Chapter 346: Undercurrents continue, the child is worried
The morning light pierced the clouds, gilding the charred ruins of the west courtyard of Prince Rong's mansion with a cold, golden edge. In the east courtyard's bedroom, Xiaoyanzi leaned against a large apricot-yellow brocade pillow, gazing at her baby sleeping soundly in the cradle. The newborn's tiny chest rose and fell gently with each breath, its hair softly plastered to its forehead, its sleeping face as pure as fresh snow. She reached out her finger and gently touched the baby's warm cheek, the faint tremor of last night's fireworks still lingering on her fingertips.
"Princess, it's time to give us the medicine." Mingyue quietly approached, holding a small, white Ding kiln porcelain bowl. The thick, black liquid exuded a bitter aroma. Xiaoyanzi frowned as she took it, her gaze fixed on the baby. Outside the window, a few clumps of pomegranate blossoms, still remnants of the disaster, rustled in the wind, their bright red petals falling onto the scorched earth, glaring like drops of blood.
"Where's Yongqi?" She took a sip of the medicine, and the bitter taste rushed to her eyebrows.
"The prince was summoned to the palace early in the morning." Caixia tucked the corner of the quilt for her and lowered her voice very low. "The Shuntian prefect and the people from the Ministry of Internal Affairs are waiting in the study in the front yard. The west yard has been sealed and Nanny Li has been taken away..." Before she finished speaking, the crisp sound of children arguing was heard outside.
"It's mine! My brother gave it to me!" Mian Xin clutched a delicate, hollowed-out, red-gold bell ball, her face flushed crimson. Mian Rui anxiously pried her hand away, "My brother's playing with it! It's not for you!" The bell ball slipped out of his hand during the scramble, tumbling clang under the cradle. The startled baby burst into tears, and the nurse hurriedly leaned over to pick it up.
"Stop it!" Xiaoyanzi shouted. The twins shuddered in fear, frozen in place. Her chest heaved, and she suppressed her surging irritation, reaching out to the children: "Come here."
Mian Rui pouted and scrambled to the edge of the bed, while Mian Xin burst into tears, throwing herself into her mother's arms, "Mom, you're so mean..." Her warm tears soaked her clothes. Xiao Yanzi's heart softened, and she hugged her daughter, patting her back gently. She then waved to her son. Mian Rui immediately came over, his small hands nervously grasping the silk ribbon of her nightgown.
"Rui'er is the older brother," she said, her voice slowing, her fingertips wiping away Mianxin's tears. "Xin'er is the older sister. Your brother is still young, he only knows how to grab things and play with them, not give them to anyone." Her eyes swept over the glittering golden ball under the cradle—it was the accessory attached to the longevity lock given by Emperor Qianlong, and it had been pulled off by the child in the chaos last night. "You fighting over it like this is scaring your brother and hurting the sibling relationship. Think about what would happen to Rui'er if someone else bullied Xin'er?"
Mian Rui puffed out his chest and said, "I'll beat him!"
"If the younger brother's things were stolen, should the older brother protect them?" Xiaoyanzi coaxed.
The boy blinked his bright black eyes, looked at his younger brother sobbing in the cradle, then at his sister's aggrieved face, and suddenly loosened his mother's belt and ran to the cradle, patting the swaddling clothes with his little hands clumsily: "Don't be afraid, little brother, I'm here." Then he turned to Mian Xin and said: "Let your little brother play with the bell ball first. When he grows up, I'll give you something better!"
Little Swallow's nose felt a pang. She embraced her two children, resting her chin lightly on their soft hair. Morning light streamed through the crimson screen window, shrouding the three of them. The baby in the cradle had stopped crying, its eyes, like black grapes, moving curiously. This moment of warmth was a treasure she would protect for the rest of her life.
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The vermilion lacquered gate to the west courtyard was tightly shut, its brass doorknob affixed with a seal bearing the Shuntian Prefecture's seal. Two sword-wielding guards stood at the steps, stone statues in relief, their cold, hard shadows lengthened by the sunlight. The courtyard was dead silent, with only the whimpering of the wind through the charred wood.
In the main room, Zhihua sat in front of a mirror, her expression vacant. The diamond-shaped bronze mirror reflected a bleak face, dark eyes and pale lips. She grabbed a comb and fiercely scraped through her tangled hair. The torn strands tangled between her teeth, like the resentment that clung to her.
"Concubine," a voice as low as a mosquito came from outside the window. A small roll of mulberry paper was stuffed into the crack of the carved window frame.
Zhihua leaped up as if struck by lightning, rushed to the window, dug her fingernails through the crack, and pulled out the scroll. A familiar, thin, gold script caught her eye: "Sacrifice the pawns to save the chariot; keep your mouth shut and you will live. The young child can be relied upon." There was no signature, yet she clutched the note tightly in her palm like a lifeline, her nails practically digging into her flesh. E Min! He hadn't given up on her yet! Yes, Mian Yi... she still had Mian Yi! Yongqi might despise her, but he wouldn't abandon his eldest son!
"Madame Li..." She bit her lower lip nervously. That old woman knows too much, she must not be allowed to stay! But now the West Courtyard is surrounded like an iron barrel... Her eyes suddenly fell on a red gold hairpin with kingfisher feathers on the dressing table. It was given to her by the Empress Dowager when she gave birth to Mian Yi. The hairpin's tip was as sharp as a needle. A thought snaked into her mind like a venomous snake.
The clang of keys echoed outside. Zhihua quickly slipped the note into a hidden pocket of her inner garment and snatched up her hairpin, hiding it in her sleeve. The door opened to reveal Yongqi, standing against the sunlight. The golden dragon on his dark-colored official robes seemed to come alive in the gloom. Behind him came the prefect of Shuntian Prefecture and two clerks carrying documents.
"Your Highness..." Zhihua stumbled to her knees, her white skirt spreading out like a withered petal. She lifted her face, tears streaming down her face, each drop sliding precisely across her pale cheeks. "I was foolish! I was deceived by that wicked servant, Nanny Li! She said she had a way to make Your Highness see Mian Yi more often, and I loved my son so much that...I believed her lies!" She took two steps on her knees and grasped the corner of Yongqi's robe, her fingertips cramping from the force. "But I would never dare to commit such heinous crimes as arson, murdering Xiao Cui, and hiding evidence against me! Your Highness, please understand! Mian Yi cannot live without her mother!" She wept so hard that her whole body trembled, and she bit the word "Mian Yi" until it bled blood and pierced her heart.
Yongqi looked down at her condescendingly. The face that had once evoked pity for him was now filled with calculation, every tear mark etched in its traces. He felt the cool touch of her fingertips on the hem of his robe, and he jerked back.
"You love your son so much?" He sneered, his voice cold as ice. "When you bribed the wet nurse to mistreat Rui'er and Xin'er, did you ever consider that they were my own flesh and blood? When you spread rumors to slander the princess, did you ever consider that she was Mian Yi's biological mother?" He stepped closer, his shadow completely covering her. "Chen Zhihua, you keep saying you are doing this for Mian Yi, but in fact you are using her as a bargaining chip to fight for favor and power! If the princess hadn't been alert last night, my young son would have died in the fire! How dare you mention Mian Yi?" The last sentence was almost a shout, making Zhihua's ears buzz.
The Shuntian prefect bowed and presented a book with scorched edges. "Your Highness, although most of the account books have been burned, the remaining entries are still legible. The funds involved in the conversion of grain into silver and the canal engineering projects overlap significantly with the projects handled by Lord E Min." He paused, glancing at Zhihua meaningfully. "Madame Li has signed a statement acknowledging that Concubine Consort and Lord E were very close, and that she had repeatedly used the guise of 'visiting relatives' to pass on confidential documents."
Zhihua collapsed to the ground as if struck by lightning. The golden hairpin slipped halfway out of her sleeve, rubbing hard against her arm. It was over… Nanny Li had confessed everything! Her eyes instantly filled with genuine despair.
"Take this woman to the clan prison and keep her in solitary confinement." Yongqi's voice cut off her last shred of hope. "No one is allowed to visit her without my order. Everyone in the West Courtyard will be sold into slavery!" He stopped looking at her and turned to the governor of Shuntian Prefecture. "Keep a close eye on Emin. Make a copy of the remaining pages of the account book and secretly send it to the Yangxin Palace."
The guards held Zhihua up like wolves and tigers. Her hair was disheveled, her pearl hairpins lying on the ground. As she passed Yongqi, she suddenly burst into a shrill laugh: "Yongqi! Do you think this palace is clean except for me? Who was that shadow on the wall last night? How did that box of things happen to be buried under the beam? Someone is stalking the cicada, but the oriole is behind! You can protect that bitch for a while, but you can't protect her forever—" The rag-like roar was blocked by the heavy door.
Yongqi stood in the suddenly silent courtyard. The lingering smell of fireworks mingled with the rich rosewater fragrance of Chen Zhihua, converging into a sickly sweet, fishy smell. He looked toward the east courtyard, where the glazed tile roof shone with a dazzling golden glow in the sunlight. Higher up, on the eaves and brackets, a faint, dew-stained boot print lingered on the edge of a humble, blue-gray tile. The print was narrow and thin, definitely not the standard print for the palace guards.
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1
In the warm room of the east courtyard, Little Swallow was sipping ginseng soup from Caixia's hand. Mianrui and Mianxin had been taken away by their wet nurse for a nap, and the babies in their cradles had fallen asleep.
"Princess," Xiao Dengzi came in quietly and placed a wax ball the size of a pigeon egg on the kang table. "Old Zhao, the comprador at the corner gate, handed it in. He said he found it under the vegetable basket this morning."
Xiaoyanzi crushed the wax ball with her fingertips and pulled out a roll of white paper, as thin as a cicada's wing. On it were a few words, the ink scribbled like a startled snake: "Emin is shut in, claiming illness. A fast horse left Fucheng Gate last night from the Xilin Jueluo Mansion." Her pupils constricted! Xilin Jueluo... Emin's maternal clan! Could the fast horse be heading to... the old house at Taiping Lake?
Fragments of memories from past lives surged back: the shores of Taiping Lake, the former site of Prince Rong's palace; Qingfeng Pavilion, where Prince Yihui and Xilin Taiqing exchanged poems; and... the tragedy in which Madam Taiqing was expelled from the palace due to the conflict between legitimate and illegitimate children! Her fingers unconsciously stroked her flat abdomen, and a chill crept up her spine.
"Change clothes." She threw off the quilt and got off the bed, her voice filled with tension that she herself didn't even notice. "Let's go to Huaiyin Courtyard."
Caixia was shocked: "Princess, that place is cold and remote, and you are still in confinement..."
"Prepare the sedan," Xiaoyanzi interrupted, her gaze darting out the window. The sun was shining brightly, yet the tangled web of conspiracies, like the deep roots of an old locust tree, had already quietly entwined the entire Rong Prince's residence. E Min's tentacles extended deeper than she had imagined. And Yongqi had to protect not only her and the child, but also the turbulent undercurrents and lingering embers beneath this century-old palace.
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