Chapter 2601: The Little Mouse Is Dead

But what happened next left the Empress in a cold sweat. The little mouse, after eating the meal, suddenly curled up on the ground, writhing in pain, blood continuously oozing from its mouth, and after a few twitches, it died.

Clearly, someone had poisoned the food.

In the past, when the Empress was still the Empress, she had treated the fallen concubines in the same way. Unexpectedly, today it was her turn.

As long as the Emperor disliked a concubine, even if she died in the Cold Palace, no one would question it. If she died, at worst, she would be wrapped in a straw mat and thrown into the Mass Grave, left for the wild animals to devour the body.

These are open secrets in the Imperial Palace.

So, the concubines in the palace fear nothing but losing the Emperor’s favor.

After this incident, the Empress was badly frightened, eating every meal with trepidation, always fearing that someone would poison it.

She took out a carefully hidden Silver Hairpin, testing each meal before she dared to eat.

That night, everything was quiet, especially the Cold Palace, so quiet it was scary.

A shadowy figure lurked around, sneaking closer to the Cold Palace.

The Empress lay shivering on the cold plank, the Cold Palace was inherently cold, and with barely any human presence, it seemed even colder.

Now, she had only two palace maids beside her.

Besides that, she had almost nothing. Having been Empress for so long, all the wealth she accumulated was confiscated by the Emperor.

Without power, clout, or money, survival in the Imperial Palace was difficult. Even the eunuchs delivering meals bullied her, the former Empress, always sending her smelly food.

To survive, to stay alive, she forced herself to swallow the disgust and nausea.

The former Empress, once clad in brocade clothes and delicacies, was now worse off than the beggars outside. Beggars still had freedom and occasionally met kind people offering a good meal, whereas here, there was only fear and endless despair.

If not for the thought of the Fourth Prince still in Wei Country supporting her, she might have collapsed long ago.

As long as the Fourth Prince was alive, no matter how bad life got, the Empress felt there was still a glimmer of hope.

"Knock, knock...!"

"Empress, Empress."

A faint calling came from outside the door.

The Empress, startled, sat up but dared not make a sound, fearing that someone might come to harm her; she just sat quietly on the plank, listening intently...

"Empress, it’s me, hurry and open the door!"

The Empress finally recognized the voice of a trusted confidant.

She quickly ran to the door, opened it, and sneakily glanced outside before hurriedly pulling the person inside.

The visitor was wrapped tightly, with only a pair of eyes showing.

"Why are you coming to see me at this time? Don’t let anyone catch you."

"Please don’t worry, Empress! No one outside noticed, I was careful."

The visitor spoke while unwrapping the cloth from her head. It turned out to be a young palace maid, who took a parcel out from her bosom and handed it to the Empress: "Empress, this is a meat bun I stole from the Imperial Kitchen, and a piece of meat. It’s very fragrant, please have some to fill your stomach."

This palace maid was her confidante, and the Empress had no doubt. She held the package close, cherishing it dearly, and said with emotion: "Mei Fang, in the entire palace, only you remain loyal to me. If I ever rise again, I won’t forget you."

"That day will come, Empress, you must take good care of yourself. The Fourth Prince might return one day."

"Mm, mm!"

After exchanging a few words, the palace maid quickly left.