Detective Ghost Empress

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352 Forced to spend time together

Zhai Tianyu clenched his fingers inside his sleeves, he knew that his grandmother will not sit silently once she finds out that he had a fallout with Ji Yu. She might have acted like she was not associating herself with the politics of the imperial palace but now as he looked at her meddling in his affairs he could see that the reason she did not associate herself with his business and the imperial palace was that he was following the path that she had paved for him and not because she did not want to get involved into the politics.

He pursed his lips and then took a deep breath before saying in a quiet voice, ” I am supposed to be riding with the Queen, your majesty. This is the law, even my father travelled to the forest with imperial mother when it was the time to hunt, how can I suddenly bring consort Ji with me instead of the Empress?”

Even though he tried to suppress the resistance that he was feeling towards sharing the same carriage as Ji Yu, some of his feelings still came out on his face. The grand dowager Empress was a woman who had seen all sorts of men in her life, how could she not see that Zhai Tianyu was reluctant to be with Ji Yu? She inwardly cursed Ji Yu for messing up such a good thing for their family but she knew that she could not be careless while dealing with such a delicate matter.

If she was to act impulsively, then she was afraid that Zhai Tianyu might create an iron wall between him and the Ji family, for the sake of her desires and the Ji family’s wonderful future, she could not allow that to happen which was why she put on a smile that was both sympathetic and stern as she looked at Zhai Tianyu and said,

” Your majesty, I believe this is the day we all have been waiting for,” with a smile that was making her cheeks ache, The Grand Dowager Empress looked at Zhai Tianyu. ” Did you not say that you want to knock the Liu Family down a peg or two? This is the opportunity for you to do so, why are you worried about the laws and whatnot? You are the king, you can change the law according to your wishes.”

The smile on her face slipped down a notch as she continued to stare at Zhai Tianyu and added with a cold voice, ” Or is it that you wish to no longer associate yourself with the same goal as the Ji family, your majesty?”

Zhai Tinayu clenched his hands so hard that he dug his fingernails deep enough into his palms to draw blood. But he still lowered his stance and replied, ” I never said that, your majesty. I just thought that since the matter of Consort Liu’s death was still fresh in the mind of the members of the Liu family, I should not give them an opportunity to attack me again.”

” You do not have to worry about that,” The Grand Dowager Empress waved her hand to the side and then pinned Zhai Tianyu with an assessing gaze. ” You graced them on the day of the respect paying ceremony after Consort Liu was buried in her tomb, I am certain they will not dare to complain given that you stood with them in their grief instead of the Ji family, after all, balance is what the imperial court is about.”

She raised her hand in front of Zhai Tianyu and then showed him the back of her palm as she tipped it to the side, ” If you make a mistake and cause the balance to be disturbed, I am afraid that you will lose your court as well as your throne your majesty.”

.....

The Grand Dowager Empress was threatening him with a rebellion, he might be acting like a fool but he was not one in his head.

Zhai Tianyu clenched his teeth so hard that he was sure that he had to rely on soups and porridge for the next three weeks but he still pulled his lips up into a smile and said in a lofty and unconcerned voice, ” Right you are grandmother, I need to be fair.”

With that he turned to look at Ji Yu who was standing behind the Grand dowager Empress and did not dare to look at him throughout the entire time, he suppressed the anger in his heart and said with a pleasant smile, ” Come with me consort, I will lead you to my carriage.”

Ji Yu felt her breath hitch in her throat as she clenched the robe that she was wearing over her skirt and blouse in her hands but she could not say that she did not want to ride in the carriage by forcing her husband to sit with her like this since she did not dare to go against the Grand Dowager Empress who could bring a substitute for her with a snap of her fingers if she was to go against her.

She drew a breath with her lips parted and then straightened her back drawing out her aura which matched the bright golden robe in which she was dressed, she raised her feet and followed Zhai Tianyu when she heard The Grand Dowager Empress speak from behind, ” I asked you to act as a loving husband, your majesty. You are making it look like Ji Yu is your servant by making her walk behind you.”

Zhai Tianyu closed his eyes before he stretched out his hand in front of Ji Yu for her to take, he did not smile nor did he look at her. He just stared ahead while waiting for her to take his hand, Ji Yu looked at the bloody marks on his palm and felt her heart twist.

She knew that Zhai Tianyu hated to be forced into a corner and be treated like a puppet, in the past he was treated like one by Liu Dong Ming when he was forced to marry Liu Hui Ying but this time the one who forced him was the Grand Dowager Empress and the one whom he was supposed to accept was her.

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