Capítulo 899: Chapter 899: Missing Her Confidante, Sister Lian
At that mont, Zhou Yijun was torn between opposing desires, and in the end, she laughed bitterly at herself for trying to play tricks on the Son of Heaven even when facing death. It was unnecessary, for how could her little sches deceive the Son of Heaven, whose insight was as clear as a fla? Otherwise, she would not have been summoned.
In the end, she confessed candidly all she had done over the years, without embellishnt or evasion, simply stating her actions and motives one by one.
The Son of Heaven was sowhat surprised by her honesty and asked, “Do you know that based on what you just said, you could easily be sentenced to death?”
She smiled gently: “I know, Your Majesty. I was born a daughter of unscrupulous, profit-driven, and hypocritical rchants and have never had a truly happy day since birth, living each day behind a mask. Today, I have the honor of being summoned by His Majesty’s grace, and confessing my past mistakes is also a kind of joy. I only ask that His Majesty grants a swift death.”
“You are indeed straightforward.” The Emperor gave a soft snort of laughter, his gaze drifting past her as he asked, “What ti is it?”
The Young Eunuch from Star Palace reported a Shichen.
She didn’t understand but dared not raise her head. She heard the person on the throne murmuring softly, catching only scattered phrases like “waiting anxiously” and “it’s ti to return,” uttered in a tone as gentle as water, a tone she had never heard before.
The person on the throne spoke to her again: “I once told her that I do not wish to commit more acts of killing. It’s still the sa today; however, you have two lives on your hands. One deserved their fate, but the other did not deserve death. Therefore, starting today, you will be stripped of your rank and sent to Hetai Temple to recite sutras and pray for blessings, never to leave for life. Unless with my decree, not even a great amnesty will free you. Do you have any objections?”
She stood there, stunned and incredulous, unable to speak.
The person on the throne saw her silence and, losing interest, walked down from the throne, striding past her.
Only then did she react, kowtowing in thanks to the departing figure. She had no objections; receiving such a result was already the rcy of the Son of Heaven. To be spared death and allowed to leave the harem was the best outco for her; no outco could be better.
As for who the “her” ntioned in the words referred to, she did not ponder further; she knew it was Beauty Lian, that charmingly innocent and amusing person.
Upon entering Hetai Temple and being recorded in the archives, she prayed for her na to be changed back to Zhou Yijun from Zhou Xiangrong, and her wish was granted in the end.
She occasionally pondered why she was spared the death penalty.
She sensed the Son of Heaven’s disdain in his words towards her, but after contemplating for a long ti without finding an answer, she decided not to think about it anymore.
Upon entering Hetai Temple, her past was wiped away. Her unresolved feelings towards Xue Wanjun lingered, but she foresaw that with Xue Wanjun’s nature, he was bound to et his doom; if not today, then tomorrow, or perhaps the day after, it made no difference.
Moreover, her ancient beauty formula for Xue Wanjun had already taken effect, and it was ti to let go of this matter.
If that person had a spirit in heaven, they would probably have wished the sa, wouldn’t they?
With such clarity in mind, Zhou Yijun beca much more cheerful, rising early every day for morning lessons, never complaining of hardship or exhaustion, and reciting sutras to pray for blessings on that person’s behalf.
She was no longer as gloomy as before; once fond of darkness, now she wished to try embracing the light.
From this point on, there was no more Attendant Zhou in the harem, nor Zhou Xiangrong in the world, only Zhou Yijun!
She likely never imagined that her fortunate escape from death was primarily due to an unintentional act of kindness towards Lian Hua on the day of the Longevity Event.
On that day, the Noble Consort intended to use Beauty Zhao to harm Lian Hua, slipping a plum blossom hairpin laced with poison among the many pieces of jewelry Lian Hua had won. Just as Lian Hua was about to pick it up, Attendant Zhou deliberately diverted Lian Hua’s attention, and in the end, she did not touch the hairpin.
After the Longevity Event, the Emperor ticulously questioned the Shadow Guard and naturally learned of this matter. He had already suspected there was sothing strange about the hairpin, and after questioning Xiao Linzi and Xiao Jizi, he confird the issue. However, the hairpin had already been destroyed, leaving no trace to follow.
Zhou Yijun’s escape from death was also due to another reason: by that ti, Lian Hua had already awakened, and the Emperor was in high spirits; otherwise, if it had happened while Lian Hua was unconscious, even if there were ten of her, it wouldn’t have been enough to avoid death.
Speaking of the harem, by this ti, it had resud its usual orderly days after the lifting of restrictions.
On the Longevity Day, among the palace maids set to be released, two were found to have issues and were dealt with, while the others were let out of the palace again.
The concubines to be pardoned, such as Kong Yinyin, were released after thorough investigations revealed no issues.
Now, the harem was no longer stagnant; slowly, people started moving around.
Concubine Fang Pin was among them.
She held the painting she had prepared for Lian Hua, which she couldn’t send out no matter what, and walked along the main road of the Imperial Garden with Jin Xi.
The capital had experienced a heavy snowfall last night. In the Imperial Garden, eunuchs and palace maids were sweeping and shoveling the snow; as they walked, wherever the snow hadn’t been cleared, every step elicited a crunching sound.
The two of them exchanged a few brief, hushed conversations, and with each word, their breath ca out in silky white wisps.
The flora of the Imperial Garden was clad in silver, transforming the world into a crystalline, pristine realm. Concubine Fang Pin did not feel cold and was struck by poetic inspiration.
A gentle breeze blew by, and she joyfully looked up, softly saying, “In the east wind night, thousands of flowers bloom, like stars falling as rain. Jin Xi, look, when the wind blows, the snow gathered on the branches falls gracefully. Isn’t it a beautiful scene? Wouldn’t it be a pity not to compose a poem in such a setting?”
Jin Xi didn’t quite understand the significance and reminded her, “Master, aren’t you going to see Master Lian?”
Concubine Fang Pin realized she was right; seeing Sister Lian was more important. Stopping to write poetry might delay ti, so she gave up on the thought.
It had been many days since she last saw her dear Sister Lian, and she missed her very much.
As she thought about seeing her soon, a sense of joy welled up in Concubine Fang Pin’s heart, and her face displayed a gentle smile.
Besides delivering the painting and eting, she also wanted Sister Lian to see her latest poetry. Just the thought of it made her heart eager, and she couldn’t wait for soone to appreciate her masterpiece.
In this world, only Sister Lian understood her, truly getting her. Her poetry, like music eting a kindred spirit, was naturally ant for Sister Lian to enjoy.
The two passed by a Plum Garden and saw from afar the frosty plum blossoms standing proudly in the snow, curiously without any snow accumulation on them.
Before Concubine Fang Pin could admire them closely, she heard noises from the garden. Exchanging a glance with Jin Xi, she finally said, “Let’s go and take a look.”
Concubine Fang Pin, with Jin Xi, stepped into the garden. The closer they got, the louder the sounds beca:
“That flower in full bloom, cut it!”
“Slowly, slowly, hold it carefully. All the snow is falling to the ground.”
Concubine Fang Pin grew more and more puzzled. As they passed through the dense plum trees, they finally saw people. Soone stood on a tripod ladder, shaking off the snow from the flower branches, while another gathered the fallen snow below. Another person stood on the ladder, cutting a branch where a plum blossom was blooming brightly.
She felt a pang of distress at the sight and exclaid to stop them: “Hey, stop quickly, don’t cut.” Although flowers often need to be picked promptly, blossoms in their full glory on the branches shouldn’t be wasted by cutting.
The people on the ladder and below the trees turned their gazes towards her in surprise.
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Report! Young Masters, the arrangent for Xiao Zhou has been sorted out, ultimately couldn’t bear to take harsher asures~
Current progress: filling plot holes, filling plot holes, still filling plot holes
(Shivering against the autumn breeze)
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