"Never seeing the sky"—is it a curse? Is it something to be trapped in a place where the sky never shines...?
On the first day of the Lunar New Year, a palace banquet was held, and civil and military officials entered the palace to offer their congratulations.
Before the court officials entered the palace, Emperor Kang Le secretly summoned Chu Ye Ning, saying that the Jingning Marquis's residence was quite deserted. After the banquet, he invited Chu Ye Ning to stay overnight in the palace, and the uncle and nephew took out the chess game they had only half-finished that day and played it again.
Last night's unpleasant parting seemed to have vanished like the clear blue sky after the rain by dawn. Tao Qingyun also brought a cage of parrots, which she had bought from traveling merchants, into the palace today.
He held no official position and had no intention of seeking a post under the protection of Empress Tao. However, the Emperor and Empress were deeply in love, and Tao Qingyun was Empress Tao's nephew. Emperor Kang Le had long allowed this clever and intelligent nephew, who always managed to amuse Empress Tao, to freely enter and leave the palace.
Before Tao Qingyun could even finish his cup of hot tea in Kunning Palace, Empress Tao sent him to take the caged parrot to see his younger cousin, who had been staying indoors since returning to the palace the day before.
Tao Qingyun did not linger in Kunning Palace. Although she was reluctant, she still went to Princess Zhenhui's palace on the side road leading out of the palace.
As Tao Qingyun walked along, he stopped frequently, thinking about how Zhenfu, when she was young, would always linger around the parrot he brought into the palace, full of curiosity. He couldn't help but smile, and his cold, handsome face softened considerably as he approached the porch.
But before they even entered the hall, palace maids spotted from afar that it was the young master of the Marquis of Chengyi's mansion who came out to greet them.
Upon seeing this, Tao Qingyun glanced at the palace behind the maid and asked, "What? Zhenhui isn't here?"
The palace maid bowed her head and said respectfully, "Miss Liang came by just now. The princess took her out of the palace." As she spoke, she slightly raised her eyes to look at the cage of beautifully feathered parrots in Tao Qingyun's hand, which was probably brought to amuse the princess.
Thinking this, the palace maid said, "Young Master Tao, why don't you wait in the hall for a while?"
Tao Qingyun shook her head, thinking that the lantern festival in the city had been very lively these past few days, perhaps because young ladies liked to see these lights outside the palace.
"No, thank you." He then handed the parrot he was carrying to the palace maid: "Take this to Zhenhui."
The palace maid accepted it with both hands. Tao Qingyun was about to turn and leave when she suddenly heard a series of hurried footsteps.
His hearing was excellent, and he could naturally hear the urgency that was faintly revealed in the voice.
Tao Qingyun subconsciously turned around to look, only to find that Zi Shu, Jiang Yuanfu's personal maid, suddenly walked out of the hall. At this moment, her face was deathly pale and her teeth were chattering slightly.
He often went to the palace, and he knew that Zi Shu was the maid who had been by Zhen Hui's side since childhood. However, he was usually a composed person, but today he was so out of control. Moreover, judging from the situation, Zhen Hui only took Liang Shuwen's daughter with her when she left the palace, and did not take the maid who was never far from her side.
Tao Qingyun frowned slightly. When he saw that Zi Shu was caught off guard by the presence of others outside the hall, he became even more flustered, and his face darkened.
Tao Qingyun hesitated for a moment, then lifted her robes and went up the stone steps.
Now that my cousin and her family are all adults, it would be somewhat improper for them to enter or leave her private quarters without important business.
Zi Shu instinctively reached out to stop him, forcing a smile as she said, "Young Master Tao, the princess has left the palace and is not in the hall."
Tao Qingyun narrowed her eyes slightly and smiled faintly: "What could possibly cause Zhenhui's maid to lose her composure like this?"
Without lingering, Tao Qingyun took a few steps up the stone steps and walked into the hall. Everything inside was safe and sound, and several palace maids were dusting the vases on the antique shelves.
Only the door to the inner hall was pushed open from the outside, and Tao Qingyun stared intently at it.
A room full of jewels and ornaments held no appeal for this grown man; the first thing he saw upon entering the hall was the multi-tiered display shelf against one wall. At that moment, the palace maids who had been sweeping the hall arrived one after another, exclaiming in surprise, "Young Master Tao—"
Tao Qingyun's face was grim as she said indifferently, "Get out!"
There was nothing particularly unusual on the antique shelf filled with boxes, but what else in the inner sanctum besides the items on this shelf could have caused Zi Shu to lose her composure like that?
When he looked up, he saw Zi Shu trembling all over, her face even paler than before.
"You, come here!"
Zi Shu felt that these few steps were unusually slow, and said in a trembling voice, "Young Master Tao."
Tao Qingyun stared at her intently, only to see that she had subconsciously glanced at the antique shelf for a fleeting moment.
He wondered if Zhenhui had kept a pet that frightened them, or perhaps a small green snake? But seeing Zishu's panicked escape in an instant, he quickly dismissed this suspicion.
Zi Shu's teeth were still chattering, but she wasn't shivering from the biting cold on the first day of the Lunar New Year.
She suddenly remembered Meng Yu, the palace guard who made her feel uneasy every time they brushed past each other, and who had come to the princess's side after A Yi's death.
Where to go? Where to go now? The young master of the Cheng Yi Earl's family is still in the princess's inner palace.
Suddenly, she remembered that today was a palace banquet, the day His Majesty summoned all officials and courtiers. The Chamberlain Luo and the Marquis of Jingning, who were extremely close to the princess and young Master Tao, would all be in the palace; they were all officials. And His Highness the Crown Prince would also be there.
Zi Shu ran quickly towards the Hall of Supreme Harmony. Inside the hall, there was singing and dancing, and a grand banquet was in full swing. From afar, she could hear the laughter of the courtiers.
Zi Shu stopped outside the Hall of Supreme Harmony and tiptoed to look at the young eunuch who was usually on good terms with her, who was quietly waiting outside the hall. Just as she was thinking about how to get past the imperial guards in front of the Hall of Supreme Harmony, the young eunuch caught sight of her out of the corner of his eye, hesitated for a moment, and then jogged over.
"Miss Zishu, what brings you here?"
Zi Shu said in a panic, "Quickly, go find His Highness the Crown Prince, or even Luo Zhanshi or the Marquis of Jingning, whoever it may be. Just say... say that Young Master Tao had a small argument with the Princess in her palace."
The young eunuch, seeing Zi Shu's pale face, nodded repeatedly in agreement. Upon returning to the Hall of Supreme Harmony, he found the hall bustling with revelry, and the Emperor's face beaming with joy, clearly delighted.
Seeing this, the young eunuch quickly averted his gaze to look at the Crown Prince sitting beneath the Emperor, and at Luo Zhanshi not far from him. At this moment, if he were to enter the hall and bypass the assembled officials, he would be asking for trouble; a misstep could cost him his head. But remembering the tearful Zi Shu outside, he sighed deeply.
His gaze wandered aimlessly among the officials, but he couldn't spot the Marquis of Jingning. Just as he was wondering what to do, his peripheral vision met a pair of cold, probing eyes.
Today, the Marquis of Jingning was dressed in an official robe and was sitting leisurely in a chair, holding a wine cup in one hand and fiddling with a small object at his waist in the other. Suddenly, a pair of sharp eyes shot straight at him.
The young eunuch had no other choice but to glance outside the palace and then look at the Marquis of Jingning before retreating behind the palace gate.
Chu Yening's eyes flickered for a moment.
Just then, a courtier came to toast him with fine wine, and the man laughed and said, "Today, several beautiful women in gorgeous dresses danced in the palace. Why is the young marquis not very interested?"
Chu Yening stood up and said with a smile, "I've never liked these things. I've had a bit too much to drink today, so I'm going outside for some fresh air. Please wait, sir."
The courtier felt he had made a fool of himself and received a cold shoulder. He also knew in his heart that this young marquis, who had been stationed on the border for many years and had returned to the capital, was used to being arrogant and wouldn't give face to anyone.
Chu Yening walked out of the Taihe Hall with a drunken gait and a smile on his lips, and Emperor Kang Le on the throne saw him leave.
He gestured for Chen Guiyi to come closer and give him some instructions. After receiving the decree, Chen Guiyi went to Jiang Yuanjun's seat under the emperor's throne.
Inside Princess Zhenhui's palace, Tao Qingyun looked at the black wooden box with a small corner open and suddenly flew into a rage, smashing it to the ground with one hand.
Gong Weimeng had just eaten the New Year's gifts given to the palace servants and returned to the corridor.
His duty was to protect the princess.
But then he suddenly heard a sound coming from Princess Zhenhui's inner palace, and he abruptly reached for his waist.
A palace maid said, "It is Young Master Tao."
The Empress's nephew?
Meng's eyes flashed.
But since Young Master Tao was in Princess Zhenhui's inner palace, he couldn't possibly enter. Just then, Young Master Tao emerged from the inner palace, carrying a black food box in his hand.
Meng Yu's eyes flickered, but the quick-witted Tao Qingyun caught it in that instant.
In an instant, the palace maids saw Tao Qingyun, the Empress's nephew who was always all smiles and pleasant to them, suddenly turn irritable and storm out of the princess's palace. Then, when she saw the princess's new palace guards under the corridor, her face turned ashen.
Tao Qingyun's icy gaze shot directly at Meng Yu. She slammed the lacquered box to the ground, then turned and strode quickly towards the inner hall, retrieving a sword she had seen earlier in the curio cabinet. She drew the sword and pointed it directly at Meng Yu.
He gritted his teeth and asked, "Back then, when my aunt wanted to send new palace guards to Zhenhui, leaving only one for her, I felt something was wrong. Now I realize I wasn't just overthinking it."
Tao Qingyun approached Meng Yu step by step, while Meng Yu retreated step by step.
"I'm asking you if it was you who did it back then? One of the men I sent to assassinate Seventh Sister fell into the river, and I searched for many days but couldn't find his body."
He shouted sharply, "Was it you?"
Behind her, Zi Shu arrived quietly with the gloomy-faced Marquis Jingning.
In those few breaths, Chu Yening also saw the black box lying on the ground, its surface exuding an eerie aura.
He walked over, then bent down to pick it up.
It was an adorable, pot-bellied clay doll, and among the girls back then, only his girlfriend was truly enamored with it.
Chu Yening held the clay figure in his hand and examined it closely. When his gaze fell upon the tiny character "Xi" at the bottom of the clay figure, his expression instantly turned sinister and terrifying. His starry eyes revealed a chilling frost, like the ice on a snow-capped mountain that had never melted for thousands of years.
He chuckled softly, but it was a sound born of extreme anger. In an instant, his face became eerily calm.
He asked, "What is this?"
Chu Yening lowered his gaze again to the pitch-black wooden box, which resembled a coffin, and then chuckled softly: "A curse? To confine it to a dark, sunless room for its entire life?"
He bent down and picked up the black box that had fallen to the ground again, then walked slowly past Tao Qingyun and asked, "Who is this?"
He looked at Meng Yu.
Tao Qingyun still gripped the longsword, its tip pressed against Meng Yu's neck. But then, a moment of silence fell.
Chu Yening smiled indifferently, "This isn't like you."
Tao Qingyun stared at Meng Yu's calm face and suddenly sneered, but at that moment she suddenly remembered the purpose of her visit today.
His face paled for a moment, and he said urgently, "Quick! Leave the palace! Go to the Luo residence!" He then swung the sword back and held it to Meng Yu's neck, gritting his teeth, "If you don't behave later, I won't hesitate to kill you!"
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