Zhang Chu also came with several subordinate palace maids and eunuchs. She held the Empress Dowager's edict in her hands, while the palace maids and eunuchs behind her carried cloth and utensils.
The eunuch was in his fifties or sixties, and his eyes were extremely eerie, like those of a vengeful ghost. If a timid person saw them, they would surely have nightmares at night.
Green Ivy glanced at it once and dared not look at it again.
Not only Green Ivy, but all the palace maids and eunuchs lowered their heads and refused to look at the old eunuch.
Zhao Shu stared intently at the old eunuch, not blinking. Despite his old age and ugly appearance, which was frighteningly ugly, his eyes were even more powerful than Sun Wukong's fiery eyes.
Zhao Shu knew this person. When he was very young, he served the Empress Dowager in the palace. Later, he committed a crime and was punished to go to Biyou Palace. The Empress Dowager had three trusted assistants: the head eunuch Zhong Mama, the chief eunuch Zhi Hai, known as Eunuch Hai, and the female official Zhang Chu.
Unexpectedly, the first person I met when I came to Biyou Palace was Zhihai.
Zhao Shu didn't know what Hai Gonggong had done wrong, but after the Empress Dowager passed away, the old eunuch hanged himself in front of the Empress Dowager's tomb.
Upon seeing her longtime partner, Zhang Chu's eyes welled up with tears. Eunuch Hai was older than her. When she became a female official, she was only fourteen years old. In the blink of an eye, Eunuch Hai, who had helped her many times, had grown so old.
"This servant greets the Princess." Eunuch Hai opened the door, came out from inside, and knelt at Zhao Shu's feet. He was so excited that his whole body trembled. He thought he would never see the Empress Dowager's imperial edict or her beloved grandson again in his life.
Although separated by only a dark alley, he could not step more than ten steps away from the Biyou Palace.
Zhao Shu walked over and personally helped Zhi Hai up, saying softly, "Eunuch Hai, please get up. You are a trusted servant of the Empress Dowager, so there is no need for such a grand ceremony. We have come here on the Empress Dowager's orders to visit the Dowager Consorts."
Upon hearing this, Zhihai not only did not rise, but also bowed deeply towards the direction of the palace, saying, "This servant greets Her Majesty the Empress Dowager, may Her Majesty enjoy boundless blessings and peace."
"Please get up, Father-in-law." Zhao Shu helped him up again, and Zhang Chu came over from behind. The two of them helped Zhihai up, one on each side.
Zhihai's eyes were wet with tears, but they still looked brightly at Zhao Shu. "Princess, this old servant can die without regrets if I can see you again." He did not say anything about not being able to die in peace if he did not see the Empress Dowager, which suggests that the crime he committed must have been serious.
However, Zhao Shu saw guilt and self-blame in his eyes. He felt guilty and ashamed towards the Empress Dowager, but not towards her. So why did he look at her with such complicated eyes? Zhao Shu couldn't figure it out.
“The princess and the queen look very alike,” Zhihai added.
In fact, Zhao Shu and Jiang Ying don't look very alike, at least she doesn't look much similar to Jiang Yue.
"Eunuch Hai still remembers my mother?" she said with a smile.
However, Zhihai refused to say anything more. "I remember, I remember. Since you have come to deliver the imperial decree, Princess, please come in with me."
The concubines living in Biyou Palace were all illegitimate daughters or collateral relatives sent to the palace by various noble families. Although they had no sons or daughters, they still enjoyed the honor of being concubines. After the death of the late emperor, all those above the rank of concubine were granted the title of concubine.
Upon entering the Biyou Palace, the first thing that catches the eye is the tall gray wall. Between the first and second walls, guards patrol. Green Ivy muttered to herself, "So the guards are all inside."
Zhihai glanced back at Green Ivy, who immediately shut up, too frightened to say another word.
"Lady Zhang?" As she passed through the moon gate, a palace maid came over and exclaimed in surprise upon seeing Zhang Chu. The maid looked to be under twenty years old. Her face, which was originally quite pretty, was ruined by her thick, straight eyebrows that formed a large "I" shape across her face.
"You brat, what are you yelling about? If you keep yelling, Lady Zhang won't come to this godforsaken place. Now get to work!" A cursing voice came from afar. A woman in her forties or fifties came out of the house around the corner. When she saw Zhang Chu, her eyes widened and her mouth was agape.
"By imperial decree of the Empress Dowager, quickly summon the imperial concubines to receive the decree!" Zhang Chu was not in the mood to spend much time with them, even though they all hoped she would come.
The eunuchs and maids sent to Biyou Palace were either those who had committed crimes and offended people, or those who were ugly, had no skills, and had offended people. In short, most of the palace maids and eunuchs here had offended people in the palace who they shouldn't have, which is why they were sent here to work.
"Yes, yes, yes, this servant will go and invite the imperial concubines right away," the old woman said sheepishly.
Zhao Shu glanced at the people around her. They were all hiding and peeking, not knowing how to come out and greet her. Their eyes were dull and lifeless, as if they had been locked up for too long and their minds were not working properly.
In the entire Biyou Palace, it seemed that only those two people from before were still somewhat angry.
"Eunuch Hai, do you know where the statues of the Three Pure Ones are?" The imperial concubines needed to bathe and change clothes after receiving the decree, which would take some time, so she planned to take care of the important matters first.
“She’s in the back. This old servant will lead the princess over.” Eunuch Hai had no doubts. At first, he was puzzled as to why the Empress Dowager would send the princess over, but now that Zhao Shu asked, he understood. Someone must have been gossiping about her, which was why the princess wanted to come and see.
Along the way, Eunuch Hai didn't say much, but Zhao Shu always had endless questions. "Eunuch Hai, I heard from my maternal grandfather that my mother used to be like a tomboy, but very resilient. Is that true? Ah Jun has never met my mother. Since you know my mother, can you tell me what she did that made my maternal grandfather so angry that he was blowing his beard and glaring at her?"
Zhao Shu didn't know why she kept asking Zhi Hai about her mother; she just kept asking him all the way.
Zhihai always said, "It's been too long, this old servant doesn't remember."
Before Zhao Shu could ask any more questions, they had already arrived at the Sanqing Temple. "Princess, this is where the statues of the Three Pure Ones are located. Please check the numbers; this place is inauspicious. It would be best not to go in."
This place is ominous. Perhaps Emperor Daozong, who lost his kingdom, hanged himself here. Zhao Shu took a few steps forward and pushed open the long-sealed door.
Upon seeing the door being pushed open, Zhihai's terrifying face immediately changed color. The door to the main hall was clearly locked, so why did it open with just a push?
Zhao Shu used a lot of force, but the door was heavy, and she could only push it open a little bit, just enough for one person to pass through.
"Princess." Xiao Guozi and the others rushed over to stop her from going in, but Zhao Shu was faster and kicked open another door.
Light streamed in through the open palace doors, instantly illuminating the dark hall and also illuminating the heart of a military general that had been shrouded in darkness for fifteen years.
Zhao Shu looked at the boy who was covering his eyes with his hand. He was clearly fifteen years old, but he was as thin and small as her. Who would have thought that Wang Jiyang, the strategist's younger brother, had been trapped in this dark and sunless Biyou Palace for fifteen years?
Upon seeing the person, everyone's expression changed, but Zhao Shu remained calm. At this moment, she was thinking to herself, "I wonder if Xiao Zhuzi has succeeded." This time, she would let the Wang and Yang families, who pride themselves on being scholarly and prestigious, taste what it means to slap themselves in the face.
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