After Qingshu fed the child, she asked the wet nurse to take good care of it. She left Yurong with Emperor Yunjian to learn how to write characters, which could keep him occupied.
"Your Majesty, I'm going to Fengyi Palace," Qingshu said.
Qingshu changed into a crescent - white dress and put on a white fox fur cloak. She coiled her hair into a snake - shaped bun and inserted an emerald hairpin obliquely, with a five - inch shiny pearl hanging from it.
"What are you going to do in Fengyi Palace?" Emperor Yunjian immediately perked up and grabbed her hand.
"In the folk, there is a custom of paying New Year calls. According to the rules, I should go to Fengyi Palace to pay my respects today. Don't worry. I'll take Zhuyao and Xiaoluzi with me," Qingshu said as she nestled into his arms, soothing Emperor Yunjian's ruffled emotions with her gentle words.
"Your Majesty, just teach Yurong how to write. I'll be back soon."
Emperor Yunjian added, "Let Xiaoshunzi go with you. He is fast on his feet. If there is anything, let him report to me. I'll come to back you up right away."
After saying that, his worried eyes fell on her black hair bun. "Why are you dressed so simply? I think you look very nice in goose - yellow and bright red dresses."
"I won't wear those today. I'm going to pay my respects to the Queen. I can't outshine her," Qingshu said with a smile. Then she exclaimed in surprise, "Your Majesty! I've learned another Chinese idiom!"
Emperor Yunjian hummed and stroked the top of her head. "Come back early."
Qingshu nodded and was about to go to Fengyi Palace with Zhuyao and the others.
Zhuyao came out of the side room, followed by a woman with her head down.
"Are you done changing?"
"Don't worry, Your Highness. Bailu has a similar figure to Shihua. When we wait outside Fengyi Palace later, no one will notice," Zhuyao whispered.
Qingshu reached out and lifted Bailu's chin. Looking at her face deliberately painted black to hide her appearance, she hooked her lips and smiled.
"I don't know why you're silent. Is it because you're afraid of death or you're really a bit loyal to Lady Lin? After you hear what your mistress has to say, think it over carefully."
She walked in front. Since Bailu took Shihua's place, she stood on Qingshu's left side. They escorted Qingshu towards Fengyi Palace, one on each side.
Bailu's voice was soft and full of exhaustion. "I never had a good life before. I only had a lame foster father. He picked me up and raised me with great hardship without any dislike. But I had no skills to show filial piety to my father. So I could only enter the palace to earn some silver and rent a small house for my father in the capital so that he could have a shelter from the wind and rain."
"After I entered the palace, I worked in the Laundry Bureau and was constantly bullied. The eunuchs who delivered meals to the Cold Palace often made me do it. Then the Queen found me and asked me to serve Lady Lin."
"Although Lady Lin was not very kind to me, she once rewarded me with some gold and silver, which allowed my foster father to live in a bigger house. I'm grateful, so I didn't report what I saw according to the Queen's order."
Hearing her words, Qingshu couldn't help but think of her own past.
"I can understand you," Qingshu said.
Qingshu looked at the sunlight and slightly lifted her lips.
Her life used to be so bitter, but now, she had survived all the hardships, and life was getting better.
Bailu didn't say anything more. She silently followed Qingshu to the outside of Fengyi Palace. Just as they got closer, they heard Lady Lin's crying from inside.
"Your Majesty, Bailu was bestowed upon me by you. Now that she's dead... I know I didn't take good care of her. It's my fault," Lady Lin sobbed, sounding quite convincing.
"But Your Majesty, I only saw her stealing my jewelry. Yesterday, she even wanted to go to other concubines' palaces in my name. I'm afraid she had ill intentions... I was angry with her and said some harsh words. That's why she got angry and ran away alone..."
"I didn't see her come back for a long time, so I sent my servants to look for her. I didn't expect that she slipped on the ice and froze to death..."
"Your Majesty, Concubine Chenshu has arrived," Qingzhu walked in and reported.
"Oh, it's a rare guest. It's been a long time since Concubine Chenshu came to pay her respects to the Queen," Consort Zhu was the first to speak.
"It seems that Consort Zhu misses me," Qingshu said.
After she finished speaking, the concubines in the palace turned their heads to look at the newcomer.
Qingshu walked in with a faint smile on her face.
Zhuyao followed beside her, and Bailu was asked to stand outside the hall with the second - rank maids of the concubines from other palaces.
"I pay my respects to the Queen. May the Queen be in good health," Qingshu knelt down on one knee.
"Sister, get up quickly. It's cold outside. Don't catch a cold," the Queen forced a few smiles on her gloomy face.
"Thank you, Your Majesty." Qingshu got up and sat in her seat. She looked at Lady Lin, who was still crying and had red and swollen eyes. "Oh, what's wrong with Lady Lin? Who bullied you? Why are you crying so miserably?"
The tears on Lady Lin's face were not yet dry. Hearing her words, more tears welled up in her eyes.
"It's my fault. I shouldn't have said those things to Bailu," she said as she wiped the tears on her face with a handkerchief. She sobbed so hard that it seemed quite real.
Qingshu turned her head to look at the Queen and saw that the Queen was staring at Lady Lin. Although her face didn't change much, the hatred in her eyes was really frightening.
"What happened to Bailu?" Qingshu blew on the tea and took a sip.
Lady Lin sobbed and repeated what she had just said in the hall. Then she covered her chest and said, "Your Majesty, Bailu has been serving me since I came out of the Cold Palace. Now that she's dead, my heart feels like it's being stabbed with a knife."
"So it wasn't your idea for Bailu to come to my palace to deliver an invitation yesterday?" Consort Zhu said.
"I... I never asked her to deliver an invitation..." Lady Lin's eyes were red. She seemed unable to believe it, and even forgot to address herself as "your humble servant".
"Lady Lin, Bailu also came to my Palace of Gathered Elegance yesterday. She said it was your invitation for me to enjoy the snow scenery in the pear orchard, but I refused because I had something to do," Lady Tang also spoke up.
Looking at Lady Lin's current appearance, she was even more glad that she had been cautious yesterday. Although she didn't know what Lady Lin's purpose was, it was obvious that Bailu's sudden death on the ice of the Taiye Pond was not as simple as Lady Lin had described.
"Your Majesty, it's my fault..." Lady Lin said as she was about to lift her skirt and kneel down to plead for punishment.
Seeing that she was pregnant and making such big movements, the Queen's heart almost jumped out.
"Get up quickly. Don't kneel. She's just a low - class maid. If she's dead, she's dead. Why do you always kneel down like this? Aren't you afraid of disgracing yourself?"
"Yes, but after all, Bailu was so unruly. It's still my fault for not disciplining her well."
"The person is already dead. It's useless to say more. Where is Bailu's body?" The Queen sighed and reached out to rub her temples. Her hidden venomous look fell on Lady Lin's belly.
She couldn't wait. It had just been announced that she was pregnant with twins, and now she couldn't hold back and had Bailu killed.
"I've already sent her body to the mass grave..." Lady Lin got up and sat back in her seat.
"Because she stole things and delivered invitations without permission, she deserved to be beaten to death with a stick. Since she's dead, I sent someone to take her to the mass grave."
The Queen hummed. Her face was a bit solemn, and her words were meaningful. "You handled it quite neatly."
"I was scared. I also thought it was inauspicious to have someone die during the New Year, so I quickly sent someone to take Bailu out of the palace."