Chapter 553: More and More Play-acting
Translator: Dragon Boat Translation Editor: Dragon Boat Translation
After Su Ying had eaten her fill, a palace maid brought hot water for her to clean her hands. Only then did Su Ying turn to look at the Minister of Justice.
“Why are you sneaking glances at me?” Su Ying shot back at him.
As soon as she finished speaking, the Minister of Justice felt a chill down his spine. The Emperor was looking at him as if he wanted to devour him!
“Your lowly official… lowly official dares not…”
“Don’t tell me you want me to take over this mess for you? Minister of Justice, your scheming is so obvious that even the dogs in the latrine can smell your intention.”
The Minister of Justice’s face turned bright red, but he still persisted.
Xiao Jin took a sip of tea and told the palace maids to remove the barbecue rack.
“Previously, when all the ministers said that the Empress was taking too much control, why did you keep mum?”
The Minister of Justice lowered his head even more. Everyone in the Imperial Court behaved like this. As long as it didn’t harm their own interests, most people wouldn’t speak up.
At that time, the Minister of Justice also had the same thought, but he did not expect retribution to come so quickly!
“Your lowly official deserves to die.”
The Minister of Justice was not only worried that he would not be able to solve the case. He was also worried that if the Great Immortal White Lotus really died, those noble ladies would not let the matter rest and would make a scene at his office. At that juncture, he could forget about keeping himself alive.
“If you want to beg me to save her, it’s not entirely impossible. But Minister, you have to correct your attitude. It is you… who… begged… me… Understand?”
The Minister of Justice didn’t really understand. After so many years in the Imperial Court, a rare look of bafflement showed up on his face.
“I heard that there is a tribe in the southwest who makes a pilgrimage every year. They will make their way from their door to the temple hall on their knees. Mm-hmm, it sounds quite pious,” Xiao Jin said casually.
Su Ying took the cup of tea from the palace maid and nodded. “I seem to have heard of it.”
The Minister of Justice understood then!
Half an hour later, everyone in the palace could see a devout figure kowtowing every step of the way from the palace gate to the Conjugal Phoenix Palace.
When a passerby inquired, the Minister of Justice said that he requested the Empress to save a prisoner.
Asking the mother of a kingdom to save a prisoner?
Everyone felt that the hole in the Minister of Justice’s brain was a little too big.
It was only when the sky was about to turn dark that the Minister of Justice managed to make his way to the outside of the Conjugal Phoenix Palace on his knees.
At this moment, his forehead was already badly swollen from kowtowing and his pants were torn from abrasion. He looked extremely wretched.
In the Conjugal Phoenix Palace, Xiao Jin picked up some food for Su Ying. It was time for dinner again.
“If you don’t want to go, then don’t go.”
Su Ying finished the food in her bowl. “That’s not good. The Minister of Justice kowtowed for the entire afternoon after all.”
Xiao Jin frowned slightly. “You don’t have to be so kind.”
Su Ying shook her head and sighed. “I’m a soft-hearted woman after all.”
Ji picked up a piece of meat with his chopsticks and silently lowered his head to shovel food into his mouth. His father and mother were engaging in more play-acting nowadays…
If it weren’t for that matter about the birth characters, Su Ying probably truly couldn’t be bothered with this incident. However, this matter involved her child, so she couldn’t simply do nothing, especially when the other party came forward to challenge her and even shot at a prisoner in the Ministry of Justice. How bold must this guy be to do that?
The Minister of Justice limped out of the palace with Su Ying.
The real name of the Great Immortal White Lotus was Hao Bailian. According to her own account, her parents died when she was young. As she was a girl, no relatives were willing to take her in when she was young, so she ran to the city and became a beggar.
She had done all kinds of menial work, and swindling and cheating were just daily deeds just so that she could have a bite of food.
She had been out there for a long time and had come into contact with many people, so she became more and more shrewd. It was precisely because of this that Abbot Sanmei chose her and told her to disguise herself as the Great Immortal White Lotus.
After Hao Bailian was shot by the arrow, she was carried to the back courtyard of the Ministry of Justice.
They had already enlisted several doctors, but because of her critical condition, no doctor dared to treat her rashly. When they saw that her breathing was getting weaker and weaker, the people from the Ministry of Justice were also very anxious.
“Your Imperial Highness, she is inside.”
Su Ying gestured to everyone to wait outside the door. She took the medicine box from Zhou Qing and went in alone.
The door then closed, cutting off everyone’s line of sight.
The room was filled with the strong smell of blood.
Hao Bailian, who was lying on the bed, had lost too much blood and her vital signs were getting weaker and weaker.
The arrow on her chest had been cut off at both ends, but the sight was still shocking at first glance.
Su Ying first gave her a basic check-up and found that she was totally unconscious as a result of excessive blood loss.
She took out a piece of black cloth and blindfolded Hao Bailian before bringing her into the interspatial store.
Hao Bailian had already lost a lot of blood. Fortunately, the doctor did not forcefully pull out the arrow from her chest. Otherwise, she would not have been able to hang on until now.
After Su Ying checked her blood type, she first gave her a blood transfusion before preparing to operate on her to remove the arrow.
The arrow had pierced through the right sternum, which was still some distance away from the heart. However, the assailant was able to shoot an arrow that penetrated so deeply at such a short distance. This meant that his archery skills were very formidable.
The arrow had even pierced right through the sternum and shoulder blade. If it were said that this arrow had not been infused with internal energy, Su Ying would never believe it.
Su Ying spent a lot of effort before she managed to cut the arrow into several pieces and pull them out. Even so, there was still a lot of damage done to Hao Bailian’s bones, but at least her life was saved.
After stitching up the wound, Su Ying increased the dosage of the blood transfusion. She wanted Hao Bailian to regain consciousness as soon as possible.
When Su Ying came out of the room, the sun was already high in the sky.
The Minister of Justice was waiting anxiously outside. His subordinates had beseeched him to get his injuries treated several times, but he did not go.
When he saw Su Ying coming out, the Minister of Justice staggered forward. “Your Imperial Highness, it has been hard on you. Please come to the side compartment and rest for a while. I’ve already told my men to prepare food.”
Su Ying was indeed hungry. When she went to the side compartment, the Minister of Justice also followed her. However, when he saw that the Empress had her usual expression, he speculated that the prisoner’s life was no longer in danger.
Sure enough, after Su Ying had eaten her fill, his guess was confirmed once he inquired.
“Your Imperial Highness’s medical skills are truly amazing.”
Su Ying fiddled with the teacup in her hand as she estimated when Hao Bailian would wake up. She had used drugs on Hao Bailian, so after the anesthesia wore off, she would probably regain consciousness.
If she didn’t regain consciousness, then things would become a little troublesome.
The Minister of Justice hadn’t even finished his effusive flattery when the maidservant reported from outside the door, “My Lord, Your Imperial Highness, she has woken up.”
Before the Minister of Justice could react, Su Ying stood up and walked out. The Minister of Justice could only follow.
When Su Ying arrived at the bed, she saw Hao Bailian looking around with her two eyes in bafflement. The moment she saw Su Ying, she seemed very agitated and her face turned even paler from fright.
“Now you know fear? When I told you to tell the truth, why didn’t you know fear?”
Hao Bailian’s eyes widened. She felt that the Empress was not human. It was as if nothing could be hidden from her.
“Your Imperial Highness, I… I really… really didn’t mean to hide it… I have my own difficulties…”