Eastern Palace

Eastern Palace Side Story 5 (Part 3)

Full of Roses with Fragrance Overflowing Entire the Courtyard (Part 3)

I felt very sad, and my illness was getting worse and worse. My mother and sister-in-law entered the palace to see me. I forced myself to talk and laugh with them. My mother dismissed the servants, and then quietly said to me, "You don't have to worry about Shan Niang. Which man does not like beautiful women? Besides, she is now a widow and an inauspicious person, so His Majesty would not have any affections for her."

My body was weak and my clothes were soaked in sweat. I was too lazy to talk and my mother was talking nonstop, trying to advise me, but her voice seemed close yet far. Before, there was only a tree trunk outside, but now it has grown into a tree with peaches. I am very thirsty and I just wanted to drink a cup of ice water. Although there is ice in the palace, since I am sick, A'Mu forbids me to drink ice water.

When I thought of A'Mu, I felt there was a fire burning my heart and internal organs, and it felt very uncomfortable. My mother noticed something was wrong, she reached out to hold my hand and was shocked, "What happened to you? Your face is so red; are you having a fever again?"

I just felt very annoyed, what does Shan Niang have to do with me? As soon as she came back, even my mother came to persuade me to be more open-minded. Everyone thinks that A'Mu likes Shan Niang, and even if I felt unhappy, I could only bear with it. I've been married to A'Mu for ten years, but I can't make up for the days that Shan Niang has been here.

I send off my mother and sister-in-law. The sun was going to set and every day at this time, I would have a high fever, so for dinner I had a light meal. After drinking a bowl of corn soup, and knowing that I have to drink a big bowl of bitter medicine afterwards, I felt even more sick. At this time Yao Niang came inside and her expression did not look good. I couldn't help but ask her, "What happened?"

Yao Niang had repeatedly said that nothing was wrong. I thought of my mother and sister-in-law who had came here today. I thought maybe they were trying to hide something from me, so I dismissed Yao Niang and called A'Chan to come in for questioning. A'Chan was timid so as soon as I asked her, she knelt down and sobbed while saying, "Your Highness, please forgive me. I don't dare to tell you. Yao Niang has said whoever dares to tell Your Highness, they will be beaten to death."

Although Yao Niang was very strict and all the palace maids were afraid of her, she would not say anything like beating someone to death. My heart leaped, but I pretended to be calm and asked, "Even if you don't tell me, do you think I won't beat you to death?"

I would never say such words. Through the copper mirror, I could see my own face. I've been ill for so long that my face was so thin and it was quite frightening. A'Chan was obviously afraid of me as she was stuttering.

It turns out that A'Mu took Yuan Shan to the Wangxian Palace that was outside the city. That palace was the closest temporary imperial residence to the city, so it was convenient for the royal family to go hunting. In the past, I used to go there with A'Mu. Right now it was already very late and he still hasn't come back yet. It was obvious that he was going to stay there for the night.

I didn't know how I felt about this, but I stood up and called out A'Yu in a loud voice. She didn't come in, but Yao Niang came instead. She quickly opened the curtain and bowed to me, "Your Highness, what do you need?"

Yao Niang doesn't usually address me this way and I could hear from her tone of voice that she was reminding me of my identity, but I could not bear this anymore. I said in a loud voice, "Bring my clothes, I am going out of the city."

Yao Niang raised her voice, "Your Highness, it's already late."

"I am the Empress." Even in extreme anger, I have not forgotten my privilege. "Bring the seal and send my order to General Chen to open the Jiade Gate."