Chapter 10 Retribution

Liu Xi suddenly sensed something subtly off in the air.

It was an ordinary sentence, but she felt inexplicably awkward about it.

"General, well, if you have time, please come."

One sentence made Huo Lin forget the difference between superiors and inferiors, and the orange that was originally peeled for the princess was stuffed into his own mouth.

Liu Xi cleared her throat, instantly dispelling the awkwardness.

With the grand court assembly approaching, will General Huo's elder brother return to the capital this year to join in the festivities?

When Huo Chong, the eldest son of the Huo family, was mentioned, Huo Lin's expression became somewhat forlorn.

“My elder brother has not returned to the capital for more than two years.”

"In recent years, there have been frequent battles on the border. General Huo Chong is loyal to the country, and his deeds are truly admirable."

It was just a simple word of comfort, but it made Huo Lin feel much better.

He left the palace before dawn.

Liu Yu was left alone in the courtyard, tirelessly drawing his bow and shooting arrows until it was completely dark.

Liu Xi had the small kitchen prepare a bowl of sweet soup and personally brought it to Liu Yu.

She noticed Liu Yu's low spirits and assumed he was just exhausted from practicing too hard lately.

Liu Yu silently drank the sweet soup in his bowl, occasionally sneaking glances to observe Liu Xi's every move, a little action that Liu Xi caught him red-handed.

"Ayu?"

Liu Yu let out a muffled "hmm," but didn't lift his head from the bowl.

Are you unhappy because your sister is forcing you to practice archery?

"How could that be? I did all of this voluntarily!"

Liu Yu put down the bowl in her hand and looked up to meet Liu Xi's smiling face.

"Is Ayu now willing to talk to her sister?"

Liu Xi moved to sit next to Liu Yu and said, "If Yu is tired, we can rest for a few days."

"Can I come and play with my older sister even when I'm resting?"

Liu Xi scratched her head, "What's so difficult about that? Sister, A Yu can come and go as he pleases."

The reason for acting so secretly now is simply to prevent the other princes in the palace from becoming wary of Liu Yu. Once the grand court assembly is over, no one will be able to restrict Liu Yu's freedom in the palace.

Liu Yu suddenly threw herself into Liu Xi's arms, "Sister is the best!"

Liu Xi felt a pang of emotion; the feelings she hadn't received from Liu Yan in her past life, she had received in double measure from Liu Yu in this life.

Life is truly unpredictable.

Days passed, but there was still no movement from the Imperial Concubine's side.

Liu Xi was bored out of her mind, not realizing that she had underestimated how much importance this woman placed on this pregnancy.

He had deliberately provoked her, but it turned out he had punched cotton, leaving Liu Xi feeling extremely uncomfortable.

She tried to find some excuse to visit Jinle Palace, but the Consort refused with various pretexts, turning away her ill intentions.

After all, she was a woman who had held a high position in the harem for a long time, and her methods and temperament were far more sophisticated than Liu Xi had imagined.

"I won't offend others unless they offend me," Liu Xi thought. It would be good to just wait quietly until the Grand Assembly was over before launching a joint attack.

Unfortunately, there are others in this palace who don't want a peaceful life.

"This old servant is the wet nurse who raised the princess. How dare you, a filthy eunuch, stop me?"

Early in the morning, there was a lot of noise at the entrance of Yihuai Pavilion.

Despite being grumpy from waking up, Liu Xi rushed to the scene and heard Xiao Shi's insults directed at Xia.

"Who dares to make such a racket and disturb the princess's rest? They deserve to be punished!"

With a single glance from Liu Xi, Zhi Xiang immediately spoke up sharply.

Upon seeing that it was the princess, Xiao's face was plastered with a fawning smile.

"Princess, do you still remember this old servant?"

Of course, I will never forget your face, even if I turn to ashes.

In his past life, this cunning servant often stirred up trouble between Liu Yan and Liu Xi.

In order to bring her two children from outside the palace into the palace, Xiao committed all sorts of evil deeds in the palace. However, Liu Yan, that deaf and blind fool, was completely deceived by her and even blamed all the wrongdoing on Liu Xi.

"Of course, the fact that the wet nurse is now serving Ayan means that she has been highly valued by the Imperial Concubine."

Xiao Shi didn't catch the sarcasm in Liu Xi's words; instead, she became indignant.

“The Imperial Concubine dislikes this old servant because of his rural background, so naturally she will not give him an important position.”

"No matter what, this old servant was the wet nurse who painstakingly raised the princes and princesses. Even if I have no credit, I have certainly worked hard."

Liu Xi chuckled.

"Not at all. Ah Yan is now His Majesty's most valued prince. Your contribution is immense."

Upon hearing this, Xiao became even more arrogant.

“The Imperial Concubine takes advantage of the fact that the Fifth Prince calls her ‘Mother Concubine’ to bully this old servant in every way. I really can’t live like this for even a day.”

Liu Xi had no intention of listening to Xiao Shi's complaints any longer and interrupted her impatiently.

"What brings you here today, wet nurse?"

Only then did Madam Xiao remember the important matter and hurriedly spoke.

"This old servant sees that the Fifth Prince has no one suitable to serve him personally, which is truly pathetic. It reminds me of my own skillful daughter, who has reached the age to enter the palace. I wonder..."

"Why shouldn't the wet nurse discuss this matter with the Imperial Concubine? The Imperial Concubine is now nominally Ayan's mother, so these matters should naturally be decided by the mother."

Xiao looked troubled.

"This...Princess, you know that the Imperial Concubine looks down on this lowly servant's status, and naturally, so does my daughter..."

At this point, Madam Xiao suddenly knelt down on the ground with a thud.

"Princess, I beg you, if you can bring my daughter into the palace, I will do anything, even go through fire and water."

daughter.

Liu Xi almost burst out laughing again.

She almost forgot that in her past life, the one who tried to seduce His Majesty with aphrodisiac incense, but ended up having several patrolling guards enter the room by mistake, and whose bizarre act of seducing three men in one night became the talk of the entire capital, was none other than Xiao's "skillful" daughter.

If this person were brought into the harem, wouldn't he cause chaos and disorder in Jinle Palace?

Liu Xi was overjoyed; such a wonderful thing had happened.

"Wet nurse, get up quickly. Do you think I don't understand your good intentions?"

"It's easy to say, it's just one more maid, I don't think the Consort will mind."

Xiao's eyes flickered; it seemed her ambitions had already extended far beyond this.

However, she still understood the principle that you can't get fat in one bite.

Once you can enter the palace, everything else will be easy to handle.

"This old servant thanks Your Highness!"

As luck would have it, he had the same idea as Liu Xi.

Regardless of whether she can disgust the Imperial Concubine or Liu Yan, let's bring her into the palace first.

In Jinle Palace, at the residence of the Imperial Concubine, Liu Yan was angrily smashing things up in the room to vent his frustration.

"Who does he think he is, daring to reprimand me, the king!"

"When I finally hold power, the first thing I'll do is behead that old scoundrel!"

The eunuchs around him were terrified and wanted to remind Liu Yan that there were ears on the other side of the wall and that he should not talk nonsense, but they were too frightened to get close by the constantly flying porcelain shards.

Liu Yan is becoming increasingly irritable, mostly due to medication. The tonics he takes increase his internal heat, which he has nowhere to vent.

"And the Imperial Concubine, heh, the Imperial Concubine? If it weren't for the fact that I needed to rely on her influence to gain a foothold in front of my father, I would have already assassinated her with a sword to avenge my mother!"

Liu Yan's voice grew louder and louder, and the meaning behind his words became more and more explicit.

"Oh, Your Highness, please stop talking! If others hear this, you'll be in deep trouble!"

"Pah!"

Liu Yan grabbed a vase and smashed it at the little eunuch who had opened his mouth.

With a mournful cry and a muffled thud, the little eunuch fell straight down, blood gushing from his forehead, and soon breathed his last.

Liu Yan suddenly woke up. At the same time, the palace servants guarding outside were terrified. Finally, one of them couldn't help but rush into the main hall of Jinle Palace. At that time, the emperor had just come to visit the Consort and was having a meal with her.

The Imperial Concubine realized something was wrong, but it was too late to stop it. She could only watch as the palace maid cried and spoke to His Majesty.

"Fifth Prince, the Fifth Prince has gone mad! He killed Xiao Qingzi, and he's going to kill others too!"

When everyone arrived at Liu Yan's palace, he was sitting blankly on the ground, staring at the scarlet corpse in front of him, motionless, as if he could neither hear nor see.

Seeing this situation, the imperial concubine simply rolled her eyes and pretended to faint.

"You brat! What are you doing!"

"Guards, tie this brat up! Lock him up in the Imperial Prison! Let him calm down!"

"Summon the imperial physician immediately to treat the Imperial Concubine! If anything happens to my prince, you will all pay with your heads!"

Zhu Zheng was taking Liu Xi's pulse at Yi Huai Pavilion when he heard the news, and Liu Xi was so shocked that her mouth dropped open.

This was not part of her plan.

"The Fifth Prince's body is currently weak inside and hot outside. If he is under pressure for a long time or if he has pent-up emotions, he will become increasingly irritable and easily angered, and may even lose his mind."

Zhu Zheng explained patiently.

"I understand. You should go to Jinle Palace quickly to take care of the Consort's belly and make sure that her pregnancy is safe and healthy."

Zhu Zheng left in a hurry, and Liu Xi was also somewhat uneasy.

She desperately wanted to see Liu Yan's distraught state, but she was also afraid that she would be unable to hide her malice and expose herself prematurely.

"Karma, karma, Liu Yan, you've finally met your match."

Liu Xi laughed heartily twice, instantly feeling refreshed.

After several attempts to calm down, Liu Xi was finally able to think rationally.

His Majesty is furious, and even if he rushed to the Censorate now, it would be difficult to see Liu Yan.

It would be better to show off your cleverness in front of the Empress Dowager, creating a stark contrast with Liu Yan, this unfilial son, which would make it easier to gain His Majesty's praise.

The next morning, Liu Xi dressed up and went to Shou'an Palace to pay her respects to the Empress Dowager.

After several days of treatment by Imperial Physician Wang, the Empress Dowager has regained consciousness.

Liu Xi only called out to Aunt Wen outside the hall, but did not follow her into the hall.

“Aunt, the Empress Dowager has just recovered from a serious illness and needs to rest quietly. I know I shouldn’t disturb her rest. I’ve come today only to ask the Empress Dowager for a personal item.”

"It is said that if you offer your personal belongings to the Buddha and stay in front of the altar for three days while reciting Buddhist scriptures, you can ask the Buddha to bless you with good health and longevity."

"Now that the Empress Dowager is unwell, I am willing to go to Lingshan Temple on behalf of my grandmother to pray for her well-being."

Liu Xi's voice drifted into the room, just in time for the Empress Dowager to hear.

She coughed twice and, in a hoarse voice, beckoned Liu Xi inside.