"Madam Situ, the Empress has summoned you."
Long Yi stepped into the room and stated the purpose of his visit.
"Hmm!" Having already received the news from Zi Xia, Xuexue wasn’t surprised and responded indifferently.
"The Imperial Palace attendants are still waiting! Are you going now, or...?"
"Since they’ve waited for so long, a little more won’t matter. Let them wait." Xuexue remained very composed, not knowing why the Empress invited her to the palace, so why should she rush there? At the very least, she should eat and drink well first, otherwise going to soone else’s territory hungry would be doing a disservice to her own body.
"What does Madam Situ an?"
"Let’s go after having breakfast."
"Breakfast?"
"Yes, rushing to the Imperial Palace with an empty stomach early in the morning isn’t good."
Long Yi was very impressed by Madam Situ’s calmness. Most people would hurry upon hearing the Empress’s summons, but Madam Situ remained calm and decided to have breakfast first.
Zi Xia, standing nearby, imdiately said to Situtu Xueer, "Miss, I’ll go to the kitchen and instruct the servants to bring breakfast."
Xuexue waved her hand elegantly and said, "Go ahead."
Zi Xia: "Yes."
Long Yi looked at Xuexue’s composed deanor, knowing it would take at least four hours to finish breakfast, worried that the people at the palace would grow impatient.
"Madam, I shall go and inform the palace attendants to prevent them from getting impatient."
"That’s a good idea. Let them have breakfast as well."
"Yes."
It’s better to enjoy together than alone.
Thus, breakfast took four hours, and by the ti they arrived at the gates of the Imperial Palace, it was almost noon.
Imperial Forbidden Guards were stationed at the entrance, guarding the golden glazed tiles that glistened under the sunlight, lending the palace an aura of sacredness.
Since they carried the Emperor’s Token, the Imperial Forbidden Guards did not obstruct them, allowing Xuexue, unexpectedly, to remain in her sedan chair as it entered the palace.
She was secretly amazed; having the privilege to enter the palace gates without descending from the sedan was certainly not the Empress’s prerogative.
In her past life, after marrying the Fourth Prince, she had to periodically enter the palace to pay respects to the Empress. At that ti, she had to get out of the sedan and walk all the way into the palace.
At this mont, Xuexue realized this ti it was definitely not the Empress who summoned her to the palace. The mastermind was likely the Emperor.
What was his plan?
Why did he lure her into the royal palace?
Could it be to deal with Long Rui?
Just then, she felt the sedan chair halt.
A delicate, sharp voice of a little eunuch rang out, "Madam Situ, we have arrived. Please step out of the sedan chair."
Imdiately, the curtain of the sedan was lifted.
Xuexue stepped down from the sedan, raising her eyes to observe the surrounding environnt.
The sedan stopped before a palace, with a beautiful archway at the entrance, adorned with a splendid gold plaque bearing the inscription "Qingping Palace" in shining characters.
Qingping Palace? This isn’t the Emperor’s sleeping quarters; Xuexue’s mind instantly cleared.
This ti, indeed, it was the Emperor who invited her, not the Empress.
In her past life, she had visited the Emperor’s sleeping quarters when she was newly pregnant, with the Emperor greatly delighted. He specifically summoned her to the palace and bestowed many gifts upon her.
However, this joy vanished without a trace after the birth of her daughter.
Of course, the Emperor had always hoped for a son to continue the Crown Prince’s legacy, yet she gave birth to a daughter, naturally causing him great disappointnt. Since then, he paid her no attention, and so it was until she was killed by the Crown Prince, with no one ever finding out.
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