Yu Mingyue lowered her gaze and said respectfully. Although she knew Luo Lingyi would protect her, she didn't want to conflict with Feng Yingying. After all, this was the Eastern Palace, and Feng Yingying, no matter how unfavored, was still a Liangdi of the Eastern Palace.
"Don't think I don't know you're being disingenuous. You made me lie in bed for half a year. I haven't forgotten this hatred for a single day." Feng Yingying looked down at Yu Mingyue, who was kneeling in greeting, her eyes full of hatred.
If it weren't for her meddling, how would she have been humiliated at the Gu family's old madam's birthday banquet, displeasing the old madam? If she had married Gu Tingyun, how would she have been sent to the palace by her father to be this Liangdi?
Did she think she cared about this Liangdi position? She would rather accompany Gu Tingyun to exile at the border than stay in this suffocating cage.
It was all her fault, all her doing that led her to this.
If she wasn't doing well, Yu Mingyue shouldn't expect to do well either.
"Liangdi, the Crown Princess is waiting for Yu Liuniang. Please don't keep her waiting," said the little maid who was guiding Yu Mingyue.
"Silence!" Feng Yingying shouted. "I am disciplining a disrespectful noble daughter. What right do you have to speak?"
"Yu Mingyue, I know I can't get to you, but you offended me today. I sentence you to kneel for half an hour..." Feng Yingying suddenly kicked Yu Mingyue's leg. Yu Mingyue, whose legs were already sore from kneeling for too long, swayed and fell to her knees.
"Miss," Chihua instinctively reached out to help, but Yu Mingyue shook her head and stopped her.
Dodging the beginning meant facing the end. She had to let Feng Yingying vent her anger first. There were a thousand days for a thief, but only one for a guard. She accepted this punishment today, considering it payment for her youthful recklessness.
Seeing that Yu Mingyue dared not resist, Feng Yingying said triumphantly, "You're sensible. Today I'll let you know what respect and hierarchy mean."
"Your Highness is right. This humble subject has noted it."
"Servant greets Feng Liangdi!" Lumei's voice came from not far away.
This Feng Liangdi truly had a useless head. Others might be arrogant due to favor, but she, who had no favor, was inexplicably arrogant. She even dared to block the person the Crown Princess wanted to see. The Eastern Palace was no place for a mere Liangdi like her to be so presumptuous.
Feng Yingying was wary of Lumei. "Yu Liuniang offended me. Am I not allowed to discipline her?"
Lumei smiled. "Liangdi can naturally discipline her. However, the Crown Princess is urgently looking for her. If Liangdi would be magnanimous and spare her this once."
Feng Yingying gritted her teeth. "I will spare you this time for the Crown Princess's sake. If you dare to offend me again, you won't be so lucky."
"Thank you, Liangdi," Yu Mingyue said, lowering her gaze and thanking her without being subservient or arrogant.
Although Feng Yingying was angered by her demeanor, she knew better than to escalate the situation. She had already embarrassed her today.
"Miss, are you alright? I'm sorry for arriving so late!" Lumei said.
On that day, when the county princess was in mortal danger, it was she who sought out Yu Mingyue to save her. Lumei had always been grateful to Yu Mingyue.
She had intended to pick her up personally today, but something delayed her. She hadn't expected Feng Liangdi to seize the opportunity for revenge.
"I'm fine." Feng Yingying was a Liangdi of the Eastern Palace. Kneeling for a while was nothing.
"Her Highness has been thinking of you. However, with the year-end affairs, it's inconvenient to enter the palace, and she couldn't summon you," Lumei said to Yu Mingyue with great respect.
As they spoke, they arrived at the Eastern Palace. Yu Mingyue went inside and found Mo Yuxi also in Luo Lingyi's palace. The moment she saw Yu Mingyue, her eyes reddened, and tears almost fell.
Yu Mingyue suddenly remembered that their identities were different now, and they could no longer be as casual as before.
"This humble subject greets the Crown Princess and Liangdi."
Luo Lingyi reached out to help her up. "Get up quickly, sit!"
Only then did Yu Mingyue sit on the soft stool next to Mo Yuxi. Sister Lingyi's complexion seemed alright, but why had Yuxi lost so much weight? Wasn't she pregnant? Why was she even thinner than before?
"...Liangdi,"
Yu Mingyue's words were interrupted by Mo Yuxi. "Just call me Yuxi as before. Calling me Liangdi sounds distant."
"Yuxi," Yu Mingyue reached out and held Mo Yuxi's hand. "Why have you lost so much weight?"
"I haven't been able to eat anything these past few days. It will get better in a while," Mo Yuxi comforted her.
Ever since she knew she had to enter the palace, her heart had died. The Crown Prince had not mistreated her in the palace, and the Crown Princess had taken good care of her. She was the one who was not strong enough, always thinking about the past and unable to be happy.
Since she became pregnant, the Mo family had sent many good things, but she couldn't feel happy.
"I've asked the imperial physician. This is normal for pregnant women. Don't worry, I will take good care of her," Luo Lingyi said.
Her body still had lingering toxins and could not conceive. Sooner or later, someone among the Eastern Palace consorts would become pregnant. Although the Mo family was ambitious, they would still prefer it to be Mo Yuxi.
Women understood women best. Mo Yuxi's heart was not with the Crown Prince, and she had no intention of competing for favor. Even Feng Yingying, that fool, often caused trouble, not for the sake of favor.
"So that's how it is. So pregnant women suffer like this. You still need to listen to the imperial physician and take good care of yourself." Yu Mingyue was a little worried. Yuxi looked truly haggard.
Among them, Yuxi was the most timid, the softest-natured, and the most conventional. She never expected that one day she would enter the palace.
Mo Yuxi looked at Yu Mingyue's eyes. Their brother and sister's eyes were most alike, their gazes flowing and shining, making even an ordinary glance seem profound and endlessly evocative.
Mo Yuxi felt a great pang in her heart. If she had known he had left the capital to guard the border to avoid her, she wouldn't have said those inappropriate words and would have hidden her feelings in her heart forever.
She had been too impulsive then. The Gu family's affairs and Youyou's death had struck her too hard.
"I will take good care of myself. Don't worry. It's rare for us to meet, so don't talk about these unhappy things," Mo Yuxi nodded, holding back tears in her eyes.
Mo Yuxi knew that being able to see Yu Mingyue today was a favor from the Crown Princess. Otherwise, how could she, a mere Liangdi of the Eastern Palace, summon the family members of officials? Therefore, after chatting for a while, she wisely took her leave.
Yu Mingyue saw her to the door. In the cold wind, she tightly clasped Mo Yuxi's hand and whispered, "Youyou is still alive. Pull yourself together. We will meet again."
A flicker of hope ignited in Mo Yuxi's eyes. However, she dared not say anything and nodded with tears in her eyes.
Back then, she had begged her grandfather to save Youyou and not let her go to that place, but her grandfather had confined her.
Then came the news of Youyou's suicide. In her despair, she saw Yu Mingjing and begged him to take her away.
In fact, the moment she spoke those words, she regretted it.
Her inappropriate words would only harm him.
Now that he had left the capital, she hated herself even more.
"Whether being born into a family like ours is a blessing or a curse, we are both like this. I hope you can be happy." Mo Yuxi felt as if she had lived a lifetime in the past six months. Her heart was already full of scars.