"Miss, the Madam wishes to see you..."
"I won't. Can't she see I'm this exhausted?" Gu Xiaoxiao said dismissively.
"But..."
"No buts. Leave." Gu Xiaoxiao said coldly.
The maidservant dared not say more and retreated.
Gu Xiaoxiao sighed. In truth, she didn't want to offend Madam Yan, but sometimes, she could only be selfish.
As the saying goes, if a man does not look out for himself, heaven and earth will destroy him.
Suddenly, there was a noise outside the door. Gu Xiaoxiao was impatient. She was already tired enough today. "I said I'm tired, everyone out, out."
There was no more movement outside. Gu Xiaoxiao breathed a sigh of relief. Suddenly, the candlelight in the room extinguished.
Gu Xiaoxiao trembled and sat up. "Who? Who is it?"
Suddenly, she felt a gust of cold wind and then the candlelight reignited.
Gu Xiaoxiao looked around, not even daring to blink, fearing she might miss something.
Finally, she saw a letter on the table.
She walked over and read the letter for a long time before opening it. It contained only one sentence: If you want no one to know, you should not do it.
Gu Xiaoxiao's body trembled. This person was telling her that what she had done would not go unnoticed.
She was being threatened.
Anxious, she rushed to the door and shouted for help, "Someone, someone!"
Xue Changan saw the invitation Gu Xiaoxiao handed over and directly refused it. She regretted her decision, wondering if finding this foolish Gu Xiaoxiao to do her bidding was worth it.
With Gu Xiaoxiao's commotion, everyone knew who had orchestrated the matter.
As expected, Xue Changan was summoned by Noble Consort Xue that very night.
Xue Changan was somewhat surprised. Her own mother, the Noble Consort, rarely summoned her and Eldest Prince, so this was unexpected.
"Mother Consort." Xue Changan saluted Noble Consort Yan, who was on the throne.
"Rise!" Noble Consort Yan raised her eyes, glanced at her, and said slowly.
Xue Changan stood up. "May I know why Mother Consort has summoned me?"
Hearing Noble Consort Yan's words, Noble Consort Yan sneered, "You still don't know why?"
Upon hearing Noble Consort Yan's remark, Xue Changan's expression changed. "Mother Consort, if you have something to say, just say it directly."
"I don't know if you are too smart or too foolish, finding such a stupid woman to do your bidding. Xue Changan, do you think you've lived too long?"
It was indeed about this matter. "Mother Consort, Gu Xiaoxiao's incident has nothing to do with me."
"Just because you say it has nothing to do with you, does that mean it doesn't? Xue Changan, do you take me for a fool?"
Seeing Noble Consort Yan's anger, Xue Changan said, "Since Mother Consort already knows, why are you still asking me?"
"You..." Noble Consort Yan glared at her and said angrily, "You fool."
"I am foolish, so I find someone else to be smart," Xue Changan said, displeased.
"You..." Noble Consort Yan was so angry she almost couldn't catch her breath.
"If there is nothing else, I will take my leave." Saying this, without waiting for Noble Consort Yan to respond, Xue Changan left.
"Vermin." Noble Consort Yan, furious, smashed the teacup on the table to the ground.
"Your Grace, be careful of eavesdroppers."
Noble Consort Yan's gaze froze. She looked up and saw a man standing before her.
Noble Consort Yan's eyes flickered slightly. "Alright, I will remember..."
"Your Grace, do not be disheartened. Princess Changan is still young and does not understand some matters."
"Young? Mo Yan, she is almost of age, and she truly lacks sense. What about the future?"
"Your Grace, please rest assured. I am here, and I will help you."
Hearing this, Noble Consort Yan's gaze softened considerably. She stepped forward and embraced the figure in the darkness. "I knew that even if the whole world abandoned me, you wouldn't."
"Your Grace..." A voice suddenly came from outside the door.
A maidservant stood outside the door. She saw Noble Consort Yan embracing a strange man.
"I... I saw nothing, nothing..."
Before she could finish speaking, the maidservant was knocked unconscious and fell to the ground.
"You hurry and leave," Noble Consort Yan pushed the man away and said coldly.
As her voice fell, she felt a slight movement. After a long while, she sighed, opened the medicine in her hand, smelled it, and a smile curved her lips. She poured the medicine into a nearby basin of water and said word by word, "How can this be enough? A superior must be ruthless."
After doing all this, the unconscious Yue Ji gradually regained consciousness. Seeing herself lying on the ground, having fallen asleep, she was shocked and quickly knelt to beg for mercy, "Your Grace, please forgive me, Your Grace."
Noble Consort Yan raised her head and waved her hand. "Never mind. You must be tired too. Go and rest."
After expressing her gratitude, Yue Ji withdrew.
Noble Consort Yan gazed into the distance, looking through the window at a crabapple tree in the courtyard. For some reason, she thought of the past. At that time, she was only eight years old. Her grandfather and father were sent to guard Dongfeng Pass, and because she was too young, her father left her at the General's mansion.
Since she was mischievous since childhood, her grandmother could not control her. Fortunately, at that time, her aunt was not yet a favored consort in the harem, but merely an ordinary consort. However, due to her grandfather and father's relationship, her aunt held a better position in the palace. Because her aunt adored daughters, after giving birth to the Crown Prince and the Third Prince, she sent people to frequently summon her to the palace. The Emperor of Huangze also favored her and specifically enfeoffed her as Princess Zhaoping.
She remembered that day. Her aunt had matters to attend to, and she went for a walk near Shu Palace. At that time, she saw a handsome young man in white practicing swordplay under a patch of crabapple flowers not far away.
His movements were fluid and graceful, without the slightest trace of awkwardness. The hem of his robe swayed with his movements, along with his hair behind him. With each sword stroke, crabapple blossoms gently fell, landing on him, and even on his sword.
She was mesmerized. When she heard the cheers, she quietly hid. She recognized the little girl beside him. It was none other than the pampered Princess Huanyi. As for the handsome young man beside her, he had captured her attention.
Only later did she learn that the young man was the Crown Prince, Xue Jinli, the Emperor's legitimate son, born to the Empress.
It was said that when the First Prince was born, auspicious clouds descended from the heavens, a sign of good fortune. Indeed, the following decades saw peace and prosperity.
At that time, her heart was entirely devoted to him. The First Prince was humble and benevolent, and exceptionally talented. Everyone believed that the position of Crown Prince was undoubtedly his, until the great fire in the First Prince's palace that night. It burned away the First Prince, who was called a sign of good fortune, and it also burned away her heart.
That exceptionally talented First Prince was gone, and he took her heart with him.
Thinking of this, she couldn't help but chuckle softly. She had never imagined that things could be so convoluted and bizarre. She became Noble Consort Yan, and he returned. However, what was impossible in the past, what about now...
She gave a bitter smile. Perhaps it would always be impossible.