Story of Yanxi Palace: Fu Ying's banner will never fall

Chapter 147: Concubine Gao’s Mother

The emperor slowly stepped down from the imperial carriage and slowly pushed open the palace gate. With only Li Yu following him, he walked into Chuxiu Palace in silence and headed towards the direction where the singing came from.

There were three or two palace maids sitting in the middle of the yard, one of them was holding a huqin, one was holding a flute, and another was holding a wine pot.

Gaopin was wearing a costume and heavy makeup, acting like an actress. She was singing the song "The Drunken Concubine": "Life is like a spring dream, I will drink a few cups happily."

After singing, she raised her head and drank the wine in one gulp, then threw the glass to the ground, and the crisp sound of the glass breaking echoed throughout the yard.

Then, she bent down and began to dance gracefully. Her slender waist was as soft as a willow branch, and her dancing posture was graceful and light, just like the goddess of Luo River moving lightly on the blue waves.

Halfway through the dance, her body suddenly slid down and was about to fall to the ground, but she was caught steadily by a pair of strong arms and fell into a warm embrace.

The emperor lowered his head and sniffed, only to smell a strong aroma of wine. He couldn't help but frown and asked, "How come what you drink is real wine?"

The sounds of the huqin and the qiang flute suddenly stopped. Zhilan quickly put down the wine pot in her hand, stood up, and explained in fear and trepidation:

"Your Majesty, please forgive me. Your Majesty is in a bad mood today. She said she wanted to sing an opera to relieve her boredom and asked me to open the wine jar. I really didn't dare to stop her——"

"Nonsense!" the emperor shouted angrily.

"Your Majesty, Your Majesty..." The woman in his arms was half drunk and half awake, murmuring to him and suddenly sobbing.

The emperor looked at her lovely face with tears in her eyes, and felt a little pity for her. He had no choice but to pick her up and walk towards the bedroom.

No one knew what would happen next. Be it Li Yu or Zhilan, they were all tactful people who quietly waited outside the door. Only the emperor and Concubine Gao were left in the bedroom.

"Gaopin." The emperor gently placed her on the bed, and asked softly with a hint of helplessness in his tone, "Why are you crying again?"

Gaopin suddenly opened her arms and hugged him tightly, like a person who accidentally fell into the water and desperately grasped the life-saving straw, refusing to let go.

She raised her beautiful face soaked with tears and said to him pitifully, "Your Majesty, why don't you call me Xin'er like you used to?"

The emperor frowned, seeming a little displeased.

Gaopin put her face on his chest and sobbed softly, her voice full of resentment and grievance: "If I could choose, I would rather not be a concubine, not have all this wealth, I would rather be your sweet daughter."

The emperor lowered his head and stared at her in his arms, with a complicated look in his eyes: "Princess Gao, you've drunk too much..."

However, Gaopin shook her head and looked at him with a dazed look in her eyes. A strong smell of alcohol gushed out of her mouth, as if she wanted to pour out all her innermost words: "No, I'm not drunk! I'm really not drunk!"

Her voice was choked with sobs, which made people feel pity for her.

"I used to love singing and dancing, and the emperor always liked to watch me sing and dance. But since I entered the palace, the emperor rarely came to see me, and we became more and more estranged."

Her words revealed a deep sense of loss, which made people feel sad.

The emperor listened to her confession silently, feeling helpless and guilty.

But he sighed and said slowly: "It's not me who has changed, but you who has changed."

His voice was low and firm, and seemed to contain endless sorrow and disappointment.

"It's not like that!" Gao Pin suddenly screamed. Her eyes were wide open and bloodshot as she stared at the man in front of her. Her lips trembled as if she wanted to say something but couldn't make a sound.

Finally, she used up all her strength and shouted loudly: "Ning Xiner has become a concubine after entering the palace. If she continues to sing and dance all day long like before, she will be ridiculed and said to be indecent!

So, Ning Xiner doesn’t dare to sing loudly or dance anymore! Is that why the emperor no longer likes me? "

After saying these words, Gaopin's tears burst out of her eyes like a torrent. She could no longer suppress the pain and sorrow in her heart and burst into tears.

Her cries echoed in the silent palace, making people feel extremely sad.

When the emperor saw this, he couldn't help but feel a trace of pity in his heart. He reached out and gently stroked Gaopin's hair, trying to comfort her.

However, Gaopin grabbed his hand and held it tightly, as if she was afraid that he would leave suddenly.

She raised her head, looked at the emperor with tearful eyes, and said in a sobbing voice: "I don't want rules or etiquette anymore. If the emperor no longer pities me, then what is the use of all this!

Your Majesty, Your Majesty, please don't leave me, don't abandon me. In this huge Forbidden City, you are the only one I can rely on!"

The emperor felt her helplessness and loneliness. He sighed and said to her gently, "What nonsense are you talking about?"

Then he patted her back gently and comforted her: "You still have family..."

"I didn't!" Gaopin's voice suddenly turned cold, as if carrying a hint of despair and sadness. There was a firm light flashing in her eyes as she stared straight at the emperor.

"Your Majesty, do you know how my mother died?"

The Yellow River floods, with raging torrents like ferocious beasts and groups of river bandits, brought endless suffering to the people on both sides of the strait.

Gao Ningxin's father Gao Bin stepped forward and led the army to fight against bandits and control the river, making great contributions to the court. However, behind this victory was her mother who suffered.

"My father was controlling the flood, which brought revenge upon the pirates. He escaped, but my mother and I couldn't." Gao Pin murmured to herself, tears glistening in her eyes, as she recalled that tragic night.

"That year, I was five years old..."

The boat used for flood control was pierced by someone, and shouts of fighting and killing were heard from all directions. The pirates who had been lying in ambush all around flew onto the boat in groups like locusts.

Under the vigorous escort of the guards, Gao Bin escaped from the danger, but they left their wife and children on the boat.

Gao Ningxin, who was only five years old, witnessed all this. She was terrified and at a loss. Tears kept flowing and she could only cry.

"Don't cry, don't be afraid." Chen hugged her daughter tightly and comforted her softly.

She knew she might not be able to escape, but she hoped to protect her children.

Chen hid her daughter in a wooden barrel and then pushed her hard into the surging Yellow River.

Gao Ningxin cried out her mother's name in the bucket, but Chen was unable to respond.

At that moment, Gao Ningxin felt unprecedented fear and helplessness. She didn't know whether she could survive or what the future would be like. But she always remembered her mother's last words in her heart: don't cry, don't be afraid.

"Mother!" Gao Ningxin lay on the edge of the wooden barrel, watching one man's hand after another reach out from behind her mother, grab her arms, and cover her mouth... When Chen appeared in front of her again, she was already a dishevelled corpse.