Sister Qing jumped in fright.
"Empress Dowager, you mustn't speak like that!"
"What if… what if someone is framing the Noble Consort?"
"In a place like the Harem, when is it ever clean?!"
The Empress Dowager took a handkerchief, wiped away a tear from the corner of her eye, and gave a cold laugh.
"Framing her?"
"Do you distrust me, or do you distrust the Emperor?"
Sister Qing hastened to say she dared not.
The Empress Dowager continued, "Even a vicious tiger will not eat its cubs; my son, the Emperor, would never do such an absurd thing!"
"As for the Empress… I have spent a lifetime in this Harem. No matter what, my roots run deeper than hers! The Empress's petty tricks are hardly worth a glance in her eyes."
After the incident with Honored Lady Hu came out, the Empress Dowager had spoken about it several times, both openly and covertly, and the Empress hadn't dared to make another move.
"It shouldn't be her!" The Empress Dowager still shook her head.
