Ningfu Palace.
Concubine Shu had been lingering in a state of half - sleep and half - wakefulness.
During the day, after hearing the news that Chang Lin had been arrested, she became extremely restless. She found Liu Zhen and begged him to find a way to take Chang Lin out of the palace and escape, but Liu Zhen flatly refused.
She scolded him on the spot, saying that since he was from the Liu family, he should help her, but Liu Zhen remained unmoved. She knew that Liu Zhen had become a brave cavalry general thanks to Qin Feng's help. Before that, the Liu family had never paid attention to this son of a concubine. So her request was quite unreasonable, but she had no other choice.
Finally, she cried and pleaded with him, and only then did Liu Zhen agree to go and check on Chang Lin.
Checking on him actually meant just confirming whether Chang Lin was still alive.
Just now, Concubine Shu was lying in bed, pale - faced, listening to Ying'er tell her the news brought by Liu Zhen.
"Chang Lin will be beheaded at noon tomorrow for attempting to murder Concubine De."
After hearing this, Concubine Shu felt a sudden blackout in front of her eyes. Ying'er was startled. She tried to help Concubine Shu calm down and comforted her. It took a long time for Concubine Shu to recover. She had no way out and could only keep crying.
She was filled with regret, anger, but also helplessness.
Everything Chang Lin had done was ultimately due to her own vanity. In fact, how could she not know about Chang Lin's feelings for her? She had always deliberately ignored them and allowed her vanity to grow uncontrollably, which had led to Chang Lin's fate.
Just thinking that Chang Lin would lose his life because of this, Concubine Shu felt that every breath was tugging at her lungs, crushing and shattering her chest cavity.
The entire Ningfu Palace was shrouded in a depressing atmosphere. It was so quiet that you could hear a pin drop. It had completely lost its former elegance and grandeur.
Qin Huaiqiu was standing in front of Kunning Palace, silently looking into Ningfu Palace.
For some reason, he felt a sense of desolation.
He still remembered that during his previous visits, although Kunning Palace didn't welcome him, at least there were maids shuttling back and forth, creating a lively atmosphere. But now it was like a dead place. He didn't even see a busy maid.
Qin Huaiqiu recalled the time when Concubine Shu had taken advantage of the empress dowager's banquet to mock his poor health.
At that time, she was sitting beside the empress dowager, full of confidence and arrogance, just like the mistress of the harem.
Now, it seemed that Ningfu Palace was no longer blessed enough.
The empress dowager was old. Out of concern for her health, Qin Huaiqiu had never told her about his poisoning. So on his way here, when he met Xu Fu, he just said that he hadn't seen Concubine Shu for a long time and wanted to visit her. Xu Fu even smiled at him and hoped that they could get along well as "sisters" and take good care of the emperor's daily life.
He responded. Maybe Xu Fu never imagined that Concubine Shu would face a never - ending life of misery in the cold palace.
Qin Lan was supporting Qin Huaiqiu. He had just recovered from a serious illness. Although he had a good constitution, he had been poisoned with a deadly poison and was still a bit weak. So they brought Ziyun with them. Ziyun watched for a while at the door and then walked over and asked, "Your Ladyship, there seem to be very few people in Ningfu Palace. Should this servant go in and announce your arrival?"
Qin Huaiqiu nodded and said, "Tell them that I want to talk to her about Chang Zixuan."
Ziyun understood and turned to enter Ningfu Palace.
Not long after, she came out with Ying'er.
Ying'er looked gloomy. The moment she saw Qin Huaiqiu, the hatred in her eyes was no longer concealed. She looked as if she wanted to devour Qin Huaiqiu alive.
Qin Huaiqiu looked at her calmly and asked, "What did Concubine Shu say?"
Ying'er stared at him for a long time before saying, "The Lady asks you to go in." She didn't use a respectful title for Qin Huaiqiu and didn't even step aside to make way.
Qin Huaiqiu didn't mind. He slowly stepped forward, squeezed past Ying'er and said, "Sorry, please make way."
Ying'er almost jumped up. She took a step sideways but didn't block Qin Huaiqiu's way. She just stood to one side. Her face turned pale and then red. She stared at Qin Huaiqiu and trembled, "The Lady has become like this all because of you!"
Qin Huaiqiu looked at her calmly and said nothing.
"Since you entered the palace, the Lady has never had a peaceful day. Now that the Lady is in such a state, do you still want to humiliate her?!" Ying'er almost used all her strength. As a low - ranked maid, she had been taught the rules of hierarchy since she entered the palace. But now, as a maid, she pointed at the fourth - rank Concubine De and trembled, "I hate you!"
Qin Huaiqiu gave her a cold look and then ignored her. He walked straight towards Concubine Shu's room.
The moment Qin Huaiqiu turned around, Ying'er finally couldn't hold on anymore. She knelt on the ground, covered her face with both hands and sobbed.
Qin Huaiqiu asked Qin Lan and Ziyun to wait outside and walked in alone.
Inside the room, the air was very thick. The turbid air made Qin Huaiqiu frown. He touched his nose and walked around the carved screen in the room.
Behind the screen was Concubine Shu's bed.
At this moment, Concubine Shu was leaning against the bedside. She no longer had the spoiled and arrogant look she had when she first met Qin Huaiqiu. Her hair was disheveled, and her face was as pale as paper. She stared at him expressionlessly and silently.
Qin Huaiqiu walked to her bedside, reached out and took a stool. He poured a bowl of tea for her from the table. He slowly sat down and handed the tea to her, saying, "Sister, would you like some water?"
Concubine Shu's eyes were dark under the eye sockets. Presumably, she hadn't slept well at night. She rolled her eyelids, and her lifeless eyes moved, but she didn't take the tea.
Qin Huaiqiu took his hand back, took a sip of the tea by himself and then put it down.
"Chang Lin's original name was Chang Zixuan, right?" Qin Huaiqiu leaned back on the chair and seemed to sigh as he said.
Concubine Shu's thin lips moved, and she said coldly, "If you want to threaten this Lady with this, you might as well just say it directly."
Qin Huaiqiu looked at her and said, "I've known for a long time that you don't like me. In the imperial family, competing for favor is normal. I didn't really care at first, but I didn't expect it to go this far."
Concubine Shu sneered and said, "So what? Do you have any evidence that this Lady instigated him?"
"I don't." Qin Huaiqiu smiled faintly and said, "Don't worry. I'm not here to blackmail you about this. I just want to have a good talk with you."
Concubine Shu turned her face to the side and didn't look at him. She obviously didn't believe Qin Huaiqiu's words.
Qin Huaiqiu continued, "I actually discovered a long time ago that you had a private connection with Chang Lin. So I sent someone to investigate. I found out that Chang Lin entered the palace three years ago. If I remember correctly, you were already Concubine Shu at that time."
"At that time, Concubine Xian was just a junior concubine. You were the most powerful in the entire harem and the legitimate candidate for the empress. Why did Chang Lin still enter the palace?"
After hearing this, Concubine Shu suddenly turned her head and stared at him fiercely, saying, "This Lady has said before that this Lady has nothing to do with him. Do you have any evidence for what you're saying here?!"
"I don't have any evidence. I said so from the beginning." Qin Huaiqiu shrugged and said, "I just want you to understand some things."
Concubine Shu's eyes were full of hatred. She stared at him without moving.
Qin Huaiqiu didn't look at her. His eyes drifted to other places. He seemed to remember something and said softly, "There's a music workshop in the capital. It used to be a place for the nobles to get drunk and have fun. Since it's a place of debauchery, there are naturally plenty of music and singing."
"There are many songs there, but most of them are about the vulgar plots of prostitutes. But there's a song I like very much because of a line in it." Qin Huaiqiu said, "Does the young maiden know the feelings of her lover? She dreams of meeting her sweetheart."
Concubine Shu's pupils suddenly shrank! The look in her eyes as she stared at Qin Huaiqiu became terrified, and her whole body began to tremble uncontrollably.
Qin Huaiqiu added, "Qin Lan went to check the origin of this song and found a poem. The signature of this poem was Chang Zixuan. I read the poem. It was very well - written."
This poem was the love poem that Chang Zixuan had written to her at that time. The first line of the poem was:
A young girl of the Liu family has just grown up.
Looking at Qin Huaiqiu's expressionless face, Concubine Shu somehow felt a sense of fear. She trembled as she propped herself up and screamed as she retreated. She kept shouting, "What do you want to do! What do you want to do!"
Concubine Shu's reaction startled Qin Huaiqiu. He quickly reached out and grabbed Concubine Shu, but Concubine Shu was like a person who had touched a red - hot iron. She immediately shook off his hand and kept screaming.
Her screams attracted the attention of the people outside the room. Ying'er wanted to rush in to check on Concubine Shu's situation, but was stopped by Qin Lan and Ziyun. Qin Lan knew martial arts and quickly captured Ying'er. But Ying'er struggled constantly, so Qin Lan had no choice but to knock her out with a palm.
"Hey, wait a minute!" Qin Huaiqiu raised his hands and said, "Sister, I really didn't come here to blame you. I just want you to understand what Chang Lin really means to you?"
Concubine Shu stopped screaming. She tightened her grip on the cup and stared at him tremblingly.
Seeing that she had calmed down, Qin Huaiqiu sighed and said, "Chang Zixuan liked you. You can tell a little about his feelings for you from that poem. But not long after, you were married into the Crown Prince's Mansion by Lord Liu. But he always remembered you and even entered the palace as a eunuch. Am I right?"
Concubine Shu's eyes darkened. She hugged her head with both hands. Her eyes were empty, and she murmured, "So what? It wasn't me who forced him. He did it voluntarily."
Qin Huaiqiu glanced at Concubine Shu and said, "He already knew that you might become the empress when he entered the palace. Have you ever thought about why he did this, sister?"
Concubine Shu trembled all over. Then her voice became shrill. She cried and shouted like a madwoman, "I don't know! I don't know! He did it voluntarily! It has nothing to do with me!"
"How could it have nothing to do with you!" Qin Huaiqiu grabbed her wrist and said sternly, "You couldn't have failed to notice his feelings for you. Then why did you still pretend as if nothing had happened? In your current state, don't you understand yet? You have the same feelings for him!"
Concubine Shu stopped moving.
She shed tears and raised her head blankly.
Qin Huaiqiu took a deep breath and said seriously, "Think it over for yourself. Did you become Concubine Shu voluntarily, or did you do it for others?"