coobybook Chapter 173 The Storm Begins
Chapter 173 The Storm Begins
On the morning of the memorial day, the Imperial Noble Consort felt unhappy, as if something was weighing on her mind, and she had nightmares for several days in a row.
So she simply had her servant Xuan Yu Jiuxia take a look at her.
Yu Jiuxia took the pulse of the Imperial Noble Consort.
The Imperial Noble Consort asked, "Doctor Yu, is there anything seriously wrong with my health? Why do I always feel palpitations?"
Yu Jiuxia withdrew her hand, "Your Majesty's health is weak, and she should not overwork herself."
"Has Your Majesty been having nightmares lately?"
The Imperial Noble Consort was silent for a moment, then said, "I have indeed been having nightmares frequently lately."
Yu Jiuxia said, "Then Your Highness, you must get some rest."
"This nightmare is a vision of the mind. Now that autumn is approaching, some places are dark and damp. Your Majesty is weak, so please try not to go there."
"Do not let evil spirits enter your body."
"What is this evil energy?" the Imperial Noble Consort asked.
Yu Jiuxia said, "Now that autumn has arrived, this 'evil spirit' naturally refers to wind and cold."
"Judging from the Empress's pulse, the evil aura she is experiencing is a heart ailment."
The Imperial Noble Consort paused for a moment, then suddenly recalled the scene when she had strangled the baby boy, and couldn't help but feel a little scared.
Gu Yuan is still unconscious, and she can't believe this is retribution.
Yu Jiuxia picked up a pen, wrote down a prescription, and handed it to the Imperial Noble Consort.
"Your Majesty, please get the medicine prepared according to this prescription. Drink it for a few days and see if it helps."
"Then I'll have to trouble you, doctor."
After changing into a different outfit, the Imperial Noble Consort went to a waterside pavilion on the outskirts of the city.
Before each visit, the Duke of Liu would have the pavilion emptied of its inhabitants. Today, apart from the shopkeeper Lao Ji, there were no other customers.
The Imperial Noble Consort entered the private room with red eyes and saw Duke Liu looking out the window thoughtfully.
"How was the person I sent over?"
Duke Liu glanced back at her, then turned his head away, saying, "Just keep an eye on her belly."
"but,"
The Imperial Noble Consort asked, "But what?"
"The situation is probably not that simple now. His Majesty has sent the Prince of Liang to the Northern Di to lead troops, as well as the Eldest Princess."
"His Majesty asked me about it, and I did strongly recommend Yuan'er at the time. But seeing his bad mood, I said we could wait and see. Who would have thought he would choose the Eldest Princess instead?"
Duke Liu's voice was slightly hoarse, "I have privately inquired about what happened to Yuan'er at the Qionghua Banquet, and I fear there is another culprit."
The Imperial Noble Consort's eyes widened. "Isn't it Qiao Lixue?"
"I'm afraid it's not her; it seems like someone is using another person to do the dirty work."
The Imperial Noble Consort's brow furrowed. "Using someone else to do the dirty work..."
As Duke Liu sat beside the Imperial Noble Consort, he suddenly recalled the scene when Lady Liu died.
Furthermore, the fact that Lady Liu was banished to the backyard by the Marquis of Zhenyuan suggests that someone was manipulating things behind the scenes.
He asked, "Was Jiang Zhi at Baima Temple that day?"
The Imperial Noble Consort nodded. "I heard from the servants that she went with Lu Nianqiu."
"Could it be that the fire was...?"
As Duke Liu held his teacup, the words Gu Liang had spoken when he visited the Liang Prince's residence suddenly came to mind, and the teacup instantly fell to the ground.
"What's wrong?" The Imperial Noble Consort asked anxiously when she saw the Duke of Liu's appearance.
What came to mind?
The more Duke Liu thought about it, the more uneasy he felt.
"She went to the White Horse Temple when it caught fire."
“She was also present at Princess Zhaoyang’s residence.”
“She was also at the Qionghua Banquet.”
"During the archery competition, ...she deliberately concealed her strength, allowing Qiao Lixue's arrow to injure Yuan'er."
"Poison, poison too..." Duke Liu suddenly felt his body go numb.
When Jiang Zhi walked to Qiao Lixue's side, he said something, which made Qiao Lixue so angry that she wanted to stab her with an arrow.
That is, when she took the arrow, she poisoned it.
"So it was all her doing."
"Yes, Jiang Zhi, she plotted to shoot Yuan'er!"
"Then... Yu Jiuxia is also one of her people."
The Imperial Noble Consort's eyes widened even more. "How is this possible? How is this possible?"
"How did she come to know Dr. Yu?"
“Yuan’er still hasn’t woken up. What does that mean? It means that she’s deliberately keeping Yuan’er from waking up.”
"But why would she, at only seventeen, devise such a massive trap?"
Duke Liu turned to look at the Imperial Noble Consort, "What else could it be?"
"Because she most likely knows that we are the ones behind her past suffering."
"This was all her scheme, all designed by her to seek revenge."
"Didn't you want to kill the Marquis of Zhenyuan? You haven't been able to do it yet. Every time you try to make a plan, all sorts of random things get in the way."
"She's getting revenge on us!"
The Imperial Noble Consort frowned. "No wonder my plans always fail, but now that you mention it, I feel like she's not the only one sabotaging our plans."
"Who else?"
The two got more and more excited as they talked, completely unaware that the guards outside the pavilion had long since been knocked unconscious and dragged away by Xingluo and Jiaoyue.
The two of them also sprinkled sesame oil around the attic.
At the same time, several distinguished carriages and a group of guards slowly headed towards a dense forest on the outskirts of the city.
Gu Liang and Jiang Zhi sat together in the carriage.
Jiang Zhi blinked. "Are you in a bad mood?"
Gu Liang shook her head, but Jiang Zhi still felt she knew a little bit about it, after all, she was familiar with it.
She grabbed a handful of candied fruit from her small handbag and sprinkled it into his hand.
"This candied fruit is delicious."
Gu Liang picked up a piece and ate it; he was becoming more and more accustomed to such sweets. "Xingluo and Jiaoyue should be finished by now."
Jiang Zhi looked at him and smiled, "I believe them."
"Wait a minute, don't give yourself away."
Gu Liang chuckled: "When has your husband ever been stage-frightened?"
No sooner had he finished speaking than a guard's voice came from outside, "Your Majesty, we've arrived at the dense forest ahead."
The emperor lifted the curtain and saw the tombs in the dense forest ahead.
After Gu Liang's carriage arrived at the place first, he got off his carriage, walked to the emperor's carriage, and helped him down.
"Father, please slow down."
The emperor was somewhat surprised, but also gladly accepted.
As he approached the grave, a wave of guilt washed over him.
“It is my fault as a father, for listening to slander. If that fetus were still alive, it should be given to him.”
He looked around and saw Pei Shangdao, "He should be about the same age as Minister Pei by now."
Gu Liang lowered her eyes, "Father, Mother's spirit will rest in peace."
The emperor knew that Gu Liang wouldn't care about him, so the fact that Gu Liang said these few words was already beyond his expectations.
This worship ceremony was arranged by the Ministry of Rites.
Many monks from Buddhist temples were invited to perform rituals to pray for the late empress and the deceased fetus.
The sound of the wooden fish gradually rose, and the emperor's eyes darkened as he stared at the tomb.
"After today, the Ministry of Rites will arrange for someone to repair this tomb."
The Minister of Rites nodded. "Yes, Your Majesty."
Besides Gu Liang and his wife, several of the emperor's trusted ministers and officials from the Ministry of Rites also came to pay their respects here.
He slightly raised his eyes and looked at the tomb.
As the monks performed their rituals and chanted sutras, Gu Liang glanced briefly at the distant waterside pavilions before lowering her gaze again.