Chapter 47: None of My Business
Chapter 47: Chapter 47: None of My Business
On the way back, Qiuxi followed behind Liang Wan. She glanced from side to side, and only when she saw no one around did she whisper, "My Lady."
Her extreme caution made Liang Wan curious. "What is it?"
Qiuxi’s round, almond-shaped eyes were wide, her expression grave. "I know you don’t care for valuables, My Lady, but those were rewards from the Emperor and the Empress. How could you give them away? If you leave them for the Family Head, that’s the crime of deceiving the sovereign!"
Liang Wan looked at her and slowly broke into a smile. "Did I say I was giving them to him?"
Qiuxi’s expression faltered. She shook her head gently. ’Her Ladyship never said anything of the sort, but the rewards haven’t been brought over either—’ Her eyes began to brighten.
Liang Wan glanced at her, the corners of her lips curling up. "Let’s go."
The next morning, Liang Wan went to the Imperial Palace with Liang Cheng.
Liang Wan disembarked from her carriage before Changhe Gate. Since Foreign Ministers were not permitted inside, Liang Cheng could only accompany her to Duan Gate.
Before they parted, he repeatedly warned her, afraid she was unfamiliar with the inner palace and might inadvertently break some taboo, inviting disaster.
Liang Wan smiled. Her downcast eyes were like deep pools. ’Unfamiliar? How could I be? I’m far too familiar with this place!’
The weather had been dreary and rainy for some time, but the sky had finally cleared in the last two days. The wind was warm, the sun brilliant, and the sky a vast, clear blue, making the palace halls and towers glitter.
A eunuch led Liang Wan toward Zhaoyang Palace.
On the long, stone-paved path, Liang Wan’s mind drifted. She found it hard to distinguish the present from the past. She had walked this path countless times before. The deeper she went, the more the fear and hatred in her heart intensified.
The little eunuch noticed her slightly pale face and assumed she was nervous about entering the palace. He turned his head to offer some gentle reassurance. "My Lady, there is no need to worry. The Empress has always been very kind."
Liang Wan forced a smile. "Thank you."
They bypassed Taiji Palace and entered through the Vermilion Flower Gate, arriving at Zhaoyang Palace. The eunuch stopped outside the hall, and Liang Wan followed a palace maid over the threshold.
"Please forgive me, Your Majesty the Empress!"
"What is wrong with you? So clumsy!"
Liang Wan had only taken two steps inside when she suddenly heard scolding and pleas for mercy. In her past life, she’d had little interaction with the Empress, only hearing that she was gentle, virtuous, magnanimous, and generous. But as luck would have it, she seemed to have arrived just as the Empress was punishing a Palace Attendant. Liang Wan couldn’t help but tread with extra caution.
"Get outside and kneel!"
A moment after the words were spoken, someone walked out from an inner room with their head bowed. Liang Wan barely lifted her gaze before looking away again.
The palace maid at the entrance announced in a clear voice, "Reporting to Your Majesty the Empress, the Third Lady of the Liang Family requests an audience."
"Oh? Let her come in."
The voice wasn’t sharp and severe like before, but soft and gentle. ’So it wasn’t the Empress who was angry just now.’
The palace maid led her to a designated spot and then retreated outside.
The inner hall was filled with the bitter scent of medicinal soup. A Palace Attendant was sweeping up porcelain shards; it seemed the attendant from before had accidentally dropped the Empress’s medicine bowl.
’No wonder the Chief Steward had been so quick to scold her.’
Liang Wan prostrated herself. "This commoner of the Liang Family greets Your Majesty the Empress. May Your Majesty have eternal life and Long Joy Unending."
The person on the high seat paused for a moment, her voice light. "You may rise."
"Thank you, Your Majesty." Liang Wan slowly rose from the floor, keeping her eyes lowered. However, the gaze that fell upon her was clearly probing.
"Not only are you brave and discerning, but you are also so beautiful. No wonder—" She smiled gently but didn’t finish her thought. Instead, she said, "You need not be so formal. Raise your head and speak."
Only then did Liang Wan look straight ahead. The woman before her was a few years her senior, with a lovely face and skin as fair as a cloud. She wore her hair in a grand crisscross bun and was dressed in vermilion robes, looking both dignified and enchanting as she smiled down at her.
Their eyes met, and it felt as if a gentle breeze swept through her heart. Liang Wan suddenly understood the meaning of ’kindness’. After a silent sigh, she felt a pang of pity. ’Such a wonderful woman, married to a tyrant, and even...’
The Empress’s eyes crinkled with a smile. "The Prime Minister has told me all about you. A seat for her."
Liang Wan sat down.
The Empress only made small talk with her, asking simple questions about her birthday, whether she could read, and her daily hobbies. Liang Wan, though puzzled, answered them one by one.
Her words and actions went beyond mere kindness; she treated Liang Wan like a younger sister she had known for a long time.
Perhaps sensing her surprise, the Empress smiled. "Don’t be a stranger. It’s been a long time since anyone has chatted with me like this. When I was a maiden, I was quite close with Lady Zhou—Young Master Zhou’s older sister!"
At the mention of Zhou Yun’s elder sister, the Empress couldn’t help but say a few more things—how the siblings’ mother had passed away early, and because of their close relationship, she had always regarded Zhou Yun as a younger brother. She even shared some amusing stories from his childhood.
After the Empress finished speaking, Liang Wan understood. ’Zhou Yun must have spoken up for me, and it seems the Empress has gotten the wrong idea.’
’No wonder that eunuch said what he did yesterday!’
’I had hoped to use this opportunity to ask the Empress for permission to enter the palace. How can I bring it up now?’ Liang Wan was troubled. ’Even if I do ask, I’ll have to clear up this misunderstanding first.’
Just as Liang Wan was about to speak, she was interrupted by someone’s arrival.
"Your Majesty the Empress, the medicinal soup has been re-brewed."
A palace maid with delicate features walked in, carrying a bowl of dark liquid. The Chief Steward standing by the Empress’s side stepped forward to inspect it before taking the bowl and presenting it to the Empress.
"Your Majesty, please drink your medicine first."
Her conversation interrupted, the Empress smiled apologetically. "I might have caught a chill during the rainy night a few days ago. My stomach has been upset these past few days."
As she spoke, the Empress took the medicine bowl and was about to drink. But as she raised it to her nose, she couldn’t help but retch. The Chief Steward beside her quickly took the bowl and helped pat her back to soothe her.
Embarrassed by her lack of composure, the Empress said, "I’ve made a fool of myself in front of you."
Liang Wan shook her head. She had no interest in watching a spectacle. ’In my last life, the Empress was six months pregnant when she died. If I calculate backward from that time, then right now she should be—’
The Empress tried two more times, but to no avail. Finally, she gave up with a wave of her hand.
The Chief Steward sighed. "I don’t know what’s wrong with the Imperial Medical Bureau this time. The medicine they’ve prescribed is so difficult to swallow. Should we summon them to have another look?"
"Didn’t we just have them in yesterday? Let’s not make a big fuss." The Empress looked exhausted.
Liang Wan tactfully rose to her feet. "Since Your Majesty is unwell, this commoner will take her leave."
The Empress lowered her hand and smiled apologetically. "It wasn’t easy for you to come, and there was still more I wanted to say to you. We’ll have to save it for next time."
"Yes. This commoner takes her leave."
The Empress gestured for a Palace Attendant to escort Liang Wan out, while she herself was helped to her feet by the Chief Steward to head toward her bedroom.
Liang Wan walked out, her mind elsewhere.
’Judging by the Empress’s condition, she doesn’t know she’s pregnant. Could it be that she’s in the early stages and the people from the Imperial Medical Bureau haven’t detected it? Of course, the possibility that someone is deliberately concealing it can’t be ruled out either.’
’In this Imperial Palace, is anything truly impossible? Even if someone were intentionally causing trouble, that would be perfectly normal.’
’But what does any of this have to do with me?’
’In my last life, I worried about too many people, only to be repeatedly used and framed. In this life, I just want to be cold and unfeeling, to protect myself and kill my enemies with my own hands!’
’I shouldn’t meddle in things that don’t concern me. Besides, that’s Gao Qian’s child! The child of the man whose life I want to take even in my dreams!’
’Chancellor Cao, Zhou Yun... I don’t owe them anything. By taking down Wang Su, I did get my revenge, but I also saved their lives in the process—’
Liang Wan clenched her fists and walked forward. ’To survive in this world, I have to rip out my own heart!’