Chapter 150 That Obsessive and Mad Man
The next day, Jin Gui came out of Cining Palace in a hurry.
She walked for a while, lost in thought, then suddenly stopped, turned around and looked at the majestic and towering Cining Palace behind her, a vague feeling that something was wrong.
She had just gone to Cining Palace, and the nanny beside the Empress Dowager called her...
Throughout the entire process, Jin Gui never saw the Empress Dowager; she only received instructions from her nanny.
Jin Gui felt uneasy. Recalling what the nanny had just told her, she felt a cold sweat break out on her back, even in the still chilly early spring weather.
She hurriedly returned to Kunning Palace, wanting to discuss the matter with the Empress.
However, the Empress was suffering from a persistent headache and was being treated by the imperial physician in the main hall. So, there was no time for discussion, and she couldn't even see the Empress.
The palace maid serving the Empress came out and told her that Her Majesty the Empress had already instructed her on what needed to be done, and that she should go and do her business first, without needing to see her again.
The master's orders are everything; Jin Gui has no right to question them.
She returned to her resting place, sat at the round table with a dazed expression, and stared blankly into the distant void.
After an unknown amount of time, a palace maid came in, and the sound of her lifting the curtain seemed to wake Jin Gui.
Seeing Jin Gui's deathly pale face, the other person asked with concern, "You silly girl, why do you look like you've seen a ghost in broad daylight?"
Jin Gui hesitated for a while before making up an excuse.
After the palace servants left again, Jin Gui stared blankly at a chest to the side, took out a handkerchief embroidered with golden osmanthus flowers, wrapped a sufficient amount of silver in the handkerchief, and stared at the silver wrapped in the handkerchief in a daze again.
If she guesses wrong, that would be wonderful.
But if she wasn't mistaken...
Jin Gui held the heavy silver in her hand, feeling that this was too direct, so she found a bundle, packed a few clothes, and then hid the silver wrapped in the handkerchief inside the clothes.
After doing all this, Jin Gui picked up her bundle, peeked around to make sure no one was watching, and then left Kunning Palace in small steps.
Behind her was the Kunning Palace, bustling with activity due to the Empress's old illness. The noise was deafening, and everyone coming and going looked anxious.
No one noticed Jin Gui quietly leaving.
——
On the same day, at Wanfangyuan.
The morning light pierced through the carved window frames and shone into the interior of the Orchid Fragrance Pavilion.
Shu'er lifted the layers of curtains, and behind her, palace servants filed in, each carrying the clothes and supplies needed by the emperor and empress, to serve her at the bedside.
The first rays of spring light illuminated the room.
I fooled around for a long time yesterday, but luckily it was by a warm spring. After fooling around, I washed myself in the warm spring and used the heat of the spring to relieve my fatigue.
Narcissus, wrapped in the brocade quilt, checked herself over for a moment to make sure she felt no soreness, then rubbed her eyes and prepared to get up.
Ignoring the palace servants coming and going, Emperor Zhaoheng turned his head and saw Shui Xian's languid and charming appearance. He couldn't help but feel a surge of excitement in his heart. Ignoring Shui Xian's shyness, he pulled her into his arms and kissed her again and again.
The palace maids, led by Shu'er, quickly turned their heads away, some facing the wall, while others who hadn't yet entered stopped in their tracks.
Shui Xian couldn't stand the man's sudden recklessness. When did Emperor Zhaoheng, who was always calm and self-controlled, become so unrestrained?
She gently pushed his shoulder with her soft palm, and after he stepped back, Narcissus glanced at him silently, her watery eyes filled with a hint of resentment.
Emperor Zhaoheng was still excited about what happened last night, and when he saw her shy, he found her very cute.
She was incredibly bold in front of him last night, but in front of all the palace servants, she was extremely shy.
He managed to restrain himself and stop bothering her.
Shui Xian simply put on a robe, washed her face with water brought by a maid, and then got up to help Emperor Zhaoheng change his clothes.
Knowing full well the inherent flaws of men, she had the palace servants put their things aside and then dismissed them.
This only fueled the indoor intrigue, and the already time-consuming and laborious process of changing clothes was further delayed by the man's lack of cooperation and antics.
Just as the temperature in the inner room was gradually rising, Shui Xian even suspected that if it weren't for the fact that she was pregnant with twins, Emperor Zhaoheng would definitely have dragged her to another round.
Feng Shunxiang spoke from outside the curtain, "Your Majesty, an urgent report has arrived from the Northwest."
Emperor Zhaoheng's smile vanished. He straightened up and allowed Shui Xian to fasten his gold-inlaid jade belt before leaning down to kiss the corner of her lips.
"I will not be able to have breakfast with you. You have been working hard lately, so please take some nourishing foods and don't overwork yourself."
Shui Xian gathered her loose black hair to one side, curtsied respectfully to see Emperor Zhao Heng off, and said, "Your Majesty, I understand... Your Majesty, I respectfully see you off."
The man strode out of the inner room, his cloud-patterned golden dragon boots striking the blue bricks with a heavy sound.
As Emperor Zhaoheng lifted the curtain and left, Shui Xian gazed deeply at his departing figure before going to the side and opening the carved window.
She seemed to want to ventilate the room, so she opened the window and then ignored it, sitting alone in front of the dressing table to do her makeup.
Shu'er came in to serve her, but saw Shui Xian stick out a finger and put it in front of her lips.
The former immediately understood what was going on, pulled down the curtain between the inner and outer rooms, and told the servants outside not to come in yet.
Shui Xian sat in front of her dressing table, slowly combing her hair with a jade comb, but her mind was on Feng Shunxiang and Emperor Zhaoheng leaving Lanxiang Pavilion outside the window.
She faintly heard Feng Shunxiang's distinctive high-pitched voice; although he tried to keep it down, some words still drifted in through the crack in the window.
"...Urgent dispatch from the Northwest...Great victory...General Yi..."
General Yi...
Upon hearing this, Narcissus paused, and a pair of eyes, red from drunkenness, flashed before her eyes.
wrong.
Narcissus slowly closed her eyes, deliberately ignoring the turmoil in her heart.
In her previous life, the great victory in the Northwest didn't happen now; that person... clearly didn't return to the capital until the second year after she entered the Red Night Pavilion.
Outside the window, the figures of Feng Shunxiang and Emperor Zhaoheng had already disappeared into the distance.
Shu'er glanced at the Imperial Concubine in front of the dressing table. She wondered if it was just her imagination, but the Imperial Concubine, whose face had been as rosy as a peach blossom just moments before, now seemed rather pale.
She couldn't understand why the Imperial Concubine, who had just been favored by the Emperor, would have such a ghostly expression. The naive Shu'er guessed for a long time that it was because of the draft coming in through the window.
So Shu'er went forward, closed the half-open window, and then turned around to ask:
"Your Highness, are you cold? Should I have someone turn the floor heating back on?"
"Thank you, but no need."
Shui Xian forced a smile at the worried Shu'er, knowing that her expression had probably frightened Shu'er.
But……
Narcissus closed her eyes tightly, and her hand couldn't help but rise and rub her other arm.
The pain she felt from being whipped was still vivid in her memory.
Yi Xingyao.
He was so crazy and obsessive. I thought it would be more than a year before I would see him again. I never expected that this great victory in the Northwest would happen so quickly.
Could it be that he was reborn as well?
The moment the thought flashed through Narcissus's mind, she couldn't help but shiver.
No, she couldn't let her thoughts wander any further.
Whether he is reborn or not, she is no longer a prostitute in the Red Pavilion who is bullied by everyone, but the Consort Jin who is enjoying great favor!
"Shu'er, call Tinglu in."
She called softly, and Shu'er responded and left. Not long after, she brought Tinglu into the inner room.
Immediately afterwards, Shu'er left again, leaving the quiet inner room to Shui Xian and Ting Lu.
Narcissus's voice was slightly cool, and her profile was aloof. She didn't seem like a newly favored concubine at all; instead, she exuded a sense of impending storm.
Although Tinglu didn't know what had happened, she immediately straightened her expression when she saw Shuixian's solemn face.
Narcissus didn't look at Tinglu, and said in a low voice:
"Keep an eye on everything, especially the Cining Palace and the Kunning Palace. Report any disturbance, big or small, to me immediately."
"I need to know what they're going to do next."
With her keen hearing and skill in gathering information, Shui Xian believed that even though she was in Wanfang Garden, she could still find opportunities to discover news about the inner palace.
Ever since the Empress Dowager sent Yi Guichun to Changxin Palace to recuperate, Shui Xian had tried countless opportunities, both openly and secretly, but had been unable to get close to Yi Guichun.
She missed the best opportunity to get rid of Yi Guichun.
Shui Xian didn't believe that Yi Guichun's illness had no chance of being cured, otherwise why would the Empress Dowager have asked Yi Guichun to take such good care of himself?
The Empress Dowager had no overt connection with the Yi family, and she was not one to show mercy. Seeing the seriously ill and insane Yi Guichun, she wanted to help him.
Shui Xian speculated that there must be some unknown turning point in Yi Guichun's illness.
Since Yi Guichun was confined to Changxin Palace to recuperate, Shui Xian had people inquire about Yi Shuyao's movements.
Over the course of several months, Yi Shuyao either sided with Ruan Huan or Wan Fei, seemingly backed by the Yi family, but in reality, she did not gain any support from them.
This realization further solidified Narcissus's guess.
One day, Yi Guichun will return to the harem.
Upon hearing the news of Yi Xingyao's great victory in the Northwest, Shui Xian had a premonition that Yi Guichun's side... was likely to make a move.
Behind her, Tinglu obeyed the order and quietly withdrew.
Narcissus went to the window and reopened it.
She looked at the spring flowers just beginning to bloom at the foot of the wall outside the window, but her gaze was icy cold as she looked towards the direction of the imperial city.
Narcissus's gaze seemed to transcend vast distances, piercing through layers of obstacles, and reaching into the distant imperial city, to the Changxin Palace, where Yi Guichun had been imprisoned for months.
This time, she won't hesitate.
Yi Guichun, I await the day you return to the harem!
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