Jiang Chuan ordered, "Tie her up. Don't let her try to kill herself so easily."
The guards who had been standing silently behind Jiang Chuan took the order, stepped forward, tied Li Huaiying up tightly, and threw her into a corner.
The door slammed shut in front of her, an iron lock separating the two worlds.
The pain in her abdomen seemed to be getting better. Li Huaiying was breathing heavily. Her two grandsons, one nine years old and the other only six, knew nothing. They couldn't die.
In the darkness, her senses were heightened, and to her dismay, there were two dead maids beside her.
She tried to curl up in fear, but her hands and feet were tightly bound and she couldn't move at all.
She didn't know what the two maids had done wrong, or why the prince wanted to kill them too, since she was the only one who had infiltrated Consort Duan's side in place of Zhang Mama.
Could it be that the emperor never trusted her, and that there were others besides her?
Now that they are all dead, isn't Consort Duan afraid that the Emperor will discover something amiss?
Isn't she afraid that her identity will be known to the world?
Another wave of excruciating pain struck, followed by a series of screams, each louder than the last. The nausea and discomfort kept her wide awake, her body drenched in cold sweat.
But this place is too far from the front courtyard of Prince An's mansion, so even if you shout until you're hoarse, no one will hear you.
Despair, utter despair, enveloped her.
Her son, and her two grandsons...
In Yunmei Garden, Consort Duan held the small garment that Zhang Mama had made for Zhu Yu, tears streaming down her face.
“Mother.” Lu Xiaoyun stepped aside, revealing an old woman she had brought with her.
When Consort Duan saw the person who came, she slowly stood up, her eyes widening in disbelief. Her throat churned, and she bit her lower lip tightly to keep herself from crying out.
Yu'er told her that he would bring the person over in the next couple of days, but she didn't expect that Yu'er would bring the person over so quickly.
"Your Highness, this servant has come to pay her respects..." Hot tears streamed down the woman's face as she knelt down and kowtowed three times to the Imperial Concubine.
Consort Duan walked shakily to the man, and upon recognizing him, she embraced him tightly, her throat choked with emotion, her eyes already red with tears: "Chunfang, Chunfang, it really is you, it really is you, I've finally waited for you to come..."
"Your Highness, you have suffered so much..." Chunfang was already in tears. She raised her hand to wipe away Consort Duan's tears, but her hands were rough like the bark of an old pine tree from years of hard work, with cracks and bleeding.
Lu Xiaoyun took out a handkerchief from her bosom, handed it to Chunfang, and walked out of the house. She stood tall under the eaves, glanced deeply behind her, and walked a little further away.
Consort Duan held Chunfang tightly, her throat feeling sore and tight as if someone had stuffed a piece of cotton soaked in vinegar into it.
"Chunfang, I'm sorry, I'm useless. I didn't protect your mother and let you suffer in that place for so many years. I'm useless."
Chunfang shook her head, tears streaming down her face: "No, Your Highness, this has nothing to do with you. If it weren't for you, Chunfang would have been murdered along with her mother long ago. You did this to protect me, and I've always understood, always understood..."
Chunfang had been washing clothes at the laundry department for nearly twenty years. Her legs were often exposed to cold and dampness, and they would ache terribly on cold, damp days. She could only kneel for less than half a cup of tea before her knees felt like they were being pricked with needles. Her face turned pale and fine beads of sweat rolled down her forehead.
Consort Duan hurriedly helped Chunfang up and sat her down on the stool: "How is your leg?"
During her years in the palace, she knew that Chunfang's knees were in pain, but she endured it and dared not let anyone bring her medicine.
Chunfang braced herself, not wanting Consort Duan to worry, and took a handkerchief to wipe away Consort Duan's tears, smiling and saying, "Your Majesty, please don't worry, I'm fine."
Chunfang is only in her early forties, but because of years of hard work, she looks like an old woman in her fifties or sixties. Li Huaiying, on the other hand, is a first-class nanny by the side of Consort Duan and lives a comfortable life. She looks younger than Chunfang.
Chunfang and Zhang Mama looked very similar. As long as a little makeup was applied to cover her face, she could stay by Consort Duan's side as Zhang Mama.
"Was it Yu'er who took you out of the palace? Are you... are you going back to the palace?"
Chunfang shook her head, wiped away her tears, and said, "Last night, the Prince sent someone to deliver a message and gave me a pill to take at midnight. Knowing that I was going to be by Your Highness's side, I didn't sleep all night. After midnight, I took the pill and have been resting temporarily since then."
“The eunuchs in the laundry department didn’t see me early in the morning. When they went into the room, they found me lifeless and assumed I was dead. They threw me into the mass grave with just a tattered straw mat. The prince’s men were waiting in the shadows. After they left, they brought me here.”
So Chunfang has been removed from the palace register. Consort Duan breathed a long sigh of relief: "From now on, you will stay by my side and not go anywhere. The two of us old sisters will live peacefully in the Prince An's mansion."
Chunfang nodded, her voice choked with emotion. On the way here, Wu Chuan, the prince's bodyguard, had already told her what had happened.
Throughout her life, she never dared to hope that one day she could leave that ruthless palace and serve the Empress.
Outside, Jiang Chuan relayed the information he had received from Li Huaiying to Lu Xiaoyun.
Lu Xiaoyun rubbed the thumb ring on her thumb. It wouldn't be so easy to sneak into the palace and steal a skeleton.
We should ask Zhu Yu about this; I wonder if he has any men in the Imperial Guards.
At this moment, Li Feng helped Zhu Yu over.
He came over intending to accompany Lu Xiaoyun to welcome Consort Duan to the front hall for the New Year's Eve dinner.
The door opened, and Chunfang helped Consort Duan walk slowly in.
Zhu Yu recognized Chunfang at a glance, but compared to five years ago, she had aged a lot and her body was slightly hunched.
Lu Xiaoyun said to Zhu Yu, "I had Ayan check on Chunfang before we came. She is in good health, but her legs and hands have some problems because they are exposed to cold all year round. Everything else is fine."
Zhu Yu nodded silently, wanting to say thank you, but that would seem too sentimental.
When Consort Duan saw Zhu Yu, she hesitated for a moment before slowly bowing to her: "Xiao Yun, I'm sorry. I apologize to you. I know I've done many wrong things. Fortunately, Yu'er and Mr. Lu are here, otherwise another life would have been lost to me."
Zhu Yu hurriedly stepped forward and helped Consort Duan up: "Your Highness, you are too kind. The Prince has already told me that you have your own reasons, and I don't blame you."
Consort Duan smiled faintly, knowing that Yu'er probably wouldn't tell Lu Xiaoyun about her background. The fewer people who knew about this, the better, as it wouldn't be good for Xiaoyun either. She guessed that Yu'er had found another excuse.
She swallowed the tears in her eyes, and after a long pause, she softly said, "I know you are a good child. If you are willing to forgive me, would you be willing to call me Mother?"
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