Rebirth of the Empress

Chapter 8

For a few days I was worried that the emperor would suddenly appear, but I realized that my worries were a little redundant, put down my heart and I began to enjoy my queen's life again with a big grin.

On this day, I led Dong'er to wander around again, and when I turned into a remote place, I could vaguely hear some miserable whimpering sounds.

How could there be crying sounds in this palace, I stared at Dong'er suspiciously, Dong'er's little face revealed panic, and hurriedly said, “Your Highness, let's go somewhere else to stroll.”

“What is this place, where is the crying coming from?” I stood unmoved.

“Yes, it's the Cold Palace, Your Highness let's quickly leave this place lest we be exposed to bad luck!” Dong'er was on the verge of bursting into tears.

I glared at her with dissatisfaction and dragged her hard in the direction of the cries, the further I walked the colder it became, even the flowers and trees seemed to be infected with the bleakness of the neighborhood growing sparsely.

“Stop, what kind of people are you, how dare you break into the Cold Palace!” A eunuch saw us and immediately pulled a sharp and thin voice and shouted loudly.

“Have you blinded your dog's eyes, not recognizing that this is the Empress?” Dong'er had followed me for a while and had practiced being bold, yelling out indignantly.

The eunuch bowed to me in a panic: “I didn't know it was the Empress, Empress forgive me!”

“Get up!” I showed him the courtyard behind him, “Let the mourning family in!”

“This, this ...... “ The eunuch hesitated.

“Hurry up!” I snapped.

“Yes! Your Highness, let the lackeys protect you, lest they hurt you!” The eunuch panicked and opened the way in front.

Walking into this courtyard I froze, full of depression and desolation, withered leaves facing the wind hovering and hovering in the air. Three or two women sitting on stone benches, the same messy hair, the same stagnant eyes, the same expressionless face, and some women saw us come in dementedly smiling, miserable and crying. I froze in the face of the situation in front of me, such an environment needless to say closed for life, light closed for a day, I will go crazy.

“How many people are in this cold palace?” I asked dully.

“Back to Your Highness, these cold palaces combined, there are two to three hundred people!” The eunuch replied respectfully.

Leaving the Cold Palace, I froze and sat in my own palace fuming, I was pondering how to utilize the power in my hands to make a way for these women to live, perhaps this would get me into trouble, but I originally didn't belong to this era, so even if I die, I don't feel any regrets ah!

In the next few days, I started to get busy, looking for different guards, palace maids, eunuchs and even eunuchs to understand all kinds of situations. This busyness made me feel that the old vigor and fighting spirit had returned.

On this day on the palace road, a ray of morning light reflected in the sky. As I walked hurriedly, Dong'er trotted along yelling, “Your Highness, slow down!”

A little later, I grabbed out Eunuch Li, who was in charge, and ordered loudly, “Bring all the palace maids and eunuchs here to go to the Cold Palace with me.”

“Your Highness, what are you doing?” Eunuch Li stared incredulously.

“Come with me, cut the crap!” I reprimanded. I then led a large troop of people to the Cold Palace with great vigor.

Entering the Cold Palace, the women in the Cold Palace saw so many people coming in and panicked so much that they scurried around, the palace was in chaos. I frowned, gritted my teeth, and shouted, “Palace maids, clean up the courtyard, don't follow the scurrying, now eunuchs drive those women into the house for me!”

Although the eunuchs and palace maids were doubtful, but seeing my serious expression, they obediently followed my words. With everything in place, I began to reorganize the women in this cold palace. First of all, it is the woman who has gone crazy locked into the more remote cold palace, then it is the wrong concubines and palace maids, and finally left behind is some of the concubines of the previous dynasty and other. After a long day of work, I almost lost my voice.

Cold Palace finally looks less cluttered although there is still a hint of depression. And the women in the Cold Palace seemed to see that I didn't mean any harm and were no longer so alarmed.

The women slowly gathered to my side and one of them timidly asked, “Are you really the Empress?”

I smiled and nodded my head, saying loudly, “I am the Empress, so I am going to do what I can to improve your lives, you must believe me!”

As soon as the words fell, the women in the front kneeled down and the women in the back followed suit, shouting loudly, “The Empress is a thousand years old and a thousand years old!”

Returning to my palace, it was already evening, as soon as he saw me, Xiaozhuzi cried and said, “My good mother, finally expect you to come back, the empress dowager's side has come to urge you several times!”

“Got it!” I cheer up and take Dong'er and Xiaozhuzi to go to the Empress Dowager's place, it seems that there is another battle to be fought.

In the Empress Dowager's inner palace, I stood in silence, the atmosphere was a bit suffocating.

The empress dowager deeply gauged me, the emperor sat aside expressionlessly, and the standing Consort Rong gloated and smiled at me.

“Empress, do you realize what you did wrong today?” The Empress Dowager spoke slowly and methodically.

I respectfully hung my head, “I would like to listen to the Empress Dowager's teachings!”

“Teach?” The Empress Dowager's aged voice was cold, “The entire Cold Palace was turned upside down by you, you made such a big mess, how can I still teach you?”

“Back to the empress dowager, I just straightened up this cold palace today, of course I unintentionally alarmed the empress dowager emperor.” I narrated in a low and slow manner.

The Empress Dowager's gaze was gloomy and cold as she coldly said, “How do you think you should be punished?”

I replied lightly, “Just punish my concubine to move to the Cold Palace!”

As soon as the words fell, the calm masks of everyone in the palace were removed, the Empress Dowager froze and was speechless, and the Emperor, who had been silent all along, raised his eyebrows and asked in surprise, “How do you want to go to the Cold Palace?”

“Because I plan to make all the people in the Cold Palace able to be self-reliant,” seeing the Emperor's puzzled look, I smiled lightly, ”I have inquired about this, the expenses of this Cold Palace for a year are not small, if I find a way to make the people in the Cold Palace self-reliant, I will be able to save quite a bit of expenses for the treasury. ”

“You can really do it?” The Emperor looked straight at me, not hiding his skeptical tone.

“It can!” I replied confidently, “I've seen that the soil in the Cold Palace is more suitable for planting, and also the women in the Cold Palace are proficient in music, chess, calligraphy, and painting, I've poked around and asked officials in the imperial court, and they've all confirmed that the folk or other clans are very interested in the embroidery, calligraphy, and painting in the palace, so if I sell the Cold Palace's people's embroidery outside of the palace, I'd not only be able to solve their own expenditure problem, it may also be able to increase the national treasury ...... ”

Concubine Rong interrupted me and said disdainfully, “Sister's words are really good, but we in this palace even have to take the things of the women in the Cold Palace and sell them, it won't be a laughing matter when it's spread out!”

I ignored Consort Rong's provocation and stared seriously at the Emperor and said, “Your Majesty, are you willing to raise a group of invalids in the palace, or are you willing to make the best use of things and people, although the expenditure is small, it can be of great use to the generals of the border for the disaster victims all over the world!”

The palace fell into a silence again, the emperor contemplated, his handsome face many complex emotions intertwined, all the people are quiet and dare not alarm him.

A long time, he lifted his head, his eyes gleaming stared at me, said: “I permit you, but I give you half a year period, if half a year without results, I will punish you!”

“Many thanks, Your Majesty!” I happily almost jumped up and said aloud, “I will not let Your Majesty down!”

The moment I tilted my head, I met the Emperor's bright eyes, there was a hint of a playful smile in his eyes, my heartbeat suddenly slowed down by a beat, I panicked and averted my eyes, Consort Rong beside me stared at me indignantly.