Xiangyu immediately added fuel to the fire, almost sobbing as she said, "Yes, Your Majesty, the Empress is blaming herself every day, thinking that she shouldn't have been so foolish as to shift the blame onto others. If she had confessed to Your Majesty sooner, perhaps she could have gained Your Majesty's mercy and perhaps she could have stayed with Your Majesty..."
"Enough!" The Emperor frowned, his face clearly showing disgust. He raised his hand to rub his forehead. "Put all the orchids back. All of you, get out of my sight!"
Xiangyu was terrified by the voice, but gritted her teeth and continued in a pitiful voice, "But Your Majesty, the Empress said..."
"Does my word carry less weight than hers?" The Emperor frowned.
Xiangyu felt that it was time to stop there, so she stood up and said aggrievedly, "Then this servant will put the orchid back."
The group placed the orchids, lowered their heads, and hurried away. Some of the more timid palace maids were so frightened they almost fainted.
After they left, the emperor moved closer to the planted orchids, the disgust in his eyes faded, and memories flooded his mind.
These orchids have been planted here for many years, all in exquisite glazed flowerpots.
Thinking back to when Consort Lan first entered the palace, she was just a naive young girl, unaware of scheming and adorned with heavy makeup, just like the orchids planted all over the ground, pure and innocent.
But how easy is it to survive in the palace? Without learning how to scheme and plot, one is like a fish on a chopping board.
The Emperor sighed, thinking that Consort Lan had lost her unborn child because she hadn't been careful with her diet, and he found it somewhat amusing.
Although she has changed a lot, her gluttony has never changed. She used to love to eat, and even though she is about to become a mother, she still can't get rid of her gluttony.
The Emperor is getting old, and over the years, his relationship with the Empress has grown distant. The only concubine who has maintained his favor is Consort Lan.
Now that Consort Lan has been banished to the Cold Palace, he has no one he can rely on, and he would never go to the Empress's Kunning Palace.
Thinking this way, he felt that banishing Consort Lan to the Cold Palace was too harsh a punishment.
Then he shook his head. As the saying goes, a king's word is law. Since she has already been banished to the cold palace, he can't just announce to the world that he regrets it and then pull her out of the cold palace.
Meanwhile, in the Cold Palace, Consort Lan was overjoyed.
"I won the bet; His Majesty still harbors feelings for me." Although she was still without makeup, her face had regained some of its former radiance and charm.
Xiangyu also laughed and said, "Yes, I think the Emperor was just angry for a moment. He probably regrets it after he calms down."
Consort Lan suppressed her joy and pondered, saying, "However, even so, we cannot stop here. Even if the Emperor regrets it, we must give him a reason to restore my status."
A smile played on her lips, as if she had a plan in mind, and she said slowly, "I have an idea."
Chang Lili feels that her time at the Light Machinery Department is more interesting and something she looks forward to than when she was at the Military Equipment Department.
Back in the past, although I was happily busy at the military workshop, I was just working hard, repairing and forging weapons.
Here, however, it was completely different. They studied and explored together, and each of them learned things they had never known before from the other.
She previously couldn't understand the purpose of the Light Machinery Division, thinking these eccentric people were idle and didn't do anything productive. Now, she had to take back that statement.
She let out a breath; after a busy day, her back and waist ached. With anticipation for tomorrow, she gradually drifted off to sleep.
She was sleeping very deeply. When her mother-in-law woke her up, she was still dreaming about discussing issues with Zhang Ziqing and the others.
These past few days they've been trying to find a way to make her legs and feet more flexible, but many methods haven't worked. Just now, in her dream, she felt she could come up with an effective solution, but her good dream was interrupted by her mother-in-law.
"What's wrong, Mother-in-law..." she mumbled lazily, before she could even open her eyes, her mouth was covered.
Opening her eyes, in the dim moonlight, she saw her mother-in-law huddled beside Chang Lili's bed, looking anxious, and putting her finger to her lips, signaling Chang Lili to be quiet.
Chang Lili found it strange and was about to ask a question when she heard a rustling sound coming from inside the house.
This sound didn't come from the mother-in-law, nor from her. Is there a third person in this wooden house? Or perhaps it's some kind of animal?
Judging from my mother-in-law's tense expression, it must be something very dangerous.
Countless thoughts flashed through Chang Lili's mind. For example, there were only a few people from their Light Machinery Department in this deep mountain forest. It was very likely that there were wild animals, but all the lethal tools were left in that part of the forest. It was a real mistake.
But gradually, she realized something was wrong; the sound was becoming clearer, it was footsteps.
She steeled herself, exchanged a glance with her mother-in-law, and slowly stood up, neither of them daring to utter a sound.
Chang Lili felt that the person who came could not be someone from the Light Machinery Department. Even if it was Jiang Yingxue, she was proud and arrogant and would not deign to do such things. Besides, they had no motive!
The two were in the inner room, outside was the dining area, and inside was the resting area, each with a door leading to the outside.
They tiptoed toward the door, holding their breath as the footsteps drew closer, their hearts pounding.
Their footsteps were almost leading them inside, and they were nearing the door when suddenly, the mother-in-law accidentally bumped into the dressing table, making a dull thud.
Chang Lili paused outside, her heart skipped a beat, and she grabbed her mother-in-law, opened the door, and ran outside.
The moonlight outside was even brighter, the grass was lush and green, and shadows were everywhere. Chang Lili pulled her mother-in-law along, running around without being able to tell which way was which.
In her panic, she couldn't help but look back and saw a man in black rushing out of the house. Upon seeing them, she quickly chased after him.
"Lili, you go first. I can't run anymore, I'll be a burden to you," the mother-in-law said breathlessly.
Chang Lili's mind was a complete mess; she couldn't understand the situation at hand. Who were these men in black? Why were they chasing them?
She didn't have time to think about any of that, and only said to her mother-in-law, "Don't talk nonsense, I would never abandon you."
However, as they drew closer to the men in black, Chang Lili was horrified to discover that several more men in black had appeared out of nowhere, also eyeing them menacingly as they chased after them.
Chang Lili felt a chill run down her spine and a sense of despair creep into her heart. Even if she ran as fast as she could, she couldn't escape the clutches of these black-clad men who clearly knew kung fu.
As she watched those approaching, her breath almost caught in her throat, she suddenly felt a strong force on her wrist.
A chill ran down her spine. She turned around in terror, only to see Zhou Lue's face. He pulled her along as they ran, asking, "Are they coming for you?"
"Huh?" Chang Lili was completely confused, but seeing Zhou Lue, she felt inexplicably at ease. "Senior, aren't you highly skilled in martial arts? Why don't you send them all flying!"
Zhou Lue, however, said confidently, "No matter how skilled I am in martial arts, I can't withstand so many of them attacking at once!"
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