The Ambition of the Righteous 003 Unwilling to Resign Oneself
When Shi Zhi arrived at the Worry-Free Palace's Ning Hall, Le Xin Hall, there was no warm stove inside, and all the windows were wide open. The cold wind blew in, making her feel chilled to the bone. As she looked around, she saw that the silk curtains were dancing wildly in the howling wind.
Through a layer of dancing and floating thin silk curtains, it can be seen that the two personal palace maids of Princess Worry-Free are kneeling in front of the bed, sobbing quietly.
The eunuchs and palace maids standing there shivering with cold shouted in a low voice: "Hurry up and close all the windows!"
The eunuchs on the side couldn't care about the princess inside, and soon closed all the open doors and windows. However, the piercing cold air in the palace didn't warm up just because the windows were closed.
But Shigong only ordered them to close the windows, and did not order them to light the stove. In their hearts, they all understood that although Shigong had brought the imperial physician to treat the princess, he had not changed the princess's fate. It was likely that when he brought the imperial physician, he also brought an edict from the emperor.
The chill in the hall did not deter Pei Taoyi from walking into the inner hall without removing his cloak, which still had snowflakes on it.
Yu Zhu and Yu Cui were kneeling in front of the princess's bed, weeping, when they saw Dr. Pei enter, overjoyed, the two moved their bodies to kowtow to him, pleading: "Please, Dr. Pei, save our princess!" Since the princess was sent back to the Worry-Free Palace and the Empress Dowager was given wine, she had been empty and soulless, lying in bed for three days without eating or drinking, not speaking a word, as if determined to seek death.
Pei Taiyi walked over with a bowed head, took one glance and secretly shook his head. The princess was clearly determined to die!
He could save her life but not her heart. On the other hand, it's not her fault either. How can a seven-year-old child bear such sudden and terrible news?
She fell from being a noble and beloved princess in the imperial palace to her current state, it's understandable that she would want to die!
Shi Ji walked into the inner hall, looking at the pale and lifeless Wu You princess lying on the bed with her eyes tightly closed, he was taken aback for a moment, his heart filled with sorrow.
Named Wuyou, her title is also Wuyou. Just the two words "Wuyou" are enough to show her honor and favor. Looking at the entire imperial palace, which prince or princess dares to have a title like Wuyou? It's just like Empress Shengyuan, extreme honor must decline!
If the emperor had only ordered her to be confined, that would have been enough. But he also added a sentence saying she was not to be pardoned. How cruel this was for the carefree princess who was only seven years old!
"Master Pei, how are you?" He sighed and returned to his sympathetic tone, not forgetting his duty, which was also why he could become the master's confidant. Everything prioritized the master's will.
"Sir Shu, the princess will be fine, she just needs to wake up and eat something," said Pei Taishi, withdrawing his hand and standing up respectfully. In fact, three days without food or water wouldn't kill someone, and as he had taken the princess's pulse earlier, she was actually awake, but of course, he wouldn't say that. Whether the princess was awake or not didn't change her fate anyway, so why bother adding insult to injury?
Shi Ji nodded and signaled to the eunuch behind him to send Pei Taoyi out.
Yu Zhu and Yu Cui, the two maidservants, were initially delighted when Dr. Pei said that the princess had no life-threatening worries. However, after seeing Dr. Pei leave and then noticing the expression of Shi Gonggong, they seemed to sense something was amiss. They turned back to look at the princess who was still dazed on the bed, and then looked at Shi Gonggong with tears welling up in their eyes, evoking great sympathy.
"By the imperial edict, Yuan Wuyou is to be imprisoned in the Cold Palace for life, with no possibility of pardon."
Yu Zhu and Yu Cui both heard Mr. Shi's words, their bodies suddenly seemed to have been drained of their vital energy, they collapsed to the ground, overcome with grief.
It was a long while before Yu Zhu reacted, crawling forward to kowtow heavily in front of Shi Zhi and sobbing: "I beg Lord Shi to intercede on the princess's behalf with His Majesty, asking him to rescind his decree. How can he condemn the princess to be imprisoned for life in the Cold Palace?"
Yu Cui also repeatedly kowtowed, sobbing uncontrollably: "I beg of you, sir, to report to the Emperor, the princess is after all the Emperor's own flesh and blood..."
Shi Ze closed his eyes and suddenly opened them again, shouting: "How dare you, you lowly maidservant! How can you be so presumptuous? If you don't shut your mouth..."
"Give me a glass of water."
A soft and tender voice suddenly echoed in the inner hall, interrupting Shi's words and causing all three of them to freeze on the spot.
Lan Yun actually had consciousness the moment Dr. Pei's hand touched hers, but before she could react, a large pile of chaotic and unrelated memories flooded her memory nerves, leaving her no time to be surprised, and she instinctively organized these memories into a clear picture.
After she had sorted everything out, she couldn't help but be overwhelmed by the feelings transmitted from her body, with numb limbs, dizziness, dry throat, and the disturbing sounds in her ears, making it impossible for her to calm down and think.
Princess.
Seeing her wake up, Yu Zhu and Yu Cui, the two maidservants, were overjoyed to tears. Only then did Yu Zhu react to what the princess had just said, hastily pouring a cup of tea: "Princess, water is here."
Yu Cui stepped forward to support her and helped her sit up, then picked up the white fox fur cloak beside her and wrapped it around her. Lan Yun looked at her for a moment, then turned to Yu Zhu and said calmly, "Replace the tea with boiled water." Although she was very clear that this body was not hers, she dominated this body, so her eating habits naturally followed suit.
Yu Zhu was taken aback, looked at the tea in her hand, and hastily retreated to re-brew a cup of water.
Lan Yun took a small sip of the warm water with her hand, letting it moisten her dry, cracked lips, and then she drank a few more sips. As soon as the water entered her throat, she felt much more comfortable.
"Princess, I've prepared some congee for you. Would you like to have a little?" Yu Zhu hastily wiped away her tears and asked cautiously as she saw the princess finally drinking water.
Lan Yun didn't answer her, but instead looked at the man standing there with a slight frown, no, eunuch.
"Sir, may I have another bowl of congee before carrying out your orders and going to the Cold Palace?"
He hesitated for a moment before bowing and backing out: "I'll wait for Your Highness in the outer hall." This much courtesy he could still manage.
Yu Zhu Yu Cui looked at the princess who finally agreed to eat, feeling happy and sad at the same time. How could the princess go live in the Cold Palace for her whole life? Moreover, she was the emperor's daughter, the most noble princess born of the empress. The emperor was too heartless.
She slowly swallowed a small mouthful of plain porridge, and her mind also started to work. She said calmly: "You two collect all the most valuable jewelry and clothes of Ben Gongzhu and put them in boxes for now, then take them to Yuan Leng Palace." If she wasn't mistaken, these two were personally selected by Liu Yinghua as her personal palace maids, perhaps not clever or quick-witted, but winning in loyalty and usefulness.
Yu Zhu Yu Cui stared at her foolishly like a wooden chicken, unable to regain his senses for half a day!
Yu Zhu Yu Cui finally regained her senses, only to look complex and hesitant to speak. The Emperor's decree was to imprison the princess in the Cold Palace for life without pardon, wasn't it? It seems that what the princess did is not quite right, what if the Emperor gets angry...
"Jade Pearl and Jade Emerald?" Lan Yun raised an eyebrow, looking at the two of them.
"Yes, Princess." Yu Zhu was slightly more clever than Yu Cui and quickly pulled her into action.
Lan Yun continued to eat slowly, and her body, which had been weakened by hunger, finally recovered some of its energy. She leaned back against the soft pillow, half-closing her eyes, and went over Yuan Wuyou's personal data in her mind once again.
When Shi Ze walked in, he saw two palace maids busily covering a large wooden chest with their hands. He shouted: "What are you doing?"
Now Yu Zhu and Yu Cui were very afraid of Imperial Father, after being scolded, they looked at the princess on the bed in a daze.
Shi Ze's eyebrows slightly furrowed as he also looked towards the person on the bed.
The princess's voice was much better than before, although still hoarse, but gentle.
"Sir, does the Imperial Edict permit me to take these things away?"
"This..." Shi Ze stared at her blankly, he really wanted to say a sentence, Princess, do you still need to ask this? Anyone with a bit of brains knows that the imperial edict can't possibly state these things, but not stating them doesn't mean they're allowed.
"Since the Emperor has not issued a decree, nor demoted me to a commoner, nor changed my name and surname, what's wrong with me bringing along my own luggage?"
The corners of her mouth twitched, and her tongue was tied. Her mouth opened wide enough to stuff a chicken egg in it. Thinking quietly, the princess's words were also right. The emperor hadn't abolished the princess's name and surname. As long as she still had the surname Yuan and was called Wu You, then she was indeed the princess...
Shi Ze shook his head, feeling a bit dizzy. If the princess was right, the emperor had only moved her to a different palace, but he had clearly issued a severe edict. No matter how he thought about it, something didn't feel right, but for a moment, he couldn't quite put his finger on what it was.
Lan Yun ignored Shi Gonggong's shock, looked at Yu Zhu, and slightly raised her hand. Yu Zhu immediately came forward to help her up, while Yu Cui knelt on the ground to put on her shoes for her.
As soon as her foot touched the ground, Lan Yun discovered that her body was still incredibly empty, but she could barely manage to stand and walk.
"Master Shi, I'm ready, we can set off for the Cold Palace now."
"Could......" The person who was helping those in need looked at the large wooden box lifted by Yu Zhu and Yu Cui, and for a moment did not know whether to stop them or let them go.
Lan Yun smiled slightly: "This princess can also wait quietly here, and Shu Gonggong will go to report to the emperor, waiting for the emperor's decree, how?"
Shi Ze's heart skipped a beat as he looked up at the carefree princess standing in front of him. Why did her smile, which seemed so joyful, evoke an instinctual fear that made his heart tremble?
This kind of fear and trepidation, he only has when facing one person, that is his master the Emperor.
For a moment, he felt as if the person standing in front of him was not the carefree seven-year-old princess, but rather his ruthless and merciless master who would not hesitate to abandon even his own family.
Shi Ji ultimately did not go to report, and Yu Zhu Yu Cui successfully brought the wooden box to the Cold Palace with Shi Ji's permission. Even though the eunuchs who followed were surprised in their hearts, no one dared to show it on their faces, nor did anyone dare to discuss it privately.
The Duke and the others all agreed, it must be the Emperor's intention. At present, the Emperor's dragon prestige is not only shrouded in the entire imperial palace, but also throughout the imperial court and the entire Great Yuan Kingdom, no one dares to disobey.
……
After walking in the snow for nearly an hour, Lan Yun felt that her feet were frozen to the point of numbness before she finally arrived at the desolate and remote Yuan Leng Palace, which was located in the most secluded corner of the imperial palace.
The palace, which is covered with snow and can't see its original appearance, seems to have a colder and stronger wind here.
The eunuch general manager of the Cold Palace, Wei Zhong, had been waiting at the bottom of the steps with a group of eunuchs for some time, and from the amount of snow accumulated on their heads and bodies, it was clear that they had been there for quite a while.
When they saw Shi Zhi, Wei Gong and others hurried forward, flattering him with a greeting: "Your humble servant Wei Zhong has seen Lord Shi. The weather is cold and the ground is frozen, Lord Shi must be tired."
Yu Cui gritted her teeth, her eyes blazing with fury as she glared at the obsequious old eunuch in front of her. "You dare to be so presumptuous!" she shouted. "Are you blind? Can't you see that Her Highness is present?"
Lan Yun's heart was slightly stunned, she and Liu Yinghua were in the same situation, but Liu Yinghua was much more naive and sad than her, thinking that relying on herself could completely protect the child for life, letting her live a simple, happy and carefree day, not letting her touch darkness, no wonder Liu Yinghua would lose miserably.
The personal palace maid given to his own daughter only had loyalty but not outstanding talent, in this harem, loyalty is reliable, but being clever and alert is also basic. In any world, in any era, women who are confined by men with love, don't they all become foolish to the point of losing their minds, just like her past!
Wei Zhong's eyes flashed with anger after being scolded by Yu Cui, but then he quickly looked surprised when he saw the large wooden box in Yu Zhu and Yu Cui's hands. All the changes happened in an instant, and then he knelt down in a flurry: "I deserve to die, Your Highness please forgive me."
As soon as you step into the Cold Palace, you are a prisoner of guilt, who doesn't know that? He has been in charge of the Cold Palace for decades and has gone through countless things. Whoever comes to him with whatever identity, no one dares to give him a cold face, let alone the carefree princess being young, how can even the palace maids by her side be so ignorant of the current situation?
How incredibly stupid!
However, this servant girl reminded him of today's loss of etiquette. After all, the princess still had to enter the cold palace, so she was still the princess.
Lan Yun ignored Wei Zhong, who was kneeling in front of her, and didn't even glance at Shi Ji, who had been secretly sizing her up. She simply stepped lightly, one step at a time, onto the high platform.
Yu Zhu's eyes immediately turned red, biting her lip tightly as she followed him.
After entering the palace gate, the scene inside was even more desolate than outside. After walking a few steps, the palace gate behind her had not yet fully closed. Lan Yun stopped in her tracks, turned around slowly and looked up at the three big characters on top that seemed to be crushing her for life: "Yan Leng Gong".
The sound of the palace gate closing heavily behind him with a clang.
Lan Yun was dazed, the feeling of death still so clear, but when she opened her eyes, she became the carefree princess of the Holy Emperor of Dayuan Country.
Empress Shengyuan of the Liu clan, Yinghua's maternal family was exterminated three days ago, and Empress Liu was also given poisonous wine on that day, at the time of her death she was five months pregnant.
What awaits her is not the noble and esteemed status of a princess born into the imperial family, but rather the status of a prisoner who will be confined for life without pardon.
Looking up at the small patch of sky above her head.
Lan Yun slowly closed her eyes, imprisoned for life and never pardoned... But now she is only seven years old.
If it's because there really are gods in this world who aren't satisfied with her being too ruthless and having blood on her hands, and they brought her here to indirectly punish her.
So she refused!
Liu Yinghua's life is pitiful and hateful, she has to bear the consequences of this failure, she refuses to accept it!
At just seven years old, life is still too long, she doesn't want to be a noble princess, nor does she deign to the glory and wealth here, but to lose her freedom like being imprisoned in this desolate cold palace for a lifetime, she - refuses to accept it!
