Chapter 2: Seen Through Again

She was just about to order some pastries when she heard Consort Hua say:

【No matter how well old tea is stored, it still carries a musty smell. The fresh tea from my palace is much better. Hurry up and serve the pastries—I can’t wait to leave. This wretched Jingren Palace is unbearable even for a moment.】

Wretched… wretched Jingren Palace?

The Empress picked up her handkerchief to cover the twitch at the corner of her mouth, her eyes instinctively glancing around her palace: Is it really that wretched?

More than feeling offended, she wanted to know why Consort Hua seemed to know what she was about to do next.

Could someone from the Imperial Kitchen have leaked it?

No matter. The pastries were just a prelude; what mattered was what came after.

Given her temperament, she would never accept the pastries graciously. This was the perfect opportunity to foist Fuzi upon her.

It would also allow Fuzi to see what she was up to in Yikun Palace—what kind of sorcery she was using to cause these auditory hallucinations.

“These are freshly made pastries from the palace. Please try them, Sister.”

As the Empress finished speaking, Jian Qiu signaled Huichun and the others to bring the pastries forward.

Nian Shilan glanced at them, pursed her lips, and her brows furrowed with renewed disdain.

【Couldn’t they put a little more effort into this? If they had even a shred of sincerity, they could have asked the Imperial Kitchen—my favorite is Crab Roe Pastry! These fools in Jingren Palace are hopeless, no wonder the Empress meets such an unfortunate end.】

Meets such an unfortunate end…

This Nian woman!

She’s cursing me deep down all the time, isn’t she?

She’s just itching for me to pass away so she can take the Empress’s position for herself, right?

The Empress struggled to maintain her composure, her hands gripping the armrests tightly as she quickened the pace. “I suppose Sister must be tired of these as well? Jian Qiu, give that plate of Peony Rolls to Consort Hua.”

【Peony Rolls? So she can go running to the Emperor and Empress Dowager later, saying I don’t know my place and overstep my bounds, is that it?】

The Empress felt as if an arrow had struck her chest.

【Honestly, they’re just pastries made from dough. What’s so overstepping about them?】

【A concubine-born daughter is still a concubine-born daughter, and an unloved one at that. She’s picked up all the pettiness, no wonder the Emperor looks down on her.】

This was too much—her migraine was about to flare up.

In the past, Nian Shilan had thought herself clever, having Songzhi “accidentally” drop the pastries to publicly humiliate the Empress. After all, as her family servant, the Empress wouldn’t dare punish her. But looking back now, it all seemed so pointless.

As Nian Shilan thought this, she looked up at the Empress and frowned slightly.

【What’s wrong with the Empress? Holding her head, clutching her chest—older people sure have a lot of ailments.】

Older… people…

The Empress felt breathless.

“Your Majesty, are you alright?” Jian Qiu also noticed something was amiss.

The Empress raised a hand to indicate she was fine.

“These pastries are all tokens of the Empress’s goodwill. Please keep them.”

Nian Shilan gracefully flicked her handkerchief and accepted them.

【I’ll take them back for Zhou Ninghai and the others to eat.】

For Zhou Ninghai… to eat.

“I’m glad Sister likes them.”

That fool Consort Hua must have resorted to some dark arts in her palace to compete for favor, and as a result, her innermost thoughts were now being heard.

It had to be!

Eager to get to the bottom of this, the Empress said, “I noticed Sister came in a hurry today and didn’t bring many attendants. Fuzi—”

Fuzi entered as summoned, and as the Empress began to explain, Nian Shilan’s inner voice spoke simultaneously.

【Here she comes, here she comes, bringing the plot with her—oops, I mean Fuzi bringing the plot with her.】

【She’s a new maid selected by the Imperial Household Department, named Fuzi. I find her clever, so I’m assigning her to serve you.】

“The Imperial Household Department has selected a new maid named Fuzi. I find her clever, so I’ve assigned her to serve you.”

Word for word.

The Empress now felt as if she were standing naked before Nian Shilan, stripped of all privacy.

“I’ve long heard that the maids of Yikun Palace are efficient. Let Fuzi deliver the items and learn from them.”

So what if she saw through it? The Empress was determined to send someone into Yikun Palace.

Even if it accomplished nothing, it would at least annoy the Nian clan!

[Go ahead and plant someone—who could outdo you at that?]

[A mere concubine-born daughter, with such petty tricks, dares to plot against me?]

[If you have the nerve, send Jian Qiu and Huichun to me as well. Let’s see if I’ll take them!]

“Your Majesty is too generous. I dare not decline, so I shall accept them all. I am feeling weary now. If there is nothing urgent, I shall take my leave.”

Without another word, she simply… accepted?

The Empress was slightly taken aback. She had assumed that, given Consort Hua’s temperament, she would find some way to refuse. The Empress had even prepared arguments to force the maid upon her.

Nian Shilan rose to bow, but before her knees could bend, she had already turned away.

As she passed Fuzi, she cast a haughty glance.

“No wonder she’s called Fuzi—she has all her features in place. Your fortune is yet to come. A servant does not serve two masters. Songzhi, inform Huang Guiquan that once she enters Yikun Palace, her life and death belong to Yikun Palace.”

She dared to speak such words right in front of the Empress.

Fuzi trembled and knelt, not daring to breathe loudly.

Nian Shilan rested one hand on Songzhi’s arm while smoothing her hair with the other, then swayed gracefully away. But after a few steps, her pace began to slow.

She was waiting for the Empress to speak.

“I wonder how the selection of new consorts is progressing? The harem has few offspring. It is time to bring in some fresh faces.”

The Empress had intended to prick Consort Hua’s heart with talk of heirs and newcomers, but as she spoke, she heard Nian Shilan’s inner thoughts—once again, she felt utterly exposed.

[Exactly as I predicted, not a single word off. Truly worthy of me!]

[She’s grown old and faded, so she wants to find young ones to serve the Emperor. Knowing I adore the Emperor but cannot bear children, she deliberately uses newcomers to vex me.]

Old and faded…

Consort Hua!

Jian Qiu suddenly felt a hand gripping her arm, quite forcefully. “Your Majesty, are you all right?”

[Fine, who doesn’t know how to cause annoyance?]

[The new consorts won’t enter the palace for a while, but there’s a ready-made one right before my eyes.]

[Seventeen, an age like a blooming flower, perfect for that old lecher’s taste. I’ll go back and clean Fuzi up.

Dress her in the finest brocade, adorn her with the shiniest hairpins, and have her stand in the most conspicuous spot tonight.

I’ll have her serve the Emperor.]

[If she pleases the Emperor, she might even bear a child someday.]

[Since she’s newly sent by the Imperial Household Department, her status is lowly. If she bears a child in Yikun Palace, there should be no issue with me raising it, right?]

[Then we’ll see whose heart is truly troubled.]

Under heaven, anyone who dared to share Consort Hua’s favor would have to die.

But now… she intended to send Fuzi to receive the Emperor’s favor?

And even let Fuzi bear a child???

Had Consort Hua lost her mind?

The Empress listened, stunned. How could Consort Hua possibly allow someone else to share her favor? How could she permit another to bear the Emperor’s child?

She must have misheard from the distance.

The Empress rose, striving to maintain her dignified composure, but her footsteps betrayed her intentions as she hurried toward the door.