Even if Wu Jingguo told him that Empress Dowager asked him to leave so she could rest, Wu Jinhai continued to walk towards Empress Dowager's residence. Deep down, he knew that Empress Dowager only wanted to expel Wu Jingguo from her residence by saying that excuse, and that was why he had insisted on going to his grandmother this time.
And he guessed it accurately because his grandmother welcomed him warmly into the residence.
"Aiyah! I couldn't even congratulate you in person last night after you got what you deserved, Jiang'er! I'm not really a good grandmother, am I?" The old woman sadly spoke to the young man sitting next to her.
When Wu Jingguo visited her residence, she only greeted the Second Prince at the table as they sat formally at the table, but when it was the Crown Prince who visited her at her residence, she invited the red-robed man to sit on her bed, and she even caressed the young man's cheek affectionately.
Wu Jinhai always loved visiting his grandmother. The first reason was that the old lady had always loved him, and the second reason was that the old lady had always called him by his birth name, Wu Jiang, until now. He once asked the reason why she kept calling him that, but she only said that she used to call him by that name when he was little, and she was so used to the habit that she didn't want to change it to this day.
"It's fine, Grandmother," Wu Jinhai gently replied. "I heard that you haven't been feeling well in the past few days, and therefore you should get enough rest so you can recover soon."
Wu Jinhai had returned to his normal human form, but he still remembered how he had been forced to wear a mask to cover up the traces of poison within his body on his forehead. He wasn't quite a normal human until two weeks ago, and his grandmother was one of the people who still supported him despite his condition.
When the Empress Dowager had just learned the truth that her first grandson was poisoned by a fish demon many years ago, she even wailed bitterly over the baby's misfortune. She even ordered everyone to find a cure for the poison, but sadly, there was no cure at that time.
Two weeks ago, Empress Dowager finally received the good news that her favorite grandson had returned to being a normal human, and she could finally cry tears of joy at that.
"Aiyah! I'm already so old, Jiang'er. I'm not even sure if I'll be able to witness it when you finally ascend the throne to replace your father," the woman replied helplessly while shaking her head.
"Don't say that, Grandmother. You are the strongest woman I've ever known, and I believe you will live a long life," Wu Jinhai replied.
Hearing Wu Jinhai's answer, Empress Dowager pulled her hand away from the young man's cheek before she let out a heavy sigh. "I can accept it even if I have to die tomorrow, Jiang'er. I'm already very grateful that you have finally managed to get what you deserve. You are now the Crown Prince of this empire, and the child that was born to that shameless woman is finally lost everything. That's already enough for me."
It was still the same even after Wu Jinhai returned to being a normal human once again. The Empress Dowager still disliked Wu Jingguo and his mother, and it was no wonder that the old lady spoke bitterly about them.
"The Second Prince visited you before I came here, didn't he, Grandmother?" Wu Jinhai asked the old woman instead of responding to what the woman had just said.
"That's right," the woman replied. "Did you meet that kid on your way to this place? Did he tell you what I told him before he finally left with the traitor?"
The Empress Dowager suddenly sounded extremely sarcastic, and she even mentioned the word "traitor." Sure enough, she was talking about Yu Ming, and Wu Jinhai couldn't help but sigh when he heard the woman's irritation.
"Yu Ming is not a traitor, Grandmother. His Majesty assigned him to be the Second Prince's attendant, but I don't think it's a bad idea. How Yu Ming will start working for the Second Prince will give me an advantage since he can keep his eye on the Second Prince for me, and he will tell me if the Second Prince is planning something bad for me," Wu Jinhai carefully answered his grandmother's words.
Wu Jinhai had always been patient when it came to his grandmother. After all, he knew very well about the woman's character, and he also knew that old people tended to change a lot compared to the way they lived their lives when they were young. Thus, Wu Jinhai was able to understand his grandmother, and that was why he did not speak harshly to her.
And now the Empress Dowager finally let out a heavy sigh before shaking her head helplessly once again. "I don't understand why you trust Ming'er so much, Jiang'er," she replied.
Hearing the woman's answer, Wu Jinhai couldn't help but smile slightly. He didn't even have a reason not to believe Yu Ming, but perhaps it was difficult to explain, and that was why he didn't answer his grandmother's words in the end.
"Even if I don't understand why you trust Ming'er so much, I have no complaints about it, Jiang'er. However, I'm actually still bothered by something related to that child," the old woman spoke again, and Wu Jinhai frowned this time.
"What's troubling you, Grandmother?" Asked the young man.
The woman intently looked at her grandson as she remained silent for a moment, but then she opened her mouth to reply, "The thing that irritates me related to him is how he likes men, Jiang'er. I don't care how he usually looks for a partner, but I don't like it when he influences you. I don't like knowing the fact that you are now in a relationship with a man, Jiang'er."