Had she not been alert and somewhat skilled, she might have already fallen victim to a fatal blow.”

Empress Dowager Jing exclaimed in surprise, “So does Your Majesty think that I am behind this?”

“Isn’t it so?” the Emperor retorted through clenched teeth.

“Why would I do such a thing?” Empress Dowager Jing asked.

The Emperor sneered coldly, “Why? I would like to ask Mother the same thing! Is it that anyone whom I like, Mother wishes to drive away from my side? In the past, it was Empress Dowager Zhuang, and now it’s the young divine doctor. In Mother’s heart, apart from yourself, I am not allowed to be close to anyone else!”

Empress Dowager Jing suddenly raised her voice, “I have never thought that way!”

The Emperor’s lips curled in mockery, “Is that so? Then why did Mother prevent me from seeing the Empress Dowager?”

“When have I ever…” Empress Dowager Jing’s words halted abruptly mid-sentence.

The Emperor looked at her coldly, “Has Mother remembered? To be honest, I had also forgotten about this matter, but these past few days, it suddenly came back to me. Ning An and I secretly visited the Empress Dowager in the Cold Palace. Mother punished us by making us kneel in the Snowfield all night, and because of that, Ning An fell gravely ill.”

Empress Dowager Jing closed her eyes and explained with restraint, “Was it not because I did not wish to give Consort Li any leverage! The Empress Dowager did not want you to visit her in the Cold Palace either! She didn’t want to implicate you, and neither did I. The wound is on the child’s body, but the pain is in the mother’s heart. When you were kneeling in the Snowfield, do you think I, as a mother, did not feel the pain?”

The Emperor said indifferently, “Is that so? I do not remember Mother showing the slightest sign of distress.”

Empress Dowager Jing clenched her fingers tightly.

Madam Cai, who was outside the room, felt anxious, her chest tight with held breath.

She knew what the situation had been like back then; Empress Dowager Jing punished the Emperor and Ning An while having tears swirl in her eyes, making it clear to anyone that she was reluctant.

The Emperor now claimed he did not remember.

That pill… it must be that pill…

“Whatever Your Majesty says,” Empress Dowager Jing lowered her eyes, her demeanor and tone both wounded.

“Your Majesty!” Madam Cai could not help but walk in, knelt to the ground and said, “The Empress Dowager would never do such a thing! She is someone who would not even bear to step on an ant! How could she have ordered someone to assassinate Miss Gu!”

Sudden infinite mockery flashed in the Emperor’s eyes, “Can’t bear to step on an ant? Then who was it that ordered the execution of Fen Qing by beating!”

Empress Dowager Jing’s pupils shrank, “What are you talking about?”

The Emperor said in a cold voice, “I am saying, Mother ordered the execution of my Fen Qing!”

The name Fen Qing was very ancient, so distant that no one in the Imperial Palace remembered his existence, but from the Emperor’s youth, it was Fen Qing who had served by his side.

It was after Fen Qing’s death that Eunuch Wei came to serve the Emperor.

But… Fen Qing had been bribed by Consort Li several times to frame the Emperor; he truly deserved his fate. Moreover, it was not Empress Dowager Jing who ordered his execution, it was the virtuous Empress Dowager Zhuang Jinse!

“Let everyone see clearly, this is the fate of those who betray their masters for glory!”

“Your Highness… Your Highness, please save me… I admit my wrongdoing…”

“Mother…”

“Carry out the execution!”

It was Zhuang Jinse’s doing, why blame her for it!

The hands of the Consort Dowager Jing clenched slowly into fists, so tightly that her knuckles had turned a pale white from the force.

“Your Majesty, it wasn’t the Consort Dowager…” Cai Momma stumbled over her words through sobs.

The Emperor did not even glance at Cai Momma; his gaze was fixed on the Consort Dowager Jing like a torch, “Fine, you deny the matter regarding the young divine healer, and you also deny the incident with Fen Qing. Then surely, when it comes to Yue Rou, you must be implicated!”

Yue Rou, Consort Rou, was a beauty the Emperor had brought back with him from Jiangnan when he was still a prince, accompanying the late Emperor. After ascending the throne, he had granted her the title of Consort Rou.

Consort Rou died during a difficult childbirth.

Grinding his teeth, the Emperor said, “The day before Consort Rou’s death, you summoned her to the Sleeping Palace. Just what did you say to Consort Rou to frighten her into premature labor!”

Heaven and earth could bear witness, Consort Dowager Jing had not summoned Consort Rou at all; it was Consort Rou who had come to pay respects to her of her own volition. As for the premature labor, it was due to her own poor health and had nothing to do with Consort Dowager Jing!

Consort Dowager Jing looked at the Emperor in disbelief, her nails digging into her flesh.

Having become accustomed to someone’s kindness, one may forget that it actually stemmed from a potion and even foster a confidence and illusion that even after the effects of the potion wear off, he would continue to treat her just as well as before.

“Stop meddling with the young divine healer, do not touch anyone close to me anymore, and most importantly, do not exhaust the last bit of mother-son affection between us!”

After speaking coldly, the Emperor rose to his feet and walked away without looking back.

Furious, Consort Dowager Jing swept a jar from the table to the floor!

It contained the taro paste she had been preparing all afternoon to make Taro Paste Pastry for the Emperor.

The Emperor enjoyed the sweets she made: Date Paste Pastry, Taro Paste Pastry, Osmanthus Cake, Layered Pastry—he liked them all.

“My lady…” Cai Momma sympathized, noting how the Consort Dowager’s hands were injured from preparing the taro paste.

Consort Dowager Jing looked at her thumb, wrapped in a bandage, and murmured, “He didn’t even notice my hand was injured.”

The sudden change from being dearly cherished to being completely ignored is a tremendous shock.

Cai Momma said with pity, “My lady… I warned you earlier, it’s in vain, you might as well do nothing…”

Consort Dowager Jing’s eyes were deep as she said, “Zhuang Jinse did nothing back then, and I often wonder why didn’t she do something? Didn’t she want to win back his favor? She didn’t know that the Emperor was drugged; how could she be so heartlessly indifferent, so arrogantly proud? How could she let go so easily!”

When Zhuang Jinse realized that her son was no longer affectionate towards her, she did not attempt to retain him. She left like a proud phoenix, flying away without any reluctance!

Her departure was so definitive, so straightforward, as if she had never cared for this son at all!

Consort Dowager Jing covered her heart as if stabbed by a sharp blade, “Doesn’t she feel pain?”

Cai Momma sighed internally, “How could she not feel pain? It’s just her nature. She would rather suffer to death than humbly beg for pity from anyone. She was the same with the late Emperor and with His Majesty.”

How many sleepless nights must Zhuang Jinse have had, hiding in the dark, licking her own wounds?

She might have also experienced pain, cried, and felt heart-wrenching anguish, but she would never let others see her weakness.

The moment she turned the late Emperor’s imperial harem into her own personal chives, she ceased to be the Zhuang Jinse of the past.

Consort Dowager Jing returned to her Meditation Room and took out the imperial edict.

Cai Momma’s face changed, “My lady, what are you planning to do? Please, don’t act rashly!”

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