Meanwhile, Zhang Ru in the palace finally noticed something was amiss. Initially, Xuanyuan Hao seemed restrained, only visiting a few times. It was she, the empress, who spent nearly every day with Huang Mengling. Later, however, it became clear that, aside from attending court, Xuanyuan Hao spent nearly all day in Wangyue Tower, where Huang Mengling resided.
He accompanied Huang Mengling for meals and tea, taught her calligraphy and painting, and sent a steady stream of rare treasures and all kinds of novel and interesting gadgets found among the people to Wangyue Tower.
But when she, the queen, went to visit, she felt like an outsider every time and couldn't get a word in. Xuanyuan Hao just left her there in an awkward position.
But every time she went there, she could see the more magnificent and beautiful Wangyue Tower.
A rare sight even for noble ladies, the "Jiao Ye Ya" silk fabric changes color with the changing light and shadows in the sun, and shimmers like ripples in the moonlight. Xuanyuan Hao once gifted Zhang Ru a dress made of "Jiao Ye Ya" silk, which delighted her so much that she loved it and wore it once at the coronation ceremony.
Now, more than 20 mermaid dresses of different colors and styles were carefully carried by more than 40 palace maids and sent into the Moon Watching Tower.
When she walked into the Moon Watching Tower, she heard Huang Mengling say to Xuanyuan Hao, "It would be very beautiful to use this night-sleeve yarn as a bed curtain. It would be like sleeping under the stars."
Xuanyuan Hao's doting voice: "Okay, let them do it."
Huang Mengling: "What color is good? Ink, cyan, or rouge?"
Xuanyuan Hao: "Pass it on and have them work immediately, day and night, to make one set of each of these three colors of bed curtains."
When they saw her come in, they both fell silent. While she was talking, one of them drank tea while the other asked the maid to tidy up her skirt, as if she didn't exist.
She had no choice but to leave. Xuanyuan Hao didn't even glance at her, instead issuing an order in front of her: "From today on, the Imperial Guards will be on duty at Wangyue Tower. The Queen is not allowed to enter Wangyue Tower without her permission."
She didn't even understand why this had happened. A young couple, they'd been through countless plots and battles together, how could it be like this? Why would her husband do this to her? Why would Huang Mengling do this to her?
I heard there were three sets of bed curtains made of mermaid yarn: one set embellished with pearls, one set inlaid with gemstones, and one set embellished with peacock feathers. During the day, the peacock feather set, with its shifting rouge hues and the delicately interspersed white, blue, and green feathers, shimmered in the sunlight, creating the illusion of an immortal dwelling within.
In the evening, the palace maids would change into suits adorned with gems or pearls, and listen to the palace maids' discussions. The place was full of glittering lights and the moonlight shone on it, making the inside and outside look like stars.
Under such a moving and wonderful scene, Xuanyuan Hao stayed in Wangyue Tower. The next day, an imperial decree was issued, conferring Huang Mengling the title of Imperial Concubine Ming, and Wangyue Tower was renamed Zhenyue Tower.
At the same time, an oral order was issued to the three palaces and six courtyards, and the title of Concubine Ming was given as Ming, which means the bright side of the first month. In His Majesty's mind, Concubine Ming was a person who stood shoulder to shoulder with him.
This was a public slap in the face of her, the queen, to establish Huang Mengling's authority. He was afraid that her status as a second-married wife of a minister would be humiliated and she would be wronged, but he did not care about hurting his wife's reputation.
When she had gone to the Duke of Xiangguo's mansion to rescue Huang Mengling, the girl she had considered her little sister had hugged her and burst into tears. Later, she had seen dependence and joy in Huang Mengling's eyes. Were they all fake? Then there was laziness, boredom, contempt, even disgust and contempt, mixed with pity for her.
Since Xuanyuan Hao stayed at Wangyue Tower, he and Huang Mengling have become even closer.
She had been ill for a long time and finally got better. At the persuasion of her personal maid, she went for a walk in the garden, but she met Xuanyuan Hao and Huang Mengling as if they were enemies.
She lowered her head, not wanting to see the two of them. Xuanyuan Hao also acted as if he didn't see her, and just walked past holding Huang Mengling's hand.
But Huang Mengling suddenly stopped and said, "It's been a long time since we last met. When my sister was still a boudoir girl, she was the most outstanding woman in the capital, excelling in music, chess, calligraphy, painting, riding, archery, rituals, and music. Yet, now that she has met His Majesty, she has shown no courtesy at all. So this is what a lady from a noble family does."
Xuanyuan Hao stopped when he heard this, waiting for her to salute. She had no choice but to go over and salute: "Greetings, Your Majesty. May Your Majesty be blessed with good health."
Xuanyuan Hao glanced at her and tried to leave, but Huang Mengling tugged at his sleeve and didn't budge. He smiled indulgently, then coldly spat out two words to Zhang Ru: "A great gift."
She had no choice but to drag her sick body across the muddy garden ground and kneel and kowtow.
When the maid helped her to stand up, Huang Mengling had something else to say: "Sister, why are you looking at me? Are you waiting for me to pay my respects? Well, you are the Empress of the Central Palace, so it is my responsibility to pay my respects." But these words sounded like she was mocking Zhang Ru's wishful thinking and overestimating her own abilities.
Zhang Ru looked at her calmly. "Look at her? Wait for her to bow?" Actually, she hadn't looked at her, nor had she thought of asking her to bow. But since Huang Mengling had spoken, it seemed like she was just going to use Xuanyuan Hao to stab her again.
As expected, Xuanyuan Hao glanced at Zhang Ru coldly: "I have already allowed Meng Ling to see me without bowing. She can see me without bowing, so there is no need for her to be polite when seeing you."
Zhang Ru lowered her head and bowed slightly, "I understand."
Xuanyuan Hao looked at her deeply, then left with Huang Mengling, followed by a long line of palace servants.
She didn't want to recall the dreams that followed. Her maids were beaten to death one by one, she was slapped in the face and forced to kneel. She had rescued the dying Huang Mengling from the icy courtyard, and now, because of Huang Mengling, she was punished to kneel at the palace's bustling Spring Festival banquet. Ye Zhou favored his concubine over his wife, and she had gone to save him. Now, Xuanyuan Hao favored his concubine over his wife, and she had stabbed him, even worse.
No one could save her, she had no father or brother left behind.
Then, her son, the eldest prince, was sent to the battlefront between the two armies. The thirteen-year-old boy died from a thousand arrows piercing his heart. His body was pierced like a hedgehog, and the irony was that even more arrows came from his back, densely packed, each one piercing his heart, his entire body stained with blood.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
