"Your highness..." Dowager Consort Zhao's expression was in between tears and laughter. Her voice was chock full of sarcasm as she repeated it again.
She had mixed around the palace for thirty years. How many girls used their all, coming in like waves, rising and falling like the tide, just for the title of 'Imperial Concubine'? In the past, she was also one of these girls. But now, her time had passed and newcomers had long taken the stage from her.
Peiyun didn't say much. Her face had gone white and she didn't have any intention of trying to explain. Tears dripped down her swollen cheeks, plopping one by one onto the ground.
The shock of the group of young palace maids all burst out at the same time, they all charged forth trying to not get left behind: "Your highness, you have to make things right for the princess! That gonggong harbors malicious thoughts, Peiyun absolutely has some sinister scheme!"
"Impudent!" Dowager Consort Zhao picked up the teacup and threw it over. It shattered beside the feet of the beauties and several young palace maids were so scared they went absolutely quiet for a period of time. Only a moment later, they immediately knocked their heads hard against the floor, looking exactly like ostriches trying to bury their heads in the ground.
Dowager Consort Zhao's eyes were red, filled with boundless resentment and unresolved grievance. Her chest rose and fell fiercely, "Do the people beside his royal majesty need any of your opinions?"
Upon hearing this, the childish faces of the maids lost all color.
Su Peiyun had stayed by Princess Duanyang's side for five years. She was the oldest and most experienced palace maid in Fengyang Palace. She was once one of his royal majesty's people. If it were to be said that she was exchanging information with an eunuch in the palace, it was very likely that this person was a former co-worker of hers. An eunuch by the side of the son of heaven. However, she was shifty in her manner of dealing with things, causing people to have no other choice but to think she was up to something bad.
This kind of reasoning was something the young palace maids couldn't understand.
Dowager Consort Zhao however, knew deeply inside the possibility of it being true.
Would Peiyun have such great guts to harm princess Duanyang so openly? What if the mountain backing her was the almighty emperor himself?
"I understand. It's been so many years and my imperial son still keeps that matter hung up in his heart. He's had a rough road from a young age and was never close to this consort. I can only resign to fate." Dowager Consort Zhao held in her tears, looking both depressed and sorrowful.
"That year, that matter arose from me. Why can't he target me? Minmin is still young, how could he possibly choose to attack his own younger sister?!"
"Your highness!" A palace aunty's hands shook as she grabbed ahold of Dowager Consort Zhao's clothes, who had already lost all reasoning, in an attempt to stop her from speaking any further: "Your highness, please! Calm your anger."
Liu Fuyi and Mu Yao took a glance at one another before going taciturn and watching the chaotic imperial family's gratitude and resentments. According to rumors, Zhao Qinru was born in a prestigious family.
From a young age, she was pampered and spoiled. When she entered the palace, she even became a tyrannical pampered consort. The previous emperor was willing to pluck the stars and moonlight for her.
There was just one little hiccup he found difficult to give to her--supporting her to the position of Empress.
However, she always felt that she was the very last victor because the previous empress didn't bear any sons. The son she birthed was raised under the previous empress's name and had smoothly taken over the throne.
With things having reached this level today, she finally realized that she had completely lost.
This young son of heaven had been raised into a different kind of person by the previous empress. A different kind of person from her-A benevolent and noble person of high status who clearly differentiated between right and wrong. His attitude towards his birth mother was extremely equivocal. He always maintained his manners and politeness with her all the way till the end. So polite, it felt strange.
To the point that even many years after the previous empress died, Dowager Consort Zhao was unable to rise up to the position of Dowager Empress.
Formerly a consort pampered by all six palaces, and even the consort of the son of heaven, she held great honor with her son rising to the throne, seemingly enough to cover the heavens. Yet, in the end, she was still just a Dowager Consort.
Even the daughter she gave birth to and raised, his very own blood related sister, was only stuck with the name of a pampered princess by the emperor. There had never been a single day that she enjoyed her brother's intimate treatment before.
How could she not be angry? How could she possibly not go crazy?
Dowager Consort Zhao looked at Peiyun and seemed to see past the young girl's thin and pitiful face to see her son's unfamiliar and spurning gaze. Her voice filled with a harsh ruthlessness: "Lock her away in the Sky Prison! Don't give her any sustenance nor water. Don't let her commit suicide either!"
Standing up, the previously kneeling people all held back the words they wanted to spill out with. They all faintly realized that after today, a huge battle was about to erupt. Su Peiyun was merely a primer, a catalyst. If her son had previously come to look for his mother for people from her, this deep-seated contradiction was finally about to erupt.
"Your highness..." Peiyun, who had been roughly picked up, suddenly raised her head. Her hair messily stuck onto her face and her cheeks were still raised high up. "Peiyun has been at the princess's side for five years. I had always treated the princess as my own little sister in my love and care. I didn't do this, it wasn't his majesty either..."
Her voice grew more and more distant as she was brought away by the Imperial Bodyguards, accompanied by their curses and slaps. She slowly disappeared outside of the door.
With just a light rustle of her clothes, Mu Yao who was standing beside Liu Fuyi moved stealthily through the messy crowd and walked to the Imperial Physician's side. She picked up a small chunk of the soothing incense as she started to deeply scrutinize it.
Mu Yao suddenly raised her head, wanting to say something but Liu Fuyi shook his head at her.
With the tacit understanding between the members of the main leads, they only needed a few glances and could understand each other's meaning.
Bide your time.
"Mother Consort, this... what's going on?" After resting on the Imperial Consort's couch for about four hours, Princess Duanyang seemed to regain her mind and spirits as she softly opened her mouth.
"Princess! Princess you nearly scared us to death..." Peiyu immediately flew over and hugged onto Princess Duanyang's shin, "It was Peiyun's incense that was secretly used to harm you, her highness the Dowager Consort has already locked her in prison."
Duanyang's delicate lips moved slightly, her eyes filled with confusion. Upon hearing that Peiyun had been dragged away, she shut her lips. Her confusion very quickly turned into poor emotional pathos.
Liu Fuyi walked up to Duanyang, his expression filled with caring: "Does your highness feel much better now?"
Quickly, a red flush surfaced on Duanyang's face, her expression grew lively and spirited, "Much better. Thank you very much Brother Liu."
"Mhm. Rest well." Liu Fuyi patted her shoulder to console her and felt a nervous gaze landing on his hand like lightning. When he turned around, Peiyun and the other two palace maids had their heads lowered, kneeling as they knew their place.
Liu Fuyi ran his gaze over the large hall and smoothed out the corner of his clothes. Duanyang's clinging expression followed him but upon seeing that he slowly walked back to Mu Yao's side, the bundle of light within her eyes slowly extinguished.
"Sigh, every family has its own share of woe and issues. You all must've seen a great scene of a joke." With a meaningful glance, Dowager Consort Zhao had long indicated for someone to clean up the broken tea cup on the ground. Palace maids brought in new tea on pear blossom trays and deferentially put them onto the table.
Liu Fuyi had his head lowered as he gently caressed the lines of his palm. He looked just like a painting of a jade young master holding his silence.
A clear voice resounded: "All along this path we've traveled, we heard many interesting rumors and stories. The long day is boring and uninteresting, if your highness and the princess don't mind, why don't we sit together and have a talk?"
Two pairs of eyes looked at Ling Miaomiao.
The person in question had her hair brushed into twin tails. Her emerald green clothes made her seem delicate and charming. With her clearly defined apricot-shaped eyes half covered by a five petal plum blossom muslin handheld fan, her smiling expression was full of a naive, innocent air. Even if her choice of words were overly intimate, it didn't make one feel as if she was tossing their respect out the window either.
"Sure, sure." Duanyang took the initiative to clap her palms together and agree. She called people to bring over a prayer mat, completely not putting on any airs and sitting right beside Dowager Consort Zhao.
Because Ling Miaomiao always walked together with Mu Sheng, she didn't have a strong sense of suppression from her. Duanyang's impression of her wasn't bad. She seemed like she had already walked out of the shadow of her nightmares as she excitedly waved her hands at Peiyu, "You guys can go."
Peiyu's face was full of worry. She took three steps and turned around to look back before finally leaving.
The people within the palace closely cupped their ears against the door, like a horde of cicadas blocking the door. Outside of the square fence, rolling waves of green were faintly visible, it was the verdancy of summertime.
Dowager Consort Zhao still seemed like she had many thoughts on her mind as she waved her hand, wordlessly sending away the aunties waving fans.
Within the doors, there were only a few people left. Dowager Consort Zhao lowered her head to take a sip of tea. The tassels of the dangling ornament she wore covered her face as lightly shook: "Can we speak now?"
"Mother Consort..." Duanyang was somewhat shocked.
"Don't say anything for now." Dowager Consort Zhao quietly looked at Mu Yao. She didn't have any desire to continue putting on a front before the main leads, "This consort has some understanding of the Mu family. A demon hunter family. Treats any bit of evil as their enemy. As long as they take on a case, they would absolutely take responsibility till the end. I haven't over exaggerated, have I?"
Mu Yao's raised eyelashes leaped up, her eyes were clear and bright: "That's right."
"When this consort used a jade tablet to summon you all, I already made preparations within my heart." The corner of her lips curled up. Her complexion was somewhat bad, "What do you all want to ask? Please, go ahead."
Mu Yao put down a small chunk of half burnt incense on the table: "Your highness, did you think that the princess's nightmares were only a result of psychedelic incense?"
Duanyang turned around to look at her mother's face, her face filled with astonishment.
"How about this." Mu Sheng suddenly spoke up, a smile in the depths of his pitch black pupils, "Today's conversation will be split into two parts. Princess, please speak of the entire happenings of when you returned to the palace; The latter half, leave to your consort mother to participate in."
Duanyang first looked at Mu Sheng and only felt that his attitude was both proper and that he looked very handsome. He was a young master that caused others to feel charmed. However, she didn't expect his words to completely ignore standing and rank. She felt stifled and her face went red: You!"
However, Dowager Consort Zhao pressed down on her arm and spoke in a low voice: "This is fine."
Liu Fuyi poured a cup of tea for Duanyang himself and pushed it before her with both hands: "All the things we will ask princess today are related to the princess's safety in the future. Princess, please don't leave out anything."
Sure enough, Duanyang's fury was immediately extinguished by the tea sent from the person in her heart. She smiled as she lifted the teacup for a sip, "That is only natural."
Ling Miaomiao glanced over at Mu Yao's taut lips beside her and also copied her expression. She stared intently at Liu Fuyi, even exaggeratedly gripping her fist tightly, completely putting on the appearance of a teeth clenched, fuming young lady in love facing her rival in love.
Mu Sheng looked past his sister and out of the corner of his eye, took a glance at Ling Miaomiao's face full of great bitterness before turning around coldly to look out the window.
Liu Fuyi patiently waited for Duanyang to finish drinking her tea, "Please pardon me. Princess, please can you recall the details of your nightmares?"
Duanyang's face immediately turned pale white. Her breaths became rapid and looked at her mother in a cry for help. Unfortunately, she didn't expect Dowager Consort Zhao to rigidly pinch her wrist, a look of irrefutability suffusing the depths of her eyes: "Minmin, think about it carefully."
"In my dream... in my dream I was in Xingshan Temple. There was a group of people... a group of people calling me 'Goddess'. They said they had been waiting for me for a long time and that I should follow them."
Hearing the word 'Goddess', Dowager Consort Zhao's lashes jumped up. She clenched her teeth and strived hard to suppress her emotions.
"And then?"
Duanyang seemed to have a headache now as she used her hands to softly press down on her temples: "... I walked with them, walked a long distance. We passed by wheat fields before returning to Xingshan Temple."
They exchanged glances, Liu Fuyi motionlessly continued on: "Did you discover any changes in Xingshan Temple?"
"Changes..." Duanyang nodded, her gaze filled with doubt, "Xinshan Temple seemed somewhat different from when I went... the temple was filled with people, all kneeling and calling out 'The Goddess has arrived'... as if they were about to start some kind of... ceremony."
Difficult to detect, Dowager Consort Zhao's hand trembled all of a sudden as cold sweat started to pour out of her temples.
"And then and then?"
"And then..." Duanyang suddenly clenched her teeth, face turning flushed. Dread and embarrassment flashed through her eyes, "This princess doesn't want to speak!"
"Minmin..." Dowager Consort Zhao closed her eyes and embraced her daughter's thin, delicate arm. "There are no outsiders here, just say it."
Duanyang held in her tears, as if this trip down memory lane was full of humiliation and embarrassment, and clenched her teeth to say: "Upon entering the great hall, I saw... I saw many clay statues of Buddha. There were men and females all... they were all..."
"They were in the midst of a joyous occasion?" Mu Yao's voice was crisp and made people feel calm and at ease, unable to birth even a thread of bad thoughts within their heads.
Duanyang's gaze turned terrified and she nodded after a long time had passed.