Quick Wear: The host is really just a substitute!

Chapter 764: Five Kinds of Vegetables for the Deposed Empress in the Cold Palace (5)

Wen Yu caught Song Yuesheng's limp body, and when his palm touched her hot forehead, his pupils suddenly contracted.

He grabbed the fox fur on the couch and wrapped her tightly. Just as he picked her up, he stopped hesitantly when he caught a glimpse of the celadon vase on the bedside.

Shen Qihe...

Wen Yu took a deep breath and suppressed the irritation in his heart.

He grabbed the celadon bottle on the bedside table, poured out two pills of Qingre San, pinched Song Yuesheng's chin open and stuffed them in.

He stroked her throat with his thumb until he saw her swallowing and then let go.

"Duan Ning, you'd better wake up and explain clearly..."

The eunuch's voice sounded inappropriately outside the house.

"Your Majesty, hurry up, Frost Pass needs food and grass urgently."

Wen Yu tucked the corner of the quilt for her, and when he walked out of the room, he ordered: "Tell the three palace servants that if Duan Ning is still not awake, go to the Imperial Hospital to find Shen Qihe immediately, and when she wakes up, go to the Imperial Kitchen to get some food."

Pingxi raised his head in shock, and met the emperor's deep eyes. The surging emotions in them made him kowtow hurriedly: "I obey your order."

When he finished delivering the oral order and left, he found that all the imperial guards at the gate of the cold palace had been withdrawn.

The eunuch was smart and clear-sighted.

Your Majesty is different from the late emperor. Both the former Empress Duanning and the current Imperial Concubine Xuan care little about the affairs of the harem.

I don’t know how long His Majesty’s favor for Queen Duanning will last this time.

But no matter what...

After all, your Majesty's thoughts are much more difficult to guess than those of the late emperor.

……

Song Yuesheng felt himself falling into a chaotic darkness.

No Exit.

The broken picture kept appearing before my eyes.

There was a snowy night fifteen years ago.

There are scenes of the secret competition with He Yingxue over the years.

There is even a scene where He Yingxue came to the original owner and persuaded her not to jump into the fire pit before she got married.

But when she reached out to touch it, the picture suddenly shattered——

"My lady, you're awake!"

The pillow book brought her back to reality with a joyful voice.

Song Yuesheng propped himself up and sat up.

"When did Wen Yu leave?"

Zhenshu shook his head: "I don't know. Please tell me to wake you up in three hours. We are all busy in the back hall."

She suddenly remembered something.

"Eunuch Pingxi came here an hour ago and said that we could go to the Shangshansi to get some supplements."

As he spoke, Zhenshu suddenly slapped his forehead.

"Look at my memory! Since you are awake, you should ask Zhiqi to go to the Shangshansi and ask Eunuch Wu to go to the Imperial Hospital..."

Before he finished speaking, he ran out in a hurry.

There was not even a chance to ask further questions.

A quarter of an hour later.

There were hurried footsteps outside the hall, and a gust of cold air came in when the door was pushed open.

She stepped into the inner room holding the chess piece, the hem of her skirt stained with unmelted snow.

There was a circle of dark water marks on the edge of the shoes, obviously from walking quickly on the snow.

Her hands were empty, her fingertips were slightly red from the cold, and she unconsciously rubbed her cuffs as she folded them in front of her.

"Eunuch Zhou said he would send the food box later."

She whispered, with a hint of suppressed tension in her voice.

Song Yuesheng raised her eyes, her gaze falling on her tightly clenched cuffs.

The fabric had been crumpled into several fine folds.

Zhiqi pursed his lips and lowered his eyelashes, as if he was considering his words.

After a long while, he continued, "In the Shangshansi... I met Han Su who was beside Concubine Xuan."

Song Yuesheng's eyes darkened slightly, and he tapped the quilt lightly with his fingertips: "Did I embarrass you?"

Zhiqi pulled the corners of his lips and forced a smile: "Not really."

She paused, and lowered her voice a bit, "I have seen many more embarrassing scenes than this."

After a moment's silence, Zhiqi suddenly raised his eyes, with a hint of complexity flashing in his eyes.

"It's just...Han Su said something that makes sense."

"This is the cold palace after all." She spoke in a very soft voice, as if she was afraid of shattering something. "There is no guarantee that in the future... Your Majesty will not remember this place."

She paused, as if considering, and finally whispered.

"Since Your Majesty is planning to leave, why not take this opportunity... to grab some support. People outside say that His Majesty is cruel and heartless, and even killed other princes, but I see that His Majesty still has feelings for you..."

As soon as he finished speaking, Zhenshu walked in with a bowl of medicine.

Amid the hot steam, the bitter aroma of medicine filled the air.

When she heard the second half of the sentence, she continued, "Yes, Madam, in all the years I have been in the palace, I have never seen an emperor set foot in the cold palace."

Song Yuesheng reached out to take the medicine bowl. The brown medicine swayed slightly in the porcelain cup, reflecting half of her pale face and the hint of sarcasm at the corner of her lips.

"He came..." She chuckled, her fingertips lightly touching the edge of the bowl, "just to watch me not die."

When the porcelain bowl touched his lips, the bitter smell invaded his nostrils first. Before the tip of his tongue touched the medicine, the bitterness had already seeped into his lungs.

She drank slowly and then said calmly, "From the Sixth Prince's Mansion to Qiwu Palace, I have seen him only a few times."

"He called me 'Duan Ning'..."

Song Yuesheng lowered his eyes and looked at the empty bowl, then suddenly smiled, but the smile did not reach his eyes.

"They don't even know my name, and they don't care. They just call me by the title proposed by the Ministry of Rites. Such 'old feelings' are not as real as footprints in the snow."

The two maids looked at each other and were about to speak -

"No need to comfort."

Song Yuesheng placed the empty bowl on the table, making a crisp clinking sound.

"I know better than anyone that leaving the cold palace is just to make life easier in the future."

at the same time.

The predicament at Shuangwu Pass was more difficult than Wen Yu had imagined.

The reports mentioned serious incidents such as snatching food and fighting, disobeying the orders of the defenders, and trespassing into the military camp.

In order to solve the problem of food shortage at Shuangwu Pass in the northern border, Wen Yu urgently summoned the ministers of revenue and war into the palace.

Minister Zheng of the Ministry of Revenue was summoned to the palace. As he hurried through the long corridor, he was suddenly stopped by Aunt Dan who appeared from the shadows. "The Empress Dowager asked, sir, do you still have the salt tax account books for the three prefectures in southern Xinjiang?"

He froze.

The hot account book in his sleeve suddenly felt as heavy as a thousand pounds.

Cold sweat slid down his spine, leaving dark marks on his underwear.

This book, which contained irrefutable evidence that the Empress Dowager's family had embezzled 300,000 taels of military pay, was originally the letter of allegiance he was preparing to present to the new emperor.

Your Majesty imprisoned Prince Yi for more than ten days, and even sent Lin Wuxia from the Imperial Observatory to sweep the floor in the Taimiao for three months.

If you continue to go against Your Majesty, the consequences can be imagined.

but now……

Minister Zheng rolled his eyes several times, and finally bowed deeply: "Your humble servant...I will go to the Cining Palace to report back."

When I stepped into the Chenque Palace, the ground dragons in the palace were burning very brightly.

The warmth that came towards him made Minister Zheng feel a chill down his spine.

The Queen Mother was reclining on the rosewood couch, tapping the table with her fingertips from time to time.

The steam from the teacup rose up, blurring the sharp light in her eyes.

"Your Majesty the Queen Mother, your old servant pays respect to her." He knelt down and rested his forehead on the cold gold brick.

"Mr. Zheng arrived quite quickly." The Queen Mother's voice was somewhat lazy, like a knife wrapped in velvet.

"I thought you were going to the Taihe Hall to see the emperor first."

The account book in Minister Zheng's sleeve seemed to weigh a thousand pounds.

He did not dare to look up, only staring at his own distorted reflection on the gold brick in front of him: "Your Majesty, I dare not..."

The Queen Mother chuckled, and the tea lid scraped across the rim of the cup, making a crisp sound.

"You checked the accounts of Nanjiang very carefully."

She suddenly changed the subject, "Even the loss of Chen Gu twelve years ago was brought up. Is Zheng Qing going to... clear the court for His Majesty?"

The last three words were spoken very lightly, but they made Minister Zheng tremble all over.

Suddenly, hurried footsteps were heard outside the palace, and the young eunuch knelt down in panic and reported: "Your Majesty, His Majesty, His Majesty is coming to the Chenque Palace!"

The teacup was placed on the table with a click.

The Queen Mother narrowed her eyes and looked towards the palace door, and said, "Take Master Zheng to the warm room to rest."

She stroked the Buddhist beads on her wrist with her fingertips.

"Since we are going to put on a play...I will accompany the emperor to perform the whole play."

But at this moment, Wen Yu walked in wearing a black cloak, followed by Minister Cheng of the Ministry of War.

"My sons and ministers see their mother and queen."

Wen Yu nodded slightly, but his eyes fell directly on Zheng Yuan, with a hint of coldness at the corner of his lips.

"I just heard someone say that Minister Zheng came to the Chenque Palace. It's true."

"In that case, why not discuss the issue of food and grass at Shuangwu Pass here, so that Minister Zheng doesn't have to make another trip."

The Queen Mother paused with her fingertips on the Buddhist beads, still with a graceful smile on her face: "Your Majesty, you are joking. The harem is not allowed to interfere in government affairs. How dare I discuss state affairs? It is better to discuss military and national affairs in your imperial study."

Wen Yu chuckled and glanced at the teacup on the table that had not yet been removed.

"Since the Queen Mother knew that 'the harem is not allowed to interfere in government affairs', why did she specially summon Minister Zheng to 'drink tea'?"

There was a moment of silence in the hall.

The Queen Mother's eyes flashed with a sharp look, her fingertips slowly stroked the Buddhist beads, and she slowly said: "I just heard that Minister Zheng has been busy recently, so I specially gave him a cup of ginseng tea. Is the Emperor... suspicious of me?"

Wen Yu did not comment, but simply said: "Minister Zheng, do you have any good ideas for the distribution of food and grass at Shuangwu Pass?"

Minister Zheng was sweating profusely, and the account book in his sleeve felt like a burning iron.

He did not dare to raise his head, and only whispered: "Your Majesty, I was just about to report to you..."

The Queen Mother suddenly smiled and interrupted, "Forget it, I am tired. Since Mr. Zheng has important matters to attend to, please follow the Emperor."

Minister Zheng felt as if he had been pardoned and immediately kowtowed and left.

However, just as he turned around, Aunt Dan approached silently, flicked her sleeve, and took the account book out of his sleeve without anyone noticing.

Wen Yu watched coldly, the smile on his lips deepening.

He slowly turned around only after the two ministers left the hall.

But before he stepped out of the door, he suddenly stopped and spoke without turning his head.

"Mother."

"If you extend your hand to places that shouldn't be reached again--"

He tilted his head slightly, his eyes as cold as a blade.

"I don't mind bearing the eternal infamy. I will send you to see the late emperor as soon as possible."