Empress Mo kowtowed to Emperor Jin and calmly said, "Your Majesty, this concubine has disobeyed the divine command and presumptuously came to see Zhao Yang. I am truly guilty. I dare not defend myself, but may Your Majesty punish me. This concubine will bear it without complaint!"
Husband and wife for many years, Empress Mo has come to understand the temperament of the emperor well. Now, if she were to defend herself or beg for mercy, the emperor would surely become even more angry. It would be better to candidly admit her mistake, which might temper his anger slightly and prevent her from appearing too distressed.
Jin Guifei interjected, "The Empress Dowager sure is daring. But I wonder if there is something the Empress Dowager felt compelled to say to the princess that she ran the risk of defying the divine command and ventured here?"
"No!"
