Chapter 102 First Consort Feng: The road is narrow, don't let any unlucky things from the side touch it...

In just a few short months at the imperial palace, a natural disaster was followed by a man-made one, and the situation in the court and even the palace underwent a dramatic change.

Not only was the Crown Prince deposed, but even Empress Wang, who had been staying in Kunning Palace for a long time, was deposed and demoted to Consort Qian. She was confined to Changyang Palace to reflect on her mistakes. After this decree was issued, the palace became even quieter.

Nowadays, no one is thinking about competing with the Imperial Concubine Guanju Palace anymore. Instead, the marriage of the Ninth Prince and the Seventh Princess has become particularly eye-catching.

Considering that the Ninth Prince's marriage must have been carefully considered and meticulously chosen by the Emperor, others turned their attention more to the Ninth Prince's younger sister, Princess Jiahe.

Whether it's commoners, wealthy families, or even royal princesses, marriage and engagement are major events, and words like virtuous, beautiful, intelligent, dignified, and graceful are always eager to be associated with them.

For example, the Seventh Princess would "rule the place" in the school, doing her homework in a muddle, or she would simply follow the Ninth Prince out of the palace to "make trouble"... In the past, we could just use her young age as an excuse.

Now everyone is watching, from top to bottom, inside and out, and even the Seventh Princess has to patiently stay in Guanju Palace for the time being.

"hiss--"

Staring at the embroidery frame, touching her fingers that were burning and numb from being pricked, the Seventh Princess sighed deeply, then slowly pushed all these things aside.

The usually energetic and spirited Seventh Princess slumped listlessly on the table, staring blankly at the newly sprouting green shoots outside the window.

There isn't a single stupid child in the palace who seems to have no brains at all.

In the past, with the Crown Prince in charge, everyone's attention was focused on him, and only glances would fall on the other princes. But now, with the Eastern Palace vacant, the atmosphere in the palace... is somewhat subtle.

Even the Seventh Princess instinctively didn't want to give anyone something to criticize because of her, which could cause trouble for A-Zhu or her brother.

The seventh princess looked sullen in the side hall, but the atmosphere in the main hall was even more somber.

With her vision blurring, Ah Zhu's voice trembled as she asked, "Your Majesty, you...you said you're leaving?"

"Ah Zhu, all good things must come to an end."

"Now that the Crown Prince and Empress Wang have been deposed one after another, with no hope of their reinstatement, your worries have all disappeared, and I can finally rest easy."

Everyone has changed over the years, but Consort Feng's laughter remains the same as it was back then.

"I thought I would be stuck in the cold palace, resenting heaven and earth day and night, never to be reincarnated, but that day you barged in recklessly... In my daze, I saw a glimmer of light."

"Meeting you, being with you, and watching you live your life wholeheartedly and positively, without following the same path I took back then... without realizing it, the resentment in my heart has dissipated."

“These days I’ve been sleeping longer and longer. Perhaps in the next moment, or a few days from now, I’ll fall into a daze. Ah Zhu… send me away.”

"If you remain trapped in a daze and eventually don't even know who you are, or if when you finally come to your senses you find that all your loved ones are gone, and the world is vast and empty, leaving you all alone, don't you think that would be too pitiful?"

Consort Feng was A-Zhu's concubine.

When Azhu was at her wit's end, he showed her a way out.

Time in the palace is long, and it's truly rare to find someone you can completely trust and confide in.

A good teacher is hard to find, but a true friend is priceless.

Consort Feng then gave A-Zhu one last lesson—farewell.

Clutching the blood-stained jade hairpin, Ah Zhu, sobbing uncontrollably, slowly nodded.

"......good."

According to the original plan, A-Zhu intended to use Consort Feng's belongings and birth date to find a way to help her pass on to the afterlife.

But when A-Zhu agreed to send Consort Feng away, that voice, which hadn't been heard for a long time, reappeared: [“Beep—!”]

[“Host has activated ‘Heart of the Netherworld’ – Number of bound users: 1; Remaining slots: 0; Would you like to achieve more accomplishments to unlock more slots?”]

[“The bound person cannot unbind themselves... Host, do you wish to sacrifice the ‘Heart of the Netherworld’ to forcibly unbind?”]

["Once this function is sacrificed, it cannot be restored, and the host will experience discomfort during the deactivation process. Please choose carefully."]

"yes."

[“Beep—The host has confirmed the sacrifice. The process is being completed and is estimated to take one minute. Please wait patiently.”]

Pain is probably the most torturous and unbearable feeling in the world.

The intense pain that spread from the heart quickly swept through the entire body, and Ah Zhu's vision went black for a moment, and his body convulsed uncontrollably.

Consort Feng looked at A-Zhu, who had suddenly stood there, nodded a few times, and then turned pale, sweating profusely and trembling slightly.

"A-Zhu, A-Zhu, what happened?"

A-Zhu looked in the direction of the sound. Her pale face was still wet with tears. She clutched her chest exaggeratedly, and a sob escaped her lips as the veins on her neck bulged.

"Your Majesty is about to leave, but thinking about this matter, I, your concubine, am heartbroken."

Ah Zhu's "exaggerated" acting made Consort Feng burst out laughing.

Hearing Consort Feng laugh, A-Zhu also laughed.

As she curled up in pain and knelt on the couch, her head pressed tightly against the embroidered quilt, A-Zhu whispered again, "Your Majesty's great kindness is something I will never forget. I only hope that Your Majesty's wishes will be fulfilled and that you will have a safe journey."

Consort Feng smiled and said, "I haven't even left yet..."

Seeing A-Zhu kneeling on the couch, looking extremely earnest, Consort Feng paused, then suppressed her smile and said seriously, "Thank you for your kind words, A-Zhu. May you enjoy prosperity, peace, and good health in the future. Take good care of yourself..."

People always seem to disappear without a trace when they're saying goodbye.

A-Zhu, lying sideways on the couch, touched a handkerchief and stuffed it into her mouth, biting it tightly to keep her sobs from getting out.

It was Ah Zhu's usual afternoon nap time, and no one was disturbing her in the hall.

After a while, the curtain was slowly lifted.

Seeing Ah Zhu's face covered in tears, Emperor Xuanpei frowned, reached out and picked her up, then wiped away her tears.

"These past few days have been dedicated to the spring planting season..."

After a pause, Emperor Xuanpei stopped talking about the court affairs that had delayed him, and instead patted Azhu's back gently, saying softly, "Those things in the dream are all false. Once you wake up, they don't count."

“But I am real, Ah Zhu, I am here.”

Hearing Ah Zhu's muffled response, as if still trapped in a nightmare, Emperor Xuanpei thought for a moment and said, "When I came here, I saw Jiahe leaning against the window, sighing and struggling with an embroidery shed."

"She darted around so fast that my eyelids twitched. I only glanced at her a few times before I dared not look any longer. Ah Zhu, if it really doesn't work... let Jiahe rest for a while."

A-Zhu's attention was successfully diverted. She sniffed and said, "Your Majesty cannot falsely accuse me."

"It hurts my eyes to see her sitting in that chair looking like she's being pricked by needles. It was Jiahe herself who brought this up."

"oh?"

Emperor Xuanpei looked outside with a serious expression, then asked with great doubt, "Is the sun rising in the west?"

"Your Majesty."

A-Zhu tugged at Emperor Xuanpei's sleeve and shook it.

“Jiahe is no longer the little girl who only called out to her father and mother. She’s grown up now, and it’s inevitable that she cares about what others think.”

Yes, Jiahe has grown up, so even others have started to pay extra attention to her... Although it is said that men should marry when they are of age and women should marry when they are of age, Emperor Xuanpei's face tightened instantly when he thought of those people who had already begun to subtly probe his intentions.

He frowned, his voice low: "Who has Jiahe seen?"

ah?

A-Zhu was taken aback when the topic suddenly turned to this, and then she slowly shook her head.

“Jiahe didn’t mention it to the concubines…and it doesn’t seem like it.”

Emperor Xuanpei nodded, then said, "Jiahe's marriage is not in a hurry, but Mingchen... Azhu, do you have any thoughts?"

The Jiang family was just a name in name only; there was no one worth getting involved with, and A-Zhu had no other relatives to worry about, so she shook her head.

"Your Majesty and Chen'er can make the decision on this matter."

Among all the princes in the palace, the Ninth Prince is currently unmarried.

Emperor Xuanpei had previously issued an edict suspending the imperial concubine selection process due to flooding, but he made no mention of when the selection would be resumed.

Such a seemingly noble and righteous reason would naturally not be something any courtier would be foolish enough to submit a memorial to the emperor.

The talent show has been suspended, but it's not difficult to meet these young ladies from prestigious families. Emperor Xuanpei smiled and patted Azhu's head.

Even if I don't have any specific requirements, at least they have to be pleasing to the eye.

"Then let's hold a flower-viewing banquet in the palace and invite these people to come and see for yourself."

Having heard Emperor Xuanpei's words to this extent, Azhu naturally had no reason to refuse.

She nodded and smiled, "That's fine."

Seeing that A-Zhu was in much better spirits, Emperor Xuanpei went to change his clothes. A-Zhu, whose face was still a mess from crying, also washed up and changed his clothes before going to the side hall.

The Seventh Princess was still sitting by the window, her expression serious as she worked on her needlework.

A-Zhu waved his hand to stop the palace servant who was in a hurry to report.

She stood there looking at the Seventh Princess, her expression a mixture of relief and melancholy.

Not only does the palace have the Imperial Wardrobe Bureau, but there are also weaving bureaus in places like Jiangnan Circuit, so the Seventh Princess doesn't need to have any exquisite embroidery skills.

Even the Seventh Princess herself never really liked things with floral or bird designs.

But she is also trying her best to protect the people she cares about in her own way.

When a child becomes sensible, growing up happens in the blink of an eye.

That mischievous, troublesome "naughty boy" who loved to snuggle in her arms and act cute has suddenly grown up.

......