The Cold Palace, the most deserted and dilapidated place in the Imperial palace, is a place, where once the abandoned women of the harem live in the Water hall, they would have no chance to go out. It only took a few months for the abandoned consort who lived in the water hall to become abnormal.
There is no gorgeous silk clothes here, no exquisite jade, only cold walls and a group of crazy women.
Today is the third day Ning Zhiqing stayed at the Cold Palace. In the first day she was almost ruined, the second day she witnessed Hong Yan’s death, the third day she sat on the edge of the high threshold, and looked blankly at the courtyard, She looked around at the cold palace concubines who were sitting together in a circle, combing their hair while laughing madly.
She was not afraid of the cold palace, but she was afraid that one day she would be like these crazy concubines and lose her mind, doing something completely against her will. She was afraid the future Ning Zhiqing would be different from today’s Ning Zhiqing.
“What’s on your mind?”
The voice came from the side, softly but gently, it brought her back to reality, she tilted her head, looked at Ah Xin’s position, and smiled with a curved eyebrow, “Good morning, Noble Lady Lin.”
“It’s not morning, the sun is already up.” Ah Xin said indifferently, “Follow me.”
Noble Lady Lin words were a bit disheartening, but she hadn’t forgotten what she had said yesterday. Was what Noble Lady Lin has said true? She was asked if she wanted to be a female emperor, but she didn’t want to. So Ah Xin asked if she wanted to be the Empress Dowager.
It is said that the Empress Dowager would be the one to take charge of the government, and she would have laughed out loud if someone else told her that she would become one.
The emperor didn’t even touch her, and she has no son. The other concubines, except for the Empress, who was the main wife of Helian Zheng, was the inly one who has performed the conjugal rites with Helian Zheng, even Bai Xi, who was favored, hasn’t conceived any heir. This is the only way to get a little emperor.
Ning Zhiqing followed Ah Xin into her house. She hadn’t visited her before. Today, was the first time she visit her, and she realied that even though it was during the day, this room was colder and more dilapidated than the one she lived in. The table, chairs and bedding were old. But her room was clean, neat and tidy. Ning Zhiqing thought, ‘This room doesn’t look like a room where a talented woman lives, but rather like a simple and hardworking woman’s room.’
Ah Xin closed the door, and Ning Zhiqing sat down on the stool, feeling slightly nervous, “Did Noble Lady Lin joke with me yesterday?”.
“I make no jokes.”
Ning Zhiqing took a deep breath, “As long as you can guarantee my father’s life, I’ll do whatever you ask.”
“Mm.”
With a smile in her eyes, Ah Xin turned around and took out a bunch of paper and pens, as well as some books from the closet, Ning Zhiqing didn’t know much, her mother had died early and her father was a rough man. General Ning became General Ning because he accidentally saved the previous emperor from a “robber”.
The previous emperor thought that although General Ning was illiterate, he had good martial arts, and it was a waste if he continued to be a villager, so he gave him a chance to go to the battlefield. Unexpectedly, he became the number one general at the border.
Before General Ning went to war, he already had a wife and daughter, even after he became rich, he never forgot his kindness, but his wife died soon after he left for war. Later, he put Ning Zhiqing into his mansion in the capital, and was busy guarding the border, but he was a rough man and forgot to educate Ning Zhiqing, causing Ning Zhiqing to be a joke in front of many people when she first came to the capital. But Ning Zhiqing wasn’t a person who was easy to be bullied, she looked beautiful, yet she inherited her father’s boldness. She knew that her father is a great general and she was very good at fighting against bullies. Before she entered the palace, she flaunted her whip in the capital city every day, so no one dared to bully her again.
She didn’t like reading and embroidery; she liked to fight with the whip, and she liked beautiful dresses and fine jewellery. After she became a Noble Consort, she wasn’t afraid of the palace infighting horror, and even when she was ignored by Helian Zheng, she thought that Helian Zheng is the kind of person who kept his body pure for the one he loved, and it was fine as long as he didn’t dislike her. As long as Helian Zheng fed her, gave her beautiful dresses and jewellery, and reward her with more things every day, she was extremely happy.
She has been in the palace for a few years and has really pulled a lot of hatred [1] and suffered countless framing, but every time, Helian Zheng helped her solve it. She was nearly tempted, until she found out that Helian Zheng was only using her as a shield. Unfortunately, she realized it too late. The minister impeached her for her extravagance and lavishness, saying that she wasn’t worthy to become the Noble Consort.
It has been three years since Bai Xi entered the palace, Helian Zheng has already paved the way for her, and she, Ning Zhiqing, has blocked countless framing plots for Bai Xi. Bai Xi eliminated the Empress and the Fourth Consort who were blocking her way. The Empress is dead, and the fourth consort was left alone with Concubine Lin in the Cold Palace.
“From today on, I will teach you how to read and write.” Ah Xin said in a low tone.
Ning Zhiqing looked at the paper and brush in front of her, as well as the book with characters as dense as if ants were crawling on it, she felt dizzy, she tried not to pass out and nodded, “Okay.”
“Mm.”
Ah Xin was quite satisfied, she knew Ning Zhiqing disliked to study. She could immediately give Ning Zhiqing the throne, but that would be meaningless, because when something was too easy to get, it won’t have any deep meaning, and won’t be cherished.
Ah Xin knew, even if she pushed Ning Zhiqing into a high position by brute tactics, since the other party was illiterate and has no ability to speak, she will just end up becoming a puppet for others. If she was another person, she might have solved the problem so effectively and quickly, but this soul was the one who woke her up, she was more than willing to push her to the top step by step, watching her grow up slowly, and enjoyed spending more time with this kind soul who was very dear to her.
Every time Ah Xin left the small world and returned to that dark and empty place, she would fall into a deep sleep, and couldn’t feel the flow of time at all. Ah Xin didn’t want to wake up, since whenever she woke up, she would only face darkness and emptiness, as if there was something missing inside her.
She only remembered that she had been awakened many times in the past, and that she had fallen into a contented and joyful sleep, and when she was awakened, her happy memories were somehow gone, and she couldn’t find them. She could feel that the memories were still there, probably hidden in some place she didn’t know. She didn’t want to look for them either, she would rather spend time with this soul that made her comfortable.
“Do you know how to write your name?”
Ning Zhiqing shook her head, “I know my name, but I can’t write it.”
Ah Xin laid the rice paper flat in front of Ning Zhiqing, dripped the brush into the ink, and put the brush into Ning Zhiqing’s hand, “I’ll teach you.” Ning Zhiqing’s hands trembled as she held the brush, since a pair of gentle, delicate hands hugged her and helped her to write the characters “Ning Zhiqing” on the rice paper in a crooked manner. Ning Zhiqing’s eyes became wide open, she looked at the three characters, and she felt a sense of accomplishment.
“Do you want to try it yourself?”
Ning Zhiqing nodded her head, her hands were still shaking, and she gripped the brush vigorously, but the brush was different from the whip. It didn’t mean the tighter she gripped, the better her writing will be. In the end, she wrote three characters that she couldn’t recognize, and was suddenly feeling a little helpless. She compared both the words, and she thought that she was no good at all.
“I, I can’t.”
“It’s good to practice more, after all no human can immediately walk after they were born, they started from crawling.”
Ning Zhiqing felt that Noble Lady Lin was seriously talking with a calm face, making her unable to disobey. After thinking of her and her father’s situation, she gritted her teeth, “Okay, I’ll practice.”
After practicing for half a day, Ning Zhiqing was finally able to write three words that she could at least recognize, and she was satisfied.
“Noble Lady Lin.”
“I…. will my father be okay?” Bai Xi and Helian Zheng’s framing was unsuccessful, but he could make up a reason to recall her father, after all, when the Emperor wanted his servant dead, it was really easy to find a reason to dispose him.
Ah Xin said, “Don’t worry, I’ve sent a message to General Ning, he will find a reason not to come back.”
“I’ve already told him our plan.”
“This…” Ning Zhiqing scuffled her feet, she was amazed that Ah Xin had told her father these things, and she wondered how she could send the message. She looked at the paper, brush and ink in front of her, and wondered where she get these things. Well, if she said the paper, brush and ink were secretly taken from the palace, how would the news get out?
Suddenly, a bird flew in from the window, circled around Ah Xin, and finally landed on her shoulder. Ah Xin took out a handful of rice and put it on the table, calmly rubbing the bird. Ning Zhiqing was sure that the bird wasn’t a carrier pigeon, since there were archers in the palace whose specialty were monitoring carrier pigeons, and any carrier pigeon of unknown origin would be shot down.
“Was this the one that send the letter?”
Ah Xin looked up and smiled softly at Ning Zhiqing, “Yes.”
“It’s not a carrier pigeon, right What is it?”
“The letter bird.”[2]
“There were archers in the palace, why wasn’t it shot down?” Ning Zhiqing asked, “I’m really curious, how come I have never seen the letter bird before?”
Ah Xin didn’t answer Ning Zhiqing’s question. She took the letter she had prepared and tied it to the bird, raised her hand, and then the bird pecked her finger, she said “Go.” And the bird flew away from the window.
Ah Xin pulled Ning Zhiqing to the window. Ning Zhiqing thought she could see the letter bird flying far away, but when she looked out of the window, she couldn’t see anything. Ah Xin explained, “This is a legendary bird that carries messages; they fly into the air so that they aren’t easily seen by the naked eye and can’t detected by archers. In ancient times, many people hated this bird, and an emperor, once ordered to hunt this bird, so naturally there were fewer of them and not many people knew about it.”
“Is there really such a legend?” Ning Zhiqing thought that this was the difference between a brute and a scholar, the brute was blind, while the scholar seemed to know everything.
Ah Xin shoved a book into Ning Zhiqing’s hand, “The story of the letter bird is in this book.” She smiled faintly at Ning Zhiqing, “Learn to read and write, you have one month to search for the tale of the Letter Bird.”
Ning Zhiqing stared at the thick book in her hand, feeling incredulous, “Noble Lady Lin, isn’t this too much to ask, this book, is so thick. Is… Is… adding two more months possible?”
“General Ning is waiting for you.”
“We don’t know when Helian Zheng will deal with you again someday.”
“As long as you’re a Noble Consort, Bai Xi will never let you go, even if you’re in the cold palace.”
The three sentences made Ning Zhiqing stopped protesting.
She held the thick book, pursed her lips, and looked at the plain-looking yet stern woman in front of her, she knew she couldn’t refuse, “I understand.”
“Don’t be discouraged, when you become the Queen Mother, you’ll have whatever you want, and you won’t have to learn how to read and write.” Ah Xin said gently and softly. As she looked at Ning Zhiqing’s happy face, she looked down. Because at that time, Ning Zhiqing will already know all the characters, of course she doesn’t have to learn, because, as the Empress Dowager, she had to approve the memorial to the throne everyday.
Ning Zhiqing smiled, but then she felt that the room was a bit cold and she sighed. ‘Ah, no wonder its called the Cold Palace.’
At noon, the palace maid who came to deliver food has arrived.
Everyone had a bowl of clear porridge made from few grains of rice. Ning Zhiqing frowned as she looked at her small corn bun, she resignedly picked it up and gnawed on it. Soon, she realized it was spoiled and hastily vomited it out, “Why is it spoiled?” She glared at the palace maid who served the porridge, her eyes were full of anger.
“Oh my, Noble Consort, do you still think this is your gorgeous Palace? This is the Water Hall. What is the Water Hall? It’s in the Cold Palace. What is the Cold Palace? It’s the place where concubines who come in won’t have a chance to go out and have something to eat, but the food they eat are spoiled sh*ts.” The maid servants sneered as she snatched away her half eaten spoiled corn bun and the bowl of plain porridge. She gave it to the dishevelled woman next to her, who snatched it from her hand and ate it with a satisfied smirk, kept saying that it was delicious. Ning Zhiqing was feeling pitiful and helpless.
Ning Zhiqing stood blankly as she looked at the proudly departing palace maids and the unresisting madwomen around her. She rubbed her stomach, glanced at the spoiled corn bun that she had vomited on the ground. At this time, she really missed the mountain delicacies and seafood she once had.
Ah Xin was standing not far away, watching Ning Zhiqing shed tears. She walked towards Ning Zhiqing and extended her hand, “Stand up.”
Ning Zhiqing wiped her tears, put her hand in Ah Xin’s and stood up, she proudly looked at the closed door of the Water Hall and swore, “I, Ning Zhiqing, will go out someday.” She would be the Queen Mother who hold the power behind the curtain.
Ah Xin led Ning Zhiqing into the house, and Ning Zhiqing took the initiative to pick up a brush and paper to practice her writing. Even if she couldn’t read it, she could learn. She will make those sh*ts understand that not only can Ning Zhiqing whips people with a whip, but can also beats them up with a brush.
“Are you hungry?” Ah Xin smiled as she asked.
Ning Zhiqing said stubbornly, “I’m not hungry.” She rubbed her stomach. She was actually very hungry.
“Really?”
In response to Ah Xin’s gaze, Ning Zhiqing’s became aggrieved, “I’m hungry, but so what if I’m hungry? Those bitchy maidservants robbed all of my food, I have never met such things in the palace before.” She was so hungry that she could barely hold a brush. She wanted to eat ginseng soup, red date congee, and steamed fish… the more she thought about food, the hungrier she became.
Ah Xin turned around and took out a few white steamed bun and a bowl of fruit from the cupboard and brought it to Ning Zhiqing, who was shocked. She couldn’t concentrate on her writing as she looked at the food.
“Clear porridge is hard to get, I’ll boil some water, you can eat this.”
Ning Zhiqing took the white steamed bun and fruits, she looked at it with fiery eyes, “Don’t go out anymore. What if you get caught?” She looked at Ah Xin, “Isn’t it just a few grains of plain porridge and a spoiled corn bun? I can eat these.”[3]
“You be at ease, they can’t catch me.”
“I’m afraid.” Ning Zhiqing took a bite of the white steamed bun, “Noble Lady Lin, you must be safe, I will listen to you in the future, be well educated, study hard, and then become talented enough to be able to govern as soon as possible. I’ll become the Empress Dowager and protect you for the rest of your life.”
Ah Xin listened to her simple words, the corners of her mouth curved up and she smiled, “Finish your eating and then continue reading, I’ll tell you about the current situation of the Imperial court, and our next plan.”
“Hmm.”
……
“Are those barbarians harassing the people on my border again?” Helian Zheng’s eyebrows were tightly furrowed, “In that case…” General Ning really can’t be recalled, once he is recalled, the border will be chaotic, and he had to wait until the chaos is over before he can recall him.
Helian Zheng frowned, but he immediately thought of a good idea. After the chaos is over, he could call General Ning to reward him No one would doubt him. As long as he come back, won’t it be easy to deal with him?
As for Ning Zhiqing, he won’t demote her status from a noble consort for the time being, lest the matter be spread to the border and will arouse General Ning’s vigilance. Hong Yan’s method didn’t work out, and he couldn’t use the same methods again. He won’t take care of Ning Zhiqing, who used to be lavish, since she would suffer a lot in the cold palace.
At the same time, Bai Xi also received the news, [Those barbarians are no good, making chaos this time, and ruined this consort’s plans.]
[The host doesn’t have to be worried, Ning Zhiqing has been sent to the Cold Palace, and when General Ning is recalled after he quelled the chaos, Helian Zheng will definitely kill him, and once he died, Ning Zhiqing will die as a noble consort, and the host will be able to get the Noble Consort title]
[Can’t I just immediately have the Noble Consort title?] Bai Xi was very dissatisfied with the system since she had to follow the tasks it issued, if she failed to complete the task, she won’t be able to do anything.
[Host, when you become a Noble Consort, there is a big gift package reward, there is something you like very much, birth pills, eat it and you will be able to have a son.]
Bai Xi felt better. [Fine, I’ll wait, if I don’t have a prince, Helian Zheng won’t be anxious, and those old men won’t be anxious, too. It’s really troublesome, I really want to become the Empress Dowager soon, when my son becomes the Emperor, do I still have to care for Helian Zheng?]
In her previous life, she was framed that she had an affair with someone and Helian Zheng ordered her to be killed, just like Hong Yan. She regretted for countless times that she got the pampered consort system, it would be better if it was the female emperor’s system, so that she could achieve her goal, but the system said she couldn’t kill Helian Zheng, otherwise it would be considered a mission failure and would be unbind and be wiped out.
Three months has passed by.
Ning Zhiqing had already found the story about the letter bird, and she was able to understand most contents of that book. After reading the book, Noble Lady Lin didn’t urge her to read and write, but picked up many discarded memorials from somewhere and let her read each of them, and after finished reading, she had to respond, good response would be praised, and poor response would be corrected. She was able to has many views against a problem, but she still didn’t like to read books and the memorials.
She was looking at Ah Xin, who was sitting besides her with closed eyes. Ning Zhiqing liked to see when this Noble Lady Lin smiled at her and saying that her responses were good.
She was particularly curious and squatted in front of Ah Xin, but Ah Xin suddenly opened her eyes and tilted her back.
Ah Xin grabbed her wrist, “Are you done?”
“Hmm.”
“Noble Lady Lin, are you having a nice dream?”
Ah Xin chuckled silently, “Something that’s more wonderful than a nice dream.”
“What is it?”
“Helian Zheng will be thirty.” Ah Xin said indifferently. That day will be a busy day and she will have a very special arrangement for Helian Zheng.
Ning Zhiqing was puzzled, “So what if he will be thirty, why is this considered a happy event?” After a pause, she said. “That day, will they send fresh fruit to the Water Hall? Or maybe they won’t give us any spoiled corn bun, but white flour buns, instead?[3] Isn’t that a good thing? So, Noble Lady Lin doesn’t need to go out to get food.” She has been thinking about it. What if Noble Lady Lin is caught? What would she do? The palace is a place that eats people without spitting out their bones, and Noble Lady Lin is her most important person in the palace.
“Why are you only thinking of food?” Ah Xin smiled gently and held Ning Zhiqing’s hand, “You have been learning a lot, let’s go get another member of our team.”
From a distance, she saw a five-year-old child wearing patchy clothes sitting next to a white-haired concubine, both of them looked very thin and frail.
As she saw them coming, the white haired cold palace consort snatched corn bun from the child’s hand and ran away erratically. The child looked at his empty palm and wailed.
“Do you want to eat well?”
Ah Xin’s voice stopped the five year old’s crying and he answered in a shaky voice, “I want to.”
“Listen to me from now on, and you’ll have enough to eat at every meal.”
The child looked at Ah Xin, as if to determine if it was true or not, “What do I have to do?”
“Be the Emperor.”
The child stared… He was asked to be the emperor, he slapped himself in the face, was he dreaming?
Ning Zhiqing was led back to the house by Ah Xin and was still confused, “Noble Lady Lin, is he the son of Helian Zheng?”
“No, but later, he will be,” A smile was reflected on Ah Xin’s eyes, “I found out that he is the child the Empress secretly gave birth to and she hid him in the cold palace, but he wasn’t Helian Zheng’s son, he is a guard’s. He happened to has a miserable life and a grudge against Helian Zheng. Later, he could avenge his mother and you could avenge yourself, one become the Emperor and the other become the Empress Dowager, isn’t it perfect?”
Ning Zhiqing became silent. “…” ‘Hey, I’m afraid that if Helian Zheng knew, he would be death by angry outburst.’