Drunk Bamboo

All the palace maids and eunuchs in Fu'an Palace knew that the Imperial Concubine liked quietness when she was worshiping Buddha, and no outsiders were allowed to enter except Xuan'er, who had served her the longest.

The imperial concubine knelt before the Buddha, moving the Buddhist beads with her fingers, her face fair and clear.

It was totally impossible to tell that an hour ago, she was furious like a madman and cut off all the gardenias in the yard that were drooping due to the rain.

It’s because the emperor said yesterday when he came to Fu'an Palace that gardenias are white and fresh, with charming fragrance.

She is like a gardenia.

Who knew that what she disliked most was white flowers.

It is pale and lifeless, just like the memorial flowers growing on graves.

She disliked the strong scent of gardenia even more, because the fragrance attracted attention, but the flower itself was too fragile to withstand the sun, wind and rain.

Outside the Buddhist temple, Hua Qinming was kneeling.

The weather today was hot and muggy, and the sun was particularly strong. He knelt in the yard filled with withered flowers and fallen leaves, his forehead covered in sweat, his face pale, and his lips dry.

The palace maid Xuan'er stared at the incense burner, and when the second long incense stick burned out, she walked quietly to the imperial concubine and carefully reminded her.

"Your Highness, the prince has been kneeling for a full hour. If he doesn't leave the palace to report to the Ministry of Personnel, I'm afraid it will damage the prince's reputation."

"Let him in." The imperial concubine moved her lips slightly.

"Your Highness, go slower and be careful..." Xuan'er hurried to help Hua Qinming up.

Seeing that he looked weak and walked unsteadily, my eyes were filled with heartache.

"Do you know you are wrong?" The imperial concubine kept her posture unchanged and spoke in a cold tone.

"I know I was wrong. I will no longer be soft-hearted." Hua Qinming stood respectfully aside and answered with lowered brows.

"Ging Xing almost ruined us, mother and son. Fortunately, we have her weak spot. She dared not betray us and put all the blame on Han Jian."

The Imperial Concubine gently lifted her hand, and Xuan'er reached out to help her up.

The narrow eyes slowly opened, and there was a cold look in them.

"Han Jian is an old fox. He is disloyal to us. He changes sides according to the situation and his mind is unpredictable. We should abandon him after we have used him. However, we cannot give him a chance to change his confession."

Hua Qinming turned around to face the Imperial Concubine, blinked, and his long eyelashes trembled slightly.

"Don't worry, mother. I will protect Han Xin and make Han Jian willing to die."

"We must do it cleanly this time and leave no future troubles."

"Yes." Hua Qinming still lowered his eyebrows and responded respectfully and obediently.

Like an obedient puppet, he followed the Imperial Concubine's arrangements in everything.

The imperial concubine sat on a mahogany chair and sipped her tea gracefully.

"The poison of Wuchang powder is extremely toxic. If there is no antidote, the poisoned person will not survive for more than fifteen days. How did Ginkgo survive until now?"

"I heard Ginkgo say in the palace that he met the Wind King by chance and asked a doctor to treat him."

"No one in the world can cure the poison I made. Even if the toxicity can be suppressed temporarily, she won't live long. Let her wait for death in prison, slowly feeling the loss of her life bit by bit, feeling the fear of death, which is more painful than living."

Beautiful eyes but fierce.

Before, she wanted Ginkgo to die, but now, she wanted to make Ginkgo live a life worse than death.

Anyone who betrays her will never have a good ending!

Hua Qinming: "She also has a younger brother."

He said disdainfully: "When she is dead, her brother will be useless."

Hua Qinming heard the implicit meaning and nodded.

"Find out which doctor King Feng consulted. We can't bring up what happened nineteen years ago."

"Yes. I understand."

"After what happened, the emperor will definitely not be completely confident about us mother and son. Now he is still using Prince Feng as the commander of the imperial guards. You know how important this position is. The emperor is putting the safety of the entire Zhongdu, including the palace, in his hands. This shows the emperor's trust in him."

"I will work harder." His eyes were solemn.

The Imperial Concubine finally looked at him, "The selection, appointment, dismissal, and assessment of officials are all the responsibility of the Ministry of Personnel. You should make good use of your position to win over your confidants and officials. You should also carefully plan who should take up the vacant position of the Minister of Works."

"Yes." Hua Qinming raised his eyes and smiled gently.

The Imperial Concubine nodded slightly, closed her eyes, and signaled that he could leave.

Hua Qinming bowed and quietly left the Buddhist hall.

Xia'er was waiting anxiously outside Fu'an Palace. When she saw him come out, he walked extremely slowly. Plus, it had been more than an hour, so there was no other possibility except that he was punished.

"Your Highness, has the Queen punished you again?" She immediately stood beside him, holding his arm, her eyes filled with heartache and anger.

"medicine."

"The prince is already weak, how could Your Majesty have the heart to do that? Medicine is poisonous to some extent, no matter how nutritious the medicine is, it is not as important as taking good care of the body. Your Majesty is too harsh on the prince!"

"Don't say these words again." His indifferent eyes swept over coldly.

Xia'er took out a red bottle from her sleeve and poured out a pill for Hua Qinming.

She didn't even have time to take off the water bag around her waist before he swallowed it in one gulp.

Swallowing a pill is as natural as eating.

"I feel sorry for the prince. If it weren't for the queen torturing him, his health wouldn't be getting worse. The prince went to court without even having breakfast, and was summoned to Baoping Palace by His Majesty. He was also punished by the queen to kneel for an hour. Who can bear that? Even a tiger won't eat its own cubs." Xia'er couldn't bear it any longer and complained.

"Shut up!" Hua Qinming shouted, and then began to cough violently, "Cough cough cough..."

Xia Er quickly took out another white porcelain bottle and said, "My Lord, hurry up and take the medicine!"

After taking medicine and drinking water, Hua Qinming finally recovered. He gasped for breath and raised his tired eyes.

"If you say that again, I'll switch with Chun'er, and you'll serve the concubine."

"I won't say anything more." Xia'er admitted her mistake, "I know Chun'er is very thorough and meticulous, but the prince still keeps me by his side because I am loyal to the prince and will never lie to him."

Hua Qinming did not respond.

……

On the second day, Han's house was ransacked.

Han Xin is missing.

That night, Han Xin disguised himself as a jailer and appeared in the Ministry of Justice prison.

"Dad, dad!"

"Xin'er, my son! You, you escaped?" Han Jian was wearing prison clothes and his face was haggard. The moment he saw Han Xin, there was finally a little light in his dead eyes.

"It was King Wen who arranged for someone to help me leave early, and it was also King Wen who arranged for me to meet my father. Dad, the Han Mansion is gone, and it's all my fault. It's all my fault, it's all my fault!" Han Xin knelt on the ground, tears of regret covering his cheeks.

"If I hadn't released Ginkgo, the Han family wouldn't have suffered... Dad, I was wrong, I was wrong!"

"Xin'er, you are the last lifeline of the Han family. You must live well. Forget everything that happened before, find a safe place, and start a new life." Han Jian said earnestly.

This was probably the last time I saw my son.

"The victor becomes the king and the loser becomes the bandit. I am just a chess piece. In the end, I am worse than a bandit." Han Jian held Han Xin's hand tightly, tears streaming down his face, and he carefully reminded her, "Xin'er, you can only rely on yourself in the future. You must learn to take care of yourself, learn to be patient, and never trust others easily."

He whispered in her ear, "Including King Wen."

"Dad?!" He opened his eyes wide.

Before Han Xin could ask more questions, Feng Ying, who brought him in, urged him.

"The time is up, Master Han should leave."

"father……"

"My son..."

Han Xin was taken out of the prison.

Han Jian looked at the direction where his son disappeared, tears streaming down his face.

Until Hua Qinming appeared.

Han Jian wiped the tears from his face with his sleeves, "When will the prince send Xin'er out of the city?"

"Lord Han knows what the king wants. When the king feels at ease, it will be the time for Han Xin to leave the city."

"Only the dead will not change their confession." Han Jian sneered.

"Lord Han has followed me for many years and knows my habits. He always keeps his word."

Hua Qinming left a cold remark and left.

……

In the early morning, Han Jian hanged himself against the wall and died in prison.

That afternoon, a young male corpse was found in a mass grave on the outskirts of the city.