CHAPTER 572: CHAPTER 572 NIGHTMARE

Today, the court session ended late. When the ministers left the palace, whether on horseback or in sedan chairs, they all noticed that there were very few refugees on the streets.

The Flying Tiger Army escorted the disaster relief porridge and buns out of the city and informed the refugees that from now on, porridge would be distributed outside the city.

The Flying Tiger Army held great prestige among the people.

Marquis Dongxiang, having hidden his identity for fifteen years, rebuilt the Flying Tiger Army by robbing the court and occupying the mountains as a bandit. Who wouldn’t praise Marquis Dongxiang as a true hero?

When the Flying Tiger Army made a statement, they wholeheartedly trusted them.

Even if there was no porridge or buns, just the Flying Tiger Army speaking would probably make more than half of the people follow them.

Without the refugees as a cover, those with ulterior motives naturally became more compliant.

After returning to the mansion, Duke Chong was so angry that he couldn’t stand steadily.

He initially thought causing turmoil in the Capital City would teach the Emperor and Marquis Dongxiang a lesson.

Instead, the Emperor’s self-reproaching edict earned him praise for his literary talent, and the Flying Tiger Army, by leading the refugees out of the city and donating twenty thousand taels, won the people’s hearts.

On the contrary, he lost twenty thousand taels and gained nothing.

Both donated twenty thousand taels, but people only remember the first donor, Marquis Dongxiang, not Duke Chong!

Changchun Palace.

Consort Li reclined on the Imperial Concubine’s Couch, listening to the palace attendant’s report on the matters of the previous court session.

She heard that Marquis Dongxiang led the donation, and the ministers followed suit by donating considerable sums.

Consort Li was secretly angry.

She only had this idea yesterday, and Marquis Dongxiang had already executed it.

Since the officials had all donated, it made no sense to have the madams of those officials come to the palace to donate again.

No one would be willing to be fleeced twice.

A perfect opportunity to please the Emperor was thus missed.

Consort Li felt a sense of melancholy.

However, someone was even more distressed than her.

The Empress also wanted to use this opportunity to create discord between Consort Li and those esteemed madams, but Marquis Dongxiang messed up the plan.

Marquis Dongxiang had no friends at court, not caring whether he offended anyone.

If he feared offending others, he wouldn’t have been a bandit on Qingyun Mountain for fifteen years.

Moreover, he was the commander of the Flying Tiger Army and the most trusted person of the Emperor.

He could easily suppress Duke Chong; who would dare oppose Marquis Dongxiang?

Marquis Dongxiang needed no flattery or to curry anyone’s favor.

But Consort Li was different; she still counted on winning over the officials to help the Third Prince seize the position of Crown Prince.

However, it was clear that Consort Li prioritized pleasing the Emperor.

Of course, there was nothing wrong with this.

Most officials did what pleased the Emperor; if he intended to support the Third Prince, even if Consort Li offended half of the court officials unto death.

Those officials would still find ways to curry favor with Consort Li and the Third Prince.

The Empress was secretly furious, "With Marquis Dongxiang’s family around, it is difficult for me to succeed in my endeavors."

Nanny Zhou chuckled and said, "Empress, why bother about what Marquis Dongxiang does? He pursues his own path, which doesn’t hinder Consort Li from offending those esteemed madams."

The Empress glanced sideways at Nanny Zhou, "Is Consort Li that foolish?"

Nanny Zhou chuckled softly, "Doesn’t it all depend on what you, Empress, intend?"

This harem had been under Consort Li’s control for how long? It’s wishful thinking for her to want to dominate everything single-handedly.

If Consort Li had the intent to hold a banquet to raise donations, just spreading this word would suffice.

At that point, Consort Li would have no choice but to acknowledge it.

The Empress, realizing this, laughed and said, "Let’s proceed this way."

...

Prince Zhenbei Mansion, side entrance.

Lu Qiao entered carrying a bundle.

As expected, she was stopped by the gatekeeping woman.

The gatekeeping woman checked the bundle and, after confirming there was nothing wrong, took a handful of sour plums before letting her pass.

Lu Qiao was angry but dared not speak out.

While holding the bundle, she cast a fierce glare at the gatekeeping woman as she walked away.

As soon as she left, another maid entered and headed straight for the Peony Garden.

Princess Nanzhang was reviewing the accounts.

The maid entered the room but didn’t dare to disturb her and stood far away.

Hong Ying noticed and said to Princess Nanzhang, "Commandery Princess, Caicai has returned."

Princess Nanzhang looked up, "Did you discover anything?"

Caicai hurriedly replied, "This servant followed Lu Qiao all along. She bought sour plums and pastries, and also bought some embroidery patterns, seemingly for making children’s clothes."

"Afraid of being checked by the gatekeeping woman, she hid the embroidery patterns in her chest."

Princess Nanzhang frowned deeply.

The last time it was Caiju who went out; this time, it’s Lu Qiao.

Different maids, but the things they bought and looked at were identical.

The last suspicion was that the sour plums were bought for the Heir’s wife, but this time, after Lu Qiao returned to the mansion, she didn’t head to the Agarwood Pavilion.

Could it be that Lady Chi is pregnant?

That’s impossible.

These days, the Prince hasn’t visited Qingqiu Garden.

The maid sent to watch Qingqiu Garden hasn’t discovered anything either.

"Did she just look at things children like?" Mrs. Zhao asked.

Caicai shook her head, "Not really, Lu Qiao also bought two hairpins for herself, looked at a lot of stalls, and even had a bowl of mung bean soup on the street."

Thinking of the maid from Qingqiu Garden being able to shop around.

She followed her out, but could only watch, causing the maid to feel envious.

Mrs. Zhao waved her hand, and the maid withdrew.

"Make sure the maid keeps a tighter watch," Princess Nanzhang said uneasily.

Qingqiu Garden.

Lu Qiao entered the room with a bundle, crouching and walking very quietly.

The room was cool, especially cool to Lu Qiao who had been under the sun all day.

Xique took the bundle from Lu Qiao’s hand, and Lu Qiao said, "Madam hasn’t woken up yet?"

"Not yet," Xique replied.

"She doesn’t seem to be sleeping well."

Lu Qiao sighed.

Ever since that day the Heir’s wife had a private conversation with Lady Chi, Lady Chi hasn’t slept well.

No one knows what went wrong.

Caiju asked, "Did the gatekeeper give you trouble?"

"She demanded a handful of sour plums," Lu Qiao replied.

Lu Qiao took out the pattern papers hidden in her bosom, but a cry of sorrow startled her so much that she dropped two pattern papers on the floor.

"No!" Lady Chi shouted.

The voice was hoarse, yet filled with grief.

Xique hurried to the bedside.

Only to see tears at the corners of Lady Chi’s eyes, her pillow soaked.

"Madam, did you have a nightmare again?" Xique asked with concern.

Lady Chi’s body was cold.

She had dreamt again of the day the Donglin Prince Mansion was executed.

She hadn’t had such a dream in a long time.

Ever since that talk with the Heir’s wife, she had been dreaming every time she closed her eyes.

Young Master Zhao.

Could Zhao Xu, son of Prime Minister Zhao of Nanliang, be the orphan of her brother?

Back then, Prime Minister Zhao’s sister was betrothed to her brother, but before the marriage could take place, the Donglin Prince Mansion suddenly encountered trouble, and the engagement fell through.

Prime Minister Zhao’s sister, who should have been her sister-in-law, married Prince Ling instead and gave birth to a son ten months later.

The child was Prince Ling’s heir.

No matter how you calculate it, it couldn’t be her brother’s child.

Lady Chi stared blankly at the drapery.

How she wished that a bloodline of the Donglin Prince Mansion still existed in the world.

No matter how she wiped them, the tears wouldn’t dry.

Seeing this, Xique felt heartache. No one knew what Lady Chi was thinking of, but it must have been something that made her sad.

The maids took turns comforting Lady Chi with their words.

"If Madam has any grievances, you can tell the Prince. He will surely help you seek revenge," Xique said.

Lady Chi gave a bitter smile.

Even though the Prince Zhenbei Mansion holds immense power in Daqi, they can’t interfere with the affairs of Nanliang.

She only wanted to know what became of Prime Minister Zhao’s family now.

Throughout the whole afternoon, Lady Chi was in a bad mood, fearing it would affect her pregnancy, Xique gave her a pill to preserve the fetus.

By evening, when it wasn’t so hot, thinking Lady Chi hadn’t been out for a stroll in a long time, Xique suggested going out for a walk.

Seeing the vibrant and colorful blooms in the garden might lift her spirits.

Even if not for herself, she should consider the unborn child inside her.

It was this thought that moved Lady Chi, making her leave Qingqiu Garden.

After strolling around in the garden, her mood indeed improved a lot.

But no one anticipated that after becoming pregnant, Lady Chi’s sense of smell turned sensitive, and she couldn’t stand the fragrance of the garden’s purple orchids.

Their delicate and gentle fragrance was refreshing and pleasant.

The maid even considered moving a pot back to Qingqiu Garden, but upon smelling it, Lady Chi felt suddenly nauseated.

Lady Chi rushed to a rockery to vomit.

The maid followed closely, looking around nervously, afraid someone might see.

Behind a large tree, a small maid in a light green dress witnessed everything.