137 Untitled (1/2)
”Do what has to be done,” Meng Fuyao said as she patted Cunzhi on his shoulder. ”Brother Cunzhi, we'll rely on you. If it is a success, we will definitely have the chance to thank you in the future.”
”Prince is famous in all of Heaven Demon. He treats the tribes well, chases away our enemies, and protects the citizens living on the borders. Such a virtuous Prince like him should not be treated this way.” He bowed and said, ”It is my honor to be of use to the Prince.”
Meng Fuyao glanced at him and looked into his clear and sincere eyes. Her eyes slightly darted, and she exhaled. ”Go,” she said, as she gave him a small bottle.
He walked out carefully with the bottle in his hands. Zhan Beiye and Meng Fuyao were afraid of bumping into anyone using the toilet, so they hid in the corner of the ceiling that was shadowed. This place was already very close to the interior of the Palace so they did not dare to speak.
Zhan Beiye slowly wrote on the wall: What do you intend to do?
Meng Fuyao scribbled ”If possible, rescue her.”
Zhan Beiye glared at her with sharp daggers in his eyes. He reached out in an attempt to grab Meng Fuyao, but she avoided his hands and pointed downwards. Zhan Beiye gave up and stared at her while writing: Don't you think of anything weird in your brain!
Her reply was: My brain has never thought of anything normal.
Zhan Beiye flipped. Just as he was wondering whether he should subdue her and take her away, a palace maid suddenly rushed in the toilet, with her head hung low and her hands clutching her stomach.
Meng Fuyao smiled and dashed in after her.
Zhan Beiye immediately understood her plans. Feeling anxious, he wanted to chase after her, but Meng Fuyao suddenly turned back to give him a stare in mid-air. The stare was so sharp that it stunned the fearless Zhan Beiye.
In that instant, Meng Fuyao had already ducked into the female toilet. With a raise of her hand, she subjugated the palace maid who was having a stomachache.
She took off the maid's clothes and changed her appearance according to how the maid looked like. Hearing the slight movement of wind behind her, Meng Fuyao slid away with agility.
While she changed her clothes in the small space, she nimbly avoided Zhan Beiye's continuous strikes to stop her and said two lines.
The first line was, ”She won't be able to hang in there any longer.”
The second line, ”Trust me.”
The movement of wind ceased as Zhan Beiye dumbfoundedly stopped his strikes. Meng Fuyao had already changed into her clothes, and she gave a radiant smile to Zhan Beiye, who was in a dilemma. She pointed towards the male toilet and walked out without turning back once.
Once she exited the toilet, she walked briskly into the palace while hunching her body and clutching her stomach, as though she had diarrhea.
Cunzhi, who was somewhat intentionally patrolling in front of the palace, raised his finger that was holding on to his pike and pointed towards a hidden room in the Inner Palace.
Meng Fuyao gave him a thankful look - she had asked him to, while he was patrolling in the Inner Palace, scatter the bottle of powder into the room that the palace maid lived in. He was very smart and completed her request quickly.
She stepped hurriedly into the Inner Palace. With a sweep of her eyes, she saw two eunuchs who both knew martial arts.
Seeing that she was back, one of them asked, ”Orchid, you had a stomach ache? Remember to shut your windows, in case you catch a cold.”
Meng Fuyao gave a muffled reply and walked over. That eunuch looked up, and surprised, he said, ”Eh? You're not… ”
He had yet to complete his sentence when Meng Fuyao had already subdued them one by one. She dragged them behind the curtains, before walking quickly into the inner room and repeating the same routine, thrashing all the palace maids. She did not know who was a trustworthy confidante of Consort Dowager; out of safety concerns, she could only subjugate all of them.
The shadow of the bead curtain swayed while the silk curtain slightly drifted. A light, aromatic scent wafted from the bronze incense burner that had the Eight Treasure patterns. Amongst the pale-white smoke, the lady was in a deep sleep.
Meng Fuyao gently squatted in front of her bed and looked at her. Zhan Beiye had similar facial features, and both of them had an unwavering aura around them. But she was pale and thin, and her sideburns had started to gray. Though her facial features still looked beautiful, her air of magnificence as an Empress had long gone. What remained after many chaotic and blurry years, was only endless sadness.
Meng Fuyao hesitated. She had braved many risks to be here, but she could not be sure whether the mother would follow her plans and successfully meet the son. After all, she had gone berserk for so many years…
The hourglass made no noise, as the fine golden sand quietly signaled the passing of time. Meng Fuyao thought of how anxious Zhan Beiye must have been waiting for them, so she resolutely unsealed Consort Dowager's acupuncture points.
Consort Dowager slowly opened her eyes.
She saw Meng Fuyao and blinked her eyes in confusion. But she did not immediately scream.
Meng Fuyao heaved a sigh of relief. Leaning forward on the bed, she said, ”Zhan Beiye asked me to be here. Zhan. Bei. Ye.”
Her enunciation was very clear, and Consort Dowager's eyes lit up. She spoke softly, ”Little… Ye?”
”Yes, Little Ye,” Meng Fuyao answered in tears, touched by how clear the mother was at the moment. She pointed to the toilet outside the window and informed her, ”Female toilet, he's waiting for you there.”
”Waiting… for me?”
”Yes,” Meng Fuyao responded as she started to take off Consort Dowager's clothes, who flinched in fear. Meng Fuyao gently patted her back and gently persuaded, ”You can meet Little Ye after changing your clothes.”
Hearing that, Consort Dowager stopped avoiding and cooperatively raised her arms for Meng Fuyao to exchange clothes with her. After that, Meng Fuyao changed her appearance to that of a palace maid's and brought her to the window. Meng Fuyao secretly pointed the direction again and said, ”There's the female toilet. Walk in with your head down, and you will see Little Ye inside. Don't say a word.”
”Don't say… will kill Little Ye,” Consort Dowager suddenly said in a clear voice.
A lump came to Meng Fuyao's throat, and her eyes turned red. She nodded encouragingly and agreed, ”Yes, don't let him kill.”
”He cannot be killed.” Consort Dowager giggled, her expression full of joy. In that instant, she shone with the radiance and beauty of a teenage girl.