"This is my family matter, and it's none of your business to interfere."
"Outsiders? The Emperor has already bestowed the marriage upon us. Do you intend to defy His Majesty's will?"
"you……"
"Your Highness, I will marry no one but you in this life!" Chu Xiyin deliberately clung to Yi Chuan's arm.
When Consort Zheng saw that her son wouldn't speak up for her, she stomped her foot in anger, pushed aside the maid, and turned to leave.
She thought to herself: Chu Xiyin, you can't take my Chuan'er away!
Chapter 32 The Dowager Consort is Not Simple
While cursing Chu Xiyin, Consort Zheng plotted how to persuade Yi Yang to cancel the marriage between Yi Chuan and Chu Xiyin. She had only reached the Purple Jade Gate when she overheard several palace maids gossiping about the "Fourth Prince."
"Have you heard? The woman the Fourth Prince sent to the palace is very favored!" said a palace maid with a long face.
Hmm? Chuan'er sent a woman to the palace? How come she didn't know about this? She only heard that a few days ago, Chunhua was sent to another mansion to work as a maid. Could it be... impossible!
"Yes, yes! This is the first time I've ever seen such a beautiful woman in the palace," said the round-faced palace maid next to the horse-faced maid, her face full of envy.
"Have you seen her before, sister?" Standing on the other side of the horse-faced palace maid, a younger-looking palace maid leaned over and asked with a curious expression.
"Of course!" the round-faced palace maid said smugly.
"I heard she's mute?" The young palace maid couldn't hide her curiosity.
The round-faced palace maid nodded with some regret and said, "It seems she's contracted some strange illness. Oh well, whatever! A minor flaw doesn't detract from her overall beauty!"
"Come on! The flaws don't outweigh the merits. It's only been a few days. The Emperor is surrounded by beauties. Who knows what will happen to him when he gets tired of them?" The horse-faced palace maid shrugged.
The round-faced palace maid bumped into her hard.
"What? Am I wrong?" The horse-faced palace maid was filled with resentment after being bumped into by her.
"This servant greets Your Highness, the Noble Consort," the round-faced palace maid hurriedly bowed.
The horse-faced palace maid and the little palace maid looked in the direction of the sound and saw a woman dressed in pure white, as graceful as an immortal.
In just a few days, she had risen from an ordinary maid to a revered imperial concubine. Who says that a humble life will remain humble forever?
"This...this servant," the horse-faced palace maid stammered, unable to speak.
The young palace maid was quite bold, staring intently at the handsome face before her, her eyes never blinking.
"How dare you, palace maid! You don't even bow before the Imperial Concubine?" the maid behind Chunhua shouted angrily.
Chunhua waved her hand, not blaming her.
Consort Zheng raised an eyebrow and turned to walk towards the woman in plain white. But the moment she saw the woman's face, she was terrified, as if she had seen a ghost. Chu Xiyin was clearly in the Prince's residence; how could she have ended up in the palace?
When Chunhua saw that the person standing right in front of her was her former mistress, Consort Zheng, she couldn't help but tremble and lower her head.
"Chu...Xi...Yin?" After a long while, Consort Zheng finally managed to utter these three words.
When Chunhua was called that, she realized that she was no longer the Chunhua of the past.
She looked up and stared directly at Consort Zheng, then gave a wink to a palace maid behind her. The maid quickly stepped forward and said, "Your Highness, this is His Majesty's newly appointed consort, Noble Consort Lan. She has been granted the surname Yi."
The three palace maids who had been discussing Chunhua exchanged glances. A bestowed surname! Since entering the palace, they had never heard of any concubine enjoying such favor from the Emperor.
Consort Zheng composed herself and said, "I heard that Consort Lan was presented to the Emperor by the Fourth Prince?"
That Consort Zheng is truly shameless! What do you mean by "heard"? She clearly overheard it from the three palace maids just now.
“Yes, Lan’er was presented to me by my younger brother. What? The Empress Dowager is unaware of this?” Yi Yang appeared behind Chunhua at some point.
Consort Zheng shook her head. "I haven't heard Dao Chuan mention this matter."
"No wonder! Ever since Chu Xiyin entered the Prince's mansion, the Dowager Consort must have been neglected quite a bit, right?" Yi Yang mocked.
Consort Zheng was so angry that her face turned ashen.
Yi Yang smiled and put his arm around Chunhua's waist. Just as he was about to leave, he suddenly turned back and said, "Oh, right! Lan'er used to be from the Prince's mansion. Hasn't the Dowager Princess seen her before?"
Consort Zheng stood frozen in place, the name Chu Xiyin haunting her like a persistent nightmare. At that moment, she couldn't hear Yi Yang's mocking laughter, nor the whispers of the palace maids; all she wanted was for this nightmare to end as soon as possible!
Upon returning to the residence, Consort Zheng was startled again upon encountering Chu Xiyin! After thinking for a long time, she felt something was amiss, so she stopped Chu Xiyin and asked, "I'm asking you, do you have a twin sister?"
"Huh?" Chu Xiyin looked puzzled, wondering what tricks Consort Zheng was up to this time.
"Do you have any twin sisters in the palace?" Consort Zheng walked up to Chu Xiyin and asked, her alluring eyes fixed on her.
"No," Chu Xiyin said, taking a step back and moving away from her.
"Then do you recognize Consort Lan in the palace?" Consort Zheng pressed closer to her again.
"I don't know her!" Chu Xiyin hated her attitude. She had never even been to the palace, how could she possibly know any Consort Lan?
Before Consort Zheng could say anything more, Chu Xiyin coldly stopped her, saying, "Tongtong and I have other important matters to attend to. If Consort Zheng has no further questions, we will take our leave."
After saying that, Chu Xiyin pulled Mo Tong and walked in another direction.
Consort Zheng stared intently at Chu Xiyin's retreating figure, gritted her teeth, and cursed inwardly, "That unruly brat! One day I'll make you disappear from Chuan'er's side!"
"Xiyin, you haven't seen the thousand-year-old sandalwood tree on the hill behind my house yet, have you?" Mo Tong asked with a smile, resting his head on Chu Xiyin's shoulder.
Chu Xiyin shook her head.
“Why don’t you go and pray with the prince sometime? That sandalwood is incredibly spiritual! Even more so than a Bodhisattva!” Mo Tong raised his face, looking excited.
"Really? It's that effective?" Chu Xiyin looked at her suspiciously. Although she had heard that some ethnic minorities had some kind of mysterious ancient tree worship, she still felt it was a bit absurd to ask her to worship a tree.
"Fine, don't believe me then!" Mo Tong pouted.
"Alright, alright, I'll go with the Prince another day!"
This little girl is really spoiled; she gets angry at the drop of a hat!
"Where are we going together?" Yi Chuan was wearing official clothes, so he must have just returned from the palace.
“Tongtong said there’s a thousand-year-old sandalwood tree on the hill behind her house, and it’s very spiritual. I was thinking we could go see it together sometime when we have time,” Chu Xiyin said, turning around.
“Okay! Once you’ve recovered, I’ll go with you!” Yi Chuan said without hesitation.
Upon hearing the prince's promise, Mo Tong excitedly hugged Chu Xiyin and said, "The prince treats you so well!"
"That Tongtong is such a tactless and outspoken brat!" Chu Xiyin blushed unconsciously. Yichuan, however, just looked at her and smiled.
At noon, Consort Zheng lay on her bed, tossing and turning, thinking, "Chuan'er sent a palace maid to the palace, why didn't he tell me? How come that woman looks exactly like Chu Xiyin? The Emperor said she was a maid from his household, why have I never seen her before? Why did Consort Lan look at me with such fear... No! These things are too strange, I must find someone to investigate!"
She got up, took a white dove from its cage, and poured some unknown green powder into its leg ring. With a flick of her wrists, the dove took flight.
The night was gentle as water.
A wisp of autumn wind swept by, and ripples spread across the water around the ancient pavilion.
Inside the ancient pavilion, a beautiful woman gently stroked the strings of a zither; bathed in moonlight, her delicate face was incredibly alluring.
The beautiful woman's zither music was plaintive and sorrowful, as if it could not fully express the various tragedies of the world.
Back in the day, when the late emperor was alive, he loved to hear her play this piece.
Now, the music remains, but the person is gone...
Unable to hold back, a few thin tears fell onto the strings of the zither.
The beautiful woman looked up at the moon, recalling the favor bestowed upon her by the late king, and sighed that life and death were separated by a vast distance, and that she could not forget him even if she did not think about him.
Suddenly, two dark shadows lightly touched the water's surface, and a green light, accompanied by the soft sound of splashing water, landed beside the beautiful woman.
"You've come?" The music stopped abruptly, and the beautiful woman gazed at the bright moon's reflection on the deep blue water, speaking softly.
"How could I not come when the Empress Dowager summoned me? But I wonder what brings the Empress Dowager here?" The masked man in green leaned against an ancient pillar, gazing at the beautiful woman's back.
"I asked you to come here because I want you to help me investigate something," the beautiful woman said, her voice sweet and cloying.
Chapter 33, the Thousand-Year-Old Purple Sandalwood
The autumn sun shines brightly.
Chu Xiyin got up very early. These days, because her wound could not be soaked in water, she could only wipe her body with a wet towel every day. For her, who had to take a bath every day, this was simply a great torment.
Now that her wound has scabbed over, she can finally enjoy a relaxing hot bath.
Xing'er boiled hot water for her and sprinkled some flower petals on it, giving it a pleasant fragrance.
Chu Xiyin reached out to test the water temperature and slowly removed her clothes.
Her legs, straight and long, splashed lightly when they landed in the water, creating an extremely sexy effect.
Halfway through their soak, Mo Tong suddenly crawled in naked. Chu Xiyin had no choice but to make room for this clingy girl.
"Xiyin, your injuries have healed, haven't they? The Prince said last time that once you're healed, he'll take you to pay homage to that thousand-year-old sandalwood tree." Mo Tong rested her head on Chu Xiyin's shoulder, her fingers playfully flicking at the petals in the water. The delicate petals gently brushed against her chest, and the two buds on her chest, surrounded by petals, appeared and disappeared like flowers about to bloom, making one want to peek but also reluctant to pluck them.
"Yes, my injury has healed. I just don't know if Your Highness has time? But don't worry, even if Your Highness doesn't go, I will go." Chu Xiyin picked up a flower petal and placed it on Mo Tong's nose.
"Great!" Mo Tong pinched the petal from the tip of her nose, put it in the water, and gently flicked it away.
The next morning, the Fourth Prince ordered a carriage to be prepared and took Chu Xiyin and Mo Tong straight to Yunwu Temple.
As soon as the three stepped into Yunwu Temple, Mo Yun came out to greet them. A series of courtesies were naturally exchanged.
"My little girl has been quite a disturbance at Your Highness's residence recently. I hope Your Highness will forgive her!" As he said this, Mo Yun gave Mo Tong a reproachful look.
"Lord Mo, you're too kind. If it weren't for Mo Tong keeping Xi Yin company these past few days, Xi Yin's injuries wouldn't have healed so quickly!" Yi Chuan said with a smile.
Mo Tong, emboldened by the Fourth Prince's support, stuck her tongue out at Mo Yun playfully, then took his arm and whispered in his ear, "Father, the Fourth Prince and Xi Yin came today to pay their respects to the sandalwood tree on the back mountain of our house."
Upon hearing Mo Tong's words, Mo Yun's face twitched involuntarily a few times.
“Your Highness, my daughter is talking nonsense. Please don’t believe her. It’s just an ordinary piece of sandalwood. A person as noble as Your Highness doesn’t need to go to such lengths. Please, Your Highness and Princess, rest at Xingyun Zhai for a while. Later, I will have the cook prepare some vegetarian dishes for you to enjoy. What does Your Highness think?” Mo Yun said, her head lowered and her eyes nervously fixed on the Fourth Prince.
"I'm not lying, that tree is inherently spiritual!" With that, Mo Tong grabbed Chu Xiyin and ran. Yi Chuan, worried about Chu Xiyin, quickly gave chase.
Mo Yun tried to stop him, but it was too late.