At the westernmost end of the imperial harem, there is a special dilapidated palace, which is called the Cold Palace.
This is a damp, dark place with a musty smell.
A brand new big lock was hung on the dilapidated palace gate, and two guards with swords stood listlessly at the door.
When Fu Xiaoguan came to this place under the guidance of an old eunuch, he couldn't help but take a few more glances and then rubbed his nose.
The dilapidated palace walls were covered with green ivy, and the glazed tiles on the roof had long lost their color and were sparse, not completely covering the roof.
Even the door was so mottled that it was impossible to tell what color it once was.
"Sir, this is where Xiao Qiang is imprisoned."
Fu Xiaoguan nodded, thinking that this was just like what Su Su sang: The officials' fortunes withered, the rich and powerful lost their gold and silver. It was like the birds flying back to the forest after all the food was eaten, leaving the earth white and pure... How clean!
"Please open this door, sir."
The old man walked up and took the key from a guard. The door creaked open, and there was only a dim oil lamp inside.
When Fu Xiaoguan walked in, he saw Empress Xiao sitting with her back to him in front of a tattered desk. The oil lamp was on the desk, and she seemed to be looking at something.
When she heard the door open, she didn't look back.
When Fu Xiaoguan stood behind her, she raised the corners of her mouth and said with a smile: "I really thought that the second person to come to see me would be you."
"Originally, I should have been the first one, but His Majesty approved it a little late."
Empress Xiao closed the book on the table, turned around, and looked at Fu Xiaoguan very seriously. "I finally have some free time recently. I read your Dream of the Red Chamber and was quite touched."
"To be honest, Madam, I was also deeply moved when I wrote it."
Empress Xiao laughed and said, "You are a wonderful child. If it weren't for your status, I would really admire you."
Fu Xiaoguan dragged a chair from the corner and sat down opposite Empress Xiao.
"In that Dream of the Red Chamber, I remember it was in Chapter 5, there was a line: 'Your cleverness, your cunning calculations, have cost you your life.' You are Ling'er's mother, and you are already the Queen. Why bother?"
Empress Xiao raised her eyebrows. "But I remember there's a saying in this book: 'Too proud is the more people will be jealous; too pure is the more people will dislike you.' Who told you that you are not only His Majesty's illegitimate child, but also possess such outstanding talent?"
Fu Xiaoguan touched his nose and said, "But in the end, it was still the dirty world that went against my wishes."
Empress Xiao stood up and looked outside the door. The vines on the wall outside the door were blooming with small flowers.
The vine has no name, and the flower has no name.
"That night, I went to Ling'er's Princess Mansion and saw the poem you wrote in Xianqingju. Let me ask you, are you truly free of desire?"
"If I tell you that I really just want to be a small landowner by the river, will your Majesty believe me?"
Empress Xiao's eyebrows curved with laughter. "Do you think I will believe it?"
"So this is not important. What's important is, I want to ask you, Madam, who am I?"
Empress Xiao withdrew her gaze and looked at Fu Xiaoguan in surprise, as if she thought the question was very interesting, and then she burst into laughter.
"Who are you? Of course I hope you're Fu Xiaoguan, but..." Her smile suddenly faded, and her tone became as cold as ice, "But you're the bastard born of His Majesty and that bitch!"
Fu Xiaoguan stared at Empress Xiao's ferocious face with wide eyes, "You were just guessing!"
"But this is what His Majesty told me himself!"
"If I say that this is a trap set by His Majesty for today, would you believe me?"
Empress Xiao was shocked and said after a few breaths, "This is impossible!"
"Nothing is impossible in this world!" Fu Xiaoguan's expression also became extremely serious. He stared into Empress Xiao's eyes and said, "Have you ever thought about why he held such a literary gathering?"
"As for a literary gathering, there's no place more suitable than the Lanting Gathering in Jinling! He held this gathering specifically to get me to come. As soon as I showed up, you'd start making wild guesses. To reinforce your confidence in my identity, he announced the imperial edict after sending the invitation. Ostensibly, it was to choose the top scholar as Wu Ling'er's husband, but everyone knows my poetry and prose are unrivaled. So everyone thought Emperor Wen wanted to betroth Wu Ling'er to me. But when I arrived in Guanyun City, he rescinded the decree. It was then that rumors circulated that the Empress Dowager had the three-year diary. So you all mistakenly believed I was Ling'er's half-brother!"
"There are actually many loopholes in this. For example, there's no need to spread the news about the daily records. Instead, the Queen Mother could have said a word to make my identity clearer. But the Queen Mother didn't say anything. Why? Because she can't say it! If she did, I would really be his son. So he's been letting you guess, asking you to say it. Until now, he hasn't said that I am his son!"
"Do you understand the situation now? If you still don't, then I think it makes sense for you to stay here."
Empress Xiao's face changed several times. She thought of what Prince Wu Gan said: Father did not say that Fu Xiaoguan is his son!
Emperor Wen definitely did not say that!
So, he arranged all this to deal with me!
Empress Xiao's face turned pale and she felt empty inside.
Husband and wife for more than ten years...it turns out they have always been sleeping in the same bed but having different dreams!
After she understood the whole cause and effect, Fu Xiaoguan's words made her feel hopeless. She felt even more heartbroken than when she received the emperor's decree to be banished to the cold palace that night.
She had already lost this game from the very beginning.
All Your Majesty needs is a reason to depose the Queen!
She staggered back to the desk and sat down facing Fu Xiaoguan. Her originally beautiful face had lost its luster, and the light in her eyes also dimmed.
"I sigh for the world, only now do I realize how imperfect perfection is. Even if we are married, I still feel unhappy." She smiled sadly. "How ridiculous! In the end, I am only making things easier for others... It's a pity that I only understand a little bit of your book now."
"I've never begged anyone in my life, but now I'm asking you for help. If you're not his son, would you marry Wu Ling'er?"
"...How can I prove that I'm not his son?"
"Find the diary for those three years."
"Where?"
"In the Queen Mother's hands!"
"...Is it really in the Queen Mother's hands?"
"Of course. Besides, you didn't ask me who the first person to come see me was."
“…”
"Of course it's my daughter. She said she wanted to rescue me. Please tell her that I don't want to go out. This place... is cleaner than outside!"
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