Chapter 35

Chapter 35: Delivering News to Suiyu Pavilion "...If your palace lacks attendants, I can have the Imperial Household Department assign you two. As a Yigong Zhuwei, how unseemly it is to compete with a newly entered Attendant for a eunuch?" [In my past life, you took advantage of that wretch Zhen Huan's lack of favor and took Kang Luhai away. Now that Suiyu Pavilion has no attendants, you still want him?] What Nian Shilan worried about was that if Kang Luhai left, Suiyu Pavilion would have no eunuch, and Xiao Yunzi would somehow end up there again after all sorts of twists and turns. Xinsheng was affected by distance, ignoring walls and obstacles, and was clearer than spoken words. Shen Meizhuang pondered that although Her Ladyship kept calling Huan'er a wretch, she was an upright person who disdained secretly tripping others up. Even if Huan'er was out of favor, Her Ladyship wouldn't stoop to making things difficult for her. Even if her subordinates took the opportunity to mistreat her, Her Ladyship wouldn't allow it. Shen Meizhuang felt increasingly moved inside. In her past life, there must have been many misunderstandings between them that led to her and Huan'er becoming enemies with Her Ladyship. She reaffirmed her choice. Consort Hua was worth it. Consort Li lowered her head. "It was Kang Luhai who came to me..." "He came to you? Do you think he only approached you? He begged everyone in the palace, and only you, this fool, agreed. How dare you keep someone so disloyal and ungrateful? I never knew you were so foolish before!" "This concubine thought since he served Consort Duan before, he was somewhat sensible..." Hearing the name Consort Duan, Nian Shilan's eyes turned sharp as knives. If Nian Shilan had become indifferent and detached about many things and people after being reborn, Qi Yuebin was someone she would never forgive. The hatred between her and Qi Yuebin went far beyond just that bowl of medicinal soup! "You want to use someone who served that wretch Consort Duan? Consort Li~ I see you've grown bold, daring to oppose me now, haven't you?" Consort Li immediately knelt down. "This concubine wouldn't dare. Please forgive me, Your Ladyship. I meant no harm." [No wonder you went mad in your past life—you deserved to stay in the cold palace!] [If not for remembering your slight loyalty to me, just this sentence alone would earn you Zhang Hong.] "Stop scheming! If you ruin my plans, I'll hold your entire family accountable!" "Yes, Your Ladyship." After Consort Li left, Shen Meizhuang entered holding account books. Seeing someone else come in, Nian Shilan couldn't help but rub her temples. [This damned harem—nothing but trouble every single day!] [No extra silver is given, yet we're expected to rise early and retire late, on call twenty-four hours a day.] [Exhausting both mind and body, even selling ourselves, yet we're worse off than brothel girls.] [If not for the bit of silver that comes with the Fei Wei position, who'd want to be this Consort Hua?] "Why have you come again today?" Listening to Consort Hua's Xinsheng, Shen Meizhuang found her quite endearing. "This concubine is slow-witted." After paying her respects, Shen Meizhuang presented the account books with both hands, playing dumb and showing weakness. "There are some accounts I simply can't understand, so I had to come seek Your Ladyship's guidance." [I thought she was quite clever. No wonder she'll rush to convert the servants' mung bean soup into silver next year, angering the entire harem.] Nian Shilan reached out and took the account books from her hands. After glancing through them, she easily pointed out the issues. "The Emperor says the Empress is often ill, but fortunately, the harem has you, Consort Hua." "Has your little mouth been sweetened with honey?" Who wouldn't feel pleased hearing words of praise? Nian Shilan loved being flattered the most, so she offered a few more pointers. Shen Meizhuang joyfully expressed her gratitude and left with slow, deliberate steps. 【Even if she's a bit dull, at least she's not scheming like in my past life. Now, with my guidance, she works diligently and doesn't claim credit for herself.】 【These miscellaneous affairs of the Six Palaces can be entrusted to her.】 【That old woman, the Empress, truly lacks my capability—petty and suspicious, with not a single useful person under her. Unlike me, who either doesn't act or acts with precision.】 【On another note, the Emperor's calculations are truly shrewd. He says he allows her to learn to assist in managing the affairs of the Six Palaces, but she's just a small pawn with no money or real power. If it comes down to a fight between me and the Empress, won't she be discarded at a moment's notice?】 【I refuse to believe that in my past life, that dog of an Emperor couldn't tell Shen Meizhuang's fake pregnancy was a setup. It was simply that the pawn was useless, so he abandoned her in disappointment.】 【And he even publicly pulled out her hairpin. That dog of an Emperor really has a variety of ways to humiliate people, each tailored to the individual.】 Publicly pulling out a hairpin? Shen Meizhuang, who had just reached the doorway, paused in her steps: The Emperor had humiliated her like this! The heart that hadn't yet had time to fall in love in this life now held a few more traces of hatred. A maid brought in hot tea and pastries, and Songzhi presented the hot tea to Nian Shilan. "Your Highness, aren't you being too lenient with these young mistresses lately? In my humble opinion, those who are out of favor truly don't deserve Your Highness's concern." In the past, Nian Shilan had disliked the women in the palace, all for the sake of the Emperor—after all, who would enjoy sharing their man with others? She wanted to be the sole one in the Emperor's heart. She also needed this exclusive favor to prove her supreme status in the harem. But now she had come to understand: gold, silver, and treasures were still worth fighting for, but the Emperor... since she wasn't Chunyuan, what was there to fight over? Moreover, she wasn't acting out of kindness. In her past life, Huang Guiquan had been stripped of his position as head of the Imperial Household Department over a pot of pomegranate flowers, making it inconvenient for her to get what she wanted or do what she needed. In this second chance, not everything would follow the exact same path. By warning Huang Guiquan in advance and correcting these flaws, she saved him from losing greater benefits over petty gains. People act with motives. Without a motive, why should I harm others if they don't harm me? Wouldn't it be better to enjoy fine food and drink, dress beautifully, and peacefully wait for Brother to return to the capital? ~ That day, Shen Meizhuang found some free time and specially went to Suiyu Pavilion. She noticed that although Zhen Huan's tea, silver charcoal, and other supplies were not abundant, everything within her allotted share was provided in full. It was clear that Consort Hua kept her word. "...Consort Hua reprimanded Consort Li on your behalf, forbidding her from poaching people from your palace." Shock was an understatement for Zhen Huan. "Consort Hua helped me?" Having stayed within Suiyu Pavilion for so long, hearing about Consort Hua's inner thoughts felt almost like a dream. In that uncertain, dreamlike memory, Consort Hua had called her a "wretch" repeatedly, as if she wanted to tear her apart and devour her alive. Yet behind the scenes, she was... helping her?! "Yes! I was waiting by the window and heard it clearly. Kang Luhai privately sought out Consort Li, wanting to leave Suiyu Pavilion for Qixiang Palace. Not only did Consort Hua reprimand Consort Li, but she also repeatedly instructed Huang Guiquan, the head of the Imperial Household Department, not to withhold your allotted share or mistreat you." Zhen Huan thought carefully. The treatment in her palace these past few days was indeed different compared to before. "Consort Hua is treating me like this?" Words are like that—even the same sentence, not to mention changing a few words, but simply altering the tone can make the listener feel entirely different. Shen Meizhuang thought about it. When Consort Hua instructed Huang Guiquan, although she didn’t mention any names, Huan’er was indeed included in her words. She nodded. Looking at Zhen Huan, she half-jokingly said: "Looking at you like this, I can’t tell whether you’re suspicious of Consort Hua or suspecting that I’m lying to you."