Chapter 12

Chapter 12 Xie Run leaned back in her chair, speaking lazily, "I actually believe Qiulan's words—Fang Yuan'er wasn't involved." Mainly because it wasn't worth her while. Fang Yuan'er's target was the Princess Consort. Why would she bother with a concubine who only had a daughter? She had high standards, believing that one should capture the ringleader first, and the rest would naturally submit. Fang Yuan'er had never deigned to fight with the household's concubines. Instead, she threw around large sums of silver to win people over. It was probably due to her modern mindset—she always felt that with money, there was nothing she couldn't accomplish. I suspect Consort Ning and the Princess Consort could both see through this, but since Fang Yuan'er hadn't actually done anything yet, they never paid it much mind. Xie Run said, "I'm just curious—how is Consort Ning so confident, as if she's certain Qiulan schemed against Concubine Yun?" Today's incident happened suddenly, yet Consort Ning blamed Fang Yuan'er the moment she spoke, and afterward handled everything in an orderly fashion, as if she already knew everything and was just waiting to convict Fang Yuan'er. More precisely, Consort Ning was targeting Fang Yuan'er today. This couldn't be without reason—there must be something hidden beneath it. Xie Run was taken aback. "I haven't heard of Fang Yuan'er offending Consort Ning recently... Oh, right, who is that Mama Liu?" Qiulan administered the drug, but this Mama Liu had likely done her fair share of instigating as well. However, since Consort Ning hadn't pursued the investigation further, Xie Run didn't know the details. Dantao and Yuli exchanged glances and shook their heads. These two had come with Xie Run from the Xie family and had been confined to Linxuan Pavilion ever since, so they couldn't gather much information. Xie Run thought for a moment. "Go call Xiaoshu and Xiaoci in." These two were household-born servants with their own connections—they might know something. As luck would have it. Xiaoshu's birth mother had entered the household in the same batch as Mama Liu, and they had even worked together back then. Xie Run saw her troubled expression and gently reassured her, "Something major happened at the banquet today—you must have heard about it too? Although our Linxuan Pavilion doesn't court trouble, we can't be blind and deaf either. With such a big incident in the household, we need to understand what's going on." Xiaoshu knelt and bowed, looking as if she might cry. "Master, this servant knows why Consort Ning wants to deal with Concubine Fang." Xie Run was somewhat surprised. "So it really does have something to do with this Mama Liu?" Xiaoshu nodded. "The wet nurse who originally jumped into the river with the Second Young Master was Mama Liu's goddaughter—she was meant to care for Mama Liu in her old age. After the wet nurse died, Mama Liu wanted to find a new goddaughter. Coincidentally, Concubine Fang was going around winning people over, so Mama Liu took an interest in the maids of Jinxiu Pavilion, and her dealings with Concubine Fang became more frequent..." Xiaoshu was clever and knew when to stop speaking. Xie Run understood immediately. "I've heard that Consort Ning doesn't believe the wet nurse harmed the Second Young Master, and has always thought someone from the inner quarters orchestrated it... Could she think Fang Yuan'er harmed the Second Young Master?" Xiaoshu said quietly, "That's probably it." Xie Run: "..." Was Consort Ning out of her mind? When the Second Young Master's incident happened, how long had Fang Yuan'er even been in the household? How could she have such extraordinary means to harm the Prince's son? Moreover... she had no reason to! Fang Yuan'er didn't even have children of her own and hadn't yet found her footing. What benefit would harming the Second Young Master bring her? But Xie Run knew that Consort Ning, having lost her son, wouldn't care about any of that. Consort Ning would never admit that it was her own mistreatment of the wet nurse that led to her biological son's death. To absolve herself of that guilt, she had to make someone else take the blame. Unfortunately, Fang Yuan'er had been frantically winning people over recently and had grown too close to Mama Liu, making her the perfect outlet for Consort Ning's rage. Or perhaps, Fang Yuan'er's favor with the Prince had gotten under Consort Ning's skin, so she simply decided to deal with her. After questioning them, she had the maids check each other's rooms and searched Linxuan Pavilion thoroughly. Only after confirming there were no extra items did she settle into bed. Xie Run was particularly attentive to her health and beauty regimen—even if the heavens were to flood tomorrow, she would still go to sleep on time tonight. The next morning, Xiaoshu went out early to gather news and returned. Yuli was still helping Xie Run wash her face when Xiaoshu stood to the side and said, "The Princess Consort flew into a terrible rage last night." Xie Run was startled and looked up. "Why was it the Princess Consort who got angry? What about the Prince?" Xiaoshu was also taken aback. "Well... I didn't hear anything about that. Matters of the inner quarters have always been managed by the Princess Consort; the Prince generally doesn't interfere." Xie Run lowered her head again. "Go on." Xiaoshu continued, "Mama Liu and Qiulan have both confessed. They said they couldn't stand Mistress Yun and Mistress Fang fighting for favor, so they plotted to drug Mistress Yun—but they didn't expect the spiked sour plum soup to end up in Princess Ruyi's mouth." "Mama Liu has already been sent to the estate, and Qiulan was given thirty strokes of the board. Since her contract wasn't held by the Prince's household, she was sent back overnight to the Fang family in Jiangnan." "What about Concubine Fang?" "Failure to govern her subordinates strictly—house arrest for six months, and her Monthly Stipend docked for six months." Xie Run finished washing her face and looked up to let the maid apply jade cream. "That punishment is still relatively light." If it were merely drugging Concubine Yun, that would be a minor matter—but with Princess Ruyi caught up in it, the severity of the situation was entirely different. Xiaoshu smiled and said, "The Princess Consort has always been fair in her dealings. After investigating and confirming that this was Qiulan acting on her own initiative, she administered a lenient punishment." If they had chosen to punish severely, Fang Yuan'er would likely have been beaten with boards and sent back to the Fang family as well. Though they said "sent back," having endured thirty strokes of the board, it was uncertain whether she would even survive the journey to the Fang household. In the eyes of the Prince's household, Qiulan was already a dead woman. Xie Run understood this well and merely sighed, then suddenly asked, "And Concubine Ning?" Xiaoshu replied, "Last night, the moment the Princess Consort returned, Concubine Ning was the first to confess her fault. After her lengthy statement, she received no punishment whatsoever. In fact, because she had protected the young Commandery Princess, the Princess Consort even granted her rewards." Xie Run remarked, "One who could rise to the position of Side Consort is indeed formidable." All those slaps and humiliations Fang Yuan'er suffered were for nothing. Most likely, Prince Jing would no longer continue to dote on Fang Yuan'er either. Anyone with discerning eyes could see that Concubine Ning had deliberately targeted Fang Yuan'er, yet no one could catch her in the act, and she even held the moral high ground. The enmity between these two was surely now set in stone. That morning, Xie Run had been thinking that Fang Yuan'er would certainly not let the matter rest. Given her temperament, who knew what she might do to deal with Consort Ning. But by the time she was having her midday meal, news arrived that Fang Yuan'er had miscarried. The shrimp Xie Run had been holding with her chopsticks fell onto the table. Dantao dismissed the servant girl Xiaoci who had delivered the news. "The mistress seems to have been startled. You may go." The rear courtyard of the Prince's household had been unsettled lately, and Xiaoci was rather frightened herself. She acknowledged with a sound and withdrew. It took Xie Run a long moment to snap back to her senses. She asked, "How did she miscarry? No—what I should ask is, when did she become pregnant?" Dantao said, "They say it was early in the pregnancy, and she herself didn't know. Last night she suffered a fright, and with all the commotion, the child was lost." Xie Run felt a pang of regret. "What a pity... I'd like to go see her this afternoon. Make the preparations." Dantao was a bit curious but didn't ask further. Xie Run slowly collected herself and picked up another bite of food with her chopsticks. No matter how great the matter, it could not affect her eating or sleeping. After finishing her midday meal, Xie Run took her usual stroll around the courtyard to aid digestion as she always did. As she walked, she found herself unconsciously drifting into a daze. The reason she had been so startled just now was that the plot of the book she had transmigrated into had never mentioned Fang Yuan'er becoming pregnant or miscarrying at all!