The Imperial Army Commander watched as Pei Qianhao, Su Xi-er, and Du Ling walked away together.
Meet again in their dreams? Does His Majesty truly believe in these words? Even when he took in other imperial consorts, he wasn’t willing to visit them when asked by the officials. However, he would come and accompany Her Majesty in the ice room whenever he had a free moment
Even after waiting for a long period of time, the only thing the Imperial Army Commander could hear in the courtyard was the faint sound of the wind whistling in his ears. It was only after several hours had passed did he see Chu Xian exit with Chao Mu in his arms.
The Imperial Army Commander immediately went forth and respectfully reported, “Your Majesty, Prince Hao, Princess Consort Hao, and the Western Region King will be leaving Dongling today. Princess Consort Hao told me to pass on a few words to you: If Your Majesty and Her Majesty are fated, you will naturally meet again in your dreams.”
He briefly raised his head to observe Chu Xian’s expression, noticing a flicker of some unknown emotion in the latter’s eyes before they returned to gaze at Chao Mu. The moments dragged on until he finally looked up, ordering the Imperial Army Commander. “Prepare some firewood in the meadow at the back of the imperial palace. Additionally, prepare a jade box used for containing ashes after cremation.
The Imperial Army Commander froze for an instant before he finally reacted. “This subordinate obeys the order!” His voice was quivering. His Majesty has finally woken up; he’s no longer insisting on madly preserving Her Majesty’s body.
As soon as the order was issued, the news of the empress’ cremation spread throughout the imperial palace. The two remaining imperial consorts were elated, especially the concubine-born young miss from the Liu Residence, also currently known as Beauty Liu[1].
The Liu Residence has two young misses; now that Elder Sister has been banished from the imperial palace, I’m the hope of the Liu Residence. Haha, that sister of mine is the Liu Residence’s disgrace.
She coyly laughed at that thought, and her personal palace maid immediately came forward. “Your Highness, this is freshly imported fruit wine. You should drink some; it’s very delicious.”
Beauty Liu glanced at her from the corner of her eye. “How did you know? Did you secretly drink it yourself?”
The palace maid was immediately struck with trepidation. “Your Highness, this servant only heard about it from other people in the palace; please believe me.”
“That’s enough. This Consort doesn’t drink wine, and His Majesty doesn’t like it.”
At the mention of the emperor, the palace maid said, “Your Highness, returning to the earth to rest in peace is respecting the dead, yet His Majesty cremated Her Majesty’s body. This servant reckons that his obsession with Her Majesty is no more. There is another imperial consort in the imperial harem, and although she is the main eldest daughter[2], her family isn’t as powerful as the Liu Family. You have to grasp this opportunity.”
Beauty Liu snorted. “Does this Consort need your reminder? I naturally understand all of this; I’m simply waiting for Her Majesty to be cremated. Once some time has passed and His Majesty’s heart has truly calmed down, this Consort will visit him again.” Her brows raised with a gleeful pride.
“Your Highness, this servant heard that Prince Hao, Princess Consort Hao, and the Western Region King left the palace today.”
Beauty Liu was intrigued. “Oh, they left the palace? This Consort still hadn’t met Princess Consort Hao, the envy of all the women in the world. However, this Consort can’t help but wonder why the Western Region King was always with her as well. Could it be that…?” The Western Region King likes Princess Consort Hao? Tsk tsk, her abilities are impressive.
~~~
While the imperial palace was busy with the Empress’ cremation, Su Xi-er and the others had arrived at the pier. They boarded a boat that would be headed towards a rural county in Dongling, intending to travel the rest of the way to the Western Region by land. The trip would be 7-10 days depending on the situation.
When the three of them were about to get onto the boat, a guard from Dongling rushed over and passed a letter to Pei Qianhao. “Prince Hao, His Majesty wrote a letter and ordered this subordinate to hand it to you. Please read it.”
1. ’Beauty’ is one of the many ranks of an imperial consort. It should likely be beneath the rank of a ‘dignified consort’, but this depends on story to story.
2. The eldest daughter born by the main wife.
