Hibiscus as a Painting - Chapter 41
Zi Jin nodded and then shook her head: It's best not to interfere in the relationship between the two of them.
A strange light flashed in west Lemei's eyes. With a wronged expression, she grabbed Zi Jin and said in a coquettish voice, "Doesn't Xiao Jin Jin care about Yu Luo at all? After you left the palace, Yu Luo lost her support. If the Third Prince doesn't have deep feelings for her, even you won't be able to help her then. Over the years, Yu Luo has treated you like a brother. Can you really bear to see others trample on her feelings?"
Zi Jin pondered for a long time, then looked up at west Le with a puzzled expression: Really?
west Le winked seductively and giggled, "I knew Xiao Jinjin couldn't let go of that stunning palace maid. Today is Consort Lin's birthday, and the Third Prince must be at Su Ran Palace right now. Shall we go and see him together?"
Zi Jin was filled with conflicting emotions. After pondering for a long time, she finally nodded.
In early spring, while other palaces were already in full bloom, Su Ran Palace remained as desolate and bleak as I remembered, overgrown with weeds.
west Le carefully pulled Zi Jin along without making a sound. Leaning over a window, the two of them looked at the scene inside.
Sitting before the bronze mirror, Consort Lin's skin was as fair as ever, her brows were less troubled, her lips were a touch of rosy cherries, and her dark eyes on her oval face shone brightly. She did not look like a woman nearing thirty at all.
Jun Chi's exquisite eyes were filled with gentleness, and he wore the most obedient smile as he carefully combed Lin Fei's long, dark hair.
"It's been quite a while since I've seen Mother Consort. Has Mother Consort missed her child?" Jun Chi asked softly, his eyes filled with joy.
Consort Lin's eyes were also filled with joy, and she smiled slightly, "I thought you wouldn't be coming today."
"How could I forget Mother's birthday?" Jun Chi skillfully styled Lin Fei's hair into a bun, inserted a pearl hairpin, and continued, "Mother looks stunning with this pearl flower... Mother needs to make herself stand out, for Father will surely come to Su Ran Palace to visit Mother soon."
"Really?..." Consort Lin turned around abruptly, looking at her increasingly handsome son, and asked in surprise.
Jun Chi nodded with a smile: "In a few days, Zi Yingfeng will return in triumph, and we can recoup the stakes we've placed on the Zi family over the years. Zi Jin trusts me completely now. If I can gain Zi Yingfeng's support, I can also compete with the Crown Prince and Jun An..."
"The Second Prince is Zi Yingfeng's future son-in-law. Will he truly support my son?"
"In Zi Yingfeng's eyes, Zi Jin is a thousand times better than those two daughters. My current position in the palace is entirely due to the support of Zi Yingfeng's faction in court..."
Zi Jin's lips trembled slightly, her eyes were bloodshot, and her hands were clenched so tightly that her nails dug into her flesh without her realizing it. She carefully walked towards the outer gate of Su Ran Palace, leaving Xi Le behind, and ran away as soon as she reached the gate.
west Le watched Zi Jin leave without changing her expression, then turned back to look at the mother and child embracing inside the house with a smile in her eyes, a charmingly alluring smile playing on her lips.
As if being chased, Zi Jin lowered her head and ran aimlessly, large tears falling to the ground and shattering everywhere.
How innocent those clear eyes and delicate face seemed! Why?
How tender and soft is a body covered in whip marks and trembling in the winter? Why?
"...In this world, only you are willing to treat me sincerely." Was that trembling and panicked feeling? Why?
I once thought I had preserved the last remaining purity in the palace, but little did I know that the roots beneath the pure white lotus were already covered in mud.
All the love and pity I gave you, only to be met with exploitation and manipulation? Why? Why?
Why is all this happening? Why is all this happening?!
You, my lord, ultimately could not escape the curse of the palace.
She ran for an unknown amount of time, until she felt that she was very, very, very far away from Su Ran Palace, before she dared to stop and sit down by the roadside...
A goddess reincarnated, originally for the sake of all living beings, was born to answer questions of love and to face calamity. How can the truth of this hasten separation? (Part 3)
How can the truth hasten parting (Part 3) As the sun sets, Zi Jin sits blankly in the unfamiliar flower garden, looking at the dazzling forsythia in the distance, her transparent black eyes revealing endless sorrow and grief.
As evening fell, the warm spring breeze turned chilly, and Zi Jin huddled up, shivering. Her tears had long since dried, and her face stung from the wind, but there was one place that hurt a thousand times more than her face.
"Who are you...who are you, eh?" A drunken palace maid, holding a wine jug, tilted her head and sized up Zi Jin, shouting arrogantly, "You daring servant! Why do you look more sad than I am...sad?"
Zi Jin slowly raised her eyes and glanced at the girl in palace attire: When did such an unruly woman appear in the palace?
The girl chuckled and took two steps forward, grabbing Zi Jin's hand: "We're both heartbroken souls, come on! Drink with me."
Zi Jin stared in astonishment at the hand the girl was holding onto, then turned her gaze blankly to meet the girl's endearing smile. Zi Jin stood there dumbfounded for a long time, then suddenly turned and smiled at the girl, before rising without hesitation to leave: "We are both heartbroken souls, better not to have met than to have met."
The girl was dressed in the formal attire of a palace concubine, but she was only sixteen or seventeen years old. Although she was slightly drunk and her hair was a little disheveled, it was clear that she had dressed up carefully today, with painted eyebrows, a gold hairpin in her hair, and an unknown, delicate flower by her ear.
The girl was naturally a pretty, delicate beauty, and this outfit seemed superfluous. But her smile was incredibly beautiful, without any scheming, calculation, or ulterior motive; it was so charmingly innocent that it evoked pity.
The girl led Zi Jin to a relatively secluded flower garden not far away, where empty wine jugs were scattered on the ground, along with several neatly arranged, unopened bottles of osmanthus wine.
The woman, who was sitting on the ground, saw that Zi Jin was still standing there dumbfounded, and suddenly pulled Zi Jin down. Zi Jin fell to the ground without any regard for her image.
The girl chuckled softly, handed a pot of wine to Zi Jin, and whispered in her ear, "Shh, keep your voice down, it won't be good if someone hears us. I... I stole all of this."
Zi Jin glanced at the charming young girl, then looked at the wine jug in her hand, and suddenly felt an urge to burst into laughter: those carefree days of living for the moment, those days of drinking and reveling until one was completely drunk, are truly gone forever. When did life begin to shrink back and bury one's true feelings? Why, even now, have I not escaped the fate of becoming a pawn?
Zi Jin turned back and smiled slightly at the girl, picked up the wine pot, tilted her head back and drank it down. She only put down the pot when it was half empty: "Drink today, for tomorrow we may die; worry about tomorrow's troubles... isn't that right?"
The strong liquor burned Zi Jin's eyes until they were bloodshot, glistening with tears.
The girl tilted her head and leaned close to Zi Jin's eyes: "Okay...okay, drink as you please. If your master...if your master blames you, I'll take responsibility..."
Zi Jin chuckled and nodded, continuing to drink the wine in large gulps: Why is this wine so strong? It burns so badly that tears keep flowing.
"Are you still sad? Uh..." The girl stared blankly at Zi Jin, whose face was covered in tears, and her brows furrowed slightly.
Zi Jin dared not meet the girl's gaze, so she simply lay down and drank with the setting sun.
“I am also… very sad. He never even glances at me… never…” The girl hugged the wine jug and stared blankly into the distance, her eyes unfocused. “I know he married me out of necessity. If I could choose… I would rather… I would rather be a woman without a family background but who could receive his true love. Although I am not better than her in every way, she also has things that I do not have. Why is it that he only has eyes for her?”
Zi Jin took another big gulp and smiled reassuringly at the girl: If it could be measured, it wouldn't be love.
“If I weren’t me… if he weren’t him, how wonderful would that be? If we were just an ordinary couple, how wonderful would that be? How could someone as proud as him allow himself to fall in love with… a woman he was forced to marry? He still needs my father’s support now, and if one day… one day… how will he treat me then?… Look at me… look at me, am I not beautiful? Am I not as good as that woman?… But my feelings for him are genuine… genuine, not because of his status, not because of his nobility, but because he is who he is…”