"Proclaim the imperial decree!"
Huang Taiji's command interrupted their conversation. Upon hearing this, a young eunuch outside the hall rushed over and then bowed and retreated.
Seeing that the matter had been resolved, Huang Taiji coldly looked at Zhe Zhe and said, "Consider yourself lucky. If Lan'er hadn't been unwilling to become empress, you would have been a deposed concubine in the cold palace."
It's fortunate that she didn't actually harm Hailanzhu, otherwise Huang Taiji would not only have deposed her, but also wanted to kill her.
Zhe Zhe remained silent, knowing that his words made sense. If it were anyone else, she would have been deposed and sent to the cold palace long ago.
After seeing her true colors, Huang Taiji felt deep disgust and didn't want to see her for a moment. "Go back to your Qingning Palace. From now on, you are not allowed to leave without my decree."
“Yes…” Zhe Zhe’s eyes were full of tears, but she was very stubborn. In Huang Taiji’s sight, she would not let her tears fall.
Then, supported by the palace maids, she left Guanju Palace.
Seeing this, Hailanzhu sighed deeply, thinking: If Zhe Zhe were in modern times, she wouldn't have to endure sharing her husband with others. Feudal times are harmful!
"Lan'er..."
Huang Taiji's shout instantly brought Hailanzhu back to her senses.
"Your Majesty, is there anything I can do for you?" Hailanzhu asked, meeting his gaze.
Huang Taiji smiled and said, "I'll take one last look at you before I go to the Hall of Mental Cultivation to review memorials." He was very reluctant to part with you.
Hailanzhu lowered her eyes, her long eyelashes fluttering. "Your Majesty, please go about your business. You may come to see me anytime you wish."
"Alright." Huang Taiji nodded, said a few words of concern, and then hurriedly left.
"You may all go down now!" Hailanzhu instructed the others.
"yes!"
In an instant, only Hailanzhu remained in the hall.
Then the system's voice echoed in the empty room, "Congratulations, Master. This task is now complete after you finish the last task."
"Isn't it already done? Zhe Zhe is under house arrest, Na Mu Zhong and Qi Lei Yin Yu dare not do it again, and even Yu Er has reconciled. What else is there to do?" Hai Lan Zhu asked in confusion.
The system replied, "You'll need to go and counsel Zhe Zhe."
"Why?" Hailanzhu asked, clearly reluctant.
"Are you stupid? Zhe Zhe is such a smart person. Even if she is grounded, the original owner may not necessarily be able to beat her. You need to help her let go of her inner conflicts so that the original owner can live a peaceful life."
Since the system had said so, how could she disagree?
The thought of completing her mission filled her with excitement, and she couldn't sleep at all. As soon as the hour of Hai (9-11 PM) arrived, she rushed to Qingning Palace.
The lights in Qingning Palace were still on. She knew that Zhe Zhe was still awake. But then again, who could sleep in this situation?
So she walked in without knocking.
In just half a day, Zhe Zhe looked as if she had aged five years. Seeing her sitting alone on the cold bench, Hailanzhu felt that she was also a woman with a tragic fate.
"Are you here to laugh at me?" Zhe Zhe remained motionless, her eyes coldly fixed on Hailanzhu.
Hailanzhu's lips curled up slightly. "That's right, I'm here to see you make a fool of yourself and see how you, this idiot, ruin your life."
"Fool? You dare call me a fool?" Zhe Zhe, who has always prided herself on being smart, couldn't stand being called a fool.
“That’s right, I’m talking about you!” Hailanzhu slowly walked up to her. “Only a fool would put his heart into a man who doesn’t love him and end up all hurt.”
Upon hearing this, Zhe Zhe slowly stood up as well. "Indeed, you have the right to laugh at me, after all, the person I love deeply loves you."
Hailanzhu smiled faintly, "If it were me, I would cut my losses in time and not let myself get too deeply involved."
Zhe Zhe sneered, "Cutting losses in time, how easy is that?"
“How is it not easy? Is the food in the imperial kitchen not delicious enough, or are the clothes made by the embroiderers not pretty enough, or is the scenery in the imperial garden not beautiful enough? Why do you have to focus your attention on these romantic matters?” Hailanzhu raised an eyebrow and asked rhetorically.
“You…” Zhe Zhe was speechless after being rebuked.
Without waiting for a reply, Hailanzhu quickly dragged her to the windowsill, pointed to the full moon in the sky, and said, "Isn't the moonlight beautiful? Isn't the story of Chang'e flying to the moon interesting? There are so many interesting things in the world, can't they distract you from your love?"
"Shut up! I don't want to hear you say any more!" Zhe Zhe covered her ears and roared.
Seeing this, Hailanzhu realized that she had been too hasty. Seeing Zhe Zhe so excited, she said nothing more.
It wasn't until midnight that Zhe Zhe gradually calmed down. She choked out, "Do you think I don't want to distract myself? But I can't. Especially when I think that the Emperor only has eyes for you, I can't help but feel angry."
"I'm sorry, Aunt." Seeing Zhe Zhe like this, Hailanzhu felt somewhat guilty. Huang Taiji's favoritism was indeed unfair to the other women.
Like two brothers, the one who is not favored by their parents will always harbor resentment.
What's more, Zhe Zhe arrived first.
Her apology stunned Zhe Zhe, who exclaimed incredulously, "You actually apologized to me?"
Seeing that Zhe Zhe addressed her as "I" instead of "this palace," Hailanzhu felt a sense of kinship and continued, "But aunt, this is not what I want. I would rather be an eagle soaring freely across the grasslands than a canary in a cage."
He thought to himself: If I had known that an apology would be useful, I should have said it sooner.
"So... that's why you wanted your child to be a carefree king." Zhe Zhe finally understood why she had done that before.
Hailanzhu nodded. "Aunt, Lan'er really had no choice in all of this. If I had a choice, I would not compete with you for my husband. You are my aunt. According to Han people, that is incest, and one should be drowned in the pond."
This chapter is not finished, please click the next page to continue reading!
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
