Chapter 200 Entering Anle Hall for the First Time, Feeling Guilty
Where is Anletang?
Prince Yong stood up, brushed the dirt off his robe, and his face was full of joy.
"I'll take you there right away."
Ji Qingwu quickly said, "Your Highness, please find a reliable eunuch to take me there. I don't want to stay with you."
Prince Yong's chest heaved rapidly beneath his sapphire blue robes, he breathed heavily through his nostrils, and nodded through gritted teeth.
Led by a eunuch, Ji Qingwu arrived at the entrance of Anhua Hall.
From the outside, the palace looked no different from the others, with its gates tightly closed.
The eunuch went up and knocked on the door. After a long time, an old woman dressed in a gray cloth dress came out.
The eunuch had already become familiar with her and secretly slipped her a bulging bag of silver.
The old woman said with a smile, "Please rest assured, Your Highness, we servants will take good care of the Princess. Ever since she came in, we haven't let her do any rough work and have been taking good care of her."
The eunuch said, "Aunt Cao, the prince has invited a female physician to examine the princess."
The old woman surnamed Cao narrowed her triangular eyes when she saw Ji Qingwu behind the eunuch.
"It's not that this old servant is disrespectful to Your Highness, but His Majesty ordered the Princess Consort to be detained here and no one was allowed to visit her. I am risking my life to do this for Your Highness."
Granny Cao refused, saying, "If just anyone can enter this Anle Hall, no one will follow the rules here anymore, and this will be difficult for this old servant to handle."
The eunuch then took out a large gold ingot from his pocket, and Granny Cao's eyes lit up. She immediately snatched it.
Only then did she relent and say, "Father-in-law, she can only go in by herself. She must dress up as one of the workers in our hall."
Ji Qingwu was then able to enter, having changed into a similarly drab gray outfit.
Only after she entered the palace did she realize what two worlds meant.
Outside the palace gates lies the dazzling splendor and wealth of the imperial palace, while inside these gates lies a place of unbearable cold and hardship.
All I could see were young women doing laundry and other chores. Just by looking at their complexions, I could tell they were suffering from both qi and blood deficiency. I wondered how long they had been working, and their bodies were completely ruined.
Behind them stood four or five overseer women, who would yell at anyone who was even slightly slow.
There were also new employees who couldn't stand the intense work and could only cry while washing and scrubbing the toilet.
Ji Qingwu took a few more glances and discovered that one of them was Yinxiang, a maidservant of Princess Yong.
Her expression remained unchanged as she asked, "Aunt Cao, does Princess Yong also have to do these chores?"
Granny Cao laughed contemptuously: "The princess is definitely different from these servants who have made mistakes; she should be pampered and treated with luxury."
Anletang sounds like a good name.
But everything he did was the opposite of comfort and ease; he worked day and night without regard to day or night.
The emperor did not issue an edict ordering Prince Yong to depose his concubine, Tao Wanyin, who remained a princess. However, Yinxiang, being a slave, could not escape such punishment.
Granny Cao led her into a room, and when she pushed open the door, Ji Qingwu looked surprised.
This was a large dormitory room, with bedding and pillows for at least twenty people, even worse than the servants' quarters in the Ji family mansion.
The room smelled sour and musty. Ji Qingwu looked at the walls and saw gray mold spots in the corners.
Seeing Ji Qingwu cover her nose with her hand, Granny Cao looked at her fair and delicate hands.
He asked casually, "You must be from a wealthy family, so why did you become a doctor and do this kind of servant work?"
Seeing her outstanding appearance, Granny Cao assumed she worked in the palace and thought that if she ever felt unwell, she could ask her for help, so she decided to befriend her.
He advised, "You shouldn't have agreed to come see this disgraced princess."
Ji Qingwu glanced at her: "Why do you say that, Aunt?"
Granny Cao said, "I've been in this palace for several years now. So what if the prince is concerned about me? Who is it that has the princess detained here?"
She cupped her rough hands and continued, "If she offends the Emperor, the Princess Yong will never have a chance to rise in rank."
Ji Qingwu took out a handkerchief to temporarily cover her mouth and nose, and said, "Aunt Cao, why does this room smell so strange?"
After smelling it so many times, Granny Cao no longer found it strange; instead, she thought Granny Cao was being nosy.
He urged, "Naturally, it can't compare to the fragrant aroma in the palace ladies' halls. Miss, hurry up and finish examining the princess, and then leave as soon as you're done."
Ji Qingwu looked around but did not see Tao Wanyin.
He asked, "Where is the Princess?"
Granny Cao peeked out and pointed to the innermost corner of the dormitory.
He said with disdain, "He's just sitting there by the cabinet, lost in thought. I have other things to keep an eye on. Once you've found someone you like, come out right away."
Ji Qingwu then noticed the woman in the gray robe huddled in front of the peeling pear blossom chest.
She lifted her foot and gently walked up to her.
Even though I was prepared, I was still touched by Tao Wanyin's haggard appearance when I saw her.
The eaves were too high, making the interior dimly lit.
Her figure appeared exceptionally frail, as if a gust of wind could blow her away.
Her eyes were empty and unfocused; even if Ji Qingwu stood right in front of her, she seemed not to see him.
"princess."
He heard the woman's voice, as gentle as a spring breeze.
Tao Wanyin raised her head very slowly. When she saw that it was Ji Qingwu, her face remained expressionless, as if she had lost the strength to make an expression.
His chapped lips parted and closed a few times: "Where is there any princess here?"
Ji Qingwu stated his purpose directly, saying, "Prince Yong asked me to come in and see if the Princess is alright."
Upon hearing the name Prince Yong, Tao Wanyin finally showed an expression; her eyes lit up with resentment.
"Are you here to show off?"
Ji Qingwu froze, his breath caught in his throat.
I'm really fed up with these people who are practically on their deathbeds and still have their minds full of romance and love.
From Princess Yong's behavior, she could tell that Tao Wanyin was not truly disheartened or devoid of interest in life.
Because, there is still resentment towards her.
This precisely demonstrates that Tao Wanyin still couldn't let go of Prince Yong.
Tao Wanyin held her head high, her thin neck appearing starkly defined.
"What are you doing here? Are you here to gloat and tell me that the Tao family is about to fall and that I, the princess, will be deposed sooner or later, and that you've come here specifically to show off your power?"
Her voice was hoarse yet high-pitched: "And by the way, accuse me of disregarding the alliance and turning against you in front of the Empress Dowager!"
Ji Qingwu put down the handkerchief and said slowly, "Your Highness, there are some things I can't quite remember anymore, but you still keep thinking about them. Does that mean—"
Tao Wanyin's thin and frail body trembled, as if her heart was being ripped out.
Ji Qingwu said, "You feel guilty."
Since being detained at Anletang.
No one in the Tao family dared to visit her.
Only her maid, Yinxiang, was by her side, but she felt guilty for dragging Yinxiang down with her.
One day, she was inside the main gate when Yinxiang, who had secretly run outside the hall, heard her seemingly crying and pleading with someone.
Yinxiang and that person seemed to have a close relationship.
She was begging that person to rescue her as soon as possible.
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