newbobooks Chapter 153 Escort
Chapter 153 Escort
At the same time, in Shoukang Palace, the Queen Mother's birthday banquet was about to begin. Guests were coming in an endless stream and the occasion was extremely lively.
The Queen Mother sat high up on the main seat, surrounded by royal relatives and guests from all over the world. They came forward one after another and presented carefully prepared birthday gifts as a sign of respect.
The emperor personally presented a thousand-year-old wild ginseng. The preciousness of this gift was enough to demonstrate his filial piety to his mother.
When the empress dowager saw this, she was overjoyed and kept praising the emperor for his filial piety.
In a solemn and gorgeous atmosphere, the Queen and the Imperial Concubine slowly walked into the center of the birthday banquet. The gifts they each brought not only contained deep thoughts, but also demonstrated the luxury and sophistication of the palace.
The queen looked a little weak, with a barely perceptible fatigue between her brows. Her slightly pale face and the occasional uncontrollable cough silently revealed her physical discomfort.
In sharp contrast to them is Concubine Wang, who is dressed in gorgeous clothes like a flowing rainbow, with delicate and elegant makeup, emitting a radiance that cannot be ignored, making everything around her pale in comparison.
This is not just a comparison of appearance, but also a portrayal of their status and influence in the harem.
Then, led by the King of Qi, the princes came forward one by one to express their most sincere blessings to the Queen Mother.
There was a barely perceptible trace of fatigue on the face of the King of Qi. This young talent, who should have been full of vigor and vitality, seemed a little overwhelmed by the recent heavy workload of dealing with the "epidemic". There was a hint of worry in his eyes.
Although the other princes also tried their best to show their elegance, under the halo of Prince Qi, their performances seemed mediocre and failed to leave a deep impression in front of the Queen Mother.
They all seemed to know how to hide their edge, but no one knew whether it was innate or a well-considered choice.
Although there was laughter and joy at the birthday party on the surface, there were undercurrents beneath this peace, and everyone had their own calculations and competitions hidden in their hearts.
Afterwards, it was the turn of the princess and the ladies of honor to present their gifts. Su Rao stood quietly at the end of the queue, and her presence did not seem to attract any attention.
According to common sense, gifts from people of her status would often not attract much attention and would perhaps just be quietly put into the warehouse.
However, Mrs. Wang's words broke the peace. She said in a curious tone, "I heard that Concubine Su is very skillful and attentive. What kind of unique gift has she prepared for the Queen Mother this time? It's really exciting."
Concubine Wang seemed to be infected by this curiosity. Her sharp eyes flashed with interest as she asked what secrets were hidden in Su Rao's inconspicuous little box.
Although Concubine Wang did not understand Mrs. Wang's true intentions, out of some tacit understanding, she joined the conversation at the right time.
The Queen Mother's eyes turned to Su Rao amid everyone's expectations. She decided to give Concubine Wang a favor and ordered the attendants around her: "Bring the gift here and let me see it."
Su Rao frowned slightly, feeling a little uneasy.
Is this an opportunity to embarrass her?
After all, the gift she prepared did seem insignificant among the many treasures.
This was not only because of financial constraints, but more because she knew very well that at this banquet of the rich and powerful, her thoughts might not even be comparable to those expensive gifts.
But this gift is the result of all her emotions.
The attendant carefully took out Su Rao's box and held it in front of the empress dowager. As the lid of the box was slowly opened, the gifts were revealed to everyone: a piece of delicate silk embroidered with a short poem written by Su Rao herself, and next to it was a jade ruyi as smooth as jade. Although they were not priceless, they revealed an aura of a scholar who was detached from the mundane world.
However, in this magnificent occasion, such a gift seems out of place and may even attract contempt and ridicule from others.
The Queen Mother nodded slightly, and did not seem to show much interest in this, but the servant still obeyed the order, took out the fine silk and handed it to the Queen Mother.
At the moment when the empress dowager unfolded the fine silk, her face suddenly became abnormal, her hands began to tremble uncontrollably, her breathing became rapid, the silk cloth in her hands slipped, and she seemed to have lost her support. She collapsed in the chair, her whole body shaking violently.
"Mother!" The Queen and the Emperor, who were closest to the Queen Mother, stood up quickly and hurriedly supported the Queen Mother who had suddenly fallen down.
The emperor picked up the handkerchief and saw a few crooked but clearly legible words embroidered on it with scarlet silk thread: "Deep in the night, the wind sings."
This was originally a line of poetry with profound meaning, but it unexpectedly became one of the key pieces of evidence in Zhao's treason case many years ago!
Recalling that past event, the emperor was just an unknown and seemingly mediocre prince, while the highly-regarded prince mocked and bullied him to the utmost.
As the wheel of fate rolled forward, the crown prince eventually lost power and was demoted, while the originally inconspicuous ninth prince ascended to the throne amidst the changing circumstances.
After ascending the throne, the former crown prince and his cronies committed evil deeds many times, which made the emperor fear and hate them so much that he carried out a brutal purge of all those involved.
And the prince's name just happened to contain the word "wind".
It was under General Zhao’s pillow that this verse with profound meaning was found.
Later, in the assassination attempt on the emperor, the assassin turned out to be closely related to the crown prince. All this made the emperor firmly believe that there was an ulterior conspiracy behind the Zhao family.
The emperor's hatred for the Zhao family is deep-rooted, but the empress dowager grew up in the Zhao family. This past has become an unspeakable rift between mother and son. Over the years, both sides have tacitly avoided mentioning it and maintained superficial peace.
Today, the reappearance of this poem has undoubtedly stirred up huge waves in the hearts of mother and son.
Su Rao felt at a loss as to what had happened. She clearly remembered that she had not used any red silk thread, so it was obvious that someone had tampered with the handkerchief.
Mrs. Wang's sharp eyes seemed to have made a judgment on her. Su Rao felt heavy in her heart, realizing that Mrs. Wang had really put a lot of effort into putting her to death!
"Su Rao, you...you are so brave! Come, take this traitor away!" The Queen Mother's anger was evident in her words, and she pointed at Su Rao with a trembling finger.
When Su Yi heard this, she almost fainted. She had a premonition of disaster coming, so she gritted her teeth and grabbed Su Rao's arm tightly, trying to stop her.
"Drag him out and beat him to death!" The Queen Mother's voice was cold and resolute. Two guards immediately stepped forward and tried to drag Su Rao away by force.
Su Yi struggled desperately but was pushed away rudely by the guards.
"Empress Dowager, the words on the handkerchief were not embroidered by me. Someone must have framed me!" Su Rao shouted anxiously. She knew that she had to clarify everything as soon as possible, otherwise the consequences would be disastrous.
Even though Su Rao's body was shaky as she was being dragged roughly by two palace servants, her eyes were extremely firm.