"Always keep your safety in mind." Yes, it's not easy to control the entire Imperial Palace of Qingyan in one's own hands. He had already started preparing when Chu Lian entered the palace and only yesterday did he finally eliminate the influence of outsiders around him.

  "It's better this way, we can meet more easily now, and you don't have to be so cautious when passing messages. I think from now on, things will go even smoother." She unconsciously parted her red lips, but Xī Yáng hadn't heard what she said at all, he just stared at her quiet little face for a long time.

  For a long time, no one responded, and Chulian looked at Xuyang with a puzzled expression. However, she saw that his eyes contained an emotion that she couldn't quite put into words. She silently lowered her head, not daring to look at the gaze that almost made her want to collapse.

  "You take your time, I'm in no hurry." Xū Yáng's hand hovered three inches away from the strands of hair that fell before her, only to slowly withdraw it back.

  "I will be fine." This was a promise, a promise to Xi Yang, a promise to herself. But even if she waited patiently for Xi Yang's rise to power, how could the imperial court tolerate her presence? Was she supposed to become one of his three thousand concubines, a member of his harem? No, this wasn't what she wanted. For an instant, she thought about escaping. "The rain is getting heavier, you should head back."

  "Yu...er..." Xū Yáng wanted to speak but stopped, and finally he just looked deeply at Chǔ Lián Ruò, then turned around and left the corridor. Chǔ Lián Ruò's hand stretched out lightly, but only grasped a handful of air. A long sigh escaped from her throat, and she suddenly felt even more exhausted.

  As the raindrops were blown across her face by the wind, a sudden sense of melancholy arose in her heart. From past lives to this life, she had become like this - where was the freedom to love others or be loved by them?

  Tears or rainwater slid down her raised cheeks, across the corners of her mouth, and onto the windowsill. Xie Yang hadn't left; he had just hidden his figure, silently watching as a sorrowful aura emanated from Chulian Ruo's body. His foot had already taken half a step forward, and in that moment, he wanted to hold her tightly in his arms.

  It was only when he could no longer control himself that the red wooden carved window was tightly closed. The farthest distance is probably me standing outside your window, but you don't know.

  A peach blossom fan hanging on the edge of the window frame swayed gently, and when she reached out to take it down, it was what Xuyang had given her when she left the Wangfu.

  A few drops fell on it, peach blossom fan bottom thinking of you tears, swallow building front missing your heart...

  It wasn't until a long, long time had passed and her body was almost numb that she suddenly realized it was nearly three o'clock. Stiffly, she got back into bed, the fan still clutched tightly in her hand.

  She slept until the sun was high in the sky before waking up, and apart from the large cloak, her body was also covered with a warm layer of bedding.

  "Think carefully." She slowly got up and called out a sentence.

  Si Wei immediately pushed open the door and entered, "Master, are you awake? I'll go down to prepare hot water for your wash right away."

  "Not busy, what time is it?" Chu Lian asked, seeing that the sunlight outside was very good, as if last night's rain had never appeared.

  Qing Qing saw Chu Lianruo getting up and hurried over to help her get dressed. "It's already three quarters past dawn." Just as she was tying the knot on Chu Lianruo's waistband, a servant came in with hot water, apparently having heard their voices from outside.

  Chu Lian finished washing up and sat in front of the copper mirror, letting Si Wei skillfully make her up. "Are you going to see the Empress Dowager today?" Si Wei asked softly as she combed Chu Lian's smooth black hair with a peach wood comb.

  Looking at herself in the copper mirror, her appearance was haggard, but full of charm, not like the vulgarity of a woman in the red dust, that clear and beautiful eyes were something that others couldn't learn.

  Chu Lian's lips curled into a faint smile, and even Si Wei, who had served her for nearly a year, couldn't help but be distracted. His hand trembled, fortunately reacting quickly to avoid pulling on the long black hair that reached down to her waist.

  "It's natural to go. (Cotton candy provides free Txt download)" Chu Lianruo seemed to have not noticed Si Wei's abnormality, but instead smoothed out her own clothes, as if suddenly remembering something, "Have you seen a peach blossom fan?"

  Si Wei obviously didn't think that Chu Lian would suddenly ask about the fan, and although she was a bit puzzled, she still replied respectfully, "Master, at this time of year, fans are not needed, so they have all been put away. Only the one on the window frame is left, I saw it had tassels and decorations, it's really beautiful..."

  Before the words had fallen, her gaze shifted to the window sill, but she saw a vacant space. "Huh? I clearly put it here." Si Wei furrowed her brow, certain that her memory was not mistaken.

  "It's probably... accidentally fallen into someone else's hands." Chu Lian murmured to herself, not knowing who she was talking to. "Let's clean up and go to the Empress Dowager's palace." She had actually made a move on Lu Luo's body yesterday, and she didn't know what Xū Róng would do? Thinking about it, she got up with a gentle smile, her movements as light as white clouds drifting by, causing people's thoughts to wander far away.

  When Chu Lianruo went out of the house, Si Wei suddenly remembered, "Master, have breakfast first and then go, it won't make a difference for this short while!"

  Chu Lian was slightly stunned, she had actually forgotten that she hadn't eaten yet. Perhaps it was because her mind was preoccupied, but she didn't feel hungry at all. "No, I don't have the heart to eat right now. Besides, by this time, all the consorts who received the news should have arrived at that place. If I were to arrive late, someone might make a fuss about it."

  A pang in her heart, when will the days of being careful and cautious with her own master finally come to an end? Looking at his face, which was three points whiter than usual, she felt a little heartache.

  "Master, didn't you sleep well last night?" Apart from that, she couldn't think of why today's Chu Lian was beautiful, yet seemed more delicate than usual. Although she usually had a slender figure, her eyebrows and eyes were normally lively and elegant, but not today. It seemed like there was helplessness, reluctance, and something she couldn't understand.

  Chu Lian shook her head, it seemed that Si Wei didn't know what had happened last night. So who was it? Who had covered the quilt over her body? The answer was self-evident. "Let's go."

  Si Wei supported Chu Lian Ruo who was almost fainting and left the Xi Yan Palace.

  Crossing the Long Corridor of the Imperial Garden, I chanced upon a charming figure in a bright red dress that caught my eye. Alongside her was the Jade Concubine in a cyan silk gown, chatting and laughing together as they walked in opposite directions yet shared the same destination.

  "Who is this?" Chu Lian had been here for a long time, but didn't know that there was such a charming person in the palace. Looking at her back, it seemed somewhat familiar, yet she couldn't think of who it was.

  Si Wei shook her head, but it was Qing Qing who walked to the front of Chu Lian Ruo's body, "This woman is from Miaojiang and was offered as a tribute. When Empress Qin was still alive, she was already appointed as Shu Fei, but after Empress Qin passed away, she seemed to have fallen ill and never recovered. She didn't attend any banquets in the palace, big or small, it's as if she had been forgotten. That's why Master hasn't seen her before, but today it seems like she has fully recovered." Qing Qing followed Chu Lian Ruo to the imperial palace not only to protect her safety, but also to thoroughly investigate all the major and minor events in the palace.

  "Oh?" Chu Lian had already turned the last corner and was now facing the woman's face. It was her, she thought this palace no longer had this person, but didn't know they were all lurking. The corners of her mouth curled up in a cold smile, "Shu Fei?"

  She took a light breath, this was a seductive face, perhaps due to her recent recovery from illness, it was pale, but the bright red dress made her look like an icy beauty. If she were to reappear in front of the Emperor... "Master, this woman..." She wanted to say that she couldn't be kept, but saw Chu Lian's smiling face. She immediately stopped speaking, her master was so intelligent, her worries were unnecessary.

  Chu Lian's footsteps quickened slightly, "Yu Guifei is indeed elegant today." She half-heartedly praised, but successfully attracted the attention of those two people who were chatting and laughing.

  "Evening concubine, it's mutual." Shi Yuyin felt a sense of discontent upon seeing Chu Lianruo, but now was not the time to stir up trouble. Her slightly chilly gaze fell on her, and today's Chu Lianruo wore a water-colored long dress with a same-colored jade hairpin, simple yet elegant.

  The golden embroidery thread continued from the standing collar at the chest to the edge of the skirt, and a white belt was lightly wrapped around the waist, tied so tightly that it seemed like a gentle breeze would make it flutter, with a subtle fragrance wafting up, a water-blue hairpin adorned her brow, unlike the usual delicate and elegant aura, but rather like the celestial goddess Nuwa descending to the mortal world, adding an air of innocence and naivety.

  Chu Lian seemed to have not heard the sarcasm in Shi Yu Yin's voice, and instead turned her gaze to look at the red-clothed beauty beside her. "Who is this?"

  "The Empress Dowager had never seen me before. I was harmed when the previous empress was still around and fell ill for a year or two. Now that I'm feeling a bit better, I decided to come out and get some fresh air, just in time to hear about the Empress Dowager's incident. What a coincidence that I ran into Yu Guifei." The red-clothed beauty's voice was enchanting, captivating people's hearts. No wonder she had always felt that there was something not quite right about this woman, but it turned out that she had practiced the art of seduction.

  She said so, but still didn't introduce who she was. Chu Lian Ruo just quietly listened and didn't speak up.

  "This is Consort Shu, who was also favored back then. But now, probably no one can surpass Consort Xi in the emperor's heart." Shi Yuyin's mind stirred, and she thought that this could be used to make these two women turn against each other. Consort Shu was a ruthless player, after all, she had contributed to the downfall of the former empress.

  But for some reason, she fell ill on the same day that the deposed empress died, and it is unknown what caused her illness.

  Now she has recovered, and for this Chu Lian Ruo, this fox spirit, is an enemy, and the enemy of an enemy is a friend.

  (

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