vrcanaries Chapter 454 Formal Meeting
Chapter 454 Formal Meeting
Nanny Ke was summoned into the palace by the Empress Dowager, while Luo Xiaoran and Chen Ji were still waiting outside the palace, as if they were being deliberately ignored.
However, considering their relationship with the Empress Dowager, it is normal for them to be ignored!
Thinking of this, Luo Xiaoran couldn't help but laugh.
"What is Xiaoran thinking about?" He laughed so happily.
"I was just wondering, is the Queen Mother going to leave us here forever?"
Luo Xiaoran pointed her chin in the direction of the palace door and said, "I'm wondering now, is the Empress Dowager satisfied or dissatisfied with the painting?"
There was a hint of contemplation in Chen Ji's eyes. The Empress Dowager was so excited about the scroll, but she didn't even open it to take a look. Why was she so excited?
What would she think when she saw that this was a portrait of Mo Shen when he was young?
"Xiao Ran, don't you think the Empress Dowager seems to care too much about Mo Shen?"
"Although Mr. Mo Shen is well-known throughout the world and has the power to influence the situation in the court, he has never interfered in government affairs. Why does the Empress Dowager value him so much?"
Luo Xiaoran frowned slightly, and she also couldn't figure this out, but she always had a big imagination. If she was asked to guess...
"Your Highness, you are approaching this from the official side, how about changing your perspective and thinking about it from the private side?"
"As I recall, Mo Shen is only seven or eight years older than the Grand Empress Dowager?"
"When Mo Shen was in the early days of the uprising, the Empress Dowager had not yet married Emperor Taizong, right? So..."
Chen Ji blinked, a little surprised. He really hadn't thought about it in this regard.
But it's not his fault. Who would speculate about the love affair between these two unrelated people?
There are always some weird ideas in Xiao Ran's head...
"When Mo Shen was painting this, I heard him mutter something, saying that the Empress Dowager was obsessed, but she wouldn't embarrass me after seeing this painting."
Luo Xiaoran bit her lip and said, "Your Highness, Mo Shen can save me with just one of his portraits. Is he really not the obsession of the Empress Dowager?"
Chen Ji: “…”
How should he answer this?
Could it be that his father's empress, now the Empress Dowager of Daliang, has always had someone else in her heart?
Chen Ji shook his head violently, secretly laughing at how he was led astray by Xiao Ran.
Suddenly, he changed the subject, his words carrying a deep meaning:
"The Empress Dowager's health... doesn't look good."
"Yes!" Luo Xiaoran immediately nodded in agreement.
"It doesn't look like she's pretending, but she clearly attended the Lidong Palace Banquet before we left for Chuzhou."
"But then again, after all, there was a golden curtain between us, so we couldn't see the Grand Empress Dowager's condition clearly, and she left the table early... She wasn't really forcing herself, was she?"
"Just to wait for us to bring Mo Shen back? I still think there is a story between her and Mo Shen..."
The two were chatting in low voices when Madam Ke walked out with a calm expression on her face. However, Luo Xiaoran and Chen Ji did not ignore her slightly red eyes, and they immediately had something in mind.
"The Empress Dowager summoned Prince Yan and Luo Xiaoran to the palace."
This time, neither behind the golden curtain nor in the brocade tent, the two finally saw the true face of the Empress Dowager.
The old man in his seventies was dressed in a gorgeous phoenix robe and sat in a magnificent palace with carvings of dragons and phoenixes, emitting an invisible aura of oppression.
Although time has turned her hair white and left deep and shallow marks on her face, if you look closely, her facial contours are still clearly visible. Although her facial features cannot be called delicate, they reveal an imperceptible majesty.
"Come closer and raise your head so I can have a good look at you."
During his ten years of guarding the border, Chen Ji never paid a visit to the Empress Dowager every time he returned to the capital to report on his work, and of course he was never summoned by the Empress Dowager.
Therefore, the two met for the first time in ten years until today.
As for Luo Xiaoran, the Empress Dowager didn't look closely at her through the golden curtain at the Beginning of Winter Dinner. She just instinctively felt that Luo Xiaoran had the same thing as Mo Shen.
In the end, it was proved that her feeling was correct, Luo Xiaoran did bring Mo Shen to her.
The Empress Dowager narrowed her eyes slightly and glanced at Luo Xiaoran and Chen Ji with a sharp gaze.
After a long time, she finally let out a long sigh, which seemed to carry many emotions: sorrow, sadness, envy, and regret.
"What a perfect match~~"
"My imperial decree of marriage really did not match couples randomly!"
As she said this, the Empress Dowager suddenly raised the corners of her mouth, and the fishtail-like wrinkles at the corners of her eyes appeared even more fine and deep, as if each one was telling of the vicissitudes of life she had experienced.
"Luo Xiaoran, is Mo Shen... okay?"
The topic changed so quickly that Luo Xiaoran almost didn't react. She recalled Mo Shen's handsome face and replied truthfully:
"Replying to the Empress Dowager, Mr. Mo Shen...is in high spirits and still as charming as ever."
"Since he is in good health, why doesn't he want to come to Kyoto and send me away with a painting?"
The Empress Dowager suddenly opened her eyes wide, her pupils were as deep as lake water, making it difficult to see the mystery within.
Luo Xiaoran: ...Although I know the answer to this question, I must never say it out loud!
"The Grand Ancestor summoned Mr. Mo Shen back to the capital three times. Mr. Mo Shen has remained true to his original aspirations!"
Chen Ji replied on behalf of Luo Xiaoran, his cold tone seemed to be able to freeze the air around them.
Luo Xiaoran, who was standing nearby, heard this and thought to herself that Chen Ji was someone who would insult others.
She pursed her lips tightly, afraid that she would burst out laughing, but her big, lively eyes were flashing with a smile that was hard to conceal.
That's right! Mo Shen didn't even listen to Taizu's call for him to come back, so what you, Taizu's daughter-in-law, said works?
"Cough, cough, cough!"
As if angered by Chen Ji's words, the Empress Dowager coughed violently, and Madam Ke quickly handed her a bright yellow brocade handkerchief.
When the handkerchief was taken away from the Empress Dowager's mouth, the bloodstains on it were clearly visible.
Luo Xiaoran and Chen Ji looked at each other, and they became more convinced that the Empress Dowager was about to die.
Luo Xiaoran didn't smell the blood before because the smell of sandalwood in the hall was too strong and covered it up.
"You don't have to speculate in your mind. Yes, my body is useless."
"King Yan, are you happy to hear this news?"
The Empress Dowager raised her eyelids and cast a faint gaze at Chen Ji, with an inexplicable smile on her lips.
She knew this very well in her heart. Her recovery from a serious illness was just a last gasp, so she was so anxious and urged Luo Xiaoran to bring Mo Shen here.
As her life approached its last moments, she bet her lifelong obsession on Luo Xiaoran.
Now it seems that the bet was won?