"Give it to me," someone seemed to take it over and then said, "You may leave." This was a bit of a courtesy to her.
"Yes," came the rustling of clothes and the sound of the door closing.
Footsteps approached, and the voice of that person grew closer. "Aren't you in pain? Get up and take your medicine."
Ji Feiyu immediately covered herself with the quilt and shook her head. "No, no! Take it away quickly. I'm not in pain anymore. This medicine smells so awful!"
"You say it smells bad without even smelling it. Were you also coaxed to take medicine like this in the Northern Cold Region?" He had already sat down beside the bed.
Oh, he was probably going to treat her as a younger sister... No way. Although it was like an old bull eating tender grass when he married Shuanghua, she was Ji Feiyu!
So Ji Feiyu decided to ignore him. Anyway, she wouldn't uncover the quilt. Since he had seen through her, why should she still take the medicine?
He couldn't help but sigh helplessly. "You're really cut from the same cloth as her. But she wasn't afraid of taking medicine at all."
Hearing this, Ji Feiyu uncovered the quilt. "You're lying. Auntie clearly didn't like taking medicine!"
Yong Yaxuan sneered. "So you admit that you've been deliberately imitating her?"
Ji Feiyu thought to herself, did she still need to imitate? She was the real deal! His eyesight was really something!
Seeing that she didn't say a word, Yong Yaxuan said coldly, "Humph, no matter how much you resemble her, you can never replace her!"
Ji Feiyu immediately retorted, "That's too much! It's fine that you insulted my elder brother, but now you're humiliating me too. This princess vows that one day the whole world will see you being completely obedient to me!"
"Ridiculous!" He immediately stood up and placed the medicine on the table.
Ji Feiyu stared at him defiantly, but didn't realize that the deliberately over - done and unrealistic makeup on her face had already smudged during this commotion.
He immediately said, "Don't look at me like that. Your face is all colorful like a calico cat!" Only then did Ji Feiyu remember the red rash on her forehead. In his blurry vision, it must have looked like a bright red blotch. Coupled with the smudged makeup, wasn't it colorful?
Ji Feiyu was a bit angry. Without saying a word, she grabbed a brocade pillow and threw it at him. "How dare you say I'm ugly? Get out of here! Get out quickly!"
Yong Yaxuan barely dodged it and frowned. "Sure enough, once your identity is exposed, you immediately change. You used to act so obedient. You almost made me misjudge you."
Ji Feiyu grabbed another pillow and threw it at him. "Humph, I misjudged you too. I thought that gentle and sad person was you. I don't know how I was deceived by the vivid descriptions in the book and came here to marry you. Auntie was right. You're a complete scoundrel!"
"Your aunt said that about me?" His voice suddenly rose.
"Yes," Ji Feiyu replied matter - of - factly. She naturally knew how to provoke him. Using Shuanghua's identity wouldn't work; she had to use her own identity as Ji Feiyu.
"Good, very good!" Yong Yaxuan angrily flung his sleeve and left.
Watching him leave, Ji Feiyu felt a bit relieved. Speaking of this role - playing game, she actually had her own selfish motives. There were things she couldn't see when she was the queen, but with Shuanghua's identity, she could see them clearly.
...
The case of Princess Shuanghua being poisoned had a bad impact, so Yong Yaxuan ordered a thorough investigation. The beautiful woman who had poisoned her naturally couldn't escape torture, but the mastermind behind the scenes was never fully revealed. In the end, the woman stubbornly insisted that she had poisoned Princess Shuanghua out of jealousy and died in prison during torture. Thus, the case was closed.
Ji Feiyu used the excuse that there were some marks left on her face from this incident and began to wear a veil for a long - term. However, as her body recovered, she couldn't delay the visit to the Empress Dowager any longer. As the saying goes, an ugly daughter - in - law has to meet her in - laws sooner or later. Moreover, the Emperor had spread the word in the palace that she was going to be made the queen.
Ji Feiyu went to the Empress Dowager's palace with a strange sense of anticipation. While waiting for the Empress Dowager, she looked around at the furnishings and found that they were the same as they were five years ago. Then she couldn't help but think of the funny incident when she had taken refuge here to avoid Yong Yaxuan five years ago. Time really flew by.
Ji Feiyu was in a daze when suddenly the Empress Dowager was helped out. Ji Feiyu quickly collected her thoughts and bowed. "Shuanghua pays respects to the Empress Dowager. May the Empress Dowager enjoy good fortune."
As soon as the Empress Dowager saw her, she smiled and said, "Rise. Come and sit down." When Ji Feiyu looked up, she saw the Empress Dowager's smiling, crescent - shaped eyes and the fine wrinkles at the corners. She couldn't help but sigh that the Empress Dowager had aged a lot. After so many things like the death of the crown prince in the womb, the upheaval in the harem, and the court rebellion, besides Yong Yaxuan, this old mother who whole - heartedly cared for her son was also exhausted.
Ji Feiyu quickly stood up with a smile and walked forward quickly. She whispered, "Your servant is wearing a veil because the red rash on my face hasn't disappeared yet. Please don't take offense, Empress Dowager."
The Empress Dowager waved her hand. "I've already heard about your situation. It's not your fault."
Ji Feiyu then smiled and sat down beside the Empress Dowager. The Empress Dowager took her hand and said, "The Emperor said you resemble Feiyu. I didn't believe it at first. Now I see that your eyes are a bit similar, but Feiyu never wore such heavy makeup..."
Ji Feiyu couldn't help but cough lightly. "I've been used to wearing this kind of makeup since I was a child. If the Empress Dowager doesn't like it, I won't wear it in the future."
The Empress Dowager smiled. "That's not necessary. Every place has its own customs. I called you here to talk to you about a few things."
"What things?"
The Empress Dowager suddenly looked a bit melancholy. She sighed looking out of the hall. "You know about the Emperor and Empress Feiyu, and you know that you're a substitute. So you should know that there are some things you shouldn't expect."
"Your servant knows," she lowered her head and listened to the instruction obediently.
"The love in this harem is like the floating clouds in the sky. Everyone hopes to be the only love of the Emperor, but how many hearts does the Emperor have?"
Ji Feiyu nodded. "The Empress Dowager is right."
"Originally, I didn't agree with you entering the palace in this way because it would ruin your whole life's happiness. But I heard that you were very insistent at that time, and the King of the Northern Cold Region also agreed, so I didn't oppose it. Anyway, this harem is not simple. Something like the previous poisoning incident may very well happen again. So you must be extremely careful. Don't eat randomly what others give you, especially after you have a child."
Speaking of children, Ji Feiyu suddenly wanted to ask, "How many princes does the Emperor have now?"
The Empress Dowager couldn't help but frown. "None. Originally, two concubines were pregnant at the same time, but unfortunately, both of them died in the harem struggle before the babies were born. In the past few years, he hasn't indulged in the harem. He either sleeps in the study or in the study. He has managed to govern the country well, but his health has declined. Sigh... So in the future, you should understand him more. In my opinion, now you're the one who can change his mind."
"Yes, your servant will follow the Empress Dowager's instructions."
"Well... There's nothing else. I'm a bit tired. You may leave first."
"Yes."
...
After leaving the Empress Dowager's palace, Ji Feiyu thought of the incident when she was wrongly accused back then. Since she was determined to rectify the harem, the first thing she had to investigate was the case of the two concubines' miscarriages many years ago.
She asked Yong Yaxuan for various special privileges of access, saying that she wanted to investigate the unjust case of a few years ago for her aunt. He seemed too lazy to care about her, but still agreed to let her move freely in the harem.