Prince Qi walked out of the Cold Palace, stopped, and looked back. His expression showed discomfort. However, the discomfort quickly disappeared.
A phoenix must be reborn from the ashes in order to soar into the sky. Today’s pain was for the sake of the future. He believed that Wan’er could survive.
At Qingning Palace, Consort Dowager Hui and Li Huairou were eating melon seeds, and Consort Dowager Hui asked, “What do you think of this matter?”
“This is clearly a connecting event. Blame it on Lady Su herself for not knowing the person. Such a big trap could definitely not be set in just a day or two. She actually didn’t notice it! She didn’t look like such a stupid person!” Li Huairou actually knew what was going on, but she couldn’t say it too clearly!
Consort Dowager Hui smiled. “Lady Su is not stupid, but she couldn’t stand the plotting of those heartless people, and she was attacked from all sides!” Speaking of which, she was also lamenting. When Imperial Noble Consort Duanmin passed away, Prince Qi was only three years old, and he did not remember anything. Who knew that this child’s scheme would be so deep. She had always thought that Prince Qi just wanted to raise some obstacles for the present emperor, but now it seemed that what he wanted was not something small…
However, what did this have to do with her?
She just wanted to watch the drama.
“Do you think that it would be possible for Lady Su to make a comeback?” Consort Dowager Hui was a little curious. What was the purpose of Prince Qi’s doing this? He was so sure that Lady Su could make a comeback because she looked like Empress Xiaoyuan? But Lady Su looked a little haughty; I’m afraid she’s unwilling to become a stand-in!
Wrong. Although the emperor was empathetic toward Lady Su, he was somewhat sincere. As long as Lady Su was not stupid, she wouldn’t be defeated. It could be estimated that someone had let Lady Su know why she was favored. With Lady Su’s temperament, how could she be willing to be betrayed?
But after such a change, pride should be let go.
Li Huairou didn’t know that, in this short period, Consort Dowager Hui had already thought about it this deeply, and she couldn’t leave it alone. It could only be said that there were no fools in this palace.
Li Huairou went out for a stroll, and Fang-momo stood behind Consort Dowager Hui. “Consort dowager, do we need to send something to the Cold Palace?” Occasionally, they would pick out some people and send charcoal in the snow.
[Timely assistance]
Consort Dowager Hui thought for a while. “You arrange it. Follow all the proper procedures, be careful, and don’t let others find out.” Fang-momo nodded and went out to make arrangements.
In the Cold Palace, after Su Wan’er woke up, her desire to die was gone. Under Huixin’s care, she was struggling to survive.
Huixin came in with a bowl of red date porridge. “My lady, this is red date porridge. You should eat it while it’s hot!”
Su Wan’er took two sips, fed by Huixin. “I’ll do it myself. Have you eaten? Why are your hands so cold?” Su Wan’er frowned and lifted the quilt. “Come in and get warm.”
When they’d come to the Cold Palace, there was nothing there, only these two quilts, which Luo Fu had taken great effort to send them. Although Luo Fu was by the emperor’s side, he was helpless in the Cold Palace; too many eyes were looking, and it was not easy for him to send things.
What’s more, there were not only this master-servant pair in the Cold Palace, but also other people, although most of them were crazy. However, there were many of them—-if something was missing, it wouldn’t be good.
Like this bowl of red date porridge. Huixin had also avoided people with great difficulty when making it.
Su Wan’er drank the red date porridge bit by bit, feeling warmer.
Huixin thought, The lady is still in the middle of confinement, so she has to rejuvenate her body. The conditions in the Cold Palace are simple—don’t think about bird’s nest and ginseng. If there are more red dates and cinnamon, it’d be good to make porridge to replenish her body. But right now, let alone the red dates, there’s not much rice left. Am I going to let the lady eat the leftovers sent to her?
Seeing that it was almost winter, this was not good!
After all, the rice sent from before was almost finished. No matter how reluctant Huixin was, she could only queue up with the crazy women to receive the meals delivered from outside.
When it was Huixin’s turn, Huixin looked down and saw that the food was still the same as always, but there was an extra handful of red dates in her hands. Huixin was stunned, but the person who delivered the meal said in a nasty and disgusting voice, “Take it and get out! Don’t get in the way!”
Her heart thumped with excitement, and she hurried into the house after taking the food. After taking a closer look, although the food given was cold, it seemed to be cleaner than the others.
Huixin didn’t know who was secretly helping them. Could it be Luo Fu? No—if it were Luo Fu, it wouldn’t be such a thing. Who could it be?
No matter who it was, it was good if it could help the lady!
Huixin hurriedly started a fire, picked out the vegetables, added some water to the rest of the rice, put the red dates in, boiled it into a thick porridge, and brought it in.
Su Wan’er was a little surprised. “Isn’t it all gone? Why are we having it again?”
Huixin quietly told this matter to Su Wan’er.
Su Wan’er was also thinking, Who could it be? However, no matter who it was, she wrote this down. If there was a chance in the future, she would repay it.
Time passed unhurriedly.
The harem was still full of flowers. The noble consort had given a maid beside her to the emperor, who quite liked that maid. Soon, she was pregnant. The emperor was very happy and gave the maid the title of “noble lady”. Unexpectedly, the noble lady died after giving birth to the fifth prince. Because the noble lady had been someone next to the noble consort, the noble consort naturally became the foster mother of the fifth prince. Because of the fifth prince, the noble consort gained support, and discord with the empress gradually became apparent.
The empress dowager now lived in comfort, no longer caring about the harem. She always talked to Consort Dowager Hui when she had free time. It annoyed Consort Dowager Hui, but it was not easy to complain in person, so she could only secretly complain with Fang-momo and Li Huairou.
“Read a book and recite the Buddha’s scriptures! If not, can’t you just go busy yourself with raising your children? Always talking to me and having disagreeable conversation, what more is there to say?! It’s so annoying!” Consort Dowager Hui complained angrily.
Fang-momo held back her laughter, but Li Huairou was not polite—she’d already laughed, hugging her belly with her arms.
“Momo, hurry up and find something to give her something to worry about! Save her from coming to me all the time!” Consort Dowager Hui said in a loud voice.
Fang-momo smiled and answered, “It’s coming soon.”
Li Huairou thought that Fang-momo had insider information, so she hurriedly pestered Fang-momo for an answer. Fang-momo just smiled. “There will be trouble between the empress and the noble consort. At that time, the empress dowager will no longer be able to just sit back and watch.”
After a short while, the fifth prince suddenly became seriously ill, and the noble consort was very anxious, bringing in almost half of the imperial physicians. However, the result was still a failure, and the fifth prince passed away.
The noble consort was heartbroken. She cried in front of the emperor, also mentioning the noble lady in her words. The emperor still had some feelings for the enthusiastic and unrestrained noble lady, and he was very sad when he heard that. He also felt sorry for his youngest son’s early death, so he ordered a thorough investigation.
As a result, the third princess was found.
A little palace lady under the third princess had moved out half a month ago because of illness, and she’d died not long after she moved out. The fifth prince had gotten sick after the third princess visited.
The symptoms of the two were similar.
The noble consort immediately wept and fainted after hearing this.
When the empress dowager learned that her beloved granddaughter was also involved, how could she sit still? She had to come out to clean the mess up, and she was overwhelmed with worries, so she naturally didn’t even bother to look for Consort Dowager Hui.
Consort Dowager Hui’s ears were finally clean.
Because she cherished her granddaughter, even if the empress dowager was reluctant, she had no choice but to help the empress clean up her mess, appease the noble consort, and quell the criticism.
After this incident, the empress dowager also grew a little bit cold—the empress’s courage was swelling and swelling. She was bound to get herself killed!
This won’t do, you can’t continue to indulge. Otherwise, she’ll cause more trouble, sooner or later!
But before the empress dowager could come up with any way to control the empress, the noble consort’s counterattack came.
When the third princess was playing in the garden, unexpectedly, a snake came out of the grass. Although the palace people saved her in time, and the third princess wasn’t bitten by the snake, she’d been frightened. She developed a high fever that night. The fever lasted for three or four days before it subsided.
That wasn’t all. What was more serious was that she had nightmares for a month.
The empress was so distressed that she cried until her eyes were swollen. She said it was the noble consort’s doing, and she wanted to condemn the noble consort on the spot.
No matter how others persuaded her, it was only after the empress dowager came that the empress was suppressed.
Although the empress dowager was angry, she didn’t think that the noble consort was in the wrong. The fifth prince was the noble consort’s eyes. You dug out the noble consort’s eyes—wouldn’t anyone be allowed to retaliate? Since you had murderous intentions from the beginning, you should have expected what happened today. Besides, I can’t even protect my own children, idiot!
The empress dowager began to miss the peace of the past.
She could see that there used to be Lady Su there—even the emperor’s heart was hanging onto her, but he was also lucky to have other concubines. Over a year went by with few people, but they were all useless and couldn’t even hold the emperor’s heart.
Even the empress and noble consort were not as tense as they were now. At that time, they’d had a common enemy, and so they naturally could live in peace.
The empress dowager pondered for a long time before she spoke. “How is Lady Su doing in the Cold Palace?”
“Very peaceful. She plants flowers and grass every day, and occasionally recites Buddhist scriptures,” the momo replied.
“Send someone to give her some supplements,” the empress dowager ordered.
“Yes!”
Su Wan’er was surprised when she received the supplements sent by the empress dowager. Her calm heart harbored waves again. And the momo‘s next words made Su Wan’er’s heart hot again. “The empress dowager asks my lady to take care of her body for the future.”
After the visitor left, Huixin shed tears of excitement. “My lady, what do you think this old empress dowager means? Could she be trying to get you out?”
Su Wan’er smiled. “Maybe!”
“Then what about his highness? Haven’t all the arrangements been made?” Huixin said softly.
For more than a year, regardless of the danger, Prince Qi had kept secretly going in and out of the Cold Palace, taking care of Su Wan’er. Her broken heart was finally healed by Prince Qi, and the two came together.
Prince Qi had arranged everything, preparing to have Su Wan’er, master and servant, escape from the palace by faking their deaths. Then they would go with Prince Qi, take her nephew, go far away to find a place where no one knew them, and live a steady life.
Who would have thought that the empress dowager would make this arrangement.
“My lady, what are your plans?” Huixin asked.
“I’m not leaving. If I leave, I’ll surely be able to stay with Henglang, but I’ll have no name and won’t see the sun. I’ll be fine, but what about Wen’er? He’ll have to stay incognito with me for a lifetime and never show his real name. He won’t be able to participate in the imperial examinations for the rest of his life, and he’ll only be able to be a countryman for the rest of his life, and I won’t be able to avenge the Su family in this lifetime! I can’t go!” Su Wan’er’s expression gradually became firmer.
