CH 34

Chapter 34: Old Resentment

The Empress Dowager gave Su Qi Qi a disdainful look: “You may withdraw. It’s best if you act wisely.”

Su Qi Qi understood the meaning within the words most clearly. The Empress Dowager didn’t want the matter to get to Mo Wen Chen’s ears.

And how could she not know that Mo Wen Chen already found out about her punishment yesterday, but didn’t say a word. Her heart that kept alternating between hot and cold had already gone a bit numb.

A man like Mo Wen Chen isn’t the type to care about family or love.

As long as it doesn’t affect his plans, even if Su Qi Qi died, to him, it probably wouldn’t matter.

Taking step after step with difficulty, Su Qi Qi walked back to Bie Courtyard. On the way, all the palace maids and eunuchs took detours, not wanting to stir up more trouble. In regards to this Bei Ding Hou wang fei, everyone pretty much treated her as a laughingstock.

Bie Courtyard was very quiet. Currently, Mo Wen Chen was drinking and chatting merrily with the emperor. These past few days, even though he didn’t make any moves, Mo Wen Xuan watched him even more closely.

On the surface, both of them were completely calm and collected, yet in secret they were continuously making moves.

But after all, this was Mo Wen Xuan’s territory. Furthermore, he was the monarch of the nation; Mo Wen Chen could not be as tyrannical as he was in the Magnetic Capital. As such, he had no choice but to continue like this.

Applying medicine on her own wound, Su Qi Qi nearly fainted several times due to the pain, but firmly persisted through.

Tomorrow, she can’t go see her mother with this appearance, she absolutely cannot.

She had self-taught herself medicine from a small age. At this time, she also used the needles to help treat herself. She wanted to make herself radiant and spirited for tomorrow.

She would be able to do it just by stimulating a few acupuncture points on her body. Of course, there were terrible consequences afterwards. She might completely damage her body’s meridians.

However, she already cannot take that much into consideration.

She didn’t know when Mo Wen Chen had returned. She was in so much pain to the point that she fell unconscious on the bench. Yet when she opened her eyes, she discovered herself lying in the crook of Mo Wen Chen’s arm. The two were very close together, on the same bed.

This caused Su Qi Qi’s heart that often alternated between hot and cold to become unsteady again.

The man’s heart, from start to now she still can’t make out at all.

And also dares not to try and guess.

He didn’t do anything for her, only silently consoled her like this.

After yesterday’s acupuncture treatment, Su Qi Qi was very alert today and didn’t feel any exhaustion at all. She still felt a little pain, but it was bearable.

“Be careful.” As Su Qi Qi was about to leave, Mo Wen Chen simply gave her these two words.

Just two words, but it was enough to encourage Su Qi Qi to walk on.

The wind was bone-chillingly cold, yet Su Qi Qi didn’t feel it at all.

Her heart was still warm.

The Empress Dowager was reciting Buddhist chants like yesterday. Su Qi Qi knelt on the grass like before. The needles were still on the ground, just this time her movements were very light and cautious. She is also afraid of skin and flesh sufferings, she’s also afraid of pain……

Around noon, a palace maid slowly walked in leading a woman.

At this time, Su Qi Qi didn’t dare to lift her head. She was afraid of seeing her mother’s pained expression, and even more afraid of seeing her mother crying heart-achingly because of her.

“This qie greets Empress Dowager niang niang……” Xiao Die was extremely confused. Suddenly being sent for by the Empress Dowager, of course she would be confused as to why.

And knelt down.

But when she saw Su Qi Qi kneeling to one side, she started and completely froze: “Qi Qi….. you’re……”

“Audacious!” The Empress Dowager’s brows were strict as she angrily exclaimed.

This shout made Xiao Die’s entire body tremble as she hurriedly continued to kneel down, not daring to say anything more.

She had been cowardly and cautious like this her entire life.

Giving a cold smile, an extremely satisfied light flashed through the Empress Dowager’s eyes: “Xia Xiao Die, you also have a day like this? These past years, ai jia actually dearly missed the days when we used to play together.”

This sentence caused Xia Xiao Die to freeze for a moment. At the same time, Su Qi Qi also lifted her eyes to look at her mother.

She actually also saw puzzlement in Xiao Die’s eyes.

Her heart chilled for a moment. She felt she must have seen wrong, just then Su Xie Die’s eyes clearly only contained lack of understanding.

It seemed she didn’t recognize the Empress Dowager at all.

And what the Empress Dowager said……

The expression in Su Xiao Die’s eyes of course was also caught by the Empress Dowager’s eyes. She didn’t feel any surprise and just gave a cold humph: “Didn’t think that after so many years you’re still like this. Acting like this, you can fool Su Shi Chang, but don’t even think of deceiving ai jia……”

She said between gritted teeth.

As she spoke she violently walked up and stomped on Su Xiao Die extremely hard.

From her appearance, she really hates this woman bitterly.

“Ah ……” Su Xiao Die couldn’t endure the pain and cried out softly. Due to her personality, she could only suffer in silence. Very quickly, she covered her lips with both hands and swallowed the sounds of pain.

“Haha, that year when you schemed to make ai jia be married to that person, you should have already realized that there would be today. All these years, ai jia used up a lot of effort and faced many hardships before ai jia was able to sit in this seat. Say, how should ai jia thank you?” She spoke while gnashing her teeth with a cold sinister expression, causing goosebumps to rise on the skin.

Xia Xiao Die also worked hard to make herself calm down. There are some things she didn’t know of, but right now she also has no way to reply. That time, she also had no other roads to take, that’s why she would be like this. Didn’t expect that now, there would be someone that came to settle old accounts.

It was just that her heart felt uneasy for dragging Su Qi Qi down for nothing, and she also felt extremely sad.

“Empress Dowager niang niang…… back then, this qie is to blame for everything.”  Xia Xiao Die could only weakly kneel there and beg with a voice full of appeal: “I beg you to let Qi Qi go. She’s innocent. She doesn’t have anything to do with this matter……”

She spoke in a tearful voice.

“Let her go?” In regards to Xia Xiao Die’s attitude, the Empress Dowager couldn’t be more pleased. She also know that this woman did not live well in the Prime Minister’s Residence, but her heart was still unhappy with everything that happened back then: “If ai jia lets her off, who will let off ai jia‘s son?”

Xia Xiao Die understood the meaning within the Empress Dowager’s words and her facial color changed. She crawled to Su Qi Qi: “Qi Qi, promise the Empress Dowager niang niang that you won’t antagonize His Majesty…… say it……”

Tears blurred her eyes.

Her hands were shaking. In reality she didn’t wish for Su Qi Qi to do this, but right know, she already knew that there was no turning back.

Su Qi Qi bit her teeth as she looked at her own mother. She never thought that things would get to this situation. Originally, Mo wen Chen could completely protect her mother but right now, it was her mother that had came to beg for mercy for her(Qi Qi).

What exactly happened that year? Why is her mother’s behavior so consistent?

She only had suspicions in her heart. She had no way to fully understand the entire process of development.

“Mother ……” Su Qi Qi gently called.

At the side, the Empress Dowager simply watched coldly. Since she had already moved her hand, she would not retrieve it so easily.

She simply wanted to see a show. Seeing Xia Xiao Die suffer, she would feel refreshed in her heart.

This was just the beginning.

Xia Xiao Die saw the unwillingness and hesitation in Su Qi Qi’s eyes and her heart also sank a little. All these years, she was so worried that Su Qi Qi might face the least bit of danger so she had always been extremely cautious and prudent. But right now, she realized that everything was already out of her control.

“Qi Qi, Mother has let you down. It’s Mother that dragged you down…..” Xia Xiao Die tightly held Su Qi Qi’s hands. Not wanting to let go, she looked sorrowfully at Su Qi Qi: “You must live well, nothing must happen to you Qi Qi…… Otherwise, I’ll die with remaining grievances…..”

There were some words, she wanted to say. But because of the people present, she could not say it.

She suddenly regretted that she didn’t tell her everything that day……

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