Chapter 509: Oriole (5)
Editor: Atlas Studios
Li Jinghua was escorted back with a pale face. Seeing that her things had been packed, she lowered her voice and asked, “What happened?”
Mu Yangling shook her head slightly. “I can’t find any information.”
The palace guards who came had clearly been instructed not to reveal any information to them.
The guard commander stepped forward and said, “Mrs. Qi, Reverent Lady Qi, it’s getting late. Let’s set off.”
Mu Yangling and Li Jinghua looked at each other and nodded slightly. They turned around, hugged their young son, and walked out.
The Qi family had long made sure to stay away. Not only were Madam Wu and the others nowhere to be seen, but even the other servants also stayed far away. Li Jinghua’s heart turned cold. After all, they were a family. How could they not even see each other when such a serious matter had happened?
Li Jinghua looked at Mu Yangling and saw that she was calm. She did not know if she should praise her for being magnanimous or for being cold.
Mu Yangling had never treated Madam Wu and the others as family. It was human nature to seek benefits and avoid harm, so she did not think that Madam Wu and the others had done anything wrong. Ultimately, she had not integrated into the way of thinking of the ancient families.
The group of people boarded the carriage and were escorted to the palace by a team of palace guards. This time, their carriage entered the palace directly and they did not need to enter on foot.
The carriage only stopped at the second door, where there were two soft palanquins parked. Clearly, they were waiting for them.
Mu Yangling raised her eyebrows slightly. She did not expect to be treated so well in the palace this time. She nodded slightly at Li Jinghua and the two of them climbed into the palanquin with a child in their arms each. The servant girls and maidservants they brought followed closely on both sides of the palanquin. The guards escorting them did not leave. Instead, they escorted them to the Palace of Earthly Tranquility while the eunuchs carried the palanquins.
Eunuch Wei, the Eunuch-in-Charge of the Palace of Earthly Tranquility, was guarding the door. When he saw the soft palanquin descend, he hurriedly went forward with a smile. In a slightly sharp voice, he said, “Mrs. Qi and Reverent Lady Qi are here. Matriarch Yuan and Mrs. Yuan happen to be in the hall too. I’ll escort the two of you in.”
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Li Jinghua smiled and nodded. “Thank you, Eunuch Wei.”
Li Jinghua handed Little Treasure to the nanny behind her to carry and walked in front. Mu Yangling carried her child herself and lowered her head slightly as she followed behind silently.
The Palace of Earthly Tranquility was very lively. Not only were Matriarch Yuan and Mrs. Yuan present, but Mrs. Yuan’s two daughters-in-law and two grandsons had also been brought into the palace. Mrs. Yuan had a good relationship with Li Jinghua. When she saw them enter, she nodded slightly with a smile.
Not daring to respond, Li Jinghua took two steps forward and bowed. When she heard the Empress call her to get up, she stood up and looked at the Yuan family. She smiled and said, “I didn’t expect Matriarch Yuan and Madam Yuan to enter the palace too. What a coincidence.”
Madam Yuan looked at the pale and sickly Empress and smiled. “I heard that the Empress is not feeling well, and the Matriarch is worried, so she brought us juniors into the palace to take a look.”
The Empress forced a smile and said sadly, “I’m afraid I’ll have to trouble you to enter the palace to attend to my illness due to my poor health.”
“This is what I should do,” Li Jinghua and Madam Yuan hurriedly replied.
A female official came in from outside and bowed. “Your Highness, the Evening Hall has been tidied up. Mrs. Qi and Reverent Lady Qi can move in now.”
The Empress waved her hand and said, “In that case, bring Mrs. Qi and Reverent Lady Qi along.” She turned around and sighed at Li Jinghua. “I’m a little tired, so I won’t keep you guys any longer today. In my opinion, my condition can only be treated by an imperial physician. There’s no need to summon you into the palace to attend to my illness.”
Li Jinghua quickly expressed that it was their fortune to be able to enter the palace to attend to her. After exchanging a few pleasantries with the Empress, she respectfully bade farewell to Matriarch Yuan and Madam Yuan before leaving.
Seeing that Li Jinghua and the others had gone away, Madam Yuan also stood up and bade farewell. This time, the Empress did not ask anyone to stay and asked the female official to bring the Yuan family to the palace where they were staying for now.
From beginning to end, Matriarch Yuan did not say a word, and the Empress did not blame her.
When there was only one female official left in the hall, the Empress heaved a sigh of relief and collapsed on the back of the chair.
Hong Mei hurriedly supported the Empress and fed her water. After taking a sip of hot water, the Empress felt that she had calmed down. Only then did she wave her hand slightly and say, “It’s fine. Help me get back to rest.”
Hong Mei said with slight dissatisfaction, “Matriarch Yuan sure knows her place. She’s just a minister’s wife, but she keeps giving Your Highness attitude.”
The Empress said expressionlessly, “She’s not giving me attitude. She’s giving the Emperor attitude. Ignore them and let them make a fuss. Considering I don’t have a son, what does this have to do with me?”
Hong Mei couldn’t help but lower her head. “Your Highness, you still have the eldest princess.”
“What do I have to worry about when she already has kids of her own?” The Empress had met with many people today and was really exhausted, so after returning to the inner room, she lay on the bed and did not move.
The Evening Hall was not far from the Palace of Earthly Tranquility. It should be considered an annex palace. Although it was an annex palace, it was actually not small. There were five main rooms in the middle, not counting the rooms on the left and right sides. This should be where the concubines lived. However, the Emperor did not have many concubines, so they stayed in the Palace of Earthly Tranquility. Therefore, no one had ever lived here.
The people they brought quickly chose rooms and entered. The female official brought more than ten palace maids and eunuchs over who would be serving Mu Yangling and the others while they were in the palace. Meanwhile, the servants Mu Yangling and Li Jinghua brought with them only attended to the more personal matters.
Li Jinghua asked the female official about the Yuan family. “Does Matriarch Yuan have to stay in the palace to attend to Her Majesty’s illness?”
The female official replied with a smile, “Yes, the Yuan family lives in the Elegance Hall, which is not far from Evening Hall. If Mrs. Qi is bored, you can visit them. If you want to go to the imperial garden to take a look, you just have to tell the palace maids or emissaries. They will arrange it.”
It didn’t sound like they were here to attend to the sick Empress. Instead, it sounded like they were here to tour the palace. Not only Li Jinghua, but even Mu Yangling felt astonished.
The female official didn’t seem to notice. She even considerately mentioned a few fun places and told them to just let them know if they lacked anything. As for the Empress, when she wanted them to attend to her, she would send someone to call them over.
After they left, Li Jinghua heaved a sigh of relief and said to Mu Yangling, “I’m afraid something serious has happened. The Emperor called the Yuan family and the Qi family, who have military power, into the palace. I wonder if something happened at the pass or the border.”
Mu Yangling lowered her eyes. She had a vague guess in her heart, but she was not too sure. She said, “Since the female official said that we can go out and walk around, why don’t you go to the Yuan family’s place? Matriarch Yuan is old and has a strong reputation. It’s only right for us to go over and pay our respects.”
Li Jinghua nodded slightly. “But we can’t be too hasty. We should pack our things first. I’ll go visit her later.”
Li Jinghua looked at her son, who was running around the house curiously, and then at Little Bear, who only knew how to blow bubbles for fun. She opened her mouth but couldn’t say anything.
Mu Yangling had been looking at her. Seeing this, she instantly understood. She went forward and held her hand. “Sister-in-law, don’t worry. As long as I’m around, no one can touch Little Treasure. As long as Little Bear is around, Little Treasure will definitely be around.”
With slightly wet eyes, Li Jinghua grabbed Mu Yangling’s hand tightly and sobbed. “My good sister, I won’t say elaborate things. In the future, I’ll repay you with my life.”
Mu Yangling said optimistically, “Sister-in-law, don’t make things sound so serious. Perhaps everything is fine. Don’t scare yourself.”