After leaving the Kunning Palace, Baili Moqing took Shu He and Yi'er to the Xingqing Palace to visit Imperial Noble Consort Qing.
On the way, Shu He’s mind was still occupied by the Empress’s demeanor when she spoke of the eldest prince. She could sense that the Empress harbored deep resentment, yet it was a complex and subtle mix of the frantic and the rational. It was frantic in its intensity, as if no amount of time could erode it, only make it grow stronger. It was rational in its focus; whenever her attention shifted away from the matter of the eldest prince, she remained gentle toward everyone, as expansive and all-encompassing as the sea.
Shu He found it truly hard to imagine how such a person could be the one repeatedly poisoning and harming another woman. Could it be that the Empress believed the eldest prince's death was tied to Imperial Noble Consort Qing? If not, there was no reason for her to harbor such animosity toward the Consort.
Chapter 723