Chapter 46: Inquiries
It was already noon. Not long after Lan Wu rose, it was time for the midday meal. She sat on the chair cushioned with a soft pad by Lian Xi and glanced at today’s dishes.
“Fresh shrimp?” Her rank was not high, and Longyu Pavilion had no private kitchen. Whatever she ate was brought over from Yushan Fang. Even so, she couldn’t have whatever she wanted.
Fresh shrimp like this shouldn’t have been something her rank was entitled to eat.
Lan Wu poked the shelled, stir-fried shrimp in her bowl with her chopsticks. The shrimp were plump and would taste even more delicious.
The palace maid serving the meal smiled and replied, “Your Ladyship, this servant saw them at Yushan Fang when fetching the meal. The fresh shrimp there were lively, and they said to send some for Your Ladyship to try.”
As expected of Yushan Fang—they certainly knew how to please.
Halfway through her meal, Lan Wu remembered Rong Shu Yi of Qiushui Pavilion.
It had been over half a month, and she wondered how Rong Shu Yi’s health was recovering.
She harbored suspicions about Rong Shu Yi’s miscarriage, but after that day, the palace had kept the matter tightly under wraps. Chu Mingheng had issued an edict forbidding anyone from mentioning it again, making it difficult even for Lan Wu to investigate.
But she wasn’t entirely without ideas.
Lan Wu called for Lian Xi.
“Go and reward Yushan Fang. Tell them today’s dishes were excellent. Tomorrow, I’d like to eat fish—ask if they can prepare a braised fish.”
Lian Xi looked at her, bowed slightly, acknowledged the order, and withdrew.
Yushan Fang was a complex web of relationships. Besides the daily meal deliveries to each palace, there were also fresh fruits and vegetables sent daily by the Inner Court Administration. In the vast Yushan Fang, when things got busy, it was sometimes unclear if outsiders had slipped in.
Lian Xi arrived at Yushan Fang with a young palace maid and instructed her to return the dishes and bowls in the food container.
The young palace maid acknowledged the order and hurried inside, soon disappearing from sight.
Lian Xi glanced around before heading toward a small door on the left.
The path beyond the small door grew increasingly secluded, with no one in sight. Soon, at a fork in the road, Lian Xi turned left into an alley and quickly reached its end.
The alley was cluttered with miscellaneous items, precisely concealing Lian Xi’s figure.
She didn’t wait long before hearing footsteps at the alley’s entrance. Soon, someone appeared behind her.
“Miss Lian Xi,” the person whispered respectfully.
Lian Xi turned around and got straight to the point. “How is the task Her Ladyship assigned you progressing?”
Zhang Mu nodded repeatedly and replied, “This servant has been observing carefully these days. I noticed that Rong Shu Yi’s palace often receives pork liver and black-boned chicken—both excellent ingredients. However, half of the daily meals are returned, as it’s said Rong Shu Yi cannot stand the smell of animal offal.”
“This has been happening daily for nearly twenty days.”
Lian Xi frowned slightly upon hearing this. It wasn’t unusual for Rong Shu Yi, after a miscarriage, to consume such blood-nourishing foods. But if she couldn’t stand the smell of offal, why were these items still being sent to her palace day after day? Couldn’t they be replaced with other blood-nourishing alternatives?
“This servant has only discovered this much for now,” Zhang Mu said, frequently glancing toward the alley entrance, afraid someone might come looking.
Lian Xi took out a pouch from her sleeve and handed it to him. “Keep watching. If you notice anything unusual later, report to me promptly.”
Zhang Mu took the pouch, grinning from ear to ear, and nodded cautiously, saying, “Certainly, certainly. Rest assured, miss. This servant will definitely serve Her Ladyship well.”
After leaving Yushan Fang, Lian Xi hurried back with the little palace maid trailing behind as a decoy.
On the way back to Longyu Pavilion, they had to pass through several palace paths. As summer approached, there were quite a few palace servants coming and going along these paths at this hour.
In such circumstances, the two figures kneeling beneath the red wall stood out particularly conspicuously.
As they passed by them, Lian Xi, along with the little palace maid behind her, bowed to that person before quickly walking away.
“Sister Lian Xi…” The little palace maid behind her seemed curious and couldn’t help calling out to Lian Xi.
“Be quiet,” Lian Xi silenced her.
The little palace maid hastily closed her mouth, said nothing more, and followed her steps back to Longyu Pavilion.
Lan Wu was taking an afternoon nap but had been unable to fall asleep. Hearing that Lian Xi had returned, she propped herself up from the couch and called Lian Xi in.
“Quickly, massage my waist for me,” Lan Wu said, lying face down on the couch. Her dark hair was loose and casually brushed aside. She hugged a soft pillow against her chest, looking somewhat weary.
Lian Xi responded and stepped forward, gently massaging her waist.
After a moment, she glanced back and then whispered to Lan Wu:
“Your Ladyship, Zhang Mu said that Rong Shuyi’s palace has been ordering meals every day consisting of blood-nourishing ingredients like pork liver and black-bone chicken for over twenty days in a row. But Rong Shuyi can’t stand the smell of offal, so half of the meals sent over are returned daily.”
Lan Wu closed her eyes, feeling comfortable under Lian Xi’s massage. Hearing this, she let out a puzzled hum.
If she can’t stand the smell, why are those things sent to her every day? Aren’t there other blood-nourishing ingredients available?
Lan Wu couldn’t figure it out herself, but she thought asking Court Physician Chen about it might work.
“When will Court Physician Chen come over?”
“Your Ladyship, Court Physician Chen won’t be here for another three days.”
Three days… then she would have to wait a bit longer.
“What’s the name of her personal palace maid now?”
Lian Xi thought for a moment but had no recollection at all, so she shook her head and said she didn’t know. “I only heard that Eunuch Xu personally selected her. What her name is, what she looks like—I have no idea. I’ve never seen her come out of Qiushui Pavilion either.”
“Your Ladyship, there’s one more thing.” Lian Xi told Lan Wu about the person she had seen on the way back.
Lan Wu opened her eyes, turned her head to look at her, and asked, “Yue Zhaorong? The Yue Zhaorong who lives in Yifang Garden?”
Lian Xi nodded and confirmed it was her.
“This servant just sent someone to inquire about it earlier. I suppose there should be some results by now.”
Lan Wu lay back down on the bed. “Then go out and ask. Come back and tell me about it later.”
“Yes, Your Ladyship.” Lian Xi withdrew her hands and quietly retreated.
Yue Zhaorong was someone who always had an untimely “kind heart.” In her previous life, when Lan Wu was falsely accused of having an affair with an imperial guard, Yue Zhaorong had spoken up for her.
However, her rank was too low, and her words carried little weight. Lan Wu still died.
This time, Lan Wu guessed that Yue Zhaorong must have done some “good deed” again, offending someone’s displeasure.
After thinking for a while, Lan Wu rolled over on the quilt, stretching her sore and weak legs and feet. Her lower back felt much more comfortable.
She thought: Lian Xi’s massage skills were really good. She had only learned from Court Physician Chen for a few days, yet she had mastered it so well.
Why didn’t she have a personal palace maid like Lian Xi in her previous life?
Lan Wu was still pondering when a sound came from outside the door.
“Come in.”
Lian Xi pushed the door open and entered again. As she was about to bow inside, she met Lan Wu’s bright eyes, whose gaze upon her was particularly intense.