Chapter 132

Chapter 132 The Princess Consort merely asked the concubines about their children as a matter of routine. Only after she finished did her gaze fall upon Fangse. "So you're the new girl serving the Prince?" Fangse immediately stepped forward to pay her respects to the Princess Consort. The Princess Consort gave a slight nod, and Tinghe came up with a cup of tea. Fangse obediently offered the tea, listened to the Princess Consort's admonitions, and formally became Prince Jing's concubine. The Princess Consort said, "Now that you've become a concubine, you can no longer stay at Autumn Maple Court." "I recall there's a small pavilion next to Autumn Maple Court called Fragrant Pavilion. You'll stay there." Fangse glanced at Consort Yun before hesitantly saying, "Thank you, Princess Consort." Fang Yuan'er watched and let out a light scoff of disdain. Back at Summer Pond Court, Fang Yuan'er first went to check on her son. After giving him a round of instructions, she said with contempt, "Lady Yun may have a Commandery Princess to her name, but she's really regressed with age. She's actually pushing her own maid into the Prince's bed to secure her favor." Such tactics weren't uncommon. Usually, favored concubines who were pregnant, had just given birth, or were about to fall out of favor liked to use this trick. But among the pregnant women in Prince Jing's household, no one had ever used this method before. By putting forward Fangse, Consort Yun was telling everyone that she was aging, had already lost favor, and could only barely maintain her position by propping up someone close to her. No wonder Fang Yuan'er looked down on her. Fang Yuan'er thought to herself that no matter how badly she fared in the future, she would never push her own maid into Prince Jing's bed. Qiuxiang, however, remained calm. "Mistress, I just received word that Consort Yun originally wanted to send another maid to serve the Prince, but the Prince chose Fangse instead." "Another maid?" Fang Yuan'er sensed something was off. "Is there something strange about that girl?" Qiuxiang hesitated before speaking. "That maid is called Fangcao. I heard from the people at Autumn Maple Court that there's a slight resemblance in her features—two or three parts like you and Concubine Xie." "What did you say?" Fang Yuan'er wore an expression of utter disgust. "That woman Yun is truly revolting. Choosing someone like that—she must have done it on purpose!" "I always thought she was no good, and now her fox tail is finally showing itself?" Fang Yuan'er shook her head, then felt something was amiss. "Nothing major has happened recently. Consort Yun has been keeping a low profile all this time. For her to suddenly stick her head out now, there must be a reason." Qiuxiang reminded her, "Mistress, has nothing major really happened recently?" She glanced toward Spring Mountain Court. "When Concubine Xie gave birth, two major incidents occurred." "Although Dantao explained the matter of Concubine Xie's childhood friend, there's still no resolution regarding the girl who deliberately caused harm and the reason the childhood friend came knocking." Fang Yuan'er frowned. "You're right." "If Yun suddenly becomes restless, could she have had a hand in scheming against Xie Run?" After thinking for a moment, Fang Yuan'er relaxed again. "Our Prince isn't a patient man." "If it really does involve Lady Yun, we'll know the answer soon enough." She wasn't the only one speculating like this. The Princess Consort, Wan Linlang, and several others all shared the same thought. As for Xie Run, she had long suspected Consort Yun. Now that Consort Yun was elevating a maid from her side to serve the Prince, it only made her seem more afraid of something. Xie Run wasn't the least bit anxious. She spent her days focused on caring for the child. Dantao told her, "The maid Consort Yun originally wanted to promote—I heard her features bear some resemblance to both you and Consort Fang." Xie Run was momentarily taken aback, then laughed. "If this news reaches Fang Yuan'er's ears, she'll be sick to her stomach." Fang Yuan'er was proud and arrogant—how could she bear someone openly sending the Prince a substitute of herself? Dantao asked in confusion, "Mistress, aren't you angry?" Xie Run blinked. "Why would I be angry?" Unlike Fang Yuan'er, whose pride knew no bounds and who couldn't stand anything or anyone resembling herself, Xie Run thought to herself. The Prince was still just a prince now. If he became Emperor in the future, people around him would find every way to stuff women into his bed. By then, it wouldn't just be women with two or three parts resemblance to Xie Run—perhaps even an upgraded version of Xie Run would be delivered to the Prince. If Xie Run got angry over such trivial matters now, she'd never stop being angry in the future. She didn't want to develop breast lumps at a young age. Xie Run smiled. "Whether to take them or not, whether to favor them or not—that's entirely up to the Prince." "Things like this will only become more frequent, not less. If I got angry over every single one, I'd spend the rest of my life just being angry." Dantao couldn't help but sigh. "Mistress, you're so broad-minded. It makes me feel like I'm overthinking things." Xie Run smiled sweetly and said coquettishly to Dantao, "Isn't my broad-mindedness precisely because I have a capable girl like you?" "The kitchen made chicken broth with matsutake mushrooms today. I had them save a jar for you—remember to eat it while it's hot." Dantao laughed. "This servant is truly blessed to serve you, Mistress." "Oh, Mistress, Xiaoshu said her injuries are mostly healed now. She's eager to come serve you—she's afraid that if she waits too long, the young master won't recognize her and won't let her take care of him anymore." By the end, Dantao couldn't help but laugh. Xie Run asked, "Is she really fully recovered? Don't you go covering for her behind my back." Dantao nodded. "This servant has personally seen her wounds. They have indeed healed considerably." "Then that's settled. I happen to be short-handed here anyway. It's just that while she hasn't fully recovered, you'll have to bear more of the burden." "What kind of talk is that?" Dantao said helplessly. "This is simply what this servant ought to do. There's no need for words like 'burden.'" Xie Run said innocently, "Isn't it because I care about you?" Dantao's heart softened at her innocent gaze, and she said directly, "Amitabha. This servant finally knows who the young mistress takes after with her love of smiling and acting coy." Xie Run couldn't help but laugh as well. Taotao was a child who loved to smile. Anyone who teased her would make her grin, her smile sweet, revealing the dimples on her cheeks, softening the hearts of all the serving maids. These past few days, they had all been vying to attend to her. With a child in the household, Spring Mountain Court had grown livelier and livelier. That evening, Prince Jing went to Fragrant Fragrance Court. That is, the courtyard of the newly promoted Concubine Fang. And so it continued for three days. Everyone had originally been focused on the turbulent events outside the manor, but now their attention had been entirely drawn to Concubine Fang. On the fourth day, Prince Jing went to Fragrant Fragrance Pavilion again. Concubine Fang, having enjoyed three consecutive days of favor, had already grown accustomed to the feeling of being a mistress. She greeted Prince Jing with a smiling face. But Prince Jing, departing from his gentle and tolerant demeanor of the previous days, dismissed all the others and looked at Concubine Fang coldly. Concubine Fang's heart trembled under Prince Jing's gaze, and she immediately knelt on the ground. "This servant knows not what wrong she has done to incur such anger from the Prince." "I beg the Prince to make it clear. This servant is willing to accept punishment!" A faint, mocking smile hung on Prince Jing's cold face. "How your mistress got in touch with Princess Consort Su—you, as her servant, should know perfectly well, shouldn't you?" At these words, Concubine Fang's face instantly turned deathly pale.