Fengyi Palace.
Empress Yin sat upright on a brocade stool, a wool blanket draped over her knees, while several palace maids massaged her shoulders.
A eunuch hurried into the hall and announced in a drawn-out voice:
"Your Majesty, the mother and son have arrived."
Empress Yin said coldly:
"Summon them!"
Deep in her heart, she hoped that five days later, the two successive White Lotus Cult Leaders would appear openly, skin that bastard and tear out his tendons, then hang his head above Red Cliff.
But she also knew that the bastard would certainly race back to the capital. If he was determined to flee, even the White Lotus Cult could do nothing.
That meant she urgently needed to prepare charges, pin them on him at the court audience, and have him arrested immediately!
Madam Wang and Jia Baoyu stood trembling outside the hall, then dropped to their knees with a thud and said in quavering voices:
"We kowtow before Your Majesty the Empress. May you live a thousand years."
The hall remained silent.
After a long while, Empress Yin asked:
"Jia Wangshi, I recall that you are also an imperially invested lady of the court. Why did you not enter the palace to pay your respects at the last grand palace ceremony or the New Year ceremony?"
Dazed and terrified, Madam Wang pointed to her cheeks and answered truthfully:
"This subject's wife has sores on her face. It would be improper for me to appear in the hall."
Her cheeks were covered in red blisters that even thick powder could not conceal. Repeated surges of anguish and hatred had ravaged her liver and guts, leaving her illness unable to heal.
Empress Yin said icily:
"Both of you, enter the hall!"
To show their reverence, the mother and son shuffled