Flowery Hair: A Maidservant

Chapter 500 Leaving the Palace (2)

In the afternoon, nearing the hour of Wei (1-3 PM).

Suddenly, a series of light footsteps came from outside the courtyard gate, accompanied by Consort Qi's cheerful voice: "Sister Jinfei, the sun isn't too strong now, shall we go over there now?"

As Meng Shu spoke, she walked out of the flower hall, "Sister, you've come at the right time. I reckon the people from Chunxi Palace should be setting off by now."

As she spoke, she saw that Consort Qi was holding Princess Lingyi in her arms, so she quickly took two steps forward, smiling and opening her arms: "Afu has come too, let me hold her."

Lingyi, dressed in a light yellow jacket, is now one and a half years old. Upon seeing Meng Shu, she immediately revealed her two tiny milk teeth, smiled, stretched out her chubby little hands, and called out in a childish voice, "Afu... greets... Consort Jin!" Although her voice was still a bit soft, it was much more fluent than when they last met.

Meng Shu carefully took her and gently pinched her chubby cheek with her fingertips. "Our Afu is becoming more and more capable. She speaks so fluently now."

The little girl, Lingyi, was delighted by the praise and kept nodding her head. Her little hands were tightly gripping the buttons on Meng Shu's clothes, which made Consort Qi laugh out loud: "This child is only close to you. She doesn't even stick to her mother like me much in the palace."

The flattery in those words was obvious, but Meng Shu pretended not to notice. She gently flicked Lingyi's nose with her fingertips and asked, "Is Consort Qi going to take Afu with her too?"

"No, no, no," Consort Qi quickly waved her hand, her smile fading slightly, and her tone becoming more sincere.

"To tell you the truth, although Consort Qu saved Afu, she... is involved in too many things, and there are many rumors in the palace. I still have some concerns and dare not let Afu get involved in this scandal."

But just before leaving, she insisted on coming along, so I thought I'd leave her with my sister first, and then come back to pick her up after seeing Consort Qu off, so she could play with Yu Nu'er for a while.

Consort Qi paused, then lowered her voice and added, "In my opinion, the ladies in the palace don't usually interact much with Consort Qu. If it weren't for the Emperor's sake and to maintain the dignity of the harem, I'm afraid very few of them would genuinely be willing to see her off today."

That's true.

After entering the palace, Consort Qu did not stand out much. Those who were once close to her are now all in the inner palace.

If Xie and her cousin heard the news, they would probably only be gloating...

Seeing Meng Shu hugging someone else, Yu Nu'er waved her little hands and cried out, "Ah ya ah ya!"

The wet nurse quickly held him even tighter, smiled, and stepped forward, curtsying to Meng Shu and Consort Qi: "Your Majesty, look, our eldest prince is so eager to play with the princess!"

These words made everyone in the hall laugh. Seeing this, Hongyu took the ceremonial trinkets from Meng Shu's arms, carefully supporting her legs, and said to Consort Qi, "Your Highness Consort Qi, rest assured, this servant will take good care of the eldest princess with Xia'er and the others."

......

Meng Shu and Consort Qi left Lingcui Palace and headed towards Chunxi Palace along the palace road. When they reached the vicinity of Zhaoqing Palace, they saw Consort Chun and Consort Yun coming from the other side.

The group gathered together, and Yun Baolin's gaze fell upon a few paulownia branches peeking out from inside the walls of Zhaoqing Palace. He couldn't help but sigh, "It seems that His Majesty hasn't been to Zhaoqing Palace for a long time."

Consort Qi chimed in, "Consort Qing caused a scene a couple of days ago, and I heard that her old problem with heart palpitations has gotten much worse. However, the Emperor is currently busy dealing with state affairs and rarely visits the inner palace, so naturally he hasn't had time to come and see her."

Consort Chun listened to the conversation between the two and turned her gaze to Meng Shu.

Both of them knew that after the Emperor summoned the Duke of Qing last night, Consort Qing's power was already gone, and there was no point in discussing it further now. She coughed lightly, "It's getting late, let's go to Chunxi Palace first."

Consort Qi quickly stopped talking. Just as the group passed the corner of the palace wall of Zhaoqing Palace, the main gate of Zhaoqing Palace slowly opened a crack with a soft creak.

Granny Yu came out from behind the door alone, clutching a neatly folded plain handkerchief in her hand.

At this moment, Meng Shu and the others had already walked several steps away.

Granny Yu stood there, her eyes filled with complex and unreadable emotions. After a while, she slowly curtsied and gave a deep bow to the backs of Meng Shu and Consort Chun. After straightening up, she turned and strode quickly toward the direction of Funing Palace, her steps hurried and heavy.

As they approached Chunxi Palace, Consort Qi lowered her voice and said, "Speaking of which, Consort Qu is indeed incredibly cunning. This morning, she took the Third Prince to the Empress Dowager's palace to kneel and bid farewell. The Empress Dowager is kind; she not only specially selected a capable palace maid to send over, but also provided many other items."

Yun Baolin gently pursed her lips: "So what? Once she leaves the palace, she will spend her days in Pujiu Temple with the ancient Buddha and the dim lamp, and it will be difficult for her to step back into the palace. Even if she leaves a good impression on the Empress Dowager today, it will fade with time."

Consort Qi was speechless for a moment, opening her mouth but not saying anything.

To talk to someone so "simple," you have to break down and explain the nuances of their words thoroughly before she can grasp even a fraction of their meaning.

Meng Shu glanced at Consort Qi's helpless expression, smiled gently, and said in a softer tone, "What she seeks at this moment is not the possibility of returning to the palace in the future, but rather to use the Empress Dowager's prestige to protect herself and the Third Prince, so as to prevent them from being assassinated outside the palace." Yun Baolin was stunned upon hearing this, and nodded as if she understood.

Consort Chun quickly added, "With the Third Prince leaving the palace, the future is uncertain. With palace servants personally selected by the Empress Dowager to take care of him, whether at Puji Temple or in the future, others will be less likely to neglect him and more cautious. Besides, the Empress Dowager's kindness will be remembered by the Third Prince, and will be a guarantee for him in the future."

Upon hearing this, Yun Baolin was stunned. "So that's how it is. Consort Qu really went to great lengths."

The Chunxi Palace was no longer as orderly as it used to be.

Cuiping and several palace maids were busy packing up the boxes. Several boxes were placed in the courtyard outside the flower hall, prepared by the Shanggong Bureau according to instructions.

Under the eaves, a kind-looking old woman held a tightly wrapped baby in her arms. She was a palace maid specially sent by Empress Dowager Jiang. Her gaze was gentle on the baby, and she occasionally looked up into the hall with a hint of caution.

Qu Chong'ai stood alone in the center of the somewhat empty flower hall, slowly turning her gaze, scanning the main hall where she had lived for many years. From the pear wood wooden table by the window where embroidery frames had once been placed, to the candlestick on the table that had accompanied her through countless long nights, every place was imprinted with fragments of the past.

Finally, her gaze lingered on the palace gate, watching Meng Shu and the others who had just entered. She let out a soft sigh, her heart filled with resentment.

"Your Highness, the Imperial Concubine and Consort Jin have arrived with several other ladies," Cuiping whispered from outside the door.

Qu Chong'ai slowly walked to the door and gave a curtsy to Consort Chun and the others. "Your Majesty, I thank you for coming to see me off. I will remember this kindness."

Consort Chun's gaze swept over the empty palace gate behind her. "His Majesty has decreed that if Consort Qu has finished preparing, she should depart from Anfu Gate immediately, lest she be late."

Consort Qu's fingertips curled slightly as she looked up at Consort Chun and Meng Shu, "This concubine... has something she wishes to say to both Your Highnesses..."

Before she could finish speaking, Consort Chun gently interrupted her. She shook her head slightly, her tone becoming somewhat indifferent: "No need. Go to Puji Temple and take good care of the Third Prince."

By the end of the Wei hour (1-3 PM), carriages had already been parked outside Anfu Gate.

The crowd stood waiting at the gate. Before long, the bright yellow ceremonial guards came from afar, and the emperor, dressed in ordinary clothes, stepped down from the dragon carriage with a calm expression.

His gaze fell on the Third Prince in the nanny's arms. He watched him quietly for a moment. The little guy was sleeping soundly, his little face rosy.

But from beginning to end, he never reached out to hug him, only instructing Jingming to escort him out of the palace.

May of the third year of the Zhenghe era.

With a shout of "Let's go!", Consort Qu took one last look at the majestic palace walls before turning and stepping into the carriage.

After that, spring came and autumn went, year after year, and she never had the chance to step back into the palace again.

......

With that, the rumors and chaos in the palace subsided, and everyone dispersed.

While Consort Yun was talking with Consort Chun and Consort Qi, Green Willow whispered in Meng Shu's ear, "Your Highness, Dong Ming just came to report that Granny Yu went to Funing Palace and came out carrying two things..."