The Prime Minister's Darling novel Chapter 538

Chapter 538: 269 Entering the Palace (Second Watch)_2

Becoming the Grand Marshal in charge of all military horses... wouldn’t that elevate him above the Marquis Xuanping?

Empress Dowager Zhuang did not oppose his appointment as the libationer for the Guozijian, which added to his prestige. However, if he rejected her decree now, she would have a way to prevent the old libationer from taking office.

There had always been a delicate balance between them, but this time the Empress Dowager had indeed been too forceful!

The Grand Marshal for the military? Why didn’t she just depose him and become the emperor herself!

Empress Dowager Zhuang: "If your majesty has any objections, we can discuss it another day."

The Emperor’s fingernails dug into his palm: "I have no objections. Your ideas are my ideas."

After the royal court adjourned, the Emperor returned to his palace with a gloomy face.

Empress Dowager Zhuang also returned to Renshou Palace.

Everyone supposed that the Empress Dowager had won, but only she understood that she was not happy.

Upon entering Renshou Palace, all traces of her arrogance and caprice vanished, and she fell into infinite loneliness.

Zhuang Mengdie, who was closest to the Empress Dowager, discovered something was off. In just two days, the Empress Dowager had lost weight.

Zhuang Mengdie could still recall the night of the storm, when the empress mother arrived at her house wounded, her face then was ruddy, but these days, her eyes lost their brightness and glitter whenever they were alone.

The Empress Dowager in this condition made her heart ache.

After frowningly returning to the Huaqing Palace, the Emperor locked himself alone in the sleeping palace.

All who heard about the issues in court were afraid to upset the Emperor, but there happened to be someone who hadn’t heard about the unrest.

Qin Chuyu.

Recently, Qin Chuyu had been trying to find a way to fulfill his promise to his little schoolmate. But, the crown prince and princess didn’t have time for him. He had no choice but to go to his father for help.

"Father, father, Xiaoqi misses you!"

The first rule of Xiaojingkong’s adorable behavior was to say sweet things first!

As expected, the emperor’s gloomy face lightened up when he saw his plump little son and asked, "Why are you here today? Don’t you have class?"

"Guozijian is on leave today!" Qin Chuyu sat beside his father.

He was still young, so the Emperor did not impose strict rules on him. However, he wasn’t always like this. After seeing how Xiaojingkong interacted with his family, Qin Chuyu began to copy him.

Except for the eldest prince, none of the emperor’s sons had ever been this close with him. They were like an ordinary father and son pair.

Qin Chuyu held his father’s hand: "Father, can I ask you for a favour?"

The Emperor: "Speak."

Qin Chuyu: "Can I invite my classmates to play in the palace?"

Usually, the emperor would not refuse such a small request, but today he was quite upset by the Empress Dowager. He said, "Your grandmother has returned to the palace. You know she dislikes noise and people causing a ruckus in the palace. If any of you lot accidentally disturb her, I won’t be able to stand up for you."

Qin Chuyu said softly, "Oh, father, you can manage an entire empire, so why can’t you manage a couple of small mishaps from us kids?"

What a flatterer!

The Emperor laughed and said in exasperation, "So you know that you guys are troublemakers."

Qin Chuyu hugged his arm and started to act cute, "Please father, Xiaoqi loves you!"

The Emperor was covered in goosebumps!

At eight years old, do you really think you’re four!

The Emperor could not possibly agree; at this critical juncture, he could not give the Empress Dowager any handles.

Qin Chuyu didn’t understand these scheming palace intrigues; he only knew that he had made a promise to his friends and that he must keep it.

He stuck to the Emperor like a little tail. The Emperor went to the Imperial Study Room, and Qin Chuyu was there. The Emperor went to the Imperial Garden, and Qin Chuyu was there. Finally, the Emperor went to the outhouse.

Qin Chuyu followed him right in.

The Emperor: "..."

Once the Emperor had made up his mind, it was next to impossible to change it. Despite all his efforts, Qin Chuyu couldn’t persuade him to change his mind.

"Go back now. You have to wake up early for school tomorrow."

Qin Chuyu dejectedly walked forward; they happened to be by the Taiye Pool. Unintentionally he slipped, toppling towards the pool.

The Emperor lunged to grab him, but Qin Chuyu had squatted down and covered his head. As a result, the Emperor missed and plunged into the pool with a splash.