Ah Xiang nodded, picked up a paper umbrella and a hand warmer, and walked towards Linhua Palace with Yun Duoduo without taking any other palace maids with her.
She knew they were getting closer and closer to the truth.
Ah Xiang looked up at the sky, and tears involuntarily streamed down her face.
【Miss, I have not disappointed you. Duoduo has grown up safely and will soon be of marriageable age.】
Those who harmed the young lady will surely face retribution.
...
The Lin Hua Palace was eerily quiet, and the snow-covered interior added to the chilling atmosphere.
Yun Duoduo gestured for A Xiang to wait for her in the side hall, as she was prepared to face Consort Li herself, the murderer who killed her mother.
“Princess…” Ah Xiang looked at Yun Duoduo with concern.
"This servant will go in with the princess."
After all, Consort Li has lived in this palace for many years. What if she wants to harm their princess?
Yun Duoduo squeezed A Xiang's hand and gestured with her eyes that she was alright.
Ah Xiang sighed inwardly and said nothing more.
Yun Duoduo lifted the heavy curtain in front of the Linhua Palace and went inside.
There was only Consort Li inside; all the palace maids beside her had been sent away.
"You've arrived. I was just wondering when you would return." Consort Li, who had her back to the door, slowly turned around to look at Yun Duoduo upon hearing the voice.
Looking at Consort Li's expression, Yun Duoduo seemed to know that she was coming.
"You've finally arrived. The anxiety that has been weighing on my mind day and night can finally be put to rest." Consort Li's tone was calm, as if she felt a great weight had been lifted off her shoulders.
"It really is you."
Out of respect for her seventh brother, Yun Yiqiu, Yun Duoduo refused to believe that Consort Li was truly the one who killed her mother.
But judging from Consort Li's appearance and the words she spoke, her mother's death was definitely related to Consort Li.
[Consort Li's disguise is truly excellent.]
Yun Duoduo had visited Linhua Palace several times, but each time she saw Consort Li, her behavior was not unusual, and she had no inner thoughts.
That's why she didn't get any clues at all.
"Why did you do this?" Yun Duoduo sat opposite Consort Li and poured herself a glass of water.
Facing the enemy before her, Yun Duoduo suppressed the hatred in her heart. Her hands trembled slightly as she calmly looked at Consort Li and listened to her explain why she had harmed her mother.
Consort Li breathed a sigh of relief, looked out the window, and began to tell her story.
"I was sixteen when I first entered the palace. As soon as I entered, I gained His Majesty's favor and became pregnant with his child."
"This made me think that His Majesty would favor me alone in the future."
Consort Li gave a self-deprecating laugh.
"But later, a long time passed, and I was unable to see His Majesty again."
"People in the palace are all very observant. Since His Majesty is no longer coming, my palace has naturally become quiet and lonely. Even most of the palace maids and eunuchs have left to serve the more favored concubines."
"Fortunately, I have Qiu'er, so my days are not so lonely."
Consort Li spoke slowly, smoothing the stray hairs at her temples. Without looking at Yun Duoduo, she continued, "Then, on New Year's Eve, it's funny to say. His Majesty was drunk that day, and I happened to help him back to rest. It was another night of imperial favor."
"This time, I am pregnant with the emperor's child again. I don't know if it is Heaven's mercy or Heaven's cruelty."
"When I learned that I was pregnant again, I was overjoyed. I thought that if I could have a daughter, I would have no regrets in this life."
"The book describes a life with both sons and daughters, and a peaceful and stable life, and I have achieved both."
"That year was the day when foreign officials entered the palace. My father came to see me and brought a doctor from our clan with him."
"The doctor could tell that I was carrying a girl. My father was very unhappy at the time, but I was very happy."
Yun Duoduo shook her head. How could a doctor tell whether a pregnant woman is carrying a boy or a girl without the aid of any instruments?
It's all a lie.
"I am very careful with that child. I don't eat anything that the imperial physicians forbid. In order to protect the fetus, I rarely even leave the house, for fear that something might go wrong."
"But I never expected that in the end my daughter still couldn't be saved."
"She's so young, so fragile, so adorable."
"I pray day and night for my child, hoping that she can be reincarnated and reborn into a good family."
"Live a peaceful and stable life, and never be born into a wealthy family, let alone into the royal family. That way, you won't have so many things that are beyond your control."
Large tears rolled down Consort Li's face as she clutched her handkerchief tightly, trying to control her emotions.
"Just when I was heartbroken, Consort Bai became pregnant with the emperor's child."
Yun Duoduo interrupted Consort Li and questioned her, "Even if my mother is pregnant with the emperor's child, it will not shake your position at all."
Why did you want to hurt her?
"Women in the harem already have so many hardships. If they can't support each other, why take her life?!" Yun Duoduo said angrily. She hated Consort Li, hated her for harming her mother, hated her for making her lose her mother at birth, hated her for being indifferent to her mother's death, and hated her for speaking of the past so casually.
I hate her even more for not showing the slightest remorse or guilt for what she did.
What a cold and hard heart.
Consort Li smiled faintly, wiped away the tears on her face, and continued, "I told His Majesty that the physician in my household is most skilled in the art of treating fertility diseases and can definitely help Consort Bai with her pregnancy."
"His Majesty then allowed the physician to take Bai Jieyu's pulse, and unexpectedly, she was also carrying a daughter."
Consort Li paused here, then burst into laughter as if she had gone mad: "Your mother is carrying a daughter, who must be the reincarnation of my deceased daughter!"
Consort Li's voice suddenly grew louder. She looked at Yun Duoduo with a face full of surprise. Yun Duoduo shivered and looked at Consort Li, who seemed to be going crazy.
"Reincarnated soul?"
Given Consort Li's state of mind at the time, it's certainly possible she thought that way.
[However, who is this doctor in Consort Li's household? How could he actually determine the sex of the child she's carrying?]
"I was thinking, this is my daughter, why should Consort Bai raise her and make her the mother?"
Consort Li's voice trembled slightly, filled with hatred. Her hands were clenched tightly, her long nails digging into her flesh, and blood dripped down.
"If your mother dies, can this baby girl be entrusted to me for upbringing?"
"Does this mean I can get my child back?"
Consort Li suddenly turned around and grasped Yun Duoduo's shoulder.
"My child! As long as Consort Bai dies, I can take my child back!"
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