Chapter 225: Lost
Music and dance resumed within Linde Hall, and the guests gathered outside the hall were ushered back to their seats. However, this did not restore order to the banquet; everyone was whispering.
“A ghost?”
“They’re saying it’s Empress Yang…”
“Really?! How is that possible!”
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“Madam Zhu! Words must be spoken, but they must not be spoken carelessly!”
Inside the side hall, Princess Jinyu said with furrowed brows.
She didn’t believe this nonsense.
Prime Minister Zhu was as cunning as a ghost. He had managed to deceive Empress Jiang and support Prince Changyang’s forced abdication, so his wife was naturally no pushover either.
Young Miss Zhu must have been alone in a room with Li Yu, but this old woman barged in first, used some unknown method to get Li Yu away, and then claimed to have seen a ghost in front of everyone.
And she even dared to say that the ghost was the Empress.
Cunning old woman!
“It’s broad daylight, where would there be a ghost!”
Bai Ying sat beside the Emperor, her face pale. She no longer questioned Madam Zhu, only whispering with slightly red eyes: “Has the Empress truly returned? Is she here to see Your Majesty…”
The Emperor’s face was livid. Hearing these words, he flung his sleeve and stepped forward.
“If A’yuan were to return, she should see me, why would she see this child? This child has barely met the Empress before, right?”
“No matter what Madam encountered, I will surely seek justice for you and will not tolerate or shield anyone.”
He stood before Madam Zhu, his expression sincere.
“Madam, you and the Prime Minister have shown me great kindness. In my heart, no one can compare to you!”
This was undoubtedly a clear statement that even if it involved Li Yu, the Emperor would not let the Zhu family suffer any injustice.
With his words reaching this point, Madam Zhu looked at the Emperor and bowed solemnly: “This subject would never deceive Your Majesty, my daughter truly encountered the Empress.”
“Madam!” The Emperor could no longer suppress his anger and shouted, “Words are not proof!”
His expression was furious.
“The Empress is not someone you can casually use as an excuse!”
“She is no longer here! I will never allow anyone to trample on her!”
Madam Zhu knelt down: “Your Majesty, please calm your anger!”
Princess Jinyu sneered from the side. Good, even if they escaped her scheme this time, they had angered the Emperor, and the Zhu family would have no good days ahead.
“Your Majesty! This subject is not lying!”
Young Miss Zhu, who had been kneeling on the ground, suddenly spoke. She raised her head, her face still filled with fear, but her eyes were firm.
“This subject has proof!”
Proof?! The Emperor, Bai Ying, and Princess Jinyu were all stunned. Even Madam Zhu, kneeling on the ground, looked at her daughter with surprise.
Although she argued with Princess Jinyu, Consort Bai, and the Emperor, she didn’t really believe her daughter’s words. However, at this point, there was no turning back.
How could there actually be proof?
Young Miss Zhu looked at the Emperor: “Your Majesty, this subject got lost just now…”
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She must have gotten lost.
Although it was strange to say so, Linde Hall was large, but it was still just a hall.
And it was a banquet, with people everywhere, how could one get lost?
But why, after she passed through the passageway, could she see no one else?
“This elder sister…”
She looked at the palace maid in front of her and suddenly felt that the palace maid was also somewhat unfamiliar.
Of course, she didn’t recognize or remember the palace maids in this part of the side chambers, so the so-called unfamiliarity referred to her attire.
This palace maid wore a light pink high-waisted jacket and skirt, her hair styled in a high spiral bun. Hearing the call, she turned her head, revealing a pale face, thick eyebrows, and swirling cloud flower decorations.
“What’s the matter?” she asked with a smile.
“Your makeup…” Young Miss Zhu murmured.
The palace maid smiled and touched her face: “Is my blush not applied well? I’m just learning, everyone likes this style.”
No, this slanted blush style was no longer in fashion. It was a trend from decades ago.
Young Miss Zhu stared blankly, a chill running down her spine as she looked at the palace maid’s smile.
“Hey, you, don’t wander around there—”
A voice came, and Young Miss Zhu looked up to see two eunuchs standing outside the hall ahead.
Was that Linde Hall? Young Miss Zhu was surprised again, how could it be so dilapidated? She hurriedly looked at the palace maid, but the palace maid had disappeared. This—
“I’m talking to you! Get out of here quickly, stop wandering around!” the eunuch shouted again.
Young Miss Zhu was frightened, panicked, and at a loss. She didn’t know where to go. She was clearly getting dressed in the side chambers when a palace maid came in and said that her mother was in the washroom, asking her to help tidy up her clothes, so she followed the palace maid.
The palace maid said there was a passageway that led directly to the washroom and led her through it.
Then she couldn’t remember what happened, she arrived here, and now the palace maid was gone.
“Hey, which palace are you from?”
A clear, young girl’s voice came. Young Miss Zhu looked down to see a six or seven-year-old girl standing in front of her.
Young Miss Zhu instinctively took a step back.
The girl frowned: “Have you seen the Sixth Prince?”
Who was the Sixth Prince? Young Miss Zhu became even more nervous, the Emperor had just had a son…
“Sister A’yuan!” A crying voice came.
Young Miss Zhu followed the sound and saw a chubby five or six-year-old boy walking out of the dilapidated hall.
“Li Liu! What are you running around for!” the girl shouted, stamping her foot.
The boy cried and said, “I thought you wouldn’t play with me anymore.”
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The girl said unhappily: “I was just talking to them, you ran out and didn’t go back to the palace, my mother will scold me again! Come back with me quickly.”
The boy timidly walked over: “Sister A’yuan, don’t stop playing with me.” He said, extending his hand, “I made this for you.”
Young Miss Zhu instinctively looked and saw a woven grasshopper in the boy’s hand.
Although crudely made, it was green and lovely.
The girl let out a sound of delight and took it with joy, then snorted: “You only gave me this? The Third Prince gave me a gold and jade ring!”
The boy’s face was filled with anxiety, he lowered his head: “I don’t have money…” Then he hurriedly said, “Whatever I have in the future, I’ll give it all to you.”
The girl smiled: “Then I want to swing, you come push me.”
The boy was overjoyed: “Okay, okay.”
The swing swayed in front of the dilapidated hall. The girl stood on the swing, her laughter echoing continuously. The boy pushed hard, sweating profusely, grinning from ear to ear.
“Xiao Liu, will you give me everything you have in the future?”
“Yes, everything I have is yours.”
“Then when you become Emperor, can I be the Empress?”
“Of course, of course, I will only let A’yuan be my Empress!”
Empress, A’yuan, Sixth Prince… Standing beside them, Young Miss Zhu suddenly realized something, her face drastically changing. Just as she was about to shout, her surroundings suddenly shifted. She was no longer outside the dilapidated hall but inside a palace.
This place was magnificent, with carved beams and painted pillars.
This was the Empress’s Palace, a place Young Miss Zhu was familiar with.
Clothes were swirling before her eyes, as if the girl was still on the swing. She slowly raised her head and saw a familiar face.
Empress Yang.
Empress Yang’s neck was suspended from a white silk ribbon, swaying back and forth.
Her eyes were fixed on Young Miss Zhu.
Young Miss Zhu felt her mind shatter, her chest churning, the feeling rising to her throat.
But Empress Yang stopped in front of her and grabbed her hand.
“Tell Li Liu not to forget his promise to me.”
Blood flowed from Empress Yang’s eyes, nose, and mouth.
Young Miss Zhu could no longer bear it, she closed her eyes, clutched her head, and screamed—
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“Ayao, Ayao, Mother is here!”
Madam Zhu embraced the screaming Young Miss Zhu, urgently trying to soothe her.
Fortunately, Young Miss Zhu had already broken down once, so this time she quickly calmed down and controlled her screams, only her body still trembling.
“You’re saying you went back to Linde Hall decades ago…” the Emperor murmured, “and saw me and A’yuan… Yes, Linde Hall hadn’t been renovated back then, it was dilapidated, I often hid there…”
Princess Jinyu’s face was livid, she shouted: “Absurd! How could such a thing happen! You were just having a nightmare!”
Young Miss Zhu raised her head: “This subject also thought it was a nightmare, but, this subject found something in her hand…”
She said, raising her tightly clenched hand and opening it towards the Emperor.
The Emperor looked down and saw a crushed woven object lying in the woman’s slender palm.
He instinctively reached out and picked it up. Even though it was withered, yellow, and crumpled, he recognized it at a glance.
It was a woven grasshopper.
The Emperor’s tears instantly welled up, blurring his vision.
“A’yuan—”
Bai Ying stood behind the Emperor, feeling a chill run down her spine.
Absurd!
Absurd!
Absurd!
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“This is truly absurd, how could such a thing happen?”
“It’s still unclear what exactly happened.”
“But, where is Prince Chu?”
Amidst the buzzing discussions in the main hall, someone suddenly ran in.
“Prince Chu has been found!”
Everyone looked over. Found? Where?
“By Lake Taiye!” the person shouted, “He’s with Marquis Zhou’s Heir!”
Lake Taiye?
Zhou Jingyun?
…
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The setting sun’s afterglow dyed the lake water red, the scene intoxicating.
Hearing the noisy footsteps and shouts behind him, Zhou Jingyun turned his head. His face was illuminated by the glow, causing the approaching eunuch to momentarily freeze.
“Marquis Zhou’s Heir…” His loud voice softened.
Zhou Jingyun raised his hand to shush him and pointed to his side.
“His Highness is asleep,” he said.
The eunuch and the people who followed looked over and saw an outer robe spread on the grass, with Li Yu lying on his side, sleeping peacefully.
Zhou Jingyun’s voice came again.
“Don’t wake him up.”
