The last time I saw Li Qiyu was in the Cold Palace.
I heard that the relief supplies sent to her by those who cared about her had been embezzled, and the one who embezzled them was me. As the person involved who just learned about this, I naturally had to go and check it out.
Her eyes were half - blind from crying. She was disheveled, looking like a madwoman, completely losing the valiance and high - spiritedness I saw when we first met.
When I went there, she was sitting dejectedly against the threshold, squinting at me.
"Are you also here to laugh at me?"
She was once the queen, the one the emperor cherished most. How could she end up in such a plight?
I held back my sobs and asked, "Is there anything I can do for you? Or is there anything you need? I'll get it for you."
"Only one thing."
"What is it?"
"I'm all alone now, with nothing to worry about. Only Ah Xuan, who has always been with me, I don't know where she's been sent. If possible, please take good care of her for me."
"Okay."
I felt so sorry for her current miserable state that, somehow, I blurted out an apology: "I'm sorry."
I should apologize. Although I knew nothing about the accusations against me, I was indeed a cold - hearted onlooker. There were many times when I could have given her a hand, but I chose to be indifferent.
The alertness and selfishness of a modern person made me choose to protect myself every time.
I said verbally that I admired her and felt sorry for her, but all my admiration and affection came with a price. Everything had to be on the premise of not harming my own interests.
Li Qiyu shook her head and said, "It's not your fault. If I have to blame someone, I can only blame myself for loving the wrong person."
Even in such a situation, she still reminded me, "You're a good person. If you have a chance, leave this deep palace. It's a man - eating place."
It was not easy for me to leave as I was already the emperor's woman.
However, I whole - heartedly accepted her kindness and thanked her sincerely.
After returning to my palace, I sent people to check all the servants in my palace. It turned out that my people had nothing to do with this. Even Lady Yu had been much more obedient since I scolded her once. She didn't interfere in this matter.
So who could it be?
I originally thought it was Concubine Yu. After all, if we were to talk about who hated the queen the most, she was the first one that came to mind. But without evidence, I couldn't make a hasty guess.
I sent maids to guard in front of the Cold Palace and told them to report immediately if there was any movement.
But for several days, there was no result. Instead, the rumor that I was bullying the queen became more and more intense.
I decided to go to the emperor. Even if I could only state my guess and even if it might seem like I was framing Concubine Yu, I was afraid that if I didn't tell the emperor the truth, the queen would either freeze to death or starve to death.
I went to the Imperial Study to see the emperor. As soon as I got to the door, I heard Song Jiaye asking his eunuch.
"Has the queen admitted her mistake? Is she willing to bow her head?"
"Your Majesty, this servant has tried every means. Now there are not enough food and daily necessities in the Cold Palace. If we keep pressing her like this, I'm afraid the queen won't be able to hold on."
"Then wait. When she can't hold on anymore, she will surely come to me and surrender. That stubbornness of the Li family in her should have been tamed long ago."
Hearing this, I was thunderstruck.
I never thought that the one who embezzled Li Qiyu's supplies was actually Song Jiaye.
This Song Jiaye, who kept saying that he loved Li Qiyu.
Love her my foot! This selfish man only loved himself!
I had never seen such a brazen person.
He wanted the queen to bow her head but did these sneaky things and even shifted the blame onto me. What, did he think I was an easy target? Did he plan to reconcile with the queen in the future and then say that it was all my doing and had nothing to do with him?
Damn it!
How could there be such a disgusting man in the world?!
I was so angry!
This Song Jiaye was really thick - skinned. He was like this to the queen, and even worse to me. At night, he even turned over my name tag, asking me to accompany him.
I was too lazy to deal with him and told the eunuch that I was on my period and it was inconvenient.
But there was no shortage of opportunists around me. Before long, the eunuch still came with a sedan chair. Lady Yu got another chance to accompany the emperor.
What a scumbag! How disgusting!
Maybe I had scolded him as disgusting too many times. I really felt nauseous and almost vomited out my dinner.
The maids looked at me with surprise in their eyes, but I felt a chill down my spine.
Could I be... pregnant with that scumbag's child?!
Heaven! Why are you torturing me like this!
Before I could confirm whether this was true or not, something happened in the palace the next day.
The queen jumped off a building, right in front of Song Jiaye.
Song Jiaye was heart - broken and fainted for three days without waking up.
Serves him right!
It's just a pity for the queen. She should have left the deep palace, let go of the past, forgotten all this, and lived her own life.
It's not worth sacrificing her life for such a scumbag.
However, death might also be a relief for the queen.
Not long after Li Qiyu's death, Lady Yu was promoted to Concubine Yu. She finally moved out and got her own palace. If she hadn't left, I would have lost my temper soon, because I had been unhappy with her for a long time.
My pregnancy couldn't be hidden either. Song Jiaye was quite concerned about me. The way he showed his concern was to stuff a lot of tonics into my room.
Maybe this child of mine appeared at such a coincidental time. He had an obsession with the child in my belly, always thinking that it was Li Qiyu reincarnated, so he paid extra attention to it. Every day after court, he would come to my palace and sit for a while, which made me endure the urge to feel disgusted every time.
The imperial doctor said it was morning sickness, but I didn't think so. I just felt psychologically nauseous when I saw Song Jiaye.
It had become a conditioned reflex.
During my pregnancy, that kitchen maid was promoted quickly and soon became a concubine. Moreover, this Song Jiaye seemed to have a collection addiction. He collected everything related to Li Qiyu. Even a girl whose name had the same tone as Li Qiyu's was kept in the palace.
He didn't cherish her when she was alive, and now I don't know who he's showing his false affection to.
However, I was always ranked first on the list of the most envied people in the harem. After all, no matter how many beautiful concubines Song Jiaye had in the harem, he maintained the persona of doting on only me. He came to see me - or rather, my child - every day. When my belly got bigger, he liked to lie on my belly, looking very sad and dejected.
"Xiang'er, if this child is a daughter, I'll make her the happiest princess in the world."
I knew that he wanted to transfer his guilt towards Li Qiyu to the child in my belly, but it didn't mean that he really regretted it.
He was still the selfish Song Jiaye. His current act of pretending to be affectionate was just to make himself feel better.
Bah, scumbag.