Empress Mo spoke in a dreary voice, "Your brother would never kill you. But he can’t avoid punishing us. We were foolish to harm his beloved. He will certainly bear a grudge against it and from now on. He might not just distance himself from you, but also from me, his mother!"
Now, Empress Mo sincerely regretted it. If she knew things would escalate to this extent, she would have never forced him to marry Li Ruizhu from the start.
That Li Ruizhu wasn’t good either. Before all this happened, she would orbit around her, flattering her and suddenly disappeared without a trace the moment trouble arrived. They didn’t even send a word of greeting. It just shows that they can only share the joy together but not the adversity!
This kind of woman isn’t even comparable to Mu Caiwei.
Yi’er once told her that when he was chased by Noble Concubine Jin and the Prince, to the brink of his life, it was Mu Caiwei who saved him. A maiden with the guts to rescue and hide a strange man at her home is certainly kind-hearted and wise. She saved Yi’er’s life and he also loved her. If only she had been more open-minded back then and let them be together, things would have been much better!
Had that been the case, her son wouldn’t have left her to fight an unsure battle in a distant land; her daughter wouldn’t have encountered this complication now. They could still be peacefully together as a family, enjoy the happiness of having children around her knee.
Miss Mu would undoubtedly be a dutiful daughter-in-law who knows her boundaries. She is the only woman who touched Yi’er’s heart over the years, she must be truly great. But unfortunately, she was literally destroyed by her and Zhao Yang. Yi’er must have resented her and felt disappointed in them!
Now that she has fallen into such a situation, could this be retribution?
"Empress Mother, a disaster is looming. Someone is coming. We should run!" Luo Xue burst into the room in a state of panic and whispered.
Empress Mo gave a bitter laugh: "Noble Concubine Jin has been calculating this trap from the beginning. How can she easily let me go? Let it be, whether it’s a blessing or a curse, we can’t avoid it if it’s meant for us. Let’s not hide anymore."
"Mother knows that Noble Concubine Jin was deliberately scheming?"
Zhao Yang let out a shocked cry, propped up his weak body and sat up, breaking out into a cold sweat, "Mother how could you come here knowing she had plotted against you!"
Empress Mo gently combed the broken hair on her daughter’s forehead and calmly said, "If I hadn’t come, and suppose my daughter took her own life in a fit of despair, or couldn’t protect herself on the way, wouldn’t I regret for the rest of my life? The position of empress is nothing compared to my daughter’s life. Even if I have to give it up to her, what does it matter?"
"The Emperor has arrived——"
"Noble Concubine Jin has arrived——"
Chief Eunuch Zhu Gui pulled his long pitch at the entrance of Zhao Yang Palace. Before his voice had fallen, Emperor Jin Ming had stormed in angrily. He was still in his pajamas and his hair was disheveled. It was obvious that he had just gotten out of bed.
Noble Concubine Jin wore a turquoise woven brocade feather cloak. The inside of her dress was not visible, but her hair bun was messy, with no decoration attached to it, indicating that she had also just gotten out of bed.
"Cui Wen pays respects to the Emperor——"
"Zhao Yang pays respects to Imperial Father——"
Empress Mo knelt down, assisting her daughter, the palace maids and eunuchs who were loafing around in Zhao Yang Palace heard that the Emperor had arrived and they all quickly came out and knelt down.
Upon Jin Ming entered, he immediately saw Empress Mo in the dress of a palace maid, and snorted coldly, "I only ordered the Empress to close the door for self-reflection, not to demote Empress to a palace maid. What, have you had enough of being my Empress and want to be a palace maid now?"