Chapter 4 A change in plan
The morning light greeted the world as it chased after the darkness that blankets the night sky.
As the new dawn of the day greeted every living creature in the empire, a gloomy atmosphere envelops the cold palace in the capital.
Inside the dilapidated main courtyard of the cold palace, the atmosphere becomes heavy.
It has been 5 days since Concubine Xu has given birth to a baby princess. It has been 5 days since she has also fallen into a coma.
And today, her body has finally turned cold as her last breath left her body.
The maid helplessly looks at the lifeless body of her mistress lying on the bed.
She has tried to cry for help outside but the guards outside the gate have turned a deaf ear.
No matter how long she pleaded with them, no one answered her.
For two days she cried and asked for help but no one replied. From that time forth she knew that no help would come for them.
She even said that a prince was born of Concubine Xu, but there were no replies from the guards.
What she did not know is that the guards had already been commanded by the queen that no matter what they heard inside the cold palace, they would not listen to it nor keep it in their minds. They are to treat the voices inside like the crying of a howling ghost.
And so, without medical intervention, the fate of Concubine Xu was sealed.
While she was in a coma, the maid took Li An inside the maid room while taking care of Concubine Xu. Though her mistress is evil, Li An knows that the maid is not.
She is a kind soul which still helps her mistress even in her time of need.
Actually, Concubine Xu should have already died 2 days after she fell into a coma. But because of Li An's practice, pure energy has begun to gather in the cold palace making it a heavenly place to nurture one's body.
Because of that, Concubine Xu was able to last for 5 days, finally succumbing to her destiny.
As the maid laid the corpse on the bed, tears began to trickle down her cheeks.
"Mistress… What should I do now?" she muttered.
She grew up by Concubine Xu's side. Everything she did was at the command of her mistress. Though she did some evil things, she did it out of her pity to her mistress.
How dare those people bully her kind mistress who only wanted the affection of her husband?
Because of them, her once pure and beautiful mistress has become vicious. She blamed them for everything that has happened in her mistress' life.
If she could turn back the time, she should have not listened to her mistress and have directly poisoned the queen instead.
That vicious woman was the source of their suffering and the cause of her mistress' death.
With a glare, she carefully wrapped her mistress' body.
Since she could not make a coffin for her mistress she could only wrap her in white cloth.
The maid began digging the ground at the back of the old courtyard.
For the whole day she labored until she was able to dig up to her waist. Her muddy tear filled eyes look at the sky as she catches her breath.
"This would be my last service to you… mistress… If we see each other again, I hope that you will not enter this place. Do not enter the palace… It will destroy you as a person…" she muttered as she walked back to the main room.
She then puts the body of Concubine Xu on the makeshift stretcher as she drags it to the back of the courtyard where she made the grave.
While this is happening, Li An watches with a slight smile on her little baby face.
Actually, Concubine Xu could still be saved, but only if Li An could help her. But Li An is still an infant, how could she help her mother?
It was two days ago when she first saw her unconscious mother. She has asked Seedee on how she could help her poor mother, so Seedee showed her the pattern of the body and points she could control to completely stop her internal bleeding.
After learning it, Li An could only heave a helpless sigh. How could she control her chubby little hands and hit those points? She also dared not do anything in the presence of the maid as she knew it would spell trouble as warned by Seedee.
And because of that, Concubine Xu has finally succumbed to her internal bleeding and died.
Seeing her mother being carried away, an inexplicable sadness covered Li An's heart. She did not know what kind of mother she had, but looking at her beautiful face and peaceful appearance, she thought that Concubine Xu might have been a good mother.
Suddenly, she recalled the moment when she woke up.
"My mother put me outside… because of that I was able to meet Seedee… It must have been her purpose…" she thought while imagining her beautiful and kind mother.
In her heart, Concubine Xu was a mother who had foresight.
Meanwhile at the small bamboo forest behind the old main cold palace building, the maid has already covered the ground. After burying Concubine Xu, the maid looks at the old building behind her and suddenly has an idea.
Though she pitied the little princess, she knew that if she stayed in this place, she would just suffer and die. So why would she stay?
"I need a way to survive this…" she muttered as she began planning for herself.
"There are a few silvers left inside my mistress' things… Plus, I could also sell the remaining jewels… With this, I would be able to leave this place and live a free life… Hehehe." She muttered.
She turned around and then quickly walked inside the room.
Her eyes landed on the infant lying peacefully on the study table. Her expression turned soft and heaved a heavy sigh while walking towards Li An.
"Little princess… You cannot blame me for this, okay?" she muttered as she caressed the pink chubby cheeks of Li An.
Li An frowned and pouted while looking at the maid in front of her.
"Is she going to leave me here?" she thought while a hint of panic enveloped her little heart.
"You can't leave me here!" she wanted to say.
But all she could do was coo at the maid who had already turned her back on her while walking towards the store room.
"Wait! Don't do it!" Li An thought as tears began to form at the corner of her eyes.
Suddenly, she burst into tears while moving her chubby little arms and legs high up as if trying to hold into something.
The maid's heart almost melted while hearing the cry of the little princess, but her heart has already determined to leave. She did not want to stay in this place anymore and wait for death.
She must leave this place and go back to her family in her village. There she knew that she could live her life, maybe even get married and form a family.
While thinking of her bright future, she closes her ears to the crying child outside. She began to rummage the room and found a lot of valuable things.
Soon, she was able to pack things in a bundle.
As she walked out of the room, she noticed the infant on the study table and then she heaved another sigh.
"This is my last service to you, your highness…" she muttered while she took the infant and carefully put her on the warm bed.
She then covered the infant with a thick layer of blanket to keep the infant warm.
She then turns around and leaves. Whatever happened next is none of her business anymore. She has already cleared her conscience of such things and now showed a faint smile on her face.
She is now ready to face her new future.
The maid walked towards the bamboo forest.
Actually, since she stayed in the cold palace, she has discovered a way to get out of this place. The way out is through the bamboo forest and then into the back forest of the cold palace.
There a lush forest looms beyond the horizon. No one knew to what extent the dark forest stretches, but the maid has already partly seen the end of the forest.
About 5 kilometers after entering the forest, one would see a wall covering the cold palace. After that wall, one would find themselves on a slope.
After going down the tree covered slope, you will find yourself in a path where many peasants used to go through to reach a gate.
From there, after those gates she could find her freedom.
With that in mind, the maid began walking merrily through the bamboo forest. She even offers a small prayer to the mound and then continues towards the walls.
When she saw the walls, she was a bit flabbergasted. She thought the walls were short, but it seems it was taller than she expected.
"No matter… I will climb this thing… I can overcome anything for my happiness…" she muttered as she began to follow the walls trying to find a way out.
But she has been walking for a while now and she still did not find any way to climb the tall walls.
"Damn it… I need a change of plan…" she suddenly muttered in annoyance.