King Zhao was deeply grieved. He had known for a long time that Shi Lan was in poor health, but he never expected it to have deteriorated to this extent.
Thinking about how he had dragged her maid to do those foolish things on her bed when she was nearing the end of her life, he wanted to slap himself a few times.
Shi Lan walked straight and gracefully towards the outside of the hall. A group of beauties gathered not far from the hall heard the conversation inside and tried to persuade her to stay.
"Noble Lady Shi, please don't be angry. That lowly maid is always good at making fun of people. Before, she even framed Consort Su, saying that the King was an old cow eating young grass, which caused Consort Su to be beaten ten times and lay in bed for more than a month before she could barely walk. But she is so good. She was jumping around and causing trouble in the world."
After one of the beauties finished speaking, another excused, "That's right, Consort Su's health hasn't fully recovered yet, and she still has some difficulty moving around."
Shi Lan listened with a smile to the gentle words of advice from the crowd. After they finished speaking, she said, "Everyone, please don't talk about her anymore. When Consort Jiang tried to assassinate me, she saved my life. I should repay the life-saving grace with my own. I am just a weak woman, and Your Majesty is my other life. Only by giving her my life can I die in peace."
A moment of silence fell over the crowd, and someone whispered, "You are kind, but Yan Ye Lin is a place for concubines to enjoy themselves. Yuan Yun was just a maid at the time. How could she be qualified to enter? I think she has ulterior motives. Perhaps she conspired with Consort Jiang to deceive you out of your gratitude."
Shi Lan's face paled, but inwardly she gave this divine intervention a thumbs up; after all, this was exactly what she had been waiting for.
A few steps away inside the hall, King Zhao listened with a grim face to the chatter of women outside. When he heard Shi Lan say that he was her other life, a look of pain flashed across his face. As someone mentioned the matter of Yan Ye Lin, he turned his head to look at Yuan Yun, who was clutching her sleeves and looking uneasy. A dark cloud hung over King Zhao's brow.
Outside the palace, Shi Lan thanked everyone for trying to keep her, bowed respectfully, and, like an elegant and refined scholar, gracefully walked towards the Cold Palace.
Inside the hall, Yuan Yun timidly stepped forward, tugging at the corner of King Zhao's sleeve, and whispered, "Uncle, I...I didn't mean to, just now..."
Yuan Yun's voice was soft and weak, and the kitten was trying to win over its owner.
He thought that this action would elicit tender affection from the King of Zhao.
Unexpectedly, she was met with a barrage of questions and beatings from the King of Zhao. When the King of Zhao slapped her hard without any mercy and questioned her about why she was in Yanye Forest, Yuan Yun fearfully hugged her swollen face and stammered without saying a word.
King Zhao was always the type to either spoil someone rotten or hate them to the point of wanting to skin them alive. He felt very uncomfortable when he heard her complain about his age, and he was even more furious when he saw her shifty eyes and guilty look.
The thought that he had caused Shi Lan, who cherished him dearly, to painfully request to be sent to the cold palace for the sake of this thing, flashed a ruthless and bloodthirsty glint in the eyes of the Prince of Zhao.
As night fell, Shi Lan leisurely wiped the tatami table with a rag, while a man stood respectfully beside her carrying a bucket of water.
Seeing Shi Lan tidying up her bedding and preparing to rest, Rong couldn't help but step forward and whisper, "Your Excellency, you should go back. The King already knows he was wrong. Just now, the eunuch Yi came over and said that the King had hung Yuan Yun up and beaten for a long time, and is now regretting it so much that he hasn't eaten a single grain of rice yet."
Shi Lan curled the corners of her lips, smoothed out the mattress, and slowly sat down on it, asking Rong in a low voice, "Right now I am only acting as a representative in the palace. Would you like to have the opportunity to remove the word 'acting' from my title one day?"
Rong was startled. The words of advice she was about to say were on the tip of her tongue, but when the words came out, she realized that she had said "want".
Shi Lan chuckled softly, pulled the quilt over herself, closed her eyes slightly, and after a long while she said in a low voice, "Then don't try to persuade her anymore. When you have time, tell the King how Yuan Yun, relying on her status as his savior, disregards rank and orders."
Rong Dingding looked at Shi Lan's delicate and aloof face, suddenly felt a chill, responded softly, carefully closed the door, and went out to figure out how to quickly and accurately poison her eyes.
Two days later, the eunuch Yi came to visit, bringing a food box.
Shi Lan was dressed in plain clothes, her jet-black hair loosely held together by a single cloth strip.
The temple servant placed the exquisite delicacies from the box in front of Shi Lan one by one. Looking at Shi Lan, who was still beautiful despite not wearing any makeup, he sighed softly, "Please have a meal, esteemed lady."
Shi Lan smiled and thanked her, then picked up her chopsticks to eat.
Fifteen minutes later, feeling half full, Shi Lan put down her chopsticks, looked up at the hesitant eunuch Yi, and asked, "Yi, do you have something to say?"
The eunuch Yi pursed his lips and after a long while said pleadingly, "Your Excellency is kind-hearted, please forgive the King and come back to Linquan Palace with me."
Shi Lan looked down at the peeling paint on the table and said after a long while, "It's not that I can't forgive, it's that my heart is dead. How can I go back?"
The eunuch Yi also knew that the king had gone too far that day. There were many palaces and halls in the palace, and there was always a bed for him to enjoy himself. Why did he need to make a scene in front of Shi Lan? But then he thought again and immediately felt that this was all Yuan Yun's scheme. She had seduced the king, led him to the main hall of Linquan Palace, and then led him to that bed in the sleeping quarters, deliberately making Shi Lan feel heartbroken and desperate.
"Yi, please go back. Shi Lan is doing well here. Thank you for your concern."
Shi Lan smiled and bowed, then rose and walked deeper into the palace, ignoring Yi who was standing there dumbfounded.
Yi had no choice but to clean up the dishes and chopsticks, pick up the food box, and walk out of the cold palace in a depressed mood.
There was some distance between the Cold Palace and the dining room. As Yi turned through the side gate of the Cold Palace, a familiar voice rang in his ears, "Is she alright?"
Yi was startled, so much so that the food box in his hand fell to the ground with a 'bang,' and he staggered to the ground, bowing down, "This servant greets Your Majesty."
King Zhao kicked his knee impatiently and said in a low voice, "Keep your voice down and get up to answer."
Yi glanced up and saw that King Zhao looked nervous, with a hint of embarrassment and awkwardness in his expression.
"Your Excellency is well, though you seem to have lost some weight in the few days since I last saw you, though you appear quite peaceful," Yi replied softly, carefully choosing his words.
King Zhao muttered a few words silently, as if thinking of something pleasant. A slight smile appeared on his lips, and he suddenly asked, "Is she still angry?"
Yi moved his lips, and just as King Zhao was about to get angry, he hesitated and said, "I asked her to go back to Linquan Palace, but the noble lady said that her heart is dead, so how can she go back?"
King Zhao's expression changed, and the joy that had just been on his face vanished instantly. "Did she really say that?"
King Zhao thought he had controlled his emotions well, but he didn't know that his voice was trembling and breaking.
The eunuch felt a pang of pity, but dared not lie to him, and could only nod slightly.
King Zhao seemed to utter something as if sobbing, then staggered away.
The eunuch Yiben wanted to get up and help him, but after hearing his mournful cries like those of a lone beast, he changed his mind. Perhaps if the king vented his anger alone, his resentment would disappear.
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