"How audacious! How dare you defy my command?" the Empress Dowager snarled, slamming her hand on the table.
Zhang Maoquan's heart trembled, and a cold sweat broke out on his brow. 'Where the hell is that bastard Meng Jiuchang? I can't hold out on my own for much longer.'
But he had to hold out, whether he could or not. If he dared to let Nanny Yao in and something happened to Song Zhaoyi, he wouldn't even need the Empress Dowager to deal with him—the Emperor would peel his skin off when he returned.
"I wouldn't dare. Please forgive me, Empress Dowager," Zhang Maoquan replied with a deep bow, but he didn't move an inch to let her pass. "I am merely following orders."
Whose orders?
Everyone present knew the answer.
The Empress Dowager hadn't expected the Emperor to be so wary of her. Her fury boiling over, she commanded, "Guards! Drag this insolent dog, who doesn't know his place, away from my sight!"
"Wait!"
