The moment he heard the screams, Xiao Jinyan immediately gripped Hua Miaomiao’s hand tightly, his expression changing instantly.
Unlike Xiao Jinyan, Hua Miaomiao showed no reaction at all, as if she had merely heard a few dogs barking.
With a calm expression, she held his hand and walked toward the throne.
By this time, Empress Sun Wanlian had her expression perfectly arranged—her feigned propriety and pretentious composure were clearly for show. But since Xiao Jinyan was blind and could not see, she had grown too lazy even to pretend properly; her arrogance was almost unbearable.
Hua Miaomiao was not surprised by the old woman’s behavior. With a composed expression, she led Xiao Jinyan in front of the Empress. Then, giving a small tug on his hand, he immediately understood her intention. Together, they bowed and said in unison, “Greetings, Your Majesty. May you be well, Empress!”
As their voices rang out, the concubines who had just screamed quickly shut their mouths and composed themselves.
Xiao Jinyan stayed close to Hua Miaomiao, primarily to protect her from the Empress’s possible schemes. His protective stance made Sun Wanlian feel disgusted.
Inwardly, she fumed: What a perfect match—one blind, one ugly. The blind man can’t see just how hideous his princess consort is and thinks he’s married some treasure. She’s nothing but a monster.
Sun Wanlian felt her plan had succeeded. She thought back to how that wretched Wu Qingqing had dared to oppose her, imagining that once her son became Crown Prince, she could relax. How laughably naive!
Hua Miaomiao, seeing the malice and scheming in Sun Wanlian’s eyes, wished she could just shoot her—this woman and that worthless Emperor were a perfect match in their wickedness.
Sun Wanlian noticed that both of them were calm and unmoved—even the blind prince seemed to be “looking” at her—making her blood boil.
“Let me think… It’s been nearly ten years, and you finally come to the palace? I thought you’d never set foot here again!” Sun Wanlian sneered.
Xiao Jinyan expressionlessly ‘looked’ at her while Hua Miaomiao remained silent as well.
Their silence further enraged Sun Wanlian. As the reigning Empress, she could not tolerate such insolence. She continued, “Rarely do you come to the palace, and you’ve forgotten the rules? Even though your mother has passed, the customs remain. You should have brought your princess consort to pay respects to me!”
Xiao Jinyan slowly ‘looked’ at her and calmly replied, “Father sent me out of the palace long ago. He said that without an imperial summons, there’s no need to enter. So should I follow Your Majesty, or should I follow Father?”
Sun Wanlian realized he was using the Emperor to pressure her. Her face darkened, but she dared not openly argue—after all, the hall was filled with other consorts and concubines. Any slip could reflect poorly on her if gossip reached the Emperor.
Hua Miaomiao watched her, seeing Sun Wanlian flustered, and felt extremely satisfied. She knew her current appearance was ugly, so she deliberately held her head high and stared at the Empress, making her uncomfortable.
Seeing this, Sun Wanlian could only suppress her anger. After all, she had gone to great lengths to exile him from the palace. Furthermore, it was by her doing that he had lost his sight; he would never inherit the throne. Thinking of this, she felt a small sense of satisfaction.
She redirected her wrath at Hua Miaomiao. “With your appearance, you shouldn’t show your face publicly again—you embarrass the royal family!”
Hua Miaomiao almost rolled her eyes inwardly. Who wants to go out? Who forced the Third Prince to marry me? It’s you two old schemers, creating all these ridiculous, disgusting problems and then acting self-righteous!
Just as she was about to retort, Xiao Jinyan spoke first: “Father told me that my marriage was arranged entirely by Your Majesty. Are you displeased with the princess consort you chose for me? Then why did you arrange our marriage in the first place?
Now, I only want a simple life with my princess consort. I cannot see, and we seldom go out. Whatever Your Majesty fears will not occur.”
His deliberate humility caught Sun Wanlian off guard. By stating this publicly, in such a manner, any further attempt to harass them would seem inappropriate in front of the other concubines, who, even if silent, would surely judge her harshly.
Sun Wanlian, ever conscious of her image, had no choice but to abandon her original plan. Reluctantly, she said, “See how you speak! I only wish to care for you both. Ever since your wedding a few days ago, news spread far and wide; I merely wanted to prevent gossip. Since you’ve now paid your respects, you may step back.”
Hua Miaomiao held Xiao Jinyan’s hand and performed a courtesy bow to the Empress, then led him out.
Leng Feng was already waiting at the gate and immediately welcomed them. Once aboard the carriage, Hua Miaomiao couldn’t help speaking: “If you hadn’t stopped me earlier, Prince, I really would have hit her. That face of hers… so infuriating.”
Hearing this, Xiao Jinyan chuckled. “She’s not worth your anger. She’s just trying to make things difficult because she can, using her status as Empress.”
Hua Miaomiao was more curious about past events. Although her mother had told her about the Third Prince’s family before her marriage, it was mostly hearsay.
The Crown Prince Xiao Jinyu had died suddenly, and in the same year, Consort Wu had passed away, leaving the young Third Prince Xiao Jinyan to struggle alone.
The deaths of the Crown Prince and Consort Wu were royal secrets, and for a time, the Third Prince was left isolated, barely acknowledged by the royal family.
Worse, despite his tragic circumstances, he still could not escape persecution. His eyes went blind the following year, cementing his status as the royal family’s discarded child. Losing his sight also meant losing any possibility of inheriting the throne.
Hearing him speak now, Hua Miaomiao felt a pang of sorrow. How lonely and desperate he must have been back then!
She reached out, linking her arm with his and leaning gently on his shoulder, silently.
Xiao Jinyan remained silent as well, pulling her into his embrace.
He could feel her concern for him, but some things were too heavy to reveal—for now, he would bear these resentments alone. He had endured them for so many years, and if his plans succeeded, his elder brother and mother could finally rest in peace.