It didn't snow in the imperial city today, but the sky was overcast.
There was icicles under the palace eaves, and cries were heard coming from the Queen Mother's bedroom. In this towering palace, even the air was oppressive and suffocating.
Feng Shiyan's face was as gloomy as ice. He walked quickly from the long palace corridor to the Empress Dowager's bedroom. His steps were so fast that the eunuchs around him could not catch up with him even if they jogged.
When he heard the crying sound coming from the Empress Dowager's palace, Feng Shiyan stopped and his body trembled noticeably.
The chief eunuch who followed him also showed a bad look on his face.
At the end of the palace road is the Cining Palace where the Empress Dowager resides. The vermilion walls on both sides were painted red years ago. There is white snow piled on the top of the walls, which makes them look like they were stained with blood. The Cining Palace is like a giant beast entrenched behind these blood walls.
Feng Shiyan pursed his lips and quickened his pace towards the Cining Palace. When he entered the palace, the palace maids and eunuchs saluted him while crying.
The crying sound was so buzzing that it gave Feng Shiyan a headache.
"Why are you crying!"
There was a hint of hostility on his handsome face.
Even though I already had some vague guesses in my mind, I still held on to a glimmer of fantasy.
The maid kneeling at his feet sobbed and said, "The Empress Dowager... has passed away."
The word "passed away" appeared in Feng Shiyan's ears. His body seemed to sway, his face turned pale, his thin lips were tightly pursed, and he walked into the empress dowager's bedroom without saying a word.
The further we walked inside, the louder the crying became. The dark bedroom was filled with the lingering smell of medicine.
The palace maids and nannies who served the Empress Dowager personally knelt in front of her bed, crying uncontrollably.
When Feng Shiyan saw the empress dowager on the couch, a trace of pain flashed in his eyes—the empress dowager died with her mouth half open, and she had an unfulfilled wish when she passed away.
Feng Shiyan knelt down. The buzzing cries from all directions made his head ache. He became more and more angry and roared, "Get out!"
The chief eunuch who came with him hurriedly sent the other palace servants out of the bedroom, leaving only the old nanny who took care of the empress dowager personally.
"Mother."
Feng Shiyan called out in a dry voice.
The old nanny at the side couldn't stop crying: "When the queen heard that the Gao family was imprisoned and would be executed in three months, she was so angry that she didn't make it."
Bloodshot eyes slowly appeared in Feng Shiyan's eyes, veins bulged on his forehead, and he said in a hoarse voice: "Mother, I am trying to protect the Daxuan Kingdom."
The old nanny said, "Before she died, the queen said that if you still remember her as your biological mother and how she raised you for more than twenty years, you should leave a way for the Gao family to survive."
Feng Shiyan didn't say anything, but there was a murderous aura around him.
After a while, a young eunuch hurried into the palace to report: "Your Majesty, there is a commotion in Kunning Palace, and the Queen said she wants to see the Queen Mother."
After the Gao family was imprisoned, Empress Gao was also confined to Kunning Palace, and it seemed that she would be sent to the cold palace after giving birth to a child.
Feng Shiyan pulled the corner of his mouth, his overly thin lips showing a sense of coldness and indifference: "Everyone is gone, why is she still coming to see you?"
This meant that Empress Gao was not allowed to see the Empress Dowager for the last time.
No one in the palace dared to do anything and remained silent.
After a moment, Feng Shiyan stood up, his back straight and hard, "Send the people from the Ministry of Rites and the Imperial Observatory to the palace."
This is to discuss the empress dowager's funeral arrangements.
When he walked out of the Cining Palace, the palace servants following him didn't dare to breathe.
When Feng Shiyan suddenly stopped, the eunuch in charge also became nervous.
But he asked, "Is there a woman in the Gao family's side branch who is expecting a baby?"
The chief eunuch bowed his waist and said, "Yes, the fifth son of the Gao family has a concubine who is about to give birth."
Feng Shiyan's temples throbbed with pain. He closed his eyes. When he opened them again, he seemed to have made a difficult decision: "After the child is born, send him out of the capital and announce to the public that a stillborn baby was born."
The chief eunuch hurriedly said, "I understand."
The Gao family committed such heinous crimes that they had no chance of survival. This move could be considered as a way to leave a descendant for the Gao family.
When Feng Shiyan raised his foot again, he asked, "Where is Concubine Xi now?"
After Jiang Yanxi was forcibly brought back to the palace by him, because in the eyes of outsiders, Concubine Xi was already dead, Jiang Yanxi's current identity was just a woman brought back from the people by him when he went on a personal expedition.
Feng Shiyan gave her the title of concubine, and "Xi" is the same as "Xi".
The once arrogant Imperial Noble Consort Fan was executed by Fan Wei after his rebellion. Empress Gao, who relied on the protection of the Gao family and the empress dowager, also lost her glory after the fall of the Gao family and the passing of the empress dowager. Now Empress Gao's biggest bargaining chip is probably the unborn child in her belly. Jiang Yanxi is the only one in power in the entire harem.
Everyone knows how much Feng Shiyan dotes on Jiang Yanxi. Now no one dares to offend Jiang Yanxi, and the eunuchs under him are also very good at changing their attitude according to the situation.
When Feng Shiyan asked about Jiang Yanxi, the chief eunuch immediately replied, "News just came from Cangjiao Palace that Concubine Xi went to see Minister Jiang."
Minister Jiang is still imprisoned in the Heavenly Prison, which can be regarded as a major bargaining chip for Feng Shiyan to contain Jiang Yanxi.
Since Jiang Yanxi returned to the palace, she has never been good to Feng Shiyan. Last night, he promised Jiang Yanxi to let her meet Minister Jiang, and Jiang Yanxi was a little obedient to him.
Nothing went his way.
Feng Shiyan's brows were filled with irritation and deep fatigue. "Send more people to follow her."
After a pause, he continued, "Send someone to the Grand Princess's residence to announce the death, and ask my aunt to come to the palace as well."
Since he took the throne, he has not had a single day of peace.
Even if he had close confidants around him, he did not dare to trust them completely. Now, the only person he could still rely on was the Grand Princess.
***
Jiang Yanxi went to the Heavenly Prison accompanied by palace servants. When passing Kunning Palace, she heard the shrill crying coming from inside and frowned.
"Emperor, please let me out. I want to see my mother!"
Empress Gao's carefully combed hair had become disheveled when she was scuffling with the imperial guards, and her makeup, which was smudged from crying, looked even more disheveled.
Jiang Yanxi sat on a sedan chair, her hair was covered with puffy clouds, and she had countless gold and jade hairpins on her head. She was wearing a newly made dress from the Shanggong Bureau, with peony flowers embroidered all over with gold thread, looking extremely wealthy.
She rested her elbows on the armrests of the sedan chair, looking down at Empress Gao who was shoving and shoving with the imperial guards, and felt a strange feeling in her heart.
Ever since she entered the palace, Empress Gao had always been domineering in front of her, as if it would be dirty to look at her any longer.
Finally, there came a day when she was looking down from her high place at the most noble woman in the Daxuan Dynasty.
For some reason, she shouted, "Stop."
The luxurious sedan chair stopped at the gate of Kunning Palace.
"Empress, we are following His Majesty's orders. Please don't embarrass us!"
One of the imperial guards pushed with too much force, causing Empress Gao to fall down in front of the stairs. Although there were palace servants acting as human shields, Empress Gao cried out in pain, perhaps because of her excessive emotional fluctuations or because she really fell.
The palace servants around her also shouted in panic: "Imperial Physician! Quickly call the Imperial Physician!"
Empress Gao was pregnant with an heir, so even though she was no longer favored, the imperial guards did not dare to neglect her and someone immediately ran to the Imperial Medical Bureau to ask for the imperial physician.
Empress Gao was worried about the Queen Mother's illness and her unborn child. Her emotions fluctuated greatly and she felt cramps in her abdomen and her face turned pale.
When she raised her eyes and saw Jiang Yanxi sitting on the sedan chair, Empress Gao's pupils suddenly shrank, as if she had seen a ghost.
Jiang Yanxi's lips curved up. Her face, which was originally only pretty, looked a little more charming after putting on heavy makeup. "The Queen seems quite surprised to see me?"
Queen Gao's lips turned pale and her whole body trembled unconsciously, but she couldn't utter a word.
Jiang Yanxi smiled slowly: "When you designed me, did you ever think that you would end up like this?"
Empress Gao stared at Jiang Yanxi and confirmed that she was still alive before she sneered, "When a bitch gains power, she forgets her identity."
Jiang Yanxi's eyes fell on her bulging belly and said, "The Queen is still so majestic now, and she only hopes to give birth to a dragon son. After all, the Queen Mother has passed away."
Empress Gao had only heard the news that the Queen Mother was seriously ill this morning. When she suddenly heard the word "passed away", she clenched her teeth and yelled at Jiang Yanxi with red eyes, "Bitch, how dare you curse my mother!"
There was a hint of pity in Jiang Yanxi's eyes: "Empress Gao, please treat this as my nonsense."
The depression that had been pent up in her heart dissipated, and Jiang Yanxi felt relaxed all over.
She ordered her attendants: "Lift the sedan chair."
The sedan chair went away, but Empress Gao was still staring at one place with blank eyes.
When the senior palace maid who was taking care of her helped her up, she felt a wet spot on her dress. She looked down and found that the hem of her dress was stained with blood. She screamed, "The queen has miscarried. Call the imperial physician—"
The scream behind her did not make Jiang Yanxi turn back at all. There was a strange hatred in her eyes.
If she is really a princess of the previous dynasty, all the people of the Daxuan royal family should die!
This time I went to see Minister Jiang, on the one hand to ensure Minister Jiang's safety, and on the other hand I also wanted to confirm my identity with Minister Jiang.
They soon arrived at the Heavenly Prison. Feng Shiyan had obviously given instructions to the prison guards in advance, so Jiang Yanxi was not stopped when she entered.
The jailer led her to the cell where Minister Jiang was.
The Tianlao held important criminals of the imperial court. Shangshu Jiang was held alone in a clean cell. His clothes were fairly neat, and it was obvious that he had never been tortured.
When Minister Jiang saw Jiang Yanxi, pain flashed in his eyes: "Xi'er..."
Jiang Yanxi's eyes also turned red, but she dismissed the people around her first: "All of you go out, I want to talk to my father alone for a while."
Knowing that she was now in great favor, the jailers and palace maids dared not raise any objections and all withdrew.
"It's my father who has dragged you down..." Minister Jiang blamed himself.
Jiang Yanxi felt a bitter taste in her heart and asked with a trembling voice, "Father, I have something to ask you. I hope you won't lie to me."
Minister Jiang saw her expression and guessed most of it. He sighed and said, "Ask me."
Jiang Yanxi was already choking up with sobs: "Is my true origin really that of a princess from the previous dynasty?"
Minister Jiang closed his eyes solemnly. He could no longer hide the secret that he had kept for so many years. He nodded, "Yes."
Jiang Yanxi burst into tears.
…
After leaving the Heavenly Prison, Jiang Yanxi's eyes were severely red and swollen. The palace servants who served her thought that she had met Minister Jiang and cried bitterly, so they did not dare to ask her anything.
When she was riding on a sedan chair back to Cangjiao Palace, she was stopped by the Grand Princess at Yuehua Gate.
The eldest princess was dressed in a navy blue brocade palace dress with green feathers. Her face was gloomy and she exuded an intimidating aura.
Jiang Yanxi is not afraid of anyone in the palace now, but when she saw the Grand Princess, she was still startled. She got off the sedan chair and saluted: "Greetings, Grand Princess."
The eldest princess stepped forward and slapped Jiang Yanxi hard in the face. She said in a cold voice: "Who gave you the courage to murder the heir to the throne?"
Jiang Yanxi was knocked so hard that she staggered and one of the golden hairpins on her head fell to the ground. If she hadn't been supported by a palace servant, she would have almost fallen to the ground.