Familiar Face

Late in the night, the lanterns were not put out in the Phoenix Palace. The patrolling guards on duty turned their heads to look at the brightly lit courtyard and the servants scurrying around even though it was already late at night, wondering why the Master of the palace was still up at this hour. But since it was not a matter of their concern, they turned around and busied themselves with their duty.

Inside the Phoenix Palace, the Empress sat in front of the bronze mirror and her red-tinted nails played with a green jade bracelet between her fingers. Others may not be able to recognize it at a glance, but if one were to look at it carefully, they would be able to see that it was the same bracelet that Bai Yu Yan had supposedly broken in the spring banquet. However, there was not a single scratch on the bracelet in her hand right now.

The Empress's mind went back to the face of Bai Yu Yan that she had not looked at carefully before with close proximity. But at Matriarch Gu's birthday banquet when the girl had kneeled before her, the Empress had been able to take her time scrutinizing her features.

Eyebrows like the distant mountain and the almond eyes under it that was slightly curved at the end which gave her a soft and easygoing temperament, it gave her a strange unsettling feeling like she had seen it before. During the day, she had dismissed the thought, not wanting to delve too much into it but now when she had to be resting at this hour, the thought was digging deeper into her head instead of going away.

"Does niang-niang want this servant to prepare almond milk so that niang-niang can have a good rest after drinking it?" asked a maid seeing the Empress was unable to sleep. She thought the calming effect of almond milk would help her have a better sleep.

"Go and call Xuchi for Bengong. Tell him Bengong wants to see him right now," ordered the Empress without looking at the maid at the side.

Hearing the order, the maid didn't dare delay a moment before bowing her head and rushing outside.

Not long after, a man clad in the palace official's robe followed behind the maid and entered the outer chamber of the Phoenix Palace with lowered head. No matter what, a man should never be allowed inside the chamber of a woman, much less that of the Emperor's woman. However, Xuchi was a eunuch that served the Empress, so even if he entered her chamber, no one would think of it as inappropriate.

"This servant greets Her Majesty, Empress niang niang!" Xuchi bowed his head and greeted in a formal manner. His harmless smiling face hid the fox eyes and his steps were extremely light like that of a trained martial artist but no one would think that a eunuch practiced martial arts.

The Empress did not get up from the divan before the dressing table. Her slender hands flicked which had the maid combing her hair with a fragrant comb to immediately stop her actions and hurriedly leave with the other servants from the chamber with lowered heads.

When everyone had gone out of the room, the Empress opened her mouth and spoke, "The second daughter of the Bai family! Bengong wants to know everything related to her since the day she was born!" said the Empress as she straightened her back and leaned forward to look her face in the bronze mirror. The reflection of the woman in the mirror was an enchanting beauty whose well maintained skin did not have a single wrinkle even at her age.

Suddenly a face of a woman flashed in her mind, stopping the movement of her finger playing with the jade bead. Her eyes subconsciously looked outside the window as if she was looking somewhere. Thinking about the woman that year, the unsettling feeling in her stomach was only growing stronger.

No, it can't be! Impossible! It has already been so many years since that occurrence. .

The pressure in her finger grew stronger that had her unconsciously pull the beads with force, making the string snap. Following it, the little green beads rolled on the ground and the sound brought the Empress back to her senses.

The matter of that year has already been over and she had checked it herself to make sure of it. So there was no way it could be related to that.

When she remembered the incident of that year and the sight she had seen with her own eyes, the Empress found some relief to her wildly beating heart.

Xuchi kneeled on the ground to pick up the rare jade beads which the previous Emperor had given to the Empress. After the last spring banquet, the Empress had been so upset when the second Miss of Bai family had supposedly broken this bracelet that the Empress had not eaten properly for a few days. Seeing this, the Emperor had sent many rare treasures to the Phoenix Palace to appease the Empress. But now when she had actually broken it, there was not even a trace of the furrow in her brows, let alone sadness. But he had been by her side ever since she had married the Emperor and came to the Xin kingdom so her reaction did not come as a surprise to him.

"This servant will oblige. There is one more thing that this servant has to report," said Xuchi as he got up from the ground and carefully placed the beads on the dressing table, only for the Empress to throw it into the trash can without taking a second glance at it.

"Speak!"

"The men of His Excellency have already found Zhang Song and have probably extorted the information from her," reported Xuchi while observing the Empress's expression.

Hearing it, the Empress did not have a hint of worry in her face, not even surprise. She dipped her finger in the rogue paste and lightly dabbed it on her lips while scoffing, "It does not matter even if that woman is caught. It's the Song family's Miss who did everything behind the back. All Bengong did was give a little push to the water so that the boat could sail with ease. So no matter who is found, it cannot be traced back to us," saying, she wiped her finger with a silk kerchief and inspected her work in the mirror, "Even though Bai Yu Yan tried to save herself by giving some stupid excuse, she does not know how much this excuse will cost her in the future. Making clothes for normal people is one thing, but trying to get involved with the army supplies of the kingdom is stepping in muddy water," saying she couldn't help curling her lips.

The Empress had simply wanted to nip Bai Yu Yan's relationship with the Gu family in the bud before it could grow any closer. Right now, the Lu family was her backing just because she was the current Madame Lu. However, if she got the backing of the Gu family on her own, then it would only create trouble, making it difficult for the Empress to move her in the future.

However, after today's incident, if Bai Yu Yan fails to make the winter robe for the soldiers as she had said, she would not only offend the General's family but also the imperial family as her actions would imply that she was casually playing with the army of the kingdom which can compromise the security at the border. As the loyal Prime Minister's family, the Lu family which always looks at the bigger picture for the kingdom, they cannot accommodate such a person after that. Her mind went to the banquet where An Rou was stealing glances at Prime Minister Lu. Thinking about it, her mood visibly improved.

"Has there been any news from Jin recently?" asked the Empress, finally turning to look at the eunuch who was still standing at the same position.

"Not after the last letter," replied Xuchi. He was aware of the matter with Jin kingdom as he was the one who handled the letters and matters of communication so their silence this time made him curious.

Hearing it, the Empress raised her brow in question. This was unusual. Usually, the letter from Jin should have already arrived at this time. She wondered if they encountered any problem.

"Niang niang, should this servant write to them?"

"Don't do anything for the time being. Bengong will wait and see if there will be any news in the coming days," said the Empress with a serious face after which she waved her hand for him to leave.