A wicked mother swaps her son and sucks his blood? The true legitimate daughter is reborn and goes o

"Consort Hui." Song Qingning was not surprised to see her.

Recalling yesterday at Fengqi Palace, when Consort Hui was leaving, she glanced at her, and that glance was full of meaning.

"Were you waiting for me?"

Song Qingning's directness startled Consort Hui for a moment, then the corners of her mouth widened slightly. "How do you know?"

"It's cold today. No matter how beautiful the Imperial Garden is, it's not worth Consort Hui getting her nose red from the cold."

So I'm waiting for her.

There is something important to discuss.

Song Qingning thought of Xie Yuzhen, and then of Xie Lian, and a guess formed in her mind.

Consort Hui lowered her eyes, a hint of approval in her smile, becoming even more certain that Song Qingning would be a very good partner.

"Princess Consort Huai, I have been waiting for you. On the anniversary of the Imperial Concubine's death, the Emperor has asked the younger generation to copy the prayer flags. I am illiterate, so I am waiting here for Princess Consort Huai. I would like to ask Princess Consort Huai to come with me to the library to get some suitable scriptures."

Consort Hui looked at Song Qingning, her sincerity growing ever more certain, "I wonder if the Princess Consort of Huai would be willing to come with me?"

Song Qingning understood.

Taking the scriptures is just an excuse used to appease outsiders.

"Of course I'm willing."

The two understood each other without saying a word and went to the library together.

We chatted casually along the way.

"How is the Sixth Prince's health these days?"

"He... he's always been like that."

Consort Hui's tone was devoid of emotion. After a pause, she said softly, "After the New Year, it will be the twenty-second..."

22.

For the sixth prince, it was a cruel number.

Thinking of her past life, in which the Sixth Prince died at the age of twenty-two, Song Qingning felt a strange pang in her heart and said a word of comfort, "The Sixth Prince is a lucky man."

"Good fortune for the lucky ones?" A bitter look in Consort Hui's eyes gradually faded, eventually replaced by a chilling expression. "But there are always people who prevent him from being that lucky one."

"Liu'er was born with an illness. He almost died at birth, but was saved by... the Imperial Concubine."

The word "fortunately" was deliberately emphasized.

His words, laced with sarcasm and hatred, were made without any attempt to conceal them from Song Qingning.

Once inside the library, Consort Hui dismissed the palace servants, leaving only herself and Song Qingning to select scriptures.

"The Imperial Concubine saved his life and compassionately bestowed upon him the name Lian..."

Consort Hui's voice, faint and resentful, reached Song Qingning's ears through a bookshelf.

The word "pity" conveyed to Song Qingning was not compassionate pity or tenderness, but rather the ruthless and contemptuous indifference of someone in a superior position.

"Pitiful……"

The image of Xie Lian appeared in Song Qingning's mind, and she finally understood the true meaning of the word "Lian".

She also recalled that Emperor Yuan had once reprimanded Consort Hui for calling the Sixth Prince "Sixth Son" and corrected her to call him "Lian'er".

But how could a mother, who knows the true meaning of the word "pity," utter it?

Consort Hui's voice continued to come:

"Yes, poor thing, my sixth son, truly pitiful."

"When the Imperial Concubine died, I thought Liu'er would no longer be 'Lian'er,' but he still is. Even without the Imperial Concubine, there is Xie Yuzhen, there is Xie Yuqi, and there is him..."

The last "he" was almost squeezed out from between his teeth.

Consort Hui's voice trembled slightly.

It was as if he was trying his best to suppress the anger in his heart.

The bookshelf blocked Song Qingning's view, so she couldn't see what her expression was like.

A moment of silence fell over the air. When Consort Hui's voice came again, it was now imbued with a layer of unwavering determination, as if she had made a firm decision: "Princess Consort of Huai, I... want to cooperate with you..."

The two did not stay in the library for long.

But that is enough to form an alliance.

The library door opened again, and the two handed their respective scriptures to the palace maid.

"I must thank Princess Huai today. If it weren't for her help, I might have chosen the wrong scripture and offended the spirit of the Imperial Concubine in heaven."

The two deliberately kept their distance.

Consort Hui expressed her gratitude in a rather distant manner, to which Song Qingning responded indifferently.

They then parted ways, one heading to the Empress's palace and the other to the Imperial Concubine's palace.

The two figures were spotted by a palace maid not far away. After an incense stick had burned, the maid returned to the princess's palace and reported Song Qingning's whereabouts to Xie Yuzhen.

"Consort Hui?"

Xie Yuzhen frowned, her eyes filled with undisguised disdain, much like the former Consort Shen.

"Just going to the library to retrieve Buddhist scriptures?"

Xie Yuzhen became suspicious.

Seeing her serious expression, Xie Yuqi remained unconcerned, saying, "Why do you care about a servant who only became one of Father's concubines because of her mother?"

His tone and expression were full of contempt.

Xie Yuzhen's eyebrows gradually relaxed.

Then, a contemptuous smile, just like Xie Yuqi's, appeared on her lips. "Indeed, she's just a servant. My mother gave her a chance and also pities her son."

"Fortunately, she knew how she obtained her title of 'Consort Hui' and her son's status as the Sixth Prince, so she remained relatively well-behaved."

"Her son..."

When Xie Yuzhen mentioned his sixth brother, he spoke of him as if he were a kitten or a puppy.

When she was a child, she found a lot of fun in Xie Lian.

"Twenty-two years old."

"Doctor Ling said he could only live to be twenty-two. If it weren't for wanting to see if Doctor Ling's words were accurate, that poor wretch would have died a few years earlier..."

Before Xie Yuzhen could finish speaking, a vicious glint appeared between her brows.

Xie Lian was out of favor and was in poor health; killing him would be too easy.

Even more tragically, Xie Lian's father wouldn't care much even if he died.

In the royal family, a mother's status can rise with her son's, and a son's status can rise with his mother's.

Her father loved her mother deeply, so she and her brother were pampered by him from a young age. Consort Hui relied on her mother to get where she is today, and even though she became a consort, she could not change her nature as a servant.

How can the son of a servant win the emperor's favor?

Looking at Xie Yuzhen, who bore a resemblance to his mother, Xie Yuqi recalled the cause of his mother's death.

A thought flashed through my mind:

[What kind of person is my mother?]

But in just a moment, he quickly extinguished that thought.

As if resisting, I dared not think too deeply about it.

Shifting his thoughts, he warned Xie Yuzhen:

"I know you want to use the anniversary of my mother's death to deal with Song Qingning, but it is still the anniversary of my mother's death. I don't care what you do to Song Qingning, but you can't ruin the anniversary of my mother's death."

"Of course!" Xie Yuzhen said confidently. "Brother, I know what's important."

"Besides, it's not me who's targeting Song Qingning, it's Shen Wan'er..."

"Shen Wan'er's attempt to drug him failed, and Xie Xuanjin wants her to marry a servant. If she really marries him, she will have no way out for the rest of her life."

"She begged me, and I reluctantly agreed to let her scheme against Song Qingning on the anniversary of her mother's death."

"Shen Wan'er is foolish, but don't worry, brother. I will keep a close eye on things this time, and nothing can go wrong."

Xie Yuzhen placed all the blame on Shen Wan'er.

But deep down, he couldn't wait to see Song Qingning convicted, and wanted to personally pull out her claws!

Overwhelmed with eagerness, Xie Yuzhen could not contain herself for a moment. She got up, put on a cloak, and headed towards the Imperial Concubine's palace.

Song Qingning was ordered to copy prayer flags in the Imperial Concubine's palace.

Footsteps came from outside the door, and palace servants bowed one after another, calling out "Princess Yuzhen".

A moment later, the door was pushed open.

The sound was extremely jarring.

A gust of cold wind blew in, and without even looking, Song Qingning knew that Xie Yuzhen's visit was ill-intentioned.