Chapter 102: Bai Gudan

Chapter 102: Bai Gudan

The Kunning Palace was filled with the scent of sandalwood, its halls spacious and luxurious, yet only the maid Shuanghua remained in attendance.

She stood behind Bai Gudan, massaging her temples.

The young maid seemed stifled by the fragrance, wrinkling her nose with a mischievous air as she took a gentle sniff. Her clear eyes carefully traced Bai Gudan's features. "How's the pressure, Your Majesty?"

Bai Gudan's lips curved slightly. She opened her eyes and let out a soft laugh, replying in a gentle voice, "A little harder, please."

"Yes."

Shuanghua was young—she had entered the palace when she was about four, and now she'd grown into a well-mannered, adorable girl.

This was her third year in the palace, and her first year of being assigned to serve the Empress in Kunning Palace.

The Empress treated her very well and had a gentle disposition, so much so that Shuanghua sometimes wished she could call her "big sister."

In truth, this "big sister" wasn't much older either. Shuanghua had heard from the other maids in her quarters some time ago that she'd come into the palace at seventeen and had just turned eighteen this year.

As the legitimate daughter of the Bai family, born into a prestigious household, she was a lady of both talent and virtue. Upon entering the palace, she was given the title of Virtuous Consort, and two months later, was elevated to Noble Consort of Virtue.

The previous Empress had fallen ill and passed away six months earlier. The Emperor, citing that the Noble Consort of Virtue was sensible, discerning, and dutiful, had made her the new Empress. Though Bai Gudan had no child by the Emperor, her nature was virtuous and demure, and no one in the court or the inner palace raised any objection.

"Mother."

Shuanghua's fingertips, resting on Bai Gudan's temple, trembled slightly. She had been lost in thought, and now this sudden call startled her so much that her hair stood on end.

She shrank behind the Empress, stealing a glance at the handsome young man standing in the hall.

Ah, right—the Crown Prince had recently started calling the Empress "Mother."

Bai Gudan's eyes snapped open, a cold glint flashing in them. She smiled serenely, her brows and eyes soft. "So it's Zhiyi."

From the top of the long steps before the hall, she looked down at Yuan Zun, meeting his equally icy, bloodthirsty gaze.

"Come up here and let Mother have a good look at you."

Yuan Zun's sharp brows rose slowly. He hurried over and stopped before Bai Gudan, then crouched down halfway.

Bai Gudan placed her hand on his forehead, stroking his hair with affection, and asked softly, "Have you been to see your father?"

Shuanghua's eyes flew wide in terror. The two were of similar age, both strikingly beautiful. Now conversing as mother and son, the scene was warm and harmonious, yet carried an indescribable strangeness and dread.

Her hands slowed, and a few beads of sweat broke out on her small nose from fear.

Yuan Zun said casually, "Father won't last much longer."

"You're insane." Bai Gudan withdrew her hand nonchalantly, propping her chin on her palm as she murmured softly, "Killing your father to seize power will come back to bite you."

"You're just as insane."

Yuan Zun stared at Shuanghua's young, terrified face, not caring whether he'd face retribution. He just let out a mocking laugh. "Do you think I can't find out how the late Empress died, Mother?"

She raised her eyes slightly, her cold, hollow gaze filled with feigned gentleness, and smiled with ease and delight.

"Hahaha..."

Yuan Zun fixed his gaze on her rosy lips, and leaned in close to her soft, boneless hand with keen interest.

"The Bai family has deep roots, conducting themselves properly in court without overstepping," Yuan Zun said, nuzzling her tender palm with a smile. "You and I are the same kind of people. Too bad we met so late. If Father hadn't made his move first, I would have wanted you as my Empress."

"Zhiyi, watch your tongue," Bai Gudan said, lowering her eyes to his handsome, sharp features. "The one sleeping in Qianqing Palace is the Emperor—not you."

She pulled her hand out from under Yuan Zun's chin and brushed past Shuanghua, who stood behind her. Her delicate brows furrowed tightly, and a hint of barely concealed disgust surfaced in her eyes.

"I do not wish to have any relationship with you beyond that of mother and son. Don't say such nonsense again, Zhiyi."

Yuan Zun stood up, shifting his gaze away from Bai Gudan, and his cold, sinister gaze suddenly turned to Shuanghua behind her.

Shuanghua looked up and met Yuan Zun's ominous stare. Her breathing became short and panicked. With a thud, she fell to her knees, banging her head on the floor and begging for forgiveness.

She trembled all over with fear, her throat dry and tight. She wished she had never set foot in Kunning Palace, never heard a single word of this conversation.

Shuanghua threw herself at Bai Gudan's feet, her forehead scraped raw and bleeding from kowtowing. She was young after all, and thinking of how kindly the Empress had always treated her, she started begging for mercy in desperation.

"Sister! Please spare me, I won't say anything... Please spare me!"

Her voice came to an abrupt halt as the attendants who came in covered her mouth and dragged her out of the hall.

Her shrill sobs faded away in the vast chamber. Yuan Zun slowly rose to his feet, staring at Bai Gudan's eyes as if answering her earlier words, and said deliberately, one word at a time: "Your son understands."

...

Bai Gudan simply wanted to survive. The old Emperor was nearing his end, and she had no desire to choose between keeping vigil at his tomb or being buried alive with him.

So she chose to become Empress Dowager.

The deep palace was a jungle where only the fittest survived. Bai Gudan had spent seven years in the palace and believed she'd never done anything wrong.

The fragile balance was shattered in the sixth year of Yuan Zun's reign.

On the night of her birthday, she drank a tonic sent by Yuan Zun, and when she woke up, she found herself naked in bed with him.

Bai Gudan was so furious she could taste blood. She propped up her weak body from the bed and reached out to viciously grab Yuan Zun's neck beside her.

"You animal!"

Yuan Zun casually pulled her hands away from his throat and laughed. "What's wrong? Why are you so angry?"

Bai Gudan's entire body was trembling. She had been taught from childhood to conceal her emotions, but now she was utterly disgusted.

"I want to take the contraceptive medicine!"

Her hands clenched into fists, she broke free from Yuan Zun's grip and punched him in the face. The sound of his nasal bone cracking rang out against her hard knuckles. Yuan Zun wiped the blood trickling from his nose with his hand and laughed like a madman.

He stood up and dressed himself, his devastatingly handsome exterior concealing nothing but rotten, putrid flesh.

"If there's a child, then have it," Yuan Zun sneered. "From now on, you won't take a single dose of medicine."

He opened the door, and the warm spring sunlight illuminated the dim, cold room, yet inexplicably sent a chill down her spine.

"The Empress Dowager, out of great compassion, and given the frequent natural disasters in recent years, will soon depart for a mountain retreat to practice vegetarianism and chant Buddhist scriptures, praying for the people and delivering them from calamity."

The prayer was a pretense; the imprisonment was the truth.

Tears of hatred streamed from the corners of Bai Gudan's eyes. Her sharp nails dug into the flesh of her palms, and amid the wreckage of the room, she swore a vicious oath.

She would live well. She would watch Yuan Zun die.

The past had all turned into dreams. Bai Gudan lay stretched out on the embroidered bed, slowly drifting back to wakefulness.

She opened her eyes slightly, her body curled tightly into a ball, hugging herself beneath the cold bedding.

A faint, cool sandalwood fragrance drifted through the chamber, and dim candlelight flickered beyond the bed curtains.

"Is my lady awake?"

Bai Gudan blanked for a moment. At the sound of the howling, biting wind outside the window, she shivered, slowly sat up, and replied, "Mm."

She threw off the covers and got out of bed, her trembling body supported by the elderly maid's hand.

A soft voice fell within the room, blending with the fierce, wailing wind outside, betraying no emotion.

"I need to go to Guangyang Palace to see Noble Consort Liu."