Chapter 144 The Duchess of England
"I'm not afraid of being laughed at by Your Highness, but sometimes I even avoid those concubines when I see them."
"When we meet, there's always insincerity and people fawning over the Emperor, which I find extremely annoying."
Jiang Wan Ning was shocked; she hadn't realized even the Empress could be like this.
Seeing Jiang Wan Ning's surprised expression, Empress Song Zhu Yi smiled self-deprecatingly, "In this world, who would be willing to share their beloved with another woman?"
"It was just something we had to do because of the constraints of the rules."
"Your Majesty...loves the Emperor very much?" Jiang Wan Ning knew it was inappropriate to ask this question, but she still asked it anyway.
Rumor has it that the Empress and the Emperor were betrothed by the late Emperor, and that the two had never met before their marriage.
Empress Song Zhuyi smiled and shook her head, "I was once just like Miss Jiang."
The Empress no longer referred to herself as "this palace" nor did she call Jiang Wan Ning "Princess Consort".
Of course, she didn't say anything else; this was something she, as empress, had to abide by.
The two walked slowly, and a palace maid behind them whispered a reminder, "Your Highness, ahead..."
Another palace maid reached out and pulled the maid who had spoken back, saying, "Your Highness, please don't be offended. This little girl has only been in Fengxiang Palace for a few days."
"You don't know the rules and have disturbed Her Highness and the Princess's conversation."
The one speaking was Cherry, the Empress's personal maid.
After saying that, Cherry glared at the little palace maid and said in a very low voice, "Don't meddle."
"Can..."
The palace maid wanted to say something more.
"Go ahead and say it if you want to lose your head," Cherry snapped.
Perhaps she was afraid of implicating herself, which is why she didn't kindly remind the little palace maid.
Does Her Majesty the Empress not know this road is forbidden? Does she need a mere palace maid who has only been here for a few days to remind her?
The road ahead became increasingly desolate, with weeds growing rampant in the cracks between the bricks and fallen leaves left unswept.
Jiang Wan Ning walked forward with the Empress, her expression unchanged.
Suddenly, through the wall, they heard a woman's mournful cries, followed by a moment of singing.
Jiang Wan Ning looked up and glanced in the direction from which the sound came. The palace gate had the words "Xingzhi Palace" written on it.
The Empress seemed to realize only then, "How come we ended up on this road when we weren't having a good chat with the Princess?"
She turned to the palace maids and eunuchs behind her and scolded them, "Why didn't you remind me?"
The attendants all knelt down and begged for mercy.
The Empress turned to Jiang Wan Ning and said, "Let's go back quickly."
"You must never come here."
Jiang Wan Ning nodded in agreement.
There was no curiosity whatsoever. Not to mention the palace, even in the secluded mansions outside the palace, there were bound to be one or two secret things.
This is not something she can control.
The Empress glanced at Jiang Wan Ning, then turned and walked forward with her expression unchanged.
at night,
Jiang Wan Ning returned to her temporary dormitory.
Just as I lay down, I heard the two palace maids on night watch outside whispering to each other.
"Have you heard? That little palace maid who stood up for others was beaten to death today."
"The new guy?"
"Who else could it be but her?"
"Such a small matter, surely it wouldn't come to this. Her Majesty the Empress is so kind, how could she..."
"Her mistake was reminding her master at the wrong time. Didn't her master know he had gone astray?"
"Good sister, who exactly lives in Xingzhi Palace? I got goosebumps just listening to it today."
Another palace maid looked around and lowered her voice, "I heard that the wife of a court official is being held there."
"What?"
Jiang Wan Ning was also startled. She had originally thought that the place was where concubines who had fallen out of favor or made mistakes were imprisoned.
The Empress wanted to use this to remind herself that life in the harem was not as wonderful as it seemed on the surface.
Who would have thought she was an official's wife?
What kind of official's wife would be confined in the inner palace?
"Keep your voice down!" one palace maid hurriedly covered the other's mouth. "Do you want us both to be buried with the one who was beaten to death today?"
“Good sister, I was wrong.” Another palace maid whispered, “Tell me quickly, what exactly happened?”
Another palace maid looked around and lowered her voice even further.
Jiang Wan Ning couldn't hear anything, so she could only press her ear against the window.
"I heard that the Duchess of England is being held there."
"Which British duke?"
"Who else could it be? It's the British Duke, whose entire army perished overnight."
Jiang Wan Ning didn't listen to the rest of what was said.
The Duchess of England, isn't that Pei Yanchuan's mother?
She did not die, but was imprisoned in the palace.
These are things that even high-ranking officials in the court would not have thought of, so how could a mere palace maid have known?
It must be the Empress who wants to tell me through her.
Jiang Wan Ning gave a cold laugh. This was a truly brilliant scheme. Tell her who was being held captive in Xingzhi Palace.
Whether it's true or not, I'll go there anyway.
The Empress had calculated this perfectly.
Jiang Wan Ning just didn't know why the Empress would tell her this.
Whatever the reason, she has to go and see for herself.
Jiang Wan Ning kept her eyes open until late at night before quietly going out.
We arrived at Xingzhi Palace by following the path we had taken during the day.
The people inside were still crying and singing.
Jiang Wan Ning took two steps back and used the momentum to climb over the wall into the palace courtyard.
Using the moonlight to feel their way inside, they saw a dark figure ahead.
Jiang Wan Ning lit the tinderbox, but the woman's expression remained unchanged.
Jiang Wan Ning waved her hand in front of her eyes.
I can't see it at all.
No wonder not a single lamp was lit. The woman seemed to hear footsteps. "Who's there?"
Jiang Wan Ning looked at the tattered clothes she was wearing, which only provided a shallow cover, and her gray hair was messily covering her face.
"Who are you?" Jiang Wan Ning asked tentatively.
Jiang Wan Ning's memory of the British Duchess's appearance had become quite vague, after all, more than ten years had passed.
Given the person's current state, it was impossible to make a judgment, so I could only try to ask.
The woman was taken aback; someone had actually come. "No one has been here for many years."
Apart from the eunuch who brought him meals, no one else was seen each day.
"Young lady, you should leave now. This is not a place for you."
Jiang Wan Ning tentatively asked, "Who is Xie Chuan to you?"
The woman sat motionless, her eyes vacant.
She suddenly burst into tears, crying, "Chuan'er, my Chuan'er."
Who are you?
"They told me to live well so that Chuan'er would live. Who are you? Do you know Chuan'er?"
Where is my Chuan'er now? Is he doing well?
The woman threw herself onto Jiang Wan Ning and grabbed Jiang Wan Ning's arms tightly.
Jiang Wan Ning was able to see the person in front of her clearly by the light of the fire.
She is indeed the Duchess of England.
A strange bitterness welled up in Jiang Wan Ning's heart. This once stunningly beautiful woman from Jiangnan had been trapped in this tiny place for years by someone using her son's life as leverage.
“Mother-in-law, mother-in-law, listen to me,” Jiang Wanning raised her voice, “I am Xie Chuan’s wife.”
"Wife?" The Duchess of England was taken aback. "Chuan'er is married? My Chuan'er isn't dead yet?"
"He's not dead."
The Duchess of England suddenly began to shake her head. "No, that's not right."
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