Chapter 421

Chapter 421 The attendant beside her said, "Your Highness, where in this palace isn't tainted with ill fortune these days? Perhaps Noble Lady Bai is simply looking for an excuse to slack off by visiting Noble Lady Xi." "Perhaps." Consort Jingshu said coolly, "No need to stop her. Let her go. But have someone keep a close watch and listen to what they say to each other." "Yes." The moment Bai Fu stepped into Noble Lady Xi's palace, a chill surged at her from every direction. That eerie sense of familiarity jolted awake memories buried deep in her soul. Back then, when she had been deathly ill, her own palace had been just like this. Like the Guanghan Palace on the cold moon, perpetually shrouded in chill—no matter how many quilts she piled on, she could never feel warm. That cold crept from the soles of her feet straight to her head, freezing away every trace of warmth bit by bit. Bai Fu stiffly made her way step by step into the main hall. She was led into the bedchamber by Noble Lady Xi's attendants. When she saw Noble Lady Xi, Bai Fu's expression remained unchanged, but Caiyue behind her drew in a sharp breath of cold air. Bai Fu said without changing her expression, "I heard that Sister Noble Lady Xi is unwell, so I came specially to pay a visit. I only hope Sister won't mind my intrusion." Noble Lady Xi's complexion was as ghastly as if a demon had drained all her vitality. She gave Bai Fu a smile that didn't reach her eyes. "You're the first living person to step foot in my palace. If you don't mind me, how would I dare mind you?" Bai Fu felt a chill run down her spine under Noble Lady Xi's gloomy, penetrating gaze. Noble Lady Xi said, "They say one doesn't visit the temple of the Three Treasures without a reason. Did Noble Lady Bai truly come only to visit me?" Bai Fu smiled faintly. "Naturally." A hint of disdain crept into Noble Lady Xi's mocking laugh. "But your eyes tell me otherwise." Though she was ill, Noble Lady Xi could tell at a glance that Bai Fu was lying. She claimed to have come for a visit, yet from the moment she entered, Bai Fu's eyes had been fixed on her face. As if trying to see through her skin to the sickness beneath her bones. Clearly, there were plenty of clever people in this palace. Bai Fu truly couldn't help herself—the moment she saw Noble Lady Xi, her gaze involuntarily settled on her face and refused to move. She was trying to find a sense of familiarity in Noble Lady Xi's features. She was also trying to find some kind of evidence she needed in Noble Lady Xi's face. A sudden inexplicable illness, death from disease—wasn't that exactly what had happened to her in her previous life? Staring at Noble Lady Xi's sallow, darkened complexion, she vaguely caught a certain resemblance. Bai Fu's lips trembled as she whispered, "Has Sister Noble Lady Xi done something wrong?" By all logic, a normal patient hearing those words should have flown into a rage. But Noble Lady Xi gave Bai Fu a long, deep look. "I thought you were a clever person. Why are you asking foolish questions now?" With that, Noble Lady Xi closed her eyes. She didn't chase Noble Lady Bai out, but simply let that probing, scrutinizing gaze rest on her. After a long while, Noble Lady Bai rose, her voice no longer carrying the confidence it had when she arrived. "I've troubled Sister for too long today. I'm afraid I must take my leave now." Noble Lady Xi said, "You should have left long ago." Noble Lady Bai turned to leave, her steps growing increasingly hurried. As she crossed the threshold, she wasn't paying attention and nearly tripped—it was only thanks to Caiyue's timely support that she kept her footing. After Noble Lady Bai had been seen off, the attendant beside Noble Lady Xi said with displeasure, "Noble Lady Bai is far too presumptuous. The moment she came in, she stared at Your Highness without letting up. That look..." The attendant had been about to say it was like looking at a ghost, but felt it was inauspicious and feared bringing bad luck upon her mistress, so she swallowed the words. "Even though Your Highness is ill now, that's no reason to let a mere Baolin walk all over you. Why indulge Noble Lady Bai?" Noble Lady Xi let out a soft laugh. "Indulge her? I don't have that kind of power." "I don't even know how much longer I have to live. How could I concern myself with other people's affairs?" She lowered her head, her peripheral vision catching sight of her hands that were no longer fair and delicate, and a mixture of fear and hatred crept into her eyes. Noble Lady Xi said, "There are many fools in this palace, but there are always clever ones too. The Emperor wants me to die quietly. I don't have the ability to defy his will, but if more people know the truth... perhaps it will do me some good." "Even if it does no good, it can't make things worse." "As for her—coming to see me out of her own cleverness and drawing the Emperor's wrath upon herself, she deserves it." Noble Lady Xi had never been a kind-hearted person, and she was even less inclined to show goodwill toward those who came to gawk at her misfortune. The attendant beside her, tears welling in her eyes, asked, "Your Highness, is there truly no way?" Noble Lady Xi laughed coldly. "The Emperor wants me dead. How would I dare not die?" At the thought, Noble Lady Xi ground her teeth. "It's all that bitch Consort Hui's fault!" If not for Consort Hui, the Emperor would never have traced it back to her. She had harbored schemes, yes, but she had never actually done anything to the Empress. Noble Lady Xi had only secretly passed word to the Xia Dynasty people that Yunxiang was gravely ill and near death. Those who had schemed against the Empress were the Xia spies and the Xia Emperor himself! She had acted covertly, with nothing tying back to her, and the Emperor had never suspected her. But that Consort Hui was like a mad dog. Whoever she fixed her eyes on, she suspected—as if every woman in the harem were a murderer of the Empress. Having previously offended Noble Consort Zhao and been punished, she had not learned her lesson after House Arrest ended. Somehow, she had set her sights on Noble Lady Xi. Noble Lady Xi had only passed a message to the Xia Dynasty spy once, resolving the matter of the Empress. She thought she could rest easy from then on. But unexpectedly, one day she received a secret letter from the Xia Dynasty, instructing her to meet at the Cold Palace, or else her deeds would be exposed. Noble Lady Xi had long anticipated that the Xia spy might go back on their word and use the message-passing incident to hold leverage over her. She had also long prepared a countermeasure. Seeing that the letter and its seals matched, she harbored little suspicion and brought Talented Lady Xue along as they hurried to the Cold Palace. It was through Talented Lady Xue that she had originally made contact with the Xia spy. The Xue family—or perhaps Talented Lady Xue herself—had long been bought off by the Xia Dynasty. But when the two arrived at the Cold Palace, what they saw was not the Xia spy, but the unexpected Consort Hui. In an instant, Noble Lady Xi realized that the so-called Xia spy's threat to meet was merely Consort Hui forging letters to lure them out, in order to confirm their involvement in the Empress's murder. The moment they met, both sides guessed each other's intentions. Noble Lady Xi was both shocked and furious. "The Empress truly raised a fine dog!" Consort Hui turned and ordered her palace maid to go report the matter. Both Noble Lady Xi and Talented Lady Xue grew anxious. Unexpectedly, Talented Lady Xue knew martial arts. In an instant, she drew a dagger from her waist, caught up with Consort Hui's maid, and struck a fatal blow. Noble Lady Xi reacted a beat slower, but somehow found the courage to pull the hairpin from her tresses and stab it toward Consort Hui. Her instincts told her the matter could not be concealed, yet she had no intention of letting that wretch Consort Hui off easy. The hairpin in her hand stabbed again and again, blood staining half her face. Consort Hui's body went limp and crashed heavily to the ground. Talented Lady Xue expertly handled the scene, erasing all suspicious traces, then grabbed Noble Lady Xi and fled. The two came and went in haste, completely failing to notice that Consort Hui, still clinging to life, crawled in the direction of Noble Lady Xi's palace, snapping the pearl necklace the Empress had once bestowed upon her.