Song Zhao's gaze quickly fell upon Consort Hui's neck.
At first glance, he caught sight of a narrow and sinister red mark, resembling intertwined centipedes wrapped around her neck, sending a shiver down his spine.
However, upon closer inspection, he realized it was a distinct brownish-red raised scar.
The scar covered a wide area, almost spanning her entire front neck.
Like the tangled roots of a withered tree, it clung tightly to her neck, extending all the way to her chest.
Even the surrounding skin was wrinkled, presenting a distressing sight.
The onlookers were momentarily stunned,
while Consort Hui, in a state of panic, covered her neck, standing frozen in place, unsure of what to do.
Tears welled up in her eyes and glistened in the falling snowflakes.
"Consort Hui..."
Rongyue looked remorseful as she gently patted Consort Hui's shoulder and offered her a fur scarf,
but Consort Hui, taken aback, pushed Rongyue away with a gesture of disgust,
then hurriedly covered her scarred neck, crying as she ran towards the inner chamber.
It was more like fleeing than running,
and on the slippery snowy ground, she lost her footing and fell hard into the muddy snow.
As Song Zhao realized he wanted to go forward and help her up,
she gritted her teeth, tears in her eyes, and with a sense of shame and anger, she crawled to her feet, hastening her pace and vanished into the inner chamber, locking the door behind her.
"What's happening? What is all this?"
Chane Er, who had been busy in the small kitchen, rushed out to see what was going on.
Upon seeing Rongyue still clutching the fur scarf, her eyes widened in obvious surprise and displeasure.
"What is Tong Chang doing? How could you..."
Chane Er stomped her foot in frustration, too busy to argue with Rongyue, and hurriedly turned around to forcefully knock on the door of the inner chamber.
"Master? Please open the door and let your servant in first!"
There was no response from inside, only the faint sound of Consort Hui's distressed sobbing.
Women are particular about their appearance, especially their looks.
Consort Hui's "hidden ailment" was now revealed without warning, and the blow to her must have been significant.
Concubine Li also anxiously suggested,
"Shouldn't we just break down the door? Let's not have any accidents."
Upon hearing this, Chane Er suddenly turned around, opening her arms to stop her,
"Concubine Li, don't make trouble here!"
Her hostility was evident, and when she spoke to Song Zhao, she didn't mince her words either,
"Empress Yi, please go back for now. Our master probably doesn't want to see anyone. Please, all of you... let our master preserve some dignity..."
She was a personal maid to a concubine, yet she dared to speak to Song Zhao in such a tone?
If she wasn't insane, she must be genuinely protective of her master.
Song Zhao heard Consort Hui crying inside and didn't bother with Chane Er. He simply said,
"In that case, I'll go back to the palace first. Please try to console your mistress."
On the way back to the palace, Song Zhao overheard Yun Shan and Xiao Fuzi arguing outside the sedan chair,
"Didn't you say Consort Hui was fine before? How did she get such a large scar on her neck? Didn't the Internal Affairs Department notice it during the selection process?"
Xiao Fuzi scratched his head. "Perhaps something unexpected happened to Consort Hui after entering the palace? Judging by the scar, it looks like a burn."
Yun Shan replied, "If it were an accident of such severity, how could it be concealed without anyone in the palaces knowing?"
Song Zhao sat silently in the sedan, not saying a word.
Recalling Consort Hui's tearful and indignant appearance earlier, there was a moment when Song Zhao felt a twinge of guilt for her actions today.
Initially, she thought Consort Hui was hiding some big secret behind her actions.
But she didn't expect...
Actually, it wasn't difficult to understand. Even if Consort Hui had the temperament of a child, what girl doesn't care about her appearance? Who would willingly display their flaws in front of others?
Wasn't Noble Consort Xiao the same in the past?
Having psoriasis, she would bathe and find ways to conceal it, afraid that people would discover her secret.
However, Song Zhao found it somewhat strange.
Noble Consort Xiao's psoriasis was a mild case, and she could still deceive everyone.
But Consort Hui's scars were so obvious, and she had served Xiao Jingheng intimately. How could Xiao Jingheng not know about this?
Coincidentally, tonight Xiao Jingheng came to her palace to have dinner together.
Halfway through the meal, Song Zhao suddenly wore a troubled expression and said to him, "Your Majesty... Today, when I was playing in the snow with Consort Hui, something unexpected happened."
Upon hearing this, Xiao Jingheng immediately set down his chopsticks and carefully looked around, concerned, as he asked, "Where did she get hurt?"
Song Zhao shook her head and said with guilt in her voice, "It wasn't me... It's just that... a snowball hit Consort Hui's neck. Tong Chang was afraid that the melted snow would seep into her scarf and cause her to catch a cold, so he took off her scarf for her. But unexpectedly... "
Song Zhao only said half of her words when she noticed a slight frown from Xiao Jingheng, realizing that he had known about this earlier.
They remained silent for a moment, and then Xiao Jingheng sighed with deep regret, saying, "It was my carelessness. It was probably two years ago. At that time, when I was drunk, I accidentally went to Zhao Chun Palace.
Consort Hui had someone prepare a sobering soup for me, but she was young and hadn't served me before, so she brought the scalding hot soup on a tray. I was also drunk and thoughtlessly felt it was hot, so I threw the bowl away. As a result... the whole bowl of boiling soup poured down Consort Hui's neckline, causing her serious injuries..."
Poured down her neckline...
Even just listening to Xiao Jingheng's description, Song Zhao felt a discomfort in her chest. It was very unpleasant.
In this light, Consort Hui's burn wasn't just on her neck, but possibly on her body as well?
And considering that Consort Hui was already fifteen this year, but her chest hadn't developed much...
Perhaps it was related to this accident.
If the scar on her chest was as severe as the one on her neck, being injured at such a young age, her pair of jade-like breasts would undoubtedly be ruined.
Having learned about the tragic experiences that Consort Hui had endured in the past, Song Zhao's feelings of guilt deepened even further. "Consort Hui has truly suffered..." Xiao Jingheng said, "Though she possesses a childlike nature, she also desires to be beautiful. It was my fault in the first place. To protect her reputation, we kept the incident secret and had the imperial physician carefully treat her. Now that you know about this, make sure that Concubine Li and Tong Changzai don't cause any trouble, so as to prevent Consort Hui from being subjected to unnecessary gossip."
Song Zhao nodded and replied, "I understand."
Her voice was weak as she spoke, her gaze flickering, and her emotions appeared downcast.
Xiao Jingheng saw through her thoughts and gently took her hand, asking, "What's the matter?"
Song Zhao sighed and said, "When I left the Chongchun Palace today, Consort Hui was crying incessantly. I was momentarily at a loss and didn't know how to comfort her."
"Consort Hui has a kind-hearted nature. No matter how troubling her concerns may be, as long as she sees something delicious, she forgets all about them," Xiao Jingheng said in a contemplative tone.
After a brief moment of silence, Xiao Jingheng came up with an idea for Song Zhao.
"Here's what you can do. Your mother is also from the Jiangsu and Zhejiang region. Tomorrow, have the palace servants prepare some dishes from your hometown and give them to Consort Hui. Say a few comforting words to her as well. Whenever I have some free time, I will also go and visit her. Let her know that she doesn't need to worry about this matter anymore."
There was no better solution at the moment, so Song Zhao could only softly agree.
However, for some reason, deep down, she still felt that there was something inexplicably strange about this whole situation...
[Please excuse me, I will make up for it with an additional three updates tomorrow.]
