Upon hearing the sound, Granny Mang immediately rushed a few steps from the side of the heated couch where she was standing and helped the Empress Dowager to her feet. Yan Ning then realized that the laughter had just come from the Empress Dowager.
The Empress Dowager leaned against the brocade quilt, her eyes half-closed, and said, "If she were still in the palace, wouldn't the current mistress of Cining Palace be replaced by someone else!"
The Empress Dowager's voice wasn't loud, but it carried a mocking coldness. Yan Ning was startled, slid off the round wooden chair, and knelt on the ground.
She said in a panic, "Your Majesty, please understand, Yan Ning did not mean that. I just really don't know who Miss Yue is."
The Empress Dowager sneered, "Who is she? She's nothing but a vixen! Empress Xiaogongren never intended for the late Emperor to ascend the throne. If she were to be found to have an affair with the Holy Ancestor's concubine, not only would he lose his title, but the late Emperor would also lose his life!"
The Empress Dowager's words today were completely opposite to those she had said when she gave Consort Rong the jade pendant. Yan Ning stared blankly at the Empress Dowager, feeling that Miss Yue's identity was becoming increasingly mysterious.
Yan Ning lowered her head, not daring to look at the Empress Dowager's angry face, and still asked in confusion, "But Yan Ning saw how much the Empress Dowager cherished Miss Yue's jade pendant the other day, how could she be such a person?"
After a long while, Yan Ning could no longer hear the Empress Dowager's voice, and then she heard soft snoring. She looked up and saw that the Empress Dowager had already fallen into a deep sleep.
Yan Ning was puzzled; why was the Empress Dowager, who was so fond of sleeping, dressed so formally? She noticed that the Yuanmingyuan Garden was quiet and deserted, with no major festivals in sight.
Without the Empress Dowager's decree, Granny Zhuang dared not let Yan Ning get up. Yan Ning remained kneeling, fortunately the soft carpet in the bedchamber kept her knees cool, but having not been punished like this for a long time, she felt some backache and abdominal pain.
Yan Ning didn't know how long she had been kneeling, only that it had gotten completely dark. Granny Zhuang ordered the palace maids to light lamps and covered the candlesticks with oiled paper, letting out a dazzling yellow light.
Granny Zhuang stood beside the warm couch where the Empress Dowager rested, guarding her without moving an inch, as if she were guarding her most precious treasure. Yan Ning had heard from palace servants that Granny Zhuang had followed the Empress Dowager since childhood, serving her by her side without ever marrying, and therefore had no children.
Yan Ning guessed that her feelings for the Empress Dowager had long surpassed those of a mistress and servant. In Granny Zhuang's heart, the Empress Dowager was her family and mistress.
In the desolate palace, most of the former emperor's concubines who had competed with the Empress Dowager for the throne had passed away. Those who remained in Cining Palace to keep the Empress Dowager company in her twilight years were either former friends of hers or those whom the Empress Dowager wanted to humiliate and avenge.
The current emperor is known throughout the world for his virtue and filial piety, but his luxurious and beautiful palaces, such as the Cining Palace and Changchun Immortal Hall, are merely places for him to settle down and spend his later years. Although the Empress Dowager has many children and grandchildren, the only one who can accompany her every day and understand her thoughts is Granny Zhuang.
Yan Ning knelt not far from the base of the bed. The Empress Dowager lay flat in her eyes, her hands clasped on her abdomen, her eyes closed. This posture was very much like sleeping in a glass coffin.
In the palace, only Yan Ning was kneeling, Granny Zhuang was standing, and the Empress Dowager was lying down.
Granny Zhuang stood motionless, her skin ruddy, her wrinkles clearly visible, resembling a wax figure from Yan Ning's era. The dim candlelight spilled onto the bright yellow brocade quilt covering the Empress Dowager, creating an eerie atmosphere. Yan Ning glanced around at the antique furnishings, feeling as if she were kneeling in the chamber of an imperial tomb. Terrified by this thought, she wiped the cold sweat from her brow with her gold-embroidered sleeve, daring not to look at her surroundings any further.
When the palace maid came to add charcoal to the brazier, the hall came alive again. After adding the charcoal, the maid silently withdrew. Yan Ning couldn't help but look at the Empress Dowager lying down. The candlelight shone on the oiled paper window frames and reflected back. The Empress Dowager's eyes suddenly opened in the dim darkness, startling Yan Ning so much that she covered her mouth to stop herself from crying out. The gold thread on her sleeve, which she had just used to wipe away sweat, was stained with face powder, filling the air with her breath. This made her realize that she was not in a tomb.
Granny Zhuang stepped forward to help the Empress Dowager up. The Empress Dowager supported herself with one hand as she stood up, her eyes wide open. Yan Ning met her brown, transparent, almost empty eyes and felt a chill run down her spine.
In an instant, the Empress Dowager's eyes blazed with fury as she looked at Yan Ning. "Do you think your return can change the world? The trumpet creeper hangs on the holly tree, the flowers wither at the end of the year but the tree remains. All things have their roots, and sowing rice will never yield bean sprouts! No matter how many times you, Qingyue, are reincarnated, you will still die by my hand. I hold onto this life so that we may perish together!"
The Empress Dowager's aged and withered face was covered in loose powder, revealing the texture of her skin like a withered tree peeling its bark.
Yan Ning was stunned and paralyzed with fear at the Empress Dowager's current appearance. She knew that the Empress Dowager had spoken to the wrong person, but the fierceness on her face was meant for her.
Granny Zhuang looked at Yan Ning with pity in her eyes, a pity that made Yan Ning sense the scent of death. She instinctively stood up, wanting to run out, to escape the Empress Dowager's bedchamber. Her legs were weak; she had only taken a few steps when she heard Granny Zhuang's mournful cry behind her, "Your Majesty the Empress Dowager!" Her voice was hoarse, as if drowned in tears.
Yan Ning turned around and saw that the Empress Dowager had already closed her eyes and collapsed into Granny Zhuang's arms. Granny Zhuang slumped in a corner of the warm couch, supporting the Empress Dowager with one hand and covering her mouth with the other. Tears slid down her fingers one after another, landing on the large pearl on the Empress Dowager's crown and shattering.
In a short while, Granny Man helped the Empress Dowager lie down. She then called out towards the curtains, "Eunuch Lin!"
Eunuch Lin jogged past Yan Ning, who was surprised that she hadn't known he had been waiting there all along. It seemed that the Empress Dowager had arranged everything in advance.
Eunuch Lin bowed deeply to Granny Zhuang, saying, "Granny, please give your orders!"
Granny Zhuang looked at Yan Ning, suppressing her grief. The Empress Dowager's decree could not be disobeyed, but she also felt pity for her. She let out a long sigh, hoping that Yan Ning could live a little longer.
This chapter is not finished yet. Please click on the next page to continue reading the exciting content!
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
