The Jinyi Guards were dispatched to the Prime Minister’s Mansion and Duke An’s Mansion to seize people, while the Eldest Princess had already arrived at Shou’an Palace. Nᴇw ɴovel chaptᴇrs are published on 𝔫𝔬𝔳𝔢𝔩·𝔣𝔦𝔯𝔢·𝔫𝔢𝔱
It seemed the Empress Dowager had anticipated her arrival early as she was waiting in the main hall.
Upon seeing the Eldest Princess, the Empress Dowager placed the tea cup in her hand on the small table. "I had thought with such a big situation, Fanghua and the Prince Consort could handle it on their own."
The Eldest Princess sat to the side; ever since she was brought back, it was the first time she appeared so calm in front of the Empress Dowager. "Mother, did you know early on about Yanqing’s catastrophe in opening a coal mine in Ningzhou?"
On her way into the Imperial City, she recalled a phrase the Empress Dowager had once said during a palace visit:
"Were it not for me keeping his secret, what he did, once exposed, wouldn’t be remedied even by confiscating your entire family!"
At that time, she thought the Empress Dowager was deliberately alarming her.
But now, upon reflection, she felt an unspeakable fear.
Yet the grave mistake was already made; over eighty lives lost, even with her skills, she was powerless to reverse it.
The Empress Dowager looked at her with an expression hard to decipher between a smile and a frown. "What response do you expect from me? If I say I didn’t know, you would claim that without my support, a child like him couldn’t manage such a thing. If I say I knew, you’ll argue with me again. Fanghua, if you came specifically to visit me, I am genuinely pleased. But if you came to argue, it is unnecessary. After all, what’s most important for you right now is figuring out a way to save your son, isn’t it?"
Seeing the Eldest Princess lowering her head in silence, the Empress Dowager continued, "I only found out afterward about him taking people to open a private coal mine in Ningzhou. If I truly wanted to take this opportunity to finish him off, I wouldn’t have waited until now to expose it."
After the Empress Dowager finished speaking and looked at the Eldest Princess again, she noticed a few teardrops on the floor at her feet.
Seeing her daughter cry, all the Empress Dowager’s firmness suddenly retracted, feeling at a loss, "Fanghua, you..."
Her daughter’s temperament was entirely similar to hers; from a young age, she was overly strong-willed.
Even upon witnessing Lu Xingzhou "marrying" Su Yi, she merely stared blankly, not eating or drinking once she returned to the palace. When had she ever broken down in tears like a little girl as she was now?
Experiencing this sudden change today, as a mother, she found no satisfaction but rather an indescribable heaviness in her heart.
Nanny Qiu handed over a handkerchief, "Eldest Princess, please dry your tears."
The Eldest Princess took the handkerchief yet held it tightly in her hand without using it.
The Empress Dowager said no more, quietly sipping her tea, occasionally glancing at her daughter.
After nearly an incense stick’s time of silence in the main hall, the Eldest Princess stood up, walked before the Empress Dowager, and knelt down with a thud, bowing her head heavily.
The sound of her forehead hitting the floor was painful even to hear, making the Empress Dowager’s heart ache, "Fanghua, what are you doing?"
The Eldest Princess spoke with a voice hoarse from crying, "It was my fault. I shouldn’t have gone against Mother’s wishes and insisted on being with the man I loved."
As she spoke, she bowed again, her forehead once more crashing onto the cold floor. Rising, her gaze was hollow, "It was my fault. After becoming pregnant out of wedlock, I shouldn’t have ignored Mother’s arrangements to terminate the pregnancy; instead, I stubbornly fled to Ningzhou, where I encountered another man."
Upon hearing these words, Nanny Qiu’s face changed dramatically. She hurriedly exited, sending away all the servants around her, and then returned to close the doors behind the Empress Dowager and her daughter, standing guard outside to prevent eavesdropping.
Now, in the vast main hall of Shou’an Palace, only Empress Dowager Renyi and Eldest Princess Zhao Xunyin were present,
One sitting high above, with brows furrowed.
One kneeling upright, full of remorse.
Even before the Empress Dowager could utter a word, the Eldest Princess knocked her head down again, tears pouring down, "It was my fault. I returned to the Capital carrying that man’s child and married Lu Xingzhou, thus imprisoning myself in inescapable self-blame and neglecting the concern of the person beside me, ignoring him for over a decade."
The expression on the Empress Dowager’s face couldn’t begin to describe her inner shock, "Are you saying Lu Yanqing is not a descendant of the Lu Family?"
Had she made the wrong person the target of her revenge all these years?!
The Eldest Princess, as if not hearing her, continued kowtowing. When she straightened up, a noticeable bruise marred her forehead, "It was my fault. I shouldn’t have spent all my energy hating Mother and my elder brother, neglecting to discipline my son, leading him to today’s situation."
With several consecutive knocks, the Eldest Princess’s forehead was already broken, blood dripping down her cheeks, mixing with her tears. She seemed numb, unaware.
The Empress Dowager had never seen her in such a disheveled state.