Chapter 339
Empress Dowager Lu's face turned from red to pale before she finally excused that she had a headache and was not feeling well, opting to return to rest. Whether it was the dragon boat competition or the water shows, she didn't want to watch anything anymore.
After such a scene, what was there to watch? If she didn't know better, she was the star of the drama for others to watch just now.
The Empress pretended not to know why the Empress Dowager Lu was suddenly ill. Thoughtfully, she didn't question it and had someone send the Empress Dowager back to the palace. After Empress Dowager Lu left in a state of embarrassment, the Empress seemed to erase the previous incident from her mind as she led everyone to the stands.
Having fun with the people and showing up in public was a responsibility that she had to uphold. It doesn't matter if the Empress Dowager Lu was not there, but as the Empress, the mother of the country, she could not be absent from the event.
In fact, the Empress thought it was good for Empress Dowager Lu to leave. Otherwise, she would probably feel even more embarrassed. Although Xie Xuanchen also had a bone to pick with her just now, she was merely just acting as the peacemaker. The Empress Dowager was the one who suffered the brunt of the damage as he didn't hesitate to spare her the slightest bit of dignity.
This happened in front of so many people. In the future, how would Empress Dowager Lu have the courage to meet the concubines and the other wives in the future?
The Empress sighed, feeling a strange sense of balance in her heart. Last time at Ye Luyan's reception banquet, Xie Xuanchen didn't spare her either in front of both internal and external envoys and courtiers. The Empress at least, was the original wife of the Emperor and Xie Xuanchen's official 2nd aunt. The Lu family was at best an outsider, so why would he make an exception for her?
Hence, it was fair— Xie Xuanchen not only did not give a damn about the Empress's image, he also did the same to the Empress Dowager, the Emperor, foreign envoys and everyone else. This made the Empress feel slightly better. Everyone would lose their reputation equally, but it would pass with time.
The group of women stood on the tall building to watch the dragon boats, which were also watched by the public on the other side of the lake. On the outside, it appeared as if they were both in awe and excited, but in fact, no one had the heart to pay attention to the event.
They silently stayed away from Xie Xuanchen and Mu Mingtang. Xie Xuanchen was too scary— even the Empress Dowager was embarrassed by him, so how would they dare to offend Mu Mingtang again?
It would be shameful to fight with others, but it would be life-threatening to fight with Mu Mingtang.
No one dared to take Xie Xuanchen's words as a joke. If he said that he was going to kill someone, it was not a joke. With his strength, crushing a human skull would be no more laborious than crushing a walnut.
Many people's hearts were pounding loudly due to the fear that he instilled. They used to think that Xie Xuanchen loved Mu Mingtang very much and hence, he was omnipotent. But because of this incident, they realized that Mu Mingtang was not a woman who was solely favored by the Prince.
She was Xie Xuanchen's reverse scale(4)— anyone who touched the reverse scale of a dragon would be greeted with death.
(T/N: Legend has it that a dragon's scales would grow from birth and never shed, but only a spot under the dragon's neck grew in reverse. Since that was where the heart of the dragon's blood converged, it was also its weak point)