Chapter 1902: Chapter 1840: Well-Intentioned Motives

Nanny Shui tiptoed into the Empress Dowager’s bedchamber, not daring even to breathe too loudly, for fear of disturbing that seemingly fragile figure on the bed.

"They’ve gone?" Empress Dowager Mo turned her head and rose from the couch.

Nanny Shui hurried to support her, propped up the large welcoming pillow, and said softly, "My Lady, the Princess Consort is still young; she doesn’t think things through thoroughly enough. Please don’t take issue with her. She has only just returned home—teach her slowly. Don’t work yourself up into anger."

"You’re good at speaking up for her." Empress Dowager Mo coughed twice and said, "It’s not that she doesn’t think things through, but that she thinks too thoroughly, and is far too clever."

How long has Wufu been in Beiyan? Yet in this succession of events, she was able, together with Ah Jiu, to guess nineteen parts out of twenty—they both had minds sharp enough.

But this very cleverness chilled her to the core.

Extreme acuity must bring harm—let alone when the people involved in this matter are...

Empress Dowager Mo’s body trembled slightly; she could not help closing her eyes.

"My Lady."

"Shui Xin, back then, when the Fourth Imperial Son drowned, was it at just about that time that that bastard did that to me... that time?" Empress Dowager Mo looked toward Nanny Shui.

Nanny Shui froze; her face abruptly blanched. "My Lady..."

Seeing her reaction, Empress Dowager Mo’s heart sank; so it was indeed then, she had not remembered wrong. She recalled that after that incident she had been deathly ill for several days, dazed and muddled; when she finally had a bit of strength, she heard that the Fourth Imperial Son was gone, and then she fell even deeper into sickness.

It was not an accident, but man-made?

Was it him...

Empress Dowager Mo’s heart was struck as if by a heavy blow; terror closed in around her entirely. Beast!

She shut her eyes tight and replayed Wufu’s words again and again; the clearer she thought it through, the more the chill spread over her entire body.

Back then, for Empress Dowager Mo to be able to support her stepson onto the imperial throne and help him sit there firmly, she was no ordinary woman. She had her own judgments; she was decisive in killing, and possessed sufficient boldness.

Thinking of it this way, Wufu’s words all had foundation and evidence, entirely in keeping with the logic she had spoken of.

A blood feud for a slain son!

If it truly was so, then Empress Song must certainly have known something; yet she had always been in disguise—meek, gentle, and pure—had even maintained that disguise for six full years, and only in these past two years had she, like a lioness, extended her claws in revenge, to offer sacrifice for her son’s soul?

Empress Dowager Mo opened her eyes; a sharp light burst from her gaze.

Empress Song wished to avenge the killing of her son, yet she could not take her anger out on Ah Jiu. They were both mothers; she sought vengeance, and she herself had to protect her own cub.

"Shui Xin, send Eunuch Ning to Prince Jin’s Mansion to convey my verbal decree," Empress Dowager Mo forced herself to stay clear-headed and ordered. "Say that my health is unwell, and that I command the Princess Consort of Jin to go to Puji Temple to fast and Pray for Blessing on my behalf, and to copy a scroll of the Classic of Filial Piety for me. Have Prince Jin accompany her. They are not to return before the end of the year."

"My Lady?" Nanny Shui was somewhat stunned. Was Her Ladyship truly going to vent her anger on the Princess Consort? If this decree were spread, the entire imperial city would likely think Her Ladyship had fallen out with the Princess Consort.

"Go. It’s just as well to pluck them out of this filthy, muddied water." Empress Dowager Mo rubbed her temples. Should she have Ah Jiu enfeoffed away from the capital, to distance him from this great dye vat of the imperial city?

Nanny Shui heard the weariness in her tone; thinking it over carefully, she understood the bitter good intentions of Empress Dowager Mo. She could not help but sigh, hoping the Princess Consort and the others would understand as well.

Nanny Shui withdrew to make the arrangements.

Once she had left, Empress Dowager Mo called softly into the air; a gray-clad figure flashed out and knelt before her.

"Two tasks. First, investigate the true cause of death of the Fourth Imperial Son fifteen years ago. Second, investigate the Empress—keep watch on her movements and report to me at any time."

"Yes." The gray figure responded, then vanished in a flash.

Empress Dowager Mo stared blankly at the large crimson peonies embroidered on the brocade quilt, and suddenly felt utterly exhausted in body and soul.

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