Chapter 54 Who am I? Am I Wen Miao of the Xie Clan of Jinling?
The former Cold Palace was dilapidated, overgrown with weeds. The old curtains had hung in this forgotten palace for who knows how many years, covered in dust and cobwebs. At the same time, every corner exuded an unpleasant smell, as if filled with death.
Many people have died in the Cold Palace—
There were palace maids who starved themselves to death; beauties who hanged themselves because they couldn't bear being forgotten by the emperor; abandoned concubines who were once favored but later drowned themselves in a well; and even a deposed empress who smashed her head against the palace wall to her death...
Extremely cold and desolate.
Wen Miao stepped closer, and everything she saw had a sense of age and decay, even creating a strange disconnect from the rest of the Great Chu Imperial Palace—at least she found it hard to imagine how such a secluded and gloomy courtyard could exist deep within such a prosperous palace.
This is even the appearance that Emperor Qianyuan had renovated after ascending the throne.
"here……"
Wen Miao opened her lips, but didn't know how to speak.
“It’s very quiet here,” Emperor Qianyuan replied naturally. “In the past, the people who served in the palace didn’t like to go this way, so when I lived here as a child, I didn’t have to worry about offending the nobles.”
The late emperor was incompetent and his rule was chaotic. As a result, Ji Huan, who had not yet become the emperor of the Great Chu, was at the very bottom of the entire palace—even the little eunuch who came to deliver food to the cold palace could step on him.
But Ji Huan didn't care.
All he needed was to eat his fill, survive, and then gather enough strength to stand closer to the goddess of his dreams.
Thus, Emperor Qian Yuan spoke of the past in a very lighthearted manner. He concealed the bullying he had suffered and hid the past of hunger and hardship. He only picked and chose, and in Wen Miao's eyes, he depicted the image of a lively little boy who, despite being born in the cold palace, was still energetic and playful.
Wen Miao knew that this was not the truth, but she did not expose it; she simply listened quietly.
The Cold Palace was not large. Emperor Qian Yuan led Wen Miao from the front courtyard to the back courtyard and back again. The several dilapidated halls were tightly locked, as if not even a ray of light could penetrate them.
Wen Miao suddenly asked, "Which room did you live in before?"
Emperor Qianyuan paused, turned slightly to the side, and pointed to the room directly opposite the gate of the Cold Palace.
—It is the house where Emperor Qian Yuan used to live, and it is also a secret place where the clothes of the goddesses in the heavens are hidden.
"I'll go take a look."
Wen Miao walked over, but Emperor Qian Yuan stood still, his eyes dark and unfathomable. Even though his heart was pounding, his face showed no change whatsoever.
The room was also locked. The paper windows had darkened with age, but they were not damaged. Wen Miao raised her hand to shield the light slightly and peeked through the crack in the door.
The room was dark, devoid of morning light.
Wen Miao glanced at it vaguely, then heard Xueqiu's heart-wrenching whimpers coming from outside the Cold Palace. She stepped back, her peripheral vision catching a glimpse of soft light reflecting from inside the room, but she didn't look into it.
Emperor Qian Yuan hid his hand under his sleeve, slowly opening it inch by inch, revealing faint white nail marks on his palm. He whispered, "Snowball misses you."
Wen Miao smiled and walked up to Emperor Qian Yuan. "How old is Xueqiu? Does it already know how to miss people?"
"Of course I know."
"It, like me, cannot be separated from the Empress."
Wen Miao still had a smile on her face, but there was a hint of tenderness in her eyes when she looked at Emperor Qian Yuan. She didn't scold him for being clingy as she used to, but instead naturally took his hand and said, "Then let's go back."
The early winter wind rustled through every blade of grass and tree in the cold palace. The palace gates, which had been opened not long ago, were slowly closed again and locked away completely.
With his arm around Wen Miao's lower back, Emperor Qianyuan turned his head slightly as they walked out of the shadow cast by the Cold Palace courtyard. His gaze subtly swept over the direction of the room where his greatest secret had almost been discovered.
fine……
Before the Empress fully regains her memory, he can continue to be a good husband to her and has more time to leave a mark on Wen Miao's heart.
Meanwhile, the outskirts of Beijing—
A carriage slowly traveled along the official road, heading towards the capital. The driver was Li Zhu, who had appeared in Jinling a few months ago. He was dressed in black, wearing a cloak that concealed his disfigured face. While driving, he was also wiping the long sword in his hand.
Inside the carriage, Qiu Shisan Niang lazily propped her chin up, not caring about the cold, and lifted the curtain to reveal half of her pale face and arms. She slowly complained, "It's been a bumpy journey to the capital, and I've missed quite a few interesting things."
Li Zhu ignored her and remained silent.
Qiu Shisan Niang didn't seem to care. She already knew Li Zhu's personality, and simply continued speaking to herself:
"The news has spread throughout the northern part of Great Chu. The Princess Consort of Prince Rui was punished by the Empress a few days ago. If you ask me, that wicked woman should have been dealt with long ago! She has taken more than ten lives and yet she has lived peacefully for so many years..."
"Back then, all I did was stab that heartless bastard who tried to bully a young girl, and I was sentenced to death and beheaded by the authorities. If it weren't for the Chengying Guard taking a liking to me, the grass on my grave would probably be three meters high by now!"
At this moment, Li Zhu whispered, "...After the beheading, the body will be thrown into a mass grave, and there will be no grave."
Without a grave mound, there is no grass growing on it.
"You stinky man, if you can't speak properly, then shut up! Your words will get you killed!"
Qiu Shisan Niang rolled her eyes in annoyance. Looking at the nail polish on her fingernails, she continued:
"That annoying death contract is completely gone now. Being a servant doesn't mean I have to live in constant fear of being beaten to death by my master... Tsk, Your Highness is such a good person... If only I had met Your Highness when I was younger, I would have been willing to serve you like a slave!"
This time, "stinky man" Li Zhu couldn't help but speak up again: "...His Majesty hadn't met His Majesty yet back then."
His Majesty did not meet the Empress, so there was no improvement in the slave system, and they had no opportunity to sit here and reminisce.
Qiu Shisanniang: "..."
Qiu Shisan Niang: "Shut up! You're not allowed to talk to me on the way here!"
The carriage continued its journey towards the capital. Li Zhu, who had been yelled at, quietly shut his mouth. He was never good at talking, but he always listened to Thirteen Sister.
...
Inside the imperial city, in the afternoon—
Emperor Qianyuan still had matters to discuss with his ministers in the Wenyuan Hall, so Wenmiao asked Shicui to bring the follow-up document sent by Prince Rui. Its writing style was exactly the same as a memorial, and it was said that Emperor Qianyuan had personally instructed him to make it seem more formal.
Prince Rui has always been nonchalant about this matter. He was not good at writing memorials, and the content of his memorials was dictated by him in a stuttering manner and then written down by his retainers.
In just a few words, the retainer clearly explained what Prince Rui Ji Heng had said in more than a dozen sentences, allowing Wen Miao to see through the paper the initial effects of the improved slave system in the capital.
On the first day the West Market Office opened, thanks to the cooperation of the Duke of Wei and the Minister of Revenue, other officials also stepped forward, speeding up the process of changing dead contracts to live contracts.
By the time this memorial was written, 106 dead contracts had been successfully converted into live contracts in the capital. Furthermore, a wealthy family surnamed Lu, along with their thieving servant, became the first case to be handled by the West Market Office.
Although Prince Rui didn't understand the intricacies of the matter, he was honest! He fully supported the Empress's cause, standing next to the official in charge of the West Market Bureau, looking every bit the mascot—
When the official recited the laws and regulations under the slave system, Prince Rui nodded repeatedly, saying "Yes, yes, yes" and "That's right." When the official investigated the cause and effect of the matter, Prince Rui exclaimed, "Well said!" and "That's how it should be." When the official analyzed the matter according to the law and judged the wicked slave's crime, Prince Rui immediately clapped his hands and exclaimed, "Excellent!" and "Well done!"
Although few of his words were truly useful, they were emotionally valuable! This stirred up quite a bit of excitement in front of the West Market Office, with many people clapping and nodding along with Prince Rui.
The official was also a shrewd one. He knew that His Majesty was deliberately trying to promote the Empress. So he clasped his hands, bowed slightly towards the imperial city, and said loudly to the people gathered around the West Market Office, "We are grateful for the Empress's grace."
These words reminded everyone of the original proposer of reforming the slave system. The lively crowd bowed towards the imperial city, and the servants who had finally been freed from their life-or-death contracts were excited, bowing and kowtowing, constantly chanting "Your Majesty is merciful" and "Long live Your Majesty".
After this incident, the West Market Office was firmly established in the capital. With the support of the Emperor and Empress and the presence of Prince Rui, no one dared to cause trouble. Most people obediently cooperated with the reforms to curry favor with their superiors.
Because of this incident, many impoverished literati who followed the trend in the capital gathered in teahouses to discuss recent events, compose poems and couplets on the reforms, and praise the current empress for her compassionate heart and the respect she commanded.
The retainers of Prince Rui's mansion chattered on and on, copying down all the praise and compliments in their memorials. They even transcribed a few outstanding short poems and couplets, which made Wen Miao blush. She felt a mix of joy and embarrassment.
She didn't think she had done much; in fact, these were just actions that could be taken casually under imperial power. But for the 106 people who signed the death contracts in the capital, it was a pardon.
Throughout the Great Chu, many more people who were previously trapped by death contracts and slavery will be able to live the lives of ordinary citizens.
Wen Miao let out a soft breath, then asked Wan Bi to prepare a box and put the report inside.
"Everyone in the capital is praising the Empress!"
Wanbi spoke with a smile, her face full of pride for Wen Miao.
Wen Miao found it amusing and tapped the other person's nose. "I only made a suggestion. If it weren't for His Majesty's support, Prince Rui's supervision, and the cooperation of the people from the Duke of Wei's mansion, how could we have achieved the current results?"
"But in all the years since the founding of the Great Chu, only Her Majesty has made this suggestion."
Wanbi shrugged, her nose wrinkling slightly. "Of all those emperors and officials, how many of them could possibly have actually seen the lives of ordinary people like us?"
Before serving their master faithfully, Shi Cui and Wan Bi were descendants of slaves. They themselves could hardly trace back how many generations of their ancestors were slaves, yet they were bound by a death contract that bound them to their bodies for their entire lives.
Despite having never committed any crimes since birth, they were subjected to cold stares and oppression, unable to hold their heads high for the rest of their lives, forced to eke out a living like rats in the shadow of the most dilapidated state of the Great Chu.
Those days seemed endless, especially for people like them, who had no hope of living and no courage to die. If they hadn't been lucky enough to encounter the Shadow Guards who were selecting promising talents, given their figures and looks, their future paths after growing up would have been limited to only two—
If a woman is taken in as a concubine by a master or young master, her indenture is in the hands of the master. Her life or death is entirely up to them, and she has no right to raise any children she has. Or she may be sold directly to a brothel. Even if she saves enough money, she cannot redeem herself because of the indenture, and she will grow old and faded in the brothel, with no one to rely on.
Upon hearing Wanbi's words, Shicui, who was teasing Xueqiu, showed a slight change in expression and said softly, "But it's good right now."
They were not bound by a death contract, they learned skills, and they could serve the Empress, which was already very good.
“Yes,” Wanbi nodded immediately. She had now completely become Wenmiao’s little shadow, thinking that the Empress was the best in the world—even better than His Majesty!
Wanbi said, "Meeting Your Majesty is just too good, too good!"
Looking at the sincere smiles on the two girls' faces, Wen Miao felt that they should have more to offer; girls their age should be...
What should have been?
Wen Miao was taken aback, filled with doubt about the inexplicable "certainty" that had arisen in her heart.
What comes after "should have"?
"Your Majesty, what's wrong?"
Seeing the stunned look on Wen Miao's face, Wan Bi couldn't help but ask.
"If..." Wen Miao thought for a moment and then asked, "If you hadn't been serving by my side and were still free, what would you have wanted to do?"
She tried to trigger her lost memories through answers from other people.
Wanbi paused for a moment, "If I were a free agent... maybe I would open a small shop? As for anything else, I really can't think of anything else to do."
Wen Miao: "So what kind of shop do you want to open?"
This time, she stumped Wanbi, because she didn't know what kind of shop she could open. After all, her skills were either serving people or taking lives, and she really didn't know anything about buying and selling things!
Wen Miao then looked at Shi Cui, who was still silent: "And what about you?"
"I……"
Shi Cui pondered for a moment, her face full of blankness, "Your Majesty, I don't know."
She had never thought about this question.
Wen Miao gave a soft "hmm," neither agreeing nor disagreeing, but simply smiled gently, stood up, and patted the two little girls' heads. "Then think about it slowly. Perhaps one day you will give me a clearer answer."
The sun had moved a few paces westward, and the sky gradually darkened.
In the cold winter of the capital, darkness falls early and the wind is strong at night. Even though there was a heater inside the Fengyi Palace, Wen Miao still felt cold.
She didn't look up to examine it closely, but simply grabbed a thin velvet cloak and draped it over her shoulders. By the candlelight, she continued to plan to embroider a new sachet for Emperor Qian Yuan before the New Year arrived.
Wen Miao's embroidery skills were not particularly exquisite. Regardless of whether she was before or after losing her memory, she seemed to be no longer good at this kind of thing. Her embroidery skills could only be described as mediocre—and even did not quite conform to the mainstream aesthetic of the Great Chu. For example, the bamboo leaf sachet she embroidered for Emperor Qian Yuan during the Dragon Boat Festival was chubby and did not exude any elegance, but it did look rather childlike.
That was the only sachet Wen Miao had ever embroidered for Emperor Qian Yuan since they met.
More than half a year has passed since the Dragon Boat Festival, and Emperor Qianyuan carries that grass-green bamboo leaf sachet with him every day, holding and squeezing it from time to time, as if he can't put it down.
The day before yesterday, Wen Miao happened to see the sachet. She noticed that the silk threads along the edges were a bit frayed, making it look out of place on the emperor's clothes. She found it amusing and asked the emperor why he didn't change it.
At that moment, the emperor, who was raising his arm to put on his dragon robe, turned his head to look at Wen Miao. His fingertips hooked the grass-green sachet, and his fingertips pressed down slightly. There seemed to be a hint of grievance in his eyes. He said in a low voice that it was the first gift the empress had embroidered for him.
Seeing Emperor Qian Yuan's expression, there was nothing Wen Miao couldn't guess.
However, she only gave a vague reply at the time. As for the embroidered sachet, Wen Miaoshi planned to give it to the emperor as a surprise before the New Year.
With the new year approaching, Wen Miao compared several colors and styles and decided to embroider a little white dog and a little white horse on this bright yellow sachet, one on each side, which would have a special commemorative meaning.
As she was working on her embroidery, Wen Miao suddenly heard Wan Bi coughing outside the hall. She knew that it was a signal that Emperor Qian Yuan was coming. She hurriedly hid the things she was holding in the bamboo basket, picked up a book, and leaned against the chaise longue, pretending to be reading.
So, when Emperor Qianyuan, still feeling the chill of the wind, entered the slightly warm Fengyi Palace, he saw the Empress, whom he had been thinking about constantly, sitting sideways on a soft couch, her chin resting on her hand. Her face was languid and radiant, her skin fair, smooth, and soft. The plumpness she had developed before winter was hidden beneath her nightgown, and a bright red rope around her neck dangled in the moonlight, making her incomparably beautiful.
In particular, the emperor noticed that the other person was wearing his own cloak over his shoulders.
The dark fabric clashed with the clean, warm colors of the Empress's body, creating an exceptionally dazzling atmosphere. Emperor Qian Yuan's heart trembled. He removed his outer garment and immediately embraced Wen Miao, burying his head in the Empress's neck and taking a deep breath.
Wen Miao then raised her hand and hugged Emperor Qian Yuan's head, gently stroking it.
After so much time, she had long since become accustomed to the emperor's constant affection and clinginess. From being shy at the beginning, she had now become accustomed to leaning against him and finding the most comfortable position. It can only be said that time is a terrible thing that can make people change unconsciously.
Wen Miao relaxed her body, letting Emperor Qian Yuan hold her. It was as if the other party suffered from some kind of thirst that was only for her. Whenever there was time and opportunity, before and after court sessions or during the breaks between reviewing memorials, Emperor Qian Yuan would stride over, open his arms, and hug Wen Miao tightly, absorbing her warmth and scent.
It resembles a large dog of unknown breed.
Emperor Qianyuan used his fingers like a comb to gently smooth Wen Miao's well-maintained hair at the back of her head. "What book are you reading?"
"It's still a natural history book. I'll just flip through it casually. Actually, I'm already a bit sleepy."
"Have you finished washing up?"
Wen Miao nodded.
Emperor Qianyuan: "Then I will carry you to bed to rest."
A cold wind was blowing outside Fengyi Palace, but it was relatively quiet inside.
Wen Miao was placed on the bed by Emperor Qian Yuan and lay down lazily. At first, she propped her chin up and watched the emperor standing not far away changing clothes and combing his hair. After watching for a while, her eyes became hazy, and she lay down on her side, mumbling a goodnight.
This was their daily routine before resting, a routine that seemed somewhat out of place in the Great Chu.
Upon hearing this, Emperor Qian Yuan responded softly, "...Good night."
After Emperor Qianyuan finished tidying up, Wen Miao's breathing gradually became deeper. He climbed onto the bed, stretched out his arms, and pulled the curled-up sleeping Wen Miao into his arms.
The emperor's embrace was warm. Wen Miao leaned against him, her consciousness drifting, and she felt like she was dreaming again—
Since the arrival of winter, she has been having more and more dreams. She often dreams of walking alone in the snow and ice, and sometimes she dreams of many strange yet inexplicably familiar buildings, with many people coming and going around her, their faces blurred and their voices noisy.
That night, she dreamed of those strange past events once again.
She stood in a bright and spacious room, a place that felt unfamiliar to her yet familiar to her subconscious. She saw a middle-aged couple dressed in expensive clothes sitting there, with a younger girl between them, who looked proud and haughty, like a little princess, and was called "baby" by the couple.
She stood not far away, her long hair cascading down to her lower back, wearing a beige dress that didn't conform to the Great Chu style. As if excluded from the family of three, she asked expressionlessly and wearily, "If I agree to this, will I be able to completely sever ties with you?"
The woman in the couple spoke up: "Yes, as long as you marry into the family and solve this immediate problem, anything else that happens to our family will be none of your concern!"
After saying that, she muttered complaints about how she had given birth to such an ungrateful, money-losing child.
Then the man sitting next to her also spoke with a serious face, nagging and blaming Wen Miao for her mistakes—saying that she was unfilial, that she did not understand her parents' good intentions, that she was raised by her grandparents in the south since she was a child, and that she was not close to her parents at all, and so on.
Even the slightly younger girl in the middle spoke up with a smile, implying that it wasn't her sister's fault, which once again provoked the couple to target Wen Miao.
Everything in the dream felt unnaturally real. Although Wen Miao couldn't see their faces clearly, she could feel the suffocating atmosphere and the countless moments of disappointment that made her forget how to feel sad.
...Are they her blood relatives? But, shouldn't she have lost her parents at a young age and grown up with her maternal grandparents?
In her dream, her parents didn't even know what she liked or disliked, but her maternal grandfather and Mengjun knew perfectly well that the Xie family should be her home...
Clearly, she felt a stronger sense of belonging to the Xie family...
So who exactly is she?
These chaotic and mixed emotions made Wen Miao feel cold all over, and her fingertips trembled. She didn't want to face it anymore, so she wanted to turn around and leave, wanting to go to a warmer place.
"Vast, vast?"
A familiar male voice rang in her ears, and Wen Miao suddenly opened her eyes from her dream. Her consciousness was not yet fully clear. She was panting heavily, her temples were covered with cold sweat, and her fair fingertips were tightly gripping the collar of Emperor Qian Yuan's sleeping robe. Her eyes were blank and filled with unease.
In a daze, she stared into Emperor Qian Yuan's eyes, which were filled with concern, and asked in a choked voice, "Ji Huan... Ji Huan, tell me, I am Wen Miao, born into the Xie family of Jinling, right?"
In an instant, Emperor Qian Yuan's heart stopped, as if he had fallen into an ice cellar, and he was stunned and didn't know how to reply.
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Author's Note: [Please] Your Majesty, are you panicking?
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