38. Entering the Palace

◎Qi Gu brand cotton-padded jacket, so warm!◎

Empress Zhang's phoenix eyes gazed out of the palace gate, her hands clenched tightly within her wide sleeves.

Lu Ao had watched the Empress grow up since she was a child. She noticed that while the Empress tried to appear calm on the surface, her eyes kept glancing towards the palace gate. This longing look in her eyes was impossible to hide.

She knew that although the Empress hadn't said it all these years, she missed the princess very much.

"Why haven't we arrived yet? I hope something bad has happened on the way."

"Your Majesty, rest assured, Marquis Quzhou will take Fulian to fetch the princess back to the palace. Nothing will happen."

Empress Zhang's unwavering will, honed over many years, allowed her to remain calm even when faced with imminent collapse, but today she is somewhat losing her composure.

She felt that today was longer than usual, as if she had been sitting here for ten years, but the little girl from her memory still hadn't come.

She stood up from the phoenix chair, and Lu Ao supported her hand as they walked to the gate of Changxin Palace, her eager eyes fixed on the white jade path that led to Changxin Palace that day.

If the other concubines in the palace or even the emperor saw her at this moment, they would probably be astonished. Is this still the meticulous empress of the past?

The eunuch Fuming took quick, small steps, his legs moving rapidly. "Coming, coming, Your Highness, the princess is here!"

Fuming was about the same age as Lu Ao, an old woman in the palace. His face was full of wrinkles, and when he smiled, he looked like a blooming chrysanthemum.

Empress Zhang sat back down in her chair, straightened her robes again, and looked down. She seemed to think that her black robes were too formal and might frighten her daughter.

She wanted to change into some more approachable clothes, but it was too late. Qi Gu and Li Shi had already entered Changxin Palace under the leadership of Marquis Quzhou.

With a smile on his face, Marquis Qu Zhou walked to stand beside his elder sister. “Elder sister, look—” Marquis Qu Zhou pointed at Qi Gu, “I have brought her to you, and she is all safe and sound.”

Following her sister's hand, Empress Zhang looked down the steps at her daughter, who was only a few feet away.

She wore a light apricot-colored palace dress with a curved hem, had bright eyes, a pert nose, a round face, and lips as red as a peony.

That's right! It's her Yuan Chu, it's her daughter!

She was only eight years old when they parted, but now she has grown into a graceful young woman. Her appearance has blossomed, and there is no mistake that this is her child!

Empress Zhang, who had remained calm and composed in the face of adversity for many years, found her hands trembling involuntarily at this moment.

On ordinary days, she had to display the majesty of an empress, to inspire fear and dread, to maintain the demeanor of an empress of the nation, and to manage the vast Changyang Palace. She could not lose the dignity of an empress.

But when she saw her biological daughter's face, she almost couldn't resist reaching out to touch her daughter's face.

Her Yuan Chu, her Qi Gu, were now within reach, but in the end, she closed her eyes, and when she opened them again, she reverted to the serious demeanor of the mistress of Changyang Palace.

Qi Gu knelt on the ground, not seeing the nearly distraught Empress. She only felt that the silence above was too profound, and the entire hall was shrouded in an eerie stillness.

She thought of the first time she met her mother in her previous life, when she cried her eyes out and was completely undignified.

That first meeting probably left a very bad impression on the Empress Dowager. Later, when she saw her own face in the bronze mirror, she was truly embarrassed.

Now, her eyes were sore and swollen, but she tried her best to hold back, clenching her teeth tightly, otherwise the tears would uncontrollably burst out of her eyes.

After going through so much, she finally realized that her relationship with her father and mother was no longer that of ordinary parents and children. They were no longer the ordinary family of four in that small village in Yu County.

Her parents are now the most honored and powerful couple in the world. They are no longer ordinary people. They may still have some ordinary feelings, but these feelings cannot supersede the power of the emperor.

The word "imperial power" is supreme and inviolable. She is not their daughter, but their subject, their child, and their servant.

To survive in this palace, the first priority is to learn how to be a subject.

Before the Empress could speak, Qi Gu knelt on the ground, arched her back deeply, prostrated herself on the ground with her forehead touching the ground, and performed a deep bow: "Qi Gu greets Your Majesty the Empress! May Your Majesty enjoy boundless happiness and live a thousand years."

Li Shi followed, sticking his butt out, and said, "This humble subject pays respects to Your Majesty the Empress. May Your Majesty be blessed with good fortune and live a long and prosperous life."

The Empress felt a mix of emotions, but she still stared at her daughter with a calm expression. "Get up."

Qu Zhouhou, standing to the side, was anxious for his elder sister: "Oh dear, you're wrong, you're wrong, Aunt Qi, you should call her Mother."

Qi Gu and Li Shi stood up. Qi Gu kept her head down and did not look up or look around rashly out of excitement or curiosity.

The daughter before him, from the moment she stepped into Changxin Palace, was well-behaved, her eyes not wandering, her body not moving an inch, and she was not overly enthusiastic towards him. She was very polite, and also... distant.

Empress Zhang frowned. "Qi Gu, raise your head."

Qi Gu then looked up, her dark, piercing eyes meeting another pair of dark, piercing eyes.

"Come closer, let me take a good look at you."

Qi Gu hesitated, but finally stepped forward and walked to a distance where she was only a table away from the Empress.

"How have you been these past years?" It was a question of concern, but for some reason, Empress Zhang's voice sounded somewhat low, and those who didn't know better would think she was subtly angry.

"Your Majesty, all is well. Thanks to my master's upbringing and teaching, I have learned some characters over the years and have also learned to farm from him."

Qi Gu said this on purpose. Although she could claim that she had learned her manners and etiquette from Qu Zhouhou in the past few days, she knew that her mother was an extremely shrewd person. She had spent a lot of time learning her manners and etiquette in her previous life, and she couldn't have become so proficient in just a few days. So she simply gave all the credit to her father.

"Good, good, good." For some reason, Empress Zhang looked at her well-mannered and polite daughter and felt a little empty inside. Even though her daughter was right in front of her, she felt that her daughter was very far away from her, even farther away than when her daughter had not returned.

She should be happy, at least Qi Gu is a very polite child. Just because she grew up in the countryside doesn't mean she's unruly and doesn't need time and effort to teach her.

However, she was perfectly fine. She deliberately avoided talking about what happened back then. She didn't hold any resentment towards herself and simply said that everything was fine. The way she looked at her no longer held the same tenderness she had when she was a child. The first thing she said was not to call her "Mother".

She wanted to ask, "Aunt Qi, do you blame your mother? Back then, after weighing the pros and cons, she took your brother and left, but left you behind." But the words stuck in her throat, as if a huge boulder weighing a thousand pounds was blocking her mouth, and she couldn't say them.

Qi Gu was poised and measured, just like a princess who had grown up in the palace, as if she had never been separated from them. However, Empress Zhang understood that what separated them was more than just time.

She turned her gaze to Li Shi behind Qi Gu, then got up and walked towards Li Shi, startling him.

Li Shi saw that this Empress, whose face alone suggested she was very distant, actually bowed to him solemnly, saying, "Thank you for saving me, Mr. Li. If it weren't for you, Yuan Chu and I would never have met again."

"Yuan Chu?"

“Yuan Chu is Qi Gu’s full name,” Empress Zhang said. “What, didn’t she tell the teacher?” Her tone was somewhat cold, and her eyes were somewhat sharp.

Upon hearing this, Qi Gu immediately realized that her mother had misunderstood. She quickly stood beside Li Shi and explained, "Your Majesty, you don't know this. Years ago, after we got separated, I accidentally bumped my head and forgot some things. It wasn't until Lord Sima found me recently that I vaguely remembered what happened before. Don't blame my master; he doesn't know anything!"

Empress Zhang was suspicious, but she wasn't naturally suspicious; it was just that her position forced her to think things through.

Li Shi saved her daughter, so she should naturally thank him. However, if he saved her daughter but knowing her true identity, he deliberately hid her all these years, preventing her from returning to her side and reuniting with her family, and instead hoarded Qi Gu as a commodity, then that would be a different matter altogether.

However, she did not expect that Aunt Qi would be so perceptive. Her calmness and restraint were directed at her. When she suspected her adoptive father, she immediately understood her unspoken meaning and put on a protective attitude.

It was only then that she realized her daughter didn't seem like someone from the palace.

It turns out that she can't be so nonchalant about everything. Her adoptive father must have treated her very well. Empress Zhang felt a pang of loss.

She stood at the highest position in the world, gained everything she wanted, and lost some things, but she gained more than she lost.

So over the years, she has never regretted what she has lost, nor has she been saddened by what she has lost. She has no time or energy to think about those things; she has many more things to do.

But today, looking into those clear eyes that seemed devoid of desire, she realized that some things, no matter how high one stands or how much one gains, can never be compensated for.

Li Shi broke out in a cold sweat. He had thought that the Empress was very kind and had shown him, a commoner, such great respect, and he was genuinely grateful to her. He never expected that this was what was waiting for him.

Fortunately, he saved Qi Gu without any selfish motives and was not afraid of the Empress's suspicion. He glanced at Qi Gu, who was standing in front of him in a protective stance, and thought, "Silly child, this is your own mother, the Empress. You offended your own mother, the Empress, for the sake of my adoptive father. You are really foolish, but... adorably foolish."

Li Shixin was incredibly soft-hearted; this little cotton-padded jacket was truly warm.

Qi Gu's attitude was very clear: she would not allow anyone to touch Li Shi, not even her own mother!

Empress Zhang withdrew her imposing manner. "I was just asking. Since you've bumped your head, I'll have the palace physician examine you later, so you don't suffer any lasting health problems."

When it comes to the root of the illness, Marquis Quzhou is the most qualified to speak. "That's right, we should have the imperial physician examine her carefully. We can't be careless about health matters." Thinking of her daughter's frail health, she was worried. Her niece couldn't continue to be sickly.

Outside Changxin Palace, a loud voice rang out, "The Emperor has arrived!"

Empress Zhang still had many words to say, but Qi Gu was already standing beside Li Shi with her head bowed, waiting for the emperor to arrive.

She looked at Li Shi with a hint of bitterness. Clearly, Li Shi was her biological mother, and Qi Gu should have been standing by her side.

At the entrance of the palace, a dignified figure strode in, dressed in a black imperial robe with a gold-embroidered dragon hem, his gaze sweeping across the gleaming bluestone floor of Changxin Palace.

Behind him was another person—Sima Hong.

[Author's Note]

Li Shi: Aunt Qi, Daddy loves you.

Aunt Qi: Then can you please stop going into the kitchen?

Li Shi: The little cotton-padded jacket is leaking air.

Modified and bug-fixed