Scent Of Time

Chapter 35

“Do you know what you are talking about?”

In the palace, the Empress Dowager looked at me seriously. Her gaze was as deep as a needle stuck in me.

I endured her torch-like gaze and repeated, “I request a decree to divorce King Jin.”

The Empress Dowager sighed, still persuading, “If Lan’er has any faults, you can speak with me. There’s no need to have to go this far.”

It was true that elders were all fond of advising peace rather than separation.

“Mother, I didn’t come here on impulse. The relationship between King Jin and I had finished, so we mustn’t force ourselves together.” I remained unshaken.

“Nonsense.” The Empress Dowager also increased her tone, “How can you live your life like an unmarried woman!”

“Empress Dowager is unwilling to issue the decree? Then I will have to beg the Emperor.” I said openly.

“You ……” The Empress Dowager’s lips were trembling with anger. Aunt Su, beside her, hurriedly came forward to smooth her breath and gave me a disapproving look.

A layer of sweat covered my palms, but I still braced myself.

“Fine, I’ll give you a month.” The Empress Dowager waved her hand in annoyance, “If you still insist by then, I will issue a decree.”

“I …… will never regret it,” I answered with a burning gaze.

The Empress Dowager thought I was playing with my temper, so she gave me leeway, but I didn’t need it. Just after leaving Empress Dowager’s palace, I saw Gao Yu peeking outside, and as soon as he saw me, he walked over quickly.

“Miss Hua, the Emperor asked me to come and invite you.”

Hearing how he addressed me, my heart thumped, inexplicably a little uncomfortable. After walking a few steps, I saw Noble Consort Qi walk over and warmly greet me, “Princess Consort Jin has not come to the palace for a long time. I miss you a lot.”

After I exchanged a few pleasantries with her, Gao Yu couldn’t help but open his mouth to urge.

Noble Consort Qi swept her gaze over Gao Yu, then looked at me and spoke, “In the future, if Princess Consort Jin has nothing to do, you can come to my palace to sit down. I feel I’m very much in tune with Princess Consort Jin.”

The deep meaning in her tone made my heart uneasy, but on the surface, I only smiled and answered.

I followed Gao Yu to the side hall where Zhong Xiwu lived, and just as I stepped in, I saw a middle-aged palace maid standing beside Zhong Xiwu.

The palace lady smiled at me and bowed, then came forward, holding a soft ruler, and began to measure my body.

Confused, I let her fiddle with it and looked toward Zhong Xiwu, who was leisurely sipping his tea, and spoke, “What is this for?”

Zhong Xiwu played with the tea lid calmly. He was seemingly in a good mood, “I want to make a dress for …… her. I felt that you are similar in stature, and coincidentally, you have entered the palace, so I asked you to measure it.”

Is dog-blood abuse nowadays so cruel?

I’m holding back my mood to storm away. After that palace lady finished measuring, saluted, and left, I no longer suppressed my temper: “You have so many people in the harem, and Mu Yao’s body size should be similar to theirs. Why do you need to look for me? Besides, you haven’t taken care of that whole lot of your harem. Why are you staring at your own brother’s backyard?”

Zhong Xiwu’s gaze went cold all of a sudden. My heart twitched. I seemed to indulge myself. I stomped on his nose after he treated me better during this period. But after saying that, what else can I do? He was the one who risked a great deal to covet his brother’s wife.

“Do you think I have too many people in this palace?” Zhong Xiwu put down his teacup and asked.

When I heard these words, my fingers shrunk. Even though the person before me was still annoyed, I spoke, “I have a better understanding of Mu Yao. Even without Zhong Yelan, she won’t be willing to enter the palace.”

Zhong Xiwu’s face was as cold as ice cubes, without a smile. It was true that heroes were hard to dispose of, and emperors were no exception.

“Unwilling to enter the palace?”

Sighing in my heart, I kneeled and spoke piously, “It’s me who presumptuously speculates on Mu Yao’s mind with my own heart. The Emperor can personally ask Mu Yao if you don’t believe me. If she said it herself, it can’t be a lie.”

After a long time of not hearing Zhong Xiwu’s answer, my knees were kneeling in pain.

I finally heard his voice: “You can return.” His tone was indifferent, like when I first met him after transmigrating. I bowed my head and silently withdrew. He himself needs to understand this emotional matter. If he can’t, what other people say will be useless. I was kind enough to remind him. After all, I have known him for so long, and he was a good person. I didn’t want him to sink deeper — no matter who the person was.

Out of the palace, I had a brush with a gray-clothed man who seemed familiar. But before I turned around and looked carefully, Qian Zhi attached to my ear and said that Hua Shen was out of prison.

Mu Yao acted fast. I made an immediate decision and turned to the Hua Mansion. After seeing Hua Shen, even though I was mentally prepared, I still couldn’t help but be shocked. One month in prison has caused him to lose half his weight. He looked like a leaky balloon. When he saw me, his eyes still had the same familiar look as before, his mouth somewhat aggravated, “Sister, I’ve been in jail for so long. Why you didn’t come to see me?”

Toughening my heart and ignoring him, I walked to Hua Xiang and spoke, “Father, what I said has been done. Now, can you listen to me?”

Hua Xiang frowned. But he still followed me to the study, leaving behind Mrs. Hua, who wiped her tears, and Hua Shen, who looked at me with baffled eyes.

“I’ve asked for a decree to divorce.” My one sentence made Hua Xiang’s expression change. But before he could get angry, I added, “Now that Mu Yao has joined forces with King Jin, the Hua Family is her target.”

“Useless thing, can’t even grasp a man’s heart.” Hardly holding back his anger, Hua Xiang ruthlessly slammed his palm on the table.

I mocked him in my heart, and my tone was unforgiving, “Shouldn’t Father’s first thought be that …… this is what you get for being evil?”

“You …… you ……” Hua Xiang’s beard was shaking with anger, but I did not show any mercy.

“Holding Power is letting others hear your words and allowing the words of those in lower positions to reach the court. That should have been Father’s idea when you first became an official. But nowadays, Father has put the cart before the horse and constantly suppresses the voices below for the sake of power. The higher you stand, the less you see. Is this really what Father wanted to pursue from the beginning?”

Hua Xiang hadn’t thought I would say these words, and although his face was ugly, he did not interrupt.

“Regarding the matter of elder brother, Father should know better than me. It’s just like how Father stepped on countless people to reach the heights. The higher you climb, the more enemies you will make. In the end, you’ll lose more when enemies surround you. That is the cycle of life. When elder brother is in prison, Father has no way to seek help is the proof.” I met Hua Xiang’s inscrutable gaze and said, “A month later, the divorce decree will come down. If Father figures it out by then, I will return to this Hua Family to fight with you. But if Father insisted on having power, then I would leave. I won’t touch the Hua Family’s glory and misery from then on.”

After saying that, I turned around and left, giving Hua Xiang time to weigh. Within the next month, I began to focus on handing over many tasks to Hua Rongzhou, based on the clues from the novel, to collect incriminating evidence about the Hua Family. I needed to be the first to hold all the evidence in my hands so that I could have a choice. Hua Rongzhou lived up to my expectations and completed his tasks well. Looking at the thick pile of paper in my hand, I only felt cold.

In fact, from God’s perspective, I can completely destroy the witnesses and evidence involved in these incriminating documents. Even if Mu Yao has heavenly powers, it would be hard to save the day.

Unfortunately — I can’t. It is an injustice to all the victims.

I did not tell Hua Xiang about the existence of this evidence because I was waiting for his choice. If Hua Xiang had a bit of remorse and conscience, only then would I have handed this incriminating evidence to him, allowing him to admit his guilt and resign on his own. He had at least been the Prime Minister for more than ten years, and he was not completely useless. Whether for his connections or his political achievements, Zhong Xiwu will not put him to death, nor will he jeopardize his clan. That was the only way for him to survive, and the choice was up to him. If he still refuses to realize this, I will give up and give this evidence to Mu Yao. Then I will go far away from here, and I will have nothing to do with the death of the Hua family. That was my last fight for the Hua Family as Hua Qian.