With the drizzle continuing, combined with the fact that it was deep into autumn, the carriage was wet by the rain as it rolled out from the alleyway. The light rain was like a trail of cold tears. The palace gates were grandiose. Looking at it from afar, it seemed like a piece of painting, strikingly beautiful.

The carriage veils were opened, revealing a lanky hand. The lanky hand was white and tender, the nails painted crimson. A violet-gold bracelet was on the wrist, further contrasting with the jade-like complexion.

“Lady,” an old servant knelt by the road as he whispered into the carriage door that was slightly open, “Imperial Doctor Sun is inside taking her pulse.”

With a sway of the carriage, a lady walked out of the carriage. With a beautiful face and gentle smile, she was a beauty. Two maidservants appeared by her side as they opened umbrellas for her. This 30-year-old lady was holding the hand of a child who was six to seven years of age. Even though that child was still young, it was apparent that he was extremely handsome. Seeing her, he smiled. “Mother, I have finished school.”

Yushu smiled gently as she caressed the child’s forehead. “Come, follow mother and visit the Empress.”

The child frowned as though he was reluctant. He pouted and said, “Could Yong’er just wait here for mother?”

“No.” Yushu put on a serious face and shook her head while saying, “Yong’er is a filial child. The Empress is currently not feeling well, you ought to be obedient.”

The child considered this for a while, and finally helplessly nodded. “Fine then.” Even then, he still seemed rather reluctant.

Four years ago, faced with the 800,000 strong Yan Bei army, the Princess surrendered the entire Song Empire to Yan Bei, gaining the position of a noble for the entire Song Territory. With that, she left her own homeland and headed north. These family members of the imperial family also headed to Zhen Huang with the Princess, permanently migrating there.

The Xia Empire’s demise was years ago, and the ruling dynasty had changed to “Yan”. The new Yan Emperor had expanded the palace, making it even more grandiose. In addition, he built an entirely new palace just for the Song Princess, and named it the Dongnan Palace. He allowed the Empress to participate in politics, ruling over various matters in the Song Territories, including any re-appointment of Song officials that were of rank three and below. The main court referred to the Dongnan Palace as the minor Song Court.

Yet, with the decline of the Princess’ health, the palace started to turn quiet. Yushu’s father was amongst the old guards of the Song Empire. In the initial stages of being annexed, Yushu’s father was an important official, but as time passed, the Song officials were increasingly integrated into the main court. With the wise rule of the Emperor, the initial resistance to occupation had vanished. This Dongnan Palace had fallen into disuse.

“Lady Xuan has come.” Aunt Yun was already 60 this year. In the past few years, she had begun to increasingly show her age. With her hair now silver, and wrinkles surfacing, she walked over, smiling, as she bent down to tease the young boy, “Your Highness is becoming so handsome. You will surely become a handsome man like King Xuan.”

Having followed the Empress for a long time, Aunt Yun was held in extremely high regard in the palace. Even for Yushu, she would treat Aunt Yun with the utmost respect. She smiled and asked, “Aunt, how is your health?”

“I am great, thanks to you.”

“How is the Empress?”

“Sigh, she is still the same.” Aunt Yun sighed. As people age, it is only natural to become somewhat talkative. She continued to ramble, “She still eats very little, and does not like to drink medicine. She is so old, yet she still behaves like a child.”

“Yong’er is not afraid of drinking medicine!” Yongwang, who was listening in, suddenly interrupted.

Hearing that, Aunt Yun was ecstatic, and said, “Your Highness, you are really a wonderful man. After going in, you ought to really tell Empress to drink her medicine. Okay?”

“The Empress is awake, and is asking who is here?” A servant suddenly walked over. Yushu nodded at Aunt Yun and went into the palace with Yongwang.

The palace was still the same. Despite the beauty, Yushu always thought that it was too empty here. She could even hear the echo of her footsteps walking in this hall. The Empress liked the quietness, and there were usually very few people by her side. Even in this palace where she lived, there were only a small amount of servants serving her.

Two servants lifted the curtains for Yushu. The shiny crystals knocked against each other, giving out crisp sounds of a collision. Yushu brought Yongwang in and knelt outside the main bedroom while softly speaking.

After a while, a peaceful voice sounded out, and upon closer inspection, one could even hear that there was a bit of strain in breathing. “Yushu? Come in.”

The main palace was rather cold. A decoration by the side was carved with mountains and rivers, giving a particular sense of nature in this empty room. The Empress was dressed in a yellow dress as she sat diagonally on the bed with her hair neatly tied up. There was only one hairpin, with a red ruby stuck onto her forehead.

“Wenyuan, bring them seats.”

A high-class servant walked over, and pulled out a chair for Yushu. Thanking her, Yushu sat down and heard the Empress ask, “How is your family?”

Yushu respectfully replied, “All is well, Your Highness.”

“I heard there was a new teacher. How is Yong’er’s homework?”

“Yong’er is rather young, and is not as smart as the various princes. But this subordinate has hired two private teachers for him so he can somewhat follow along.”

The Empress then lightly coughed, revealing a pale complexion, before replying, “You were educated since young, and naturally know how to bring up your children. Do not be too anxious. After all, Yong’er is still young, there is no need to force him too much.”

( Updated by BOXNOVEL )

With that, they started to chit-chat. Yushu had a rather strange relationship with this Empress. Even though it seemed as though the Empress particularly favored this family, in reality, they were not really related at all. Even though she frequently came to visit the queen, there was ultimately only a few matters to talk about.

After chatting for a good 30 minutes, there was a particular chime from outside. Hearing that, Yushu immediately pulled her son up. Almost immediately, the curtain was lifted up as the Emperor walked in briskly.

“This subordinate greets the Emperor. Long live His Majesty.”

“Yong’er greets the Emperor. Long live His Majesty.”

The Emperor lifted his hand, and with a low voice, he instructed, “Please rise.”

“Thank you, Your Majesty.”

The Emperor casually sat on the bed. As the Empress was currently sick, she greeted him on the bed, before casually asking, “How come the Emperor is so free today?” To which he replied, “I heard from Imperial Doctor Sun that you were not feeling well, so I came over to take a look.”

“Emperor, you take care of so many things daily, I am honored that you still remembered my sickness.”

Yushu lowered her head and felt awkward listening to this formality between the Emperor and Empress. It was inappropriate for her to speak, so she pulled her child next to her while pretending that she was extremely interested.

After speaking with the Empress for a bit, the Emperor turned and asked, “How is your family?”

“Thanks to Your Majesty, all is well.”

“There is a new teacher. Yong’er is still young, how is he keeping up with the homework?”

Yushu was rather taken aback and thought that they were indeed a couple. She hurriedly bowed. “Thank you, Your Majesty, for your concern. He can barely keep up.”

The Emperor nodded, and asked about some other matters. Suddenly, he spoke to Cao Qiu who was serving him, “Bring the bow that was just given to us as a tribute. Yong’er will be eight-years-old soon, and it is about time he learns some martial arts. Xuan Mo was adept at martial arts, particularly with the bow and arrow. Like father, like son. I believe Yong’er will not disappoint me.”

Cao Qiu quickly walked over with a case. Yushu got up and thanked him profusely. The Emperor was here to visit the Empress, but why would he bring a bow and arrow? Did he know that Yushu would bring Yong’er into Palace?

All these years the Emperor had indeed treated their family well. No matter what kind of benefits, he had never forgotten about them. The Emperor had not treated them with any carelessness despite the fact that their family did not have a male at the head of their household. This point alone was enough for many in the court to start gossiping. In addition, the Emperor had always talked about Xuan Mo in a very familiar manner, yet according to Yushu’s knowledge, they had never met before.

At that moment, there were countless thoughts flashing through her head. Yushu took the case, and Yong’er, who was beside her, was particularly happy, as he bowed while smiling, “The Emperor really treats Yong’er nicely.”

The Emperor revealed a rare glimpse of a smile as he stood up and said, “I still have some court matters to attend to. You should accompany the Empress some more.” With that said, he left.

The moment the Emperor left, the Empress started coughing more vigorously, seemingly rather fatigued.

Wenyuan asked something quietly, before helping the Empress to change into pajamas. Seeing how the conversation slowed to a trickle, and that the Empress was tired, Yushu stood up and bid her farewell. The Empress did not try to hold them back, and merely informed the servants to give them some presents that were already prepared.

In the narrow alleyway, Yushu sat in the carriage as she hugged Yong’er. As the carriage moved, the rain fell on the carriage with a pitter-patter sound. Yushu’s emotions were in an upheaval. After thinking about it carefully, she realized that it seemed as though every time she entered the palace, she would chance upon the Emperor. It was as though each time she visited the Empress, the Emperor would just be there visiting the Empress. In fact, someone of her status should usually not see the Emperor.

She suddenly felt uneasy, as she thought about how the Emperor talked about her husband, and she could not help but feel suspicious.

She suddenly opened the carriage doors and spoke to Jiang Wu, “Jiang Wu, is His Highness really good at bow and arrows?”

Jiang Wu was slightly taken aback, and did not expect that she would suddenly mention this. He quickly replied, “His Highness was naturally familiar with all weapons, but his skills with the sword were the most well known. Speaking about bow and arrows, the Empress was also rather skilled with those.”

Yushu frowned, and a thought flashed in her mind. Yet it was but a flash, and she did not catch hold of that train of thought. She nodded, and closed the carriage doors.