La pluie printanière est comme du vin, les saules comme de la fumée

Chapitre 133

"Your Highness, Your Highness!" A young palace maid in a green palace dress rushed in. When she saw Yu Wuxia leisurely arranging the potted plants on the table, she said angrily, "Your Highness, how can you be in the mood to arrange potted plants at a time like this?"

Yu Wuxia still smiled and said, "Why not? What important thing has happened?"

The young palace maid quickly said, "Your Highness, the Emperor brought in a princess yesterday. That princess is even more beautiful than a fairy!"

Yu Wuxia felt a slight pang in her heart, but then she thought, which emperor didn't have three thousand concubines? She knew that as soon as she entered the palace. She forced a smile and said, "It's normal."

"No! This is not normal at all! Your Majesty, that princess has actually moved into the Snow Palace!" The little palace maid's eyes widened as she emphasized again, "The Snow Palace! The Snow Palace is Empress Wen Shu's palace. In the past, the Emperor did not allow anyone to enter. Once, the Crown Prince accidentally broke in, and the Emperor beat him so badly he almost lost his life!"

Yu Wuxia pursed her lips, as if remembering something, and asked, "What was that princess's name?"

"I've heard she's Princess Xiangxue from Xiangyun Kingdom. But it's strange, even though it was the first time the Emperor and Princess Xiangxue had met, the Emperor greeted her with a fawning smile and called her Xue'er. Consort Yu, you say... Eh?! Your Highness, what's wrong?"

Yu Wuxia was stunned; she couldn't hear anything. She only felt the whole world spinning. Her jade-like face turned as pale as paper in an instant.

Sister Qingyun...

Volume 3: Truth and Falsehood, Palace Turmoil, Empress Dowager's Serious Illness

The sweltering summer gradually faded away, and the cool autumn arrived. The next morning, as soon as Qingyun got up, she felt a slight chill. Looking out the window, she suddenly noticed that the leaves on the branches had turned yellow and withered, with very few green leaves remaining. She instructed her maid to help her with her hair and makeup.

"Princess..." A palace maid approached somewhat timidly, holding a bright red dress. "Is this one alright?"

Qingyun frowned slightly.

The palace maid was so frightened that she knelt down immediately, pleading, "Princess, spare me! I'll change into another outfit right away."

Qingyun chuckled softly, "Don't worry. I won't blame you. What's your name?"

The palace maid blinked, pulling back the tears welling in her eyes, and said cautiously, "My name is Qianghui."

“Qiang Hui…” Qingyun arched her eyebrows. “I really like this name!”

"Thank you for your praise, Princess." Qianghui's voice was still trembling slightly. It seemed she was very afraid of Qingyun.

"Qianghui, see if there's a light green palace dress in the palace with auspicious cloud patterns on it," Qingyun said after thinking for a moment. She remembered wearing this palace dress before, and if everything in the Snow Palace hadn't changed, there should be one.

“Yes, Princess,” Qianghui replied softly with her head lowered.

Qingyun shook her head. She began to miss Qingyi. She looked out the window; the autumn wind was bleak, and the leaves on the ground swirled in the breeze.

Qingyun sighed.

I wonder how Qingyi is doing in Juechen Valley these days?

A moment later, Qianghui indeed brought a green palace dress embroidered with colorful auspicious cloud patterns. She helped Qingyun put her hair up in a bun and put on a few hairpins before Qingyun dismissed her.

Looking at herself in the mirror, Qingyun smiled faintly.

As expected, she still prefers light makeup and simple clothes; she remains uninterested in overly glamorous clothes and heavy makeup, just like before.

After glancing at herself in the mirror again, Qingyun instructed, "If the Emperor comes and asks me, just say I went to Consort Yu's place."

Yuxuan.

Whether it was because she hadn't been back to the palace for too long or because she didn't know where Yu Xuan was, Qingyun searched for a long time but couldn't find Yu Xuan. In the end, a eunuch pointed out the way for her.

And that eunuch turned out to be Eunuch Lan.

When Eunuch Lan saw her, his expression was so varied that she couldn't help but chuckle. After a long pause, Eunuch Lan finally uttered, "Princess...Princess..."

However, the expression on Eunuch Lan's face was not one of joy but surprise, followed by an incredibly complex mix of emotions.

Upon noticing this, Qingyun smiled faintly and walked towards Yuxuan. Presumably, Eunuch Lan was also involved in that incident back then! Many people should know that secret by now.

At least Situ Xingyun knew this, otherwise he wouldn't have created an identity for her instead of letting her revert to her original identity.

When the guards outside the Jade Pavilion saw Qingyun, they were all stunned and speechless.

Qingyun simply smiled and entered the Jade Pavilion.

Before even seeing Wuxia, they heard the voice of a palace maid.

"Your Majesty! How should we deal with Princess Xiangxue?"

"Let nature take its course."

"Oh dear! Your Highness, you'll definitely be bullied if you continue like this! Think about it, the Noble Consort has the Crown Prince at her disposal, so the other concubines don't dare to touch her. Besides, Consort Yu, you haven't been in the palace long, and there's no news of your pregnancy yet. If this continues, the other concubines will definitely bully you! Furthermore, Princess Xiangxue hasn't even been officially appointed yet, but the Emperor already shows her such favor. Yes! That Princess Xiangxue will definitely be our biggest enemy!"

She didn't have time to laugh or answer, but her eyes were full of loneliness.

Qingyun, looking out from outside the door, couldn't help but be secretly surprised.

After several months apart, Wuxia had shed her childishness, and every smile and frown exuded elegance, yet there was a hint of melancholy in that elegance.

That was the forlorn expression on the faces of many women in the palace.

Looking back, that innocent and lively little girl has been assimilated by the palace into a forlorn noblewoman. Indeed, everything has changed.

Qingyun composed herself, put on a smile, and walked in lightly.

She said softly, "No flaws."

Yu Wuxia trembled, blinking in disbelief. When she saw the person who had arrived, her eyes immediately reddened. She sobbed, as if something was stuck in her throat, and she couldn't speak at all.

Instead, the little palace maid beside Wuxia looked at Qingyun with hostility. She immediately guessed Qingyun's identity the moment she saw her, but when she saw the Empress's expression, she became puzzled.