Chapter 103 Returning Home

Two maids stepped forward and bowed respectfully to Xie Nu'er.

"This servant, Zhichun, has some knowledge of traditional Chinese medicine and knows many herbs, especially women's internal ailments and their properties and pharmacology," said the slightly taller woman on the left.

“This servant, Ren Dong, has some basic martial arts skills, is good at reading people, and has fairly sharp senses,” the tall woman on the right replied.

Looking at the two women in front of her who were clearly skilled in martial arts, Xie Nuer felt a surge of heat in her heart!

Xie Sangning even thought of this for her!

Her mastery of both medicine and martial arts provided her with eyes, ears, and a life-saving shield within the deep palace!

"Since Your Highness has taken the surname Xie, entering the palace means that you represent not only yourself, but also the face of the General of the State's Mansion."

"The General's Mansion will be Your Highness's strongest support outside the palace, but Your Highness must also strive to be strong and stand firm in the palace, so as to become the General's Mansion's source of confidence in the inner palace. Only in this way can you live up to my painstaking efforts and the General's Mansion's trust in you."

Xie Nu'er's eyes were filled with tears.

She is no longer that helpless orphan who was bullied by everyone!

Behind her stood Xie Sangning, and the General of the State's Mansion!

This is the foundation upon which she makes her living and even climbs the social ladder!

"Your servant... will remember this! I will certainly live up to the expectations of the young lady and the General's Mansion!"

Xie Nu'er bowed deeply again, this time with a do-or-die determination.

After the group chatted at the entrance, Xie Sangning took Xie Nuer back to Ruixue Tower.

Inside the warm pavilion, the heavy curtains fell, leaving only the two of them in the room.

"You chose this path in the palace yourself, and now that you've stepped into it, you can't blame anyone else for what happens in the future."

"Once you enter the palace, anyone assigned to you by the Imperial Household Department will be trustworthy. If anyone is untrustworthy, someone will remind you."

Upon hearing this, Xie Nu'er asked in surprise, "Miss, how can you guarantee that?"

Xie Sangning gently tapped Xie Nuer's forehead and said, "These are not things you need to worry about. At the beginning, I have given you everything I could. You should know that you are entering the palace to work for me."

Xie Nu'er sat upright on the embroidered stool, her back ramrod straight. She blushed for a moment after being tapped on the forehead, but quickly composed herself, her expression becoming focused: "Please give your orders, Miss. Nu'er will do her best!"

Xie Sangning picked up the teacup, gently blew away the foam on the surface, and looked down at Xie Nuer's face:

"Your first task is to keep a close eye on Fengzao Palace and Empress Xiao Fengyi."

Xie Nu'er's heart tightened.

Empress! The Empress Dowager!

What a colossal thing that was!

But without the slightest hesitation, she nodded emphatically: "Yes!"

Xie Sangning put down his teacup:

"I want you to use every means to find out where my mother, your adoptive mother Lin Ruyue, was taken after her death ten years ago! Was she taken away by the Empress, or was she really thrown into a mass grave!"

After receiving the news, Xie Sangning had someone dig up his mother Lin Ruyue's coffin. After careful comparison, it was confirmed that the person inside was indeed not his mother!

No one knows what Xie Sangning was thinking as she stood in front of the coffin. It was drizzling that day, and Xie Sangning didn't use an umbrella. She just stood there staring at the skeleton in front of her for half the night.

Upon hearing this, Xie Nuer felt as if her mind had exploded!

He was struck dumb, and suddenly stood up from the embroidered stool, his face turning deathly pale!

Stepmother... Lin Ruyue... corpse... mass grave?!

Why couldn't she understand what he was saying when they were put together?

This...this is absolutely appalling!

She trembled as she looked at the undisguised hatred in Xie Sangning's eyes.

Xie Nu'er knelt down with a "plop":

"Don't worry, Miss! I swear to God! Even if it costs me my life, I will find out the truth about my godmother's whereabouts!"

Xie Sangning looked at Xie Nuer kneeling on the ground, and the hatred in her eyes subsided slightly.

"Remember your words."

"But after entering the palace, everything was based on the premise of protecting oneself."

————

The Imperial Palace, the Imperial Study.

The flickering candlelight cast shifting shadows on Pei Yan's somber face.

The scene at Chuxiu Palace during the day kept replaying in his mind.

Xie Nu'er's face... Lin Ruyue's shadow...

That striking resemblance in silhouette, that deliberately imitated posture…

And those eyes, filled with adoration and love for him… like the finest wine, intoxicating him and leaving him restless.

He irritably dismissed all the eunuchs, got up alone, and walked to the tall cabinet deep inside the imperial study.

I gently pressed my finger behind an inconspicuous scroll on the bookshelf.

"Click..."

A very faint sound rang out.

The tall cabinet slid silently to one side, revealing a dark, downward stone staircase behind it.

A strange smell wafted over.

Without the slightest hesitation, Pei Yan picked up a candlestick and walked down the stone steps.

The deeper you go, the colder it gets, and fine water droplets condense on the stone walls.

At the end of the passage was a small stone chamber.

In the center of the stone chamber, there stood a huge crystal ice coffin!

The ice coffin was completely transparent, and the lid was thick and heavy.

Pei Yan slowly walked to the ice coffin and placed the candlestick on the stone platform next to it.

Inside the coffin.

A woman dressed in a plain white dress lay quietly.

Her face appeared somewhat blurred by the reflection of the cold mist, but her beautiful features were still discernible.

Its skin was a deathly pale white, yet due to the low temperature, it strangely retained some of the delicacy it had in life, like fine white porcelain.

Her long hair cascaded down her body like seaweed, with a small, exquisite sapphire forehead ornament faintly visible among it.

This is Xie Sangning's mother, Lin Ruyue!

Pei Yan stared intently at the face inside the coffin through the cold crystal lid.

His fingertips unconsciously caressed the coffin lid, as if he were caressing the skin of a lover, his eyes filled with a morbid obsession and an unspeakable satisfaction.

"Kisaragi..."

He murmured softly, "Look... I've seen you again today... though it's not really you... but that face... it's so similar..."

A twisted smile curled at the corner of his mouth.

"Your daughter... knows how to please people... sending me a woman who looks just like you... she has my heart completely captivated, how can I refuse someone who loves you?"

"Don't worry... I will cherish her... just like I wanted to cherish you back then..."

"Just watch, and you'll see how foolish it is to refuse me. I will give her the most unparalleled favor in the world! That was originally yours... Will you regret it? Will you be jealous?"

"Tell me, if Xie Zhenting finds out that you've been with me all these years, that I could see you and hold you every day and night... what would his reaction be?"

"After I pass away, it will be enough for us to be buried with me..."

The woman inside the ice coffin remained unresponsive. The flickering candlelight cast Pei Yan's long, distorted shadow on the stone wall, making him look like a man-eating monster.