Chapter 769: Stay (1)
Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios
In the blink of an eye, Empress Dowager Zhou’s phoenix carriage arrived.
Xuanyuan Qi looked up and braced himself.
He naturally knew why his mother had come. Everyone in the palace probably knew now.
“Mother,” Xuanyuan Qi called softly.
Empress Dowager Zhou had just turned sixty this year, and her hair was already white. She grabbed the armrest and got out of the phoenix carriage with a trembling body. The palace maid wanted to help her, but Xuanyuan Qi beat her to it.
“Where’s your brother? Where is he? I want to see.”
Following everyone’s gazes, she saw the figure lying quietly in the hall. In an instant, it was as if an invisible bolt of lightning had exploded in Empress Dowager Zhou’s ears and mind, making her dizzy and even lose all consciousness in an instant.
Tears had already rolled down her face.
Xuanyuan Qi hurriedly supported her, and a hot tear fell on the back of his hand.
His heart tightened and he advised in a hoarse voice, “Mother, take care of your health.”
Empress Dowager Zhou did not say anything. She only pushed him away and staggered over.
Xuanyuan Qi followed her and protected her.
The road was not long, but Empress Dowager Zhou walked for a long time. It was as if if she walked slower, the figure would stand up on its own. Just like before, he would smile and say to her, “Mother, I’m back.”
But he didn’t!
No matter how long the journey was, there would be a time when she finished it. She squatted down beside Xuanyuan Ce and reached out.
It was cold and filled with death. The blood line on his neck was so clear!
A whimpering cry came from the hall.
At this moment, she was not the empress dowager. She was just a mother who had just lost her son.
Everyone said that she was lucky. The moment she entered the palace, she was the empress of the world. After her son ascended the throne, he treated her filially.
However, if she was really lucky, how could she have lost her husband at such a young age? The three of them were almost killed by traitors.
If she was really lucky, she wouldn’t have had to send off her son, who was younger than her.
Her cries were not loud, but they reached everyone’s ears. Everyone’s eyes turned red.
Xuanyuan Qi looked up speechlessly. Hot tears welled up in his eyes. He covered his face. When he calmed down, he squatted down and reached out to hug his gray-haired mother.
“Who is it?” Empress Dowager Zhou suddenly grabbed his hand, her armor digging into the back of his hand. She looked up and her body trembled slightly. Her voice was desperate and angry. “Who’s the murderer? Who killed your brother?”
Xuanyuan Qi glanced at Shen Yijia and quickly retracted his gaze. He closed his eyes and said, “Not yet.”
“It’s her, Grandmother. She killed my father. You can’t let her off.” Xuanyuan Ye suddenly interrupted.
Empress Dowager Zhou slowly stood up and looked sharply at Shen Yijia, who Xuanyuan Ye was pointing at.
When she saw her face clearly, her fingertips tightened, and monstrous anger rose in her heart. She said coldly, “Ji Luo!”
Empress Dowager Zhou had seen Ji Luo before. On Xuanyuan Ce’s wedding day, in order to show how much she valued the Yu family, she personally left the palace to preside over the wedding banquet.
It was also then that she saw Ji Luo for the first time.
Putting aside the fact that the flower bud between Ji Luo’s eyebrows was too recognizable, just his appearance was enough to be unforgettable.
Moreover, she had always known that the reason why Xuanyuan Ce did not return to Phoenix City all year round was because of this woman. This was also the biggest reason why she did not like Ji Luo.
Xuanyuan Qi’s eyes darkened. “She’s the daughter of Ji Luo and Second Brother.”
Guessing that Xuanyuan Ye had complained in the palace, Xuanyuan Ce mentioned it to him when he brought Song Jingchen into the palace yesterday.
Thinking about how a person who was still alive yesterday had become a cold corpse today, Xuanyuan Qi’s heart seemed to be grabbed by a pair of invisible hands. For a moment, he could not breathe.
When she heard that she was Xuanyuan Ce’s daughter, Empress Dowager Zhou suppressed her anger and sized up Shen Yijia carefully. Indeed, she saw some traces of her son in her eyes.
She had mixed feelings again.
Xuanyuan Ye cried, “Grandmother, she came back to take revenge because she hated Father for abandoning her and her mother back then.”
Empress Dowager Zhou looked at Shen Yijia again. She was calm and did not look sad at all. She already believed most of Xuanyuan Yes words.
She took a deep breath and called out in a low voice, “Emperor!”
Knowing that she was angry, Xuanyuan Qi felt bitter. “Mother, she’s indeed suspicious, but I’m not sure if she did it. If I wrong her, Second Brother will probably not forgive me.”
He still remembered the look in Xuanyuan Ce’s eyes when he mentioned his daughter. If not for that, even if she was just a suspect, he would not have let Shen Yijia stand here peacefully..