Volume One, Chapter Seven: There Is No Such Thing as Palm or Back of the Hand
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She had previously served in the Fourth Prince’s palace; whenever he was injured, they used Golden Dragon Gallgrass, which is how she recognized it.
Upon hearing this, Mu Yuanzhi finally looked properly at the bottle of wound medicine.
Why not use it if it’s free? There’s no need to be difficult with herself.
Mu Yuanzhi said, “Come, apply it to my back.”
“Here you go!”
After a night of light sleep, Mu Yuanzhi woke up and, gazing at the sunlit room, felt a moment of disbelief—she had truly escaped that dreadful place.
From now on, she would never go back!
After waking and washing up, Pei Yunxi came to see her, accompanied by Mu Yuanzhi’s adoptive mother, who was also Pei Yunxi’s biological mother, the Virtuous Consort.
“Don’t worry, darling, Dewdrop will definitely come back—it might even be here with you, Zhi’er.”
“Hopefully. It hasn’t eaten all day; daughter fears it might be hungry.”
Listening to the increasingly loud conversation outside, Mu Yuanzhi curled her lips slightly. As she had suspected, Pei Yunxi was scheming to use poor Dewdrop in her intrigues.
“Zhi’er,”
The dignified Virtuous Consort approached with Pei Yunxi’s support.
This was the woman she had called mother for sixteen years, also Pei Yunxi’s biological mother. Years ago, the Consort had prematurely delivered twins on the way back to the capital. The old nurse somehow lost one of them and, fearing exposure, boldly concealed the truth, claiming only a prince had been born.
Only on her deathbed did the nurse confess the truth, allowing them to retrieve Pei Yunxi.
By a twist of fate, among so many concubines, Mu Yuanzhi was fostered under Pei Yunxi’s biological mother.
Mu Yuanzhi would never forget the time the Consort, furious over Pei Yunxi, personally took up a slender bamboo rod and struck her fiercely, screaming hoarsely, “I am not your mother! My greatest regret is raising you—this ungrateful wretch!”
She suppressed her thoughts and went out to greet them.
“I heard you were injured?” The Consort’s eyes betrayed a hint of reproach for Mu Yuanzhi’s harm to Pei Yunxi, but upon seeing Mu Yuanzhi’s pale face, her tone softened.
“It’s nothing serious. The imperial physician was unavailable, but I have already prepared and taken medicine myself,” Mu Yuanzhi replied.
In the past, the Consort would rush over immediately to inquire when she was hurt. Last night, she had probably spent the entire time with Pei Yunxi, forgetting about her foster daughter. Perhaps if it weren’t for looking for Dewdrop today, she might not have remembered Mu Yuanzhi at all.
The Consort expected Mu Yuanzhi to cling to her, sobbing and pleading as usual, but instead, she was cold and distant, as if speaking to a stranger, which saddened her deeply.
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Had she fostered her daughter for sixteen years only for her to treat her so coldly upon learning she was not her biological mother?
“Zhi’er, are you blaming me for not pleading on your behalf? But Xi’er did nothing wrong. You shouldn’t have harmed her. They’re both your own flesh and blood—how can I plead for you?” The Consort’s expression grew stern.
Mu Yuanzhi sighed inwardly. There was no such thing as equal love; Pei Yunxi, the ‘palm,’ was the prized one, while she was the ‘back of the hand,’ easily discarded.
“Mother, please don’t blame sister. She knows her mistake and has already apologized to me,” Pei Yunxi said coquettishly, linking arms with the Consort.
The Consort patted Pei Yunxi’s hand tenderly, then had the palace maid bring out some clothes.
“This Weiyang Palace lacks everything, but Xi’er thought of you as her sister and wanted to bring you clothes at dawn.” The Consort smiled, clearly proud of her sensible daughter.
Mu Yuanzhi picked up one outfit and immediately saw it wouldn’t fit—it was likely meant for Pei Yunxi. She smiled, “Little sister’s heart is kind, but our heights differ. I’m afraid I can’t wear these, so it would waste your and mother’s kindness.”
The Consort looked embarrassed. “That’s my oversight. I’ll have the internal affairs department send some suitable ones later.”
“The internal affairs department is busy delivering things to Little Sister’s Changle Palace. They probably can’t attend to this place for a while,” Mu Yuanzhi smiled.
Pei Yunxi bit her lip in guilt. “Sorry, Sister Yuanzhi. I caught a cold last night; my old illness flared up, which is why Father and the others were a bit worried. Please don’t be angry.”
Her words made the Consort’s guilt toward Mu Yuanzhi instantly shift to pity for Pei Yunxi.
After all, Zhi’er didn’t understand. Otherwise, how would things have come to this?
Sure enough, the emperor was right: making mistakes requires punishment and repentance to learn a lesson.
“I’m not angry. I’m busy. If there’s nothing else, I’ll be going,” Mu Yuanzhi said, not expelling them but leaving on her own.
No matter how much Pei Yunxi flaunted her favor now, she didn’t want to respond.
“Don’t go yet, Sister Yuanzhi. Dewdrop is missing. I thought maybe it missed you and sneaked here,” Pei Yunxi said, looking at Mu Yuanzhi.
Mu Yuanzhi’s expression remained unchanged. “I haven’t seen it. How can Little Sister not even take care of a cat properly?”
Pei Yunxi stared straight at Mu Yuanzhi, puzzled by her calmness and lack of protest.
Did she really not know the cat died in her backyard?
That made things easier!
Pei Yunxi marched straight to the backyard without any pretense.
The Consort followed silently to help look for the cat.
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“Dewdrop?!” Pei Yunxi was frantic, calling as she walked.
There was no cat, no blood, and the more she searched, the more suspicious she became.
How could this be?
She had explicitly ordered someone to throw the dead cat here!
Undeterred, Pei Yunxi circled the backyard twice but found nothing—not even a single cat hair.
She looked at Mu Yuanzhi again. Mu Yuanzhi met her gaze, smiling enigmatically.
Pei Yunxi belatedly realized Mu Yuanzhi was truly different now, having become steadier after her time in Yong Alley.
“Maybe Dewdrop went elsewhere to play. Little sister won’t disturb you further. I’ll take my leave.”
“Dewdrop likes Little Sister so much; it will surely come back to find you.”
Hearing this, a sudden unease gripped Pei Yunxi’s heart. The image of the bloodied cat lunging at her with fierce eyes was vivid in her mind.
She steadied herself, wearing a troubled expression. “Yes, Little Sister will look elsewhere first.”
Xiao Nianzi silently observed everything from behind, piecing the events together with a furrowed brow. After everyone left and Mu Yuanzhi stepped out of her chamber, he quietly slipped away.
At this moment, Mu Yuanzhi had circled half the palace and arrived at the Grand Moon Palace, where the Empress Dowager resided, hoping for a stroke of luck.
The Empress Dowager was advanced in years, living a secluded life devoted to Buddhist chants, uninterested in worldly affairs.
In her previous life, Mu Yuanzhi had only met this great-grandmother once and couldn’t gauge her temperament. Yet, the Empress Dowager was the only one in the palace utterly indifferent to Pei Yunxi’s hypocritical schemes.
If she could gain the Empress Dowager’s support, even navigating the palace’s treacherous waters would be less perilous.
She intended to win over this pillar of strength.
The Grand Moon Palace was usually very quiet. Aside from the cleaning maids and guards on duty, few dared to come near, knowing the Empress Dowager treasured tranquility.
“Princess, please wait.” An unfamiliar old palace maid blocked Mu Yuanzhi’s path. “Ahead is the Grand Moon Palace. If you are out for a walk, please detour elsewhere.”