Seeing that she didn't speak, the Empress finally calmed down a bit. She said a few more words before getting up and walking outside, leaving Consort De kneeling there, still not daring to get up.
Behind the artificial hill, Meng Wan was already stunned. She never expected to hear such a shocking secret. If she understood correctly, the Empress meant that Consort Shu's child died at her hands, and Consort De was the Empress's person.
Startled, Meng Wan turned around quickly, but in her panic, she accidentally stepped on a pebble on the ground, nearly falling. Fortunately, she grabbed a rock from the artificial hill to avoid falling. However, the sound she made in her panic startled the kneeling Consort De: "Who's there?"
Meng Wan was startled and froze on the spot.
Should she stand up and confront Consort De, asking her if what she just heard was true or false, or should she hide here or run away as fast as she can?
My thoughts raced, but none of them came up with any good ideas.
Putting aside whether she could get any information out of them, just the fact that she witnessed the Empress and Consort De meeting would likely lead to her being silenced if it were discovered.
Thinking this, her body stiffened even more, and she stood there motionless, feeling Consort De's footsteps approaching step by step, her heart pounding in her throat.
"Who is it?" came another voice. Meng Wan took a step back, her heart pounding. Just then, a cat suddenly appeared out of nowhere and leaped out from the side.
"Meow--"
After saying this, Consort De stopped in her tracks, looked at the Persian cat, her brows furrowing instinctively. She muttered to herself, "So it's a cat," and after standing there for a while, she turned and left.
Meng Wan finally breathed a sigh of relief, looking at the cat with immense gratitude. She patted her chest and gasped for breath, but before she could catch her breath, a sudden sound above her head startled her once again.
"You're such a coward! Why did you have to eavesdrop on other people's conversations? If it weren't for my cat, you would have been caught red-handed today!"
Upon hearing this, Meng Wan was taken aback, then turned around abruptly.
The first thing she saw was Huangfu Yi's handsome face, smiling as he approached her. His appearance, which bore a resemblance to Huangfu Mi, momentarily stunned Meng Wan. It wasn't until he was right beside her that she snapped back to reality.
"You... what are you doing here?" Her face instantly hardened, filled with defensiveness. Huangfu Yi looked at her quietly, a slight smile creeping onto her lips: "Why are you always like this? I helped you and you didn't even say thank you. Seventh Sister-in-law, have I offended you?"
"It's not that I've offended you, it's just that I dislike you!" Meng Wan frowned and corrected her.
"you..."
The relentless criticism dealt a heavy blow to Huangfu Yi. Wasn't it said that the Meng family's daughters were the most docile? How come he couldn't see any docility here, only sharpness?
This seventh sister-in-law is really sharp-tongued towards him!
After a moment of contemplation, Meng Wan had already composed herself. Ignoring his resentful expression, she gave a slight curtsy and turned to leave. Only then did Huangfu Yu come to his senses and suddenly rush to her side.
Where are you going?
His act of blocking people from passing was hardly gentlemanly behavior. Meng Wan frowned slightly, looked at him, and tried her best to maintain a calm expression as she said, "Eighth Prince, please let me pass."
"No." She said, and deliberately leaned forward a little.
Where are you going?
He asked again.
Meng Wan frowned even more deeply. "Where I go is none of your business, is it?"
“How can it be unrelated?” Huangfu Yi raised his voice: “You and I both witnessed the Empress and Consort De’s situation. If you are going to tell Consort Shu now, I will definitely follow you.”
...
It's truly speechless.
"When did I say I was going to inform on her?" Although she also wanted Consort Shu to know the truth, she had just recovered from the pain of losing her child, so how could Meng Wan bring up her sad memories again?
"Then what do you want to do?" Huangfu Yi persisted, his beautiful peach blossom eyes filled with a subtle, sparkling light. He was originally extremely handsome, but because of her bad impression of him, Meng Wan felt nothing but dislike for him!
She glared at him and said calmly, "Leaving the palace and returning home, do you need to interfere with this Eighth Prince?"
Seemingly taken aback by her words, Huangfu Yi was visibly stunned for a moment. Taking advantage of this moment, Meng Wan had already turned and left. Watching her retreating figure, he called out loudly, "Seventh Sister-in-law, wait for me---"
Meng Wan wouldn't wait for him. She quickly left Desheng Gate, changed into a sedan chair to return to the Prince of Heng's residence, and went straight back to her room. After closing the door, she poured herself a cup of tea and drank it before taking a deep breath.
I was terrified!
"What's wrong?" Huangfu Mi had heard that the princess had returned, and thought it was a joke. But now that he saw her locked in her room, he hurriedly went over to ask.
"Didn't you go to see Consort Shu? Why are you back so soon?"
Meng Wan was still thinking about what she had just seen, so she told Huangfu Mi about the meeting between the Empress and Consort De, naturally omitting the fact that she had met Huangfu Yi, because she was too lazy to mention it.
Huangfu Mi listened quietly, his brows furrowing more and more as he listened, until finally they were almost pressed together: "You mean, Consort De was planted by the Empress to be by Father's side?"
"Yes." Meng Wan nodded.
Huangfu Mi's expression grew increasingly grim. If he remembered correctly, the Empress's most hated person was her own mother. Because of her mother, the Empress had suffered countless humiliations at the hands of the Emperor. How could she now be sending someone who looked exactly like her into the palace? Could it be... some kind of conspiracy?
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Huangfu Mi's expression grew increasingly grim. If he remembered correctly, the Empress's most hated person was her own mother. Because of her mother, the Empress had suffered countless humiliations at the hands of the Emperor. How could she now be sending someone who looked exactly like her into the palace? Could it be... some kind of conspiracy?
Thinking of this, he suddenly stood up, patted Meng Wan on the shoulder, and comforted her, "Don't overthink it. Don't tell Consort Shu about this for now. Let me go to the palace first to find out what Father Emperor thinks, and then we'll make a plan."
Knowing that the Emperor now favored Consort De, Huangfu Mi worried that acting rashly would be detrimental to the situation. She nodded in agreement, her brows furrowing as she watched him leave.
It's unbelievable that Consort Shu's child was aborted by the Empress. Shouldn't the Empress be the mother of the nation? How could she be so cruel?
--
Huangfu Mi went and returned in just an hour. Meng Wan was still sitting there, clearly not expecting it to happen so quickly. She immediately got up to greet him: "Why are you back? Did you see Father?"
In such a short time, the journey between the palace and the Prince Heng's residence was just right. It would be impossible for him to see the Emperor, which is why Meng Wan had some doubts.