Mind

  Such sharp words made everyone in the hall hear a strong sarcastic tone, including Die Xiang and Die Yi, and the palace people changed their faces.

  Baili Siqing gazed calmly at Duan Fei, whose expression remained unchanged. Since childhood, apart from Emperor Jing'an, the ladies in this palace had been kindest to her, with Duan Fei being the most considerate, asking about her well-being every day without fail.

  She was annoyed, Tongfei would think of ways to coax her into happiness. She fell ill, Tongfei would stay up all night taking care of her. Whatever disputes arose, big or small, Tongfei, who held the phoenix seal, would always stand on her side, even going so far as to repeatedly overlook the mistakes of her own birth daughters, Baili Qian and Baili Hua.

  Her mother passed away after giving birth to her, and she often wondered why Empress Duan would be willing to make such selfless sacrifices for her. Those meticulous care, as if it came from the most instinctive nurturing.

  Sometimes, Empress Dowager's partiality towards her made her wonder if the woman in front of her was really her birth mother or if Emperor had simply mistaken.

  Because she clearly knew that everyone's heart is selfish, just like she had her own private heart. When something happened, they would always rush to protect the maids in their own palace first. How could they put outsiders above themselves?

  She stayed in Leshan for two years, facing the continuous peaks and green water every day, watching the sunset and the solitary wild geese, thinking about many things alone.

  Also understood many things.

  Is there anyone in this world who is good to you without any reason? All the goodness will be mixed with various factors. Maybe there is pity and sympathy, but it can't be a pure one beyond blood relatives.

  Even the Emperor himself cannot always follow her, let alone the concubines who have no blood relationship with her.

  She was used to the princesses in the palace fighting for themselves and their children, but no one would step on their own child's body to highlight Baili Qingyun's nobility and honor.

  But Duanyi spared her.

  Just thinking about it makes her shudder with fear.

  However, the palace life of twenty years had long made her mentally unbreakable. Being stared at by Baili Qingyun with an unwavering gaze, Princess Duan's expression only wavered for a moment, and her elegant smile did not diminish in the slightest.

  She seemed to have missed the meaning of Bailing's words, as if the previous sentence was just a confused girl's monologue to the air, and that sharp needle was not aimed at her.

  She still smiled shallowly, her voice even softer, without a hint of sadness or annoyance. "I just heard that Your Majesty summoned you to the South Study, what happened?"

  Her voice trailed off, and the faint redness around her eyes even brought out a lovingly worried glint of tears, "You just got back, you can't afford to get on the Emperor's bad side again."

  Still as invincible as ever, a hint of impatience appeared between Baili Qingfeng's eyebrows. "Jiang Xiang! Escort Princess Duanfei."

  Seeing her suddenly driving people away, Duanyi pinched her handkerchief and sighed: "Two years without seeing each other, Gaoyang and the palace have become strangers. It doesn't matter, you rest first, the palace will go back first."

  She gently waved her hand, and Fu Lu immediately took out a jade bowl from the steamer held by a small palace maid behind him, and smiled cleverly: "Princess, this is the ginseng soup personally cooked for you by Concubine Duan."

  Baili Siqing merely glanced sideways before hearing Duan Fei say gently: "I'm leaving, remember to drink it while it's hot."

  She turned back and indeed led people out with a gentle smile.

  "Princess Duan, you'd better take this soup back!" However, Bai Li Si Qing coldly said before she could leave the palace gate: "What you want, I cannot give. You should focus your thoughts on His Majesty instead."

  When she heard this, Duan Fei, who was walking in front, stumbled slightly.

  Fu Lu quickly helped her steady herself.

  Ba Li thought of Qing, but pretended not to see her and proceeded into the inner palace.

  The dignified and elegant demeanor she had always maintained suddenly cracked, and a sharp light flashed out.

  She never thought that Baili Siqing, who returned from Lai Mountain, would have a different attitude towards her. What about the efforts she made over the years?

  As soon as she returned to Yunxiu Palace, she dismissed everyone and the anger that had been suppressed for a long time suddenly erupted.

  What's more heartbreaking than seeing years of hard work go down the drain, considering how she has always compromised and taken care of Baili Siqing!

  "Empress Duan, you are truly kind. Tomorrow I will ask Father Emperor to make you the Empress, how about that?"

  She smashed the returned jade bowl heavily, her face pale and uncertain. With great difficulty, she had finally tamed that maid's heart; if it weren't for what happened next, why would she now be merely a second-rank imperial concubine!

  The harem has been vacant for so many years, and Baili Qizhi is unwilling to give her even the position of Guifei!

  "Empress Dowager, I heard that Baili Qingyun has returned to the palace. You just went to see her, did you?"

  A young girl in a light purple dress with a hundred folds rushed over with the vigor of youth, but unexpectedly stepped on a patch of rubble. Her slender figure, like a butterfly, instantly retracted its light wings and squatted down, clutching her foot in alarm.

  Duan Fei hastily extinguished her anger and hurriedly stepped forward to ask: "Rui'er, are you injured? Let me take a look quickly!"

  Baili Xue's eyes were hazy, "Empress Dowager, didn't you go to see Baili Siqing? In the past, whenever Empress Dowager came out of Bao Yi Palace, she was always smiling. Why did she come back and smash things this time?

  She raised her head with a wronged expression, revealing a beautiful and moving face, but saw the sudden chill on Princess Duan's face.

  Yu Guang quietly looked around and wondered why he didn't see the emperor's reward coming one after another.

  The princess helped him up and calmly told the maids who were rushing in: "I accidentally broke something, you quickly clean it up."

  Baili Chun stared at Duan Fei in surprise, unable to grasp her changing expression.

  What's going on?

  She suddenly widened her eyes, could it be... that she had just been rejected by Bai Lixiang?

  The originally resentful face changed to a faintly joyful expression, with a flash of jealousy in the corner of her eyes.

  From a young age, the Emperor has always doted on Bai Lixi Qing. Almost everyone in the harem follows her orders without question. It can be said that if she wants stars, those people wouldn't dare pluck the moon.

  In terms of food, clothing, and living quarters, she was superior to all other princesses, even surpassing any imperial prince.

  What's most unbearable is that her own mother, the empress dowager, also turned against her! Now the empress dowager should know that Baili Qingyun is a wolf in sheep's clothing who can't be tamed!

  She and her elder sister Zhen are actually her legitimate daughters!

  Duan Fei saw through her little thoughts at a glance, and a sense of desolation suddenly rose in her heart. She did so much just to make her daughter have the identity of a legitimate princess like Bai Lixi Qing!

  She wasn't unaware of Rui'er and Qian'er's discontent, but who could she share her troubles with?

  Was she supposed to tell them that their mother was shamelessly trying to curry favor with their father through Bai Lixi?

  Was Wan Qianyao unable to gain favor and had to rely on flattering Si Kongqing's daughter?

  Yes, she did it herself, lowering herself so much that in the end she was blamed by her own daughter and forgotten by Baili Qingyun!