The imperial edict sending the Li family to their doom was finally issued.
Perhaps out of guilt, Song Jiaye had been extremely kind to Li Qiyu in the past month. He inquired about her well - being and cared about her in every possible way. I even felt tired on his behalf. Didn't he feel creepy? On one hand, he was scheming how to kill Li Qiyu's family, and on the other hand, he was acting all loving and affectionate.
I felt exhausted just watching him. How strong was his psychological endurance to be able to do such a thing?
Song Jiaye's retribution was coming soon. Just after he issued the imperial edict in the morning, at lunchtime, news came from the Queen's palace that the Queen had fainted.
The imperial physician's examination revealed that she was pregnant.
No one had expected the Queen to be pregnant.
I knew that Song Jiaye had been giving the concubines in the harem contraceptive soup. Firstly, he was still young and didn't need children so early. Secondly, all the women in the palace had powerful family backgrounds. If they gave birth to children, it would only be a burden.
I saw Song Jiaye looking calm and truly happy on his face. There was no trace of worry. It was the genuine joy of becoming a father.
I knew that this result was also within Song Jiaye's control.
He must have told Li Qiyu to stop taking the contraceptive soup. This man was so calculating.
However, looking at Li Qiyu's happy smile now, I just couldn't bring myself to offer my blessings. It wasn't out of jealousy, but mainly because I thought she was too naive.
She was so naive that while the whole world knew that the Li family was in trouble, she, the only surviving member of the Li family, was still kept in the dark.
The Li family had been decreed to be executed and their property confiscated. No matter how hard Song Jiaye tried to hide it, it was impossible for Li Qiyu not to find out such a big thing.
Li Qiyu knelt outside the palace gate all night. Inside the palace, Song Jiaye was throwing things and losing his temper.
"What else does she want? I've already spared her life. What else does she want?"
I couldn't bear to watch and couldn't help reminding him, "Your Majesty, the Queen is pregnant. Please show some mercy and go see her."
At the mention of seeing Li Qiyu, Song Jiaye's face turned deathly pale. This was a sign of guilt.
He was too afraid to face her after all.
I had to go out and persuade Li Qiyu.
"Your Majesty, as long as the green mountains remain, there will always be firewood. Please go back first and then we can figure out a way."
Her face was as pale as snow.
"As long as the green mountains remain? I don't have any green mountains left."
The child in her womb was her hope!
However, her despair was not unfounded. Li Qiyu had ended up in such a miserable state with the support of her family. God knew what would happen to her without it.
Counting on an ungrateful man?
It was really ridiculous.
Li Qiyu failed to keep the child. She was diagnosed with pregnancy one day and had a miscarriage the next.
After the miscarriage, the Emperor didn't even come to visit. He just told the imperial physician to send boxes of tonics to Li Qiyu's room and would occasionally ask me about her condition. Even Concubine Yu couldn't stand it and would occasionally say, "Your Majesty, go and see the Queen."
Song Jiaye always promised to go next time, but he never did.
This man was extremely cowardly and selfish. He was afraid of facing the past and the fact that he had killed Li Qiyu's entire family. All he could do was escape.
Concubine Yu and I went to visit the Queen together. When we came out of the Queen's palace, Concubine Yu said earnestly, "Concubine Xiang, you should keep a closer eye on the people in your palace. Don't let that girl from a humble family make a fool of herself. His Majesty is just too busy to investigate thoroughly. If he does, you'll also be implicated."
Implicated?
I wasn't stupid. Concubine Yu must be talking about Lady Yu.
Although she had been granted the title of a minor concubine, she still lived in my palace. Her status was only slightly higher than that of a maid and she didn't have to do menial work.
The Emperor had issued a gag order in the palace, but the Queen had found out about the Li family's trouble so early because of this audacious Lady Yu.
I knew about it, but I couldn't control her. Just because of her face, I was powerless.
Concubine Yu wanted to use me as a pawn. Now that the Queen was disheartened with the Emperor, she wanted to get rid of the substitute as well.
She had quite an appetite.
"Your Majesty thinks too highly of me. I'm just a woman relying on His Majesty for survival. How dare I touch His Majesty's people?"
I ignored how Concubine Yu looked at me and left on my own.
When I got back to my palace, a maid reported that Lady Yu was making a scene in her room, complaining that the people in the palace were cold to her. As a concubine, she couldn't even take a hot bath.
The maids' hands were red from carrying water. They came to me pitifully and pleaded, "Your Majesty, please be fair. Since she got in favor, she has been torturing us. She takes a bath five times a day. Just carrying water for her, our hands are full of blisters. We really can't serve her."
I didn't want to make enemies with her at first, but now I had to do something.
The next time Lady Yu asked someone to heat water for her bath, I put something in her hot water. In the middle of the night, I heard wailing from her room. A maid reported that Lady Yu was itching terribly and was shouting for an imperial physician.
"The Queen is still in a coma. I haven't dared to call an imperial physician even though I'm not feeling well. Does she really think so highly of herself? Tell her to bear it."
Did she really think she was someone important and no one could teach her a lesson?
I could tolerate her arrogance, but I couldn't tolerate her bullying my people and the Queen.
Until the next morning, a maid reported that Lady Yu had scratched so hard that there was blood all over the quilt. She got up early and ran out to stop an imperial physician on the road, and the one she stopped was the one going to see the Queen.
As expected, not only did she not get treated, but she was also punished by the Emperor to be confined to her quarters.
Song Jiaye was annoyed by her and came to ask me, "What on earth is going on?"
I tried my best to maintain my innocent persona.
"I don't know, Your Majesty. Maybe Lady Yu got used to taking baths when she was in charge of heating water in the palace before. She bathed too frequently, which made her skin dry and itchy."
Song Jiaye's face darkened and he cursed, "A disgraceful thing."
I listened silently without saying a word. But I knew that from now on, the maids in my palace could heat fewer pots of water.
Song Jiaye was in a bad mood all the time. After all, the Queen was still angry with him, and the two of them had reached a point where they refused to see each other. Song Jiaye had sent the Queen to the cold palace, waiting for her to admit defeat. But the Queen was so proud that no matter how much others bullied her, she remained silent.
Song Jiaye's actions really confused me. Did he like her or hate her?