20demayo Chapter 32
Chapter 32
chapter 32
"honestly, the empress is too indulgent. that little slut jiang xinyue has been exiled to the palace of exile, yet she still has a chance to rise again? the empress has even instructed the internal affairs department to treat her so well."
in consort jiang's view, the preferential treatment jiang xinyue received in the palace of exile was due to the empress zhu's special intervention with the internal affairs department.
otherwise, where did those extravagances in the palace of exile come from?
she had originally intended to mock and humiliate jiang xinyue after entering the palace, reducing her to a state of utter shame and despair.
but all her plans were ruined.
at least, she had fed jiang xinyue some horse hoof cakes laced with laxatives.
"poisoned?"
the empress zhu and the xuanwu emperor were dining in the yikun palace when they received the frantic report. the empress turned to the emperor, whose expression was inscrutable, and said, "your majesty...this servant..."
"go ahead!"
the emperor leisurely blew on his hot soup to cool it before taking a sip, then said without rising, "consort zhen may be lowly, but she is still one of my consorts. if someone dares to poison one of my consorts within the palace, the empress must investigate this thoroughly."
the empress nodded. "then this servant shall take her leave."
she bowed and beckoned for a few palace maids to accompany her to the palace of exile.
seeing that the emperor did not even look at her, xi que felt disappointed and hung her head low as she followed the empress out of the yikun palace.
the xuanwu emperor stared at xi que's retreating figure, his brow deeply furrowed. "wang dequan, go to concubine li's changxin palace and tell her that i have a headache and am feeling unwell. summon yan the imperial physician to the yikun palace."
indeed!
all the imperial physicians were currently at concubine li's changxin palace. without the emperor's command or the empress's personal visit, if concubine li refused, the physicians would not dare leave the changxin palace.
yan the imperial physician was the most skilled in treating poisoning at the imperial hospital.
the emperor did not actually have a headache; he was heartbroken that consort zhen had been poisoned and innocently harmed.
xuan eunuch closed the dilapidated gates of the palace of exile and paced back and forth outside, occasionally gazing into the distance.
after a few strides, he noticed a young palace maid lurking by the gate and ran over to grab her as she tried to flee. "which palace are you from? why are you sneaking around the palace of exile? what are you trying to see?"
the young maid, no more than nine or ten years old, was so frightened by xiao xuanzi that she burst into tears.
the empress snorted coldly. "guards, lock the crown prince in the punishment chamber for reflection. don't give him any food. he can come out whenever he realizes his mistakes."
the scene changed again, and the young crown prince was locked in a pitch-black punishment chamber with no light at all, so jiang xinyue could not see where he was.
she could only hear muffled sobs coming from a corner.
then, the iron door of the punishment chamber was pushed open, and the light from outside was so blinding that the young crown prince could not open his eyes. he shielded them with his hand as a dead snake's body was tossed in.
a malicious laughter rang out. "hey! don't say i'm not good to you. i saw how lonely you were, so i specially sent your little flower to keep you company. take your time and bond with it! hahaha..."
it was intentional!
he had intentionally killed little flower and thrown its corpse at the young crown prince!
the young prince cradled the snake's body in his hands, unmoving for a long time. after a while, he finally stood up and walked out of the punishment chamber, letting the snake's body fall to the ground without a glance.
but from that day on, the young crown prince learned to hide his feelings. the more he liked something, the more indifferent he pretended to be. the more he disliked something, the more he feigned fondness for it.
wu chengyi could no longer take the things he truly cherished.
"huff!"
another blackout, and jiang xinyue's body sank rapidly as she convulsed sharply before snapping her eyes open.
"mistress! mistress, you're awake!"
there was a commotion by the bedside, but jiang xinyue felt dazed, the noises around her seeming unreal. her mind was filled with the young emperor's cold, indifferent gaze.
was that... the xuanwu emperor's past?
"consort zhen, how do you feel? is your stomach still hurting?" she simply shook her head, speechless, staring blankly like a dazed fool.
wang dequan's heart raced: "yan the imperial physician, this..."
yan the imperial physician continued to take jiang xinyue's pulse: "this shouldn't be! i've never seen anyone take a small amount of arsenic and have it affect their mental state!"
"my lady, please don't frighten your servant, wuwuwu..."
empress zhu also frowned tightly, seemingly deep in thought.
jiang xinyue suddenly woke up and said to empress zhu: "your humble servant thanks your imperial majesty, the empress dowager. your servant was merely feeling unwell, but is now without any major issues."
indeed, there was no discomfort anymore, only a lack of energy.