When Dongfang Yi woke up again, the place beside her on the couch was already cold. It seemed that the person had left a long time ago. There was still a bowl of steaming tea placed beside the bed. She had no idea when it had been put there.
So she rolled over and got out of bed, picked up the cup of tea and drank it. Soon she heard Donghua come in. Donghua bowed to her and said, "May the New Year bring you good fortune, Your Majesty!"
Dongfang Yi nodded to her and replied with the same good wishes. After all, it was the first day of the New Year, and it was proper to exchange words of good fortune.
Then she sat in front of the dressing mirror and let the woman behind her dress her up. If she guessed correctly, there must be people coming to visit today. She couldn't receive guests without proper adornment.
Donghua styled her hair into a cloud - shaped bun and then selected a red robe for her to put on. The whole person looked even more stunning. No matter how many times she had seen her, Donghua couldn't help but say, "Your Majesty, you are so beautiful."
Dongfang Yi curled her lips into a smile. Suddenly, as if thinking of something, she asked, "Where were you last night?"
She remembered that she hadn't seen this woman anywhere, whether on the way or back in the palace last night. She couldn't help but feel a bit confused.
Hearing this question, Donghua thought of the scene where she was with Ruyi last night. The man had said to her,
"Donghua, when all this is over, I'll marry you!"
These words were still echoing in her ears. Just thinking about it made her ears burn, and her heart tremble uncontrollably.
Dongfang Yi saw the woman in front of her suddenly blushing. She squinted her eyes slightly, and suspicion arose in her heart. She asked again, "Where did you go last night?!"
"I..."
Donghua stammered and couldn't say a word. She didn't even know where to look with her eyes.
Seeing the shy look of the woman in front of her, Dongfang Yi's suspicion grew stronger. Then she raised her eyebrows and asked, "Come on, tell me. You were with that man last night, weren't you? If you don't tell me, I'll... find out by myself!"
Hearing the woman in front of her threatening her, Donghua couldn't help but fiddle with her fingers and stammered in reply, "It... It was Ruyi."
"I knew it!" Dongfang Yi shouted out as soon as she heard the answer. Her heart was pounding, and she was even more excited than if she was in love herself.
"I've seen for a long time that there would be something between you two," she continued, raising her eyebrows.
Not to mention anything else, that young man Ruyi had grown up with Donghua since childhood and practiced martial arts together. Donghua was so good - looking. She just had a bit of a hot temper, but that was also a characteristic. There was no reason why men wouldn't like her.
She thought so in her heart, and the corners of her mouth couldn't help but curl up into a gossipy smile.
Seeing her smiling like this, Donghua couldn't help but feel a bit worried. She didn't know what else she would arrange for her. Alas, she didn't know if it was a good or bad thing to tell her so quickly.
But even if she didn't tell her, with her ability, it would be easy to find out.
Thinking of this, she couldn't help but let out a long sigh. Then she heard Dongfang Yi muttering to herself beside her, "It's time to prepare a dowry for you!"
"Your Majesty! You don't have to think about it so early!"
Sure enough, as she expected, her Empress was already making plans for her.
On the other side, in the Qianqing Palace.
Helian Qi was bending over the desk, approving official documents. Ruyi walked up to him and started to grind ink for him.
Suddenly, as if thinking of something, Helian Qi asked, "How are things between you and Donghua?"
The man who was grinding ink suddenly stopped his hand upon hearing this question. He opened his eyes wide in surprise and asked, "Your Majesty, how do you know?!"
Helian Qi just let out a soft laugh and replied, "This is my harem. What can happen here that I don't know about?"
Hearing this, Ruyi immediately knelt on the ground, lowered his head and said, "Please forgive me, Your Majesty. But I really like Donghua!"
Seeing the man in front of him reacting so strongly, Helian Qi put down the official document in his hand and said, "You've done nothing wrong. Donghua is a good woman. You should treat her well."
Hearing this, Ruyi looked up in disbelief and said in a trembling voice, "Your Majesty, you agree to our being together?!"
"Am I a demon? Can I still stop my subordinates from liking other women?!" He raised his eyebrows and said.
The man kneeling on the ground immediately kowtowed and thanked him.
"Get up quickly. Whenever you want to get married, just come to me. I'll surely give you a grand wedding," he added.
Ruyi stared at the man in front of him without blinking. There seemed to be a glint in his eyes.
"Thank you, Your Majesty!"
But Helian Qi just waved his hand, indicating that he didn't need to thank him. Then he picked up the official document and continued to read.
In the Empress's palace, Dongfang Yi hadn't had the chance to ask Donghua any more questions when a voice came from outside the palace.
"Concubine Dong, Concubine Shu, and Concubine Jia are here!"
Then three women walked in. Concubine Shu rushed forward first, bowed to her and said, "May the New Year bring you good fortune, Empress!"
The two women behind also bowed in agreement.
Dongfang Yi was also very happy to see them. She waved her hand and said, "Reward them!"
In the harem, when concubines came to pay New - Year greetings to the Empress, they expected rewards, which was like a return gift.
She had nothing else to give, so she picked out a few things from what Helian Qi had given her and gave them away. Then the women sat together and started chatting.
They talked about all kinds of interesting things, and Dongfang Yi listened happily.
Seeing that her mistress didn't seem to be thinking about Xiaoqian's death yesterday anymore, Donghua finally felt relieved.
In Dongfang Yi's heart, she didn't forget. She just knew that one should do the right thing at the right time. As the Empress, on this festive occasion, if she only mourned her confidant, people might say that she was petty, which would actually disgrace the royal family. That would be a great loss.
But she would firmly remember everything about Xiaoqian and avenge her one day in the future.
Just as they were chatting happily, a chaotic sound of footsteps came from outside the palace. Then an unfamiliar guard knelt outside the palace gate and shouted loudly,
"Empress! Concubine Chu has hanged herself! Please go and take a look quickly!"
Everyone in the palace was stunned upon hearing this. Even Dongfang Yi couldn't help but frown. She didn't know what Concubine Chu was up to.
"Your Majesty, this must be the guard who was in charge of watching Concubine Chu," Concubine Dong said.
"Then let's go. Let's go and take a look!" Dongfang Yi stood up and said.