Climbing on the Sparrow Branch – CH 800

Chapter 800: Struggle

The news of the Empress Dowager’s death shocked everyone present.

If she died at this time, would Yun Xingbang not bear all the blame?

For a moment, An Zhi even suspected that the Empress Dowager had done it on purpose.

She had originally wanted to take this opportunity to ask the Empress Dowager for the antidote formula, but the Empress Dowager’s sudden death caught her completely off guard.

The group entered the inner hall together, where eunuchs and palace maids were already kneeling in two rows.

Only Li Ji, a member of the imperial family, was present, so he had to step forward to confirm whether the Empress Dowager had truly passed away.

Li Ji frowned. He had never liked the Empress Dowager, and he did not care whether she was alive or dead. So he quickly glanced at her and sent someone to send a message to the capital.

“There are still matters outside. Minister Pei, please take charge here,” Li Ji said and left.

Pei Que was left behind. He had no choice but to instruct people to begin preparing for the Empress Dowager’s funeral. At the same time, he also hoped to find the antidote formula among those left behind by the Empress Dowager.

An Zhi followed the others to the side hall of the main hall. The noblewomen had all returned, and many were stunned to hear that the Empress Dowager had passed away.

Madam of Cheng took An Zhi aside. One of them was the most prestigious among the noblewomen, and the other was the most famous.

“An Zhi, how much do you know about the Empress Dowager and Yun Xingbang?” Madam of Cheng asked hesitantly. If Yun Xingbang’s matter was related to the Empress Dowager, then how to bury her would be another matter entirely. But saying it was fine would not convince the public, since the Empress Dowager had always been quite kind to her younger brother, Yun Xingbang.

If the Empress Dowager were still alive, things would be easier. But now that she’s dead, any further investigation would inevitably accuse the new Emperor of being cruel and unfilial to his stepmother.

An Zhi truthfully told Madam of Cheng, “I never expected it to turn out like this. Yun Xingbang was so insane as to poison the Empress Dowager. This concerns the royal family’s reputation. What do you think?”

Madam of Cheng also found it difficult. She was an old hand who had served several emperors, but even she did not know what to do in this situation. After careful consideration, she decided it was best to leave the matter to the court.

“Let’s not think about it. It’s not like we are going to court. Let’s leave it to the men,” Madam of Cheng sighed.

An Zhi softly hummed in agreement, then saw Dowager Consort Xue appear at the palace gate, her feelings becoming complicated.

While Xue Mengyao was indeed cunning, she had never harmed her and had even saved her in a critical moment. Thinking of Xue Mengyao’s later schemes, An Zhi felt a lingering fear.

Xue Mengyao also saw An Zhi. She sent Bi He to call An Zhi over, saying she had something to say to her.

As An Zhi walked towards Xue Mengyao, she heard many noblewomen thanking her, saying that without Xue Mengyao’s help, they might have been in danger.

Hearing the noblewomen’s gratitude, An Zhi could not help but admire Xue Mengyao’s shrewdness.

“Greetings to Her Highness the Noble Consort,” An Zhi said, bowing.

“Madam of Pei, there’s no need for such formalities. I called you over because there are some arrangements I do not understand, and I wanted to ask you. I wonder if Madam of Pei has the time?”

An Zhi had plenty of time right now. Since Xue Mengyao asked this, she must have something else to say.

She followed Xue Mengyao out of the main hall. After turning a few corners, the surroundings became quiet.

Xue Mengyao stopped beneath a bamboo grove and whispered, “You know everything now, do you not?”

“Maybe I know some things, or maybe I’m wrong,” An Zhi replied vaguely.

“Then you know. You’re so smart; you must have guessed everything from when you asked Bi He.” Xue Mengyao sighed deeply, her delicate brows furrowing and relaxing. She was strikingly beautiful; otherwise, the Xue family would not have sent her to the palace. “An Zhi, do you think I’m heartless?”

After being discovered by Yun Xingbang, she used him against his will, and during this time, to maintain a good reputation, she found the perfect opportunity to rescue others.

Xue Mengyao’s background was only average in the capital. The Xue family had once been powerful but had been declining for decades. It seemed the Xue family was about to lose its voice among the aristocratic families. Sending Xue Mengyao to the palace allowed them a few years of respite.

But the ordinary ladies of the court looked down on Xue Mengyao, a pawn of a fallen noble family. The more cynical ones would say she was only marrying the old Emperor because of her lowly fate; even the kinder ones would only offer a few words of pity.

However, now that Xue Mengyao had saved their lives and given her constant suppression by the Yun family and the Empress Dowager, no one would suspect that she might one day be involved in such machinations.

An Zhi truly admired such cunning.

An Zhi put herself in Xue Mengyao’s shoes; if she were in Xue Mengyao’s position, she might retaliate even more fiercely.

Do not advise others to be kind if you have not experienced their suffering.

An Zhi shook her head. “It’s already incredibly difficult for Your Highness to navigate the inner palace alone. Everyone wants a peaceful life, but some are destined to live on the edge.”

“Yes, I’m terrified with every step I take. I often wonder why I have to suffer like this,” Xue Mengyao laughed self-deprecatingly. “When I first entered the palace, I endured it for my family, for my parents. But what happened later? When I begged them for help, they did not offer a single word of comfort, afraid I’d be a burden to them. An Zhi, compared to me, you’re lucky; at least someone cares about you. But I truly only have myself.”

An Zhi nodded in agreement. She had Pei Que, who loved her, and her brother and uncle, who protected her. But Xue Mengyao truly had nothing.

Xue Mengyao sighed, “To tell you the truth, before my marriage, I always thought I would marry Pei Que; after all, we were childhood sweethearts. But later, I learned he was not interested in me, and the Xue family wanted me to enter the palace, so I had to hide my feelings. At the palace banquet, when I watched Pei Que lead you into the main hall, I was truly envious of you. But I also knew that from the moment I entered the palace, there would be no possibility between Pei Que and me anymore.”

An Zhi had already guessed some of this, but hearing Xue Mengyao say it herself was still quite unexpected.

Xue Mengyao took a breath and continued, “Later, when Emperor Hui ascended the throne, I was subjected to all sorts of difficulties by the Empress Dowager. Life in the deep palace was terrifyingly long. The thing I regret most in my life is entering the palace. I’ve been thinking, if I had married an ordinary man, would things have been better?”

Hearing this, An Zhi wanted to shake her head, but she held back.

Xue Mengyao answered her own question, “At first I thought it was possible, but then I thought it was not. Even marrying an ordinary person does not guarantee a good man. If I marry a philandering husband, the women in the inner quarters will fight like crazy, no better than in the palace. And all that fighting is for a man’s little bit of favor. An Zhi, in all my experience, your marriage is the most enviable, but you’re in the minority. I do not think I will be that lucky.”

“So later I realized that to live a good life, it’s not about wholeheartedly pleasing a man but about having power yourself. This world has too many rules for women, and I want to struggle and fight for it.”

“An Zhi, do you want to join me?”