The Queen Mother has gone through countless ups and downs in her life. She has experienced the struggle for the throne from the previous emperor and the current emperor, witnessed the dirtiest and most sordid human hearts, faced countless unscrupulous means, and been stabbed in the back all the way to today. She thought that it was the end, and even if there were some minor disturbances, they would not cause big waves. But the current situation was definitely not one of them.
Carved railings and jade bricks could still be seen on the walls of the room, but the furniture that was supposed to be there was gone. Only bedding was laid out in a long row near the inside, more than enough for ten children to sleep in.
At this time, there were eight children sitting on the bed, all wearing white smocks. The skinny and scary little girl stood in the front. She looked like she would fall down if the wind blew, but she was still vigilant and tried to hide the children behind her who were a size bigger than her or even more.
The Queen Mother did not move closer. She looked at the strangely overly clean room with a half-smile, "This is the first time I know there is such a... simple place in the palace. Can anyone help me solve this puzzle?"
Yuxiang came forward with a trembling palace maid. It was obvious that she had pried open the maid's mouth before, otherwise she wouldn't be so scared. "My queen, she is the one serving here."
The maid knelt down hurriedly, "May the Queen Mother be blessed with good health and long life."
Sitting down on the chair brought by Yuxiang, the Queen Mother looked at the panicked palace maid and her heart sank. She subconsciously did not want to investigate the truth and did not want to know what had happened in this room. She knew too many things that could not be shown to others, so many that she was full of resistance just by listening to the sound.
But she had no choice.
The Queen Mother sighed deeply in her heart, straightened her back, and tensed her whole body. "Tell me in detail."
The maid crawled on the ground, her body trembling, her voice trembling, "This is... this is... these children were sent from outside the palace. Yes, yes, Madam, Madam Yue wants to use them for the emperor, to treat the emperor's illness."
"How to cure it?"
The palace maid's body trembled visibly. "Take it from these children, take blood to invigorate their blood, and then add the flesh and blood of your heart..."
"Pah!" The Queen Mother's chest rose and fell sharply. Her palms were numb because she clapped the armrest too hard, but she seemed not to feel it. She stood up, pushed away Yuxiang who came to help her, squatted in front of the palace maid, and said softly, "Tell me again, how did Yuepin treat her illness?"
The palace maid was trembling with fear, and was suppressed by the phoenix's power and couldn't utter a word.
"explain!"
"Yes, yes, yes, take the blood from these children and then feed them with your dearest flesh and blood..."
The Queen Mother's body swayed, and she almost fell to the ground. Yuxiang quickly stepped forward to support her, gently but firmly helping her sit back down, and turned back to say in a deep voice: "Continue."
The palace maid took a few quick breaths and said, "Empress Yue took Huoxuefu from the child and mixed it with other medicines. Give it to the emperor three times a day. The emperor's spirits will improve significantly after each dose."
"How long has it been like this?"
"To answer your Majesty, it started before the New Year."
It has been so long, how could the child who was her beloved daughter survive? The Queen Mother closed her eyes, and felt extremely uncomfortable in her heart. She could accept that her son was ruthless, absurd, unfilial, etc., which were human problems, but she could not accept that her son had become... not even a human being.
Several princes were also shocked and couldn't say a word. This was something they had never thought of.
The same was true for the Fourth Prince. It was the first time he knew so clearly how Concubine Yue treated the Emperor. Concubine Yue had never told him about it.
What frightened him even more was the next words.
“Who sent so many people?”
"I don't know."
The Queen Mother snorted and laughed, "I believe you really don't know, but there must be someone who knows, go and check."
Yuxiang bowed and hurried out to give orders.
The Queen Mother looked at the children huddled together again. She couldn't imagine how much damage this would do to Daqing's national destiny if the King of the Gu family treated the people he was supposed to protect in this way!
Those things that cannot be seen or touched may not reward you if you are kind, because people are supposed to be kind, but if you do evil, they will remember you and return it to you double or tenfold one day.
Her son, the current emperor, has ruined not only himself, but also the country of Daqing!
"Hua Zhi."
Hua Zhi, who had been standing behind, stepped forward in response.
"You deal with children a lot, so you can go up to them and ask them questions. Even if you don't ask them questions, you can comfort them and let them know... that the suffering is over."
"yes."
Hua Zhi did not step forward immediately, but calmed herself down first so as not to look too angry. Then she walked slowly but without any hesitation towards the little girl. When the little girl was so nervous that she almost rushed over, she squatted down two steps away from her.
Smiling gently, Hua Zhi asked softly, "Are you protecting them?"
The little girl stared at her and didn't answer.
"Has anyone ever protected you like this before?"
The little girl bit her lip and her eyes turned red almost instantly.
Hua Zhi's heart trembled, and she softened her tone and continued, "They must have tried very hard to protect you so that you could survive, right? So you also want to try so hard to protect others, you want them to be alive too, right?"
Tears flowed silently down the little girl's face, and the invisible but real thorns on her body seemed to soften.
Hua Zhi took a step forward and turned sideways, pointing in the direction of the Queen Mother and said softly, "Do you know who this noble lady is? It's the Queen Mother. Do you know who the Queen Mother is? She is the mother of the Emperor, and she is the one that the Emperor has to give way to. Before, the Queen Mother didn't know that you were imprisoned here, so she couldn't come to save you. Now the Queen Mother knows, and she is right in front of you. You can tell the Queen Mother everything, and the Queen Mother will make the decision for you."
The little girl looked at Hua Zhi, then at the Queen Mother, and suddenly hid behind Hua Zhi.
Obviously, after comparison, she felt that her sister with a beautiful smile in front of her made her feel more at ease.
The Queen Mother smiled, but as she smiled tears fell without warning. She had thought her heart had long been as hard as a rock, but now she realized that it was only because she had never encountered anything that could move her, even if that thing seemed so ordinary.
Hua Zhi turned around very naturally and took a step forward, gently wiping the little girl's face with a handkerchief, "Sister asked you a question, can you answer it?"
The little girl pursed her lips, looked back at her companion, then moved a little closer, hesitantly nodded slightly.
"Sister wants to know why they are all a little... sturdy?"
The little girl whispered, "I used to be strong too."
Hua Zhi understood instantly, "Are all the others this strong?"
The little girl nodded, looked down at her chicken claw-like hands, then secretly glanced at the hands of the noble sister in front of her, and shyly hid her hands behind her back.
PS: I know you guys aren’t satisfied with what you’ve read, so I’ll save some of it. It’s hard to write.