Chapter 161 Su Tingwan's Dream
Time flies like an arrow; half a month has passed since the army left Shengjing, and Jiang Fenghua and Su Tingwan have been staying in the palace for half a month.
Su Tingwan got up before dawn and went to the small kitchen. After cooking a bowl of white porridge, Su Tingwan took advantage of the maid's absence and spat into it a few times. "You'll be disgusted to death if you don't eat this. There are so many delicacies to eat, but you insist on drinking plain white rice porridge without salt or flavor."
Unfortunately, this white rice porridge is the hardest to cook. She didn't know how many pots she ruined in half a month before she finally cooked the rice porridge to be this white, tender, and thick.
Only then did Granny Xi arrive slowly, saying polite words, "Consort Su, you've worked hard."
"Is Your Highness's breakfast ready?" asked Granny Xi again.
"Ready." Su Tingwan hated Granny Xi to the core. One day she would get back all the humiliation she had suffered from this old hag, but she dared not offend Granny Xi, otherwise she would be met with endless scolding from the Empress.
She had no choice but to compromise, preparing breakfast for the Empress before dawn and then giving her a back massage. Although she was a concubine of Prince Heng and could be considered a mistress, she had to serve tea and water to the Empress like a maid.
These past few days she has been studying a book, which is filled with detailed instructions on how to serve her parents-in-law in a way that demonstrates filial piety.
Su Tingwan discovered that ever since she married into the Heng Prince's mansion, she was either studying or on her way to study.
What's even more amazing is that Jiang Fenghua could recite these books almost backwards. She's practically crazy. What's the point of a woman reading so many books if she's not going to take the imperial examinations?
"Leave it to me, Consort Su. You've worked hard. Her Highness's clothes also need washing. I'll trouble Consort Su to do that."
Granny Xi said something that could infuriate anyone: "There are so many people in Kunning Palace, why are you telling me to wash if they don't want to?" But she still didn't dare to resist.
Day after day, Su Tingwan was exhausted. Xie Shang was gone, her grandmother and eldest brother were gone, and there was no one to support her anymore.
Su Tingwan didn't completely listen to Granny Xi. She said coldly, "This concubine will return to the palace to change her clothes first. If Her Majesty the Empress has any clothes, please have Granny Xi bring them over!"
After saying that, she ignored Granny Xi and left. She got up before dawn, and the weather was so cold. The Empress had been sick for half a month, and she should have recovered long ago. The Empress's clothes were sent to the laundry department, so it was not her place to wash them. The Empress was deliberately tormenting her.
Granny Xi seemed used to it and wasn't angry. Who asked her to wash the Empress's clothes? They couldn't afford to ruin them.
Naturally, Granny Xi didn't dare to give the Empress anything made by Su Tingwan. They would all turn their backs and fall down. It was the Empress who was deliberately tormenting Consort Su and making her life difficult.
Over here, Jiang Fenghua got up after a good night's sleep. The weather outside was getting colder and colder. Since she moved into the main courtyard of Chenxi Palace, Consort Su had also moved into the courtyard where she lived in her previous life.
Their lives were completely reversed, which was quite ironic. The courtyard was not renovated and was cold and lifeless. She lived there for seventeen years, while Su Tingwan only lived there for half a month.
After washing up and getting dressed, Jiang Fenghua went to Kunning Palace. She happened to see Su Tingwan returning at the entrance of Chenxi Palace. Seeing her disheveled appearance, she walked straight away as if she hadn't seen her. The suffering Su Tingwan had endured was less than one ten-thousandth of what she had suffered in her previous life.
At this moment, Su Tingwan returned from Kunning Palace and saw that she was exceptionally wealthy, exquisitely dressed, and served by two maids on either side of her. Her demeanor was more like that of an empress, who ruled the world. She became even angrier.
When she returned to the palace and opened the door, she felt a blast of cold air that made her shiver.
If this continues, she will be tortured to death by the Empress before Xie Shang returns. The Empress and Jiang Fenghua hate her to the core, and they will not let her go. She doesn't know how long this battle will last, and she must find a way to escape their torment.
My aunt has lost the emperor's favor and gone mad, so it's impossible to get her help anymore.
Su Tingwan had just come from the small kitchen. She was full and now she was very sleepy, so she decided to just lie down on the bed and take a nap first. Even if she wanted to escape the palace and return to the border, she would have to plan it carefully.
Soon, Su Tingwan drifted off to sleep. In her dream, she saw Jiang Fenghua dressed in plain clothes, mending clothes with needle and thread. Her hands were covered in chilblains, and she was surrounded by a boy and a girl. Their clothes were tattered, and the food they ate was coarse. It was the palace where she was currently living.
A moment later, she gracefully walked in, dressed in a magnificent and exquisite phoenix robe. The palace maid beside her sternly said to Jiang Fenghua, "Her Majesty the Empress has arrived. Why don't you come and pay your respects?"
Jiang Fenghua, with her two children, knelt before her and bowed respectfully, saying, "Your Majesty, we pay our respects to Your Majesty. May Your Majesty be blessed with longevity."
Su Tingwan walked forward haughtily, stepping on Jiang Fenghua's frostbitten fingers with her leg. "Is the Consort Xian making clothes?"
She casually picked out two items and said with disdain, "Consort Xian, what is your punishment? Is this how you take care of the little prince and princess? Feeding them this kind of thing and dressing them in such tattered clothes. The Imperial Household Department gave you money and sent clothes to the prince and princess, so why didn't you give them any to wear? Why are they dressed so thinly in the dead of winter? Do you want them to freeze to death?"
Jiang Fenghua stared at her coldly with a vicious glint in her eyes. "No one brought these things."
She slapped Jiang Fenghua across the face. "You still dare to lie? Are you saying that I am unfair to you, or that the Imperial Household Department embezzled your allowance?"
Jiang Fenghua also had frostbite on her face, and the slap from her made her feel very painful. Her clothes were anything but elegant, and her face was not pretty at all. She looked like an old, haggard, and resentful woman, extremely ugly.
Back when the emperor was still the crown prince, he faced pressure and favored her once, and she became pregnant.
She even gave birth to twins; what a lucky woman!
She was extremely jealous and wanted to strangle them, but once she did, she realized it wouldn't be fun anymore.
At this moment, Su Tingwan was accompanied by a little girl dressed in gold and silver. Because Jiang Fenghua's daughter touched the little girl's skirt, the little girl pushed her to the ground, saying, "Mother, she dirtied my skirt."
Su Tingwan was not angry at all. Instead, she reached out and helped Jiang Fenghua's daughter up. "You are the eldest princess, and she is your younger sister. She should also call me 'Mother'."
The little girl angrily said, "This princess does not have such a slovenly younger sister. Mother, make her get out."
She took the girl's hand again and whispered, "If you call me 'Mother,' I'll take you out for a delicious meal and let you wear the same dress as the Princess, okay?" Children are the easiest to fool, so she pretended to be gentle.
The girl opened her eyes wide and indeed called her "Mother".
Seeing this, the young prince quickly stepped forward, hugged Su Tingwan, and called her "Mother".
Jiang Fenghua heard this and felt a pang of pain in her heart, "She is not your mother."
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