NCCnovel Chapter 230 Xu Fenghua's Unease
Chapter 230 Xu Fenghua's Unease
into the night.
The inner hall of Huaqing Palace was brightly lit by candlelight.
Xu Fenghua stood alone by the window, gazing at the deep night outside.
The cool moonlight shone on the ginkgo trees in the courtyard, gilding the golden leaves with a silvery edge.
A night breeze rustled the leaves, and a few swirled down, fluttering like butterflies in the moonlight.
She had been standing there for quite some time.
It went on for so long that my legs started to ache, for so long that the teacup in my hand had long since gone cold, and for so long that the moonlight outside the window had moved from the east wall to the west wall.
But she was completely unaware.
Thoughts surged through my mind like a tidal wave.
Qin Mu has been missing for five days.
No, not missing.
It means leaving.
He took Yunluan and left the palace quietly.
She learned about this from Wang Jimin.
Wang Jimin was her most important informant in the palace, and the only person she could still trust.
That day, under the pretext of delivering medicine, he sent his apprentice Lin Wan over, leaving a note in a hidden compartment of the medicine box, informing her that Qin Mu was not in the palace.
Upon hearing the news, Xu Fenghua felt a complex mix of emotions that were difficult to describe.
Logically speaking, she should feel fortunate.
I'm so glad I don't have to face that man anymore, I don't have to endure those humiliating nights anymore, and I don't have to force a smile or fawn over him anymore.
Those days were like a nightmare for her.
Every time I had to serve the emperor, it was a form of torture.
She lay there, letting the man do as he pleased, but the image of her younger brother Xu Longxiang, the vast snowfields of the North, and everything she once possessed kept flashing through her mind.
That feeling was worse than death.
But she didn't die.
She is alive.
To live is to endure, to live is to suffer, to live is to wait for that slim chance, which may never come.
Therefore, she should have breathed a sigh of relief when she learned that Qin Mu had left the palace.
But she didn't.
On the contrary, a strong sense of unease welled up in her heart.
Since they couldn't see Qin Mu, they didn't know what he was doing.
We don't know what he's deploying, what he's plotting, or who his unfathomable methods are aimed at.
This feeling made her restless and unable to eat or sleep.
In recent days, she has stood by the window countless times, gazing in the direction of the Hall of Mental Cultivation.
The place was brightly lit, but there was no one there.
She used every available channel to try to find out Qin Mu's whereabouts.
She used Wang Jimin's line.
That old man from the Imperial Medical Academy has delivered countless messages to her over the years and has never failed.
But this time, even he couldn't find it.
Qin Mu's whereabouts seemed to be shrouded in an invisible fog, and no matter how hard she tried, she could not see a trace of him.
This made Xu Fenghua even more uneasy.
She knows Qin Mu too well.
This man never does anything meaningless.
His departure from the palace for five days must have meant for something extremely important.
What could it be?
Is it related to the departure of Yang?
Is it related to the North?
Or is it related to her mentally challenged younger brother?
Xu Fenghua's fingers slowly tightened on the window frame.
Another troubling image surfaced in her mind.
Jiang Qingxue.
That girl who once laughed like a snow sprite in the Listening Snow Pavilion in the Northern Territory.
That poor person who was personally sent into the deep palace and became a pawn by her.
In the past few days, she has used the excuse of delivering medicine to send notes to Jiang Qingxue several times.
Each time, she would slip tiny, folded pieces of paper under the medicine packet when no one was looking.
Each time, she would write down what she wanted to ask, say, and convey on a piece of paper.
Each time, she waited expectantly for a response.
But every time—
There was nothing there.
Stone sinks into the sea.
There has been no further communication.
Jiang Qingxue did not reply to any of the notes.
Xu Fenghua slowly closed her eyes.
The scene of meeting Jiang Qingxue in Yuxiu Palace that day flashed through his mind.
That day, Jiang Qingxue was dressed in plain white clothes, her face was pale, and her eyes were distant.
She sat there, like a cold, lifeless porcelain vase.
Xu Fenghua still remembers the way he looked at her back then.
But Jiang Qingxue's gaze as she looked back at her was so calm.
It was as calm as a stagnant pool.
But something was clearly hidden deep within that stagnant water.
What is it?
Xu Fenghua opened her eyes.
The moonlight shone on her face, illuminating her dignified yet weary face with exceptional clarity.
Her brows were tightly furrowed, forming a deep "川" (river) shape between them.
In the days that followed, she repeatedly recalled every detail of that meeting.
Every expression, every movement, every word Jiang Qingxue uttered.
She remembered that when she handed the medicine packet to Jiang Qingxue, Jiang Qingxue's fingers trembled slightly as she took it.
The tremor was so slight that it was almost imperceptible.
But she didn't miss it.
She remembered that when her gaze met Jiang Qingxue's, a very faint, almost imperceptible glint flashed deep within Jiang Qingxue's eyes...
What is it?
Guilt? Alienation? Or something else entirely?
She couldn't tell.
But she knew that the innocent and easily understood girl was no longer there.
Instead, she encountered a woman she couldn't understand, a woman who kept herself completely hidden.
The inner palace is like the sea, capable of changing a person deeply.
Jiang Qingxue, on the other hand, had clearly learned how to hide herself in the waves.
Xu Fenghua sighed.
The sigh was soft, yet exceptionally clear in the silent hall.
She recalled the suspicion that was making her increasingly uneasy—
Jiang Qingxue may have changed her mind.
She may have lost all feelings for Xu Longxiang.
It may already be...
No, she wasn't sure.
There is no substantial evidence, only intuition.
But intuition is often more reliable than evidence.
This is the conclusion she reached after six years in Jiangnan.
Those shopkeepers who outwardly treated her with utmost respect, those seemingly loyal and reliable employees, those partners who claimed to stand with the Zhao family through thick and thin…
Many people revealed their true colors based on her intuitive judgment.
And Jiang Qingxue...
Xu Fenghua closed her eyes and took a deep breath.
She had to be sure.
This must be determined before Qin Mu returns.
Otherwise, she would be unable to explain herself to Xu Longxiang.
But if it's really confirmed...
What should she do?
Tell Xu Longxiang?
Xu Fenghua's fingers clenched tightly.
No.
Absolutely not.
Xu Longxiang has already suffered too much trauma.
Those successive blows had already pushed him to the brink of collapse.
If I were to tell him now, even Jiang Qingxue might not be reliable...
She couldn't imagine how Xu Longxiang would react.
He has already endured too much.
We can't add any more burden to him.
At least not until she confirms it.
Xu Fenghua opened her eyes.
Under the moonlight, a resolute glint flashed in those amber eyes.
She slowly turned around and walked out of the hall.
His steps were steady, yet carried a barely perceptible urgency.
"Autumn Moon," she called out.
Qiuyue, the personal maid, hurried over and bowed, saying, "Your Majesty."
"Prepare some medicinal herbs," Xu Fenghua said calmly. "I'm going to Yuxiu Palace to visit Consort Xue."
Qiu Yue paused for a moment, then nodded: "Yes."
She turned and left to prepare the medicinal herbs.
Xu Fenghua stood there, gazing at the deep night outside the hall.
Yuxiu Palace.
Jiang Qingxue.
This time, she had to see things clearly.
We must ask clearly.
must--
I got an answer.
Whatever the answer may be.
The night was deep, and the moonlight was like water.
The lights of Yuxiu Palace shone faintly in the distance.
Xu Fenghua stepped out of Huaqing Palace and onto the palace road leading to Yuxiu Palace.
Behind her, Qiuyue followed closely, carrying a lantern.
The orange glow spread across the bluestone path, illuminating the way forward and also Xu Fenghua's tense face.
She walked very fast.
As autumn approached, I almost had to jog to keep up.
"Your Highness," Qiuyue asked cautiously, "why are you going to Yuxiu Palace so late? Is there something urgent?"
Xu Fenghua did not turn around.
He simply said:
"Go see your sister."
Those four simple words made Qiuyue dare not ask any more questions.
She simply quickened her pace, trying to keep up with Xu Fenghua's.
Along the palace road, the vermilion palace walls gleamed with a dark light under the moonlight.
Those high walls divided the imperial city into countless independent courtyards, trapping the fates of countless people within them.
Xu Fenghua gazed ahead, her heart churning with emotion.
Yuxiu Palace, almost there.
And the answer in her heart will soon be revealed.
She didn't know what awaited her.
But she knew she had to face it.
Because she is Xu Fenghua.
She is the young lady of the Northern Territory, the young mistress of the Zhao family who secretly holds sway over the Jiangnan trade routes, and more—
Xu Longxiang's older sister.
No matter how treacherous the road ahead, no matter how cruel the answer.
She has to keep going.
For the sake of the Xu family.
For the sake of dragons and elephants.
Also for—
The inextinguishable flame in her heart.
The palace gates of Yuxiu Palace stood quietly under the moonlight.
Xu Fenghua took a deep breath and stepped inside.
Inside the Yuxiu Palace, candlelight flickered.
Jiang Qingxue sat on a rosewood couch by the window, holding a book in her hands, but did not turn a single page for a long time.
Her gaze fell on the pages of the book, but she saw nothing.
The scene from that afternoon in the side hall of the Hall of Mental Cultivation kept replaying in my mind.
Zhao Qingxue was suspended in mid-air and beaten repeatedly with a wooden stick by the woman called Sister Hong.
The dull thud of the wooden stick striking flesh echoed repeatedly.
Zhao Qingxue's muffled groans grew increasingly suppressed and faint.
Those deep purple phoenix eyes, through her disheveled long hair, through the tear stains and bloodstains on her face, fell upon her.
In that gaze, there was resignation, sorrow, and self-mockery.
There was also a trace of extremely complex emotion that she couldn't understand.
Jiang Qingxue closed her eyes and took a deep breath.
That image was etched into her mind like a brand, impossible to erase.
She didn't know why Qin Mu treated Zhao Qingxue this way.
I don't know who that woman in red is, or what gives her the right to hit an emperor like that.
I wonder what Qin Mu wanted her to understand by showing her this scene.
All she knew was—
At that moment, a deep fear welled up in her heart.
That fear was stronger than ever before.
Because for the first time she realized so clearly—
Qin Mu was far more terrifying than she had imagined.
He could bring down a high and mighty emperor to this state.
He could allow someone who was once inviolable to be wantonly humiliated by a vulgar woman.
He can make anyone—
Including her—
She became the second Zhao Qingxue.
If he wants to.
Jiang Qingxue's fingers slowly tightened on the pages of the book.
The pages of the book were crumpled from her grip, making a soft "rip" sound.
Jiang Qingxue took a deep breath.
The breath she inhaled was slightly cool, but it couldn't extinguish the complex emotions churning within her.
There is fear.
There is no power.
There was also a trace of dependence on that man that she herself was unwilling to admit.
Despite her hatred, fear, and disgust for him.
But she also knew—
In this deep palace, only he can protect her.
Only he could keep her alive.
This realization filled Jiang Qingxue with a deep sense of sorrow.
Just then—
Footsteps could be heard outside the hall.
It was light and steady, yet exceptionally clear in the quiet night.
Jiang Qingxue raised her head and looked towards the palace gate.