A dark look flashed across the internal attendant’s eyes. “Your Highness, do you recognise me?”
Li Baolin refocused as she smiled slightly and took the fan. She spoke smartly, “I am looking at you because I don’t recognise you. You do not look familiar, did you just enter the palace?”
The internal attendant smiled and replied, “I have been in the palace for the past seven to eight years. However, I have always been serving the various chiefs in the Internal Attendant Department and did not have the fortune to send things or messages to the various concubines. As a result, I have never really shown my face to Your Highnesses and no one really recognises me.”
Li Baolin pretended to come to a realisation. “No wonder. Then why are you in the Imperial Garden today instead of the Internal Attendant Department?”
“Your Highness, look at the weather recently, it is as if it had seen a ghost. It can be extremely sunny one moment and be flashing with lightning the next. It rains like it is pouring water. Chief Cao was worried that the road would be slippery and Your Highnesses would slip and fall. Hence, he instructed me to check the various small paths to see if there are any that needs to be repaired or swept and quickly report them.”
Li Baolin praised him. “You look young but seem pretty capable.”
The internal attendant was no longer on guard. “In the royal palace, if we are not capable, the days will not be easy. I don’t want to hide from you but I am also good at pruning flowers and trees. In the future, if Your Highness needs any help, feel free to call me.”
Li Baolin remained friendly. “You speak really well. What is your name?”
“My name is Zhi He.”
Outside Ganlou Palace, the Emperor was standing under the roof as he watched the pouring rain. Fu Rou walked up to him and greeted him politely, “Thank you for being lenient and forgiving Consort Liang, Your Majesty.” Deep down, everyone knew the intention of Grand Prince Liang’s final letter.
“What a huge spring rain to start a good year.” The Emperor drew out a long breath. “Grand Prince Liang was Grand Emperor’s favourite son. He was arrogant, ruthless, reckless and treated women like weeds. Yet, he was willing to admit to his mistakes before he died. I am certain that he doesn't truly feel like he has done me wrong but he just wanted to save Lu Yingying. That is why he purposely sucked up to me.”
“Your Majesty…” Fu Rou did not know what to say.
“It doesn’t matter if he was real or was pretending, after all he was willing to admit to his mistakes. He has been preposterous his entire life. However, in the end, he knew how to love a woman and tried his best to protect her. As his elder brother, I am heartened.” The Emperor turned and walked into Ganlou Palace.
Fu Rou bowed deeply towards the Emperor’s back before lifting her umbrella and walking down the steps. She walked through the pathway and listened to the sound of raindrops falling on the oiled paper umbrella. It was rare that she was feeling happy. She was not Lu Yingying and did not experience what Lu Yingying had gone through, but had learned to strive to remain as herself.
When she was about to reach the Six Offices, the rain subsided to a drizzle. Fu Rou lifted the umbrella slightly and suddenly saw Li Baolin standing in front of her, with a serious look on her face.
“I have something to tell you.” Li Baolin pulled Fu Rou back to her Huayin Palace.
After Fu Rou listened to her, she felt anxious. “Why didn’t you tell me something so important earlier?”
“Prince Zhao’s rebellion and his exposed secret letter is something that heavily implicates anyone who is even slightly involved. In the past, I would never have gotten involved.”
Fu Rou laughed, “Then what gave you the courage now?”
Li Baolin became awkward. “I forced myself. The royal palace is so big and there are so many internal attendants. Yet, I happened to bump into him in the Imperial Garden. I don’t know if he knows something and was trying to test me. I am afraid that I would be silenced before I can say anything.”
“You have done well.” Fu Rou rejoiced that she was quick-witted. “Did you see him purposely throw the letter onto the ground before alerting the guards to it?”
Li Baolin nodded definitively. “In order to catch the attention of the guards, he threw a stone to make a sound.”
Fu Rou fell silent for a while. “I understand. I will handle it.”
Li Baolin was worried. “Be careful, the Internal Attendant Department is quite powerful. It will not be good if the Six Offices go against them.”
Fu Rou smiled slightly, “He is just a low-ranked internal attendant, why would I go against the entire Internal Attendant Department?”
Chapter 86.2: Hope
Prince Zhou was reading in his study room. He had been feeling agitated and only reading could bring him peace.
An internal attendant reported that Fu Shui was seeking an audience. Prince Zhou was not in a good mood. “I don’t want to see him.”
Fu Shui entered as if there was no one around. “Greetings, Your Highness.”
Prince Zhou mocked, “I am feeling healthy and don’t need an Imperial Physician. Or do you want to give another good idea on how to rise in the ranks and need me to be unconscious for a few days so that you can give me acupuncture?”
Fu Shui looked to the left and right of the door before closing it. “Aunty knows that you have not been feeling great…”
“You know that she is your…” Prince Zhou lowered his voice, “You know she is your aunt. All the more you should not take a risk with her life!”
“It is not that I want to push the blame. However, although the idea was mine, the entire plan was approved by Aunty. She knew the risk.” Fu Shui’s expression did not change. “In order to help you inherit the kingdom, Aunty was willing to take any risks.”
“Kingdom, kingdom…” Prince Zhou snorted, “In all of your eyes, all you all see is the kingdom. There is no kinship.”
Fu Shui was stern, “Your Highness is wrong. For Your Highness, Aunty was willing to take the risk. This is kinship. We, the descendants of the surname Yang [1] , have to take back the kingdom that belongs to Great Sui. This is the greatest kinship to our ancestors. If Your Highness does not even know this, how can you live up to the humiliation that Aunty has suffered over the past years?”
Prince Zhou chuckled coldly, “Do you really understand?”
Fu Shui sighed, “Yes! I understand! Ever since my father named me Fu Shui, I existed only to do one thing - to restore Great Sui’s glory. Nothing and no one will be able to move me.”
Prince Zhou looked at Fu Shui for a moment before speaking slowly, “Chang’an is in chaos. Prince Han managed to escape assassination and turned back to catch the Crown Prince. After you heard the news, the first thing that you chose to do was to tell Prince Han the truth that the Crown Princess was the one that killed Consort Han.”
Fu Shui froze as his expression shifted slightly.