Chapter 100

Chapter 100 Concubine Lu gnashed her teeth: "They all say I betrayed her, but wasn't it she who abandoned me first?" "Just because she is the mistress and I am the servant, she can cast us aside without a second thought, while we must resign ourselves to a lifetime of humiliation?!" "I refuse to accept it, but I had no other choice. It happened that Ju Zi's mother's illness worsened and needed more money for medicine, so I could only take the path of climbing into the Prince's bed..." Concubine Lu had endured all these years by Concubine An's side. If she hadn't truly reached a dead end, she wouldn't have resorted to this now. If she'd had such intentions all along, she would have done it years ago! Xie Run listened to her words and let out a deep sigh. "When I entered the household as a concubine, I always felt anxious about my days, uncertain of what lay ahead. Now that I think about it, you who were servants must have had it even harder." "Exactly so." For a moment, the two fell into silence. The atmosphere in the room grew somewhat heavy. After Concubine Lu left, Xie Run sat by the window, unable to stop herself from pondering the relationship between servants and masters. People in this world were always hypocritical. When one is the master, naturally one wants servants to be loyal and obedient, preferably clever and quick-witted as well. But if she were made to be a servant, would she truly be willing to be shackled by loyalty? To be ordered around for a lifetime, to suffer hunger and cold, to endure abuse without the right to resist? She doubted it. Concubine Lu's choice wasn't wrong—it was just that this era gave her too few paths upward. When the mistress is incompetent, one's own days are miserable too. Climbing into the Prince's bed was her only way out. Yet that one and only path was despised by all. She endured everyone's contempt to reach where she was today, all for her own sake and for those around her to have better lives. Now she hadn't even gained anything for herself, and those close to her had already met with misfortune. Bearing the weight of infamy, her road ahead seemed all the more difficult. "No one has it easy." Xie Run sighed. Dantao stepped forward and asked softly, "Mistress, what did Ju Zi's letter say?" "Why did you suddenly change your attitude toward Concubine Lu? You even want to protect her?" Concubine Lu's reputation in the household was truly terrible. Even saving Princess Ruyi this time hadn't redeemed her much. Xie Run, a favored Concubine Consort, would never have gotten entangled with her unless absolutely necessary. Xie Run pulled out the letter pressed under the papers on her desk and handed it to Dantao to read. Her emotions were complicated. Xie Run: "Concubine Han had someone cut the kite string and create chaos at Zhishui Pavilion. The person she truly wanted to frame wasn't Concubine An—it was me!" After reading the letter, Dantao couldn't help but draw in a sharp breath. She suddenly understood why her mistress had just said she owed Ju Zi a favor. The contents of the letter made Dantao's heart race with alarm. "According to Concubine Han's plan, Ju Zi would first accuse Concubine An, and after the jade pendant was found on her, she would then turn around and implicate you before smashing her head against the wall to commit suicide... At that point, your situation would be a hundred times more dangerous than Concubine An's." "The jade pendant disappeared without a trace. Even if you made a fuss so the whole household knew, once Ju Zi implicated you, suspicion would still cling to you no matter what." That suspicion would never be washed clean because of Ju Zi's death. Dantao grew tense all over. "First Sang Cao tried to implicate you in pushing Concubine Han, then the kite string incident, and Concubine Li's fall..." "If they also traced the rabbit-biting incident back to you, no matter how clever and eloquent you are, with all these matters piling up together, could the Prince truly not harbor any suspicion?" There was a saying that was truly vile, yet everyone couldn't help but think it: 'If you didn't do it, then why does everything have something to do with you?' One thing could be a false accusation—but everything was a false accusation?! At that point, Xie Run would truly be beyond defense. Concubine Han had truly prepared to put Xie Run to death this time, leaving her not a shred of hope! Xie Run said in a low voice, "This favor from Ju Zi—I must acknowledge it!" Ju Zi had hidden the jade pendant and hadn't implicated Xie Run, saving her countless troubles. Concubine Han had threatened Ju Zi with her mother's life, and Ju Zi had no choice but to comply. She simply followed the arrangement and accused Concubine An, cutting off the trail at Concubine An. Concubine An clearly wasn't much of a suspect. If Prince Jing and the Princess Consort investigated deeper, they would surely trace it back to Concubine Han, giving Xie Run a thread of hope. Xie Run: "She only asked me to protect Concubine Lu, to keep her from being bullied in the rear courtyard. With such a small request, how could I refuse?" Previously, Dantao, like everyone else in the household, hadn't thought much of Concubine Lu. Since Concubine Lu had climbed into the Prince's bed, aside from saving Princess Ruyi, she truly hadn't done anything worthy of respect. Now that she understood some of the inside story, her view of Concubine Lu couldn't help but change. Dantao said softly, "I heard that after Concubine Lu fell into the water that day, she never fully regained her senses. The first thing she asked when she saw the Princess Consort was whether she had rendered meritorious service, and she wanted to beg the Princess Consort to have Ju Zi assigned to serve by her side." "The next day, when she heard of Ju Zi's death, she dragged her sick body to Concubine An's place and made a scene." At the time, everyone in Chunshan Courtyard had only watched it as entertainment—how could they have known the truth behind it all? "Ju Zi's reputation was completely ruined when she helped Concubine Lu steal charcoal, and she was bullied and ostracized at will by the people in Concubine An's courtyard." "Then Concubine Han seized the opportunity to threaten her with her mother, forcing Ju Zi to agree to Concubine Han's demands. But even to her death, Ju Zi still wanted to protect Concubine Lu, hoping to use her own life to secure a place for Concubine Lu in this back courtyard." "Those two truly have loyalty and righteousness." As Dantao spoke, she was moved to tears, her eyes reddening. Xie Run also felt a sense of melancholy. After the moment of reflection, Xie Run said calmly, "Send someone to quietly investigate what happened when Concubine Lu was by Concubine An's side back then." Dantao was startled: "Mistress doesn't believe Concubine Lu's words?" "I believe her, but I trust evidence more." "At the very least, I need to know whether she has lied to me." Dantao also calmed down: "This servant was careless." Xie Run smiled. "The impact is minimal. Even if it's false, we lose nothing." She had agreed to shelter Concubine Lu, but she had set conditions. If Concubine Lu intended to harm others, she would never get involved. Dantao asked again, "Mistress, how should we handle this jade pendant?" "Store it in the treasury, and don't make a fuss about it." Xie Run suddenly laughed. "This back courtyard can't very well produce another master thief." Mentioning the words "master thief" reminded Xie Run of Feihua. "Ever since the poisoning in Concubine Li's courtyard, I've suspected there was someone in the back courtyard skilled in martial arts and adept at theft and lock-picking." "I never thought that person would turn out to be Feihua, who serves by Concubine Li's side." "The missing jade pendant was likely stolen from me by Feihua at Concubine Han's orders." Dantao was filled with worry. "Mistress, don't even mention it. This servant heard people talking about the incident at Qiufeng Courtyard, and I still feel lingering fear." "Who exactly is this Feihua? How dare she wield a blade and injure someone in full view of everyone!"