CHAPTER 352: CHAPTER 354: THE EMPRESS’S DIARY (PART 1)

Luan Palace was empty, and Feng Bailing searched it once through.

The first time, she discovered nothing.

She didn’t give up and searched again, this time using even her seventh sense.

Just as Feng Bailing was about to give up, her hand touched the Empress’s bed.

A muffled thump came from the bed.

Feng Bailing let out a light gasp, flipped over the bedclothes, and saw a small secret compartment beneath the bed.

The compartment wasn’t locked, so she opened it and found a jade box inside.

Feng Bailing’s heart leapt with joy, for the Dragon Queen had said, spiritual objects like the Holy Seal must be kept in a jade box.

Upon opening the jade box, what she saw was a diary, not any Wooden Holy Seal.

Despite her disappointment, Feng Bailing still flipped through the diary.

The writing filled the entire diary, which Feng Bailing had seen while searching the Luan Palace—it was the Empress’s handwriting.

The entries were dated, followed by the Empress’s daily records; unexpectedly, it seemed that the Empress had the habit of "keeping a diary."

The edges of the diary’s pages were slightly yellowed, some places frayed, obviously from a long time ago.

"In the 36th year of Shuoye, summer, I just had my coming-of-age ceremony. My family arranged my marriage, and I was very happy, even though he was a prince out of favor, and the marriage was proposed by distant relatives, I was still very pleased. Two years before, while praying for my grandmother in the temple, I sheltered with him from the rain, and I took a liking to him then."

Emperor Shuoye was the late Emperor of Great Chu, the father of Emperor Yongye.

The diary recorded trivial matters, yet the timeline was very clear.

He, referred to in the diary, was evidently Emperor Yongye.

Emperor Yongye was the thirteenth son of Emperor Shuoye, and his mother was an unremarkable talented lady. The year he was born coincided with a severe drought in Great Chu, and the State Preceptor declared Emperor Yongye to be a calamitous star at birth.

Emperor Yongye was not favored by the late Emperor since birth and was sent to the temple with his mother before he was even a year old.

It was not until he was ten that his mother died, and Emperor Shuoye, in a Buddhist ceremony, noticed a young and extremely clever monk who chanted scriptures beautifully. Upon inquiry, to his surprise, he learned that the boy was his own son, left at the temple for years, and then brought him back to the palace.

After being brought back to the palace, Emperor Shuoye placed him in the care of Empress Mei.

The Empress of that time had given birth to two children who sadly died young.

The State Preceptor foretold she was destined to have two children and would have sons to see her through her elderly years. Just so happened that the mother of Prince Shun also passed away from illness, and the Empress Dowager adopted both.

Even so, Emperor Yongye still wore the stigma of a calamitous star.

No noblewoman wished to marry him, but by coincidence, a daughter from a side branch of the Xiao family had a compatible horoscope with him, and Empress Mei decided on the marriage on his behalf.

Not long after, Prince Shun was betrothed, to the woman who would become Princess Consort Shun.

"In the 38th year of Shuoye, on the fifteenth day of the eighth month, I married him. I remember clearly, under the glow of red candles, he wore his wedding robes, looking so handsome. I dared not look at him directly, only hearing my own heart pounding fiercely. On the wedding night, I was both thrilled and anxious, listening intently to his footsteps drawing nearer. I waited for him to lift my wedding veil, but he just sat there filled with the scent of liquor, ignoring me. I waited all night until the candle went out, and the wax dried up. At dawn, without a word, he approached the bed and drew his sword. Blood splashed upon the white handkerchief. His voice hit me like a bucket of cold water. Xiao Qianning, I married you under the command of the Father Emperor. I already have someone I admire; in this life, it will be her or no one for me. I married you as promised to the Xiao family; I gave you the title of Princess Consort, but my love can only be for her..."

This page had obvious tear stains, which even after many years, remained distinctly visible.