As soon as she opened her eyes, she was forcibly carried back to the East Palace by the paranoid pri

[Think of it as a parallel world, and those who like happy endings should avoid it. 】

The weather is very hot, as if there was a fire, and the anxious people feel dizzy. The summer cicadas are chirping mournfully, lamenting for spring.

In the sixteenth year of Yinghe, the day was still ordinary. In the imperial manor of Yuncheng, the empress and Concubine Liu were enjoying a play on the stage in the pavilion. It was about gods and ghosts, and the lyrics were sad and strange, and the audience was weeping.

The Queen did not like being surrounded by so many palace maids, so she sent them all to wait in the pavilion. At this time, only the Queen and Concubine Liu were in the pavilion.

The pavilion was covered with gauze curtains, and three-legged ice jars stood at the four corners. Concubine Liu leaned lazily on the couch beside her. "Empress, when I returned to Yuncheng two months ago, you still liked storytelling. Why did you turn it into watching a play now?"

Ever since Concubine Liu left the palace and returned to Duke Liu's mansion more than ten years ago, she has fallen in love with traveling. It was only in recent years, as she got older, that she returned to Yuncheng more frequently.

If she were to say, apart from her father, there was nothing worth reminiscing about Yuncheng. It was so lifeless, and a group of very smart people were scheming against each other, which made her feel exhausted.

When Concubine Liu returned to Yuncheng, she didn't want to make friends with those noble ladies who tried to curry favor with her, nor did she want to lower her status and sit with those short-sighted people.

So he went to find Queen He, who often stayed at the imperial farm. After a few visits, their relationship improved, and over the years they could be called good friends.

He Yue rested one elbow on the pillow and waved a round fan with a golden lotus pattern in the other hand. She said slowly, "I'm old now. Isn't it reasonable for me to like some strange stories about gods and ghosts?"

She said she was old, but you couldn't see it on her face. She looked graceful with her eyes slightly lowered. She had been in a high position for too long, and no one could see the emotions in her eyes.

"Someone who is truly obsessed with the ways of gods and ghosts would not speak in the tone you have now." Concubine Liu teased her, then sighed and touched her white hair under her amber gold hairpin.

"You're not old at all. I'm the one who's really about to step into it. In recent years, I haven't dared to travel far away for fear that something might go wrong and I wouldn't be able to return home."

His eyes of admiration rested on He Yue. The Queen was already forty years old, but at first glance she looked like she was in her early thirties. There was no comparison!

The Queen did not speak. Concubine Liu continued to talk to herself, "I don't really like sad plays, nor do I really like watching plays. People are not as beautiful as mountains and rivers."

She talked a lot and frequently today, as if she was trying to lead to something, so He Yue stopped what she was doing.

He Yue placed the round fan on the table and looked at her, looking very dignified and casual. She spoke slowly and calmly, "Tell me, Madam Dowager, what's the matter?"

Concubine Liu was not polite either, and smiled generously and appropriately, "I have a cousin, he and his wife are very loving. His wife is 32 years old this year, and she is pregnant again, it's her third child."

"It's a good thing that the couple is in harmony." He Yue took a sip of tea and spoke in a calm tone.

"Well." Concubine Liu straightened up, her voice carrying a hint of pretentious compassion, "But she is old after all, and this pregnancy is extremely unstable. My cousin is only a minor official of the sixth rank, and he does not have the authority to submit an official badge to the Imperial Hospital, so he has to ask me for help."

"When the Concubine invites the Imperial Physician, she has to get the approval of the Empress Dowager first. You also know that the relationship between the Empress Dowager and I is not good, so I come to you and ask for your mercy." Concubine Liu was a straightforward person, and she explained the whole story in detail.

He Yue was always generous to those she liked. It was just a matter of oral instructions, so she agreed, "When we return to the palace today, I will ask Hui Qing to find a better doctor to take a look at your cousin."

Every time He Yue left the palace, she did not take Hui Qing with her. There were many affairs in the palace, and if there was anything important, Hui Qing could take care of it for her.

The play was over, and a little palace maid came in with a lacquer tray in her hand and knelt down in an upright manner, "Empress Dowager, do you want to order another play?"

The young palace maid looked unfamiliar; she must have just arrived to serve at the imperial manor. She lowered her eyes obediently, not daring to do anything rash.

Concubine Liu was not interested and looked at He Yue. He Yue glanced at the book on the lacquer tray, picked it up, flipped through it briefly, and put it back. "Let's put it away. After listening to the new play, I have no interest in these old ones."

"Yes!" The palace maid bowed and retreated. As the Queen grew older, she became less gentle and kind on the surface. When she didn't smile, she was awe-inspiring. The new little palace maid's heart almost jumped out of her throat when she served her so closely for the first time!

Concubine Liu saw the panic of the little palace maid and laughed. She was so tender as a green onion dripping with water, as if the queen was an evil ghost who wanted to eat people.

When people get old, they always like to reminisce about the past. She couldn't help but think about what the Queen or the Crown Princess looked like in her mind. Although she had never met them face to face, she had seen them several times.

She had experienced many ups and downs in the palace, and her eyes were very sharp. She could see at a glance the arrogance that He Yue was trying to maintain at that time. No matter how calm a princess who was forcibly taken away might be, she would probably be panicked in her heart.

It is very different now! Sometimes Concubine Liu can vaguely see the shadow of the emperor in the queen, a kind of indifference that does not take anything to heart.

"My cousin is a foolish man. His wife is just a daughter of a merchant, but he is determined to marry her as his legal wife. It caused a lot of trouble at the beginning." Concubine Liu and the queen chatted with sighs on their faces. "Her surname is a big surname, and she is a concubine of the Duan family. Unfortunately, she has already left the family and has no relationship with them."

"Duan?" He Yue's heart skipped a beat, and her whole body tensed up for no reason. She clearly felt a sharp pain in her chest. She looked straight at Concubine Liu, her tone still calm, "I haven't heard this surname for a long time."

Concubine Liu immediately shut up, feeling extremely panicked. This paragraph was taboo in front of the Queen, so how could she just blurt it out?

It’s her fault that she often leaves Yuncheng and gets old, so her brain doesn’t work well for a while!

She quickly changed the subject and focused on her cousin, "After my cousin married her, he never took another concubine..."

The word "Duan" had not appeared in He Yue's ears for about ten years. Obviously... Huiqing and Xiaobi were from the Duan family. When Xiaobi got married eight years ago, He Yue sent someone to give a gift.

It was as if something was strangling He Yue's heart, increasing the pressure inch by inch. She could hardly breathe. She was confused and bewildered, and her whole body lost strength in an instant. She collapsed on the couch, and the exquisite golden hairpin slipped out a little.

She leaned her head against the pillow, trying her best to take off the golden hairpin and holding it in her hand, her eyes passed through the gauze curtain and fell on the sky outside. This was the hottest time of the season, and she could almost see the heat waves with her naked eyes.

Concubine Liu was still chattering on and on criticizing her cousin's rebellious behavior. He Yue felt as if she had tinnitus and could not hear a word.

He Yue couldn't tell whether she was cold or hot, she only knew that she was sweating and her heart was trembling with pain. She felt as if someone was cutting her flesh with a sword, and there was blood all over!

"Duan, Duan,..." He Yue murmured, and tears were streaming down her face without her knowing.

Concubine Liu got down from the side couch in panic, "Empress!"

"Tah!"

The golden hairpin finally fell to the ground, and He Yue fainted in pain!

"Someone come, something has happened to the Queen!" Concubine Liu screamed at the top of her lungs and collapsed to the ground.