Chapter 680: 322 The Truth Revealed (Double Update)_4 Chapter 680: 322 The Truth Revealed (Double Update)_4 There was another inkstone that Xiao Liulang had given her yesterday.
Elder Jiushi’s eyes were red.
“Teacher,” Xiao Liulang spoke softly.
“I’m all right.” The elder Jiushi wiped his old tears, put Zhang Xiu’s belongings in order, packed them up, and then stumbled as he walked out.
Xiao Liulang supported him.
Elder Jiushi’s voice trembled, “I…I’m really all right.”
The inkstone slipped out of the bundle and smashed onto the floor.
The elder Jiushi bent down to pick it up.
“I’ll do it,” Xiao Liulang said.
He picked up the inkstone first, “I’ll keep it.”
The elder Jiushi did not insist.
His feelings were complex, and his mind was in chaos. He felt that he had hurt both Zhang Xiu and Xiao Hen.
He choked out, “You… don’t resent her… blame me… it was me… she did it for me…”
Xiao Liulang sighed, “Even if it wasn’t her, there would be others. The truly hateful one is the mastermind behind the scenes. Teacher, you shouldn’t blame yourself, what happened in the past has nothing to do with you, and neither does what happened last night.”
If he had been determined to investigate, he would have reached this point eventually.
The elder Jiushi merely accelerated the process by connecting him with Zhang Xiu, but this would not have changed the outcome.
Zhang Xiu’s fate was sealed when she reached out to harm an innocent four-year-old child.
He might forgive, but the heavens would not.
Elder Jiushi went to collect Zhang Xiu’s body. Xiao Liulang did not follow. Forgiveness was his greatest charity, and he would not undertake her funerary ceremonies.
Xiao Liulang went to Renshou Palace.
The Empress Dowager was in the study room, continuing to read the memoranda presented by the Grand Tutor. Only after the memoranda had passed through her hands would they be given back to the ministers to present to the Emperor in court.
Master Qin waited to one side. Seeing Xiao Liulang, his eyes lit up and he said to the Empress Dowager, “The tea has gone cold. I’ll go and make a pot of hot tea.”
The Empress Dowager glanced at Xiao Liulang, “Hmph.”
Master Qin withdrew with a smile, taking the rest of the palace maids with him.
“What are you here for?” The Empress Dowager asked indifferently as she perused the memoranda.
“Just passing by,” Xiao Liulang said.
Neither of them were the kind to explain more than necessary, and neither was willing to be the first to break the ice.
There wasn’t anything major; he had just come to look around.
He had always known that the Emperor and the Empress Dowager had a strained relationship, but it was not so bad that they fought openly.
He was somewhat worried.
The Empress Dowager watched him turn to leave, cleared her throat, and asked, “Why did you speak on behalf of me?”
Xiao Liulang responded indifferently, “There’s no reason. As your subject who eats your bounty, it’s my duty to share your worries.”
Master Qin, eavesdropping outside, was almost driven mad. What the hell was his talk of ‘duty as a subject’ ah, would it kill him to speak human language?
It’s driving me mad, absolutely maddening!
The Emperor and the Empress Dowager’s icy relationship did not make him as anxious, after all, the Emperor’s childish behavior was truly annoying. But Xiao Xiuzhuan was always thinking of the Empress Dowager and this misunderstanding was driving Master Qin insane!
It was clear they cared for each other, so why did they insist on acting like strangers?
The inkstone in Xiao Liulang’s hand slipped and smashed onto the floor. He bent down to pick it up, and the pouch in his arms fell out.
Seeing that pouch, the Empress Dowager’s eyes flickered slightly.
That was the birthday gift she had given Xiao Liulang on New Year’s Eve. Little Jingkong had received one as well.
The Empress Dowager had embroidered it with orchid grass, but it ended up looking like weeds. So, she had the elder Jiushi refine it a little, and it turned into green bamboo. She also added a few stitches to the seams.
But it was still rather ugly in the end.
The Empress Dowager huffed, “Why are you still carrying such an ugly thing? Aren’t you embarrassed? You’re, after all, an imperial scholar.”
Xiao Liulang didn’t say anything. He picked up the pouch and put it back in his bosom before continuing to walk away.
The Empress Dowager opened her mouth, but finally didn’t say those words.
If she hadn’t been so stubborn, she wouldn’t have been blamed for so many things.
Although she had indeed done many bad things.
She impatiently tossed the memoranda in her hand, her mood completely spoiled!
Suddenly, Xiao Liulang, who had already disappeared, came back.
He came back so quickly that the Empress Dowager even didn’t have time to hide the irritation in her eyes.
He took a deep breath, as if gathering some courage, and asked quietly, “Why don’t I have one?”
“Huh?” The Empress Dowager was taken aback.
Xiao Liulang clenched his fists, his face flushed, but he was still brave enough to ask, “Why don’t I have a token?”
Why isn’t there something prepared for me in Renshou Palace?
His tone was as usual, but the grievance in his eyes was undeniable.
The Empress Dowager’s heart felt a painful squeeze.