bayedsolid Chapter 838 [Ruyi's Royal Love in the Palace 28]
Chapter 838 [Ruyi's Royal Love in the Palace 28]
Although Hongli still had deep feelings for Ruyi, as a king, he had to put the country first, weigh the pros and cons, and take the overall situation into consideration. Therefore, he decisively ordered Yu Hu to stop further investigation of the matter, and solemnly instructed Yu Hu to take good care of Jiapin personally and ensure Ruyi's personal safety.
At this moment, Li Yu was ordered to read the imperial edict. When Ruyi heard the news, it was like a bolt from the blue. She was ruthlessly demoted to a commoner and sentenced to life imprisonment in the gloomy and cold cold palace.
However, even in such a desperate situation,惢心 and Sanbao remain steadfast and express their willingness to follow Ruyi into the cold palace. Ruyi knows that the cold palace is a harsh environment with an uncertain future. After careful consideration, she decides to only let惢心 accompany her, and entrust the loyal Sanbao to the kind-hearted Chunpin.
Ruyi still had a glimmer of hope in her heart, and she begged Li Yu to create an opportunity for her to meet the emperor again. Finally, under Li Yu's secret arrangement, Ruyi was able to meet Hongli, whom she had been thinking about for a long time. She knelt on her knees without hesitation, staring at the familiar yet strange man in front of her with tearful eyes, and asked in a trembling voice: "Your Majesty, do you believe that there is still fairness in the world?"
Ruyi burst into tears and continued, "I can no longer see clearly whether you are still the one who made a vow to me..."
Facing Ruyi's questioning, Hongli could not help but feel sad. He sighed and said slowly: "I recently heard a piece of opera by chance - "On the Wall Horse", which was the love story between you and me back then!" His words revealed endless emotion and helplessness.
At this moment, Hongli, even though he knew that Ruyi was wronged, was forced to make such a painful choice due to the current complex and dangerous situation. He could only watch the woman he loved step by step towards the closed door of the cold palace, and his heart was broken.
Ruyi dragged her heavy steps back to the bedroom, and her eyes involuntarily fell on the exquisite hairpin that Hongli had given her before. The scene of their past love and affection instantly came to her mind, and those beautiful memories came like a tide, making her heartbroken. Tears blurred her eyes, and Ruyi gently picked up the hairpin, as if she felt Hongli's tenderness and affection in the past. After a long time, she silently changed her gorgeous clothes and put on plain clothes, preparing to welcome the upcoming life in the cold palace. Legend has it that the common people's clothes bid farewell to Concubine Chun.
On the way to the palace, Li Yu said to Ruyi with a serious expression: "My lady, today is a big day. The enthronement ceremony of Concubine Jia, Concubine Mei and Concubine Shen is being held." He sighed softly, with a hint of regret in his eyes.
At the enthronement ceremony, Concubine Jia, Concubine Mei and Concubine Shen were dressed in extremely gorgeous costumes. The bright colors and exquisite embroidery complemented each other, making them look particularly bright and charming.
The three of them slowly walked towards Fu Cha Langhuan who was sitting on the high seat, bowed respectfully, and shouted in unison: "Greetings to the Queen!" Fu Cha Langhuan nodded slightly, with a graceful smile on his face, and signaled them to stand up.
Meanwhile, on the other side, Ruyi was escorted by a group of palace maids and eunuchs to a long-vacant courtyard behind Cuiyun Pavilion. It was cold and deserted, with an old and decayed atmosphere all around. It was said that all the concubines who had lost favor or made mistakes in the past dynasties would be exiled here, and from then on they would live a life of isolation, loneliness and desolation. From now on, Ruyi would be trapped in this cold palace, enduring endless loneliness and pain.
Ruyi walked into the yard with heavy steps, and felt a chill on her face. The houses here were dilapidated, and the paper on the windows had long been yellowed and cracked, making creaking sounds when the wind blew. The yard was overgrown with weeds, as if no one had taken care of it for a long time.
Li Yu stood at the door, his eyes full of reluctance and worry. He knelt on his knees and kowtowed three times to Ruyi, then raised his head and warned with a slightly trembling voice: "My Lady Xian, you must be careful when you go to the cold palace! Don't act on impulse, taking care of yourself is the most important thing."
Suo Xin, who was standing by, couldn't help but burst into tears as she watched the scene unfold. She silently took off a velvet flower that Li Yu had given her, handed it to Li Yu, and said with a sob, "Eunuch Li, now that my young mistress has suffered such a disaster and has been wronged, I really have no face to wear this velvet flower anymore. Please take it back..."
Li Yu took the velvet flower, feeling mixed emotions in his heart, but he suppressed his sadness and comforted her, "Miss惢心, don't be so pessimistic. I believe that one day, the truth will be revealed to the world, and you will be free again." After that, he looked deeply at Ruyi and惢心, turned around and left, leaving behind a lonely figure.
In the dead of night, the moonlight sprinkled on the ground like water, and the whole world seemed to be immersed in silence. Suo Xin slowly got up from the bed because of thirst, and prepared to pour a glass of water to quench her thirst.
When she walked to the window, she suddenly noticed something strange - there was a shadow swaying in front of the window! This sudden scene scared惢心 so much that she was instantly terrified and thought she saw a ghost. Frightened,惢心 hurriedly turned around and hid behind Ruyi tightly, her body shaking constantly.
Although Ruyi was also a little scared, she still tried to stay calm. Together with惢心, they carefully lit the oil lamp and slowly walked towards the door. They took a deep breath, mustered up their courage and pushed the door open. However, they saw nothing in front of them. The swaying figure had disappeared without a trace.
The two of them breathed a sigh of relief and mustered up the courage to walk out of the room. As soon as they went out, they saw several crazy and out-of-control women outside. These women had messy hair, untidy clothes, and were mumbling, looking very scary. Ruyi and惢心 looked at each other, their hearts filled with fear and confusion.
At this moment, Ruyi felt pity and asked惢心 to take out some snacks that she had stored on weekdays and share them with these poor people.惢心 hurriedly did as she was told and handed the snacks to those crazy women. The women rushed forward and frantically snatched the snacks, and the scene was once in chaos.
As everyone was scrambling for the items, a figure slowly walked by. Ruyi looked closely and found that it was Concubine Ji. Surprisingly, Concubine Ji was only 35 years old, but her face looked extremely old, as if she had experienced countless vicissitudes of life. Concubine Ji muttered to herself, "I was in my prime, but I was framed by the Queen Mother and have been trapped in this cold palace for nine years..."
Meanwhile, in another part of the palace, late at night, Hongli summoned A Ruo to sleep with him. A Ruo came to Hongli with great joy, her face filled with irrepressible joy, and said, "I am honored to finally serve the emperor today. I am extremely happy."
However, Hongli responded expressionlessly: "What if I am not happy?" Faced with Hongli's indifferent attitude, A Ruo did not back down. Instead, she firmly stated that she would do everything she could to make the emperor happy.
The next morning, sunlight shone through the dilapidated windows of the cold palace. Eunuch Ma, who was responsible for delivering meals to the cold palace, arrived on time. When the crazy women heard the noise, they immediately swarmed over and rushed forward, just to grab a piece of food.
Ruyi followed the crowd and finally got her share of steamed buns. But when she looked closely, she found that the buns in her hand were covered with mold and gave off an unpleasant smell.
Just when Ruyi was feeling helpless, she accidentally noticed that Concubine Ji's diet seemed different from others. So she curiously asked the reason, and Concubine Ji lowered her voice and told her: "As long as you are willing to spend some money to bribe Eunuch Ma, he will naturally take care of you and send you better food."
Hongli's love for A Ruo reached the extreme. He ordered A Ruo to sleep with him for several consecutive days. This caused quite a stir in the harem, and everyone was envious. However, what was unexpected was that behind this seemingly unlimited glory, there was actually an unknown secret - during this period, A Ruo had never really slept with him!
When the news reached Jiapin, she immediately showed displeasure. She was jealous of A Ruo, and now she was even more furious. However, Jiapin knew that it was not appropriate to act rashly at this time, so she secretly made up her mind to wait until she gave birth to a prince, and then find a way to completely subdue A Ruo. After all, with the prince as a support, her position in the palace would be more stable.
At this moment, Jiapin was most worried about whether the unborn prince could be valued and loved by the emperor. Because this child not only carried her personal expectations, but also related to the future of the prince who was far away in his hometown.
If the prince can win the emperor's favor, then the prince can also benefit from it; on the contrary, if the prince is not welcomed, then the life of the mother and son in the palace will become extremely difficult in the future. Thinking of this, Jiapin couldn't help but frowned and became worried.