Chapter 30: Questioning in the Cold Palace and Mysteries of the Past
Chapter Thirty: Questioning in the Cold Palace and Mysteries of the Past
Su Su noticed that she had dismissed the palace servants. Did she have something important to say to her? Or...?
Consort Wan said softly, "Your Highness, some things... may not be as they seem on the surface. His Majesty, he..." She seemed to be carefully choosing her words.
She wanted to remind Su Su that the Emperor's treatment of her might not be as utterly heartless as she perceived, nor as the outside world perceived, that his heart was only with her, his "favored concubine."
However, Su Su misunderstood her meaning. When Mu Hanyan mentioned the Emperor, and considering that she was now pregnant with the Emperor's child, she thought that Mu Hanyan was worried that after being promoted to the rank of Consort, she would become jealous again and would not tolerate her and the child in her womb.
Su Su smiled slightly, her tone gentle as she continued her resolute promise, interrupting her unfinished words: "Sister Wanpin, I understand your meaning. Please rest assured and take good care of your pregnancy. Since I have made a promise to you today, I will never break it. No matter how the Emperor treats you in the future... I will not, and will never, harm you or your child. Now, I only wish for peace in the palace and a flourishing imperial line."
Her eyes were clear and honest, without the slightest pretense. Mu Hanyan looked at her, sighing inwardly, knowing that she had completely misunderstood. She opened her mouth, wanting to explain something more, not for her own sake, but because she felt it was truly regrettable that the two of them continued to be so estranged and misunderstanding each other.
Just then, a eunuch's slightly shrill voice came from outside the hall: "The Emperor has arrived!"
Upon hearing this, Su Su immediately composed herself, stood up and stood respectfully to the side. He had arrived quickly, probably having just received the news that she had come to Shuning Palace. Was he afraid that she might harm Mu Hanyan, or was he worried that she might say something she shouldn't have, disturbing the person he cherished and his unborn child?
She sneered inwardly, but remained calm and composed on the surface. He was always there to protect Mu Hanyan; this realization had no effect on her.
Li Qianche stepped in, his gaze first quickly sweeping over Mu Hanyan on the couch. Seeing that she looked alright, he nodded slightly. Then, his deep gaze fell on Su Su, who was bowing with her head down. "Rise, both of you."
"Thank you, Your Majesty." Su Su stood up, still keeping her head down and speaking in a distant yet respectful tone. "I have already visited Consort Wan and found her well, so I will not disturb Your Majesty's conversation with her. I will take my leave."
Having said that, without even waiting for Li Qianche's response, she curtsied again, turned around, took Chunlan's hand, and left Shuning Palace with steady steps. She thought to herself that with her understanding manners, the Emperor could surely rest assured.
Li Qianche watched her leave without hesitation, his outstretched hand paused slightly, and finally he could only helplessly pull it back into his sleeve, behind his back, his knuckles tightening quietly.
Is she now... unwilling to spend even a moment longer with him?
Mu Hanyan saw all of this. After Su Su left, she looked at Li Qianche, whose brows were furrowed with annoyance, and said softly, "Your Majesty, the Imperial Concubine... seems to have a deep misunderstanding about you."
She paused, then mustered her courage and said, "As an outsider, I see things more clearly. His Majesty clearly cares about the Imperial Concubine. If we keep keeping these things to ourselves and continue to avoid and evade them, I'm afraid the rift will only deepen, which is not the way to resolve the issue."
Li Qianche remained silent for a moment, with only the lingering fragrance of incense in the hall. He walked to the window, gazing at the tender buds sprouting in the courtyard outside, his voice carrying a hint of confusion and melancholy that even he himself had not fully grasped.
"Speak out? How can I speak out? From childhood... no one taught me how to love someone. What I learned was how to balance the court, how to control the harem, and how to be a qualified emperor."
His voice trailed off, carrying a deep sense of powerlessness. Acknowledging his helplessness was no easy task for an emperor.
Upon hearing this, Mu Hanyan understood and remained silent. The shackles of the emperor were far heavier than she had imagined.
After leaving Shuning Palace, Su Su did not return directly to Yongshou Palace. Instead, she turned around and said to Chunlan, "Let's go to the Cold Palace."
Chunlan was startled and quickly dissuaded her, "Your Majesty, that place is filthy and Zhuang Shi is now insane. Why bother going there to be tainted by that bad luck?" Qiuju nodded in agreement.
Su Su's gaze was calm, yet carried an undeniable firmness: "I simply have a few questions I wish to resolve. I will leave once I have asked them." She had some doubts, and she could not rest easy unless she went to ask them herself.
The Cold Palace was dilapidated and chilly, with dust and a faint musty smell permeating the air.
Consort Zhuang—no, now the commoner Zhuang Shuning—had her long-lost hair disheveled and wore filthy clothes, huddled on a pile of straw in a corner. Hearing footsteps, she abruptly raised her head, her cloudy eyes flashing with bone-chilling hatred when she recognized Su Su. Su Su's appearance was exactly like her own in her previous life.
"It's you?! Hahaha... Did you come here to laugh at me? Consort Su!" Her voice was hoarse, like a night owl, filled with madness.
Su Su stood a few steps away from her, her expression indifferent, unmoved by her disheveled state: "I have no interest in seeing you make a fool of yourself. I've come today only to ask you, regarding the matter of the Prince of Ning's heir, did you collude with people within the Su family?" She stared intently into Consort Zhuang's eyes.
Upon hearing this, Consort Zhuang was stunned for a moment, then burst into wild laughter as if she had heard the biggest joke in the world. She laughed for a long time before stopping, looking at Su Su with resentment in her eyes.
"Want to know who it is? Su Su, you're far too naive! Do you think I'd tell you? Your Su family is deeply entrenched, and naturally there are people within it who dislike you, your parents, and your brothers! Some are eager for you to fall from power so they can make room for you! But I won't tell you who it is! You only need to know that there's never been anything clean around you, and someone in the family you rely on has already sold you out! Hahaha! How does that feel? Isn't it worse than being killed outright? Just you wait, as long as my father is alive, he will never let you go! The suffering I endured today, he will repay a hundredfold in the future!"
She seemed to be caught up in a frenzied recollection, pointing at Su Su and cursing, "It's all your fault! You're the one who's monopolizing the Emperor! You're the vixen who's made the Emperor's eyes and heart only for you! Why?! I entered the palace earlier than you, and my family background is no worse than yours, so why is the Emperor... why is he so biased towards you! You're the most wicked woman!"
Su Su frowned at her rambling, resentful words. She was puzzled: "The Emperor favors me? Zhuang Shuning, are you truly insane?" Between her and Li Qianche, besides scheming, testing, and neglect, how could there be any favoritism?
Consort Zhuang was taken aback when she saw the incredulous frown on her face. Then, as if she understood something, she burst into an even more hysterical laugh, laughing until tears streamed down her face, which, mixed with the dirt on her face, made her look particularly ferocious.
"Hahahaha... Karma! It really is karma! You...you actually...hahahaha! I won't tell! I'd rather die than tell you! Let you torture and distrust each other! This is your karma!" She completely lost control of her mind, speaking incoherently, only repeating "karma" and laughing hysterically.
Looking at the seemingly crazed Consort Zhuang before her, Su Su knew she wouldn't get any more useful information from her. She gave her one last cold look, then turned and left the suffocating cold palace.
On the way back, Chunlan cautiously watched the silent Su Su. Su Su's mind was filled with the malicious implication of Consort Zhuang—"She can't stand your parents and brothers," "They've never been clean around you," and the crazy curse that she firmly believed her father would avenge her.
Although Consort Zhuang did not say it explicitly, her statement "There has never been a clean place around you" undoubtedly confirmed her long-standing concern—there were indeed people within the Su family colluding with outsiders.
But who exactly was that person? Was it one of the elders in the clan who was always unhappy that her father had married her mother and that her brother hadn't tried to curry favor with the powerful? Or... was it the uncle and aunt from the second branch of the family, who seemed well-behaved but had always coveted the position of the first branch? A chill ran through her again. She had to remind her father as soon as possible to investigate secretly.
However, what alarmed her even more than this internal threat was the resolute look in Consort Zhuang's eyes when she mentioned her father. Her father had cultivated his influence in the court for many years when he served as Grand Tutor, and had a wide network of students and friends. If he truly wanted to avenge his daughter, he would not limit himself to the struggles within the harem.
Was the Zhuang family behind the heinous injustice of framing her father and brothers for "treason" in her past life? This was her deepest fear. If so, the retaliation from the Zhuang family would likely continue.
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