Chapter 785 - 231 Death News_4
The Empress Dowager faintly perceived that something was amiss, yet couldn’t pinpoint exactly what it was. She had Mei Xiang serve tea to Emperor Hongxiao, then walked over to the tea table and invited Emperor Hongxiao to sit as well.
Emperor Hongxiao looked at the incense burning on the Empress Dowager’s altar and smiled, asking, "Mother, for whom are you praying for blessings?"
The Empress Dowager replied, "Naturally, it is for the common people of the world. The snow disasters in various places have frozen many to death. Hearing of such things pains my heart deeply, but there’s little I can do. I can only copy scriptures and pray for them in the palace."
"Mother indeed has the world in her heart," Emperor Hongxiao commended.
The Empress Dowager lifted her eyes to the emperor and didn’t know when it happened, but this prince, who once was an eyesore to her, had matured into his current stature. She still remembered that not long after the Crown Prince’s death, in order to stabilize her own position, she had to pretend to be a loving mother and filial son with this prince. She also remembered how the young Emperor Hongxiao was meek and compliant, agreeing with her in every aspect. She felt both reassured and proud yet also disgusted and contemptuous. But in the end, she had underestimated this prince. Every prince carries the blood of the Late Emperor, the instinct for usurping and deceiving is something they are born with. This became evident with Prince Cheng’s affair; Emperor Hongxiao was no different, even awakening earlier. In his younger years, he knew to use her to get what he wanted.
Thinking about it, the deep palace is like a jungle, and how can a beast that grew up in the jungle not be a man-eater? The Empress Dowager then thought of Yin Zhili, that young man she had seen at the palace banquet. Over twenty years later, she saw her own son for the first time. Yin Zhili’s gentle and jade-like demeanor, which she had once been so proud and fond of, now filled her with worry. She wondered how much of a chance her son stood against the fearsome emperor.
She couldn’t let Yin Zhili fail, she couldn’t let such things happen; therefore, she had to clear all obstacles for Yin Zhili. That included the emperor before her. She alone certainly couldn’t achieve this, thankfully, there was Yin Zhan. No matter what difficulties she encountered, only this man would never abandon her but would always stand behind her and solve all her problems.
"Actually, I have come today to tell mother about one more thing," Emperor Hongxiao picked up the teacup from the table, took a slight sip, then said unhurriedly, "Prince of Xia County is dead."