After Cen Xi's death, every year on the 23rd of August, Shen Jinchen would leave the palace to go to Xiangguo Temple to offer sacrifices for a day.
This year was no different. On this day, when the imperial court was on holiday, Shen Jinchen led a team of imperial guards out of the city early in the morning.
After chanting sutras at Xiangguo Temple for a day, Shen Jinchen rested for a night in a mountain temple. The next day, he went down the mountain and encountered a woman being chased by several burly men on the official road below.
Upon seeing the Imperial Guards, the woman rushed towards them without hesitation, crying and begging for help.
Feng Qin stepped forward and took a closer look, and was immediately shocked, because this woman looked too much like the Empress.
Moreover, her crying was so pitiful and heartbreaking that those who were chasing her saw that she was an imperial guard and all of them ran away.
"What happened?"
Because he missed Cen Xi so much, Shen Jinchen didn't sleep well all night. Now, hearing the woman crying, he became even more impatient sitting in the car.
"Your Majesty, there is a woman ahead who is being chased by bandits and has stopped our carriage to ask for help."
Feng Qin stared blankly at the woman for a moment before reporting back to Shen Jinchen.
"Where would mountain bandits come from under the emperor's nose?"
Shen Jinchen frowned and lifted the carriage curtain in an extremely cold tone.
But when he saw the face that looked remarkably like Cen Xi's, his heart skipped a beat.
His actions outpaced his thoughts; he immediately jumped off the imperial carriage, stood before the woman, grabbed her, and began to question her:
"Who are you?"
"I am Su Nianniang, a commoner who runs a clinic in the capital. Today I was on my way to Daguang Temple to offer incense, but I encountered robbers on the way. In my panic, I stopped the Emperor's carriage. Please forgive me, Your Majesty."
Su Nianniang glanced at Shen Jinchen, then replied timidly.
"You know me?"
"Yes, I know her. I am Su Nianniang from Lijia Village. My daughter is the Empress's adopted daughter. I worked as a palace maid for a while."
Seeing that Shen Jinchen had no impression of her at all, and was only initially amazed by her face, Su Nianniang felt a little embarrassed.
"A palace maid?"
Shen Jinchen looked at her carefully, and suddenly remembered this woman. There seemed to be such a person in the palace not long after he ascended the throne.
At the time, it seems that Cen Xi suspected her of having ulterior motives towards him, and then drove her out of the palace.
But this woman appeared before him at this moment, and her purpose was obvious.
Was it just her idea, or a conspiracy by the powerful figures in the capital?
I recall the reactions of the civil and military officials after Cen Xi's death and his inexplicable fainting spell.
Shen Jinchen suddenly realized something, as if struck by lightning. He remembered how the civil and military officials had orderly surrounded the main hall outside the delivery room to prevent people from entering and leaving, as well as the reactions of his adoptive father and uncle at that time.
All of this undoubtedly suggests that Cen Xi's death was a conspiracy.
Ha! He was betrayed by the people you trusted and respected most; they used him to kill the woman he loved most.
Thinking of this, Shen Jinchen's eyes burned like fire as he stared intently at the woman who was still feigning coyness and asked:
"Doctor Sun has adopted you as his goddaughter, right?"
"ah?"
Su Nianniang looked bewildered; she hadn't expected Shen Jinchen to ask such a question.
"Guards, take this woman back to the palace."
After suppressing the raging fire in his heart, Shen Jinchen calmly finished speaking and returned to his carriage.
"ah?"
This time, Feng Qin was completely baffled. "Your Majesty, what does this mean? Even I can see that the woman in front of me only looks somewhat like the Empress."
Why would he take it back?
Is it because you miss her so much that you'd rather find a substitute?
Unable to understand her master's thoughts, Fengqin could only obey orders. So, she quickly had someone take Su Nianniang with her and set off.
Su Nianniang was overjoyed that the man agreed to take her into the palace so easily.
She knew she was right. If that woman could do it, she could too. Besides, she was more gentle, considerate, and sensible than that woman.
The Emperor will definitely like her.
It definitely will.
After returning to the palace, Shen Jinchen summoned the chief eunuch and assigned Su Nianniang a palace, instructing him to serve her well and provide her with the finest things.
It seemed as if he was truly infatuated with Su Nianniang's appearance.
But in the middle of the night, Shen Jinchen summoned his four personal guards in the Hall of Mental Cultivation.
Fengqin, Shangse, Youhe, and Fengming were all present.
After the four met, they all knew that something big might happen tonight, so they all entered the Hall of Mental Cultivation with solemn expressions.
As expected, Shen Jinchen's next words startled them.
"Within three days, I need to know all the movements of Duke Ji, Duke Shen, and Sun Heqian of the Imperial Hospital when Her Majesty the Empress was giving birth three years ago. Also, investigate the relationship between Su Nianniang in the palace and these three people."
"Does Your Majesty suspect that the Empress was framed and killed?"
During the day, Fengqin didn't understand why Shen Jinchen brought that woman into the palace, but now she finally does.
"It's not certain yet, but it's pretty close. You must keep this a secret and report back to me immediately after you've found out."
With a stern face, Shen Jinchen gripped the armchair under the table and gave his orders.
Who would have thought that the two people he respected most in his life would stab him in the back and deliberately put a woman in his arms?
What exactly did Cen Xi do to offend them that they would do such a vicious thing?
"yes!"
The four men were Shen Jinchen's right-hand men, and they followed him throughout their lives. Therefore, they acted immediately after receiving the order.
After Feng Qin and the other three left, Shen Jinchen left Yangxin Hall for the first time since Cen Xi's death, and went to Cen Xi's long-term residence, Kunde Hall.
He looked at all the decorations in the hall, his mind flashing back to every day they had spent there.
I think of her charming yet irritating smile, and how she scratched her head and struggled to embroider a sachet for him.
Thinking of their every intimate moment in the palace, my heart aches so much that I can hardly breathe.
He seemed to finally understand why she hadn't wanted to be his empress. The palace walls were too deep, and there were too many treacherous power struggles. Her flamboyant, unrestrained, and unconventional nature was indeed unsuitable for living in a place like the palace.
Even though he cleared all obstacles in the harem for her, he forgot that she was the wife of the king, and the court could not tolerate her either.
Her life ended tragically; that was the fate he gave her.
I hate it so much! I suddenly feel so much hatred!
If only he weren't a descendant of the previous dynasty's royal family, they wouldn't have entered these unfathomable palace walls, wouldn't have stepped into the vortex of power, and wouldn't have been stabbed in the back by the people they trusted and respected most.
he…
He will not lose the person he loves most.
After wandering around the hall in confusion and helplessness for a while, Shen Jinchen lay down on the bed where they had once passionately entwined themselves and which had ultimately cost her her life, silently shedding tears.
Finally, he muttered to himself:
"Ah Xi, I miss you. It's been three years since we last met, and you've never appeared in my dreams. Are you resenting me for not finding the real culprit for you? Don't worry, I will, I definitely will. I will avenge you, I will avenge you."
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
