After being sent to the cold palace, the emperor’s heart was burned into ashes CHAPTER 5 PART 2
PART 2
Zhao Duanduan thought for a moment and told her about the Ji You Tang she managed.
Zhao Yiyi’s mother, Xia Hou Shi, publicly claimed to have four children, but only Zhao Yiyi, her elder brother Zhao Yuan, and her younger brother Zhao Chen were her biological children.
Outsiders did not know that Zhao Duanduan, the second daughter of the Zhao family, was actually an adopted daughter of the Zhao family.
One day before Duanwu Festival that year, Xia Hou Shi took Zhao Yiyi out shopping and happened to encounter Zhao Duanduan, who was being sold by her brother and sister-in-law. The little girl, dressed in rags, timidly called out to Xia Hou Shi.
Xia Hou Shi saw her pitiful appearance and stopped to talk to her. Before she decided whether to buy the poor little girl, a bridge in front of them suddenly collapsed, the very bridge that she and Zhao Yiyi were about to cross.
No one could remain indifferent to such a coincidence. Xia Hou Shi immediately brought Zhao Duanduan back. A few days later, Zhao Yiyi’s grandfather received a promotion order, and her grandmother’s eye disease was also cured. The elders in the family felt that Zhao Duanduan was lucky and let Xia Hou Shi adopt her as her daughter. Because she was brought back the day after Duanwu, they named her Duanduan, following the same pattern as Zhao Yiyi’s name.
After adopting Zhao Duanduan, the Zhao family established Ji You Tang, an orphanage that only took in girls, teaching them spinning and weaving to give them a way to live. Zhao Yiyi had helped her grandmother manage it for two years. After marrying into the East Palace, she didn’t abandon it and only fully handed it over to Zhao Duanduan after Gu Zhen ascended the throne.
It was established for her; it was best for her to manage it.
“At the end of the year, three more children came,” Zhao Duanduan counted them off on her fingers, “Two were left at the door of Ji You Tang, and one was picked up on the road. I went to see them a few days ago; they were very small.”
Zhao Yiyi had been smiling, but when she heard this, she asked with concern, “Three more children, is the money enough? Do you need me to give you some?”
The Zhao family allocated a fixed amount of money to Ji You Tang every month. In the past, Ji You Tang had been managed by her mother and grandmother, and her father only knew that such a place existed and had never interfered.
If she asked him for money for this, it would inevitably cause trouble.
“It’s enough. I was going to tell Sister about this,” Zhao Duanduan looked at her with a smile, her voice like a bird’s song, “After a lady recovered from her illness, she came to Ji You Tang to return a child as a thank-you. They also sold some of the handkerchiefs and cloth they embroidered and wove, so it’s enough.”
Compared to when her grandmother and the others first started it, Ji You Tang had expanded considerably, and the bigger it got, the more difficult it was to manage.
Seeing that she managed Ji You Tang in an orderly manner, without any problems for almost a year, a satisfied expression appeared on her face.
The two sisters talked in the inner hall for a while. Zhao Yiyi knew that her father had taken care of Zuo Lianzhi for so many years, and his heart had unconsciously shifted. Zuo Lianzhi had things that her sisters didn’t necessarily have, and her sisters had things that Zuo Lianzhi had to have.
He thought that was fair.
Zhao Yiyi didn’t want to indulge his sense of fairness, so she simply had some jewelry brought out for Zhao Duanduan, and said softly, “If Father asks, just say I gave it to you, don’t be afraid.”
If she had the ability, then she could come and ask her for fairness.
“Thank you, Sister!” Zhao Duanduan took the hair ornaments and responded with a smile.
It was almost time for lunch when the two came out of the inner hall.
Having followed the sisters for so long, and having been left to sit and drink tea in the outer hall for such a long time, any other person, even if they didn’t dare to show it, wouldn’t have looked too good.
However, Zuo Lianzhi showed no displeasure but instead stood up respectfully and bowed.
With no elders present, there was no need to follow the rules of not speaking while eating. At the meal, Zhao Duanduan either acted coquettishly towards Zhao Yiyi or told some funny stories to make her laugh.
Zhao Yiyi was four years older than her and understood her thoughts.
It was simply that after their grandparents passed away, she had no one to care for her at home. Zhao Weimin and Xu Shi always favored Xu Shi’s children, making her secretly envious.
Since she had this opportunity, she had to show off to her heart’s content.
This childish act made Zhao Yiyi want to laugh, but she didn’t expose her. Instead, she cooperated.
Zuo Lianzhi suddenly smiled, “Father misses Your Majesty and specially told us to greet Your Majesty on his behalf when he learned that Duanduan was coming to the palace.”
Zhao Yiyi responded indifferently, and Zhao Duanduan glanced at her, sweat forming in her palms.
She pretended not to understand and continued to joke with Zhao Yiyi. Zuo Lianzhi mentioned Zhao Weimin several times, finally irritating Zhao Yiyi, who said coldly, “Father isn’t here today, and Miss Zuo keeps mentioning him, are you trying to make me sad?”
Zuo Lianzhi opened her mouth, thinking that she would only be angry, but she dared not retort, and only said stammeringly, “It was my fault; please forgive me.”
The east wind grew colder, and the sky turned a deep yellow. Just as Zhao Yiyi hesitated whether to let her sister stay for dinner, a palace servant from Purple Palace rushed over to deliver a message, “Your Majesty, His Majesty ordered that he will come to Jiao Fang Palace for dinner tonight.”
Zhao Yiyi’s expression suddenly changed. After ascending the throne, Gu Zhen had been busy with state affairs and rarely came to Jiao Fang Palace for dinner.
After a brief moment of shock, her heart suddenly beat twice.
Seeing the hint of joy on her face, Zhao Duanduan covered her mouth and smiled, “Since brother-in-law is coming, I dare not interrupt Sister. Sister, rest assured; I’ll go back now.”
Zhao Yiyi glanced at her indifferently, “You’ve become quite clever; you dare to joke with your elder sister.”
Zhao Duanduan looked up at her and smiled, and before she could scold her, she dashed away.
The rich golden light shone through the lush trees onto the white walls, leaving mottled shadows. It was a beautiful day, and the clouds in the setting sun in the distance were a faint pink.
It was a rare sight.
Gu Zhen, sitting in his palanquin, looked at the setting sun and suddenly saw a group of people coming out of Jiao Fang Palace, heading towards him. Upon seeing him, they immediately bowed and stood on the side of the road, waiting for his palanquin to pass first.
In front of Jiao Fang Palace, the man in a plain turban stepped down from the palanquin. The dark cloud patterns on his black robe were faintly visible in the setting sun. His handsome face was extremely striking, but his cold and majestic imperial demeanor prevented people from daring to look directly at him.
Before entering, Gu Zhen casually glanced to the side and his gaze paused on one face for a moment. He felt that she looked unfamiliar, and so he narrowed his eyes and asked, “Who is this?”
Wu Mao’s gaze followed his master’s and also noticed who he was looking at. Just as he was about to answer, the owner of the face said softly, “Your Majesty, we are the younger sisters of the Empress. We came to the palace today to visit Your Majesty.”
Gu Zhen withdrew his gaze, his brows slightly furrowed, and said indifferently, “I remember the Empress saying she only has one younger sister. Why is there another one?” There seemed to be a cousin, but she was only ten years old; obviously not her.
Zuo Lianzhi’s face flushed crimson, her lips trembling, and her face suddenly turned pale.
Gu Zhen seemed to be only curious and not very interested. After saying this, he walked into the hall.
Wu Mao glanced at the girl, smiled, and followed, explaining, “Your Majesty doesn’t know, the girl just now is surnamed Zuo. The girl beside her is the Empress’s younger sister. Miss Zuo is the daughter of the Empress’s stepmother, who was brought to the Zhao family.”
“She can also be considered a sister?” Gu Zhen casually replied, not even bothering to delve into this relationship.
The emperor’s voice was not loud, just his usual tone, but with the imperial presence, everyone around didn’t dare to breathe heavily. This sentence was still heard clearly by everyone outside the hall.f
Zuo Lianzhi was so ashamed that she could barely stand; her body swayed and she almost fell.
Author’s Note:
Gu Zhen: I’m being a good person! Yiyi, look at me! I’m being a good person today!
Yiyi: …
Don’t doubt it; Gu Zhen genuinely doesn’t understand and finds it very strange haha
