Page 24

The pair tiptoed and clung to a tree branch as thick as two fingers, craning their necks to peer into a bird's nest. The bird had just hatched not long ago; its eyes weren't open yet, and at the sound of them, it squawked hungrily for food—the thicket wasn't tall.

"What kind of bird is this?" Lian Hua asked.

"This servant has seen them before. In my hometown, these birds are called Qing Si. When they grow up, their feathers become long and thin, and blue in color."

"Qing Si? That's a pretty name. Do they taste good?"

"Ah, this servant doesn't know. I've never eaten them. These birds are small and don't have much meat."

"I see~" It's quite a pity.

"Young Master, would you like to take it back and raise it?" Xiao Qing asked.

"No, we shouldn't, Xiao Qing. It's not right. The little bird was living peacefully up on this tree, spending its days with its mother. How can we separate them? That would be too cruel," Lian Hua shook her head, letting go of the branch, ready to leave.

"Oh..." The last time they picked up a bird's nest, the Young Master didn't say that. Back then, didn't you say it was to help reduce the mother bird's burden? Xiao Qing scratched her head.

At this very moment, a noisy commotion came from the path leading to the Cold Palace.

Lian Hua stood still, her curiosity piqued, "What's that noise?"

Xiao Qing ran forward a few steps and looked out, "Young Master, it seems like a group of people is coming this way. I wonder what they are doing?"

"Let's go have a look."

As they got closer, the noise grew louder. When they were still dozens of steps away, Lian Hua stopped in her tracks.

She saw several people escorting a woman covered in blood, walking towards the direction of the Cold Palace with their backs to them.

The woman was clad in prisoner's garb, her hair a disheveled mess. Her clothes were marked with multiple bloodied whip scars, many areas torn, and from the tears, they could vaguely see her skin split open, the flesh raw and bloodied. Shackles encased her feet, and two eunuchs held her arms behind her, each pushing one of her arms, while two stout nannies flanked her sides. Not far behind followed an old eunuch with a whisk, heading towards the Cold Palace, dragging her all the while, leaving a trail of chain marks on the ground.

The woman looked frenzied, shouting wildly as she walked, "You lowly servants! I want to see His Majesty, let me go, I want to see His Majesty..."

While screaming, she struggled violently, causing the eunuchs escorting her to nearly lose their grip several times.

One of the nannies, with a shrill voice, said, "Consort, you might as well give up that wishful thinking. You've committed such a grave sin. His Majesty spared your life and did not implicate your family; that's already extremely merciful. Stop causing trouble." Saying this, she yanked the woman's hair and told the eunuchs, "Hold her tight. If she escapes and disturbs the palace nobility, it'll be your hides."

Xiao Qing, who had never witnessed such a scene, was frightened and tugged at Lian Hua's sleeve, "Young Master, let's leave." But the person beside her did not react at all.

Lian Hua stared blankly at the woman, as if she had seen the same scene long ago—the bloodstains... the prisoner's garb... the shackles...

Seeing that the Young Master did not move, assuming that she still wanted to watch, Xiao Qing stood still, forcing herself to endure the discomfort.

Just then, an unexpected change occurred. The woman suddenly bent down, regardless of her arms being held, swung forcefully with a snap that sounded like breaking bones. Her arms were twisted 180 degrees, causing the two eunuchs to loosen their hold in shock. She seized the opportunity to shake them off and ran back towards Lian Hua.

The two sturdy nannies were horrified and hurriedly reached out to her, only grabbing a piece of her clothing without catching her, causing panic.

The woman, her arms dangling, ran desperately backward. After a few steps, the agile old eunuch blocked her path and struck her head with the handle of his whisk, knocking her to the ground, "Not putting you in chains was already showing you mercy; do not overstep your bounds. Someone, gag her mouth, and carry her away, let's see if she can still run."

The old eunuch hurried people to drag her away, to avoid any further mishaps. Before leaving, he glanced in Lian Hua's direction from afar, performed a respectful gesture, and followed the others.

The commotion scared Xiao Qing back a step, hiding behind Lian Hua, her hand tightly clutching Lian Hua's arm.

However, Lian Hua stared fixedly at the woman with a calm that was terrifying, one could even say indifferent.

Xiao Jizi had heard the disturbance from afar. By the time he arrived, he saw Lian Hua's pale face and felt a sudden dread, thinking it was bad for the Young Master to witness the Deposed Consort's state, he hoped it hadn't frightened her—such misfortune.

The woman was Jieyu Wei, who had been implicated in an embezzlement scandal involving the Bureau of Palace Attendants and was demoted from her concubine rank to the Cold Palace. Xiao Jizi was aware of this, but he didn't know that she was to be transferred to the Cold Palace today, let alone that they would accidentally encounter the Young Master. If he had known, he would have kept Lian Hua from coming at all costs.

Xiao Jizi hurriedly bowed down in front of Lian Hua, "This servant deserves to die for arriving late and failing to protect the Young Master."

He then raised his head and yelled at Xiao Qing with anger and urgency in his voice, "Xiao Qing, how could you let the Young Master see such filth? What if it scares her?"

Xiao Qing was stunned, as they always knew Xiao Jizi to be smiling and good-natured. Even when teased occasionally, he never said much. When had they ever seen him this stern?

Yet Lian Hua remained as if she hadn't heard, motionless and unchanged in posture.