Chapter 24: In Front of the Cold Palace

Both of them tiptoed, clutching a branch as thick as two fingers, and stretched their heads close to a bird's nest to look inside. The bird inside had just hatched not long ago, its eyes still unopened. Hearing the noise, it opened its mouth, chirping, but the bush was not tall.

"What bird is this?" Lian Hua asked.

"This servant has seen it before. In my hometown, this bird is called Qing Si. When it grows up, its feathers are long and blue."

"Qing Si? That's a nice name. Is it tasty?"

"Ah, this servant doesn't know, I've never eaten it. This bird isn't big, and it has very little meat."

"I see~" That's rather disappointing.

"Young Master, do you want to take it back and raise it?" Xiao Qing asked.

"No, Xiao Qing, that's not right. The little bird was peacefully staying on the tree, spending every day with its mother. How could we separate them? That would be too cruel." Lian Hua shook her head, let go of the branch, and prepared to leave.

"Oh..." Last time when they found that nest of eggs, the Young Master hadn't said that; back then, wasn't it about helping the mother bird lighten her load? Xiao Qing scratched his head.

Just then, a noisy commotion came from the path leading to the Cold Palace not far away.

Lian Hua stopped, curious, "What's that noise?"

Xiao Qing ran forward a few steps and peered ahead, "Young Master, it seems there's a group of people coming over there, I don't know what they're doing?"

"Let's go and see."

As they approached, the noise grew louder, and when they were still some steps away, Lian Hua stopped.

She saw several people escorting a woman smeared in blood, walking toward the direction of the Cold Palace with her back towards them.

The woman was wearing a prisoner's uniform, her hair unkempt and tangled. The uniform bore multiple stripes of bloodied whip marks, many of which were torn, revealing lacerated flesh beneath, blurred with blood. She wore shackles on her feet and was handcuffed by two eunuchs, walking between two plump nannies, with an old eunuch carrying a dust whisk not far behind them dragging on the ground, marking the path with chain scrapes of the shackles.

This woman looked frantic, shouting wildly as she walked, "You lowly servants, I want to see His Majesty, let me go, I want to see His Majesty..."

As she vigorously struggled, the eunuchs holding her nearly lost their grip several times.

An old nanny beside her shrieked, "Consort, just give up hope. For such a serious crime, His Majesty spared your life without implicating your family, which is already a great mercy. Stop making trouble." While speaking, she yanked the woman's hair and then said to the eunuchs, "Hold on tight; if she escapes and collides with any noble in the palace, be careful of your own hides."

Xiao Qing, having never witnessed such a scene, was scared and tugged Lian Hua's sleeve, "Young Master, let's go." But the person beside him did not react.

Lian Hua stared blankly at the woman, the scene seemingly familiar to her, bloodstains... prisoner's uniform... shackles...

Seeing that the Young Master was unmoved as if he still wanted to continue watching, Xiao Qing, despite feeling uncomfortable, stood still.

Just then, there was a sudden twist. The woman, bending low, no longer restrained by the grip on her arms, managed a forceful twist, and with a crack that sounded like breaking bones, her arms were twisted 180 degrees. Terrified, the eunuchs released their hands, and the woman took the opportunity to break free and started running back in the direction of Lian Hua and the others.

The two plump nannies were shocked and hurriedly reached out to grab her, only touching the edge of her garment without securing her, which caused them great anxiety.

The woman, with her arms drooped, desperately ran backward. After running a few steps, the old eunuch following behind swiftly blocked her path, and with the handle of the dust whisk, struck her on the head, knocking her down to the ground: "Not putting you in a cangue was already saving your face, don't act shamelessly. Someone, gag her and carry her away; see if she can still run."

The old eunuch ordered people to quickly drag her away to prevent further disturbances, and before leaving, he glanced over at Lian Hua and her group from afar, bowed, and then followed.

This sudden event scared Xiao Qing, causing him to step back and hide behind Lian Hua, clutching her arm tightly.

Meanwhile, Lian Hua continued to stare at the woman, her expression terrifyingly calm, even indifferent.

Xiao Jizi had heard the commotion on their side, and when he arrived, he saw Lian Hua's expression off, and his heart skipped a beat, thinking something was wrong, why did the Young Master witness the Deposed Consort's condition, hoping it wouldn't scare the Young Master, truly bad luck.

This woman, indeed, involved in the palace's embezzlement case and colluding with the Bureau of Palace Attendants, was Jieyu Wei, stripped of her concubine rank and thrown into the Cold Palace, something Xiao Jizi was aware of, but he did not know she was being transported to the Cold Palace today, and it was unfortunate that the Young Master happened to witness it. Had he known, he would have died trying to prevent the Young Master from coming.

Xiao Jizi hurried to Lian Hua, bowed deeply to the ground: "This servant deserves to die for arriving late and failing to protect the Young Master."

Then he raised his head and scolded Xiao Qing harshly: "Xiao Qing, how could you allow the Young Master to see such filthy things, what if it scares the Young Master?" The tone was both angry and anxious.

Xiao Qing was taken aback, as Xiao Jizi was always smiling and good-tempered, occasionally teasing him without him ever complaining; he had never seen him so stern.

Yet Lian Hua remained as if she heard nothing, keeping her posture motionless.