At the Imperial Household Department, Eunuch Li stared at the eunuch before him in astonishment.
“What did you say?”
“The Empress Dowager took the register of everyone in the Cold Palace?”
The eunuch from the Imperial Household Department wore a genial smile.
“Eunuch Li, this servant wouldn’t dare lie to you.”
“Someone from the Empress Dowager’s palace came and took it yesterday.”
Eunuch Li suppressed his surprise.
“Why would Her Highness suddenly want that register?”
The eunuch continued smiling pleasantly.
“Eunuch Li, how would servants like us know what Her Highness is thinking?”
Eunuch Li knew that the eunuch from the Imperial Household Department was tight-lipped. There was no point in trying to question him.
“Did the Empress Dowager say when she would return it?”
“I’m sorry, but the nanny who took it didn’t say.”
Eunuch Li studied the eunuch.
“Don’t try to fob me off!”
“If something goes wrong later, you can forget about keeping the head on your shoulders!”
The eunuch’s smile did not falter in the slightest.
“Eunuch Li, if you’re in such a hurry to have it, you can go to Her Highness and get it yourself.”
“Why make things difficult for us? We’re all merely servants of our masters!”
Eunuch Li gave the eunuch a hard look before walking out.
The moment Eunuch Li’s back disappeared from view, the smile vanished from the other eunuch’s face.
“Bah!”
“He really thinks he’s still the emperor’s favorite!”
“The throne is about to change hands!”
After saying this, the eunuch cautiously looked around.
Eunuch Li left the Imperial Household Department and fell into thought. He decided to go to the Cold Palace first.
The emperor had given him only three days.
He had originally intended to use the register to narrow down his targets, which would have made things more efficient.
But now it seemed he had only one option left: go to the Cold Palace in person.
Fortunately, the emperor was gravely ill, so Eunuch Li had an excuse to pay the Cold Palace a visit.
With that thought, Eunuch Li hurried toward the Cold Palace.
In the Imperial Garden, someone was sneaking toward the Palace of Benevolent Peace.
Inside the Palace of Benevolent Peace, a nanny had brought over the register from the day before.
“Great-Grandmother, we finished the one from yesterday. Today, we’ll look at this one.”
As she spoke, Duoduo picked up another register.
The Empress Dowager nodded and lifted the teacup beside her.
Duoduo opened to the first page and immediately saw a red cross.
She froze.
The Empress Dowager noticed her expression and asked, “What is it?”
Duoduo blinked. “The first person… is no longer here.”
The Empress Dowager set down her teacup.
“The Cold Palace has never been a place for people to live.”
“Not only are the living conditions terrible, but the food and supplies are inferior even to those given to the palace maids and eunuchs.”
“Anyone who can survive in the Cold Palace is no ordinary person.”
The Cold Palace was called the Cold Palace because, quite literally, it was a palace that had been cast aside.
In other words, it was a forgotten place.
Those living there might be consorts who had committed some offense, or consorts of a former emperor who had never borne children.
The people in the palace had always been accustomed to fawning over the powerful and trampling on the weak.
It was easy to imagine how difficult it was to survive in a forgotten corner of the palace.
Duoduo had entered and left the palace many times. Naturally, she had seen much of what went on inside.
Thus, when the Empress Dowager explained it, Duoduo immediately understood why the older woman had been so surprised when she first heard the name “Zhong Yuan.”
A delicate, gentle woman as fragile as water had actually managed to survive in the Cold Palace.
It was indeed astonishing.
Still, Duoduo was even more curious about another name—Yun Qiluo.
What kind of woman was she?
Duoduo continued turning the pages, reading the names in the register aloud to the Empress Dowager one by one.
At that moment, a palace maid entered and bowed.
“Your Highness, the Eighth Prince has come to pay his respects.”
The Empress Dowager had been listening to Duoduo read the names and did not react at first.
“The Eighth Prince?”
Her personal nanny hurried forward and whispered a few words in her ear.
The Empress Dowager came to her senses. “Let him in.”
Duoduo set down the register and stared curiously toward the entrance.
Why had Xiao Che suddenly thought to come and pay his respects to Great-Grandmother today?
Duoduo had heard the Empress Dowager say that she enjoyed peace and quiet. Except during festivals and other special occasions, no one needed to come and pay their respects.
No wonder the Empress Dowager had been caught off guard.
Soon, a figure entered the room.
Xiao Che walked inside with his head lowered. He proceeded properly to the center of the room and knelt down.
“Your grandson, Xiao Che, pays his respects to Grandmother.”
He kowtowed once.
“You may rise.” The Empress Dowager gestured for a palace maid to give him a seat.
A palace maid brought over a small table and placed it below the dais.
“Thank you, Grandmother.”
After thanking her, Xiao Che rose and sat down.
The Empress Dowager studied him.
She had no impression of this grandson at all.
There was no shortage of women in the imperial palace, and naturally, there was no shortage of children either.
Moreover, the Empress Dowager spent her days worshiping Buddha, so she had little impression of any of her grandsons or granddaughters.
A moment earlier, her personal nanny had told her that this grandson’s mother was a palace maid who had already passed away.
As she looked at Xiao Che, the Empress Dowager felt a trace of sympathy for him.
“I exempted everyone from paying their respects. It’s so hot—there was no need for you to make a special trip here.”
Xiao Che stood and bowed.
“To answer Grandmother, your grandson would not dare deceive you.”
“I came first to pay my respects to you, and second because I heard that Princess Changle was in the palace.”
“I hope Grandmother won’t be angry.”
Xiao Che lowered his head, looking somewhat uneasy.
The Empress Dowager was taken aback. She could not help glancing teasingly at Duoduo.
Duoduo had only wanted to watch the fun. She had never expected the fun to involve her.
“Does Eighth Uncle need something from me?”
Xiao Che lifted his head and quickly glanced at the Empress Dowager.
When he saw no anger or reproach on her face, he relaxed.
He had told the truth just now and had been worried that Grandmother would be displeased.
It seemed his instincts had been right.
“Classes at the Imperial Academy have been suspended recently, but there are some lessons I don’t understand.”
“So I wanted to discuss them with you.”
Duoduo’s eyes widened.
She remembered very clearly that during the time she had attended the Imperial Academy, her Eighth Uncle had either been sleeping or sleeping.
When had he become such a diligent student?
Besides, if he truly had questions about his studies, he could have asked the Grand Tutor.
Why had he come to her?
Could it be that she had accidentally revealed something?
Duoduo was completely baffled.
The Empress Dowager, however, nodded happily.
“Changle, go to the study with the Eighth Prince and discuss it with him. I want to take a nap.”
She had woken early that morning, and after sitting for so long, the Empress Dowager was beginning to feel sleepy.
Duoduo glanced at the register beside her. She had only just begun.
It made her very unhappy that she could not finish everything in one sitting.
This was all Xiao Che’s fault. He could have come earlier or later, but he had chosen this exact moment!
Duoduo looked at the register reluctantly and placed a bookmark on the page where she had stopped.
“Nanny, please put it away safely. I’ll continue reading it to Great-Grandmother this afternoon.”
Xiao Che’s eyes flickered when he saw the register in Duoduo’s hands.
