The servants of the Song family were all dismissed, and Prince Ning took care of everything. Ahao felt that she had both troubled and bothered him, but she was really useless and had no clue how to do many things, so she could only follow along. She never felt that her mother was a burden, but even so... in this world, she had no more close relatives.
After spending five days at the Song residence and settling all the affairs, Lü Yuan came to fetch Ahao back to the palace. With the gate closed and the lock on, Ahao looked at the plaque bearing the two large characters "Song Residence" and could only silently bid it farewell in the afterglow of the setting sun.
Ah Hao didn't know why she had to return to the palace, where she should go, or what she should do next. The world was vast, but she had no home; perhaps it didn't matter where she was anymore. Sitting in the carriage, Ah Hao finally opened the letter that was supposedly her mother's last will and testament. At first glance, it was indeed her mother's handwriting.
But her mother had been mentally unstable for ten years and hadn't held a pen in all that time. How could she possibly write such delicate characters? The thought of someone sitting behind a desk, carefully choosing each word and imitating her mother's handwriting to write this letter made Ah Hao want to cry again.
It was already dark when they returned to the palace. Ah Hao had no appetite and ate nothing. After washing up, she lay down on the bed, but she couldn't sleep at all. She just stared blankly at the bed curtains. From the age of nine to nineteen, the memories she had kept were gradually brought up again. She felt that the events that had happened in the past six months seemed to be more numerous than those that had happened in the previous years.
As the night deepened, the fatigue accumulated over the past few days slowly washed over her, and before she knew it, Ah Hao closed her eyes and fell asleep. The nightmares became more intense than before, assaulting her fragile mind. Ah Hao dreamt that her mother was walking further and further away, leaving her alone; she dreamt that her mother said she didn't want to live anymore…
Lü Yuan and Lü Chuan followed behind Zhang Yu, watching him stop outside Song Shuhao's room and refuse to go in. They were unsure whether to try and persuade him. Similar incidents had been frequent recently. These past few days, with Song Shuhao away, His Majesty had often come to sit in this room. Lü Yuan thought to himself, then sighed inwardly.
A sob came from inside the room, mixed with some babbling. Lü Yuan glanced at Zhang Yu's expression, then steeled himself, reached out and opened the door. He bowed and stepped aside, saying in a low voice, "Your Majesty, after tonight, whatever punishment you desire, this servant will have no complaints."
Ah Hao's cries in her sleep became clearer than before, and she could hear what she was saying. Lü Yuan's behavior made Zhang Yu's face darken. He didn't look at anyone, but walked out of the room.
Lu Yuan hurriedly closed the door again, already half-dead with fright. He patted his chest in lingering fear, glanced at Lu Chuan, and lowered his voice even further, "If I don't make it out tonight, please remember to collect my body for all these years we've worked together." Lu Chuan looked at him and nodded solemnly.
In a daze, Ah Hao felt someone grasp her hand; those hands were warm and strong, instantly calming her down. The next moment, it felt as if she were being held in someone's arms, an embrace equally warm and reliable, making her unconsciously want to lean on them…
She suddenly woke up with a start. The person who had been holding her hadn't let go, nor had he disappeared. She could smell the familiar scent of pine and orchid again. Zhang Yu, lying on his side beside her, placed his hand on her back and gently patted it again and again.
In the darkness, Ahao remained silent, as did Zhang Yu, yet the two clung to each other in this intimate embrace, devoid of any ambiguity or intimacy. After what seemed like an eternity, Ahao took a deep breath, sniffed, and whispered, "Thank you for the letter, Your Majesty..."
Zhang Yu's body stiffened slightly, then relaxed. After a while, he spoke, his voice hoarse, "How did you find out?" A-Hao then said, "Mother hasn't written anything for ten years." Zhang Yu laughed and said, "You're not stupid at all now." He thought to himself, he had actually forgotten about that.
After a moment of silence, Ah Hao called out again, "Your Majesty." Zhang Yu responded softly, and Ah Hao whispered, "It's too... quiet..."
After a pause, Ahao replied, "This servant has retrieved everything. Even though His Majesty doesn't want it, this servant is still willing to keep it, after all, it took some effort to put into it." Zhang Yu responded to her in a low voice, but only said, "Go to sleep." Ahao fell silent for a moment, and did not say anything more.
Chapter 77 Update
After the seventh day memorial for Xu Shi, and having composed herself, Song Shuhao returned to Zhang Yu's side to serve him. After that night, although Zhang Yu wasn't cold-faced, he remained indifferent, refusing to engage in intimate acts with her or dine with her anymore. However, Shuhao felt much more at ease.
Empress Shen fell seriously ill and never recovered. Consort De, Nie Shaoguang, also began to live a secluded life, and even the other concubines in the harem were so well-behaved that they made almost no sound. What happened that day truly frightened many people, not just Song Shuhao.
As usual, after seeing Zhang Yu off to the morning court, Ahao had breakfast. When she passed by the palace gate again, she saw Lanfang, whom she hadn't seen for a long time, being stopped by the guards. Ahao went over, greeted the guards, and stood in front of a flower bush near Xuanzhi Hall to talk to Lanfang.
Empress Dowager Feng was left without anyone by her side. Xue Liangyue and Song Shuhao, who had served her in the past, were no longer there. The old maids, Granny Feng and Granny Yao, who had always been with her, had also perished in the recent events. Lanfang was then promoted to head palace maid and was responsible for taking care of Empress Dowager Feng's daily life.
The recent events had caused quite a stir, and no one in the palace was unaware of them, Lanfang being no exception. However, she came to see Ahao today, firstly to check on her, and secondly… because she genuinely had a favor to ask. Having overheard that Empress Dowager Feng might be going to the Hanshan Palace, Lanfang became restless.
Now that she is the head palace maid by Empress Dowager Feng's side, if Empress Dowager Feng really goes to Hanshan Palace, can she escape? However, once she goes to that place, she doesn't know when she will be able to return to the palace.
Lanfang had thought that she could live a peaceful life after reaching a certain age and being released from the palace, but unexpectedly, she encountered such a change. She had no one to turn to, and the only person she could think of was Ahao. Even though she felt somewhat guilty, she couldn't overcome her deep worry about her future.
Ah Hao listened to Lan Fang's words, but said, "I can't guarantee anything right now, but if I can help you, I will do my best." Lan Fang was already very grateful for Ah Hao's words, and she quickly thanked her, saying, "Aunt Song, thank you, I'm very grateful no matter what."
Lanfang had helped her a lot in the past, and Ahao smiled and said, "You're welcome." Thinking of those times, Lanfang asked her again, "How are you doing now? I've heard a lot about you, and I'm a little worried."
"I'm fine. You and Xiaodouzi should take good care of yourselves too." After saying that, Ahao thought of something, asked Lanfang to wait a moment, and went back to her room. Ahao took out two gold hairpins inlaid with small gemstones, wrapped them tightly in a handkerchief, and handed them to Lanfang. "Take these. Thank you for helping me so much before."
Lanfang glanced at what it was and didn't dare accept it, but Ahao kept persuading her and pushed her into Lanfang's arms. Lanfang felt that Ahao's behavior was inappropriate and repeatedly refused, asking, "Aunt Song... is something wrong?"
"How do I look like I'm in trouble?" A-Hao asked with a smile. Lan Fang nodded and said, "You're too kind. It feels a little like we'll never see each other again... I can't accept these things. Auntie, keep them for yourself; they'll come in handy someday."
Ah Hao concealed any emotions that might be revealed in her eyes and brows, and with a smile still on her face, she said, "Since we're all in this palace, how could we not have the chance to meet? It's just that I forgot to thank you properly before, and now that I've finally remembered, I'm making up for the past thanks with a gift."
"It's good that Auntie is alright." Lanfang believed Ah Hao's words and didn't see anything particularly wrong with her. However, she didn't accept the things Ah Hao offered and ran back to Changning Palace.
·
Not long after Lanfang left, Zhang Xin came to Xuanzhi Hall again, but she wasn't there to see Ahao; she was there to see Zhang Yu. Knowing that Zhang Yu hadn't finished his morning court session yet, the furious Zhang Xin simply stayed there to wait.
Ah-hao and Zhang-xin brewed a pot of jasmine tea and set out two plates of snacks, asking her to drink tea and eat snacks while she waited. They just didn't know why she looked so angry.
Before Ahao could even ask, Zhang Xin couldn't hold back and spoke first. After downing a cup of jasmine tea, Zhang Xin turned to Ahao, fuming, and said, "Ahao, tell me, isn't Xia Zi particularly despicable? He seems like such a virtuous and upright person, yet he goes to brothels? Brothels? Good heavens! Brothels?!"
Zhang Xin imagined the scene and felt so frustrated she wanted to collapse. She said angrily, "How could he not know how to keep himself pure?! He actually went to drink and carouse?! Waaah, I feel like he's no longer the pure and innocent Xia Zi in my heart."
"...How did you know that Lord Xia went to drink...flower wine?" After listening for a while, Ahao understood the meaning behind Zhang Xin's words and felt that there might be a misunderstanding, so she asked carefully.
Zhang Xin grabbed Ahao's hand and said with teary eyes, "I heard it from my tenth brother. Surely my tenth brother wouldn't lie to me, right? He said that Xia Xiazi has been going to that... Zui Tao Fang place almost every night lately. I have to beg my emperor brother to allow me to leave the palace to catch them in the act!"
“Your Highness…please think about it again. Do you really want to go to a place like that?” Ah Hao suddenly grasped her hand and tried to persuade her. “Putting everything else aside, even if His Majesty really agrees and you actually go, what are you going to do if you see Lord Xia there?”
“But I can’t just stand by and watch Xiazi go astray, get stuck in the mud and do nothing!” Zhang Xin felt a little wronged. “I’m not being silly. I went there secretly, met him, and took him away from there. I talked to him properly and told him that he couldn’t do such a thing.”
Ah Hao also felt that the Zhang Xin in front of her was not the little princess she used to know... She reached out and touched Zhang Xin's forehead. There was no fever, which made her even more worried. She asked, "Does Your Highness care a lot about things related to Lord Xia?"
"Me? Care? About him?" Zhang Xin's almond-shaped eyes widened as she looked at Ahao in astonishment, then waved her hands repeatedly. "How could that be! How could I care? I just... I just..." She thought for a long time but couldn't think of a way to continue the conversation, so she had to say, "A high-ranking official of the court is deeply mired in trouble. Whether it's me or anyone else, if we know about this, we must save this person!"
After Zhang Xin finished speaking, she thought about it and felt that her reason was particularly upright, sufficient, and reasonable! When Zhang Yu returned from court, Zhang Xin directly quoted her words when she talked to him about this matter.
As Zhang Yu listened to Zhang Xin's words, he sat down behind the dragon desk and, without thinking, said to Zhang Xin, "No." If Zhang Yu had been more patient and said a few more words, perhaps Zhang Xin would have given up. But Zhang Yu's refusal was too decisive, and she was still somewhat unwilling to give up, so she pleaded a few more times. Zhang Yu only said, "What does his business have to do with you? He's not your consort."
Upon hearing the words "imperial son-in-law," Zhang Xin, who had never considered that possibility before, suddenly blushed, feeling a burning sensation on her face. Unable to speak, she stammered for a long time before stamping her foot and saying, "Fine, I won't go." Pouting and blushing, she stormed off.
·
People around Prince Ning went to the Imperial Hospital to invite Ling Xiao, saying that Prince Ning was ill and asking her to go to Prince Ning's residence to take a look. Ling Xiao did not want to go, but the ten hundred-tael silver notes presented to her were too tempting.
Just one trip to Prince Ning's residence would net her a thousand taels of silver. Ling Xiao mentally repeated this three times, and she felt incredibly motivated. She shouldered her medicine chest, and, being well-treated, was given a sedan chair to ride in, following the procession to Prince Ning's residence.
After entering the palace, there weren't many opportunities to leave, but the Ning Prince's residence wasn't too far away. As Ling Xiao stepped down from the sedan chair, he walked and looked around, thinking that the Ning Prince's residence was quite grand, befitting the residence of the prince closest to the emperor.
The people of the Ning Prince's residence treated Ling Xiao quite politely, perhaps because the Prince had given prior instructions. She was led to a room, but the person who had led the way silently withdrew, seemingly indicating that Ling Xiao should go in on her own. She sensed something was amiss, but still pushed open the door and went in.