The Prime Minister's Darling novel Chapter 680

Chapter 680: 322 The Truth Revealed (Double Update)_4

There was another inkstone that Xiao Liulang had given her yesterday.

Elder Jiushi’s eyes were red.

"Teacher," Xiao Liulang spoke softly.

"I’m all right." The elder Jiushi wiped his old tears, put Zhang Xiu’s belongings in order, packed them up, and then stumbled as he walked out.

Xiao Liulang supported him.

Elder Jiushi’s voice trembled, "I...I’m really all right."

Clink!

The inkstone slipped out of the bundle and smashed onto the floor.

The elder Jiushi bent down to pick it up.

"I’ll do it," Xiao Liulang said.

He picked up the inkstone first, "I’ll keep it."

The elder Jiushi did not insist.

His feelings were complex, and his mind was in chaos. He felt that he had hurt both Zhang Xiu and Xiao Hen.

He choked out, "You... don’t resent her... blame me... it was me... she did it for me..."

Xiao Liulang sighed, "Even if it wasn’t her, there would be others. The truly hateful one is the mastermind behind the scenes. Teacher, you shouldn’t blame yourself, what happened in the past has nothing to do with you, and neither does what happened last night."

If he had been determined to investigate, he would have reached this point eventually.

The elder Jiushi merely accelerated the process by connecting him with Zhang Xiu, but this would not have changed the outcome.

Zhang Xiu’s fate was sealed when she reached out to harm an innocent four-year-old child.

He might forgive, but the heavens would not.

Elder Jiushi went to collect Zhang Xiu’s body. Xiao Liulang did not follow. Forgiveness was his greatest charity, and he would not undertake her funerary ceremonies.

Xiao Liulang went to Renshou Palace.

The Empress Dowager was in the study room, continuing to read the memoranda presented by the Grand Tutor. Only after the memoranda had passed through her hands would they be given back to the ministers to present to the Emperor in court.

Master Qin waited to one side. Seeing Xiao Liulang, his eyes lit up and he said to the Empress Dowager, "The tea has gone cold. I’ll go and make a pot of hot tea."

The Empress Dowager glanced at Xiao Liulang, "Hmph."

Master Qin withdrew with a smile, taking the rest of the palace maids with him.

"What are you here for?" The Empress Dowager asked indifferently as she perused the memoranda.

"Just passing by," Xiao Liulang said.

Neither of them were the kind to explain more than necessary, and neither was willing to be the first to break the ice.

"I’ll leave then."