Chapter 133: Rescue Her 'An'
Su He moved into Huayang Palace in the palace.
This palace used to be the residence of Imperial Concubine Cao. After Cao died of illness, the palace became vacant. Now that the princess has moved in, it has to be cleaned and tidied up.
When Su He arrived at the palace gate, a group of palace servants were still busy inside.
Eunuch Chen Ying shouted to the palace servants, "Why don't you come quickly and pay your respects to the princess?"
Everyone immediately put down their work and knelt in front of the palace gate, shouting, "Long live the princess!"
Chen Ying couldn't help but scold them: "How can you all work so hard? The princess has arrived, and you haven't even cleaned up the palace yet."
The palace servants were trembling with fear, and no one dared to answer.
Su He could tell at a glance that Chen Ying was no pushover. Perhaps he was a spy placed by Concubine Shu by her side. She couldn't let him get the upper hand.
She walked up slowly and called out "Eunuch Chen".
Chen Ying immediately bowed his head respectfully and said, "I am here, what can I do for you, Princess?"
She replied calmly, "I'm just staying here for a while. Maybe after the New Year, my father will build me a residence outside the palace. So there's no need to bother taking care of this place. Just being able to live here is enough."
Chen Ying smiled and said, "Time is too tight. Even if we wanted to put in some effort, we wouldn't be able to. The princess is so kind."
She glanced inside the hall and said, "From now on, I'll have to ask Eunuch Chen to take care of all the miscellaneous matters in the outer hall. As for the inner hall, aside from the three people I brought with me," she said, looking at Zhang Xiuhua, Chunlan, and Fang Yicheng, "no one else is allowed to enter without my permission."
Naturally, she wouldn't let these people of unknown origin get close to her.
Chen Ying also turned to look at the three people, his gaze lingering for a moment on the sickly Zhang Xiuhua. Then, he looked troubled, "What if the princess needs someone to serve her..."
Su He interrupted coldly: "The people I brought with me will take good care of me."
Chen Ying choked, then lowered his head and replied, "Everything is at the princess' command."
Su He dismissed the palace servants and led the three people into the inner hall.
Zhang Xiuhua couldn't walk very well, so Chunlan had to support her step by step.
Looking up, you will see the magnificent scenery.
Although it was a temporary palace, it was exquisitely decorated and fully equipped, and it was many times more convenient than living in Ping'an Lane.
Su He placed Zhang Xiuhua on a throne chair and then got to the point.
She handed the map Xie Wuhen had given to Fang Yicheng, "Please familiarize yourself with this map, Master Fang. It would be best if we could find the Emperor's whereabouts as quickly as possible."
Fang Yicheng was a little worried: "Miss, do you think...the emperor is still alive?"
Su He was silent for a moment. "Whether dead or alive, the emperor must be in this palace. We must find him at all costs—we must thwart Bai Jinan and Concubine Shu's scheme."
Fang Yicheng put the map into his sleeve pocket and replied "OK".
Su He then instructed Chun Lan, "Sprinkle some corn kernels outside the inner hall window every morning. Xie Wuhen will then release a carrier pigeon to keep in touch with me."
Chunlan's face lit up with joy: "Your Excellency is indeed thoughtful."
Su He finally looked at Zhang Xiuhua.
She hadn't had a proper word with her since she woke up, and she was overwhelmed with mixed feelings.
With tears in her eyes, she said, "Next, Aunt's task is to take good care of herself and stay by my side."
Zhang Xiuhua couldn't help but shed tears: "As long as the princess is fine, everything will be fine with me."
She no longer called her "Miss", she called her "Princess".
Although she was born into a noble family, she suffered the hardships of being a slave. She hoped more than anyone else that she was a noble princess.
By the time everything was cleaned up and the meal was finished, it was already night.
Outside, the cold wind was howling and the water was freezing, but inside the house, the heating was burning and it was as warm as spring.
Zhang Xiuhua staggered around the palace, taking in the lavish decor. She couldn't help but sigh, "Did your mother also live in a room like this in the palace back then? If she'd lived in a room like this before, how could she still be so content living in the Du family's back room?"
Su He answered while she was trimming the candle wick: "Before leaving the palace, my mother was just a maid serving tea to the emperor. She should not be qualified to live in a separate palace like this."
She put down the scissors and thought for a moment, "But with my mother's strong character, even if she really did enjoy immense wealth, it shouldn't be difficult for her to go from extravagance to a life of poverty and frugality."
Zhang Xiuhua sighed, "You and your mother have the same temperament."
Su He then pulled out the jade pendant engraved with the seal from her pocket: "When mother entrusted me to my aunt, were you... very sad?"
Zhang Xiuhua replied, "It's not just sadness, it's probably despair and anger. Your mother said...she can't get over this."
She sighed softly as she spoke, "But fortunately, the princess has now returned to her roots. Your mother should be able to rest in peace in her grave."
Su He gently stroked the warm texture on the jade pendant, speechless for a long time.
She slept very restlessly that night, waking up from time to time.
In a trance, she seemed to be lying in the back house of the Du family, or in the Chunhua Courtyard of the Xie family.
The palace walls were deep, but she felt increasingly lost.
At this time, the queen was also unable to sleep well in Kunning Palace.
She simply gave up sleep, got up and sat by the stove, and asked casually, "Has the Fifth Prince gone to bed yet?"
Nanny Qing replied, "Don't worry, Your Majesty. The Fifth Prince is intelligent and sensible. He went to bed as soon as it got dark and said he would get up early tomorrow to study."
The Queen then asked, "Did Che'er send any food, clothing, or other necessities?"
Che'er was none other than the former crown prince Zhao Che who had been demoted to a commoner. It was the new year, and as his mother, she had to go and help him privately.
Nanny Qing replied, "Of course I did. I went there myself."
The Queen felt slightly relieved, but after a moment, she became worried again. "My brother told me privately today that the people in the city are all saying that the Emperor intends to make the Second Prince the Crown Prince. I don't know where this rumor came from."
Nanny Qing paused. "Could it be that... the Emperor really has this intention?"
The Queen's heart sank. "If so, wouldn't all the effort I've put into the Fifth Prince be wasted?"
Nanny Qing lowered her head, not knowing how to comfort her for a moment.
Finally, she said suspiciously, "Perhaps this is also a plot by Changle Palace, deliberately fabricating rumors to put the emperor in a difficult position, so that he will eventually be forced to appoint the Second Prince as the Crown Prince."
He continued, "I don't know what kind of seductive tricks that Concubine Shu has used these days to make the Emperor obey her every word and indulge her in everything. Even when the Empress wanted to walk with the Emperor after the grand court meeting today, the Emperor refused."
The queen pursed her lips, her face cold.
After a moment, she gritted her teeth and replied, "Tomorrow is the first day of the first lunar month. I want to see where they are going to put me, the queen."
Nanny Qing continued, "Your Majesty is right. The Emperor must stay in Kunning Palace on the first day of every month, let alone the first day of the first lunar month. If the Emperor doesn't come tomorrow, Your Majesty can go to Weiyang Palace and make a scene. Otherwise, that Concubine Shu will become even more determined to control our Kunning Palace."
The Queen clenched her fists and said, "We'll just have to wait and see tomorrow."
The next day, just as Su He got up, Chunlan came into the palace excitedly, holding a carrier pigeon in her hand, and whispered, "Princess, the master's letter has arrived."
Su He took the mailbox off the pigeon's anklet and pulled out the note inside.
There was only one word on the note: An?
Even if it is just one word, the handwriting is so smooth and powerful that it can be seen through the paper.
She recognized that this was Xie Wuhen's handwriting.
Chunlan was puzzled. "I spent so many corn kernels and even a white pigeon, just to write a single word?"
Su He smiled and said, "Then I will reply him with one word."
She also wrote on the back of the note: An!
Then he rolled up the note, inserted it into the mailbox, and went to the window to release the carrier pigeon.
The pigeon spread its wings and flew high with a "puff", passing through the cold wind and the white snow, and disappeared into the vast sky.
It finally landed on the window outside Xie's study.
Wu Sheng caught the pigeon, took out the note from the mailbox, and then went to the room to report: "Boss, the princess has replied."
Xie Wuhen stood up, took the note, and gently unfolded it. At first, he saw the "An" he had written. When he turned the note over, he saw another "An".
The word "安" is written casually, like a scribble, but it is also free and unrestrained.
He recognized it as Su He's handwriting, as she seemed to have never liked calligraphy.
Wu Sheng muttered, "The princess is so stingy that she wouldn't even exchange the note."
But he folded the note carefully and put it in the secret drawer next to him.
It was as if this piece of paper was a medium, as if the word "An" was him and her, as if they were standing together again.
He breathed a sigh of relief: "As long as she's 'safe'."
Then he looked at the sky outside and said, "Today is the first day of the Lunar New Year. There is a royal family banquet in the palace. She may have some social engagements."
Wu Sheng reminded: "Boss, don't forget that the old lady has also prepared a family banquet and is waiting for you to go to the main courtyard to eat."
He nodded and said "OK".
At this time in the palace, the royal family banquet was about to begin.
The banquet was held in Jiade Hall, some distance away from Huayang Hall.
Before leaving, Su He instructed Fang Yicheng, "Take advantage of the opportunity of the palace masters' banquet today to go and investigate."
Fang Yicheng replied: "Don't worry, young lady. I will do my best."
Su He nodded, then put on his cloak and went to the banquet.
But what she didn't expect was that besides her, the only people present at the Jiade Hall were the Queen, the Fifth Prince, and two other concubines.
The emperor didn't come, the concubine didn't come, and even the second prince didn't come.
The Queen asked the eunuch in charge, "Why didn't the Emperor and Concubine Shu come?"
The eunuch in charge bowed his head and replied, "I heard from the chief steward Wang that the emperor is not feeling well and needs to rest in the palace. The concubine Shu must also serve the emperor."
The Queen's expression grew colder. "Then why didn't the Second Prince come?"
The eunuch in charge trembled with fear: "The Second... The Second Prince said that he had to accompany the Emperor and the Concubine Shu to celebrate the New Year."
The Empress, unable to tolerate any more, swept the cups and dishes from the table with a wave of her arm and shouted, "Rumors are rife in the city that the Emperor intends to make the Second Prince the Crown Prince. It seems the rumors are true. Today, I must go to Weiyang Palace and ask for the truth. Is it true that in this vast Liang State and this huge Imperial Palace, the laws of the land and of the family no longer exist, leaving only the three of them?"
As soon as these words were spoken, everyone in the palace knelt down and shouted in unison: "Queen, please calm down."
Su He also knelt down.
The queen ignored him completely, stood up angrily, got on her sedan chair, and headed straight towards the Weiyang Palace.
It was supposed to be a festive royal family banquet, but it ended up in a mess.
The fifth prince was crying quietly beside the banquet table, his tears streaming down his face.
Su He moved closer to him, took out a handkerchief and wiped his tears: "Don't cry, it's okay."
The little guy looked up at her and asked crisply, "You are the new sister, right?"
Su He smiled gently: "Yes, I am your sister."
The little man asked again, "Mother was so angry just now...will everything be alright?"
Su He comforted him: "Don't worry, sister will protect you."
The little guy sniffed and said, "Thank you, sister."
Su He didn't know what kind of commotion the Queen had caused in Weiyang Palace. She only heard the palace servants gossiping in private, saying that the Queen and Concubine Shu had a falling out and had an open quarrel.
And that night, the queen died unexpectedly...
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