The Three-Life Stone

After a discussion between Hua Xiaoyao and Qin Yunhuai, Hua Xiaoyao walked out of "Wind, Flowers, Autumn and Moonlight Night" without looking back and came to the street with Dongxue.

Dongxue finally asked the question she had been holding back for a long time: "Miss, do you want to go with me?"

Hua Xiaoyao wanted to laugh helplessly: "Let's go eat first."

The two walked to the inn, and Dongxue greeted them from the front.

"Waiter, please bring up a room near the window. Bring up our signature three dishes and one soup. In an hour, we will bring you bath water."

Seeing that the visitor was well-dressed, the waiter bowed and nodded and took the person upstairs. Dongxue took out a silver coin and the waiter went downstairs to make the arrangements with satisfaction.

Dongxue was not irritated by the waiter's flattery, but she was not very satisfied with being looked up and down. After closing the door, she muttered, "Bah, you should choose the right dish according to the menu."

“It’s always like this.”

"Let's not talk about this. Girl, have you let it go? Are you going to go with me?"

Hua Xiaoyao was both angry and amused: "What do you mean by going? Who is going?"

"Girl, Dongxue doesn't mean that... Slave..."

Seeing Dongxue getting anxious, Hua Xiaoyao became serious: "I know what you mean. It's almost as you understand. The palace is not like the outside world. People like Xiaoer are still good. I'm afraid of those who look kind and friendly but turn around and stab you. Are you willing to follow me into the palace?"

"Dongxue is of course willing. Miss and Master have suffered from lovesickness for many years, and now the hardship has paid off and happiness has finally come."

Hua Xiaoyao smiled without saying anything. Perhaps no one would understand her behavior. As a 20-year-old girl like her, Lin Mo could still be loyal and righteous from beginning to end. On the other hand, apart from having a childhood sweetheart, he lived in his own world until now.

Soon, the waiter brought the meal. Dongxue was immersed in the joy of being able to reunite with her father, and the two of them ate with their own thoughts.

After the meal, Hua Xiaoyao held Dongxue's hand and continued to speak earnestly: "Xue, I'm serious. You and I are simple by nature and we definitely don't understand those intrigues. Just because we don't provoke trouble doesn't mean that trouble won't find us."

Hua Xiaoyao was willing to go to the palace not because she believed in herself, but because she believed in Lin Mo. Lin Mo was the person who understood her the most and had prepared everything for her to enter the palace. As long as she didn't seek death, she wouldn't die. Year after year, she couldn't keep letting Lin Mo pay for it, but she was not sure if there was really anything that could protect Dongxue.

"Miss, don't worry, Dongxue will definitely follow you. If you say one thing and don't say another, no one else can find fault with it."

Hua Xiaoyao didn't refuse anymore. After being together for several years, they had developed some feelings for each other.

Time flies, a few days passed, Lin Mo brought Hua Xiaoyao, Dongxue, and Chunmei to the palace. Chuntao wanted to stay and take care of the store, it was no use relying on Qin Yunhuai.

Hua Xiaoyao lived in a side hall of Yonghe Palace, which was named [Hibiscus Courtyard] by Lin Mo himself.

When she first came to the palace, Dongxue was shocked at first by the rows of patrolling guards. Then she walked through the corridors, marveling at the red walls and green tiles, the splendor and wealth. She was shy when she saw the eunuchs and palace maids kneeling in uniform to greet their luggage as she walked.

Life in the palace was quite comfortable, as if she had started living a paid retirement life in advance. Yonghe Palace lived up to its name, and everyone was in harmony. The concubine Shu who lived in the main courtyard was truly virtuous. She would never make things difficult for Hua Xiaoyao, nor did she require Hua Xiaoyao to bow to her.

As there is no queen in the harem, people used to wake up in the imperial concubine's palace every morning and evening. The imperial concubine was banished to the cold palace some time ago, and Shufei is temporarily in charge of the harem. Shufei is quiet and exempt from these etiquettes. Now, it is heard that the emperor brought back an old country girl into the palace, and she started to perform etiquette as soon as she came in. The Yonghe Palace has become lively all of a sudden.

The next morning, Yonghe Palace was crowded with people. Hua Xiaoyao was still sleeping in a daze, Dongxue was sleeping soundly in the ear room. The newly assigned maids understood the instructions and did not wake up Hua Xiaoyao. Chunmei couldn't sleep well in the new environment, so she ran to find Hua Xiaoyao when she heard the noise.

"Girl, the palace courtyard is very lively this morning."

Hua Xiaoyao rubbed her sleepy eyes: "Didn't Concubine Shu say yesterday that we can skip the morning and evening wake-up call for the next two months? Ignore her and continue sleeping."

Hua Xiaoyao turned over and sat up, no longer sleepy.

Chunmei was startled by Hua Xiaoyao's sudden action: "What's wrong with you, girl?"

"Haha, nothing much, I just suddenly thought that they might be here to see me."

"Then girl, ah no, does the queen want to get up and wash?"

Hua Xiaoyao didn't want to go. Thinking about the group of people wanting to see her, she tried to continue sleeping but couldn't fall asleep. She asked someone to help her change her clothes and went to the main courtyard.

"Jin Xiuyi pays respects to the Empress Shufei. May the Empress Shufei be blessed with good health and good health."

Concubine Shu really wanted to help Hua Xiaoyao up, but there were so many people around, so she still had to save face.

"Sister Jin, please sit down. We are sisters, so there is no need to be so reserved."

Hua Xiaoyao sat in the front, and she felt a little uncomfortable when the concubines of lower rank stood up to pay their respects to her. It was the first time she had seen such a scene.

Hua Xiaoyao was sitting in the front wanting to eat the melon, but the melon always came to her and she was not lucky enough to enjoy it.

They all asked her how she met the emperor, what happened, and how long they had known each other. Hua Xiaoyao then felt that the atmosphere in the harem was better than she had imagined. Except for one or two people who said that she was too old and that if there were new girls in the future, the emperor would definitely forget about them, she felt that these people were not bad.

Hua Xiaoyao was more inclined to believe that this was just a nodding acquaintance and did not think too much about it. Fortunately, the most senior woman in the harem was not bad.

Only after Concubine Shu sent these people away did Hua Xiaoyao relax and listen carefully to Concubine Shu's explanation.

Previously, the only favored one in the harem was Concubine Jiang. Under Concubine Jiang's oppression, the harem was full of resentment. Most of the sisters here had been oppressed, and two of them were summoned by the emperor twice more. They were all sent to the cold palace because of offending the concubine. The worst was Concubine Liang. She was weak and pregnant, but the concubine did not allow her to go out on the grounds that she needed to pay attention to her pregnancy, and sent her supplements every day for her to drink. In the end, two lives were lost during childbirth.

Hua Xiaoyao felt extremely nauseous after hearing this.

"The two sisters who spoke harshly before were the followers of the former imperial concubine. They were used to relying on the imperial concubine to be domineering in the harem. If it weren't for the imperial concubine's over-the-top momentum, she would have restrained herself..."

Shufei didn't finish her words, Hua Xiaoyao understood what she meant. But what Guifei did was all because of Lin Mo's connivance. With the harem in such a mess, I don't know how Lin Mo can stand safely in the front court.

Hua Xiaoyao sat for a while and was about to go back when Concubine Shu had already prepared food.

"I know my sister was woken up early, so I specially asked someone to prepare more food so that my sister can try it first."

Hua Xiaoyao had been extremely hungry for a long time. When she saw Concubine Shu start to eat, she thought that if Concubine Shu had poisoned the food, she would not be so blatant, so she just started eating.