Chapter 87
She might have been in her fifties but she was sturdy and didn’t lack the vigour of a young woman either. Mammy Shi walked inside and came to a stop in front of Liu Hui Ying before she bowed her head and greeted Liu Hui Ying, ” This one greets you, your majesty.”
” You may rise,” Though Liu Hui Ying was a bit uncomfortable with the fact that someone from the Empress dowager’s palace came looking for her, she still gulped her nervousness.
” Her Majesty, the Empress dowager has invited you to her courtyard,” No sooner did Mammy Shi straighten up, she relayed the reason for her arrival.
When Liu Hui Ying heard her words, she found it hard to stop herself from frowning. What was with this Empress dowager? The least she could do was to let her take a breather why was she in such a hurry to call her?
Liu Hui Ying was fairly upset and wary but she knew that she would not be able to ignore this invitation.
“I see, then I will get ready for my meeting with my aunt,” Liu Hui Ying smiled politely but when she turned around and headed towards her bedroom, she couldn’t help but bite her thumbnail.
What if Jia Li was right? What if this was a plan of that old hag number two?
Liu Hui Ying was slightly anxious but then she took a deep breath and decided to simply deal with the problem head-on, the old hag number two needed her just as much as she needed that old witch to stay alive, it was impossible for that old witch not to make things difficult for her but she would not kill her.
.....
Because she still needed Liu Hui Ying to stay seated at the seat of the Empress.
” Help me get ready,” she told Nanny Gong and Qui Ai who looked just as worried as her. Seeing their concerned expression, even Liu Hui Ying’s expression softened a little and she patted them on the shoulders. “It’s all right don’t worry, aunt would not make things difficult for me.”
...
And as she knelt in front of Empress Dowager who was staring at her from the high platform where she slept behind the screen, Liu Hui Ying realised that she spoke too confidently.
However, if it was just the Empress dowager, she would have handled the matter in her hands properly but the thing was, that it wasn’t just the Empress Dowager in the room, there was someone else.
Someone who both scared and annoyed her.
She raised her head slightly and glanced at the man who was dressed in a flaming red robe with a golden crown set up on his head. He was holding a light metal rod in his hand, as big as a chopstick and was circling it around an empty bowl, that it was producing such a sound that even Liu Hui Ying couldn’t help but be terrified, she has never been scared of anything but now she was.
Liu Hui Ying raised her head further and then looked at the cloud of heavy death Qi that was hovering over the head of the man and clenched her fingers. If she thought that the Empress dowager was a scary woman then this man surpassed her by a long shot. He wasn’t just terrifying, he was heart-gripping horrifying.
So many deaths.... Such a dense black Qi ..just how many people did this man kill?
” Are you done looking at me, Hui Ying?” said the man calmly causing Liu Hui Ying to jump, she was startled by the fact that the man could sense her looking at him, she was sure that no one has ever been able to catch her so swiftly.
” I ..forgive me,” Liu Hui Ying bowed her head, she did not know who this man was but from the looks of it, he didn’t seem like someone who could be offended.
Something about him was different from others, he was calm but he was calm that Liu Hui Ying couldn’t help but get suspicious of him.
“It’s all right, you are the Empress now...there is no need for you to apologise to your uncle like this,” said the man with a pleasant smile on his face. ” And there is no need for you to be this scared as well, this is nothing but a small family meeting after all.”
” He is smart,” muttered Jia Li from the side as she stared at the man in distaste. ” He warned you and at the same time taught you how an Empress is supposed to behave but at the same time he told you subtly that you shouldn’t use your authority as the Empress in front of him, it’s like he is ..”
” He is taming me,” Liu Hui Ying didn’t know who this man was at first but then he reminded her by calling himself her uncle. This man was none other than Liu Dong Ming ...the left prime minister of the current court.”
No wonder he was so smart as to start teaching the Empress so quickly he didn’t want her going far from his grip.
“Hui Ying, is it true that you killed the maid who was aiming to kill Ji Yu?” Liu Hui Ying have to however put a hold on her thoughts as she turned her attention to the Empress and bowed her head before replying. ” I did your majesty, but that is only because they were thinking about pinning the blame on my head, I did not have any other intentions.”
” That we have heard and we do have to agree that the daughter from the Chu family has really overstepped her boundaries, trying to attack our niece.” The Empress dowager pursed her lips arrogantly but then she turned her attention back to Liu Hui Ying and said, ” But that isn’t the reason why we called you here, we called you to ask you about the reason why you told the Emperor about Ji Yu’s condition?”
Oh boy.