By the middle of April, the weather had started to get hot, and women in light summer clothes could be seen everywhere in the palace.
Concubine Xian was finally able to walk out of Yuquan Palace, but she was still wearing a thick silk skirt.
Even so, standing in the empty space outside Yuquan Palace, she still felt a little chilly.
She knew that the coldness did not come from the early summer wind, but from her heart and her bones.
The thoughts in my mind were gone, my body collapsed, and naturally I felt cold inside and out.
"Your Majesty, the wind is strong at the intersection, please be careful to keep cool." The palace maid reminded.
Concubine Xian pulled her collar and said softly, "Let's go to Cining Palace."
She always felt that there was a deeper meaning behind what Nanny Chang said that day.
The Queen Mother seems to have changed in the past two years and is no longer as reclusive as before.
Although Concubine Xian had a hard time these days, she kept Nanny Chang's words in mind, and as soon as she felt better she went to the Cining Palace to pay her respects.
Only halfway through the journey, Concubine Xian began to pant and her face turned pale.
The maid looked worried: "My lady, please take a rest."
Concubine Xian waved her hands and said, "What are you waiting for? It will be embarrassing if you go to pay respects to the Queen Mother late."
After walking and stopping like this, we finally arrived at Cining Temple.
The Queen Mother was having the two princesses take turns reading stories to her. When she heard that Consort Xian had arrived, she opened her eyes and said, "Please come in, Consort Xian."
Soon, Concubine Xian came in and respectfully paid her respects to the Queen Mother.
"Give the virtuous concubine a throne."
A palace maid brought a small stool and placed it next to Concubine Xian.
Concubine Xian sat down.
The Queen Mother smiled and said, "Please wait a moment. Fuqing will soon finish speaking."
The girl's clear and sweet voice rang out again. Concubine Xian listened silently and found that this was a completely unfamiliar story.
"Grandmother, I've finished reading." Princess Fuqing finished reading the last page, but she still felt unsatisfied.
Apparently Princess Fuqing liked this story very much.
The Fourteenth Princess stood aside quietly as usual, with little sense of presence.
The Queen Mother signaled the maid to put away the notebook and said lovingly, "You two can go back first."
Princess Fuqing and the Fourteenth Princess paid their respects to the Queen Mother and Consort Xian and left together.
The Queen Mother smiled and spoke first: "Nowadays, the storybooks are getting more and more interesting. It is said that they are published by a bookstore outside the palace called Liuchuhuazhai. When Nanny Chang went out of the palace to burn incense, she brought back a few books for me to relieve my boredom. I wonder if you have heard about it?"
Concubine Xian smiled awkwardly: "I have lived in the deep palace for a long time and have little knowledge. I have never heard of it."
The Queen Mother nodded slightly, and said with some emotion: "Yes, after living in the palace for a long time, the outside world has become completely unfamiliar."
Concubine Xian didn't know how to respond for a moment.
The Queen Mother had never been close to her in the past, or to any of the other concubines. Now she was chatting with her about daily life, which made people a little confused.
"You may leave." The Queen Mother took the teacup offered by the palace maid and sent the servant away with just one word.
Concubine Xian held a cup of hot tea in her hand, feeling uneasy.
"You seldom go back to the Duke's Mansion, do you?" The Queen Mother asked casually after taking a sip of tea.
Concubine Xian hurriedly said, "I only visited you once eight years ago."
The Queen Mother thought for a moment and said, "I remember now. Your father was ill at that time."
Concubine Xian's eyes became moist and she nodded slowly.
That year, she received news that her father was seriously ill. In order to see her father for the last time, she asked the emperor to allow her to visit him.
At that time, she was a popular person in the palace, and the emperor also gave her face and agreed readily.
That was the last time she saw her father and the last time she went home.
Thinking about this, Concubine Xian felt more and more unwilling.
After so many years of loneliness in the deep palace, why not wait until he can reach the status of the woman in front of him?
"I'm afraid you won't have the chance to visit your parents again in the future, right?"
Concubine Xian looked at the Queen Mother in astonishment, totally unable to believe that these words came out of her mouth.
But there are only the two of them in this room, not even a third person, so who else could it be but the Queen Mother?
I don’t know if it was an illusion, or maybe it was because the light where the Queen Mother was sitting was a little dim, which made her expression look a little gloomy.
Seeing such a Queen Mother made Concubine Xian feel uneasy. There was no longer the warm feeling she had when she first came in, with the old and two children sitting together reading.
The Queen Mother stared at Concubine Xian with her eyes wide open: "Why don't you answer?"
Concubine Xian was increasingly unsure of the Queen Mother's thoughts, and said hesitantly, "The Queen Mother is right. I am not in good health right now and cannot withstand such a bumpy ride—"
The Queen Mother smiled and said, "Even if you can bear it, the Emperor probably won't agree."
"Empress Dowager—" Concubine Xian was even more shocked.
What did the Queen Mother mean? It was not easy to let Madam Chang hint that she should come to pay her respects that day...
"Concubine Xian, you know in your heart that the status of you and Prince Qi in the emperor's heart is not as high as before, and you can even say that you are hated."
Concubine Xian could no longer sit still, so she stood up from the stool and said with a pale face, "I am stupid, please tell me clearly, Queen Mother."
"Explicitly?" the Queen Mother asked.
Concubine Xian nodded and said, "Your Majesty is kind and generous. There must be a deep meaning behind what she said to me. I am just too stupid to understand. Please explain it to me."
The Queen Mother smiled and said, "I have something I would like to ask you to do."
Concubine Xian's heart skipped a beat, and she lowered her eyes and said, "It is my honor to work for the Queen Mother. I wonder if you have any instructions?"
The Queen Mother took two sips of tea slowly, put the teacup on the table, and said slowly: "I want Fuqing's life."
The teacup in Concubine Xian's hand fell down and broke into pieces, but this was nothing compared to her extreme shock at the moment.
She took two steps back and looked at the Queen Mother in shock, as if she had never known this woman standing at the highest point.
Did she hear it wrongly?
"What? Are you scared?" The Queen Mother glanced at Concubine Xian with a cold tone.
Concubine Xian opened her mouth: "I—"
The Queen Mother sneered: "I thought you had nothing to lose and had nothing to fear."
"Your Majesty, I don't understand—"
"I don't need you to understand. I just want you to do it."
Concubine Xian had a pale face and did not answer for a long time. Minrui caught a glimpse of murderous intent in the Queen Mother's eyes.
Her heart suddenly sank and she came to her senses: Since the Queen Mother had said this to her, if she did not agree, she would probably not live long after leaving Cining Palace.
Realizing this, Concubine Xian bit her lip and said, "Fuqing is the legitimate princess and the apple of the empress' eye. I'm afraid it will be difficult for me to find an opportunity... Even if I have the opportunity to do it, it will be extremely difficult to get away with it -"
The Queen Mother smiled and said, "I just want to have nothing to do with Cining Palace."
The implication was that she didn't care whether Concubine Xian was dead or alive after her attack.
Concubine Xian was extremely shocked.
The Queen Mother tapped the tabletop lightly and said with sympathy, "I'm afraid your health has run out, right?"
Concubine Xian was horrified and stared at the Queen Mother.
She had already sealed Doctor Yu's mouth, so how could the Queen Mother know her physical condition?
In the past, when she had minor illnesses or pains, she would cry out to win the emperor's sympathy and attention. But when she was really in trouble, she just wanted to hold on for another day and force herself to get better in front of others.
The old man's voice sounded again, and it sounded a little strange: "You are about to die, and you want to exchange your remaining light for a helping hand from the King of Zhuqi. Do you think it's okay?"