"Empress Dowager, the flower pot has only fallen into the lake, it should still be retrievable. I believe that Lady Hong and Lady Nangong did not do it on purpose," Ye Lingyue, seeing the scene, chid in to help.
The Empress Dowager nodded repeatedly after hearing this.
"The upbringing of the Lan Residence is indeed comndable, Ling Yue, you have also been wronged today, yet you still plead for them. Compared to you, the two of them are really too outrageous."
Ye Lingyue, pleading for them?
Hong Yuying and Nangong Qinglin, both had faces full of disbelief. How could this be possible?
"However, though the death penalty can be spared, the living punishnt cannot be avoided, lest everyone thinks that the Empress Dowager’s things can be casually discarded," Ye Lingyue continued, her words nearly making Nangong Qinglin and Hong Yuying spit blood.
"Indeed, take the two down. Give Hong Yuying thirty strokes of the cane and Nangong Qinglin fifty. Whoever else pleads for them, shall be punished with the sa cri," the Empress Dowager declared with a flick of her sleeve, and the two girls were dragged down amid their cries.
Soon after, the pitiful screams of the two girls could be heard.
Within Bai Feng Palace, Hong Yulang’s handso face was clouded over, and both Noble Princess Consort Luo and the Crown Prince wore displeased expressions.
Such a disturbance had disrupted the good order of the flower-viewing banquet for selecting consorts.
Only Ye Lingyue and Feng Xue were secretly pleased, with Feng Xue even stealthily giving Ye Lingyue a big thumbs up.
Killing two birds with one stone, truly masterful.
"Soone co, search the lake thoroughly, we must find the Empress Dowager’s peony flower," Noble Princess Consort Luo, seeing that the Empress Dowager was still furious, eagerly placated her by ordering guards to dredge the flower pot from the lake.
Not long after, the peony flower was actually found.
Turns out, the pot had fallen into a shallow part of the water.
When the peony was presented, the Empress Dowager and others were all startled by the sight of the dredged-up peony.
Especially the Empress Dowager, she had initially thought that, this ti, the peony had surely withered. Unexpectedly, after undergoing turmoil, the peony flower didn’t wilt but blood even more splendidly instead.
Normal peonies are usually of dark red or pale white colors, but this particular one, transford by Ye Lingyue’s Hong ng Heaven, was vividly colored. It blood with five flowers, each of a different color - blue, green, bright red, pure white, and golden yellow.
Against the backdrop of the five-colored peony, the various golden autumn chrysanthemums vying for beauty in the Empress Dowager’s palace suddenly paled in comparison.
Not to ntion that peonies, which usually bloom only in spring, were blooming in autumn, just the phenonon of the longevity peony bearing five-colored flowers was enough to astound everyone.
The five peony blooms were bright, each the size of a bowl, truly befitting the term ’national beauty and heavenly fragrance’.
"Congratulations to the Empress Dowager, the peony has been resurrected and has even blood five-colored flowers, which is an auspicious sign," Ye Lingyue knelt on the ground and said loudly.
"Empress Dowager, Empress Dowager, a ssage has co from Chaohua Palace, saying that... saying the Sixth Prince..." Chihuo, the deputy commander from Chaohua Palace, raced over frantically. He was out of breath, his face flushed red.
"What’s happened to Qiqi?" The Empress Dowager, just delighting over the five-colored peony blossoming, imdiately tensed up all over, like a tightly strung violin, fearing that sothing had happened to the Sixth Prince.
Thankfully, the old nanny by her side supported her in ti.
Noble Princess Consort Luo’s face was taut as she glared at the Deputy Commander of Chihuo.
Crown Prince Hong also had a rigid expression, his eyes darkly fixated on Chihuo.
"Sixth Prince has recovered! Congratulations to the Empress Dowager, this is indeed great news," Chihuo announced loudly.
Noble Princess Consort Luo staggered at those words, and all the noble ladies present were visibly shocked. Hong Yulang looked worriedly at Crown Prince Hong, whose face bore a strange expression, a mix of panic and... brutality.
"Qiqi has recovered; could the blooming of the five-colored peony truly be an auspicious sign? Soone, go inform the Emperor and prepare a visit to Chaohua Palace," the Empress Dowager said excitedly, leading the group toward Chaohua Palace.
Upon entering Chaohua Palace, they saw a completely revitalized place, which had been desolate for years. Empress Liu, accompanied by the palace maids and eunuchs, knelt on the ground.
"I wish the Empress Dowager a peaceful and prosperous life, may you live for thousands of years."
"Everyone, please rise. Qiqi, where is my dear grandson Qiqi?" The sudden recovery of the Sixth Prince made even the usually composed Empress Dowager lose her composure.
"Great Grandma." A clear and lodious voice, like the sound of a gurgling Clear Spring, echoed from the side hall.
In all of Daxia Palace, the only one who dared to address the Empress Dowager as Great Grandma was the most favored Sixth Prince, Xiahou Qi.
There are supposedly no familial affections within the Heavenly Family, yet the Empress Dowager’s affection for Sixth Prince Qi was no different from an ordinary grandmother’s love for her grandson.
At the sound of the voice, the Empress Dowager and everyone slowly looked over to see a young man in magnificent robes, walking out from the side hall. His eyes were clear as water; his deanor unmatched—the renowned Sixth Prince of the entire palace.
"Qiqi, are you truly my Qiqi? Tell your Great Grandma, how did you recover?" The Empress Dowager was moved, tears welling up in her eyes, and Empress Liu and the old nanny beside her also began to wipe away their tears.
For many years, doctors and alchemists all said the madness of the Sixth Prince was incurable.
Even the Empress Dowager had grown sowhat disheartened about the Sixth Prince, never expecting he would one day return to normal.
"Empress Dowager, this matter is a long story. Earlier on, Lady Lan presented a folk redy to . After administering it to Qiqi, his condition had already started to improve. Last night, I had a dream where a Divine Bird Phoenix appeared, speaking human words, telling that when the five-colored peony blood, Qiqi would recover. Upon waking, Qiqi was already healed; it must have been the Divine Bird’s protection and heaven’s rcy," Empress Liu said tearfully, repeating the story she and Ye Lingyue had crafted beforehand.
After Xiahou Qi was cured, Ye Lingyue and Empress Liu both looked for a suitable opportunity to reintroduce him to everyone.
This flower-viewing event provided the perfect chance.
The rare appearance of the five-colored peony, along with the Empress’s half-true, half-false dream, had convinced the deeply superstitious Empress Dowager without a doubt.
She examined the Sixth Prince once more, looking him over and repeatedly expressing her gratitude for divine blessings and protection.
"Congratulations to the Empress Dowager, congratulations to the Empress, the good health of Sixth Prince is truly a blessing for Daxia," Noble Princess Consort Luo said while watching, her heart filled with hatred yet her words sycophantic.
"Big Brother Crown Prince, long ti no see," the Sixth Prince greeted Crown Prince Hong with a bow.
Crown Prince Hong stared at Xiahou Qi, a peculiar gleam passing fleetingly through his eyes.
"Sixth Brother, you have finally recovered, your elder brother is overjoyed. We brothers have not seen each other for years; in the coming days, we must stay up late into the night and have a heart-to-heart talk," Crown Prince Hong said emotionally, while Sixth Prince simply smiled faintly.
To those unaware of the truth, it would seem like the Crown Prince and the Sixth Prince shared a great rapport, the epito of brotherly affection. However, those in the know, like Ye Lingyue, scoffed privately at Crown Prince Hong’s remarkable hypocrisy.
User Comments
0 comments from readers