Chapter 229 I didn't intend for her to reach Qianzhou alive.
Seeing that Li Yuanshu was eating to his heart's content, the young palace maid smiled and reached out to unbutton her coat.
Li Yuanshu ate while looking at her with a puzzled expression.
After the young palace maid unbuttoned her outer garment, she was surprised to find a thick blanket wrapped around her underneath.
No wonder she looked so bulky when she first entered; she was surprised that a mere palace maid was dressed so thickly.
The young palace maid smiled sheepishly and explained, “Your Highness, there’s no charcoal fire here, so winter must be very difficult. This is a cashmere blanket my mother just knitted for me; it’s very warm. I was afraid the guards outside would confiscate it if I brought it in directly, so I secretly wore it and brought it in. You can cover yourself with it tonight to keep warm.”
After saying that, she carefully spread the blanket on Li Yuanshu's cold wooden bed and then quickly tidied up the room.
Watching her busy figure, Li Yuanshu's eyes welled up with tears, and her nose tingled with a soreness.
In this desolate palace that everyone avoids, there are still people who remember her small kindness, worrying that she might be hungry or cold, and risking their lives to bring her things.
This affection warmed her heart, and she couldn't help but want to shed tears.
She was silent for a moment, then took the initiative to start a conversation: "Why is it so lively outside these past few days? There are so many people coming and going?"
As the young palace maid shook the dust off the old quilt cover on the couch, she replied, "It's the Eldest Princess... oh, it's His Highness the Crown Prince who is about to ascend the throne and has issued a decree granting amnesty to the whole country. All the palace maids and eunuchs who have made minor mistakes, as well as the concubines who were previously banished to the Cold Palace, have been released from the palace as long as they haven't committed serious crimes."
"I only dared to come and see you because there were many people around and the security was lax during this period."
Upon hearing this, Li Yuanshu was somewhat stunned. "Your Highness the Crown Prince? So fast... She was appointed Crown Prince so quickly, and she's about to ascend the throne..."
The young palace maid, oblivious to her unusual mood, continued excitedly, "Yes! The coronation ceremony is set for the Lantern Festival on the fifteenth of the first lunar month. Everyone in the palace has been incredibly busy preparing for the ceremony! But everyone is quite happy. His Highness the Crown Prince is generous and rewarded everyone in the palace with one string of cash. I used that string of cash, along with some of my own savings, to bribe the guard at the gate and sneak in."
As she was talking, she noticed that Li Yuanshu hadn't replied for a while, so she stopped what she was doing and turned to look at him.
Li Yuanshu sat blankly at the table, his eyes vacant, seemingly lost in thought.
Only then did the young palace maid belatedly realize that it was the soon-to-be-crowned Crown Prince who had ordered the Third Princess to be demoted to a commoner and imprisoned here.
She hesitated for a moment, then tentatively spoke up: "Your Highness... Her Highness the Crown Prince is still your own sister. How can sisters hold a grudge overnight? Why don't you find an opportunity to beg Her Highness the Crown Prince to admit your mistake? Perhaps she will forgive you out of consideration for your sisterly bond?"
Upon hearing her naive words, Li Yuanshu couldn't help but smile wryly.
What sisterly affection is there in the royal family?
Moreover, she not only caused Li Yuanzhao a lot of trouble behind his back, but also secretly sent people to assassinate him. Every single one of these incidents made them mortal enemies.
If she were in Li Yuanzhao's position, she probably would have ordered her own death long ago, and wouldn't have let her live until now.
She didn't say anything more, picked up the chicken leg on the table again, took a bite, and changed the subject.
"Thank you for the roast chicken. It was really delicious, but I'm afraid I'll never be able to eat such delicious chicken again."
The young palace maid was also somewhat saddened upon hearing this.
She heard that the Third Princess would be escorted to Qianzhou after the spring.
That place was notoriously poor and desolate, inhabited by uncivilized and unruly people. How could a princess as pampered and precious as the Third Princess possibly endure it?
She opened her mouth, wanting to say something comforting, but didn't know what to say. In the end, she could only say with red eyes, "Your Highness, please eat more. Maybe you'll get better in the future."
Li Yuanshu nodded and lowered his head to continue eating chicken.
The palace maid turned around and continued tidying up the room.
Not long after, the little palace maid suddenly let out a soft scream: "Ah!"
Li Yuanshu's heart tightened, and she quickly put down the half-eaten chicken leg in her hand, stood up and walked over to check: "What's wrong?"
Xiao Gong squatted down under the bed, examined it carefully, and then said, "N-nothing, it looks like a dead rat."
She grabbed a thin stick used for poking fire from behind the door, mustered her courage, squatted down, and carefully picked out the dark, lumpy thing.
A large gray rat was curled up on the ground, its body stiff and cold, clearly having been dead for some time.
Strangely, its front paws were gripping something tightly, and there were dried, blackened bloodstains at the corners of its mouth. Even the floor tiles it had just dragged were stained with a few dark bloodstains.
Li Yuanshu stared at the dead rat, then suddenly sensed something was wrong and subconsciously asked, "What's it holding in its hand?"
The young palace maid turned the rat's carcass over, then gently pried open its claws with a stick to examine it closely.
"It looks like a steamed bun."
The rat was clutching tightly in its hand the cold steamed bun that the palace servants had brought yesterday!
What's even more bizarre is that the bloodstains at the corner of the rat's mouth were clearly flowing from its own mouth.
The young palace maid was still muttering in confusion, "Why is this rat bleeding so much?"
Li Yuanshu seemed to have all her strength drained away. She staggered back two steps, her back slamming heavily against the edge of the table before she could barely steady herself.
"It's...it's poison..."
The palace maid was so frightened that she dropped the wooden stick she was holding. "Ah? Rat poison?"
Li Yuanshu's voice was filled with lingering fear, "No, it was the kind of poison that can kill someone instantly! This steamed bun was my dinner yesterday. I was in a bad mood, so I didn't eat it. I never expected that this rat would steal it..."
"This wasn't an accident, someone's trying to kill me! Someone poisoned my food!"
The young palace maid panicked, "Your Highness? Who wants to kill you?"
Li Yuanshu felt a chill creep up from the soles of his feet to the top of his head.
In this palace, who else but her elder sister Li Yuanzhao, who is about to ascend the throne, wants her dead?
She thought of those who had opposed her.
Pei Huaijin's uncle, Pei Guyan, was exiled to Lingnan for reselling official salt and bribing officials in the imperial examinations. He died on the road not long after leaving the capital, and the official explanation was that he "encountered bandits".
Lu Lingfeng's father, Lu Yuandao, was once Minister Lu. He was exiled to Qianzhou for taking the blame for Li Yuanyou, and died on the way to exile. People said that his uncle was responsible.
But at this moment, she understood everything.
It was Li Yuanzhao! It was Li Yuanzhao who killed them!
Now it's her turn to suffer the same fate as those people!
It turns out that from the very beginning, Li Yuanzhao never intended for her to make it to Qianzhou alive.
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