Chapter 49

Pei Shu did not open her red lips.

But a girl in a pink skirt jumped out of her mind and shouted to the boy in the tree:

"Xue Yuzhuo! I don't want you to take the blame for me. I saw you fall from the tree last time."

A trace of embarrassment flashed across the boy's face, and then a bright smile appeared:

"Last time it was an accident, it won't happen this time, trust me."

There was sincerity in his eyes, and his outstretched hand was almost in front of Pei Shu.

Pei Shu involuntarily raised her hand, and just as it was about to touch the young man's fingertips——

The branches, leaves, flowers and young men have all disappeared.

All the colors faded, like fleeting fireworks, disappearing in smoke.

Only a dead locust tree remains.

"Meow——" the black cat in my arms called out.

Pei Shu lowered her head, hugged the black cat, and gently stroked its back.

"Nineth day, be good."

The black cat is called Chujiu.

In fact, no matter whether the cat was white or black, every cat Pei Shu had raised in the palace was named Chujiu.

When Pei Shu first raised Chujiu, it was still very small and liked to run around.

But recently Chujiu has been feeling sick and listless.

Chujiu was sick for quite some time and has been feeling listless ever since.

During that period, Pei Shu and her son stayed in the palace pretending to be sick, saying that they did not get enough rest and caught a cold.

The imperial physician came to see him and said that it was caused by restlessness, qi deficiency and blood deficiency.

Pei Shu certainly knew that it would not be a serious problem.

Having been in the palace for more than ten years, she was well aware of Queen Du Ru's methods.

No poison will be used, as sudden death would arouse suspicion;

Nor will they use drugs every day, as this will reveal their true colors over time.

But when Du Ru is unhappy, she will add something to the medicinal food to make people feel unwell.

Those things are neither poisonous nor real, and cannot be detected even with a silver needle.

When you first eat it, you may think it is a minor illness, but after a few times, the root of the disease will be buried and your health will get worse and worse.

This method is not only aimed at her, but also at other concubines in the harem.

Pei Shu used to think Du Ru was cruel, but later she felt that this method was actually just like that of a sinister child.

Poisonous, but not cruel or bold enough.

On the one hand, he had the intention to harm others, but on the other hand, he was terrified that the suspicious emperor would find out.

Pei Shu felt that if she were to take action, she could plan something and accuse the other party of adultery, making it impossible for the other party to recover.

Even if the plan fails, if the rumors reach the emperor's ears, the other party's life in the harem will be over.

The deep palace is desolate and cold, and it can make people's hearts become cold and hard.

When she was little, she would cry when she saw a cat with a broken leg, but now she is no longer as gentle and kind as before.

"Meow--"

"Meow--"

Chujiu called out lazily a few more times.

Pei Shu caressed Chujiu even more gently.

She had a familiar intuition that Chujiu was saying goodbye to her.

"Chujiu, thank you for your hard work."

That night, Chujiu died in Pei Shuli's arms.

Pei Shu put Chujiu in a wooden box and buried the box under the old locust tree in the yard.

She held the box in a very solemn manner, as if she was not burying a cat but a person.

Although a new group of palace maids had been replaced in Myeonghye Palace, there were not many people serving in this lonely palace.

Dongyue, who serves Pei Shu personally, has to do all the work.

Late at night, under the moon and stars, Dongyue and Pei Shu dug a hole under a tree and buried a cat.

Dongyue was digging and dug up a hole that had been filled before.

She was a little sleepy at first, but when she saw the big pit, her hands and feet suddenly felt cold and all sleepiness disappeared.

Dongyue screamed and dropped the hoe in her hand.

In the deep pit under the locust tree.

There were boxes piled up that were exactly the same as the ones in Pei Shu's hands.

Many, many.

…

The palace's lychee banquet this year was beautifully decorated.

In the evening, many carriages and horses were parked outside the palace. Nobles in elegant clothes got off the carriages and walked into the palace gate one by one.

There were already female officials and palace maids waiting at the palace gate.

The night banquet was held in the Imperial Garden, and palace lanterns were hung on every tree in the garden for lighting.

There were many lychees painted on the palace lantern with great care.

Murong Wan's gold-embroidered shoes stepped on the smooth stone road, and the pendants around her waist were wrapped in a damp and cold light by the halo of the lamp.

Murong Wan: "Mom, was the Lychee Night Banquet this beautiful last year?"

"It was beautiful last year too. Last year, the Empress hosted a lychee banquet."

He Yan didn't lower her head when she spoke to her daughter, but looked straight ahead. Her hair was full of jewels and jade, and she was afraid that if she lowered her head it would be messy.

Murong Ming fiddled with the litchi lantern hanging on a low branch:

"Isn't it the Empress who's hosting it this year?"

He Yan: "This year, the Emperor sympathized with the Empress' hard work and ordered Consort Shu to do it."

Murong Wan looked for Princess Ning'an in the crowd.

Princess Ning'an is the daughter of Concubine Shu. No wonder she brought lychees to the palace two days ago. It turned out that she wanted to show off.

Not far away, Princess Ning'an sat next to Concubine Shu, and both mother and daughter were smiling radiantly.

The Empress Dowager and Crown Prince Murong Zhen also came.

Murong Zhen looked no different from usual.

Although the Queen was smiling, she didn't look very good.

"Mom, I'm going to say hello to the prince and Ning An." Murong Ming broke free from He Yan's hand.

He Yan took Murong Wan to pay a visit to the Queen and Concubine Shu.

There were many people who wanted to pay their respects to the Queen and Consort Shu, and they had to queue up.

The person in front of Murong Wan happened to be the third prince Murong Di.

"The Third Prince."

Murong Wan felt a little unlucky and called out perfunctorily.

She hadn't seen Murong Di for some time and heard that Murong Di was sick.

Murong Di turned around, still hunching his shoulders and hanging his head, and stammered:

"Princess, King, Princess."

When Murong Di paid his respects to the Queen and Concubine Shu, the Queen looked indifferent and just waved her hand to avoid the greeting.

Concubine Shu smiled warmly and asked Murong Di to come forward:

"I haven't seen the Third Prince for a long time. He's really becoming more and more handsome."

"Ning An said that a few days ago, Prince Gong accidentally tripped you. Were you injured?"

Murong Di hurriedly said, "No, I'm not hurt."

Concubine Shu looked at He Yan with a half-smile:

"Seventh Princess, the Third Prince is truly tolerant."

Children may not be sensible, but adults cannot pretend that nothing is wrong.

He Yan immediately stepped forward to apologize:

"My Lady, it is my fault that I failed to discipline my children properly."

"Ming'er, why don't you come over and apologize to the Third Prince?"

Murong Ming was playing with Murong Zhen. He came over reluctantly and said in a long voice:

"Third Prince, please forgive me. I won't do it again next time."

Before Murong Di could say anything, Concubine Shu laughed again, blaming He Yan for making a fuss:

"Seventh Princess, why are you so nervous? I'm just concerned about the Third Prince and asked a few questions."

The Queen said with a serious face:

"Okay, the kids are just playing around, don't let this ruin the atmosphere."

He Yan forced a laugh: "Your Highness the Queen and Your Highness the Consort are right."

She turned around, her eyes cold.

Why care about the third prince?

If you really cared, you wouldn't have asked after so long, and even brought it up in front of everyone.

It was obvious that Concubine Shu was trying to embarrass her on purpose.

The moonlight is dim today.

Thick clouds obscured the moonlight.

The bright palace lanterns cast layers of human shadows on the banquet table.

After all the guests were seated, Murong Yu slowly walked to the seat at the head of the table under everyone's gaze.

The sound of stringed instruments rises and the dancers dance gracefully.

This year, lychees are added to the wine and pastries, and the fresh fragrance of lychees can be tasted every time you take a sip.

Murong Yu took a sip of wine and looked at Concubine Shu with approval:

"Shufei is thoughtful. This wine is good."

"Your Majesty, this is not my idea. It was Ning An who thought of it." Concubine Shu covered her lips.

Princess Ning'an walked up to Murong Yu holding a wine glass:

"Father, I wish you good health and a smile on your face every day."

"Okay, Ning An is right. She is a good daughter to our father." Murong Yu raised his glass with a smile.

The queen took in this scene of loving father and filial daughter, and then looked at Concubine Shu's beautiful smile, and her heart became more and more depressed.

Only at this time did the Queen suddenly wish Pei Shu was present.

If Pei Shu were here, how could Concubine Shu be so proud?

But Pei Shu's rank was not high enough, so she was not present today. Looking at the banquet, there was only Murong Di, who looked similar to Pei Shu but was as stupid as a pig.

After three rounds of drinking.

The highlight is finally here.

The palace maid brought several small plates, with a lychee on each.

The lychees were small and green, but everyone thanked the Buddha repeatedly, as if they had received a rare reward.

When everyone was enjoying the lychees, they suddenly heard a drunken man at the end of the table shouting loudly:

"This lychee is not good. It's not as good as the lychee painting by Master Lingyun."