The aroma of cooking filled the house: I sent my eldest brother to become the Grand Secretary.

Chapter 353 Returning to the Palace to Visit Shen Shuhua

In summer, it gets dark exceptionally late.

After counting the fish in the pond for what seemed like the umpteenth time, it finally got dark.

Under the cover of night, the two quietly slipped out of the Shen family's house through the back door.

The exit of the secret passage leading to Yuehua Palace was in a small, not particularly popular, local temple in the capital.

The two were dressed in all black, and would not be noticed at all if one did not look closely at night.

After walking through the secret passage for more than an hour, the two finally reached their destination.

Wanyue skillfully lifted the bed board and carefully pulled Shen Cao out.

"Sister Grass, be careful not to bump your head!"

After the two came out, they put the bed back to its original position.

"Cuckoo, quack, quack..."

Shen Cao looked at Wan Yue, who was imitating a bird's call, with some confusion.

Wanyue smiled gently, "My mother and I discussed it last time. If we come back from the secret passage, we'll imitate bird calls."

"That way, when my mother and the others hear about it, they will come here to find me."

Shen Shuhua, who was sitting on a soft couch in the main hall of Yuehua Palace, was reading a book and showed no signs of illness whatsoever.

Suddenly, she heard a familiar bird call.

She immediately sat up. "Granny Cao, did you hear that?"

Granny Cao, who was standing to the side, had also stood up long ago, and her face was visibly happy.

"Your Majesty, I heard it. It must be Princess Wanyue."

"Don't worry, I'll go to the side hall right away."

After saying that, she took the candle and left the main hall.

'knock knock'

There was a knock on the door of the side hall three times.

After hearing three knocks, Wanyue knocked three times from inside.

Then, Shen Cao heard the sound of a lock being opened outside the door.

When the door opened, I saw Granny Cao holding a candle and grinning.

"Granny Cao, is Mother alright?"

Granny Cao nodded, wiping away tears that had somehow fallen from her face. "Princess, Her Majesty is alright."

Inside the main hall, Shen Shuhua could no longer concentrate on the book. She got up from the soft couch, and without even putting on her shoes properly, she walked towards the door.

If she hadn't been seriously ill at that moment, she would have gone to the side hall long ago.

"Mother!" Before she could even see clearly, she felt a figure rush into her arms.

"Wanyue, you silly child, didn't your mother tell you to stay outside the palace? Why did you come at this time?" There was not a trace of reproach in her tone, only concern.

"Your Highness, Wanyue is truly worried about the palace." Shen Cao couldn't bring herself to call her "Mother."

Upon hearing this, Shen Shuhua was taken aback for a moment, a fleeting look of disappointment flashing in her eyes before disappearing in the blink of an eye.

The moon is exceptionally round tonight; it's the fifteenth of the lunar month again.

On the soft couch, Shen Cao and Wan Yue sat on either side of Shen Shuhua.

Wanyue anxiously began to ask, "Mother, I heard you had contracted the plague? But you don't look like you have it right now."

"My mother is fine. She did not contract the epidemic. This is a long story, I will tell you about it later."

"What about Father? Why is he still in a coma?"

Upon hearing this, Shen Shuhua looked towards the Hall of Mental Cultivation, and after a long while, she slowly spoke.

"I don't know much about your father's affairs either, but if I'm not mistaken, the only thing we can do now is to trust your father."

After speaking, Shen Shuhua glanced at Shen Cao.

"Don't worry, this matter should be over soon."

Wan Yue's heart, which had been hanging in suspense, was finally put at ease after hearing Shen Shuhua's words.

"Has the Empress mistreated you?"

Although Shen Shuhua said she was fine, Wanyue still sensed something was wrong.

In the past, whenever she visited her mother's palace, the table was always laden with all sorts of pastries.

But now there are no snacks on the table, and even the incense that my mother used to use has been changed.

Even when they came in, if she wasn't mistaken, her mother should have been reading a book before they entered.

However, only two candles were lit in the entire room. It was only after they came in that the mother concubine asked Granny Cao to light two more candles.

"By the way, Mother, Sister Cao'er brought you a lot of things."

After she finished speaking, she gestured for Granny Cao to bring the package over.

"Mother, please try this cold noodle dish. Sister Cao'er made it this afternoon."

Wanyue took out a jar from the package, and then took out noodles wrapped in oil paper.

Granny Cao quickly went to fetch bowls and chopsticks.

I poured the sauce from the jar into bowls and made two bowls of cold noodles.

The aroma of sesame paste immediately filled the entire room.

"I had only heard Wanyue say that Cao'er's cooking was delicious before, but now I finally know that she was not exaggerating. The food smells amazing."

Granny Cao, who was standing to the side, also smiled and nodded.

After the noodles were mixed, Shen Cao handed her bowl to Shen Shuhua, and Wanyue gave her bowl to Granny Cao.

The two of them took the noodles, their eyes reddening.

Shen Shuhua cried with heartache whenever she thought of her daughter, Shen Cao.

Granny Cao never expected that the princess she had watched grow up would personally mix noodles for her. She cried tears of joy.

Shen Shuhua finished her noodles in no time. When she looked up, she saw that Wanyue was crying.

Wanyue looked at her mother, who had lost a lot of weight. Her mother had always been abstaining from food after noon.

I rarely see her eat so fast.

She felt distressed whenever she thought of her once-noble mother, who might now be starving.

"Mother, Sister Cao'er also brought you a jar of meat sauce and lots of pork jerky."

Wanyue took out all the things they had brought.

Shen Shuhua's tears flowed again; she felt so happy.

She has a daughter who cares about her.

The mother and her two daughters talked for a very long time that night.

Although Shen Cao was not yet used to her biological mother, she could tell from the words and interactions between Wan Yue and Shen Shuhua that Shen Shuhua was a good mother.

She loves her daughter very much.

That night, the three slept in one bed, and their hearts slowly drew closer.

Two very bright stars appeared near the full moon in the night sky.

The gates of the Moon Palace have not been opened since the Empress's visit that day.

Even the daily meal delivery schedule has changed from three meals a day to two meals a day, and then to one meal a day.

Later on, they didn't even have one meal a day anymore.

The Empress's goal was to starve Shen Shuhua to death, even if she didn't die of illness.

Fortunately, there was a small kitchen in the Moon Palace, and the small kitchen contained a lot of food that had been prepared in advance.

The mother and her two daughters stayed for another full day the next day. Apart from Granny Cao, all the other palace maids and eunuchs in Yuehua Palace had long been taken away by the Empress for various reasons and were never sent back.

On the second night, Shen Shuhua reluctantly saw them off.

"Mother, please take good care of yourself in the palace. We'll come back in a few days!"

Before entering the secret passage, Shen Cao's words still echoed in Shen Shuhua's ears.

She looked at the dark passageway, her face already streaked with tears.