What is considered casual?
Whenever Feng Qihuo thought of that lowly servant girl Yu Linglong, he felt utterly disgusted!
That was what he called casual!
It was all his fault for being deceived by her face back then, believing she was truly Li'er, and thus doing such things with her.
Now, just the thought of it made him feel as uncomfortable as if he had swallowed a fly.
"You're thinking of Yu Linglong again?" The Empress knew her son's thoughts well.
Upon hearing the name Yu Linglong, Feng Qihuo's expression turned even more grim.
"Mother, please, do not mention that lowly woman again!"
"But you said earlier that Yu Linglong died in a stone chamber..."
The Empress still found the matter somewhat strange.
Who had captured Yu Linglong and taken her to that place, and who had released the water to drown her?
"I have a feeling that the atmosphere in the imperial city these past few days has been somewhat off."
"What's off?" Feng Qihuo's mind was preoccupied with Chu Qianli's situation in Yuhua Palace, and his thoughts were not as sharp.
The Empress frowned, remaining silent.
Why did she feel something was off?
Was it because she sensed that someone had returned?
Ever since the peace of Ronghua Palace was disturbed, the black-clad figures who broke in and then inexplicably vanished, and the discovery of a secret passage in Consort Rong's chambers in Ronghua Palace, from the moment the news reached her, she had felt uneasy.
Consort Rong... could it be that the lowly woman was truly still alive?
The Emperor, besides his physical discomfort, seemed to be burdened by thoughts lately.
That day, she also heard that the Emperor had gone to Ronghua Palace late at night.
Why would he go to a palace that had been sealed for so many years after a death?
Could it be that the Emperor had also discovered something amiss?
For some inexplicable reason, the Empress felt deeply unsettled tonight.
After sending Feng Qihuo away, she tossed and turned, unable to sleep.
In the middle of the night, she actually got out of bed, put on her outer robe, and left her chambers.
"Your Highness..."
"Tell them to retreat. They need not follow." The Empress waved her hand.
The wet nurse immediately dismissed everyone, forbidding anyone from approaching.
The Empress emerged from her own chambers and walked along the palace paths, appearing somewhat aimless.
Yet, it was as if she had a destination in mind all along.
The wet nurse dared not ask anything, merely following silently behind her.
Finally, the Empress stopped.
The wet nurse also quickly halted.
Looking at the courtyard gate in the distance, the wet nurse whispered, "Your Highness, some matters... if they are not necessary, do not pry. It will bring no good."
The Empress was not ignorant of this, but after so many years, resentment still lingered in her heart.
Her cold eyes were fixed on the courtyard gate ahead.
Though it appeared calm, there was an undeniable sense of an impending storm.
"Wet nurse, I feel inexplicably uneasy."
"Your Highness, do you feel a sense of foreboding?" The wet nurse also looked at the courtyard gate, her expression growing solemn. "Your Highness, she has been dead for so many years."
"Has anyone personally seen her corpse? And who can be certain that the corpse was indeed hers?"
"Your Highness!" The wet nurse quickly interrupted her. "Your Highness, do not overthink..."
"I cannot help but think."
Why was it that recently, she had such a strong feeling that something was not right?
Especially after the last time, when she had clearly seen that the Emperor still cherished that woman after all these years, her heart had been restless.
She had seen through the Emperor's heart!
This man's heart belonged solely to that woman and her son.
Towards her son, his affection had always been feigned!
Suddenly, the wet nurse gasped, "Your Highness, look... who is that?"