My Prince said he'd break my legs.

When she saw Liang Qingwan off, she asked Pei Yue for 100,000 taels of silver notes and some loose silver, and then asked Yu Zhao to assign two people who knew martial arts to escort her away.

The 100,000 taels of silver notes were for Liang Qingwan to carry easily, while the loose silver was for her to spend on the road.

As long as she doesn't make a foolish mistake and get scammed, whether she goes back to the Gao family or not, this 100,000 taels of silver will ensure she has enough to eat and wear for the rest of her life.

Standing on the city wall, watching Liang Qingwan's carriage gradually disappear into the distance, she felt a mix of emotions, wondering if she would ever have the chance to escape this magnificent cage in her lifetime.

Back at Yaoguang Palace, Qinglan helped her undress and wash up: "Your Majesty, the Empress's injuries have healed, and she will be going to the Empress's palace to pay her respects starting tomorrow."

Paying respects meant getting up early and facing Pei Yue's concubines in the harem, and Liang Zhiyi instantly felt that her days of hardship were about to begin.

She had just finished washing up and lay down on the bed when Chunmei rushed in.

Qinglan is on night watch today, and Chunmei won't come into the house unless there's something to discuss.

Liang Zhiyi sat up and asked, "What's wrong?"

"Your Majesty, Huanxiang requests an audience."

Liang Zhiyi's mind went blank for a moment before she remembered that Huanxiang was the Sixth Princess's personal maid.

Having not seen the Sixth Princess for almost a year, she had almost forgotten the name of the Sixth Princess's maid.

The late emperor is dead, Prince Chen failed in his bid for the throne, and Consort Shu—no, now Consort Jiang—is under house arrest. Presumably, the Sixth Princess's days will not be easy.

But... the Sixth Princess has her own residence, so why is she in the palace right now?

"Let her in to talk." After entering the palace, she had thought about going to see the Sixth Princess and see how she was doing.

But Pei Yue wouldn't allow it, and kept her tied up in Xuanhe Palace every day. At that time, she thought the Sixth Princess was in her own residence, which was why Pei Yue wouldn't let her go.

Unexpectedly, the person was actually in the palace.

Consort Jiang was confined to the palace, and since the Sixth Princess was Consort Jiang's daughter, it was understandable that she came to keep Consort Jiang company.

Liang Zhiyi got out of bed, and Qinglan draped an outer coat over her shoulders.

Before Liang Zhiyi could even reach the outer room, she saw Huanxiang stumble in and kneel before her, crying, "Your Highness, please save our princess!"

Liang Zhiyi was startled: "What's wrong with the Sixth Princess?"

Huanxiang sobbed, "Our princess is ill, but we can't get a royal physician at all."

With Prince Chen's death, the Jiang family line was rendered useless. In the opportunistic imperial palace, this was all too common.

In ancient times, medical care was underdeveloped, and a common cold could be fatal at any time.

She looked at Chunmei, and without her saying anything, Chunmei understood her meaning and turned to go out to fetch the imperial physician.

Now that she is Pei Yue's favorite concubine, it wouldn't be difficult for her to hire an imperial physician.

"Help me change my clothes, I'm going to check on the Sixth Princess."

Qinglan said, "Your Majesty, curfew has already been imposed. It would be inappropriate to go out now. Your Majesty..."

She already had enough of Pei Yue, who was constantly keeping her under control, and now Qinglan was by her side, making her feel like she couldn't do this or that. Her life was truly frustrating.

Liang Zhiyi was initially very angry, but when she thought that Chunmei's life had been saved by her, she suppressed her anger and went into the house to change her clothes without saying a word.

Qinglan had served Liang Zhiyi for so long and knew her temperament. Knowing that she couldn't persuade her, she stopped trying and silently helped her change her clothes.

For safety's sake, Qinglan had the eunuch on night watch accompany her when she went out.

Liang Zhiyi had considered that the Sixth Princess was in a difficult situation, but she never expected that Huanxiang would lead her further and further to remote places.

Seeing her confusion, Qinglan explained, "This is the Cold Palace, where concubines who have made mistakes live."

The interior was simply decorated, with almost no usable furniture, not to mention the servants and maids.

Unexpectedly, it wasn't the sixth princess lying on the bed; she was standing to the side.

Compared to the carefree sixth princess a year ago, she is now emaciated and looks like she's about to lose her figure; the innocence and naivety in her eyes are gone.

Jiang Shuren, lying in bed, became emaciated in just a few months.

Jiang, a commoner, spent his entire life scheming in the palace, but in the end, he made a fatal mistake and was deposed and imprisoned.

Once a woman enters the palace and gives birth, everyone wants their son to ascend the throne, wield power, and rule the vast empire, bringing high positions and wealth to their fathers and brothers, and glory to their family.

However, if someone failed to seize the throne, those associated with them would not have a good ending; this was the cruelty of the old society.

Liang Zhiyi couldn't help but feel a sense of shared sorrow. If she stayed by Pei Yue's side, given her favored status, she would be seen as an obstacle in other people's eyes as soon as she had a child.

Even if she doesn't fight for power, how could there be no scheming within the palace?

In the future, her fate will most likely be the same, and the children she gave birth to will not have a good end either.

The thought of this made her feel extremely annoyed.

When the Sixth Princess saw her arrive, tears streamed down her face. She hurriedly explained, "I didn't mean to lie to you. I was just afraid that if I told you it was Mother who was ill, you wouldn't want to come. Besides you, I can't think of anyone else who can help me, Zhiyi... Waaah... Waaah..."

Liang Zhiyi wiped away her tears: "It's okay, I won't blame you."

The Yaoguang Palace was full of Pei Yue's people. When Huanxiang asked to see her at the entrance of the Yaoguang Palace, Pei Yue must have already known. If Pei Yue hadn't let her come, she wouldn't have been able to leave the Yaoguang Palace at all.

Therefore, Pei Yue tacitly approved the treatment of Jiang Shuren.

A woman whose entire maternal family was slaughtered, and whose son and husband were all dead, couldn't cause any trouble.

In this deep palace, even without Pei Yue lifting a finger, the pampered Consort Jiang wouldn't last long.

Liang Zhiyi glanced at Jiang Shuren, who was barely breathing on the bed, and said, "I didn't know you were in the palace, why... didn't you come to find me sooner?"

The sixth princess's eyes were bloodshot, indicating that she had been suffering for a long time.

"After New Year's Eve, Sixth Brother died, and Mother Consort was imprisoned here by Seventh Brother. I was also put under guard. We couldn't get any news from the outside world here. It wasn't until yesterday that I was allowed to go out and learned that Seventh Brother's most beloved Consort Zhao was you."

That's why Huanxiang came to see her.

As the two were talking, the imperial physician arrived: "Greetings, Consort Zhao."

Liang Zhiyi waved her hand: "Go and treat Lord Jiang quickly."

The imperial physician glanced inside and said, "This..."

"You can continue to treat him; I will explain things to His Majesty."

"Yes." Everyone in the palace knew that Consort Zhao was favored, so the imperial physicians naturally dared not disobey her.

A moment later, the imperial physician reported back: "Your Highness, Consort Zhao, the commoner Jiang has been exposed to cold, and due to the lack of timely treatment and the prolonged delay, coupled with damage to his heart meridian, there is no hope of recovery."

Upon hearing this, the Sixth Princess's tears streamed down her face like broken pearls. She threw herself into Consort Jiang's arms, crying, "Mother..."

Liang Zhiyi glanced at them but didn't go over. She only had the imperial physician write a prescription and sent Chunmei with the physician to get the medicine.

Since there's no way to reverse the situation, taking the medicine will only delay things and give the Sixth Princess and Consort Tai more time to say goodbye properly.

That was all she could do.

She didn't go in to disturb the mother and daughter's conversation, but stood outside and waited quietly. After a short while, Huanxiang finished brewing the medicine that Chunmei had brought back and brought the soup into the house.

Fifteen minutes later, Huanxiang came out with red eyes, still holding the bowl of medicine in her hand. She choked up and said, "Consort Jiang refuses to drink the medicine."

Liang Zhiyi sighed. Jiang Shuren was asking for death.

As a noblewoman born into a prominent family, who was favored by the late emperor after marriage and lived a life of luxury, she was unwilling to linger in this cold palace. Death would be a relief for her.

It's just tough on the sixth princess; she'll truly be all alone from now on.

The April night was still quite cold. Liang Zhiyi stood outside facing the wind, kicking the pebbles under her feet intermittently, her thoughts in a daze, as if shrouded in mist.

She couldn't quite describe how she was feeling.

"Mother!" The Sixth Princess's heart-wrenching cries echoed throughout the cold palace.

-----

I forgot to write about Consort An's situation while I was writing, but oh well, I'm too lazy to add it now.