Chapter 63
The moment Zhao Ruoyong entered Changqing Palace, the crowd surrounding her vanished, leaving her alone once more.
The Empress’s bedchamber was every bit as lavish as the rest of the palace. As soon as Zhao Ruoyong stepped through the door, the powerful scent of a Kunze rushed into her nostrils.
She continued forward, though every step seemed heavy. Through the gauze curtains, she could see the woman on the bed. Her ink-black hair lay in disarray, completely concealing her face.
Sensing the familiar presence approaching, the woman curled inward and tried to retreat from her.
Zhao Ruoyong felt her way to the edge of the bed and slowly sat down. She knew perfectly well how the Empress felt about her, so she made no attempt to move closer, keeping a careful distance between them.
The vast, secluded bedchamber lived up to its name—Changqing, Ever Tranquil. Not a single sound of the outside world could be heard. In that profound silence, the Empress’s labored breathing seemed all the more intense.
A Kunze’s heat was agonizing. Zhao Ruoyong watched her suffer and could hardly bear it, yet she did not dare touch her. All she could do was release a faint trace of her scent to soothe her.
Only after the Empress’s suffering eased and her breathing gradually steadied did Zhao Ruoyong dare to speak.
“Can we talk?”
“…”
The Empress ignored her.
“I truly am… sorry.” Zhao Ruoyong knew why she refused to speak to her. “I warned her so many times not to reveal too much of her talent. I’ve lost count of how many times I told her… But she still insisted on provoking those people—”
“Because she is not you.”
The Empress’s voice cut her off.
She slowly sat up, her dark hair still veiling her face, yet the accusing gaze beneath it seemed sharp enough to pierce straight through Zhao Ruoyong.
“You knew what she was like. She could never endure what you do…” Every word was a thorn, striking precisely where Zhao Ruoyong hurt most. “You were the one who failed to protect her… Your Majesty.”
“Yes… It was all my fault…” Zhao Ruoyong lowered her head. “And now… I cannot even protect Ni’er.”
Thinking of the memorial still lying on her desk, she clenched her fists.
“You know perfectly well that a marriage alliance will accomplish nothing. Why are you still sending her?”
“It isn’t something I can decide.”
“You always say that. You are always running away.”
“Because that is the kind of person I am…” Zhao Ruoyong did not grow angry despite the accusations and contempt. That had always been her nature. “I was never suited to be Emperor. This throne was never supposed to be mine…”
She was merely a puppet. She understood her own fate, yet was powerless to change it.
Another wave of heat swept over the Empress, forcing her to curl into herself in pain.
“Do you want me to help you?” Zhao Ruoyong reached toward her, only to have her hand knocked aside.
“No. Leave…”
The crowd reappeared the moment Zhao Ruoyong stepped out of Changqing Palace.
“I wish to walk in the garden. You may all leave.”
Despite her words, they continued following her and did not stop until she entered the garden.
Whenever Zhao Ruoyong was troubled, she would come here alone.
Today, however, there was someone else in the normally deserted garden.
The Third Imperial Princess, Zhao Mengyin, sat beside a pavilion, staring blankly at the water.
“Yin’er, what are you doing here?” Zhao Ruoyong approached and asked.
“Imperial Mother…”
Zhao Mengyin looked up at her, sighed, then lowered her head and returned her gaze to the water. As her mother, Zhao Ruoyong immediately knew what was troubling her.
“Are you worried about your marriage?”
The Third Princess was soon to marry Chancellor Liu’s daughter. It required little thought to realize that the people pulling the strings behind the court had arranged everything. Chancellor Liu himself was one of them. Once Zhao Mengyin married his daughter, their next move would surely be to name her Crown Princess.
They had already eliminated the eldest princess. By right, the Second Princess should have inherited the title of Crown Princess, yet they were skipping directly to the third. That meant the Second Princess was likely in grave danger.
Zhao Ruoyong had already lost her eldest daughter. She did not want her second daughter to meet the same fate.
“I have to marry her without even knowing what sort of person she is or what she looks like. I can’t stop worrying… What if she doesn’t like me?”
Zhao Mengyin was innocent by nature and possessed little talent for political calculation. She had never considered the darker implications and was still preoccupied with a young woman’s worries.
Seeing her daughter like this, Zhao Ruoyong smiled gently, stroked her head, and sat beside her.
“When I married your Imperial Mother, I had the same thoughts…”
Memories surfaced, and the scene of her own wedding appeared as vivid as though it had happened yesterday.
Back then, Zhao Ruoyong could not understand why one of the court’s most powerful rising officials would marry his daughter to an insignificant young princess with no future. No matter how she looked at it, he should have tried every possible means to marry his daughter to Zhao Ruoyong’s elder brother, the Crown Prince.
Before their wedding day, Zhao Ruoyong had never met her even once. That was precisely why the moment she lifted the bridal veil had been etched so deeply into her memory that she could never forget it.
When the red veil rose, the bride lifted her eyes and met Zhao Ruoyong’s gaze.
At first, Zhao Ruoyong had simply been captivated by her beauty. Beneath a pair of slender willow brows were elegant phoenix eyes, cold yet breathtaking. Pale pink rouge blended into the corners of those eyes, while only the faintest layer of color touched her thin lips.
From that single glance, Zhao Ruoyong had fallen hopelessly in love.
But the woman before her had not felt the same.
The coldness in her eyes never changed. She never looked at Zhao Ruoyong with the same love Zhao Ruoyong held for her. She always remained distant and unreachable.
Only after their children were born did that gaze begin to change. She looked at the children with tenderness and love, but she had never once looked at Zhao Ruoyong that way.
She had never held any love or affection for Zhao Ruoyong. After their eldest daughter disappeared, a trace of loathing had entered her eyes as well.
Thinking of this, Zhao Ruoyong began to worry that her daughter might follow in her footsteps and fall in love with someone who would never love her back.
But what could she do?
Twenty years ago, Zhao Ruoyong had been unable to decide her own marriage. Twenty years later, nothing had changed. Her fate had never once been in her own hands.
The only thing she knew how to do was run away.
Seeing her mother grow despondent, Zhao Mengyin became even more anxious. Both her Imperial Mother and the Empress loved their daughters dearly, yet there was no love between them—or rather, her Imperial Mother loved the Empress, while the Empress did not love her in return.
Would her own marriage become the same?
“Mother… I’ll return to my chambers now…”
Zhao Mengyin rose and bid her farewell.
Watching her daughter walk away, Zhao Ruoyong lowered her head in self-reproach. She had meant to ease her daughter’s worries, yet had only made matters worse.
She stared at her reflection in the water.
“You truly are useless…”
The capital was bustling during the day. People filled every street and alley, and the entire city overflowed with activity.
Two distinguished guests had arrived at the finest restaurant in the capital.
“This way, my ladies…”
A waiter led the two richly dressed young women upstairs and seated them on the second floor.
The moment he left, one of them spoke impatiently.
“Second Sister, are you sure it was all right for us to sneak out like this?” Zhao Mengyin asked.
The other woman calmly poured tea over her cup to rinse it, emptied it, then filled it again.
“It would be even less safe to discuss these matters inside the palace.”
The palace was filled with the rats’ spies. If anyone overheard what she was about to say, everything would be ruined.
Despite Zhao Mengyue’s calm appearance, every nerve in her body was taut. She watched the crowds below from the corner of her eye, afraid that one of those rats might have followed them here.
“I want to discuss Fourth Sister.”
“Fourth Sister…” Zhao Mengyin was equally unwilling to see her younger sister married off to a distant enemy kingdom. “I don’t know how much longer Imperial Mother can delay them…”
“I want to help her escape.”
“Escape?” Zhao Mengyin stared at her in shock. “Where could she possibly go? And how would we get her out? Their people are everywhere.”
“During your wedding banquet.”
“What?”
“The palace guards will be less vigilant then. An imperial princess’s wedding will be celebrated throughout the capital, so leaving the city should also be easier. Once she is beyond the capital, we can figure out the rest.”
…
Yang Lulong and Wanniang had finally reached the capital.
Before Yang Lulong could even marvel at the grandeur of the great city, Wanniang took her by the hand and hurried onward without stopping.
The capital was crowded and chaotic, making it easy to become separated. Wanniang kept a firm grip on Yang Lulong’s hand, afraid that the slightest lapse in attention would make her disappear.
Relying on her memories, Wanniang searched for the road leading to the medical hall.
As the two of them passed the restaurant, the vigilant Second Princess immediately spotted a familiar face among the crowd.
Ignoring her younger sister, who was still speaking, she leapt to her feet and vaulted down from the second floor.
No longer caring about keeping a low profile, she frantically searched through the astonished crowd for that figure.
But it was gone, as though it had been nothing more than a hallucination.
The Third Princess hurried after her.
“Second Sister, what’s wrong?”
Zhao Mengyue continued searching anxiously.
“I saw her.”
“Who?”
“Zhao Mengyang…”
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