20demayo Chapter 424
Chapter 424
the palace maids around the emperor also worked in shifts. during the handover, the maids at the entrance of chengqian palace looked at mu qianqian in surprise: "you..."
mu qianqian kept her gaze straight ahead, standing at the entrance, ignoring their stares.
what was the matter?
was it just because she revealed a face strikingly similar to that of the empress?
was it only fair for jiang xinyue to be as beautiful as a flower, while mu qianqian couldn't be as stunning as a fish-drowning, goose-falling beauty?
when wang dequan followed the emperor to the side hall, his eyes immediately fell upon the radiant mu qianqian.
like the others, she wore the attire of a palace maid, but her figure was more graceful than any other maid's, especially her face, which bore such a striking resemblance to the empress that it was impossible not to notice.
the emperor's steps faltered for a moment. indeed, could she no longer restrain herself?
he showed no particular expression, and mu qianqian couldn't help but lower her head in disappointment. she and another maid pushed open the door to allow the emperor and wang dequan to enter.
wang dequan's cold and sharp eyes lingered on mu qianqian for a moment, making her feel as though her breath had been stolen.
but she had to climb higher. she had to win the emperor's heart. this was her destined path.
as long as the empress died while the emperor still loved her most, she would become his eternal white moonlight.
and mu qianqian, as her substitute, could stay by the emperor's side, slowly warming his wounded and lonely heart.
what the empress could achieve, she could achieve too.
after all, didn't they look so much alike?
"bang!"
"ah!"
a young maid had just stepped out of the internal affairs department when she collided with a fat, big-eared eunuch. the eunuch's face twisted into a menacing expression, and he slapped the maid to the ground: "are you blind? how dare you bump into anyone? next time, keep your eyes wide open, or you'll face the consequences. don't think that just because you're a maid from the empress's palace, you can act recklessly. there are plenty of ways to make you suffer."
before the young maid could even defend herself, the fat eunuch left with his entourage.
"how unreasonable! he was the one who bumped into me, yet he blamed me for it."
"don't say anymore. avoid trouble. that's eunuch hong from the palace eunuch office, one of its managing eunuchs."
"slap!"
she slapped herself again, this time even harder.
shuang jiang quickly grabbed her hand: "xi que, now is not the time to blame nanny xiang. the more critical the situation, the more we must unite to find the culprit. nanny xiang only wanted to help the empress recover quickly by preparing the fish soup."
xi que understood this well.
but her lady... reduced to this state because of a bowl of fish soup... she simply couldn't bear it.
those heartless scoundrels, why couldn't they leave her mistress alone? why did they seize every opportunity to harm her?
what had her mistress done wrong?
climbing higher...
everyone wanted to climb higher. who wanted to be trampled underfoot and humiliated?
but while pursuing fame and fortune, one must at least remain human. being human requires a moral bottom line!
her mistress had worked tirelessly to reach her current position, but xi que could swear on her life that they had never actively harmed anyone.
because what her mistress did most was to capture the emperor's heart.
as long as the emperor's heart belonged to her, anyone who tried to harm her would face dire consequences.
shuang jiang knelt down, her gentle gaze comforting nanny xiang: "don't panic. think carefully. there must be something you've overlooked."
nanny xiang wiped her tears, her breathing gradually calming.
she had already recalled the events countless times: "yesterday..."
yanxi palace—
a plump eunuch walked out, weighing a money pouch in his hand. feeling its satisfying weight, he smiled with satisfaction.
beside him was a tall, thin young eunuch: "godfather, that's someone from the empress's palace. aren't we..."
eunuch hong snorted coldly: "what's there to fear? the empress has been in a coma since giving birth to the seventh prince and third princess yesterday. with her life hanging by a thread, she has no time to worry about the affairs of us lowly servants. don't overthink it."
"ah? how does godfather know?"
the palace was still immersed in the joy and shock of the empress giving birth to twins. apart from a few high-ranking consorts, no one knew what had happened in kunning palace.