THE FLOWER PALACE'S SECRET

Chapter 58. Re-meeting

The news of Shen Yanzhia's pregnancy was kept secret by Prince Yun. When Ru Xiaolan informed the people in Lingxiang Pavilion of her plight, she already knew that the news should not be leaked. Shen Yanzhia's existence in the Lingxiang Pavilion also still had to be kept secret for Consort Duan's people to not go after her anymore. Prince Yun planned to inform Shen Yanzhia of the Queen Mother who was currently lying ill.

Niang Yuan never took his eyes off his daughter for a second. The longing for eighteen years has not paid off. However, the girl who became his baby was still unconscious as well. His heart ached eighteen years ago when he had to lose everything to save his precious treasure.

Mo Ran and Zhi Hao’er were still discussing in the next room. The two were discussing the news of the Second Prince's marriage, Lin Zian with Princess Duanmu who would arrive in two days. They know that neither side wants to get married. However, both of them also have no power. The peace agreement between the two countries is more important than personal feelings.

Slowly but surely things will turn around. They just need to think of ways to stop the marriage and expose all the crimes of the Prime Minister and his allies. Without being told by Lin Zian though, Mo Ran and Zhi Hao’er already knew that the Prime Minister was the mastermind behind all the calamities and the evidence was deliberately hidden in the palace. Sooner or later, that wicked old man must be overthrown.

However, the situation now is very unfavorable. The peaceful marriage will last two more days while the Queen Mother and the Emperor are still bedridden. Crown Prince Lin Yang had actually been poisoned by his thoughts to the point of daring to make a decision at will without waiting for a full recovery first. The liver poison that the Prime Minister has placed has completely blinded the heir to this country.

The door of the room was then knocked from outside. Niang Yuan stood up with a panicked face. He immediately asked Mo Ran and Zhi Hao’er to call Ru Xiaolan. Niang Yuan said, Shen Yanzhia suddenly regained consciousness but returned unconscious. The woman vomited blood from her mouth before falling unconscious.

Coincidentally, Ru Xiaolan had also just returned after boiling the medicine. The female physician examined Shen Yanzhia's pulse, then attached the acupuncture needles to her hands and head. His face was calm without worry. Something good might have come until the healer was so excited.

“How is my daughter?” niang Yuan asked as the acupuncture needles escaped from his daughter's skin.

“Auntie, Miss is fine. He spewed poison. Tonight may already be able to wake up.”

Niang Yuan sighed in relief. She thinks her real daughter is in danger again. She secretly smiled to herself. The little baby that was still inside Shen Yanzhia definitely did not want anything bad to happen to her mothers. The little intangible baby must have wanted his mother's life to be safe so that she could be born safely and restore all the happiness that some of this time had lost.

“If only the baby's father knew, my daughter's condition might be better,” complained Niang Yuan. After all, Lin Zian was the father of the baby that Shen Yanzhia had conceived.

The man should be by his daughter's side all the time. However, he also knew that the situation in the Ling Empire itself was in a state of turmoil. Internal conflicts that don't look so excruciating. He himself had also felt that he was in the same situation.

The dilemma conditions experienced by the people closest to Shen Yanzhia made Niang Yuan want to know the real situation of the palace. He asked Zhi Hao’er to send a message to Prince Yun and convey his desire to enter the palace. Niang Yuan did not care how great of a danger he was facing when he walked into the palace he had left eighteen years ago. As long as he could enter and find out the situation, then the danger was meaningless anymore.

That night, Prince Yun came again to Pavilion Lingxiang in disguise. Niang Yuan's request was approved on the condition that the woman should go with Ru Xiaolan as a healer who would treat the Queen Mother. Only this way can they take as the safest step. The vigilance of the officials was on the decline of the Queen Mother, they would definitely not pay much attention to the people who came to visit the old woman at night.

Prince Yun's carriage arrived at the main gate. Three people descended from within, then headed straight for Guanling Palace. Niang Yuan paused for a moment. In her mind it did not cross her mind at all that she would set foot in the royal palace which made her lose everything. During these eighteen years, he had deliberately forgotten all the memories created in this palace and refused to hear any news. Now, he just had to reopen the old wound that had been gaping for a long time. This palace is the most beautiful place as well as a terrible place in the world. During his life, Niang Yuan struggled desperately avoiding this palace, but was forced to return due to a situation that put his precious daughter in a state of life and death.

Niang Yuan also paused for a moment in front of the gate of Ruo Shui Palace. Eighteen years ago, the palace was his palace, where he had a love match with Xiao Yanzhi. The palace also witnessed how hard Crown Prince Xiao Yanzi and the Emperor struggled in gathering evidence of the crimes of the officials. The building remains as grand as it used to be. Despite that, Niang Yuan felt that the present Ruo Shui Palace was nothing more than an uninhabited old building.

From a distance, Mi Shaosi, the maid of the Queen Mother was already waiting for their arrival at the entrance gate. Niang Yuan and Ru Xiaolan along with Prince Yun rushed over as the day had already gotten nightier. The face of Mi Shaosi who used to often insult Xiao Yanzhi was still the same in Niang Yuan's eyes.

“Auntie, you stay the same as you used to.”

Mi Shaosi was transfixed, The voice she heard was the voice of a noble woman who disappeared eighteen years ago. The old servant was about to cry, but Prince Yun immediately told them that the time they had was not much. Mi Shaosi then brought Niang Yuan and Ru Xiaolan into the Queen Mother's room. Prince Yun waited in the front hall while drinking tea and conversing about the situation of the palace with Mi Shaosi.

Niang Yuan's eyes could not help but hold back tears. In the luxurious bed, there lay an old woman who used to always teach him many things. Unexpectedly, the age line was already so clearly drawn on his shining white face. Although wrinkles appeared everywhere and his skin loosened, Niang Yuan couldn't possibly misrecognize. She was the woman who had helped him escape.

The Queen Mother who happened to be awake immediately turned her head. His reaction was not much different from Niang Yuan's. Is this woman really him? Was this hooded woman his son-in-law who eighteen years ago he had secretly saved? A thousand questions swirled in the head of the Queen Mother.

“Yu..Yuanniang!”

Niang Yuan and the Empress Dowager hugged. Eighteen years ago, they were finally reunited. What a blue feeling. The couple-in-laws miss each other. Niang Yuan really did not expect that he would meet again with his in-laws and furthest cousins. Destiny arranged for him to return when the woman who loved him was at an old age.

“Your Highness, are you okay?”

“Uhuk... Yuanniang, this is really you!”

Niang Yuan and the Queen Mother let go of their embrace. Tears still hang in the corner of the eye. Honey, the time he had wasn't much. He came to look at the situation and think of a way to help his daughter back. If only, if things could be as peaceful as they used to be, Niang Yuan would not let the Queen Mother fall ill like this.

“How do you get back?”

“Your Highness, I've met my daughter.”

“You've met Zhi’er?”

Niang Yuan nodded.

“Consort Duan sent it to me. Your Majesty, what exactly happened? Why can my daughter go to my place? Also, why should her husband marry again?”

With a little stammering and a weak volume of voices, the Queen Mother began to tell everything one by one. She also shared that Consort Duan exchanged Shen Yanzhia's life for some information about the secret of weakening Crown Prince Xiao Yanzhi and the Emperor until they were killed in the war eighteen years ago. In addition, the Queen Mother also informed the cause of Crown Prince Lin Yang making a unilateral decision that harmed his younger brother.

Niang Yuan's anger returned. He desperately wanted to kill the Prime Minister with his own hands. The old fox who hid himself in the clothes of the honorable minister had already exceeded the limit. Not only her husband and father-in-law, the Prime Minister even messed with her daughter and daughter-in-law's life, even wanting to make the heir to the throne her puppet.

On the other hand, the Queen Mother was relieved that her granddaughter and daughter-in-law were fine. Eighteen years of separation has now paid off. His guilt and sadness slowly diminished. She was happy that Shen Yanzhia was finally able to meet her own biological mother. The smart girl should be happy if she came with Niang Yuan here. For a long time he had not seen the cheerful smile of his beloved grandson.

Prince Yun then interrupted, telling him that the night visiting hours were up. They had to return to the Lingxian Pavilion as quickly as possible if not to be caught by the palace guards. Although unwilling, Niang Yuan had to return. She must leave the Queen Mother and return to hiding, waiting for the right time to resurface.

After Niang Yuan and Prince Yun left, the Queen Mother regained her senses. Happy heart. At least, at the end of his old age, he was still able to meet his missing son-in-law and make sure he was doing well. As for what would happen in the future, he would leave it to fate.

...***...