Chapter 365

After Baili Chengyou and Meng Guxue were betrothed, they moved out of the palace and now reside in the Prince’s Mansion.

Meng Guxue searched around the mansion but couldn’t find Baili Chengyou, guessing he must have returned to the palace again.

She thought for a moment, changed her clothes and adjusted her hair, then led Xiao Tao into the palace.

During this period, she often visited the Queen wife in the palace, and the palace servants already recognized her. Therefore, she had an unobstructed path to Qiushi Palace.

“Greetings, Third Empress.”

The palace servants at Qiushi Palace bowed to Meng Guxue, their faces showing a hint of sorrow.

Seeing this, Meng Guxue sighed inwardly. She was the first to enter the main hall and indeed spotted Baili Chengyou by the Queen wife’s bedside.

In these days, Baili Chengyou had indeed become much haggard. His usual vanity bells were all removed, and often he would stay by the bedside through the night.

He was always resolute in his actions, so even Dong Lu, the old eunuch by his side, didn’t dare to advise him, only accompanying him.

Seeing Meng Guxue enter, Dong Lu’s eyes brightened, and he quickly bowed quietly, “Greetings, Third Empress.”

Now that the Queen wife was unconscious, after looking at the whole palace, only the words of the Third Empress had some weight in the palace.

Meng Guxue waved her hand at Dong Lu and quietly walked up behind Baili Chengyou, patting his shoulder.

“Baili?”

Baili Chengyou heard Meng Guxue call him and moved slightly, but didn’t turn his head.

Seeing him like this, Meng Guxue couldn’t bring herself to say the words about supporting Qiao Zhongguo for a while.

“Do you want to rest for a while? I’ll stay with the Madam.”

“Don’t worry too much. Haven’t the palace doctors said? The Madam is out of danger, but she hasn’t fully recovered yet. Give her some more time.”

Meng Guxue spoke warmly, actually just repeating these few sentences over and over.

She speculated in her heart that the Madam might have become a vegetable, but she didn’t dare to say it to Baili Chengyou.

She hadn’t known before that Baili Chengyou was so filial and indeed had a deep bond with the Madam.

“Why won’t Mother wake up?”

Baili Chengyou finally spoke, his voice hoarse, filled with profound weariness.

“It must be because I, as her son, am not sincere enough, so the Ancient God did not hear my prayers.”

The Ancient God was the most revered deity among the people of Nanli, the protector against disasters and hardships.

Seeing Baili Chengyou so fragile, Meng Guxue felt a pang in her heart, as if being pricked by needles, indescribably sore and swollen.

A few months ago, Baili Chengyou had even taken an arrow for her, for which she was immensely grateful.

At that time, despite his severe injury, he had joked with her all day. At that time, she had felt quite annoyed, but now she unexpectedly missed the “annoying” Baili Chengyou.

Unfortunately, the palace doctors and the local doctors had all been consulted, and everyone was at a loss.

Alas, she wondered if General Qiao had any imperial doctors with him…

Thinking of this, Meng Guxue suddenly felt a glimmer of hope in her heart. She bent down slightly, speaking gently to Baili Chengyou,

“Baili, I received a reply from General Qiao. This time, he is coming on behalf of the Yong Dynasty to celebrate the Queen wife’s birthday. Perhaps he has brought imperial doctors from Yong Dynasty with him?”

Baili Chengyou finally lifted his head upon hearing this.

Meng Guxue continued, “I know your Nanli is skilled in medicine, but since there’s no solution domestically, why not look to Yong Dynasty? Even if General Qiao hasn’t brought imperial doctors, we can ask him to write to the Emperor of Yong, requesting the best imperial doctor for the Madam.”

Baili Chengyou, not wanting to miss any glimmer of hope, nodded, “Alright, you write to inquire with Qiao Zhongguo. Whether the Yong Dynasty’s imperial doctor can save Mother, I, Baili Chengyou, will owe him a favor.”

Meng Guxue hesitated for a moment upon hearing this, then spoke up, “Baili, I want to personally go to meet General Qiao.”

Baili Chengyou frowned at this, suddenly looking deeply into Meng Guxue’s eyes.

“Is this your true purpose for entering the palace today?”

Meng Guxue hesitated slightly, then explained, “Even if this matter hadn’t happened, I would still have come to the palace today to see the Madam.”

She used to never explain anything to Baili Chengyou, and now she was simply accommodating his pitiable state by giving him some care.

That’s what Meng Guxue thought.

Baili Chengyou lowered his eyes and remained silent for a while.

Seeing this, Meng Guxue lightly pushed his shoulder. “Why are you like this? Haven’t I been by your side these days?”

Baili Chengyou grabbed Meng Guxue’s hand, and she tugged it back gently without pulling away.

“What’s wrong?” Meng Guxue asked with some unease.

Baili Chengyou lifted his head and said calmly, “You go. I’ll have A’er accompany you, never leaving your side.”

“Remember to come back, otherwise—”

Meng Guxue: “…”

Was Baili Chengyou threatening her?

“Alright, let go. I will come back.”

Shen Yuanbai was not yet removed. If she left Baili Chengyou now, it would be akin to seeking her own death. She wasn’t that foolish.

Baili Chengyou let go of her hand and didn’t look up at Meng Guxue again.

Meng Guxue glanced at the King wife on the bed, secretly determined in her heart to find a way to save her. She quietly left the hall.

On the way out of the palace, a palace maid intercepted Meng Guxue, as if waiting specifically for her.

“Greetings, Third Empress. I am Caiyun from Princess Xi’s side. Her Highness invites Third Empress to the Pavilion of Heart Lake for a meeting.”

“Princess Xi?” Meng Guxue frowned.

Currently, there was only one unmarried princess in the palace, named Baili Miaoxue.

Yes, this Princess Xi also had “Xue” in her name.

Due to a homophone issue, when she had just arrived, Princess Xi had made her lose face in front of the King because of the King’s favor.

Thinking of this, Meng Guxue’s face darkened. “Go and tell the princess that I have urgent matters to attend to. We can meet another time.”

“Third Sister-in-law, you have such great authority. Can’t I even invite you?” A girl in luxurious attire stepped forward from the side.

Meng Guxue: “…”

This person was right beside her. Was there a need to deliberately have the palace maid stop her?

“Little Sister Xi, Third Sister-in-law really has urgent matters.”

Meng Guxue took a step forward, but Baili Miaoxue firmly blocked her way.

“Hey, what can’t wait for a quarter of an hour? Third Sister-in-law, Little Sister Xi came to apologize sincerely to you. If you refuse, you might be causing trouble for Third Brother.”

Princess Xi smiled on her face but had already pulled Meng Guxue’s hand and led her to the pavilion nearby without giving her a chance to refuse.

As they walked through the corridor over the water, Caiyun deliberately stopped Xiaotao outside.

“Princess and Third Empress have private matters to discuss. We’ll wait here.”

Xiaotao frowned at this, looked worriedly at Meng Guxue, hesitated for a moment, found an excuse, and turned to find Baili Chengyou.

Meanwhile, Princess Xi pulled Meng Guxue into the Pavilion of Heart Lake and offered her a pastry with a respectful hand.

“Sister Xi, this pastry is made in the style of your Yong Dynasty. Xue put a lot of effort into it. Please try it.”

In the Pavilion of Heart Lake, there were bells and sachets from the Western Zhou dynasty. When the wind blew, the bells rang, and the sachets emitted a faint fragrance.

Meng Guxue felt her nose tickle and couldn’t help but sneeze.

Baili Miaoxue looked ashamed but continued earnestly, “Actually, after causing trouble for Sister-in-law last time, Xue also regretted it deeply. Third Brother gave Xue a stern lesson for it. So today, Xue came specifically to apologize to Sister-in-law.”

Meng Guxue looked at the pastry offered to her and felt cautious in her heart.