Consort Hui did not want to take off her clothes, so no one could go up and strip her, right?
Therefore, no one forced her to do anything either.
Song Zhao also brought the topic back to the southern tour next spring.
In between, everyone was chatting and laughing, only Consort Hui was obviously a little restless from the heat.
However, Song Zhao pretended not to see it and said with a smile to Consort Hui:
"This southern tour will definitely be to the Jiang-Zhe region. Your mother's family is there, so His Majesty will definitely bring you along."
"Really?" Consort Hui's eyes lit up, first somewhat delighted, but soon, the sparkle in her eyes faded again, and the corners of her mouth drooped down, saying:
"But when I asked His Majesty yesterday, His Majesty didn't say he would bring me... It would be best if His Majesty could bring me along, I haven't seen my parents for a long time, and I miss them in my heart."
Her frown was full of childish naivete, she really didn't look like she was pretending at all.
Song Zhao consoled her, "Little sister, your thoughts are too simple, aren't they? The quota for the southern tour is limited. If His Majesty said yesterday that he would bring you with him, wouldn't that make the other consorts jealous for no reason?"
Consort Hui's black eyes rolled quickly in their sockets, "Mm... That makes sense."
Soon she smiled again, "Then that means His Majesty will bring me along, he just can't tell everyone to their face? Hehe~ That's good then! When the time comes, if I really get to go home, I'll have His Majesty and Sister Song stay at my house!"
She spread her arms wide and drew a big circle in the air, very proudly saying:
"My house is so big! Although not as big as the palace, but it can easily accommodate over a hundred people without feeling cramped at all."
Rongyue and Concubine Li were amused by her innocence and liveliness,
Song Zhao also said: "Then we'll wait for the southern tour, for little sister to show us around."
After chatting for a while longer,
Consort Hui suddenly pointed out the window and exclaimed joyfully: "Sister Song, look! It's snowing outside!"
She jumped up from her chair abruptly like a little rabbit, and hopped happily towards the outside,
while also turning back every three steps to say to Song Zhao: "Sister Song, come play in the snow with me!"
Song Zhao smiled and shook her head, "I won't go. I have to take care of Chengyu when he wakes up later."
"Oh..."
Consort Hui was briefly disappointed, but quickly came back and pulled Rongyue and Concubine Li along, saying:
"Then Sister Li and Sister Tong keep me company! Let's go back to the palace and have a great time behind closed doors! Out here we might disturb the Crown Prince."
She was excited now, no one could dissuade her.
So Song Zhao ordered the servants,
"We've chatted for a while today, you guys go back with Consort Hui first. Walk slowly, be careful not to let her slip."
After they left, Yun Shang immediately opened two windows in the front hall,
and Xiao Fu Zi also called in two inner palace maids from outside to move the four or five very hot braziers that were set up extra in the hall to the outside.
After getting this done, and waiting for the stuffiness in the hall to dissipate, he stood by Song Zhao's side and said in a low voice:
"Mother's guess was right, there is something wrong with that Consort Hui."
"Yes!" While fanning Song Zhao's palms to cool her down, Yun Shang also said: "It was so hot, yet she still wouldn't take off the fur collar around her neck. She can't be covering up some birthmark or anything, when Mother first entered the palace, Xiao Fu Zi was still in the palace and saw Consort Hui before, she wasn't being secretive like this."
Today, it was per Song Zhao's instructions for Rongyue to tell Consort Hui while at Zhaojun Palace, to invite Concubine Li to come to Changle Palace together.
Didn't Consort Hui love crowds and liveliness the most? When she heard about this, she would definitely follow Rongyue over even if it was just to keep up appearances in front of the others.
And Song Zhao had Xiao Fu Zi heat up the braziers in the palace in advance,
this move was meant to make Consort Hui feel the heat, to see if she would take off the fur collar around her neck.
Xiao Fu Zi said: "Consort Hui wears a fur collar in winter and a gauze scarf in summer. If Mother hadn't mentioned it, I wouldn't have thought anything of it, I had assumed she just liked to dress that way since she was young. But thinking about it now, given how hot our palace was today yet she still refused to take off her fur collar, it really is suspicious."
Song Zhao stared at the smoky red fox fur collar that Consort Hui had just gifted her placed on the table beside her, and gave a cold smile,
"Since she won't take it off, this Palace will think of a way to help her remove it."
Regarding Song Zhao's sudden suspicion of Consort Hui, Yun Shang still didn't understand, she asked:
"When did Mother start suspecting Consort Hui? Yesterday at Kunning Palace, the Empress turned against you, which is equivalent to tacitly admitting that the incident at Meiyuan was her doing, right?"
Song Zhao disdainfully said: "The more the Empress does this, the more suspicious I find it. This Palace is not unaware of what kind of watertight person the Empress is.
In the past, when faced with solid evidence right in front of her, she could calmly and firmly deny it. So why is she so eager to admit it this time, and uncharacteristically forcing me to become adversaries with her?"
Song Zhao gently caressed her cinnabar red fingernails, her tone becoming heavier,
"She is too anxious. It's like she is deliberately trying to tell me that she did all this, that she wants to harm me and my child, impatiently wanting me to resent her. But think about it, what sane person would use such an extreme method, taking all the hatred onto themselves?"
After hearing Song Zhao's words, Xiao Fu Zi pondered for a moment, then slowly said:
"So Mother feels that the Empress is deliberately trying to mislead you?
She wants you to think that everything is her doing, so that you focus all your attention on guarding against her and becoming enemies, thus overlooking the person right beside you who truly wants to harm you and the Crown Prince?"
"That's right." Song Zhao lightly concurred, then added: "I have always found it strange, if the Empress wanted to harm someone, it should be me instead of Chengyu. With her worn out body, she won't be able to bear children in the future, she can only keep her princess until her dying days.
If something were to happen to me, then she would become Chengyu's rightful mother, the most suitable person to raise Chengyu. Why would she harm Chengyu? The Empress herself said, she is the phoenix soaring in the ninth heaven. The phoenix has treasures everywhere, she would not do unrewarding things."
Song Zhao was silent for a moment, then suddenly looked up at Xiao Fu Zi, changing the subject:
"As for why I suspect Consort Hui... think carefully, has there been any disaster in this palace when she was not present? I don't know whether she is human or ghost, but I just feel that something is off about her."
The next day,
after noon when the snow had lightened up a bit, Song Zhao went to Zhaojun Palace.
When she arrived, Consort Hui happened to be building a snowman in the courtyard with Concubine Li and Rongyue.
Song Zhao smiled and said: "Yesterday little sister wanted me to play in the snow with you, but Chengyu was about to wake up so I had no time. Today I finally have some free time and came to have fun in the snow with little sister."
"Great!" Consort Hui clapped her hands happily, "With Sister Song here too, we'll be even more lively."
Rongyue suggested: "Why don't we have a snowball fight? The fresh snow is soft, so it won't hurt if it hits you. Isn't that right, Sister Li?"
As she spoke, somehow she had already rolled up a snowball and threw it at Concubine Li's waist.
Concubine Li, caught off guard by her "sneak attack", pretended to be angry and quickly made a snowball to retaliate.
In the midst of their playful fight, no one could tell who had thrown which snowball, but one of them happened to hit Consort Hui right on the neck.
At this moment, Rongyue just happened to be standing next to Consort Hui, so she quickly said:
"Oh dear, the snow is about to go down Consort's neck!"
As she spoke, she took the opportunity while Consort Hui had yet to react, and directly reached out and pulled off the fur collar wrapped around Consort Hui's neck.
"Ah!!!!"
Almost at the same time,
Concubine Li, who was standing directly opposite Consort Hui, screamed in fright
when she saw Consort Hui's jade-like neck...
