No one slept peacefully in the palace.
Haoyue opened her eyes and weakly supported herself on the ground to sit up. It took her a moment to get used to the darkness. She didn't even know when she fainted.
"Someone come."
It was deathly quiet, but Haoyue was not surprised. This was how it was in the palace. Whoever gained power could call the shots. If one lost power, others would be considered kind-hearted if they did not take advantage of the situation.
He stretched out his hand, his fingertips were blurry. Haoyue smiled gently and forced himself to stand up. He groped his way to the side and touched the wall. He felt relieved. He walked forward and touched the door. He pulled it, but as expected, it would not open.
After standing still for a moment, Haoyue turned and walked to the middle of the room. According to the structure of the palace, there should be an octagonal table in front. She was a little thirsty.
She did touch it, but the height was not like an octagonal table...
etc!
Haoyue suddenly thought of something and instinctively took several steps back until he was at the door with nowhere to go. Then he turned around and clung to the door as if he wanted to feel a little safe. Here, here is...
How could that be!
But, how could it not happen!
Haoyue closed his eyes, and his already weak body slid down the door to the ground. In this palace, there were always unexpected things. The old hag had been in the palace for a lifetime, so she knew how to hit people's weak points.
She was not afraid, Haoyue told herself in her heart, she was not afraid at all. If they died in her hands while they were alive, they would never be able to turn over even after they died!
A faceless face suddenly broke into her mind, and Haoyue screamed muffledly. That child, that was her child. No, no, no, that was not it. She would not give birth to that kind of monster. She would not. She had clearly ordered people to do everything and had never been involved herself. She had clearly kept anyone who might hurt the child away from her. Why did this still happen? Why!
Hugging herself with her hands around her knees, Haoyue sat down close to the door, as if only in this way could she find a little sense of security.
The wind blew, and the leaves rustled. The sound came in vaguely, as if it came from outside, but also as if it was from inside the house. Haoyue covered his ears and buried his head in his knees. He didn't want to listen, but he couldn't help but prick up his ears to listen to that little bit of movement.
The more she listened, the more she felt that it was within her reach, right behind her, next to her ear.
Curled up in a ball, Haoyue whimpered softly, waving her hands as if to drive away all the possible people, gods and ghosts, but they were still there, they were pestering her and they were climbing on top of her...
"Ah! Get out of here! Get out of here!"
Haoyue screamed and ran away, and without noticing she ran to the middle of the room and touched the waist-high bed. When she touched it, she screamed even more miserably and crawled away.
Outside the house, the queen mother, dressed in plain clothes, stood there with an expressionless face, listening to the noise inside. Was she scared? It was probably too early. She had taken much more than this from others! These were all debts, and she would pay them back as long as she lived, until she died.
"Watch out, don't let her die easily. I hope she can live longer than I do."
"Yes, I have asked the imperial physician to be on standby at any time."
The Queen Mother nodded slightly and turned to leave. After leaving the Ruyue Palace, she looked back and said, "Take down this sign. It's blinding."
"yes."
Unable to vent her anger, the Queen Mother gently pounded her chest and asked, "Did the Crown Prince arrange for someone to serve him?"
"Yes, I personally picked out some honest ones."
"It's not enough to be honest. You have to be smart and give them a good beating. Those who have those thoughts should be careful of me. The prince is young. If someone has bad intentions, I will deal with more than just her."
"yes."
"And..." The Queen Mother suddenly stopped talking and paused. After thinking for a moment, she said, "Tomorrow, summon Hua Zhi to the palace. You go in person."
"yes."
The Empress Dowager's decree came suddenly, and several maids almost subconsciously became nervous. The wound hasn't healed yet, and she has to enter the palace again
Hua Zhi did not have any hesitation. Now that she was one of the people in the palace, she no longer had to say goodbye to her family every time before entering the palace.
"Madam Yuxiang, please wait a moment. Please allow me to change my clothes."
Yuxiang naturally did not refuse. She sat down nearby with a very good attitude and took the tea handed to her by Nianqiu. This attitude made people feel more at ease.
Hua Zhi arrived at the Empress Dowager's Fushou Palace smoothly. Seeing that the Empress Dowager was already waiting for her, she hurried forward to pay her respects.
The Queen Mother waved her hand and said, "Don't bother with these empty words. Come and sit with me."
No matter how Hua Zhi pretended to be serious, her reverence for the imperial power was far less natural than that of the locals. For others, the empress dowager, who was so noble that it would be a sin to look at her any more, was first and foremost Yan Xi's grandmother to her. She had to respect her boyfriend's grandmother, but there was no need to place her on the altar.
So she sat down as she was told.
The Queen Mother felt that this girl was generous and forthright, making people happy just by looking at her. Even though the pain of losing her son was still before her eyes, she still had a slight smile on her face, "Have you arranged everything at home?"
"Yes, they don't need me to worry too much."
"With you protecting them from the wind and rain, they are also very comfortable." The Queen Mother gently twirled the jade ring, "I have a long history with the Hua family, and I have always hoped for the best for the Hua family. But people, no matter where you sit, you are framed by that position, and you are involuntarily determined by that position to do what you can and cannot do. It is better to be free as an ordinary person."
"The Hua family has been well taken care of by you."
"Not much, I know." The Queen Mother looked at the girl who showed no emotion, "I know you are anxious to get your family back, but you can't rush this matter. You need to know the situation. The prince is young, and you are someone he trusts. You are also the tutor appointed by the late emperor. That is why you need to be more careful and don't let anyone get hold of you, let alone..."
Hua Zhi stood up and thanked the Queen Mother for her advice. She understood the meaning of the unspoken words. It would be fine to let others say it. If Xiaoliu grew up and became an adult with more thoughts, he would be able to find countless shortcomings when he recalled this incident.
This is the difference between a king and a prince.
"I'm glad you understand. I'm just worried that you'll be too anxious and your family will be affected. Even a rational person would be afraid of making the wrong decision."
"Yes, I will wait for the right opportunity." Hua Zhi lowered her head, revealing a small section of her white neck. "Don't worry, I cherish the relationship between me and His Royal Highness the Crown Prince, and I will not use him. I will know the right balance for the best for all of us."
"I've been worrying for nothing." The Queen Mother was completely relieved. "I want to ask you one thing, do you know when Yan Xi will return?"
"It should take a few more days. I have asked someone to contact him. He should be able to make it on the seventh day."
"I just have to catch up."
PS: I was very sick and slept all day. I feel a little better today and should be almost fine tomorrow. Girls, please wait for me.