Imperial concubine Yuan Shu, who had just decided to give up on the matter, suddenly had her interest piqued by Rong Zhen. It would be fine just to listen, right? She asked Rong Zhen: “What happened?”
Yue Xiu quickly closed the door before Rong Zhen said: “His Majesty and Zhang Yuan went to the Winter Moon Palace. The two are causing a huge ruckus.”
Imperial concubine Yuan Shu frowned: “What sort of movement is that? Isn’t this something that happens quite often?”
Rong Zhen shook his head, “This time is different. Apparently, the Emperor went over angrily. While walking, he appeared angry, even saying how dare imperial concubine Yun leave the palace. It should be the death penalty.”
“Hm?” Imperial concubine Yuan Shu was startled, “His Majesty knows?” She then thought of the Empress and sneered to herself, “That old woman. She even pretended during the day to be calm to put on a show for imperial daughter Ji An. Who knew that in the blink of an eye, she went to the Emperor’s side to tattle.” She stood up, “Let’s go and take a look.”
Yue Xiu and Rong Zhen both moved to stop her, with Yue Xiu saying: “Imperial concubine, you must not go! Did you forget what happened to high-ranking imperial concubine Li?”
Imperial concubine Yuan Shu suddenly stopped in her tracks, as a memory of this imperial palace that had become covered in dust suddenly re-emerged.
She could no longer remember which year it was. She just knew that the Emperor had gone to Winter Moon Palace to randomly cause a ruckus. The palace had a high-ranking imperial concubine Li that had wanted to watch the liveliness and went over. As a result, the Emperor did not manage to get imperial concubine Yun out of the building, yet who knew that the Emperor would grab her by the neck in anger and choked her to death.
Ever since that moment, there was nobody else that dared to mess with the Emperor when he went to Winter Moon Palace. Everyone just acted as if they could not see nor hear it.
Imperial concubine Yuan Shu retraced her steps and sat back down on her heated brick bed; however, she still did not give up. She told Rong Zhen: “Find someone agile to go over and ask around.”
Rong Zhen complied and limped away.
It was currently evening, and the Emperor had brought a large group of imperial guards to stand at the entrance of Winter Moon Palace with a face filled with fury. Zhang Yuan stayed at his side. He had a heavy expression and did not want to speak.
Perhaps it was because he had stared at the gates of Winter Moon Palace for too long, as the Emperor swayed a couple times, feeling a little dazed. Finally managing to stabilize himself, he shouted loudly at Winter Moon Palace: “People inside, listen up! Open the gate! Imperial concubine Yun escaping the palace on her own is something that We already know about. We have come today to capture everyone here. Everyone that participated in hiding imperial concubine Yun leaving the palace will have their extended families executed!”
This was exclaimed using an internal strength that had not been used in many years. This shout had a bit of an imposing manner. There were also torches lighting up the area, giving the scene a very nervous feeling. It seemed as though something would break out at any moment.
However, there was still no movement from the inside of Winter Moon Palace.
The Emperor did not become dejected, continuing: “We are being considerate of how imperial concubine Yun has lived here for a long time, and We have no desire to ruin it. Open the door yourselves. If you cooperate, the punishment for your extended families can be negotiated.”
Off to the side, Zhang Yuan rolled his eyes. What sort of situation was this? He had lost his imposing manner in just a few sentences?
The Emperor also felt that this was a bit improper, thus he raised his voice a bit more, shouting: “Quickly open the gate! It’d be best if you don’t turn down a toast and instead yearn for a loss! You must know, in this palace, who it is that truly has the final say? Don’t think that We do not dare to knock down your gate. We just feel sorry for this gate and feel distressed for this Winter Moon Palace. If you continue to act dull and stupid, don’t blame Us for forcing Our way in to capture everyone!”
This time, it was the imperial guards that were surrounding the area that felt incredulous. They felt that there was a grand misconception. Were they not coming with the Emperor to capture an imperial concubine that had fled the palace? Why did they feel like bandits?
The Emperor continued to speak, saying: “Secretly letting out one of the palace’s imperial concubines, do you know how heavy of a crime that is? The people of Winter Moon Palace really are getting bolder and bolder! We will give you a count of ten to open the gate; otherwise, We will have no choice but to force our way in!”
This time, there was finally a voice that came from the inside. It was a young girl’s voice. The Emperor could tell that it was a female hidden guard that always spoke for imperial concubine Yun, but he heard her say: “Your Majesty, it’s been over 20 years. These words that you have said have come in a constant stream! You’ve forgotten that ever since the day Winter Moon Palace was built, you said that we servants that serve imperial concubine Yun will only listen to imperial concubine alone. Not to mention helping her escape the palace, even if she wanted to commit regicide, we would help her. What is it, could it be that your Majesty has already forgotten what you had said 20 years ago?”
The Emperor angrily gritted his teeth: “Circumstances change! We have gotten old and cannot remember everything that was said in the past! Quickly open the gate and allow yourselves to be captured!”
The female hidden guard continued: “Your Majesty, there’s no point in making use of battle formations. Our imperial concubine said that if you want to play, just play around outside. Either way, she has no intention of sleeping through the long night. Just treat it as relieving her boredom! Imperial concubine also said that you can ram this Winter Moon Palace if you want. Either way, it’s the imperial family’s land. If it’s ruined, it will be repaired using funds from the national treasury. She just happens to think that this gate is ugly and wants to bring in a new one. Attack! But your Majesty must think it through carefully. Imperial concubine said that if there comes a day when you attack the gate, the respect that exists between you two will completely disappear! This servant has conveyed imperial concubine’s message. Your Majesty, please do as you see fit!” After saying this, there were no longer any more sounds.
The Emperor froze in place. Looking at the gate of Winter Moon Palace, he began another round of internal struggles. Should he attack or not? If he did not, he would have wasted this chance. If he did attack, what would happen if the venerable ancestor became angry?
He continued to remain conflicted for a long time in place. Truly unable to continue enduring, he simply prodded Zhang Yuan with his elbow: “Think of an idea!”
Zhang Yuan’s mind was collapsing, and he did not want to reply. He just told the Emperor, “You are the emperor. Have you ever heard of an emperor that asks his eunuchs for ideas?”
“Isn’t there one now!” The Emperor spoke in a bold and reassured manner, “Quickly, think for Us. Should We attack this gate or not.”
Zhang Yuan shrugged: “Might as well attack! Didn’t imperial concubine say it? She wants a new gate. If you are afraid that she will pay even less attention to you in the future, just say that you aren’t attacking Winter Moon Palace. You’re just changing the gate for imperial concubine Yun. Un, to get in, let this servant calculate how much it will cost to enter this gate.”
Once this was said, the female hidden guard raised her voice once more: “She wants a pure gold gate!”
“Forget it!” The Emperor waved his hand and turned to leave, “We’re not attacking. A pure gold gate, if We were to put up a pure gold gate and word of this was heard by the citizens, they would definitely say that I am a self-indulgent ruler! No good, no good, this plan is no good. Let’s go back and think it through carefully. Is there any other way of getting her out.”
Zhang Yuan quickly followed behind; however, he let out a sigh of relief on the inside. He was not afraid of anything else. He was just afraid that the people in Winter Moon Palace would fall for the trick. If they truly believed that the Emperor found out about imperial concubine Yun leaving the palace then planned to lead an attack on the palace, wouldn’t this past year of silence been in vain.
Fortunate, really fortunate. In the end, the people of Winter Moon Palace were just this firm. It was clear that it was an empty city, yet they were still able to perform so well.
After the Emperor left, the imperial guards also marched off. Not long later, the palace’s gate was opened slightly, and a small head poked out to look around before pulling back. The gate was closed with a “clack.”
“Too scary, too scary.” Inside Winter Moon Palace, a palace maid that often took care of imperial concubine Yun patted her chest and said: “This time, I really was scared to death. I thought that imperial concubine’s matters were finally exposed. If his Majesty endured just a little bit longer, we really would not be able to continue hiding it.”
An old granny was even more frightened than her. Dropping to the ground, she repeatedly sighed: “This old life of mine! Sooner or later, it will need to provide an explanation to the Emperor.”
The female officer in charge of Winter Moon Palace, Su Yu, had people help the granny up while helplessly saying: “We can only stall for time. His Highness the ninth prince has already left the capital to receive imperial concubine. They should be able to return in a few days.”
“Really?” The young palace maid smiled brightly upon hearing this. She then quickly kneeled and bowed to the East, praying: “Heavens, bless and protect, please allow imperial concubine to return quickly and safely. Please allow imperial concubine to return quickly and safely!”
This was what everyone in Winter Moon Palace desired. They had been hoping for it for nearly a year; however, they still did not catch a glimpse of imperial concubine Yun’s figure. Su Yu would occasionally become flustered, and she even felt that imperial concubine Yun might not return. From that moment forward, they would need to protect the empty Winter Moon Palace. They would need to protect a master that did not even reside there. Fortunately, his Highness the ninth prince and imperial daughter had returned to the capital. Winter Moon Palace finally had some hope.
The liveliness on this side was conveyed to imperial concubine Yuan Shu by Rong Zhen. After he finished speaking, he shook his head helplessly: “It’s also this servant’s fault for not being thorough with my work. I never thought that this would be another one of his Majesty’s tricks.”
Yue Xiu also sighed, saying: “Over the years, his Majesty has expended quite a bit of energy to try and trick imperial concubine Yun into coming out. Who knew that the people of Winter Moon Palace would be so hard to trick.”
Yuan Shu listened to the two and did not speak the entire time. Only after Yue Xiu called her a few times did she finally react; however, she said: “This act tonight was not done for nothing.”
“Hm?” Yue Xiu was stunned, “Imperial concubine, what did you think of?”
Imperial concubine Yuan Shu said: “Think of a way to send his Majesty inside. Only by having his Majesty get in will imperial concubine Yun’s disappearance from Winter Moon Palace be exposed.”
Yue Xiu frowned: “But how can his Majesty get in? For the sake of getting into Winter Moon Palace, he has already worked hard for 20 years. Now…”
Imperial concubine Yuan Shu’s lips curled up slightly, “He can’t get in, so let’s think of a way to send him in. Do not feel anxious. Allow this One to think carefully.”
Inside the imperial daughter’s manor in the capital, Feng Yu Heng and Yao Xian were working together to bring Bai Fu Rong out of the space. For the time being, she would be placed inside the medicine storage room. Yao Xian handed Feng Yu Heng a few reagents to look at then told her: “Inject these into a muscle. Perform this injection once a day. I gave her an injection this morning at eight. You should also give her her injection tomorrow at around eight in the morning. When the two spoke, they spoke in a more habitual modern style. Feng Yu Heng could only search for her 21st-century style when she was with him.
She smiled bitterly. She had lived in Da Shun for too long. It had been so long that she nearly forgot who exactly she was.
After settling Bai Fu Rong, Yao Xian left the imperial daughter’s manor for his own home. Feng Yu Heng also left the medicine storage room and ordered the servants to find a new set of bedsheets for the medicine storage room. At this time, a maidservant ran over to her and urgently said: “Young miss, quickly go and see. The eldest young master of the Yao family seems to have had too much to drink and said that he wants to see young miss!”