C4 Entering the Palace

Reborn this morning, let's face the battle together once more!

"Miss, please take off your clothes so I can bandage you," Crescent said, approaching with a clean robe, medicine, and white gauze in hand.

"No need, come with me," Tiange replied, pushing the drawer shut. She grabbed a long robe and headed for the hall door.

"Miss, your shoulder is still bleeding, and it's cold outside. If you need anything, just tell me..." Crescent hurried after Tiange, who showed no signs of stopping. "Where are you going, Miss?"

"To the palace," Tiange said calmly, her eyes steady and cold. Crescent froze in her tracks.

Having grown up in the Marquis Mansion, she was well aware of the young lady's background. After the passing of the old Marquis, the title was inherited by his eldest son, Feng Qing. Tiange was Feng Qing's youngest daughter, with an older brother, Feng Junli, who was stationed at the border.

Tiange's mother, Chu Yue, was the daughter of the current Empress Dowager, though not born to the former monarch. When Chu Yue married into the South Suppressing Marquis Mansion, she was already pregnant. Feng Qing willingly married her and treated the child, Feng Junli, as his own.

After giving birth to Tiange, Chu Yue disappeared, leaving Feng Qing disheartened. He sent Feng Junli to the border to avoid seeing him, which left Tiange neglected and scorned. Her plain appearance only added to her struggles, making her life as insignificant as dust.

"Miss... are you really going to the palace?" Yueya snapped back to reality and rushed out, only to find Tiange standing in the courtyard, gazing up at the sky thick with leaden clouds. Light snowflakes fell, accentuating the indescribable desolation of her silhouette.

Amidst the wind and snow, wheels rolled on. The chilly streets of Xuanwu occasionally saw soldiers passing by, gripping their swords with grim expressions, as if the remnants of a corrupt concubine might leap out at any moment to claim their heads.

From an alley came the pitiful wails of a blacksmith's shop, struggling to craft an exquisite ghost mask. Beiming Yuan would rather err on the side of caution than let anyone slip through.

Thanks to the ivory token, Tiange entered the palace without hindrance. The familiar palace grounds were blanketed in snow, yet the air was thick with the scent of blood. The massacre had raged for a full day and night, with the leaders of the Thirteen Sects protecting her from Chonghua Palace to the Heaven Obeying Hall. Everywhere they went, bodies piled up, and rivers of blood flowed.

All she wanted was an answer.

"Miss, we've arrived."

The ebony plaque bore the words "Happiness Prolonging Hall" in red and gold, barely visible through the snowstorm. Tiange slowly knelt before the hall. "Tiange begs forgiveness from her Royal Grandma!"

In her past life, because of the Silver Mask, she often visited the kind-hearted Empress Dowager inside this hall, a gentle elder who had once fought alongside the former monarch.

Crescent was startled by her young lady's actions and rushed over to help. "Miss, your shoulder is still injured!"

"Step back," Tiange instructed, lying prostrate on the ground, her forehead touching the cold marble, respectfully kneeling before the hall.

The wind grew colder, and the snow danced wildly like torn cotton, stinging her face with its icy chill. Tiange's frail figure appeared even more desolate amidst the snowstorm, while Crescent stood silently by her side.

Inside the hall, an elderly nanny hurried into the inner chamber, hesitating as she saw her mistress resting in the corner.

"What is it?" Empress Dowager Chu asked, glancing at Nanny Sunn, who had been with her for over thirty years. "You've spent most of your life here in the Happiness Prolonging Hall and still don't know my temperament? Speak up."

"Your Majesty, it's your granddaughter, Tiange, from the South Suppressing Marquis Mansion. She's outside, kneeling and asking for your forgiveness." Nanny Sunn's usually gentle voice trembled with emotion.

If she remembered correctly, the last time the young lady visited the Happiness Prolonging Hall was five years ago. Since County Princess Chu Yue took her mother's surname, her children naturally referred to the Empress Dowager as their grandmother.

Empress Dowager Chu paused, her deep eyes suddenly brightening. "Tiange? It's snowing outside, isn't it? Quickly... quickly, bring her in!"

Nanny Sunn was about to turn away when she saw Empress Dowager Chu pull her hand out of the sable hand warmer and pound the heated brick bed. "You said she's kneeling? Why is that child kneeling outside for no reason? Help me out there."

Nanny Sunn knew that in this place, the only person who could still touch the old mistress's heart was the young lady of the Feng family. However, due to some old grievances, the child had grown distant from the Empress Dowager.

The door creaked open, and with Nanny Sunn's support, the silver-haired Empress Dowager Chu stepped out. She looked up to see the sky filled with swirling snow, and a frail figure standing alone in the storm, as fragile as a leaf adrift, with nothing to hold onto.

After five years, the child seemed to have grown taller.

"Someone, are you all blind? Hurry and help Tiange up!" The Empress Dowager's voice, though aged, carried authority without anger. As soon as she spoke, the palace maids and eunuchs waiting outside rushed over.

"Grandma..." Feng Tiange prostrated even lower on the ground. "I am unworthy! I beg you to sever ties with me. From now on, you will no longer have a granddaughter like me to bring you shame!"