Chapter 33: Right, she is such a bad girl...
Seeing him so sad, Zhao Changning thought of that lame and ridiculous story and was unable to say anything to blame him. She did feel sorry for him, but she couldn't comfort him either.
With Yun Pei's personality, if she doesn't die now, she will die sooner or later. Is it so easy to climb up in the palace?
She couldn't help but think of Mingxuan's words: In this world, the thing we should not fear most is loss.
But if you lose something, you must get something back. Otherwise, what's the point of living?
She looked helplessly at the heartbroken Yunsheng, "Want revenge?"
Now, whenever someone around her dies, all she can think of is this. As for tears, they are useless.
Yunsheng covered his face and sobbed. Upon hearing this, he looked at Zhao Changning with wet eyes, like a lost deer.
"But who can I seek revenge on? Yun Pei was beaten on the orders of the late emperor, and the late emperor is already dead. Woo woo, aunt, I can't even get revenge. I'm so useless, woo woo woo..."
Zhao Changning seemed to see his former self, and could only stare at him crying, speechless.
She quietly went to find someone, gave some silver and money, buried Yunpei properly, and then took Yunsheng back to the palace.
Tired birds are returning to their nests, and the setting sun in the sky is also taking back its last ray of light, leaving behind only red clouds in the sky, as red as blood.
Seeing the two of them coming back together, Xiao Shun smiled and said, "What a coincidence! Hey, Yunsheng, you're crying again? What's going on?"
It would have been better if he hadn't been comforted. Once he was comforted, the grievance in Yunsheng's heart surged like a surging river, and his tears kept flowing.
"Xiao Shun, I, I..."
Zhao Changning was really annoyed by his crying along the way, but he didn't say much. Seeing this, he just waved his hand and went in.
When Yunsheng saw this, he was so frightened that his crying suddenly became softer, and he sobbed, "Xiaoshun, Yunpei is gone, she is gone..."
Seeing him so sad, Xiaoshun couldn't help crying and patted his shoulder gently, "Don't cry, accept my condolences. This is Yunpei's fate, and our fate is almost the same. There's nothing we can do..."
When Yunsheng heard this, he cried even harder.
Xiao Bian was also wiping tears. After all, he had been delivering medicine for some time, so they had some friendship.
Zhao Changning listened to the trio outside and felt that the sound was like an evil music. He sighed, picked up the basket, filled it with some paper money and incense sticks, and walked out of the house.
Xiao Shun wiped his tears, quickly stood up, and picked up another basket, which also contained incense, candles, and paper money.
"Yunsheng, come with your aunt to burn some paper for Yunpei, so that she can have a better life in the underworld. If she didn't live well in life, she can't be worse off than other ghosts after death."
Yunsheng jumped up and ran after his aunt with the basket in hand.
Zhao Changning knew that he was following him, but did not stop him. Instead, he took him along the way, walking to more and more remote places to avoid people.
"Aunt, isn't this the Cining Palace Garden?" Yunsheng looked at the gloomy surroundings. The light of the setting sun could not penetrate, and the trees were thicker and greener than elsewhere. He was scared and couldn't help but move closer to his aunt.
"What are we doing here?"
The Cining Palace has been empty for decades, and it seems that it will be empty for decades more.
Zhao Changning didn't want to pay attention to him, but stayed under a thick osmanthus tree. There was a flat stone under the tree. Unlike other stones, this stone had no moss and was clean.
She sat down as usual, took out the incense, candles and paper money from the basket, and began to burn them silently.
Seeing this, Yunsheng also knelt down and started burning paper, crying while burning and mumbling.
"Wuwuwu, Yunpei, when you get down there, tell my parents that I'm doing fine. Wuwuwu, tell them not to worry. If they miss me, wuwuwu, just send me a dream..."
Zhao Changning's eyes were full of disgust. What a damn place! Listening to the whimpering sound, his hair stood on end.
She gritted her teeth and scolded, "Shut up and don't cry."
Yunsheng, who was yelled at, trembled all over and immediately shut up. Afraid of being yelled at again, he could only hug his legs and bury his head in his knees, but the sobbing continued.
Zhao Changning looked at his pitiful figure huddled in a ball, and couldn't help but think back to the past. Who hasn't been through this time? Why should she blame him so harshly?
She sighed, "Don't cry, Yun Pei is gone, so you have to live well."
Yunsheng raised his head, his face full of tears, sobbing and saying: "Aunt, I, I am just, just very sad, so sad, I have no relatives anymore."
Zhao Changning nodded in understanding. "It's normal to be sad. It would be strange if I weren't. I've also been sad for a long time, and it's only now that I'm here. It will be fine."
She patiently tried to comfort him with a few words.
Yunsheng wiped his tears, sniffed, and looked at the ground. "Aunt, who is buried here? Is it your friend? Yes, it's that..."
Zhao Changning couldn't help but laugh when he heard him hesitating. "Yes, that's right. The cat is buried here too, but it's not just that cat."
She threw a handful of paper money into the fire. "Do you think I'm terrible? I killed someone for a cat."
Yunsheng's tearful eyes blinked in the firelight. He was a little scared at first, but soon he shook his head firmly.
Zhao Changning was a little amused and spoke a little more, "Why? You're not shaking your head because you're afraid of me, are you? Don't worry, if you tell the truth, I won't kill you."
Yunsheng was amused by her and blew a bubble of snot. He blew his nose awkwardly and sat next to Zhao Changning.
"When I was little, my family had a yellow dog. It was very cute. It grew up with me and even saved me from being killed by a tycoon. Later, our family suffered a disaster and couldn't even support themselves, so my father and my uncle divided the dog..."
Yunsheng was stunned, his voice hoarse, "I didn't eat a single bite, aunt, I didn't eat a single bite, and they were still laughing. I hated my father and my uncle so much that day, I wished I was the one being eaten..."
He suddenly looked at Zhao Changning seriously, as if possessed.
"Aunt, I want revenge. I, I want revenge. I was too cowardly when I was little. I, I, I can't do that now. I, Aunt..."
Zhao Changning saw that he was stuttering and couldn't speak clearly, but she understood.
People are always growing.
She couldn't help but laugh, and said with more patience, "Okay, since Yun Pei is your fiancée, I will reluctantly help you one more time."
Yunsheng's excited tears fell quickly, but he became discouraged, "Aunt, but the late emperor is dead. I will never be able to avenge Yun Pei..."
Zhao Changning thought for a moment, then reached out to him, "Where's the tung blossom hairpin your mother left behind? Give it to me."
Yunsheng was puzzled, but he still took out the hairpin from his bosom obediently, "Auntie, what are you doing with this hairpin?"
Zhao Changning stroked the tung blossoms on the hairpin and said calmly, "You'll know when the time comes."
Yunsheng's heart was overflowing with gratitude towards his aunt, and he eagerly spoke to her, "Aunt, who else is buried here?"
Zhao Changning turned his head and looked at him like a puppy, but he didn't feel annoyed at all. This was the first time he talked about this with someone.
"Actually, there was only the cat named Xiao Hei. The others were just some old things. At that time, I was in dire straits and had no way to help bury their bodies. Some were thrown into mass graves, some were sold for ghost marriages, and I don't even know where some went."
Yunsheng listened to the crows cawing above his head and couldn't help but move closer to Zhao Changning.
"Aunt, are they all the same as Yun Pei?"
"Um."
"Aunt, you are such a kind person. At least Yun Pei didn't end up like this."
Yunsheng wanted to ask about the old story about the cat, what happened that year, but he saw that his aunt had already stood up, so he had no choice but to stand up too.
The two returned to their residence in silence, one after the other.
Seeing the two return, Xiao Shun immediately started complaining, "That bad cat, ah, so bad, why is it so bad? It had to poop here, how did we offend it? It was okay today, it pooped in the grass, but it's still too bad..."
Upon hearing this, Zhao Changning looked up at the top of the willow tree, but unfortunately the afterglow had faded and he could no longer see the kitten.
"Xiaobai, don't be angry with me. Come back, okay? The palace is empty and there are no people there. You saw it, right?"
Yunsheng and Xiaoshun looked at each other, confused, but they could only watch along.
Zhao Changning's neck was sore, and he was ready to leave in disappointment.
Suddenly, the willow branches trembled, a cat's meow was heard, and then the agile figure of the lame cat appeared in everyone's sight.
It walked with not very graceful steps, its shiny fur on its back, from one end of the branch to the other. It sat down gracefully with its long tail curled around its snow-white paws, looking at Zhao Changning with its dark blue pupils and slightly tilting its head.
Yunsheng actually saw a cat looking thoughtful and even staring. Could this cat be a spirit?
Zhao Changning couldn't help but lower his voice, "Xiaobai, I'm sorry, please come back."
She saw Xiaobai tilt his head again, raised his paw and licked it, and after licking his paw, he looked at her again.
"Xiaobai, it's over now. Don't be angry with me anymore. Come back, okay?"
Xiaobai meowed at her, his voice full of grievance, as if he was angry at her for being so slow.
“Meow, meow, meow…”
Zhao Changning watched it jump down the tree and didn't dare reach out to touch it for fear of disturbing it.
After the man and the cat looked at each other for a while, Xiaobai walked forward slowly, got into the empty basket that Zhao Changning was holding, and lay down in a round shape.
Zhao Changning clenched the handle and smiled at Xiaobai, "Today, let's go home together."
“Meow~~~~”
Yunsheng and Xiaoshun were both puzzled, and neither side was quite sure of the reason.
As soon as Xiaobai entered the house, he started rubbing against Zhao Changning and meowing non-stop.
Zhao Changning immediately announced that he would give Xiaobai five taels of silver every month to buy fish and meat.
This made Xiao Bian very jealous, because he was not treated so well.
The next morning, at the hour of Yin, Zhao Changning woke up with a start.
There was already light outside the window, and Xiaobai was lying at my feet, snoring loudly, his eyes bright green.
Zhao Changning stroked its round head and said in a hoarse voice, "Don't be afraid. No one will come to bully us anymore. Don't worry, I can protect you now."
She was responded with a sweet meow, which made her feel extremely safe and happy.
After getting up, I found Yunsheng was already sweeping the floor. How afraid was this kid that I would chase him away?
The two of them had a tacit understanding and set off as soon as they packed up. Today was the coronation ceremony of the new emperor, so they couldn't be lazy.
Sure enough, all parts of the palace have started to get busy. All of this is guided by the ceremonial officials from the Ministry of Rites. Every step must be carefully designed and there must be no mistakes.
Zhao Changning naturally could not be absent, so he summoned all the seals and shouted orders again and again, until his throat was hoarse, and they were finally able to coordinate.
In fact, it was her first time to experience the emperor's ascension to the throne. Following the old rules and regulations was not difficult, but the difficult part was the things outside the rules and regulations, such as the procession and ceremonial guards of the Sishejian; the imperial horses of the Yumajian; the utensils of the Yuyongjian; the imperial seal of the Shangbaojian; the cleaning of the halls and corridors of the Zhidianjian, etc., each of them could not be wrong in the slightest.
Of course, the officials from the Ministry of Rites only gave orders but did not implement them, so the final pressure was still on her.
Zhao Changning also gritted her teeth and worked hard, cursing in her heart as she did so. These officials were just like that, just reading from the script. She could do it too.
However, it is really easy to be an official in Dayong. They are all just living a carefree life. If something really happens, she will have to take them away with her.
Yes, she is such a bad woman.
Fortunately, she had the Empress to help her. This identity was much more useful than being a palace maid. The officials from the Ministry of Rites immediately put away their arrogance and became as obedient as a cat.
Zhao Changning was only thankful that many of the people she promoted were palace maids who trusted her, were literate and obedient, and were very attentive, making communication with her much more efficient.
The queen saw that Zhao Changning looked unhappy and his lips were chapped, and she smiled when she saw this.
"Changning, don't worry. Those people flatter the powerful and bully the weak. You'll get used to it. However, you serve in the Qinzheng Palace all day long and manage so many people in the inner palace. I have to find an opportunity to help you ask the emperor for a title and do your job. How can you be so restricted?"
Zhao Changning's eyes lit up, unable to conceal his joy. "Your Majesty, I am truly grateful for your grace."
The Queen helped her up. "Actually, I still have to rely on you. The Emperor and I don't really understand these things. Wealth and honor came too suddenly, and we weren't prepared..."
Anyi hurried over, breathless, "Aunt, the emperor has returned from offering sacrifices to heaven."
Zhao Changning's expression darkened immediately. "Notify the Imperial Horse Administration immediately. Prepare the carriages and horses. Also, have the Imperial Guard inspect the procession and ceremonial guards. We'll be heading to the Imperial Ancestral Temple soon."
Offering sacrifices to heaven is to receive the mandate of heaven, while offering sacrifices to ancestors is a necessary procedure for inheriting the ancestral foundation and the enthronement ceremony.
Zhao Changning turned his head and said, "Yunsheng, Yunsheng, come here and stay with me."
Yunsheng ran to his aunt in a daze, his head drooping, "Aunt, where are we going?"
Zhao Changning glanced at him and smiled softly, "Revenge for your Yunpei."
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The author has something to say: Changning: [Angry] Yes, I am so bad, I feel uncomfortable if I don’t kill people every day.
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