Song Zhao knelt outside the door for about the time it takes a stick of incense to burn before Qingzhu auntie finally pushed the door open.
She quickly walked over to Song Zhao and helped her stand up,
"The Empress Dowager summons the young mistress inside to talk."
"Many thanks, auntie..."
Qingzhu saw the absent-mindedness in her eyes. As she led her inside, she whispered a reminder,
"Young mistress, don't blame this slave for being long-winded. The Empress Dowager is currently furious over the matter with the Duke of Protector's wife. When you see the Empress Dowager later, remember to be prudent in speech and action. Don't say anything you shouldn't, even if it rots in your stomach."
She meant well. Song Zhao agreed with her fully.
But as soon as she entered and saw the Empress Dowager, she forgot all about Qingzhu's words.
"Empress Dowager, my mother..."
"Stop." The Empress Dowager's expression was gloomy as she waved her hand to cut Song Zhao off, "If you've come to plead for Jiang Shi, you might as well not speak. As the wife of an important minister of the court, conferred with the second-rank title of Madame, the crimes she has committed are beyond count. She must be strictly punished in order to purge this unhealthy trend!"
Song Zhao stood gloomily under the hall, deer-like eyes brimming with tears, petite lips pursed tightly, evoking heartache.
The Empress Dowager also couldn't bear to be too harsh with such an innocent child.
She heaved a helpless sigh and beckoned for Song Zhao to come to her side, wiping away the tears spilling from her eyes,
"Ai knows you are a good child. Ai will not blame Jiang Shi's crimes on you, nor will His Majesty distance himself from you because of this. Don't cry anymore."
But the usually well-behaved Song Zhao would not listen to persuasion today.
Even after the Empress Dowager had said so much, she still insisted on pleading for Jiang Shi.
"This concubine only hopes that the Empress Dowager can spare mother a lifeline... Consort Chen has already told this concubine the context of what happened. If it wasn't because I had carelessly mentioned the golden Buddha relic at home in front of the Empress Dowager back then, this disaster would not have befallen my mother."
As she tearfully recounted, her peripheral vision kept a subtle watch on the subtle changes in the Empress Dowager's expression.
Sure enough, at the mention of Consort Chen's name, the Empress Dowager's brow distinctly twitched.
When Tian Ji thoroughly investigated Jiang Shi, he did not explain the reason.
Since this was so, how did Consort Chen know that Jiang Shi's misfortunate was caused by the golden Buddha?
The Empress Dowager privately wondered about this.
No wonder Tian Ji's people said that all of Jiang Shi's evidence of guilt seemed deliberately laid out for them to discover.
It seemed Consort Chen also harbored malicious intent to stir up trouble in Song Zhao's maternal home, so that Song Zhao would lose favor before the Emperor.
The Empress Dowager had never liked scheming women to begin with. After hearing Song Zhao's casual words, her dissatisfaction towards Consort Chen deepened somewhat.
Song Zhao sobbed as she pleaded for Jiang Shi for a long time, but the Empress Dowager was lost in thought earlier and had not paid attention to what exactly she said.
She only heard her say at the end:
"Although mother is not my birth mother, she was still gracious to raise me. I thoughtlessly implicated mother with my words and feel extremely miserable..."
After hearing this, the Empress Dowager's expression darkened a few shades further.
"Whether you speak or not, Jiang Shi must pay the due price for her mistakes. You're not suggesting that you plan to conceal her multitude of misdeeds despite clearly knowing about them, are you?"
Song Zhao panicked, "This concubine does not dare..."
Song Zhao knew clearly that saying such thoughtless words would displease the Empress Dowager, yet she stubbornly said them anyway.
Someone who was truly flustered, even if normally well-behaved, would inevitably let slip a couple mindless words in this situation.
She had to act like this in order to convince the Empress Dowager that she genuinely cared about Jiang Shi.
Just as the atmosphere in the hall was reaching freezing point,
they suddenly heard a loud announcement from outside:
"His Majesty arrives!"
Song Zhao immediately stumbled as she ran to the entrance. Disregarding ceremony in her haste, she grabbed Xiao Jingheng's arm and cried pleadingly:
"Your Majesty, please pardon my mother and give her a chance to repent and reform!"
Song Zhao's eyes were misty with pear blossom tears, her voice slightly hoarse. She leaned weakly against Xiao Jingheng like a tender willow shoot floating precariously.
What man could fail to feel distressed when such a soft, pitiable beauty threw herself at him?
And after having put on such an elaborate act for so long before the Empress Dowager, after shedding all those tears, it was to welcome the male lead Xiao Jingheng's entry onstage.
She knew Xiao Jingheng would definitely come.
Just now as she wept and wailed while running through the manor, so many palace maids had seen her along the way that there was no way the news would fail to reach Xiao Jingheng's ears.
So as long as Xiao Jingheng had even the slightest affection for her, he would definitely show up.
Song Zhao herself had not expected that Xiao Jingheng would come so swiftly.
"Don't cry." Xiao Jingheng enfolded her in his embrace, gently stroking away the pearly teardrops with his warm fingertips, gazing at her with eyes full of distress. "Zhen knows you are anxious, but the crimes Jiang Shi committed are severe. The rear palace should not intervene in state affairs either. You should not have come to Imperial Mother to say such indecorous things."
"This concubine knows that, yet what else can I do... As her child, how can I quietly stand by while mother suffers disaster? I... I cannot..."
The more Song Zhao stubbornly pleaded for Jiang Shi, the angrier it made the Empress Dowager look upon the sight.
"For Jiang Shi to commit deeds like these, severe punishment is warranted to purge unrighteous practices, and it serves as a warning for other ministers to conscientiously oversee their own wives and concubines when they return.
Thus, Ai has already decided, for the sake of the Duke of Protector's face, to bestow a full corpse upon Jiang Shi. This matter is now set in stone, there is no need for you to say more."
As Empress Dowager, she had the authority to directly deal with official wives of ministers conferred with titles, overruling Xiao Jingheng.
Hearing this, Song Zhao was struck with a paroxysm of grief, and fainted on the spot into Xiao Jingheng's arms from the excess sorrow.
"Zhao'er? Zhao'er! Jiang Deshun, call an imperial physician!"
Xiao Jingheng still cared deeply for Song Zhao. After picking her up in his arms, he gently laid her upon the warmed seat.
Although the Empress Dowager's words were harsh, her anger was only towards Song Zhao's muddle-headedness for pleading on behalf of a woman who killed her own birth mother.
As for Song Zhao herself, she still cherished her greatly.
As there were attending imperial physicians in Xiuzhu Hall to begin with, one came rushed in practically right after being summoned by Xiao Jingheng.
After examining Song Zhao's condition, the physician said: "Your Majesty, please set your mind at ease. The young mistress fainted from excessive grief. With some medicinal oils, this official should be able to revive her."
As the physician treated Song Zhao with medicinal oils, the Empress Dowager watched from the side and lamented helplessly:
"This girl has a kind heart ingrained down to her very bones, the same as her birth mother. She clearly knows that pleading on Jiang Shi's behalf would displease Ai and His Majesty, yet she stubbornly insists on doing so. Even if Jiang Shi had personally killed her birth mother that day, she would still plead for leniency due to Jiang Shi's grace in raising her."
Then, raising her eyes to glance at Xiao Jingheng, "Girls as purely kindhearted as her are rare nowadays."
Xiao Jingheng also nodded. "Zhao'er has always been like this, only knowing how to consider others before herself. It's precisely because of her disposition that Zhen cherishes her all the more."
Their conversation was heard loud and clear by 'unconscious' Song Zhao.
Yet, she showed no visible reaction and continued pretending to be dead.
After all, the more convincing her act, the more it would make them distressed over her.
