In Kunning Palace, the woman seated at the head of the table had bronze skin and a tall figure. Despite her strikingly handsome appearance, she wore an ethereal dress, which, while not ugly, made her look somewhat strange.
However, the owner of this outfit clearly didn't care whether the clothes suited her or not.
Like her, standing beside her were two robust maids.
She was Meng Guqing, the daughter of Wu Keshan, the Prince of Khorchin Zhuolitu, who married into the Qing Dynasty and became Empress, and the niece of Empress Dowager Xiaozhuang.
Despite this relationship, Meng Guqing's life was not good. The Emperor disliked her because she was a Mongolian woman. Although the Empress Dowager cared about her, she couldn't go against the Emperor's wishes and left the grasslands. She was locked in the palace all day, unable to ride a horse, hunt eagles, or wear the clothes she liked. They told her that this was impolite and not something an Empress should do...
Meng Guqing sat calmly in the luxurious palace, like a bird whose wings were trapped.
Han Yue couldn't bear to see the Empress looking so melancholy. Thinking of the Emperor's recent activities, she wanted to distract the Empress: "Your Majesty, Xiao He just sent word that His Majesty and the Princess went to the Cold Palace. Do you think they might have gone to see that person?"
Meng Guqing said with his eyes closed, "Let him go wherever he wants. What he does has nothing to do with me, ha."
"Your Majesty..." Han Yue looked at the Empress with worry. The Emperor and the Empress's relationship had reached this point. What would happen to the Empress if the Empress Dowager passed away?
The same scene was unfolding in Chengqian Palace and Kunning Palace.
Miaozhu looked at Consort Dong'e, who was carefully dressing herself in front of the dressing table, and said, "Your Majesty, the Emperor has gone to the Cold Palace. Is there anything you need to do?"
Dong E Mingyue casually waved her hand, which was stained with red nail polish, "What could the Emperor possibly be doing there? He must be going there specifically because of what happened to the little princess last time."
"As for Consort Wan, it's probably not for her sake."
Thinking of Consort Wan, Dong'e Mingyue felt a little guilty. She had also been involved in the matter of Consort Wan being banished to the Cold Palace. Although she was not the culprit, she had still wavered. Thinking about this, Dong'e Mingyue's guilt lessened a bit.
Miaozhu wanted to advise the Empress not to underestimate the women in the harem. Although the Emperor currently favored the Empress, if he were to change his mind later, the Empress's current situation of being childless would not be good.
Seeing the hesitation on Miao Zhu's face, Dong E Mingyue nodded impatiently: "Alright, have you found the secret formula for conceiving a child that I asked you to tell me last time?"
"Your Majesty, this is one of them. The imperial physician has already examined it."
“Okay.” Dong E Mingyue’s eyes lit up. The emperor had few children, only three princes and one princess. Two of the princes were sickly, and the third prince was also said to be in poor health. As for the only princess, she was the only one who had survived and was relatively healthy.
Over the years, Dong E Mingyue entered the palace and was initially worried that she was too young to get pregnant and would not be able to survive childbirth. However, after several years, she did not get pregnant even once. No matter how much she was favored, she began to get anxious. In ancient times, if a concubine did not have a child, it was easy to imagine that she would not have a good life in her later years.
However, Dong E Mingyue was more suspicious of the Emperor's health than of her own inability to conceive. Having studied in the modern world, she guessed that the Emperor's sperm might be defective, which was why most of the children in the palace had some health problems.
However, since the emperor's health was being monitored by imperial physicians in the palace, she had no choice but to adjust her own health.
Dong E Mingyue touched her still-flat belly and thought with a deep look in her eyes.
— — — — — — — — — — — —
Although the women in the inner palace had heard that His Majesty had gone to the Cold Palace, not many people thought that it was for that reason. So they were quite shocked when they heard that His Majesty had brought Consort Wan out of the Cold Palace and restored her to her original rank.
When the emperor's palanquin reached the side gate of the Cold Palace, it had to stop.
Fu Lin held Cui Yue tightly as she eagerly prepared to jump down, patting her restless little bottom. "Behave yourself. Do you still want to pick up your fairy sister?"
"Oh." With her father's threat, Cuiyue became incredibly obedient, though a hint of excitement still crept onto her face.
Fu Lin found it amusing, picked up his youngest daughter, put her on the ground, and took her soft little hand as he walked inside.
Before his eyes were rows of cramped and compact courtyards, with fallen leaves scattered everywhere on the ground. Fu Lin, who was used to the magnificent sights of the palace, frowned subconsciously. He had never expected that there would be such a dilapidated place in the palace.
Is this the kind of place Consort Wan lives in? Didn't Wu Liangfu say he was coming to repair the Cold Palace? Why is it still so dilapidated?
Fu Lin stepped uncomfortably onto the wet ground, where traces of spring snow still lingered, mixed with fallen leaves—a sensation no one wanted to experience.
(It's really, really, really slippery and dirty. You'll know if you've ever been to a northern winter.)
Fulin wasn't used to it, but Cuiyue had indeed come not long ago, so she was quite used to it. Looking at her father, who was walking slowly, she blinked, then took his hand and pulled him forward with all her might.
Fu Lin was thrown about by her and almost slipped. "Cuiyue!"
"What's wrong, Father Emperor?"
Looking at his youngest daughter, who was simply staring at him with innocent eyes, Fu Lin's face darkened. "Walk slowly, be careful not to slip."
Looking at his youngest daughter who was giving him a look that said, "I really can't do anything with you," Fu Lin felt a little tired. He sped up a bit, though. He couldn't be worse than a four-year-old, could he?
Cuiyue led the way deeper and deeper into the area, and the path inside was much cleaner than the outside, which surprised Fulin.
Soon a fairly spacious courtyard came into view, the gate was not closed, but only slightly ajar.
Cuiyue's joyful voice rang out: "Father Emperor, the fairy sister lives inside."
Cuiyue had no habit of knocking, and neither did Fulin, who was used to the emperor's power. He casually pushed open the door.
At this moment, everyone fell silent.
Time seemed to slow down at this moment. The branches of the late-blooming plum trees in the corner trembled, and purple plum blossoms slowly fell one by one.
Amidst the falling petals, a slender figure danced gracefully with her back to the crowd.
How can one describe this dance? It's as graceful as a startled swan, as elegant as a swimming dragon…
Fu Lin was so engrossed in watching that the woman only stopped when the dance was coming to an end.
"Fairy Sister!" Cuiyue's childish voice startled everyone, and naturally woke the woman as well.
Fu Lin, captivated by the dance, even felt a strange flutter in his heart, eagerly anticipating the woman's turn.
Indeed, the woman did turn around. The young girl was dressed in a white gauze dress, her jet-black hair simply tied up with a ribbon, exuding an ethereal beauty. Because of her surprise, she tilted her head slightly as she turned around, and the ribbon fluttered gently in the wind, as if stirring the hearts of everyone present.
At that moment, everyone seemed to hear their own heartbeats.
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