25 Chapter 26: The Visitation to the Empress' Palace 3

COPYRIGHT © A. D. Torres

Date Published: March 28, 2020

Chapter Title: The Visitation to the Empress' Palace (3)

Chapter no. 26

(Qin Zetian's POV)

The carriage drove to the nearest inn. The shopkeeper personally welcomed us as he saw the insignia of the renowned Qin Family. They did not recognize the princess or the queen but they treated us with utmost importance. For sure they might have noticed the elegance and posture of the queen and the princess, as well as the luxurious clothes they're wearing. I nodded in satisfaction, I let Han Wan buy some luxurious clothes from a dress shop and let Han Yuomei assist the princess and empress in taking their baths, not at the same time. Their bodies need to be thoroughly cleaned before we go to the manor.

I asked one of the inn servants to bury the clothes of the empress and the princess. There might be little amounts of poisoned powder on the clothes which is harmful to the body. When Han Wan arrived I let her help Han Yuomei. Then they dressed the empress and the princess. We sat back to the carriage and travel to the manor. I don't know how my mother will react to this. I am sure there are lots of empty courtyards in the manor. My courtyard is also big, yet empty. And I am sure letting both of them stay in our family won't be too troublesome.

The ride home turned into a deafening silence. I stared at the open curtains of the carriage and saw the kids on the streets. Then I remembered a vague memory of my childhood, my mother and I used to go on Medical missions where we climb mountains for a couple of days and check the kids living on top of the mountains. There was a tribe that needs not just the basic necessities but also medicines. I used to help my mom through checking the kids if they were poisoned or not, and at the time I had tried my best to study different kinds of poison and conducted research to further solve each case. Maybe I need to find a motivation once more, to be able to have the same enthusiasm that I've had and learn alchemy.

\"Young miss we have arrived\" The carriage slowed down as it entered the gates of the manor

\"En. Auntie let's go down\" I gladly went down first and helped the empress get out of the carriage, it was very untimely that my mother rushed out and called me

\"Ze'er I'm glad you're back-- Si-sister?\" Then she stuttered and held her breath when she saw the queen, as if what she's seeing is just an imaginary replica of someone she used to know. My mother was in a new level of shock when she saw realized that the queen standing beside me is real.

\"Lan'er...\" the called with a shaky voice and tears on her cheeks. Roushi and I are dumbfounded.

\"Ruru, do you know how close they were?\" I asked the princess

\"Zeze, I do not know either\" she answered

Then I heard the grumbling stomach of the princess.

\"Come on help me prepare lunch at the kitchen, let us leave them so they could talk\"

\"En. I'm absolutely starving, let's go\" Ruoshi kept on dragging me to the kitchen, I don't know if I should laugh or cry because this small gluttonous princess will then again rob my kitchen.

\"Ruru you cannot rob my kitchen ah\"

\"But you're rich, you can supply them back\" she pouted and sat on one of the kitchen stools

\"Oh about that... Accompany me to the mountains tomorrow, we will purchase some land for growing crops. I'd like to create my next project.\"

\"Really? I've never seen farmlands before, are you sure you'll bring meeeeeeeeee?\"

\"Yes, does this miss look like joking?\"

\"Good! Zeze, I'm really starving come on let's make some food. I'm sure mother is also hungry, she hasn't eaten well for a few days\"

\"You can have some of the pastries the chef has made, here eat these first, but not too much those will be heavy for your stomach\" I gave her a bowl of pastry and the let starving stomach get what it wants

\"Hmmm, this tastes so good!\"

The sadness in her eyes made me uncomfortable. She doesn't know how vicious the imperial palace is, and I'm sure she's not yet ready to act accordingly. She's too young and for a princess to be scheming like a snake is impossible. Or maybe I can teach her, a good brainwashing is not a bad idea either. That way she'll be more prepared and it will lessen the shock in her heart.

Nurturing ones heart to become wise and cold is essential for the idea of survival. The imperial harem is full of poisonous snakes, they will find a fault in you, criticize you, plant false evidences against you and eventually kill you. There are different types of poisons and each of them has one goal. That is to eliminate everything that stands on their way.