Chapter 49 - 049: Cold Palace

The Cold Palace was desolate and dilapidated.

As soon as Sang Yan entered, she saw a flock of crows flapping away, while several rats scurried about on the ground in disarray.

Ah.

One bite from those things, who knows what kind of virus it could spread!

She froze in fear, gesturing to Qiuzhi to quickly scare them away with something.

During the delay, the people inside heard the noise and ran out.

There were many concubines in the Cold Palace.

Their clothes were disheveled, their hair in a mess, their faces a mix of despair and madness.

“Ha ha, someone else has come.”

“Ouch, this sister is so beautiful, how could the Emperor bear to throw her down here?”

“I heard that tyrant has some strange disease, can’t even touch women, ha ha, he can only look but can’t eat, how much affection could there be?”

“One night as husband and wife brings a hundred days of grace, after a hundred days the bond is as deep as the sea, Emperor, don’t you want your concubine anymore? Your concubine misses you so much.”

…

Someone pinched their fingers into a graceful pose and began to sing and dance.

Then, a group of concubines circled around her.

The scene, with its singing and dancing mixed with crying and laughing, was like some kind of ritual, strange and unsettling.

“Da He is finished.”

“The tyrant will have no offspring.”

“Ha ha ha, heaven has eyes, there is no resentment in the world. Enough, I will go too.”

The woman laughed and went to bang her head against the wall.

Fortunately, someone stopped her: “Sister, you’re leaving too early, the good times should be witnessed with your own eyes.”

The woman was persuaded, covering her tears, sitting on the steps and weeping.

Sang Yan watched with an unsettling feeling: Is this the fate of those in the Cold Palace? Driven mad by misery.

“Lord Sang—”

Yun Qiao called out in surprise at that moment.

She was taking care of Consort Xuan and came out to check when she heard a noise, never expecting to see their lifesaving benefactor.

“Lord Sang, are you here to see my Lady? Please, come in—”

Yun Qiao warmly encouraged her to enter with a smile.

In the side hall

A basin of ice was unable to dissipate the heat.

The stifling air was thick with the bitter scent of medicine, suffocating.

Consort Xuan, once untouchable, lay on her bed weakly, covering her mouth with a handkerchief, coughing, “Yun Qiao, who is it?”

Her voice was hoarse and feeble.

“Lady, it’s the kind-hearted Lord Sang.”

Yun Qiao carried a cup of water and handed it over.

Sang Yan followed, her nerves on edge, and slowly stood in front of Consort Xuan—

Consort Xuan looked a bit like a modern Uyghur beauty, with fair skin, big eyes, a high nose bridge, bold and beautiful features, especially alluring.

And Xuanrao’s family came from Xinjiang.

Thus, the two bore an eight parts resemblance to each other.

However, Consort Xuan must have had a hard time in the Cold Palace, and on top of that, she was severely ill; upon closer inspection, she looked rather gaunt and worn.

Even her fair skin was dry and pale like paper.

But these were enough to stir Sang Yan.

Was this really just a coincidence?

Sang Yan’s hands shook with excitement, and she had to clench her fists to stay calm: She couldn’t directly ask if she had time-traveled. So, how did time-travelers signal each other?

“Miss Sang?”

Consort Xuan called out to Sang Yan and then began to cough again.

Sang Yan, feeling pity, asked first, “Are you… alright? Should we call for the Imperial Physician to take a look?”

Consort Xuan shook her head with a smile, “It’s nothing. The Imperial Physician said that my illness will take some time to heal. Oh, right, I haven’t yet thanked you for summoning the Imperial Physician and saving my life.”

As she spoke, she beckoned Yun Qiao to help her up, intending to get out of bed to express her gratitude.

Sang Yan saw her intention and quickly stopped her, “No need, no need, it was just a minor effort on my part.”

She stepped forward and pressed her back onto the bed, “Please lie down, if there is anything you need, you can tell me.”

Consort Xuan did not express her own needs, but instead asked, “Miss Sang, is there something you came here for?”

Although she was ill and her head burned with confusion, she was still keenly astute.

Seeing this, Sang Yan did not hide anything and truthfully said, “I’m here because I wish to ask a question.”

She struggled to suppress her excitement, controlling her tone, now truly understanding what ancient poets meant when they wrote “as home draws nearer, the more timid I feel, not daring to inquire of those I meet.”

Little did she know that her behavior, seen as coy by Consort Xuan, led to a misunderstanding.

“I don’t blame the Emperor for my current plight.”

“?”

Sang Yan was about to ask her question but was caught off guard: What does this have to do with the Emperor?

Consort Xuan continued, “I’ve heard a lot about you from Yun Qiao, cough, cough, that Princess Consort Li and the others were able to leave due to your plea to the Empress Dowager on their behalf. You show no jealousy towards us. You must have no interest in the harem. Cough, cough, cough, yet you still hold the Emperor’s favor.”

As she mentioned the Emperor, her eyes revealed a hint of sorrow, which then turned into a resigned smile, “The Emperor is an extremely tyrannical and dominant person, loving intensely as if wishing life, and hating deeply as if wishing death, cough, cough, cough. You are both lucky and unlucky.”

Sang Yan: “…”

Sister, you’re getting off-track.@@novelbin@@

Can we not talk about men?

Consort Xuan kept speaking, “You cannot escape it. However, cough, cough, cough, why would you want to escape, anyway? The Emperor is also a man who may be worth a lifetime commitment. It’s because I was not strong enough.”

Sang Yan scratched her head, wanting to interject, but seeing her eager to share her heart’s words, sighed, this Cold Palace is really not a place for people to stay.

“My predicament is not because the Emperor is heartless, cough, cough, cough, it’s because I lacked the fortune. You don’t need to look at us pitiable ones and wonder if you will face the same one day. The Emperor won’t treat you that way.”

“…”

You’re so certain!

Where do you see that the Emperor wouldn’t treat me the same way?

“You must be very curious why I say this?”

She seemed to have read her thoughts, playfully laughing, “I just know. And I won’t tell you.”

Sang Yan: “…”

Ah, I really am curious!

She felt that Consort Xuan was playing a role, and when the act was over, she said, “Actually, you’ve misunderstood. My question isn’t about the Emperor.”

Consort Xuan was startled, “It isn’t? Then what is it about?”

Seeing this, Sang Yan faintly felt that her hope was vanishing, but still asked persistently, “Do you know… what comes before the line ‘the token observes the quadrant’?”

“The token observes the quadrant?”

Consort Xuan’s puzzled look in her eyes left Sang Yan with a chill in her heart.

She did not know.

She was not her best friend, Xuanrao.

This world simply lacked her companion.

“Is this some famous poem? I’m sorry, I’ve been in the Cold Palace for too long, no longer knowing what the outside world is like.”

Consort Xuan’s bitter smile and self-mockery shattered her illusions.

Sang Yan stepped back in disappointment, her expression becoming dejected, “Strange change does not, the token observes the quadrant.”

Consort Xuan asked in confusion, “What does that mean?”

Sang Yan felt utterly disheartened, and without explaining, said, “It’s late at night. You should rest well. I must go back.”

Consort Xuan heard this and did not stop her, letting Yun Qiao escort her out.

Yun Qiao, having witnessed the whole process, was also puzzled, “Lord Sang, you came here just to ask about a line of poetry?”

Sang Yan looked up at the moonlight and murmured, “I wanted to ask about other things too, but unfortunately—”

She was not her best friend, Xuanrao.

No matter how many questions she had, she could no longer ask them.

The three of them started walking out.

Suddenly, a figure sprang out, dirty hands viciously clutching Sang Yan’s throat, and a ferocious scream pierced the air, “The Emperor is mine! You whore! Die! Die!”