Chapter 343

Pushing open that heavy gate, he did not hear the sound of anyone crying, and the entire Qingfeng Palace was unusually quiet. Rumors in the palace said that the prince had passed away, and Consort Qing was so heartbroken that she went crazy, bit the Emperor, and later fainted. He did not believe that the woman who was covered in injuries and did not make a sound even when thrown into the Heavenly Prison was so fragile that she went crazy like this. However, looking at this dead-like palace, perhaps she had fainted and had not woken up yet.

Ming Ze wanted to go in and see her, but he knew very well that he did not have that position and identity, so he could only lean against that cold gate and guard this small courtyard.

It was late at night, and the wind that had been blowing all night had actually lessened a lot. Fuling pushed open the room door and walked out, taking a deep breath. The cold air poured into her heart and spleen, and her heavy brain from the day seemed to have cleared up a bit. Looking at this cold and desolate courtyard, Fuling felt a sourness in her heart. In order to prevent her mistress from being stimulated again, she had already sent the old nannies and wet nurses in Qingfeng Palace back to the Imperial Household Department, and even let Lan'er and Xia Yin leave temporarily, leaving only Ruyi and a few rough-working nannies. She was now worried that her mistress would not wake up, and also worried that she would wake up. Every time she thought of the little prince's cute appearance and giggling laughter, her heart felt as painful as if it had been crushed by a millstone. As the child's birth mother, how could her mistress bear this heart-tearing pain?

She originally thought that the days ahead would get better and better, but with such a thing happening, would happiness ever return?

Rubbing her hands that were frozen and stiff, Fuling looked up at the black curtain above her head. There were no stars and no moon, just like a big black net, making people suffocate.

Ming Ze discovered Fuling as soon as she came out. Watching her standing in the night wind staring blankly at the sky, he remembered the first time he noticed this person, which was because of her strange behavior. That day, the Emperor favored Consort Qing, and she walked around the big tree in the courtyard all night like this. At that time, he only felt that this person was very strange, and he also admired her perseverance. Now that he thought about it, she was also worried about that person.

Her hands, which she kept rubbing, were already a bit red, but she was still staring blankly at the sky. A look of helplessness flashed across Ming Ze's face. The person who had stood all night without moving finally walked into that small courtyard, but he did not walk close to Fuling, only stopping two or three zhang away from her.

Feeling a black shadow approaching her, Fuling finally came back to her senses and looked over in a fluster. After seeing that cold face clearly, the unease in Fuling's heart was magically smoothed out at this moment. Looking at that tall figure stopping not far away, Fuling walked toward him as if she were bewitched.

Standing still beside Ming Ze, Fuling realized her impropriety and did not know what to say. Fortunately, he spoke at this time: "Is she awake?"

Fuling was stunned for a moment before she understood what he was asking, shook her head lightly, and replied dully: "No."

Both of their moods were a bit heavy, and they had no desire to talk. In the cold night, the two just stood like this, and no one spoke again. Fuling looked up again, but saw little white tufts scattered on the dark sky. The white tufts fell on her face, cool, and even a bit stinging.

"Is it snowing?" Fuling muttered to herself, reaching out to catch the falling snowflakes. The snow was not heavy, and it quickly turned into water when it fell on her hands. Fuling stared blankly at the thin water vapor on her hands and said in a low voice: "So cold." She originally thought there would be no snow this winter, but she did not expect it to snow after all. On such a night, this cold seemed even more bone-chilling.

She was only wearing a thin padded jacket, and because she had stood in the winter night for too long, the tip of her nose was frozen red. She even dared to reach out to catch snowflakes; it would be strange if she weren't cold. Ming Ze frowned: "If you're cold, go inside."

His voice was as cold as ever, but for some reason, Fuling did not want to return to that warm but suffocating room now. Fuling moved behind Ming Ze, letting him block the cold wind pouring in from the door crack, and replied softly: "This is better."

Ming Ze's handsome sword-like brows twisted into a knot. A trace of anger, as faint as could be, flashed across his usually expressionless face. Glaring at Fuling, Ming Ze prepared to retreat outside the door, not wanting to deal with this woman anymore. Just as his feet moved, a sudden exclamation sounded from the quiet room: "Mistress!"

Ruyi's terrified voice startled both of them outside. The two looked at each other, Fuling hurriedly ran in, and Ming Ze hesitated for a while before following. This was the first time he had stepped into that room since he came to Qingfeng Palace.

Fuling rushed into the inner chamber and saw Qingfeng grabbing Ruyi's shoulders tightly. In order to let her mistress rest better, she and Ruyi did not light a lamp in the inner chamber. Under the dim candlelight outside the screen, Qingfeng's hair was disheveled, her eyes staring dead at Ruyi, and the scars on her cheeks made her look particularly ferocious tonight.

Ruyi had seen with her own eyes how the mistress bit the Emperor and would not let go this afternoon. She was really afraid that the mistress had gone crazy, and her face turned pale with fright, and she kept trembling.

Ming Ze stood outside the screen looking at the blurry shadow on the bed, and the feet he had stepped out retracted again. In the end, he did not walk in, but he did not leave either.

Fuling ran to the bedside, pulled Qingfeng's hand off Ruyi's shoulders, and said softly: "Mistress, what's wrong with you? It's me, Fuling."

"Fuling?" Qingfeng stared at Fuling's face for a long time before her expression slowly eased, and her dark, hoarse voice sounded a bit dazed: "What watch is it now?"

"It's the third watch." Her mistress's palms were full of sweat, and her fingertips were ice-cold. Fuling said while taking out a silk handkerchief from her sleeve and gently wiping her hands.

Qingfeng sat woodenly for a while, then suddenly said: "Where is Zhi'er? Is he hungry? Carry him over quickly and let me see."

"Mistress..." Fuling's hand movements froze, her nose felt sour, and tears surged out, but she did not dare to look up at Qingfeng, and even less dared to open her mouth to answer her, afraid that she would not be able to help but cry out.

Fuling lowered her head and sat still. Qingfeng said anxiously: "Go quickly."

Fuling's head hung even lower, and her shoulders trembled slightly. "I'll go myself!" As if remembering something, a flash of panic and fear appeared in Qingfeng's eyes. Pushing Fuling away, she wanted to run outside barefoot.

"Mistress!" Fuling hurriedly chased after her, holding her shoulders, her tear-filled eyes looking at Qingfeng's terrified and uneasy face. Fuling shook her head incessantly. She did not know if her mistress really did not remember that the little prince had already... At this moment, she dared not mention it, dared not mention that word.

Qingfeng was pulled by Fuling like this, and those broken-line-like teardrops fell on her arms. With every teardrop that fell, her complexion became paler, and her body actually stopped struggling, standing blankly in front of the bed, muttering: "Zhi'er... Zhi'er..."

Too many things had happened throughout the day. Except for a little porridge in the afternoon, Qingfeng had not eaten a single grain of rice, and had not even drunk a sip of water. Because of the chapped lips, a trace of blood appeared in the pale lip color. Seeing that Qingfeng seemed to have calmed down, Ruyi poured a cup of water and said cautiously: "Mistress, you... you drink some water."

The warm porcelain cup just touched her fingertips, and Qingfeng shrank back as if startled, then suddenly grabbed the porcelain cup tightly in her palm, as if eager to absorb the temperature on the cup. It was just that she held it too tightly, and her hands shook so much that the water kept spilling out. The water she drank in winter was naturally hot, and the hot water spilled on her hands, but she was completely unaware.

Fuling gradually realized that something was wrong with her. Wiping away the tears from the corners of her eyes, Fuling hurriedly reached out to take the cup from her hand, but Qingfeng's hands closed even tighter. With both hands clasping the porcelain cup, the veins on her hands bulged, and Fuling could even hear the thin white porcelain cup wall making a faint creaking sound. Fuling said anxiously: "Mistress, don't be like this!"

Qingfeng ignored her, using all her strength to hold the cup in her hand, her whole body trembling with tension, as if only in this way could she not go crazy.

With a crisp 'clatter', the white porcelain cup that Qingfeng was holding tightly suddenly shattered. Qingfeng still refused to let go, and the sharp cup wall stabbed fiercely into her flesh, and blood gushed out quickly.

"Ah!" Staring at the dark red blood, Ruyi was so frightened that she screamed and retreated a step.

"Mistress, let go!" Fuling was also so frightened that cold sweat kept flowing. She rushed forward to snatch the porcelain cup fragments from her hand, but Qingfeng just would not let go. During the struggle, Fuling could feel a warm, sticky liquid gushing out continuously. The blood flowed down along her wrist, instantly staining Qingfeng's inner garment sleeves red, and the smell of blood permeated the entire room.

"Ruyi, quick, quick, go and invite the Imperial Physician!" The mistress's wound was probably extremely deep, and if the blood kept flowing like this, the mistress would soon not be able to hold on.

"Yes, yes!" Ruyi finally came back to her senses from the panic and hurriedly ran out, almost bumping into Ming Ze who was walking in. The situation was urgent, and Ruyi did not have time to think too much and hurriedly ran out.

Ming Ze heard the sound of the cup shattering and soon smelled the blood, knowing that something had happened inside. He crossed the screen and walked in quickly. Fuling and Qingfeng looked like they were grabbing something. Ming Ze narrowed his eyes and looked. Qingfeng's hands were covered in blood. Fuling wanted to pry open her hands, but Qingfeng grabbed them tightly, and Fuling had no way to start.

Ming Ze grabbed Qingfeng's wrists and separated her clasped hands, and several fragments fell to the ground with a 'clatter'. Ming Ze came to help, and Fuling's heart settled down. The sticky blood on her hands had already turned ice-cold. If she waited for the Imperial Physician to come, she was afraid that she did not know how much blood would have flowed. Fuling said anxiously: "I, I will go find medicine to stop the bleeding." Fuling stumbled and ran out.

Qingfeng's strength was naturally no match for Ming Ze. She let him grab her wrists, but her two slender hands were still tightly clenched into fists. Ming Ze had sharp eyes and saw that there were still some fragments in her palms, and the originally porcelain-white color had long been soaked into a dark red by blood.

"Let go!" Ming Ze's usually indifferent temper became a bit irritable after seeing her torture herself like this. He held her two wrists with one hand and forcibly pried open her palms with the other.

(End of chapter)