PFC Chapter 1088 - 783: Trap!
Chapter 1088 - 783: Trap!
Empress Dowager Jiang smiled as she looked at her.She still held a sutra in her hand, obviously what she had been reading while waiting just now. At this moment she slipped it back into its original place, then turned to face Shang Ruyi directly. Her smile was full of delight and joy as she said, "I thought we might not have much chance to see each other again, and I didn’t expect we’d meet so soon."
"Your Majesty the Empress Dowager..."
"Princess Qin, please sit."
Empress Dowager Jiang pointed to the side, and only then did Shang Ruyi notice that in the middle of this level of the pavilion, two bookshelves had clearly been deliberately removed, leaving a fairly spacious open area. A round carpet was spread on the floor, but whether it was because the carpet was too thick or for some other reason, it was built up higher than the surrounding floor.
On the carpet stood a low table, with some simple cups and refreshments laid out upon it.
That Master Xinzeng had indeed seen the world and was well versed in currying favor; even knowing this meeting ought to be swift and simple, he still had not neglected any detail.
Thus, Shang Ruyi followed Empress Dowager Jiang over, and the two of them sat opposite each other.
Only, when Shang Ruyi sat down, her belly was so big that she could only sit with great difficulty. Seeing her like this, the Empress Dowager’s eyes curved with amusement; she personally came over to help her settle into her seat, then returned to sit opposite. Once seated, her smiling gaze lingered fixedly on Shang Ruyi’s belly.
Shang Ruyi herself felt a bit embarrassed and lowered her head, while the Empress Dowager was already asking gently, "It looks like it must be seven or eight months now?"
"Eight months."
"You should be quietly nourishing the fetus at home."
"I’ve been taking very careful care of it all along."
"Then why come here? Even though you haven’t left the city, you still had to bear the jostling of the journey."
Over the past year, Shang Ruyi felt she had gone through much and changed in many ways. Yet this Empress Dowager, after experiencing the greatest upheaval of her life, seemed not to have changed at all—at least in temperament. Shang Ruyi even felt that the tone and manner of her concern were no different from when the Empress had first summoned her into the palace to keep her company.
Her gentleness was still so meticulous, like being bathed in a spring breeze.
Shang Ruyi smiled and pushed the food box she had set on the table before sitting toward her, saying softly, "It’s because I wanted to bring this to you."
"This?"
Empress Dowager Jiang was briefly taken aback as she looked at the food box—she had originally thought it was a small token from Shang Ruyi, but from her tone it seemed this token was no ordinary thoughtfulness.
Shang Ruyi said softly, "During my pregnancy, Ruoyan has been teaching herself to wash her hands and make soups and dishes. Now her skills are astonishingly good. Whenever I get cravings, it’s her pastries that satisfy them."
"Ah!"
The Empress Dowager’s breath trembled.
This, clearly more than anything else, stirred her emotions. She looked somewhat incredulously at the food box, then turned back to Shang Ruyi. In her calm, hoarse voice there was finally a faint ripple. "Is... is that true?"
Shang Ruyi smiled and said, "Of course it’s true."
"..."
"She told me that Your Majesty the Empress Dowager likes water chestnut cakes the most, and that when you were pregnant you also liked hawthorn cakes, so she made some for me as well."
In Empress Dowager Jiang’s gentle yet desolate eyes, tears slowly welled up.
The tears surged, the glimmer of them quivering. She first showed a smile, but very quickly drew a deep breath to press it down. Though every fine line at the corners of her eyes was filled with joy, she still strove to control her feelings and said to Shang Ruyi, "It’s not good for a pregnant woman to eat too much hawthorn."
Shang Ruyi smiled and said, "I know. I don’t eat much."
"That’s good, then."
Empress Dowager Jiang nodded. In the end she could not hold back; a tear slipped from the corner of her eye, but she immediately reached up to wipe it away, then smiled gently and said, "She’s doing very well, and all of you are doing very well. Then I can be at ease."
Perhaps because she had gone too long without speaking so much, and also because that hideous, terrifying scar still lay across her neck, bearing witness to how grievously she had once been wounded, after these few sentences her throat clearly could no longer bear it. She coughed several times in succession, her voice harsh, like a rusty blunt knife grinding against coarse stone—it was painful to listen to.
Shang Ruyi quickly picked up a teacup and handed it to her.
After covering her mouth and coughing, Empress Dowager Jiang lowered her head and saw the teacup offered before her. She smiled and said, "This won’t do. I should serve myself."
Shang Ruyi knew she was mindful of her own status and Shang Ruyi’s, and after a moment’s thought could only set the cup down in front of her. Empress Dowager Jiang picked it up herself and took a sip. When her parched throat had moistened a little, she put down the cup and smiled softly. "I haven’t been this happy, or talked this much, in a long time."
Shang Ruyi nodded lightly.
Empress Dowager Jiang reached out with her slender fingers and gently stroked the weighty food box, smiling as she said, "Ruofei’er will be happy too when he tastes the pastries his elder sister made."
After speaking, as if something occurred to her, she looked up at Shang Ruyi in puzzlement and said, "But did you come all this way just for this? His Majesty the Emperor—would hardly have agreed so easily, would he?"
As expected, the Empress Dowager is still the Empress Dowager.
Even though she has long withdrawn from court and accompanied oil lamps and Buddha statues for so long, the sharpness she ought to have has not dulled in the least.
Shang Ruyi said, "Father originally did not wish for me to disturb the Empress Dowager’s quiet cultivation, but lately, quite a few good reports have come from the front. Father is greatly pleased and finally agreed to let me come."
"Oh? There is good news?"
When Empress Dowager Jiang heard this, her gaze flickered as she looked at her, clearly curious, yet not wanting to ask too much.
After all, any good news that can delight the Emperor must be a matter of the state and the army, and with her current status, she ought no longer to be entangled in these affairs.
Had it been at any other time, Shang Ruyi would not have added this extra sentence; but today, just moments ago, she had received the news that Jiang Chong’en had come over to Yu Wenquan’s side through Tongguan and had sent such an important map. Instinctively she felt that perhaps this matter ought to be asked of that key figure’s elder female cousin.
The Empress Dowager’s eye for people would be sharper than theirs.
Thus, Shang Ruyi weighed her words and told Empress Dowager Jiang about that matter. At the end, she added, "If this campaign truly allows us to retake the Eastern Capital in one stroke, it will also be a great merit for Your Grace’s younger brother."
But as soon as the words fell, she sensed something amiss.
The Empress Dowager’s face, always gentle and warm, gradually grew heavy; her brows in particular knitted into a tight knot. Just as Shang Ruyi’s words ended, she suddenly lifted her head and asked anxiously, "Has His Majesty already set out?"
Shang Ruyi nodded. "He left at daybreak."
Empress Dowager Jiang drew in a deep breath and said, "Quick, have Feng Chen go and bring the Emperor back at once!"
Hearing this, Shang Ruyi immediately sensed that something was wrong. Her expression also tightened as she said, "What does the Empress Dowager mean by this—"
Empress Dowager Jiang said hastily, "This Jiang Chong’en is timid and fearful, all the more greedy for life and afraid of death. Since he has already surrendered to Liang Shide, if there were no mortal peril, he would never abandon a peaceful, stable life to turn back and surrender to Dasheng. If he truly did this, there can be only one reason."
At that moment, Shang Ruyi seemed to understand as well. "The Empress Dowager suspects that he has feigned surrender?"
Empress Dowager Jiang nodded vigorously.
Her complexion instantly turned deathly pale, and she went on, "My brother has no particular ability, yet he is vain and overreaching, greedy for pleasure. Liang Shide may be the rebel army’s leader, but he has an eye for men and the wisdom to use them. Under him, Jiang Chong’en can at most rely on that small merit of having once surrendered a city; as for any further rewards, there will be none. However, with his temperament, he will surely not be content to be neglected, and will try to find some way to earn merit."
"..."
"But he has no other skills for winning battles and storming cities. If he wants to achieve merit, he can only—"
Shang Ruyi drew a deep breath and immediately understood.
Yu Wenquan had sent Shen Tu Tai to take the Song and Xu States; this had greatly affected Liang Shide. He knew that the next step for Dasheng was to send troops eastward against his Luoyang. By then, a bloody battle would be inevitable.
Although for now the strength of the two sides did not show an obvious disparity, Liang Shide should also know that Yu Wenquan has many battle-hardened generals under his command. Just one Shen Tu Tai is already enough for him to suffer, not to mention Yu Wenye, and a Yu Wenqian whose depths are hard for him to gauge. Before the two sides face each other head-on, Liang Shide will also want to find a way to weaken Dasheng’s fighting power.
Using a Jiang Chong’en is a scheme that yields ten thousand for the cost of one.
If Jiang Chong’en is truly feigning surrender, Yu Wenquan’s current expedition is very likely to fall into his trap, and once—
Shang Ruyi suddenly shuddered.
She hastily reached out to brace herself against the table, preparing to support herself as she stood up. But her body was truly too heavy, and together with the fright from this sudden news, she felt somewhat shaken. At the moment she tried to rise, she failed to stand and instead felt a sudden swelling in her legs. Empress Dowager Jiang quickly got up to support her when she saw this.
Just as Shang Ruyi barely managed to straighten herself, she suddenly knit her brows. "Hm?"
Empress Dowager Jiang looked at her. "What is it?"
Shang Ruyi sniffed. In that thick ink fragrance, invisible yet pounding at her head like a club, she seemed faintly to catch another scent mixed within... as though something was burning.
She said, "Empress Dowager, is something burning?"
Empress Dowager Jiang started and instinctively lowered her head to look at the desk. There was only a single candle quietly burning, with nothing amiss.
But the scorched, burnt smell in the air grew ever more obvious; even Empress Dowager Jiang gradually sensed that something was wrong. She instinctively raised her head to look at the only wall of this pavilion that was exposed. There was only one window on that wall, yet because their meeting had to avoid prying eyes, the window had been kept shut. At this moment, on that tightly closed window, they seemed faintly to see some distorted light and shadow, causing the unease in both their hearts to deepen.
Empress Dowager Jiang released Shang Ruyi’s arm, walked over, and pushed open the window.
A wave of scorching heat surged in!
"Careful!"
Shang Ruyi cried out in alarm, hurried forward, and yanked her back by the arm. There was a sudden "whoosh" as flames, like a greedy venomous serpent, leapt violently inside, nearly swallowing Empress Dowager Jiang whole.