Seeing the boy's expression, Ruan Yuyi knew something was wrong.
Ignoring the heavy snowfall, she picked up her skirt and walked toward the west corner gate. Mu Xiang and the boy behind her hurriedly followed.
She walked steadily, but her pursed lips still betrayed her panic. Her heart was beating rapidly, as if the organs in her body were being turned into blood.
Xu had experienced the pain of bereavement, so she was particularly worried this time, for fear of facing bad news about her brother again.
The west corner door was open, and a palace lantern illuminated a pale and feminine face, a corner of a maroon dress, and two young eunuchs behind him.
As she approached, she slowed down.
But no matter how hard she waited, it was in vain. She finally learned the news from the unfamiliar eunuch in front of her: the new emperor died in battle.
The eunuch looked solemn and lowered his head, "His Majesty's body has been brought to the palace. There is no news about General Ruan for the time being. I don't know what the situation is. We are here to ask the queen to return to the palace to take charge of the overall situation."
Ruan Yuyi's mind went blank for a moment and she could hardly stand still. "Are you kidding me?" Muxiang hurriedly came to help her.
He frowned and shook his head slowly.
She once wanted to escape from Jiang Huaiyang, but unexpectedly, when her wish came true, she did not feel relieved. Her heart tightened.
"Your Majesty, please come back to the palace." The eunuch put the palace lantern in his hand on the ground and knelt down.
The two young eunuchs following him also knelt down with a plop and repeated:
"I sincerely invite you to return to the palace."
She lowered her eyes and looked at the palace maid in front of her. The wind blew her black hair, flying freely, and the sleeve heater that had been hanging under her sleeves seemed to have cooled down and lost its warmth.
She had been waiting for half a year, and this news came as expected.
.
Ruan Yuyi only asked the boy guarding the door to remember to inform her whereabouts. She kept this in mind and put the imperial edict she had kept in a wooden box and gave it to Mu Xiang and took it with her.
.
She rode the sedan chair to the direction of the imperial city. Xu had promised her earlier that the journey would be smooth.
The cold wind whistled open the curtains and poured in through the gaps.
It's snowing, she thought.
.
In fact, she didn't have much free time to think about things. Once she got back to the palace, she was very busy. If Concubine Rong hadn't been there to help her, she might not have been able to handle it on her own.
White silk hung from top to bottom of the palace, and the palace maids hurried past with their heads lowered, their expressionless faces like paper figures.
She didn't know how long she had been sitting there, but the palace attendants who came down to report were changing every quarter of an hour, so she had no time to catch her breath. She looked at the book in her hand, "Are you all ready?"
The female officer lowered her hands and said, "Yes, I'm just waiting for you to come over."
She paused her fingertips slightly, closed the book, and handed it to Mu Xiang beside her. Mu Xiang turned around and put it away for her. She let out a long breath and stood up slowly. It was probably because of the long time of hard work that her face
It appears almost transparent white.
Ruan Yuyi still remembers the day before when the Luan Yu she was riding on fell down.
She was led to the place of resting place by the palace maid in a daze, and then everything began to become real before her eyes, the white curtains, the catalpa wood coffin, and the crying people.
When the eldest princess was buried before, there seemed to be a smell of blood and decaying trees floating in the air, but there was none at the moment.
Her breathing became heavier, she broke away from Mu Xiang's hand and took a few steps forward.
A calm voice said, "What happened?"
"Hui empress, you know that swords have no eyes on the battlefield. At that time, there was no difference between ordinary soldiers and princes and nobles. Your Majesty... he is very brave and good at fighting." The palace man replied.
After listening, Ruan Yuyi realized: Oh, it was her own voice.
It was as if there were thin and tough threads wrapped around her heart, causing even a small breath to cause pain all over her body.
She couldn't help but wonder, if what she asked her brother to do was accomplished, then why didn't he come back together? What was he doing now, and was there anything he could do about it?
...Is what she did really right?
Before she could think clearly, a steady sound of footsteps behind her came closer and closer, "The little emperor's brother is going to be buried. During this time, I'm afraid I'm going to have to work hard for you, my queen."
Ruan Yuyi turned around and saw that the man with a broad face and high nose was none other than Prince Jing.
She couldn't help but feel vigilant, and subconsciously stepped sideways in front of the catalpa coffin. The beads in her hair were not dangled, and the snow-green skirt she had no time to change into was particularly eye-catching in the plain.
Her back was straight, and she was wearing nothing but clothes. She looked extremely frail, but she still had a calm face and was full of pride.
Prince Jing looked slightly strange. He looked her up and down with squinting eyes and told her in a low voice, "The emperor was accidentally defeated when he was fighting with the enemy. The enemy general's scimitar pierced his body like that."
——”
He took an exaggerated breath and said, "Hiss, it hurts so much just looking at it." Then he sneered lowly, as if he had heard some very funny joke.
Ruan Yuyi's hands hidden under her sleeves were clenched and turned white, and her fingertips were pinching the soft flesh of her palms. It seemed that only in this way could she restrain her desire to raise her hands and give the other person a slap.
"I wonder why Prince Jing came here?"
Prince Jing and Jiang Huaiyang have never dealt with each other. Now that he died without going through Prince Jing's hands, Prince Jing must be extremely proud.
She stared closely at the man in front of her with a wary face.
Prince Jing chuckled, "I have always been very fond of my little brother. When he came to the throne, I took care of him. Before the war began, the emperor once said that if he had any shortcomings, the world would be left to me.
The king’s hand governs.”
He raised his eyebrows slightly, unable to hide his proud look.
It was clear that everything was developing according to her ideas, but there was still a voice in her heart telling her that this was not what she wanted.
It went so smoothly.
This all went so smoothly.
Something hot filled her eyes, and she suddenly began to wonder if...could it be that the person in the coffin wasn't Jiang Huaiyang at all?
Ruan Yuyi regained her consciousness and went to the coffin, but Prince Jing grabbed her wrist.
He whispered in her ear pitifully, "As the current brother, I have the obligation to take over the world. Naturally, I also have the obligation to take care of his concubines for him... My Majesty, do you think so?"
The warm breath sprayed on the side of her neck, and she felt as if the side of her neck was stained with dampness, and she couldn't help but feel sick in her heart.
She raised her eyes and looked to the side. Except for Mu Xiang, who was restrained by Prince Jing's men, who was shouting sternly, the rest of the people who had come to her to flatter her or just met her had expressionless faces.
They were like paper-mâché people, with eyes drawn out of the thick rouge on their cheeks, looking at her blankly.