The Emperor’s Beloved Ugly Girl

34. Siyao

Translator: Iris Guo

“Mother,” The Empress Dowager couldn’t get out of bed, so Zhong Zhiheng went into her chamber. He made a kowtow to her respectfully, sat on the edge of her bed, gently held her thin hands, and couldn’t help frowning deeply, “You lost weight again?”

The Empress Dowager didn’t respond but looked around the chamber, and all maids left with great respect.

“Mother, you still angry with me?” Zhong Zhiheng observed her face and slowly let go of her hands.

The Empress Dowager looked at Zhong Zhiheng coldly. After a while, she sighed, shook her head, turned her face, and said indifferently: “You promised Siyao that you would take good care of Mingwei.”

Xu Siyao, the niece of the Empress Dowager and cousin of Zhong Zhiheng, was the late Empress with the posthumous title Zhenxian and Zhong Mingwei’s mother.

“If Siyao knew what felony her son had committed, I don’t think that she would cover up his evil deeds. She always knew clearly the right thing to do and the principles to follow, and I admired her.” Zhong Zhiheng looked at the Empress Dowager, and said word for word gently while grinning: “You watched her grow up and knew her more than I did. Right?”

“You! You! Stop your high-sounding speech! I know you never liked Mingwei, and I don’t blame you, because I can love and care for him. But you are his father! How could you be so heartless?” The Empress Dowager suddenly got agitated, pointed at Zhong Zhiheng trembling, and glared at him, “Since you treated Mingwei like this, aren’t you afraid that Siyao will take your life or cry in your dreams every night?”

“Mother, I’m afraid you don’t know that for 32 years, Siyao has never been in my dreams.” Zhong Zhiheng compressed his lips bitterly and sighed faintly: “It would be nice to see her, even in nightmares, but I never saw her. How could she be so heartless?”

The Empress Dowager looked at Zhong Zhiheng’s sad face, and couldn’t help feeling bad for him. After all, he was her son.

“Your Majesty, if you love Siyao this much, you should have taken good care of Mingwei. How could you just let them frame him? He’s Siyao’s son!” The Empress Dowager held Zhong Zhiheng’s hands and hastened to continue: “I, a woman in the harem who doesn’t care about the outside world, already know that Mingwei was definitely framed by others deliberately. Why don’t you, his father, know better? You even held a candle to the devil and sent him to NingGuTa! Let Mingwei back. Even if you really don’t want him to be the Crown Prince, you could just let him be a normal prince. NingGuTa is such a barren and horrible place, and he couldn’t stay there. You…”

“Your Grace!” Zhong Zhiheng suddenly interrupted the Empress Dowager, looked at her wet eyes indifferently, and got rid of her hands, “Women in the harem are forbidden to intervene in the politics. This is the rule you ask all imperial concubines to keep in mind. How come you forget about it today?”

“Zhong Zhiheng!” The Empress Dowager became hysterical and shouted out. Immediately, she calmed down, looked at him coldly, and said faintly, “Your mother is tired, and you can be excused.”

“Yes, mother. Sleep well. I’ll see you in a couple of days.”

Zhong Zhiheng stood up and walked out slowly.