Unless there is a great opportunity, a person cannot be brought back to life after death.
The deaths of the Jinghe Liu family members stood between the mother and daughter, and Ji Rong could not forgive her.
"Peanut crisp..."
Hesu was the nickname of Princess Yunzhang, because she loved eating walnut shortbread when she was young.
Ji Rong hadn't looked at her mother seriously for a long time. Many times she was afraid, afraid of seeing endless greed and obsession with power in her mother's eyes.
To satisfy her greed and fulfill her obsession, she viewed everyone's life as nothing more than worthless weeds to be cut down with a slash of her knife.
Looking back now, the Empress Dowager has aged, but her heart remains young, and her ruthlessness is unchanged.
"If I hadn't come, did you intend to exterminate them all?"
She stepped forward: "Mother, how long are you going to force me? Will you only stop all your crimes when I die?"
"Crime? I did it for your deceased elder brother. Ji Ying murdered his brother to seize the throne, what right does he have to sit on it? This throne belongs to your brother!"
"Kill your brother and seize the throne?" Ji Rong laughed at her for deceiving herself for so many years: "If your brother hadn't thought about killing Ji Ying, how could he have been killed by Ji Ying? Besides, at that time, Father Emperor originally intended to make the fourth prince the heir apparent. It was your brother who took a risky path and sought his own death."
"Shut up! I won't allow you to say that!"
"Your Majesty can silence me, but can you silence the voices of the masses? You only think about how my brother died at the hands of others, but why don't you think about who framed Empress Yin for having an affair, and who poisoned her!"
This is a secret known to very few people.
Many people who know about this have already been reincarnated.
Empress Dowager Yan was shocked at how she had learned this.
Ji Rong lowered his eyes: "It was something I saw with my own eyes when I was a child. The night before you killed her, she taught me to recite a poem."
"What poem?"
"A poem that encourages children to always remember the kindness of their parents in raising and nurturing them."
Empress Dowager Yan remained silent for a moment, then suddenly spoke: "She is a talented woman with a backbone stronger than a knife, and she has a well-known reputation for virtue."
"But you still poisoned her."
"As my daughter, you should forget about this matter."
Ji Rong scoffed lightly: "So, if we don't see eye to eye, a word is too much. I'll take my leave now."
She left decisively, just as coldly and resolutely as she had been during all these years of feuding with her.
She hated her for wiping out the Liu family and for forcing away the girl she liked. But why didn't she think that as the eldest princess of the Great Yan Dynasty, how could she like a woman?
Empress Dowager Yan closed her eyes wearily.
After a long time, Ji Qingyao appeared beside her and gently massaged her shoulders: "Grandmother, Aunt will understand. Everything you did was for her."
"You're so sensible."
The Empress Dowager patted her granddaughter's hand, and Ji Qingyao served her obediently.
...
Back at Ganning Palace, after the palace servants had left, the Empress stared intently at her nephew: "You have quite the audacity to draw your sword in Fushou Palace?"
Wei Pingxi knelt obediently on the ground, his eyebrows drooping: "The situation is urgent, and I have no choice but to take action. If I don't draw my sword, I don't even know if I can survive until my aunt comes to my rescue."
"You still dare to be unreasonable?" The Empress was so angry that her heart clenched. "What would you do if I weren't here?"
"How could the slightest disturbance in the harem escape the eyes of my aunt?"
"Be serious!"
"Yes, that's right."
She said solemnly, "With my aunt gone, I will have no choice but to fight my way out. Perhaps I won't have to shed blood. With my aunt gone, His Majesty will not stand by and watch me die. His Majesty loves my aunt deeply. How could he, out of both affection and reason, allow his beloved nephew to die in this palace?"
"Should I praise you for your keen judgment and understanding of people's hearts?"
“Pingxi dared not. But at that time, I could only advance and not retreat. If I retreated, it would be Zhizhi who would die.”
The Empress's anger subsided: "You have offended the Empress Dowager. Go outside and receive thirty strokes of the cane. Shout as loudly as you can, understand?"
"Understood, Aunt needs to give the Empress Dowager an explanation."
She was both easy to care for and a source of worry for Yan Xiu, who beckoned her closer: "It's not that I want to hit you, I hit you to protect you, understand?"
"clear."
"I don't have all the knowledge of this harem. At least I have no idea what Fushou Palace is saying or doing right now."
"It was my cousin who let down my aunt's loving heart."
In the few days he spent in the palace, Wei Pingxi roughly understood the situation.
The Empress Dowager and the Emperor were at odds, and the Princess was used as a pawn to hinder the Emperor and Empress. It is lamentable that the beautiful princess did not have a good relationship with her parents, but instead became close to an old woman who had a grudge against the Emperor.
It's also because he's not very bright.
It's easy to imagine that things haven't been as easy for the emperor and empress as they seem over the years.
She suppressed a sigh and said with a look of filial piety, "Aunt, don't worry, I will leave the palace and return to the Grand Tutor's mansion after receiving the punishment today, so as not to cause you any trouble."
“It’s not that I’m afraid you’ll cause me trouble. The trouble is there; even if you don’t provoke her, she’ll come knocking on your door.”
"I know, my aunt is afraid that the Empress Dowager will not let me off the hook."
Yan Xiu pulled her into her arms and said softly, "The Empress Dowager is intolerant of people. In the past, she held onto power and refused to relinquish it, which caused a grudge against His Majesty. She is petty and always blames others for everything, while she herself is always right. In short, she is an unreasonable and fierce old woman."
Wei Pingxi was amused by her: "So even a fairy like Auntie can be sarcastic?"
"Naughty".
"Alright, Aunt, please continue."
The Empress released her and gently instructed, "Within the palace, I will protect you. Outside the palace, you can befriend Princess Yunzhang. Although she and the Empress Dowager are mother and daughter, they are not on the same side."
"Alright. Nephew, treat her well and respect her as a senior."
"Why have you suddenly become so well-behaved?"
Wei Pingxi smiled. She couldn't explain why, but she just couldn't bear to see her aunt in trouble.
She deliberately said, "Then I won't leave the palace. I'll cause trouble every day and make my aunt fight with the Empress Dowager for me."
"Forget it, you should go back to the Grand Tutor's mansion. In the few days you've been here, I've even gotten two more wrinkles around my eyes."
"No, not at all." She leaned closer to take a closer look, then stepped back half a step. "Auntie is very young. People would believe she's a twenty-year-old girl."
She was glib and witty, which made Yan Xiu's smile deepen. She couldn't help but look at her a few more times: "Go, accept your punishment."
"Yes. I'll take my leave now. Aunt, please get some rest."
She bowed and withdrew. The Empress thought of her nephew and then her daughter, and slowly exhaled a sigh of frustration.
...
Yu Zhi and the others waited anxiously outside the door, fearing that the Empress would come down and scold the Fourth Miss.
Wei Pingxi walked out of the door with a feigned sorrowful expression, and the head palace maid Ning You took a wooden staff to administer the punishment.
A long bench was placed in the open space. Yu Zhi tugged at the Fourth Miss's sleeve: "Is Her Majesty going to hit you?"
"It's alright, wait for me a moment."
She walked over and lay down on the bench, where Ning You personally carried out the execution.
Thirty strokes, not a stroke more or less. Wei Pingxi, who was eighteen years old, shouted so loudly that the roof tiles shook.
After Madam Wei finished her Buddhist prayers and came out of the house, she learned that many troubles had occurred during her secluded meditation, so she hurried to the main hall.
When she reached the entrance of the main hall, she heard her daughter crying out in distress. Her legs gave way, and she staggered and ran away.
“Xi Xi…”
“Aunt Yu, you can’t go over there. There are still two more strokes left, and it will be over soon.”
Yu Zhi broke free from their grasp and ran over, finally striking Xi Xi on the back with her cane: "Xi Xi, Xi Xi, how are you? Are your bones broken?"
Wei Pingxi was skilled in martial arts, so she was quite resilient and wouldn't suffer any serious injuries. Seeing the beautiful woman foolishly running over to take the beating for her, she was both angry and amused: "Didn't I tell you to wait? What are you doing running over here?"
She groaned as she got up, and Yu Zhixin felt as if her heart was breaking. She whispered, "How could I just stand by and watch you get beaten..."
Anyone else would have been terrified after just one trip to Fushou Palace. It's remarkable that she was so timid; she didn't cry and beg for mercy in the face of the Empress Dowager and Princess Jiaorong's power, which saved her dignity.
Wei Pingxi was very satisfied, but also felt a pang of pity: "Alright, alright, let's go back to Grandmother's house and not stay in this palace anymore."
"Xi Xi!"
Madam Wei walked over quickly.
Seeing that she was quite frightened, Wei Pingxi quickly said, "Mother, I'm fine! Don't worry!"
...
"They went back?"
"I went back and left without having dinner."
The Empress stood by the window, gazing at the distant scenery. From time to time, snow began to fall from the sky. She sighed, "Has the porcelain doll been sent to her yet?"
"It's been sent."
"What did she say?"
"The fourth young lady said she likes it, thank you for your trouble, Aunt."
Yan Xiu smiled and murmured, "I'm glad you like it."
--------------------
Chapter 41 Stealing Hearts
As the carriage exited Zhiyang Gate, Wei Pingxi held the porcelain doll in his hands, admiring it repeatedly.
The doll is a kind and lovable white porcelain doll with long, thin eyebrows, round, black eyes, a small nose, and a touch of bright red on its lips. It wears a red scarf around its neck and a hand-embroidered cloak that can be easily removed.
She loved them dearly and immediately recognized that the red scarf and embroidered cloak were made by her aunt.