Chapter 243

Father—Mother—

She wanted to scream, but could not make a sound.

"Feng'er, Mo'er, in the next life, we will still be sisters!" In her ears was Eldest Sister's gentle whisper, but no matter how hard she tried, she couldn't see anyone. Everywhere she looked, it was all scarlet.

Eldest Sister—Youngest Sister—

Why don't you answer me?

Her neck suddenly tightened, and her throat felt as if it were being pinched and broken. She wanted to struggle? But she couldn't move. Pain! So much pain?

Ah—

"Are you awake?" Qingfeng breathed rapidly, and her blurred vision finally slowly cleared. She saw a beautiful and gentle young face. The woman's voice was very soft, but she couldn't hear much concern, just watching her quietly. The terrifying nightmare kept her from speaking for a long time. After a while, Qingfeng finally calmed down slowly.

"Who... are you?" Her hoarse voice made it hard for her to hear what she had said. After speaking, Qingfeng felt her throat burning as if it had been scorched by fire; she couldn't even swallow her saliva. The suffocating pain struck again. Qingfeng's face turned slightly pale, and she murmured, "Water."

"Wait a moment."

Fuling walked toward the low table outside the screen. Lanfang, who had been standing far away, stepped forward, tugged at her sleeve, and whispered, "Fuling, why are you still bothering with her? In this state, how could the Emperor still take a fancy to her? Maybe she'll be dead soon!" When she was delivered this morning and the veil was lifted, it gave her a huge fright. Two deep knife scars were hideous and terrifying. How could such a monster be sent into the palace?

Qingfeng turned her head slightly to look and found that besides that woman, there was another younger girl in the room. The two were leaning together, whispering. Because she spoke very softly, Qingfeng couldn't hear what they were saying. Wanting to sit up, she realized she was weak all over, and her head was also throbbing with pain. Lying flat, Qingfeng secretly observed the room. It couldn't be called magnificent, just an ordinary small room, but the furnishings were quite exquisite.

Gently pulling back her sleeve, Fuling poured the water calmly and replied in a low voice, "The Imperial Household Department arranged for us to take care of her; it is our duty." She had looked closely at Qing Ling's features: a proud nose, cherry lips, and skin like congealed fat. She was indeed a rare beauty, but unfortunately, her face was ruined.

Pouting slightly, Lanfang complained in a low voice, "The head of the Haoyue Three Beauties, I was curious what kind of national beauty she was. Who would have thought she'd be a... monster!" She had spent fifty taels of silver to get out of the Laundry Bureau to serve this world-famous beauty. She had thought it was a good job, thinking that if she gained favor, she could have some status in the palace. Who would have thought it would end up like this?

"These things are not for us to worry about." Carrying the warm water, Fuling turned around. Lanfang snorted, "I don't want to worry about it anyway!" After saying that, she hurried toward the outside of the room.

Qingfeng turned her head again. The young girl had already run away, and the woman she had first seen brought the water to her bedside.

With the woman's help, Qingfeng sat up straight. After drinking a cup of water, her throat felt a little more comfortable. Qingfeng asked guardedly, "Who are you?"

Lowering her head slightly, Fuling avoided Qingfeng's probing eyes and replied in a low voice, "This servant is Fuling, the palace maid assigned to take care of you."

The woman's attire, behavior, and the words she used all made her heart uneasy. Even though she already had a guess in her heart, Qingfeng still asked, "Where is this?"

"The Imperial Palace." Fuling spat out the two words lightly, but they made Qingfeng tremble all over. "The Qiongyue Imperial Palace?"

"Yes."

They had already arrived in Qiongyue! "Where are my sisters?"

Fuling still kept her head slightly lowered and replied calmly, "This servant does not know."

This woman named Fuling was like wearing a mask of respect; she wouldn't tell her anything. Qingfeng struggled to get out of bed, but her limp body made her fall to the ground. Fuling hurriedly grabbed Qingfeng's arm, trying to help her up. "Lady Qing, please don't move around."

"Let go of me. I want to see Yan Hongtian!" That tyrant who had ruined her family.

Fuling's face turned pale, and she said urgently, "Lady, you must not address the Emperor by his name like that; this is not outside the palace." She could tell that this Lady Qing was a straightforward woman, but in this palace, the thing one must not do is be straightforward.

Grabbing Fuling's shoulders, Qingfeng shouted sternly, "Then tell me, where are my sisters?" Why was she in the palace? If they were sent into the palace together, then where was Eldest Sister? Where was Youngest Sister? Where were they?

Her shoulders were pinched painfully by Qingfeng. Meeting her eyes, which were blurred by tears, Fuling hesitated for a while, but finally replied, "This servant really... does not know."

Begging her was useless. Qingfeng used all her strength to push Fuling aside, but she no longer had the strength to get up, so she could only crawl toward the door. Fuling stared at the stubborn woman before her. Her heart, which had long been frozen by this palace, actually felt a faint surge of admiration. Stepping forward again to help Qingfeng up, Fuling advised, "Lady Qing, your body has not recovered; you must not move around." She had taken her pulse; her body was extremely weak, and the wounds on her face had not healed. If she caught a cold, it would be troublesome.

Qingfeng was convinced that Fuling would not tell her the news about her eldest and youngest sisters, so naturally, she didn't take what she said to heart at all.

When the two were struggling together, a low shout came from outside the door, "What are you doing?" A man in his forties, dressed as a eunuch, entered the room, followed by the young palace maid Lanfang.

Fuling stood up and bowed, "Eunuch Wang."

Qingfeng looked up at the person who had come. The icy eyes, the disheveled hair, and those hideous knife scars all made Wang Lixin, who had just entered the room, gasp in shock.

Lanfang pointed at Qingfeng, who was slumped on the ground with a ruined face, and said, "Eunuch, she is the woman Qing Ling sent by Haoyue."

"She is Qing Ling?" The shrill voice pierced people's eardrums painfully. Pointing a trembling finger at Qingfeng, Wang Lixin exclaimed, "This? How is this possible? Where are the Haoyue officials? Who went to receive the people!" Looking at the knife scars on Qingfeng's face again, Wang Lixin almost fainted. This was the woman the Emperor had personally named! How did she become like this? If the Emperor blamed him, would he still have his life?

Lanfang immediately replied, "Eunuch, this servant just asked Magistrate Zhao, who went to the city gate to receive the people this morning. The Haoyue officials said she is Qing Ling! And the Haoyue people left long ago..."

Li Xu said she was Qing Ling? Qingfeng froze where she was. Why did he say that? Eldest Sister was the woman Yan Hongtian had personally named. Why did Li Xu say she was Qing Ling? And Eldest Sister was more beautiful than her, and the scars on her face were shallower than hers. Why did Li Xu say she was Qing Ling? Could it be? Could it be that Eldest Sister and Youngest Sister were already dead in the broken temple? That was why Li Xu used her as a substitute!

The coldness of the stone floor was nothing compared to the coldness of her heart. Qingfeng sat blankly on the ground. She couldn't hear anything the people around her were saying; she only heard the sound of her heart tearing bit by bit. Why wasn't she the one who died? It was clearly her who said she wanted to commit suicide. Why wasn't she the one who died? Why?

Wang Lixin also seemed a bit lost. "This? What should be done?" It was clear that Wang Lixin also found this Lady Qing disgusting. Lanfang hurriedly knelt down halfway and whispered, "Eunuch, this servant is used to working in the Laundry Bureau. Can you let this servant return to the Laundry Bureau?" Although she would never get ahead in the Laundry Bureau, as long as she pleased the old nanny, the work wasn't tiring, and it was better than being beside this monster.

Glancing at the woman sitting on the ground with a numb face and dull eyes, Wang Lixin waved his hand at Lanfang and said impatiently, "Go back, go back!" He estimated that when the Emperor saw Qing Ling's face, he would take her life in a fit of rage. In this harem, talent, singing, dancing, virtue, and demeanor were all empty; the face was the most important weapon for them to gain the Emperor's favor. Qing Ling's face was already ruined, and all opportunities were gone. He didn't need to worry about such a person. He had to go and make arrangements so that he wouldn't be implicated when the Emperor punished her.

"Fuling?" Lanfang gave a wink to Fuling, who was standing quietly on the side. What was she waiting for if she didn't leave at a time like this?

How could the thoughts of a small palace maid escape Wang Lixin, who had been rolling in the palace for many years? Narrowing his eyes, he glanced sideways at Fuling. Wang Lixin snorted lightly, "Why, do you want to go back too?" It wasn't impossible to let her return to the Female Medical Academy; it just depended on whether she was sensible and knew how to show respect.

"Lady Qing is unwell; this servant should stay and take care of her." Fuling looked down at the ground, her posture respectful, but her tone was as unyielding as ever.

Being a medical attendant was a job that was very easy to please the various consorts. She was already in her twenties, but she was still just a low-level palace maid, and this time she was even pushed out of the Female Medical Academy on a pretext, which showed that this Fuling was not a clever person. After all, Qing Ling was someone the Emperor had personally named, and it would be troublesome for him if anything went wrong. After thinking for a while, Wang Lixin instructed sternly, "Fine, you stay then, and don't let her run around."

"Yes."

Wang Lixin didn't look at Qingfeng again and left with a flick of his sleeves. The young palace maid Lanfang hurriedly followed him out of the small room.

Qingfeng sat blankly on the ground, her eyes hollow. Against the backdrop of the red dress, her complexion was even paler than before. Fuling stepped forward and asked in a low voice, "Lady Qing, are you alright?"

After a long time, Qingfeng supported herself on the edge of the bed and slowly stood up. Her finger joints were turning white from the force, but she refused Fuling's help. Having finally stood up straight, Qingfeng's cold voice said lowly, "You go out; I want to be quiet for a while."

Silent tears slid down her cheeks, and those bright eyes were gray and dull. Fuling felt a faint worry, but she knew well that saying more was useless. In this palace, there were already enough sad and pitiful women. She? Would not be the last one either.

Slowly closing the door, Fuling retreated outside.

Fuling took the food basket sent by the young eunuch and opened it. Sure enough, the three meals had changed from the chicken, duck, fish, meat, and hot meat soup of three days ago to the current plain tea and light rice. Most people in the Imperial Palace were snobbish; such things happened every day. Fuling was already used to it and covered the food basket calmly, walking toward the courtyard.

Beside that half-open window, Qing Ling's figure could still be seen. She had been here for three days and often stood by the window like this, staring at the lush Wutong tree in the courtyard. On the afternoon of early spring, the mottled warm sun cut by the tree shadows shone on her face. Unfortunately, the warm sun didn't seem to bring her any warmth. In those cold eyes, there was a bone-chilling coldness, like a white plum blossom blooming in the bright sun. Unlike other harem women who pretended to be cold to play hard to get, her arrogance and coldness made people feel shocked, yet they couldn't look away.

Fuling sighed secretly. That face behind the window lattice was beautiful yet ruined. She didn't know if it could be considered a blessing in disguise. After the consorts learned that Qing Ling was disfigured, they didn't even have the mood to make things difficult for her, which was why she had been able to spend three days so peacefully.

Pushing open the door, Fuling brought the food to the round table and said in a low voice, "Lady, it's time to eat."

"Fuling, when will I be able to see your monarch?" The cold voice had no emotion. In the Imperial Palace, all women with a little beauty were eager to see the Emperor, but Fuling knew that it was absolutely impossible for her to want to see the Emperor to please him.

(End of chapter)