Chapter 47: The Lazy Pig of Spring

Lian Xi guessed that her mistress was simply bored and wanted to hear some idle gossip, so she didn’t delay and shared the news she had gathered.

“This morning, Lady Lifei was walking along the palace path when she tripped over a loose brick. Furious, she summoned the palace maids responsible for sweeping the roads and ordered them to be punished with twenty strokes of the rod as a warning.”

“Yue Zhaorong happened to be passing by and spoke up for the maids, but Lady Lifei accused her of disrespecting her superiors and talking back.”

“Enraged, Lady Lifei ordered Yue Zhaorong to kneel under the wall for two hours.”

That was the whole story.

Lan Wu felt a wave of drowsiness coming on. After listening, she half-closed her eyes and murmured softly, “That madwoman, Consort Li…”

Her madness was on par with Cairen Liu’s.

Come to think of it, the last time she confronted Consort Li by Bì Wēi Lake, she had infuriated her enough. These days, Lan Wu hadn’t ventured out of Longyu Pavilion much. If they ever found an opportunity, she might very well be the next one kneeling under a wall.

Lan Wu buried her head back into the pillow, thinking to herself that her rank was still too low.

“Is Mistress going to sleep? Shall I draw the curtains?” Lian Xi asked softly.

Lan Wu clutched the blanket and turned onto her side, giving a soft hum of agreement.

Once the curtains were drawn, the surroundings darkened slightly, and Lan Wu quickly drifted off to sleep.

Inside Qiushui Pavilion, a faint, bitter scent of medicine permeated the air, mixed with a trace of blood that lingered, unpleasant and unsettling.

Banxia hurried out of the hall, carrying a bronze basin covered with a white cloth. In her haste, the cloth had soaked up some of the liquid in the basin, staining it with specks of crimson.

Zhu Xia glanced at her and spoke with disdain, “Walk steadily. Don’t disturb the mistress.”

“Yes… Auntie Zhu Xia.” Banxia paled even further at the sight of her, bowing slightly as she stepped aside to avoid her.

Just as she was about to leave, Zhu Xia asked, “Has the mistress finished her medicine?”

Banxia lowered her head, her movements stiff as she shook it slightly. “The mistress… she didn’t finish the medicine, but… but she did drink some!”

She hurriedly added the last part, afraid that any delay would lead to misunderstanding.

Zhu Xia ignored her words, her ordinary yet coldly intimidating face making others shrink back in fear.

“You two, go to the small kitchen and fetch another bowl of medicine.”

The two palace maids she directed didn’t dare delay, quickly responding and hurrying off.

Banxia couldn’t bear to stay any longer and retreated hastily.

By the time she returned to the entrance of the hall, she could still hear the mistress’s sharp cries and struggles inside.

She couldn’t help but shiver.

His Majesty had ordered Eunuch Chen to select someone to serve as the mistress’s personal maid. The one sent was named Zhu Xia, also transferred from the Inner Court Administration, but her words and actions were far from respectful.

Not only did she dare to force the mistress to drink medicine, but she even altered the dishes served to the mistress daily. The mistress was already weakened from the miscarriage, yet under the pretext of replenishing her blood, Zhu Xia ordered Yushan Fang to send heavily pungent dishes every day.

When the mistress couldn’t eat, she had someone force-feed her.

How utterly audacious.

Zhu Xia was nothing but a servant.

Yet it was this servant who made everyone in Qiushui Pavilion obey her.

Hearing the sharp screams from the hall, Banxia’s heart skipped a beat, and she instinctively glanced inside.

She took a step forward, moving closer to the entrance.

The door to the Inner Palace was open, revealing a scene of disordered tables and chairs inside, with brown medicinal stains splattered across the Palace Carpet.

Rong Shu Yi was forced to sit on the floor, her face forcibly lifted by Zhu Xia, who poured an entire bowl of medicine down her throat as she gasped for air.

Not all of the medicine could be swallowed; some inevitably spilled onto her clothes.

Rong Shu Yi’s eyes burned with hatred, her pupils bloodshot as she swallowed the bitter concoction. When released, she couldn’t hold back a fit of violent coughing.

Zhu Xia looked down at her from above, her tone indifferent and detached, asking only one question: “Your Ladyship, have you come to understand?”

The fury in Rong Shu Yi’s mind dissolved into helplessness and humiliation.

Since Zhu Xia had arrived at her palace, such scenes had grown increasingly frequent. As a palace concubine, she wielded less power than a mere servant, subjected to such disgrace day after day.

And every day, Zhu Xia would ask her this same question.

Come to understand? Understand what?

“You serve Your Majesty—is this what he wishes to ask? Why would Your Majesty treat me this way—” Rong Shu Yi suddenly straightened up, sweeping a porcelain bowl from the table. The sharp shattering sound failed to elicit even a glance from the woman before her.

Zhu Xia watched coldly, then turned and left the Inner Palace.

At the doorway, Ban Xia hastily retreated, head bowed, trembling too much to utter a word.

Silence once again settled over the hall.

Ban Xia couldn’t help but wonder—what exactly did Your Majesty want her ladyship to understand?

Lan Wu awoke to the sound of Chu Mingheng’s voice.

In her drowsiness, the voice felt deeply familiar, gradually growing clearer.

“…You just let her sleep like this—truly, when the master is indulgent, the servants follow suit…”

Lan Wu opened her eyes to find the bed curtains still drawn.

Instantly alert, she scrambled up and hurriedly spoke: “No—it’s not their fault—”

As her words fell, the voices outside ceased.

Lan Wu heard footsteps approaching her, and then the curtains were pulled aside. She looked up to meet Chu Mingheng’s face—cold and detached, yet at this moment, tinged with a fierce sternness.

Her mind raced, and she threw herself forward, wrapping her arms around Chu Mingheng’s waist, her voice filled with distress and sorrow: “Your Majesty, this concubine had another nightmare. I was so frightened.”

With that, she turned her face away and, while Chu Mingheng couldn’t see, urgently made exaggerated expressions at Lian Xi and the others below, signaling them to flee.

Lian Xi caught her glance, quickly rose, and silently retreated.

Chu Mingheng glanced sideways at the departing figures, then reached out to pull Lan Wu down, making her kneel on the bed.

Freshly awakened, Lan Wu’s complexion was radiant, her eyes misty with a faint haze. With bright eyes and pearly teeth, she smiled up at Chu Mingheng.

Such tricks were utterly ineffective.

Her cheek was pinched, and the smile twisted into a scrunched-up expression.

“If you dare spin lies and speak nonsense again, just try it.”

Chu Mingheng gave the soft flesh of her cheek a light pinch, then released it, turning his attention to the array of unopened, exquisitely crafted boxes on the table.

Last night, Lan Wu had wept and clamored, saying she wanted them, yet now that they were given to her, she hadn’t so much as glanced at them.

With a cold glance, he returned to the matter of Lan Wu having slept for several hours today.

“Are you some lazy spring pig, sleeping so long without stirring?”

“You truly have no sense of propriety.”

“Tomorrow, I will send someone to teach you, lest you embarrass me.”

Lan Wu was on the verge of tears after being hit by his barrage of words. She had merely overslept a little—why did Chu Mingheng have to scold her so harshly?

Didn’t Chu Mingheng himself know exactly why she had slept in?

How could he have the nerve to criticize her?