Chapter 660: 312 Valued (First update) Chapter 660: 312 Valued (First update) The emperor didn’t manage to calm down and fall into a deep sleep until late at night.
Even in his sleep, he vaguely heard someone calling him “Honghong”.
One call after another, each one reaching his ears.
He also felt a warm, almost hot hand, firmly holding his own.
By the time the emperor finally woke, day had already broken.
The emperor was a bit bewildered, not knowing if he was dreaming or awake.
The familiar call of “Honghong” came again.
The emperor slowly opened his eyes. In his blurred vision, a figure appeared who was sitting cross-legged at the edge of the bed, holding his hand, and looking at him with the most gentle eyes.
Why did this person look so much like the royal physician’s younger brother?
Xiao Jingkong patted the back of the emperor’s hand with his little hand, and called out “Honghong~” in the same gentle tone that Zhao Xiaobao’s grandmother used to soothe her great-grandchild.
The emperor, fully alert now, jolted awake.
The emperor spent seven days resting in Bishui Alley. The stitches were removed and the wound healed well.
Master Wei’s condition was also improving. Although, due to his age, his fracture healed slower than a young person’s, the injuries on the rest of his body were mostly without major impact now.
The days living in Bishui Alley were the most relaxed the emperor had ever been in his life. Ever since he could remember, he had known that he was a prince of low birth. His mother, the peaceful Concubine Jing, treated him very well, but he could not erase the shadow of his humble origin from his heart.
After that, he lived alone, enduring the pressure from Madame Liu and his elder prince brother, living like he was walking on thin ice.
Eventually, he finally ascended to the throne, only to be met with Dowager Empress Zhuang controlling the court.
He never let his guard down, not for a moment.
This time, however, he had enjoyed a few peaceful days by virtue of misfortune.
Nevertheless, he couldn’t spend his entire life hidden away in Bishui Alley. He was the monarch of a country after all, holding Zhan Country’s fate in his hands.
One evening after dinner, the emperor decided to return to the palace.
The emperor had publicly proclaimed that he was recuperating in a travel palace. To confuse the enemy’s eyes, he had deployed the palace’s top martial artists to the travel palace, securing it tightly.
There was no guarantee that the assassination wouldn’t happen again, so it was better to be cautious.
As the emperor left Bishui Alley, Master Wei secretly made his way to the travel palace. He would accompany the “imperial procession” from the travel palace back to the Imperial Palace in a high-profile manner.
Just as the emperor was about to get into the carriage, Aunt Liu suddenly came over with a blush on her face, handed him a purse, and then ran away while covering her face.
Gu Changqing escorted the emperor back to the palace.
On the journey back in the carriage, the emperor felt that something was odd. Despite thinking hard, he couldn’t pinpoint the source of this strange feeling.
It wasn’t until he entered the Imperial Study Room and Officer He reported to him, “The Empress Dowager has fallen ill. She’s been sick for several days now and has been insisting on going to the court. Today, she finally couldn’t hold on and fainted in the middle of Feng Nian while on her way back to Renshou Palace,” that the emperor finally understood what was strange. Now he realized that the vicious woman hadn’t been to Bishui Alley to monitor him these past few days.
The emperor’s first reaction was one of schadenfreude – even a poisonous woman like her had a day of downfall.
The second reaction was concern. First, he was assassinated, and then the Empress Dowager fainted. Each incident was a significant disturbance on its own, let alone when they happened concurrently. This could easily lead to unrest among the people and panic in the court.
“Was it leaked?” the Emperor asked with a frown.
Officer He replied, “No, Renshou Palace has kept the news tightly under wraps. They only said that the Empress Dowager was perusing the memorials and dealing with state affairs, not allowing anyone to disturb her. The Empress Dowager fainted midway. If she had been inside Renshou Palace, even I wouldn’t have discovered it.”
Precisely because of Renshou Palace’s original security, a group of people was changed after the Empress Dowager contracted leprosy, and now even a fly couldn’t get into it.
The emperor held a strong grudge against Empress Dowager Zhuang. His love did not extend towards her, but suspicion occupied most of his thoughts: “How can it be so coincidental? Just as I am returning today, she falls ill? Could it be a ruse to distract me?”
This… Officer He didn’t know.
The emperor sneered, “Since I’ve just returned to the palace, it’s only right for me to pay a visit to the Empress Dowager.”
The emperor went to Renshou Palace.
Officer He was the emperor’s secret staff. The emperor sent him away, so people wouldn’t see them together.
As for Master Wei, he had an injury on his arm. The emperor sent him back to his room to rest, and brought only a small eunuch with him.
It was clear from this that the emperor didn’t have much concern for the Empress Dowager.
As soon as the emperor arrived at the entrance of Renshou Palace, he was intercepted by the imperial guards of Renshou Palace.