C363 (2/2)

”Don't forget what you just promised.”

”En!”

As Wei Qing watched him quickly undo his clothes, his heart was filled with unease.

However, what made her feel gratified was that Xiao Qingqian was not infatuated with her. After the two of them took a bath, they returned to the Inner Palace and slept in each other's embrace.

The next morning, someone from the palace came and the empress dowager summoned her to the palace.

Wei Qing was startled at first, but then she remembered that today was the day of the Four Great Academies' Grand Competition.

Nanny Qiu had a face full of smiles when he saw her, ”Congratulations Princess Chu!”

Wei Qing blinked her eyes, ”Nanny Qiu, where did this pleasure come from?”

”You'll know once the princess goes.”

Wei Qing's heart surged with great joy. Could it be that she really wanted to bestow her with a Death-Free Token?

As she sat in the carriage, Wei Qing's emotions fluctuated. She took deep breaths again and again, and barely suppressed the surprise in her heart.

In the Tzu Ning Palace, the empress dowager's eyes were currently closed as she collected the buddhist beads. When she heard the sound of footsteps, she slowly opened her eyes.

”Wei Qing, come sit beside This Dowager.”

Wei Qing nodded. After the blessings, she sat beside the empress dowager.

”You are indeed a woman that This Dowager values!” Her Majesty took her hand with a kind smile.

”The empress dowager's words are too harsh, this concubine is only doing her best.”

”You didn't pursue a personal victory or defeat, instead, you focused on the overall situation. Isn't this worthy of being praised by This Dowager?”

Wei Qing smiled but did not speak.

The empress dowager and Wei Qing chatted for a while. Although there were rewards, they didn't mention anything about the Death-Free Token at all. Although Wei Qing couldn't use the Death-Free Token right now, it didn't mean that she didn't want it.

After all, she had already taken first place. Logically speaking, there should be this Death-Free Token.

Seeing that Wei Qing's eyes were unfocused, no one knew what she was thinking about, the empress dowager frowned. ”Wei Qing?”

Wei Qing suddenly retracted her mind, and stiffly curled her lips: ”Esteemed Empress Dowager, is there anything else?”

The empress dowager could already tell with a glance that Wei Qing actually wanted this piece of Death-Free Token.

But previously, she had already mentioned to her that the Death-Free Token could only save one person's life, why did she still want this so urgently?

”Esteemed Empress Dowager …” Wei Qing had a straightforward personality to begin with, being so agitated was truly torturous. She stood up and knelt down, ”I will speak the truth, if I want this Death-Free Token, I won't be able to understand my own heart.”

The empress dowager frowned slightly. ”Then why?”

”I just feel that this Death-Free Token is something I deserve, so I hope that Esteemed Empress Dowager will not probe me again.”

The empress dowager really didn't expect Wei Qing to be so straightforward and direct. After frowning for a moment, she slowly spoke up.

”Wei Qing, you are truly a very smart and special woman.”

Wei Qing did not make a sound, and only calmly looked at the empress dowager.

”The Emperor did indeed intend to summon you to the palace and bestow you with a death-free gold medal in front of all the civil and military officials. However, This Dowager stopped him!”

Boom — —

It was as if thunder exploded inside Wei Qing's brain as she looked at the empress dowager in disbelief.

The empress dowager took a deep breath. ”This piece of Death-Free Token is currently in This Dowager's hands. If you ever want to use it in the future, This Dowager will naturally not hesitate to give it to you!”

Wei Qing blinked her eyes, puzzled by the empress dowager's words.

She had already expressed her intentions. Why would the Empress Dowager do this?

If the Death-Free Token was not gifted to her in front of all the people, even if she took it out one day, the court officials would probably think that the empress dowager was deliberately biased against her. After all, this Death-Free Token did not come with a proper name!

”Empress Dowager, I can temporarily leave the Death-Free Token with the empress dowager, but everything has to be reasonable!”