PFC Chapter 283 The Ruthless and Disabled Crown Prince (183)
Chapter 283 The Ruthless and Disabled Crown Prince (183)
Her body had been worn down by years in the mountain temple. Although her food and clothing were not considered harsh, the Empress Dowager herself was not happy. Even if she were dressed in fine clothes and eaten in a lavish manner, she would still be like this.
After returning to the palace, she relied entirely on her spirit and energy to maintain her composure and elegance.
However, the increasing amount of white in her hair still makes her appear ravaged by time.
Beauty fades with age; in the end, it's nothing more than a shell for outsiders to see.
While the late emperor was still alive, she took revenge with all her might, thinking herself clever and resolute. Now that the late emperor's bones have been placed in the imperial mausoleum and everything is settled, she wants to ruin the late emperor's reputation, even going so far as to create a scandal by cutting off his son and bleeding him dry.
At that time, Ji Shumin used this opportunity to his advantage, and many of the most important officials in the court witnessed what happened.
But in the end, they all remained silent about the matter of the late emperor.
Royal secrets are like fruit buried in the soil, left to rot and be absorbed by the earth, hidden by the passage of time...
What remains in history books are nothing more than words of correction and upright and clear-headed pronouncements. Even if one can glean some thought-provoking remarks from the minutiae, it is far from enough for the Empress Dowager.
What she longed to see—sharp, incisive, derogatory words that exposed her shameful deeds, exonerated her, and expressed her indignation—none of it came.
Even she herself seemed to be glossed over lightly... She was the empress with the least presence in this dynasty.
Although the Empress Dowager did not attend the grand funeral of the emperor, she heard every word recited by the Ministry of Rites.
Enraged, she gripped her fingernails so tightly they broke off on the edge of the table, leaving bloody marks.
But she didn't feel any pain. She only felt hatred…
In this palace, whether it was the former imperial concubine or the once-glorious Consort Rong, they all seemed to be more known, cared for, and respected than the empress.
When the Empress returned to the palace, although she regained control of the Phoenix Seal, she was all alone in the palace, feeling so lonely, desolate, and out of place.
She could look at everyone with cold indifference, but in reality, she was unbearably cold, the cold seeping through her clothes.
Only Ji Shuqin's ascension to the throne could offer him solace, allowing him to continue his schemes and support his child...
She could not be a qualified and respected empress, but she could be the most dignified and glorious empress dowager!
In her dream, she saw her father stroking her forehead, smiling lovingly, and saying, "My daughter will surely amount to something!"
Yes... she was her parents' most beloved child, the smartest, the strongest, and the most sensible! Even far superior to her mediocre older brother.
She still can't let go of these things, but just as she was going through all of this in her mind, she suddenly heard the new emperor's decree.
For a moment, I couldn't see anything. When I opened my eyes again, I saw a dimly lit bed canopy with cloud patterns on the ceiling and smelled a heavy, calming incense.
The Empress Dowager tried to raise her hand, but to her horror, she discovered that she could not control the right side of her body. She tried to lift her hand, but after a long while, she could only move her fingertips…
"Granny! Granny—" the Empress Dowager cried out in alarm, her voice filled with uncontrollable fear, sharp and trembling.
Soon, Granny Ma appeared at the bedside: "Your Highness! Your Highness! This old servant is here!"
"Granny, what's wrong with me? Am I...am I paralyzed?" The Empress asked tremblingly, her eyes filled with panic.
"Your Majesty, please don't worry! The imperial physician just came to see you and said that Your Majesty's temporary hemiplegia is only due to mental confusion. After a few doses of medicine, it will gradually subside. Your Majesty, please don't be anxious."
Granny Ma spoke calmly to the Empress Dowager.
"You...you're not lying to me?"
"This old servant guarantees with my own life." Granny Ma could tell that the Empress Dowager was already at her last gasp. Her face was pale, and her pupils trembled uncontrollably in her eye sockets, as if she would have a hysterical fit if she heard just one more unpleasant word.
"Don't say such things, I... I only have you left now!" Tears streamed down the Empress Dowager's face, disappearing into her temples. Granny Ma turned away and sighed deeply, then quickly bent down to carefully wipe them away.
It took the Empress Dowager a long time to calm down, but she still looked somewhat absent-minded.
She could only lie flat on the couch in one position. After a while, just when Mama, who was serving her, thought she had closed her eyes and fallen asleep, she heard her open her mouth and say in a low voice, "Qin'er, why would Qin'er treat me like this?"
Granny Ma dared not speak, for fear that if she said something wrong, she might provoke Granny Ma to become agitated again.
The Empress Dowager didn't seem to insist on hearing anyone else's answer. She twisted her neck and pressed her cheek against the specially made calming pillow filled with buckwheat hulls.
With all his might, he managed to lift his head slightly, only to slump it back against the wall.
"Why? Why! What have I done to wrong him! He wants to kill me!"
"Does he know that because of his words I have ended up in such a despicable state! Does he know? Granny, has he even come to see me!" The Empress Dowager's chest felt like it was about to burst. She screamed almost in a self-torturing frenzy, but she was not in control of her body. To others, she only moved a few times in a daze.
"He didn't come, did he! Why doesn't Qin'er come to see me!"
Even the usually composed Granny Ma panicked at this moment. Just before the Empress Dowager struggled to throw her off the bed, Granny Ma used her own body to protect her, landing on her back on the floor below the bed, gasping for breath in pain.
But she couldn't care less about herself and hurriedly used both hands and feet to crawl to the Empress Dowager's side.
"Your Majesty, please take care of yourself! Your life is precious, while this old servant's is worthless! If you feel unhappy or dissatisfied, then take it out on this old servant! This old servant is willing to suffer for Your Majesty!" She was never one to smile, and her usually stern and proper face was now streaked with tears.
"My life is the most worthless! My life is worthless—ahhhhhh! Why must I live like this in this life! Why!" The Empress Dowager shouted out the silent resentment that had been suppressed in her heart for countless years.
"Why, why did Qin'er force me to my death! I raised him with such hardship, could it be because he was—a wicked sinner! A cursed being—"
The Empress Dowager's curses grew increasingly vile. Granny Ma tried to cover her mouth, but the Empress Dowager had already lost her mind, and even Granny Ma couldn't control her. She continued to shout hoarsely.
She bit Mama Ma's fingers until the skin bled, cursing the late emperor and the new emperor. If someone with ulterior motives were to hear this, such disrespectful words would be enough to leave them speechless.
Granny Ma tried to pull her hand back, but found that the Empress Dowager's eyes were unfocused, her jaw was clenched tightly, and her body was trembling slightly.
"Go and call the imperial physician again!" Afraid that the Empress Dowager would bite her tongue, Granny Ma could only place her hand between the Empress Dowager's teeth and wait for the imperial physician to arrive.
The dignified and noble Empress Dowager, with tears and saliva mixed together, fell onto the quilt and her clothes, as if she had lost all her dignity. The imperial physician was also startled when he arrived.
"This afternoon, I already said that I asked Your Majesty not to be angry... How come it's only been less than two hours..." Almost all the imperial physicians on duty at the Imperial Hospital today have come.
After treating the Empress Dowager in the afternoon, they reported the incident to the Emperor.
The news that the Emperor had ordered the Imperial Concubine to go to the temple to pray for blessings had already reached everyone's ears.
The Imperial Hospital staff also secretly glanced at the Emperor's attitude towards the Empress Dowager.
The Emperor ordered them to treat the patient properly and not to be negligent in the slightest.
The people from the Imperial Medical Academy readily agreed, saying that there were too many noble people in the palace, and it was inevitable that they would neglect one while taking care of another.
Therefore, only those who are favored and have imperial grace can live comfortably in this palace, and this has been the case for many years.
However, after the new emperor ascended the throne, he ordered the Imperial Medical Academy to treat the health of every concubine in the harem.
Two palaces each day, proceeding in this manner without the slightest bias or negligence.
For a time, everyone in the palace said: The new emperor is extremely benevolent.
These words, more or less, reached Ji Shuqin's ears.
Many of them were court officials and lackeys who deliberately let him hear them in an attempt to win his favor, which Ji Shuqin could obviously see through.
But he didn't think there was anything to praise about it.
Ordinary people, when they fall ill, also need to see a doctor. The wealthy go out of their way to find miracle doctors, the poor get a few doses of medicine, and the even poorer often seek out itinerant doctors...
In the palace, if one fell ill, one could only go to the Imperial Hospital to consult the imperial physicians. However, the Imperial Hospital was divided into different ranks. Some were highly regarded and the entire Imperial Hospital revolved around them, while others watched helplessly as the illness tormented them, yet remained indifferent, accepting their money but still not taking any care of them.
If this is true for nobles, then it goes without saying that it applies to palace servants and servants as well.
It is said that the palace is the most prestigious place, but when people are denied a way to survive, they are left with nowhere to turn for help.
People can make you live or die at their whim, take your money, say nice things, and beg you repeatedly just to get treatment, and then expect you to be grateful. Where is the logic in that?
The current dynasty is not overly harsh on the eunuchs and palace maids in the palace. There are also people in the palace who specialize in treating the servants. But what has become of them now? Only those people themselves know.
When Ji Shuqin questioned them, everyone, whether they were treating servants or from the Imperial Hospital, remained silent, indicating that they were not unaware of what they had done.
He held the power to save lives, yet he engaged in acts of utterly callous and heartless disregard for human life! Ji Shuqin severely punished him for this.
Why are you so concerned about this matter and know so much about it?
As Ji Shuqin sat by the window that day, he recalled Ji Shumin's sarcastic words when he had faced him coldly: "Your Majesty thinks I am noble in every way, but do you know that if I did not regard face as nothing and bend my knees instead of being as gentlemanly as you, I would have been able to barely survive in my youth and only be able to hold on to a thread of life when I am crippled?"
"If everything were as upright and honest as you read in your books, and the world were peaceful and prosperous, how could I have ended up like this? This world is not what you see from your lofty position."
Ji Shuqin wanted to do everything in his power, within his capacity, to change the way he saw and read about the world, in accordance with his vision and the way he saw it in books.
But he also had to admit that he was not someone who could truly shoulder the heavy responsibilities of the world...
Not every duck that is forced onto a shelf can expect to have a smooth and successful life.
He did visit the Empress Dowager in the afternoon, but he did so without letting anyone in the Empress Dowager's palace notice.
Upon hearing that the Empress Dowager was seriously ill, had collapsed, and even lost consciousness, Ji Shuqin instinctively stood up abruptly from his chair, paced around for a few moments, and then went out to Fengyi Palace.
But when he was some distance from the Phoenix Palace, he stopped again.
After lingering in the same spot for a moment, he sighed deeply, turned around, and left...
His mind was made up. Having fully learned of all the things his mother had done, Ji Shuqin had no choice but to make a decision.
Ji Shuqin knew his mother's personality all too well.
If he were to appear before her even once, she would relentlessly pursue him, and all sorts of delusions in his heart would burn like wildfire blown by the wind, consuming him and others as well.
Ji Shuqin's concern, care, gratitude... whatever kind of emotion it was, it all became a tool for her to exploit for personal gain.
Ji Shuqin can no longer continue to indulge in this behavior.
However, even though he made the decision himself, he still felt uneasy.
When Ji Shuqin returned to his study, he stood by the window, unusually agitated. He silently berated himself: What a spineless and weak person I am!
He was extremely cultured and had almost never uttered a harsh word since childhood.
He wouldn't say it. But now, it seems that he's using the most offensive words he knows to describe himself.
He was a cowardly man who spoke with great conviction and conviction; he was a timid person.
The imperial physicians administered acupuncture and several doses of strong medicine, finally stabilizing the Empress Dowager's condition.
After waking up this time, the Empress Dowager remained in a daze.
Worried that he might become angry again if he regained consciousness, Granny Ma asked the imperial physician to prescribe a potent calming decoction. Once taken, it would disorient the Empress Dowager, allowing her to lie peacefully in bed and recuperate.
Ma Ma did not deceive the Empress Dowager; the numbness in her body was caused by extreme anger.
After a few days of recuperation, she gradually regained consciousness, and only after realizing that she was no longer paralyzed in bed did the Empress Dowager calm down a little.
But she still wanted to see Ji Shuqin.
The new emperor is busy now, and as long as he doesn't want to, the empress dowager can't do anything to him.
Ji Shuqin was fully aware that he could not be controlled by his mother, but this did not make him feel happy.
Perhaps if it were Min'er, he would feel happy, Ji Shuqin thought with a wry smile.
He realized that his younger brother truly didn't care at all.
When spring arrived and flowers bloomed, my younger brother and sister-in-law went to the mountain resort to pick spring greens, temporarily leaving the capital. I wonder what kind of life they are living now, a life of envy for the people of the capital.
This time, Lu Liruan and Ji Shumin did not go far, only to stroll around the neighborhood, giving the Marquis of He'an's residence and Ji Shuqin some time to adjust and accept their impending departure.
The Empress Dowager's departure from the palace was not postponed due to her illness.
After Ji Shuqin finished court that day, the eunuch beside him cautiously said, "Your Majesty... Granny Ma from the Empress Dowager's palace has been kneeling in front of your palace for two hours... She won't leave no matter what we do, and the servants in the palace don't dare to do anything to her."