Lady Xin only endured ten-odd strikes before passing out from the pain.

But the Empress did not call a halt, so the guards had no choice but to steel themselves and keep striking.

In the harem, it was still the Empress who held the greatest authority.

“Empress, please spare her! Empress, if this continues, Lady Xin will surely lose her life.” the old matron knelt to the side, pleading.

The Empress, however, stared at Lady Xin, unmoved.

The thirty strikes were finally completed. The Empress glanced once more at the unconscious woman, then turned and walked away.

Feng Jiu’er, the old matron, and two maids followed behind, one after another.

The crowd outside the hall dispersed at once.

As everyone walked together for a while, the Empress’s personal maid moved past Feng Jiu’er to catch up.

“Empress, about the matter with Lady Xin — if the Emperor holds it against you…”

“It doesn’t matter.” the Empress replied flatly.

The old matron spoke up immediately. “Lady Xin was at fault. It’s only right that she suffer for it.”

“If the Empress doesn’t punish her, how many more people will come to bully the Empress in the future?”

“The Empress was truly impressive today!” the old matron said with a smile.

“These people just like to take advantage of the Empress’s kind and compassionate heart. Without a lesson, they’ll never learn.”

The old matron and the maid chatted at length along the way, but the Empress did not say a single word.

They did not take a carriage, but walked the whole way back on foot.

Upon returning to the Empress’s residence, the Empress showed no intention of going inside.

She stopped and turned to look at Feng Jiu’er.

“Little Feng, would you be willing to accompany this palace out of the palace for a while?”

“Mm.” Feng Jiu’er nodded.

The Empress had a carriage prepared, and aside from the driver, she brought only Feng Jiu’er along.

A quarter hour later, when Feng Jiu’er lifted the carriage curtain and stepped down, she found that they had arrived at a temple.

A monk led the Empress and Feng Jiu’er through a side path into a large hall.

After leading the two of them inside, the monk turned and closed the door.

“Empress, does this lowly one need to guide the way?”

“No need.” the Empress waved her hand. “Wait outside. This palace wishes for some quiet.”

“Yes.” The monk cupped his hands, opened the door, and stepped out.

Feng Jiu’er followed the Empress through the courtyard and into the inner temple hall.

The place was vast, filled with Buddha statues large and small, few of which Feng Jiu’er recognized.

Once inside, the Empress knelt on a cushion.

Feng Jiu’er said nothing and knelt down as well.

The Empress picked up her prayer beads and murmured something under her breath.

Feng Jiu’er knelt quietly, admiring the many differently shaped statues around her.

There was no denying it — there truly were a great many statues here, and they were quite different from the ones she was familiar with.

Aside from the large central Buddha statue, which resembled the ones seen outside, all the others were arranged in a jumbled fashion, as if depicting some kind of scene.

A quarter hour later, the Empress stood up and went to fetch a bundle of incense.

Feng Jiu’er, not understanding the purpose, followed and took a bundle as well.

The Empress knelt to light incense at a candle stand, and Feng Jiu’er knelt beside her and did the same.

Afterward, the Empress lit incense in many places, and Feng Jiu’er, following her, added the same amount each time.

Finally, the two of them knelt back down at the very center.

The Empress bowed her head toward the great Buddha, and Feng Jiu’er’s movements mirrored hers exactly.

When it was done, the Empress turned her head and looked at Feng Jiu’er. “Do you know what these statues mean?”

Feng Jiu’er’s brow furrowed slightly and she shook her head. “In answer to the Empress, this lowly one truly does not know.”

“I’ve looked at them several times now and still can’t guess.”

The Empress extended her hand toward Feng Jiu’er, who supported her, and the two stood up together.

“Go have the people outside prepare some refreshments. We won’t be returning to the palace just yet.” the Empress instructed.

“Yes.” Feng Jiu’er nodded, released her, and turned to walk out.

Soon, the man from before returned with someone else, bringing in tea and refreshments.

The two men left, and the Empress, who had walked Feng Jiu’er around the grounds, came together with her to a pavilion.

By now it was dusk, the surroundings bathed in an orange glow.

Feng Jiu’er poured tea for the Empress and sat down in a nearby seat.

“Does the Empress’s troubled heart have something to do with the statues here?”

The Empress shook her head, lifted her teacup, and took a sip.

“This palace’s state of mind is a knot that can never be untied in this lifetime.”

She raised her eyes to meet Feng Jiu’er’s gaze, the corner of her mouth curling slightly. “This palace… simply does not love the Emperor.”

“Before marrying into the imperial family, this palace’s heart already belonged to someone else.”

The Empress looked toward the setting sun, her gaze distant, as if recalling something.

“I was once the eldest princess of the Fengxi Kingdom, living a carefree life.”

“Yet, like the princesses of any ordinary kingdom, I was made into a tool for an alliance between nations.”

“Noble Consort Ya was right — this palace truly understands nothing. What could a woman who has spent thirty years living in the deep palace possibly understand?”

The Empress smiled faintly, laughing at her own helplessness, the smile carrying a note of resignation.

Her gaze shifted toward the temple. “Those statues that little Feng cannot understand, this palace can.”

“These are statues from the Western Regions, made to suppress ghosts and spirits. I imagine, thirty years ago, Feng Qiongcang must have committed some unforgivable sin.”

“Suppress ghosts and spirits?” Feng Jiu’er swallowed, showing an expression of shock and fear.

“Yes.” the Empress nodded, picking up her teacup again.

“This is an array meant to suppress the souls of one’s closest kin. Who knows what exactly Feng Qiongcang did back then.”

The Empress mused to herself alone, helpless and at a loss.

But at this moment, Feng Jiu’er had no mind left to think of anything else.

His closest kin? Back then, shouldn’t Feng Qiongcang’s closest kin have been the emperor of that time?

Father had once refused to marry the woman chosen for him by the late emperor and left on his own. By the time he returned, the late emperor had already died of illness, and Feng Qiongcang became prince.

Could it be that the late emperor’s death was not a simple illness at all, but that he was murdered by Feng Qiongcang?

Otherwise, how could these statues here be explained?

Feng Jiu’er composed herself, took a deep breath, and turned back.

“Empress, by what you’re saying, there are wronged spirits here. Aren’t you… afraid?”

The Empress met her gaze and shook her head. “What is there to be afraid of?”

Feng Jiu’er took a deep breath and asked softly, “Empress, are you saying this place already existed when you married the Emperor?”

“Mm.” the Empress nodded. “A few days after the wedding, the Emperor brought me here once.”

“This place is very quiet. I liked it too.”

“Afterward, whenever I felt troubled, I would leave the palace and spend some time here. The unease in my heart would ease.”

“Sometimes, people are more terrifying than ghosts, don’t you think?”

The Empress picked up her chopsticks and put a piece of pastry into her mouth.

“Little Feng, try some too. I’ve been eating this pastry for thirty years.”

“The young chef from back then is now an old master. He told me he once served in the palace too — no wonder his pastries are so delicious.”

Feng Jiu’er nodded, picked up her chopsticks, took a piece of pastry, and put it in her mouth.

What exactly happened thirty years ago?