Chapter 293

Qingfeng's heart jumped up, her eyes fixed on the place where the grass and trees were shaking. Her arms were tightly hugged together, and she trembled slightly involuntarily. The originally desolate place seemed even colder at this moment. It would be a lie to say she wasn't afraid, but Qingfeng never believed in ghosts and gods, and this was still within the scope of the imperial palace. Taking a deep breath to try to keep herself calm, Qingfeng held her breath and carefully stepped into the chaotic bushes; she wanted to see what kind of thing was making trouble.

"You... don't be like this... be careful of being seen..." A vague female voice came from the bushes, intermittent. Qingfeng thought she had misheard and was about to walk closer when a slightly impatient male voice suddenly sounded, "How could there be anyone in this place."

Qingfeng was stunned and hurriedly stopped her steps. Before long, the woman's coquettish voice came along with the man's heavy panting, sometimes light and sometimes heavy. Qingfeng finally knew what was going on. Her face flushed, and she immediately turned to leave, but because it was too dark and her steps were too hurried, she stepped on a dead branch, making a crisp "crack" sound.

"Who?!" The people inside were quite alert; the slight sound startled them. Qingfeng stood stiffly there, not daring to move. The people inside seemed to be listening to the situation outside as well. For a time, the surroundings were so quiet that only the rustling of the wind through the bushes could be heard.

That man clearly had martial arts. There was no one around here; in case they were desperate... Qingfeng steadied her mind and shouted loudly, "Who is there, get out here for this palace!"

The cold reprimand sharply pierced the silence of the night. The people inside were clearly frightened. The grass and trees in the bushes shook even more violently, and the sound of clothing rubbing together was mixed with the woman's sobbing.

"Do you want this palace to send people in to catch you before you are willing to come out?" Hearing that the people inside were panicked, Qingfeng could only continue to bluff, "Someone come!"

Just as Qingfeng's voice fell, a figure flashed out of the bushes. The person was wearing the dark red uniform of the Imperial Guard, with the brim of his hat pulled low, making it impossible to see his appearance. His skills were good, and with a few leaps, he had already run ten yards away, disappearing before Qingfeng's eyes under the cover of the night. During this time, he didn't even look back once.

He just ran away like that? Qingfeng fiercely despised that man who fled when disaster was imminent, and at the same time, her lifted heart relaxed slightly. Glancing at the depths of the bushes, Qingfeng said coldly, "Still not coming out? He managed to run away; do you think you can run away too?"

After a long while, the bushes shook, and a palace maid walked out timidly. Her clothing was still relatively neat, but her hair was scattered messily behind her. After taking only two steps, the woman suddenly knelt on the ground and crawled slowly to Qingfeng's feet, not daring to lift her head, only kowtowing repeatedly, her trembling voice repeating only a few sentences, "Mistress, spare my life, Mistress, spare my life! This servant will never dare again!"

"Lift your head." The woman slowly lifted it. She looked to be in her twenties and was quite pretty, but her face was covered in tear stains, and under the reflection of the moonlight, her face was ashen. Qingfeng stood against the light, unable to see her expression clearly, only vaguely seeing the scar on her cheek. The palace maid's already bloodless face turned even paler, and the fear in her eyes was as if she had seen a ghost. It was... Consort Qing...

Qingfeng raised her eyebrows slightly. What kind of expression was this? Was she that terrifying? Her hand involuntarily touched the scar on her cheek. She didn't know why she felt very uncomfortable, and her tone became even colder, "What is your name, and which palace are you from?"

The woman shivered, and her body shook even more like a sieve. Qingfeng frowned, "If you won't say it, so be it. I'll hand you over to the Imperial Household Department; this palace has no leisure to manage this filthy business."

"No!" Seeing Qingfeng turn to leave, the woman pounced at her feet, clutching her skirt tightly, and replied with a trembling voice, "This servant's name... is Yao Chan, and I am a palace maid of the Xixia Palace. In two years, I will be old enough to leave the palace. During my days in the palace, he has been the one to care for and look after me. We agreed to get married when we leave the palace, so... so we couldn't restrain our feelings... I beg the Mistress to forgive us!" If she were handed over to the Imperial Household Department, she would surely die!

So it was someone from the Western Empress Dowager's palace. No wonder she looked like she had seen a ghost when she saw her. Raising a cold smile, Qingfeng said indifferently, "Since you can leave the palace in two years, you should have kept to your duties. The crime of illicit relations in the inner palace is enough to cost both of your heads."

"This servant knows I was wrong and will never dare again! I beg the Mistress to forgive me." The trembling plea for mercy was mixed with the sound of "thud, thud" kowtowing, which made Qingfeng feel a burst of irritation. Recalling that figure who didn't look back, Qingfeng asked, "Who is that man?"

"He..." After stammering for a long time, the palace maid bit her dry lips, and the sound of kowtowing started again, "It is all this servant's fault. If the Mistress wants to punish, punish this servant!"

The ground was full of dead branches and gravel. Kowtowing like this, Qingfeng knew what kind of injuries she had without her lifting her head. That heartless man had abandoned her and fled just like that, yet she was still foolishly protecting him. Being obsessed with something unworthy, she was also bringing disaster upon herself.

After a long time, Qingfeng said softly, "Let today's matter pass. You may withdraw."

Yao Chan couldn't believe her ears. The Mistress actually... wasn't pursuing it? She looked up at Qingfeng blankly, unable to see anything in the dark shadow. "Thank you, Mistress! Thank you, Mistress!" Fearing that Qingfeng would go back on her word, Yao Chan came to her senses, climbed up hurriedly, and fled in a disheveled manner.

Watching that panicked retreating figure, Qingfeng's lips curled slightly. Xixia Palace, Yao Chan... she had noted it.

"Mistress? Mistress!"

Fuling's anxious low call came from the path. Qingfeng raised her voice and said, "I'm here."

"Why are you in the bushes?" Seeing the figure almost submerged in the bushes not far away, Fuling hurriedly stepped forward to support her out, saying anxiously, "There are many small bugs inside; you should come out quickly."

The two finally got out of the bushes. Fuling knelt down to tidy the grass clippings on her skirt. Qingfeng held her hand and pulled her up, asking, "Zhen Zhen, how is she?"

Qingfeng felt Fuling stiffen. It was hard to see her expression clearly in the night, so Qingfeng laughed softly, "Not good?" That was true; having had such a noble status and now being reduced to an abandoned woman in the Cold Palace, not many people could stand it. A bitter life was sometimes not terrible; what was terrible was the psychological gap and the endless despair.

Having been out for a long time, Qingfeng was also hungry. Just as she wanted to return, Fuling looked left and right, suddenly leaned close to her, and whispered a few words in her ear.

"What?!" Qingfeng stared at Fuling in astonishment, and it was a long time before she lowered her voice and asked, "Is what you said true?"

"This servant saw it with my own eyes just now."

How could this be? "I want to see for myself." She didn't believe it.

The so-called Cold Palace was actually a house located deep in the inner palace, ignored by everyone, without dignity, and without hope. The "Cold Palace" before her eyes was not as dilapidated as she had imagined. At least the heavy dark red gate still looked tall and sturdy. There was no plaque on the gate, and the gate was ajar. The faint candlelight reflected outside the gate, and fragmented conversations came from inside.

"Mistress, be slower, be careful of the heat." Zhen Zhen's originally slender hands were now skin and bones, her face was gaunt, and the faint blue-purple under her eyes made her look very haggard. Wu'er couldn't help but redden her eyes again.

"Silly girl, what are you crying for?" Holding the soup bowl with both hands, Zhen Zhen smiled slightly and sighed softly, "Actually, it's quite good like this. Before, although I had fine clothes and food, I was worried every day about what that person was doing and thinking. I worried every day about being calculated against by jealousy and hatred. Now it's good; with those thoughts cut off, I don't have to live in fear anymore, and I'm happy to be quiet."

"It is indeed quite quiet." A cold voice sounded outside the heavy wooden door, and the door was pushed open forcefully.

"Clang." Seeing the person outside the door, the two people in the room were scared pale, especially Zhen Zhen. At this moment, she was like a remnant leaf in the autumn wind, shivering, and she didn't even realize that the porcelain bowl in her hand had fallen to the ground in her panic.

Qingfeng stared coldly at this woman who had once been elegant and noble. On Zhen Zhen's face was a fear she had never seen before. Even when she was accused and framed by everyone, and even when she was thrown into the Cold Palace, she had never been this panicked. Her gaze fell on her stomach. Qingfeng raised her eyebrows slightly. Without the cover of the large cloak, that belly looked like it should be six or seven months along, right?

Feeling the place where that burning gaze lingered, Zhen Zhen's body shook violently, and her abdomen suddenly had a spasm, subconsciously covering her stomach and shrinking back.

"Why... why did you come? My mistress has already fallen to this point, what else do you want?" Wu'er blocked in front of Zhen Zhen, shouting at Qingfeng, but unfortunately, the voice that should have been clear was shaking as violently as her hands.

"Why?" Qingfeng's narrowed eyes stared tightly at Zhen Zhen, who was hiding behind Wu'er. She really didn't understand. Looking at Zhen Zhen like this, the child was at least six or seven months along. By this calculation, she was already pregnant before the incident. Why didn't she say anything? She would rather be demoted to the Cold Palace than say it. Why?

Sighing inwardly, what should come had come, and there was no hiding from it. After the initial panic of seeing Qingfeng, Zhen Zhen gradually calmed down. Although she was still wary of Qingfeng, the calm of the past returned to her face. Patting Wu'er's hand and pulling her away from in front of her, Zhen Zhen met Qingfeng's eyes, which showed no joy or anger, and replied softly, "Because I want my child to live."

A cold, sharp light flashed in Qingfeng's eyes, "You want your child to live, so you want someone else's child to die?" Thinking of the sachet under the pillow, Qingfeng wished she could tear her apart.

Zhen Zhen was stunned and replied, "I don't know what you are talking about."

Don't know? Zhen Zhen's blank look didn't seem like she was pretending, but Fuling clearly saw Xia Yin enter the Lingyun Palace in the middle of the night. How could this be explained? Today she wanted to get to the bottom of it. Qingfeng raised a cold smile and hummed, "Are you still pretending to be stupid now? You instigated Xia Yin to drug this palace, wanting this palace to never be able to conceive a child. A vicious woman like you is not worthy of having children."

Zhen Zhen frowned tightly. It seemed she had been framed by someone again. If it were in the past, she would disdain to explain, but today she couldn't help but defend herself, "Xia Yin was not arranged by me in the Qingfeng Hall, and I certainly did not instigate anyone to drug you and your child." After she knew she was pregnant, she was worried about what the Empress would do, so she had indeed thought about provoking Qingfeng against the Empress. As long as the two of them fought, they wouldn't have so much energy to pay attention to her. She just didn't expect Qingfeng to stick to her instead, and the Empress was even more vicious, wanting to kill two birds with one stone.

Facing Qingfeng's disbelief, Zhen Zhen smiled bitterly, "I'm already like this, what else is there to compete for? What's the use of lying to you?"

"Good." Qingfeng replied readily, her gaze turning again to that protruding abdomen, and she raised her voice, "Do you dare to swear by the child in your stomach?"

"Mistress, don't!" Wu'er grabbed Zhen Zhen's sleeve and cried, "You didn't do it at all, why swear by the little master?!" This child was the mistress's only hope. If there was any mishap, her mistress wouldn't be able to live either.

An eagle-like sharp gaze fell on the belly. Zhen Zhen shivered involuntarily. She had no choice. If she didn't swear, Qingfeng would definitely conclude that she was the one who wanted to harm her. In her current situation, if Qingfeng wanted her to die, she would have no way to live. Supporting herself on the corner of the table, Zhen Zhen stood up, slowly raised her right hand, looked at the pitch-black night sky, and said word by word, "Heaven is above. If Zhen Zhen has half a word of falsehood today, let my child... not be able to come into this world." A tear slid silently across the corner of her eye and dripped onto her protruding belly.

Qingfeng kept staring at Zhen Zhen's face, not letting go of a single emotion. On that face, there was sorrow, helplessness, and even guilt, but only no panic or fear. It really wasn't her...

(End of chapter)