"That's right, there's plenty of time." The Empress sneered. Once things were settled there, and Baili Chen and Ouyang Yue were dead at her hands, she could torture this little brat however she wanted. As long as she didn't kill him, what did it matter if he was an idiot? A puppet emperor didn't need to be very smart.
When Granny Yan escorted Baili Su back to Chenyu Palace, Ouyang Yue was already waiting there in the distance. Seeing them return, she smiled and said, "Thank you for your trouble, Granny Yan."
"Your Highness, you flatter me. This is what I should do." Granny Yan smiled and said meaningfully, "The young prince is very clever and a rare and outstanding child. I like him very much. I am grateful to Your Highness for giving me this opportunity to take care of the young prince."
"Not at all. Granny Yan should be enjoying her retirement. I, the Princess Consort, still feel guilty," Ouyang Yue said with a smile. "Granny Yan, let's go inside and talk."
With a smile, Granny Yan agreed and entered Chenyu Palace. Since she needed to take care of Baili Su, Granny Yan would have to stay in Chenyu Palace. Ouyang Yue wouldn't mistreat her, choosing a room with the best lighting and other features besides the main hall. Granny Yan didn't refuse. Then she saw Ouyang Yue pulling Baili Su into the main hall. Granny Yan raised her eyebrows slightly: "Is this intentional, or is it really a childish act?"
Although Granny Yan hadn't been with Baili Su for long, she was a capable woman. She noticed that Baili Su was smarter than most children, but whenever she thought this, Baili Su always seemed so silly, naive, and ignorant, often giving her the illusion that this little prince was a year old or a little devil. For example, today, it was perfectly normal for young children to be playful; she had also cared for Emperor Mingxian, who was only a few years old at the time. However, in this dog-eat-dog palace, Emperor Mingxian was much more mature than others. Granny Yan wasn't surprised that palace children were precocious and intelligent, but sometimes she just wondered if this little prince was a bit too smart. Whenever she thought this, Baili Su would do something very ignorant to dispel her doubts.
Granny Yan shook her head. She really liked this young master. No matter what he was like, she just needed to do her job and help him when necessary.
Inside the main hall, as soon as Ouyang Yue pulled Baili Su inside, she couldn't help but burst out laughing. She reached out and tapped Baili Su's forehead, saying, "You... you actually messed up Anle Palace like that, and the Empress even fell flat on her face. She's probably still there cursing and fuming. There's just no way to deal with you."
With his hands on his hips and a grin on his face, Baili Su said, "Mom, Su'er stood up for you. What reward are you going to give Su'er?"
"Oh, isn't it a good thing that a son is being filial to his mother? Why would he need a reward?" Ouyang Yue said with a smile.
"Why wasn't there a reward? You didn't see how angry that old witch was! She was so angry she couldn't speak at all, and she still had to fake a smile at me. She looked absolutely hideous. It took so much willpower for me to keep from laughing. My chest still feels so tight. Mom, could you give me a massage?" As she spoke, she puffed out her little chest.
Ouyang Yue scooped up Baili Su with one arm and pulled him into her embrace, while rubbing his chest with her other hand: "How are you feeling now?"
"That's much better~" Baili Su chuckled, then said to Ouyang Yue as if he were taking credit, "Mom, aren't I amazing?" His expression, as if to say, "I'm so amazing, you should praise my cuteness, invincibility, and cleverness," was quite amusing.
“Yes, yes, you’re amazing, very amazing. You’ve had your fun, haven’t you? In a couple of days I’ll take you back and send you to your great-grandmother’s place,” Ouyang Yue suggested.
"No, no, I haven't had enough fun yet. I have a very comprehensive plan. I'm going to make her cry her father and mother. Look at her now, she's just angry. This is nothing. Not enough, not enough, not enough!" Baili Su shook his head and said, "I'll go to my great-grandmother's place after the plan is completed."
Ouyang Yue glanced at Baili Su sideways: "Although I have made arrangements for you and your safety should not be a problem, I am still afraid that the Empress might act rashly if she really wants to harm you. Wouldn't it be impossible to guard against her? Listen to your mother, don't go."
"Mmm~ I want to go." Baili Su hugged Ouyang Yue's arm and shook it, pouting and acting coquettishly.
Ouyang Yue ignored him. Baili Su's eyes darted around. His plan was only halfway done, how could he give up so easily? He had finally managed to find someone like this to play with, and he didn't want to lose one of his sources of amusement. Life would be so boring then. Baili Su's eyes were bright. He felt particularly pleased when he saw the old witch, the Empress, pretending to be happy and coaxing her even though she clearly hated him to death. How could he give up so easily? That wouldn't do.
"By the way, the old witch has been acting strangely these past few days," Baili Su suddenly said, looking up in confusion.
"Hmm? That's weird, what's wrong?"
Baili Su pouted, "She's even more annoying now. She keeps saying to me, 'Suk, be good. Your grandmother loves you so much. What do you want? Just tell your grandmother, and she'll give you anything. You can stay with your grandmother from now on, okay?' Seeing her annoying face, I don't want to be with her at all. Oh, of course, I like teasing her. Hehe." Baili Su immediately grinned mischievously.
Ouyang Yue, on the other hand, fell into deep thought. Would the Empress say such things for no reason? She looked at Baili Su: "Does she often say this?"
"At least twice a day, I guess," Baili Su said after thinking for a moment, while playing with Ouyang Yue's earrings. Today, Ouyang Yue was wearing a pair of gold-inlaid jade earrings, and the jade beads on the pendants were specially carved with lotus flower patterns on both sides, making them look very elegant and beautiful. Baili Su kept picking at them.
Ouyang Yue placed Baili Su on the bed and took off the earrings for him to play with. Watching the chubby little hands fiddling with the beads, she narrowed her eyes. What was the Empress up to? She had a bad feeling about it.
Looking at Baili Su, who was lying on the bed kicking his short legs, Ouyang Yue really didn't know what to say. Finally, she patted Baili Su's head and said, "Then you can play as much as you want, but there's one thing: don't get yourself into danger, and don't go too far. After all, that woman's identity is special. She'll spank you later."
Baili Su rolled his eyes: "Do you think I'm that useless?" Then he turned over and laughed, "Today I'll make sure she can't complain, haha, so funny."
"Hehehe." Laughter came from the outer hall. Even though Ouyang Yue didn't go out, she knew it was Dongxue and Chuncao. Chuncao had been by Baili Su's side the whole time, and she had witnessed what happened in Anle Palace. She had endured it all the way back, and as soon as she saw Dongxue, she immediately recounted the situation vividly. Dongxue listened to the Empress's disheveled appearance, and a rare smile appeared on her usually serious face: "Oh? How ugly must that face have been?"
"That's right! Oh my, that look of a woman about to burst into flames, but being silenced by Granny Yan's rebuke, it was so satisfying, so exhilarating!" Chuncao's eyes lit up with laughter.
These people under Ouyang Yue's command are probably all following their master's example. Those who offend them are all vindictive. Even if they can't really do that to the Empress, they are still happy to see the Empress make a fool of herself. Ouyang Yue listened, a smile also appearing on her lips.
Although she didn't yet know what the Empress was planning, it was a huge mistake for the Empress to target Su'er from the start and treat him like an ordinary little child. Su'er may not have much life experience, but few people could match his mischievousness. When he wanted to scheme against someone, he knew how to plan meticulously like an adult and then carry it out slowly. Ouyang Yue had already foreseen the Empress's miserable state.
Thinking of this, Ouyang Yue couldn't help but smile slightly, her fingers gently stroking the bracelet on her wrist. From her observations over the past few days, it seemed that the Empress Dowager's illness was feigned. Ouyang Yue would go to take care of her for half a day every other day. Under normal circumstances, Zhan Mama would let her sit by her side. If the Empress Dowager really needed someone to do something, she, as a princess, wouldn't have to do it; there were palace maids. Zhan Mama was the kind of person who was very careful and cautious, and she basically didn't rely on others for help. Ouyang Yue would basically just sit there until the shift changed or the day ended.
Of course, in this matter, the Empress Dowager didn't show favoritism. The other three were in the same situation. Sun Meng'er even let slip a complaint once, saying that the Empress Dowager wasn't sick or in pain, and didn't need them to do anything, so why were they being kept so restrained every day? But no one dared to say it to her face. Now it seems that it's probably related to the Empress's insistence on taking care of Su'er. What are these two insidious women thinking? They don't seem to want to harm Su'er. Even today, the Empress endured it all. Such patience—if Su'er hadn't experienced it firsthand, she wouldn't have believed it. Going against the grain, pretending to be kind to Su'er, hoping that when Emperor Mingxian saw her loving side, her true nature would finally show.
What could she possibly want from Su'er? Was it for a deliberately good purpose? Her feud with the Empress is probably an unresolved knot, so she has no reason to spoil Su'er so much.
Ouyang Yue's eyes gradually deepened, as if she were thinking of something. Her eyes gleamed, but her face still held a hint of doubt.
After that, the Empress became noticeably stricter in her supervision of Baili Su. In addition to the eunuchs and maids arranged by Ouyang Yue, two more old nannies were assigned to accompany him. Whenever Baili Su wanted to do something, they would earnestly persuade him that it was dangerous or too dirty and not to do it. However, Baili Su had Eunuch Yan by his side, and after being punished by Eunuch Yan in various ways, he did not dare to go too far.
However, the Empress's fear of Baili Su continuing his mischievous antics didn't materialize. In the following days, Baili Su always had a furrowed brow, his childish face displaying a deep, thoughtful expression unbecoming of a child. When asked what was wrong, Baili Su wouldn't answer, becoming much quieter than before. Compared to the incident at Anle Palace a few days prior, he was remarkably well-behaved, making one wonder if the two children were truly the same person. Of course, the Empress was quite pleased with this; it seemed her stern reprimand that day had frightened Baili Su.
It seems that disciplining children really requires both pampering and strictness. This little rascal can't be spoiled; if you just pamper him, he'll become more and more unruly. This is a good approach.
However, the Empress was unaware that she was too happy about relaxing at this moment!
That day, after lunch, the Empress took her daily nap. Normally, she would rest for about half an hour to an hour, but today, for some reason, she couldn't fall asleep in bed. She felt uneasy and had no choice but to get up. She asked Granny An to bring her the account book and look through it. Just then, a commotion suddenly broke out outside. The Empress frowned and said, "Granny An, go and see what's going on."
However, before Granny An could even leave, a buzzing sound was heard inside the room. The Empress looked up and was stunned by what she saw!
☆、268、The Tragic Empress (Part 2)!
As soon as I looked in, all sorts of flying insects kept swarming into the room. There was a dense swarm of them: bedbugs, locusts, cicadas, bees, longhorn beetles, scarab beetles, dragonflies, crickets, butterflies, grasshoppers, cutworms, and of course, the flies and mosquitoes that everyone hates in summer. And these were just the insects I had seen. There were also some insects that I had never seen before and whose names I did not know. At this moment, these insects seemed to form a dark net in the room, swarming in from the doorway.
The Empress was stunned, unsure how to react. Not only her, but also Granny An, Lan He, Lan Ni, and the others beside her were stunned. When had they ever seen such a scene? The dark mass rushed in, almost burying them.
"Bang!"
"Smack!"
"Ah!" Suddenly, a palace maid standing to the side screamed and dropped what she was holding, then jumped up and down on the spot. Her scream seemed to ignite the nerves of everyone else, and screams of shock echoed throughout the hall, each one more piercing and shrill than the last.
"Ouch! It bit me!"
"It hurts! How can there be so many bugs!"
The Empress was furious: "What's going on? Where are they? Where did everyone go? How could so many insects get into my Palace of Peace and Joy? Blow them out! Blow them all out!"
"Ah!" But the next moment, she cried out, because at that moment a dark insect was flying rapidly toward her face. The empress was so shocked that she immediately stood up, but two other insects flew over quickly and hit the empress's face with "slap slap", which not only made her face hurt, but also made a sound.
The queen gasped in pain and quickly reached out to cover her face. Just then, a black insect flew towards her hand, landed, and bit her!
"Ah, it bit me, it bit my hand!" The Empress exclaimed in surprise, then shouted angrily, "Granny An... Lanhe, what are you doing? Hurry up and chase these bugs away! Hurry up!"
When Granny An and Lanhe heard the Empress's words, a look of helplessness and distress flashed across their faces. They did think about it, but there were so many insects, and they seemed to be flying in endlessly. How could they possibly shoo them all away? Moreover, these insects were all large and strong, and when they hit their faces, hands, or bodies, they could cause a slight stinging pain. With a dark circle of insects coiled overhead and all sorts of insects constantly flying around the room, they felt a chill run down their spines. They even had a feeling that they might be eaten by these insects.
"What are you standing there for? Hurry up!"
"Ouch, it bit me...it bit me again..."
"Your Majesty, this won't do! Let's leave quickly. It's too dangerous in here, and we can't get rid of them in a short time. Let's leave first," said Granny An, her face pale. The Empress was trembling with fear. In the past, when she held a high position, a single rebuke could hold the power of life and death over many people, and many people feared her. But with these damned insects, who could she show her authority to? It was like casting pearls before swine. For her own sake, she wouldn't stay here and invite trouble.
"Quick...hurry up and leave...hurry up and leave!" The Empress was so shocked that her feet seemed unable to move. Granny An and Lanhe endured being bitten by various poisonous insects, waving the insects with one hand and supporting the Empress with the other as they walked out. Their faces were twitching from being hit by the rapidly flying insects, and from a distance, it looked like they were making some kind of funny faces.
However, as soon as they stepped into the hall, with a "buzz," the three looked up and saw even more insects flying in from the air, a denser, black mass than in the room before, and now this swarm of black insects was rushing towards them.
The Empress trembled with fear and screamed, shaking her arms: "Quick...quick, help me get away, hurry, hurry!" She really didn't know what would happen if she stayed here any longer. Her face was full of panic. Granny An and Lan He were also very frightened and hurriedly pulled the Empress to run forward. However, how could they walk as fast as they flew?
With a whoosh, the dark mass swept over them in an instant, moving so fast that they could barely take a few steps to escape. The Empress was horrified: "Hurry!"
"Ah! Oh... glug..." The Queen opened her mouth and suddenly felt something fly in front of her and rush into her mouth, instantly burrowing into her throat. It was so fast that she only noticed the disgusting head of the black worm in the corner of her eye. The Queen immediately bent over reflexively and gagged.
"Your Majesty...Your Majesty, what's wrong?" Lan He asked in surprise.
"Ugh...vomit...vomit...flies...flies..." The Queen's stomach churned, her eyes reddening with pain, and her face flushed as she bent over, but she couldn't vomit anything. Instead, she felt increasingly nauseous; that filthy, foul stuff...ugh...ugh...
The expressions on An Mama's and Lan He's faces also changed. They watched the Empress dry heaving in disgust, but she couldn't vomit. For some reason, their stomachs also started to churn with acid. Now that they thought about it, even though they had been bitten on the arms and their faces were stinging from the insects that kept flying by, it was still much better than swallowing flies innocently. Just thinking about that scene made them want to vomit as well.
"Your Majesty...Your Majesty...please bear with it a little longer, let's leave here first." As Granny An spoke, her face trembled uncontrollably, but the Empress had no mind to care about anything else. She just felt nauseous and her stomach was churning.
Not only the Empress, but also the other palace servants who were not fast enough to run were also attacked. Although some reacted quickly and used whisks or clothes to attack the insects, the palace was filled with screams and curses. There were also many insects on the flowers and plants on the two rows of plants next to the palace. In a short while, several plants seemed to have withered and died. The speed was so fast that it was only a blink of an eye.
Anle Palace is a large palace within the imperial palace complex. Any disturbance that occurs here can be immediately reported throughout the entire palace, just like now.
Consort Sun was cutting flowers in Mingxiang Palace, but she kept feeling things flying down from the sky. She frowned and said, "Why are there so many insects in the palace this year? Has no one caught or killed them? Which lazy palace servant should be found and killed?"
The old woman next to her gave a wink to the palace maids behind her, and some maids went out to catch insects, while others went out to inquire why there were so many insects today.
In this Mingxiang Palace, when Consort Sun entered the palace, Emperor Mingxian favored her and felt that she missed her sister, so he bestowed her upon her. She also retained several of Consort Sun's former confidantes, such as Granny An, Hongyu, and Hongxiu. However, when Consort Sun committed a crime and temporarily rebelled against Consort Sun's acceptance of her, Hongyu was secretly killed by someone.
A short while later, the maid returned to report. When Granny An heard this, she was taken aback, and her expression became somewhat strange. Consort Sun put down the scissors in her hand and asked in confusion, "Granny An, why do you look like that? What happened? Is there some ignorant servant who dared to disobey you?"
Granny An gave a strange laugh: "Your Highness, you would never have guessed that a disaster is about to strike Anle Palace."
"Huh?" Consort Sun was taken aback: "Disaster? What disaster?"
"There's a bug infestation!" Granny An said excitedly. "I don't know what's going on in Anle Palace right now, but it's been attacked by a bunch of bugs, like bedbugs, locusts, cicadas, bees, longhorn beetles, scarabs, dragonflies, crickets, butterflies, grasshoppers, cutworms, flies, and so on. The noise from inside is quite pleasant. Many palaces have just heard the news. Our palace seems to have more bugs now, and it's all because of the infestation in Anle Palace. I'm afraid some of them have escaped and flown to other places."
Consort Sun was quite surprised: "Huh? A plague of insects? Isn't that interesting? Quickly, quickly help me clean up. I'm going to Anle Palace right now. The Empress has been affected by the insects, and I need to comfort her afterwards. This matter can't be delayed. We must show our sincerity. Let's go now."
Granny An laughed, her eyes full of schadenfreude. Granny An was originally Consort Sun's person and had some feelings for her. When Consort Sun died tragically, Granny An also hated the Empress and others. Now that she saw the Empress in trouble, she was naturally very happy: "Okay, I'll go right away. You guys stay in the palace and clean up. Don't let these bugs in. Get more medicine and kill them all."
"Yes, Granny An." After finishing, Granny An, Hongxiu, and the others helped Consort Sun to Anle Palace. As they approached Anle Palace, they encountered several groups of imperial concubines walking there.
Consort Sun, who was usually extremely arrogant and aloof, was surprisingly approachable today: "Isn't this Consort Yun... Consort X... XX..." She actually greeted them one by one.
Sun Zhaoyi wasn't the only one in the group with such a cheerful expression; the others were also smiling with narrowed eyes, exchanging greetings. Sun Zhaoyi said, "Sisters, you're all free together. Where are you headed?"
One of them covered her mouth and laughed, "Consort Sun must have heard the news too. Something strange has happened in the Empress's Anle Palace. A lot of flying insects are causing trouble there. The sisters were terrified when they heard this. It's frightening that something might have happened to Her Majesty the Empress. We're going to see what's going on." They were all afraid that something might have happened to the Empress. They were all secretly hoping to see the Empress make a fool of herself. Of course, Consort Sun was clearly one of them.
A few days ago, she stepped in excrement in Anle Palace. Although such a childish and lowly act was unlikely to be the Empress's doing—everyone knew it was probably Baili Su's doing—Sun Zhaoyi didn't believe the Empress was completely unaware. The Empress would keep track of even the smallest things in Anle Palace; how could she not know about this? She probably wanted to see her make a fool of herself, which was why she condoned Baili Su's actions. What could a one-year-old know? Sun Zhaoyi naturally resented the Empress for this. If she didn't see her make a fool of herself, would she still be the same Sun Zhaoyi who loved vying for favor?
Consort Sun smiled and said, "Then what are we waiting for? Let's go to Anle Palace. We can't let anything happen to Her Majesty the Empress. Let's hurry up." Judging from her expression, she wasn't afraid that something would happen to the Empress, but rather that if something happened to the Empress, they would miss the show. Of course, most people thought the same way at this moment, and no one cared what Consort Sun was thinking.
"Look how excited Consort Sun is. Isn't she afraid that the Empress will be furious and settle scores later?" Baili Cai whispered to Consort Yun as she helped her up.
Consort Yun said calmly, "What's there to be afraid of? Although Consort Sun is very domineering and arrogant in this palace, she is not a fool. Look at how she won Consort Sun's favor, but is she as good as Consort Sun? The Empress hasn't found any fault with her yet, otherwise, would she not have taken any action against her?"
Baili Cai's eyes flashed with a polite smile: "The daughters of the Sun family are all quite good." It was the truth. Consort Sun and Consort Sun each had their own characteristics, and even from a woman's point of view, they were both captivating.
Consort Yun smiled, her expression somewhat meaningful.
"Oh? From Anle Palace?" At this moment, Emperor Mingxian was also taken aback when he heard about Anle Palace in the Imperial Study.
Fu Shun's expression was not as calm as usual, and he said somewhat strangely, "Yes, Your Majesty, it's very chaotic there now, and the Empress has also been attacked."
"It's just a few bugs, nothing serious. We can just apply some medicine later," Emperor Mingxian said nonchalantly, then lowered his head to review the memorials.
“This… it’s not fatal, but it’s not exactly minor either,” Fu Shun said hesitantly.
Emperor Mingxian put down his pen with a "snap," and Fu Shun continued, "I heard that the masters of all the palaces have gone there to comfort the Empress. They should be arriving soon."
Emperor Mingxian finally stood up: "Very well, I want to see what kind of insect attack could cause so many people to be affected."
Of course, it wasn't just Emperor Mingxian and the servants of each concubine's quarters that were disturbed; even the Empress Dowager, who was feigning illness in Chengxiang Palace, was not spared. It was just a coincidence that Sun Meng'er originally intended to pay her respects to the Empress Dowager and then go to Mingxiang Palace to chat with Consort Sun, so she didn't leave. Leng Caidie and Ning Xishan felt that the Empress Dowager's condition seemed to have improved recently, so they didn't want to go back early. Since the credit had been shared, they also lingered and didn't leave. When the Empress Dowager heard the news that she wanted to go and see her, Ouyang Yue and the other three naturally went with her.
Upon arriving at Anle Palace, everyone was dumbfounded. Good heavens, the sky above Anle Palace was completely dark, a sight that sent chills down their spines. No wonder some of them flew to other palaces; judging by the sheer number, some must have managed to escape.
Even the usually dignified Empress Dowager was stunned by this sight, staring wide-eyed and saying, "What's going on? Where is the Empress? Hurry up and rescue the Empress first."
"Ouch! It bit me!"
"Ah... Gun Gun, don't come any closer!"
"Waaaaah... Mother, Mother, I want to go home..."