The Reborn Princess Has Turned Evil

Seeing that the situation was about to reach a stalemate, Su Rong quickly knocked the bowl and cup out of her hand, the sound of the porcelain ringing out crisply and surprising everyone.

"It's all my fault for spilling the Empress Dowager's tonic." After saying this, she immediately knelt down.

At just the right moment, the Empress Dowager covered her mouth with a handkerchief and began to cough.

Emperor Jing's expression seemed to soften for a moment, but he quickly recovered. He stepped forward to support the Empress Dowager and said, "It seems that Mother's illness is not yet cured. She needs to take good care of herself. Su Rong, how have you been taking care of her?"

Su Rong immediately knelt down and kowtowed, "It was my negligence, Your Majesty, please forgive me."

The Empress Dowager covered her face with her handkerchief and said in a pretentious manner, "It's no wonder. Although I am not in good health, this is probably due to an old ailment that I had on the day I returned to the palace."

Every single word and phrase points to Emperor Jing's negligence.

"It is my dereliction of duty."

Seeing Emperor Jing lower his head, the Empress Dowager's mood improved somewhat, and she said, "You and I are mother and son, which is also a kind of fate. However, I only have one niece, Consort Chen. If she has done anything wrong, just tell me, and I will definitely punish her properly."

This was a rebuke for him punishing Consort Chen yesterday, bypassing the Empress Dowager's authority. Seeing Emperor Jing bow his head and remain silent, the Empress Dowager pressed her advantage, continuing, "I heard Qing'er is ill. While the affairs of the court are not to be interfered with by the harem, you two brothers should also be of one mind. Now..."

Emperor Jing watched the Empress Dowager's lips move up and down, but he didn't hear a word after that. Instead, his thoughts drifted back to the past.

At that time, his mother, Consort Wan, passed away, and the late emperor entrusted the young Emperor Jing to Empress Chen Huaping for upbringing.

The young Emperor Jing, though innocent and naive, also craved his mother's love. He thought that the Empress was busy with important matters and serving as a role model for the harem, which was why she was somewhat cold towards him. However, the young Emperor Jing was not discouraged. He worked hard and diligently, but only received a faint reply: "You must not slack off."

It wasn't until Consort Jing, Prince Qing's mother, died in childbirth and Prince Qing was sent to the Empress's side that the young Emperor Jing realized that the Empress also had such a gentle side. He didn't need to get perfect scores in his studies, and he was allowed to play after class. He remembered that in the afternoons, the Empress always loved to hold Prince Qing's hand and go to the Imperial Garden to catch butterflies and swing on the swings, and each time he could only watch silently.

The Empress Dowager's voice pulled Emperor Jing, who was immersed in his memories, out of his reverie.

"Your Majesty, did you hear me when I spoke to you?"

Emperor Jing looked up and met the Empress Dowager's eyes, answering a question that seemed unrelated: "Mother, you are only concerned about Brother Qing. Have you ever asked about me? My headaches often flare up, and I often cannot fall asleep..."

The Empress Dowager was taken aback when Emperor Jing asked such a question. She quickly realized what he meant and said, "You and Qing'er both grew up under my care, so naturally you are the same. However, Your Majesty is the ruler of a country, and you are surrounded by many capable and important people. It is not appropriate for me to interfere in many matters."

At this point, Emperor Jing's heart, which had been hanging in suspense, finally settled, shattering into countless pieces, until it finally disintegrated. He tugged at his sleeve and let go of his last remaining obsession.

"I have already sent the imperial physician to Qingdi's side, so Mother need not worry. As for Consort Chen, she actually cursed the prince, which shows her malicious intent. However, considering that she repented in time, I only confined her. Does Mother think that I did something wrong?"

The Empress Dowager was speechless. The imperial laws were strict, and the imperial offspring were of paramount importance. Moreover, confinement was considered a lenient sentence. Although the Empress Dowager was displeased, she could not say anything, and only said, "Your Majesty did the right thing."

Emperor Jing's heart was already as cold as ice, and he didn't want to say anything more. He nodded and said, "Your Majesty, I still have state affairs to attend to. Please rest well, Your Majesty."

The Empress Dowager nodded. "Your Majesty is working too hard."

"My son, please retire."

The Empress Dowager watched Emperor Jing leave, her eyes narrowed, deep in thought.

Su Rong knelt for a long time, and her knees ached a little, but she dared not show it. After all, the Empress Dowager was silent and pondering, which meant she was angry.

Sure enough, a blue and white porcelain cup landed straight at Su Rong's feet, and the shards of porcelain that splashed up grazed Su Rong's forehead.

But a servant is still a servant, and she dared not cry out in pain, nor dared to get up. She could only say in a low voice, "Your Majesty, please calm down! Don't hurt yourself."

As soon as these words were spoken, the Empress Dowager remembered Su Rong. "You stubborn fool, get up now!"

"Thank you, Your Majesty." Su Rong's knees ached from kneeling for so long, and she could only express her gratitude before being helped to her feet by palace servants.

"Your Majesty and I are indeed not of one mind." As she spoke, the Empress Dowager's anger became even more apparent.

Su Rong naturally understood the Empress Dowager's meaning. The Empress Dowager intended to give Emperor Jing a warning, but Emperor Jing did not take it to heart and even had a neutral attitude, which was very different from usual.

"Does Your Majesty know something?"

The Empress Dowager looked up at Su Rong, her eyes filled with both doubt and suspicion.

Su Rong knew perfectly well what was going on and advised, "Your Majesty, these are all old stories. There's no evidence for them, and the people involved have long since been dealt with."

"That's not what I meant!"

Now it was Su Rong's turn to be stunned. "The Empress Dowager means..."

“Those who are not of one mind with me will not last long. You saw His Majesty’s attitude today, lukewarm at all, not like that of a mother and son.”

Su Rong lowered his head even further, "Perhaps His Majesty's busy schedule and physical and mental exhaustion led to his death."

"Hmph!" The Empress Dowager snorted coldly, feeling very displeased. After thinking for a moment, she said to Su Rong, "Have someone pass a message to Qing'er, saying that I agree to that matter."

As soon as she finished speaking, Su Rong gasped for breath, but after a moment she realized what she meant. "Yes, this servant understands."

With the recent onset of autumn winds, the palace gates throughout the inner palace have been covered with thick curtains to prevent the cold wind from entering. Emperor Jing's headaches have been flaring up frequently, and the door to his study has been kept tightly shut.

"Your Majesty, the Imperial Attendants have brought the medicine." It was already past dusk when Eunuch Wei reminded him.

Emperor Jing then stopped writing and said, "Bring it here."

The medicine was dark and looked bitter, but Emperor Jing didn't mince words and drank it all in one gulp, leaving only a few pills in the bowl.

After the person who delivered the medicine left, Emperor Jing spat the medicine in his mouth into the orchid pot on the table behind him.

Eunuch Wei quickly handed Emperor Jing some prepared water to rinse his mouth. Emperor Jing took it as usual, but no sound was made during the process, and the people outside just thought that Emperor Jing was taking his medicine on time every day.