Free Web NovelChapter 1065: Chapter 1056: A Living Death (2)
"Good!" Princess Consort Ying softly laughed, "Then I shall await the good news from Your Majesty." It is better to take a gamble than to wait idly; who will win or lose is still unknown.
As for what will become of the Empress? Since she offered such a condition, she surely has her own arrangements.
After Princess Consort Ying left, the Empress called for Nanny Mao, looking at her with pleading eyes: "... After so many years of ups and downs in the palace, with people coming and going, I never thought that in the end, the one left by my side would still be you." She reached out and clasped Nanny Mao’s hand: "Although you were not brought into the palace by me, you are the one I trust the most. I want to ask you for a favor..."
Nanny Mao’s eyes reddened, and she nodded vigorously: "Your Majesty, please give your commands, I will do my utmost."
The Empress nodded with relief, speaking with urgency: "Go and invite the Emperor, tell him that I am at death’s door, and if he doesn’t come, he’ll never see what he wants." Nanny Mao nodded, and the Empress retrieved a Jade Pendant and a bundle from the bedside: "This is the Jade Pendant I have carried since I was a child. The bundle contains some valuables and jewelry, take it. Whether you’re in the palace or outside, you’ll need it." She paused, taking a deep breath, "I have failed in my promise, unable to arrange for your future well-being, but... when the time comes for the Second Prince... if you are in difficulty, you may seek him."
"Your Majesty." Nanny Mao was exceptionally moved, kneeling down at the bedside, she knocked her head on the floor three times: "I remember your instructions well, I will not fail!"
The Empress nodded: "Go, and do not return." Tears that Nanny Mao had held back finally streamed down her face. She gave the Empress a long, tearful look, and said word by word, "I take my leave!"
This farewell was known to be forever by both, wishing that in death they would fulfill their destinies, not having lived in vain.
The Empress closed her eyes and leaned quietly against the bed.
Nanny Mao wiped her tears, hurriedly leaving Fengwu Palace with the bundle. The Empress forced herself to get out of bed, clinging to the edge of furniture as she struggled over to the dressing table. Bending to look at herself in the mirror, she saw her sallow, skinny face, resembling a ghost. She gave a wry smile, sat down on the stool, and gently combed her hair with a wooden comb...
In the past two years, her hair had all but fallen out. Now, combing doesn’t feel like combing hair, but scraping the scalp. The stinging pain strangely made her feel more awake.
Setting the comb aside, she grabbed the rouge from the table, her trembling hand putting the bright red onto her face and lips. She got up again, pulling out the phoenix robe and draping it over herself...
She still remembered the scene when she wore this robe for the first time. Back then, her smile was as radiant as a flower, and life seemed smooth and bright. The man who held her hand, gazing at her with affection, was supposed to be her lifetime support.
Ten years, like a fleeting dream, inside and outside the dream, she felt so very tired...
Go, go, it’s time for it to end.
Yan’er, the path ahead has been arranged for you by me, you must walk it well alone, you must succeed, to take back the Shen family’s past humiliations from those people bit by bit.
In the darkened palace, a sliver of light slowly approached, the Empress squinted at it and smiled.
"Emperor." Even without seeing his face clearly, the Empress recognized him at once: "It’s been a long time, is the Emperor well?"
The Emperor paused at the entrance, then gestured for the others to leave him alone. Someone lit the palace lamps at the corner, brightening the room considerably. The Emperor then saw the Empress seated in the center, ritual robes on her, rouge smudged on her face like a ghost, staring gloomily at him.
"The thing?" Not a word more.
Although she long stopped having hope for him, hearing his words still pinched her heart. It turned out the reason he spared her was truly for the late Emperor’s Imperial Decree from years back.
He indeed didn’t trust that what her mother destroyed in his presence was the real one.
"Emperor." Suddenly moved to tears, the Empress, eyes filled with longing, said, "We have been spouses, and I am at death’s door... Emperor, would you..." stretching out her hand as if to touch something, "hold me, perhaps?"
The Emperor did not look at her, standing with his hands behind his back, observing her with a foreign gaze, as if the person before him was someone he’d never met, as if they had never known each other.
The Empress waited briefly for what she wished but did not receive it, she sighed heavily, her gaze turned distant as she recalled past joys between them: "...Do you remember our wedding night? That day, the palace was filled with festive red. You held my hand, standing on the palace walls, you told me, this empire of Great Zhou, its vast lands, are both yours and mine... I felt so happy then."
