Chapter 133

Chapter 133 Concubine Fang trembled for a long while before she finally spoke in a quavering voice, "What does the Prince mean by this? This servant does not understand?" "If you confess everything Consort Yun has done, I may yet spare your life." "If you are unwilling to speak, I am not one to force others against their will." With that, Prince Jing rose to his feet and made to leave. Concubine Fang's mind raced through the words Consort Yun had once cautioned her with. For the first time, she harbored selfish thoughts. Gritting her teeth, she clutched at Prince Jing's leg. "Prince, this servant will speak! This servant will tell you everything!" "It was at the Commandery Princess's birthday banquet—the opportunity was handed to us by Princess Consort Su's younger sister." "My mistress did nothing herself. She merely told Princess Consort Su's sister that Concubine Xie had a former lover before entering the household, and that she had eloped with him, and when the elopement failed, she flew into a rage and jumped into the lake." "Everything else... it was all Princess Consort Su's doing!" Prince Jing halted, seized Concubine Fang's chin, and lifted her face. His dark, sunken eyes stared fixedly at her. "Your mistress is resourceful and cunning. If she involved herself in a matter, would she have done only this much?" Concubine Fang was so terrified she nearly forgot to breathe. At some point, tears had already streamed down her face. "My mistress... the schemes against Concubine Xie were all devised by my mistress and told to Princess Consort Su. It was also my mistress who sent word outside the household, informing Princess Consort Su of when Concubine Xie would give birth..." As Prince Jing listened to Fangse's words, not a trace of surprise showed on his face. Fangse had served Consort Yun for so long. In truth, from the moment Consort Yun had begun grooming Fangcao to become a concubine, Fangse had suspected that Consort Yun's plans had already been exposed—that she was merely struggling in her death throes. On the day Prince Jing chose her to serve him, Consort Yun's words had been a lesson in making decisions. Abandon the old mistress, pledge loyalty to Prince Jing, and confess everything. She could tread over Consort Yun's corpse to win a path to survival, and she could also protect Commandery Princess Ruyi on Consort Yun's behalf. After Concubine Fang finished speaking, she closed her eyes weakly. Prince Jing looked at her coldly. "After all, you and your mistress shared a bond. I am not unaware of your mistress's calculations." Concubine Fang's eyes flew open, the shock in them impossible to conceal. Prince Jing said indifferently, "Tell your mistress—Ruyi's future lies in her own hands." Fangse's eyes were filled with bewilderment. But Prince Jing left all the same. Prince Jing understood every one of Consort Yun's schemes. Consort Yun had arranged for Fangcao to serve him—first, so that Commandery Princess Ruyi would have someone to rely on in the future, and second, she must have held Fangcao's very life in her grasp, leaving behind a pawn to vex him. Barring unforeseen circumstances, Fangcao was likely unable to bear children as well. Consort Yun had served Prince Jing for so many years that he knew her nature through and through. Yet Prince Jing simply refused to let her have her way, which was why he chose the maidservant Consort Yun valued most to serve him. So long as this girl harbored even a shred of loyalty to Consort Yun, she would surely treat Ruyi well in the future. If not, Prince Jing would not mind selecting a new foster mother for Commandery Princess Ruyi later. Secondly, when Fangse had been a maidservant, she would have obeyed Consort Yun without question. But if Consort Yun died, and Fangse became a mistress in her own right with her own desires—then things might not be so certain. Prince Jing had no wish for Consort Yun's shadow to linger in the household and vex him after her death. Concubine Fang did not understand Prince Jing's meaning, and the next day she relayed his words to Consort Yun. Consort Yun understood. Her gaze fixed blankly on Concubine Fang, her fingertips trembling faintly. A sliver of fear stirred within her, but more than that, there was a sense of calm acceptance. Like one who has had a blade at her throat for so long, finally waiting for death to descend. She raised her hand and rested it on Concubine Fang's shoulder. "You did well." "From now on... Ruyi is in your care." Concubine Fang was so frightened she burst into tears. "Mistress, what does the Prince truly mean by this?" "Has the Prince known of everything you've done all along? Did you... already suspect as much?" "Go back." Consort Yun's face was serene, and she added one more instruction: "Take Ruyi with you when you leave." "Tell her you're taking her out to play—she will be very happy." Concubine Fang wept, "Mistress..." Consort Yun said coldly, "Silence!" "I am not your mistress. Your only master is the Prince!" "Remember this—from this day forward, you must devote yourself wholly and solely to the Prince. Only then can you live well in this household!" Concubine Fang stood dumbfounded, able only to nod in a daze. After seeing Concort Fang off, a newly arrived maidservant brought in the tonic that had been brewed for Consort Yun. Consort Yun glanced at it indifferently. "Leave for now. I will drink it myself." The maidservant acknowledged the order and obediently withdrew. Consort Yun stared blankly at the bowl of medicine on the table, then drew a pill from her bosom and crushed it between her fingers. Fine white powder fell bit by bit into the bowl. Gazing at the bowl of medicine laced with arsenic, she suddenly thought of the ginseng soup smeared with poison that had been given to Fang Yuan'er during her difficult labor. That poison had been arsenic. Everyone believed that the one who had poisoned Fang Yuan'er's ginseng soup was Consort Chen from the palace. In truth, Consort Chen had indeed arranged for someone to tamper with the ginseng soup. But the arsenic on the rim of the bowl—that had been applied by Consort Yun's own hand. It was simply that the person Consort Chen had sent was too foolish, exposed themselves too early, and drew everyone's attention. Naturally, no one would suspect that the poison in the bowl and the arsenic outside it were placed by two different people. Consort Yun harbored ill will toward Xie Run. Having already employed two venomous schemes during Xie Run's childbirth, how could she spare Fang Yuan'er, someone so ostentatious? She had planted her spy Xiaoci beside Xie Run, and on the very first day Xie Run moved into Banshan Pavilion, she schemed to make her nearly fall... Fang Yuan'er had encountered such incidents as well. But Fang Yuan'er was not as cautious as Xie Run. Many things could never be traced back to Consort Yun, so she could only swallow her grievances in silence and quietly harbor suspicions about the household. And then there was Concubine Li. She was carrying a child in good health, yet nearly lost it to a fall... As Consort Yun thought it over carefully, she realized that over the past half year or more, she had actually done quite a number of things. That her body had grown weaker and weaker was not unrelated to the excessive mental energy she had expended. What she had said to Fangse that day—that she had committed too many evil deeds—had been spoken from the heart. But did she regret it? Consort Yun did not regret it in the slightest! She had fought tooth and nail her entire life to secure her position as Concubine Consort and to have an obedient, well-behaved daughter. Even in death, she would be buried with the rank of Concubine Consort. A spectacular death was still better than a silent, unnoticed life. After thinking for a long while, Consort Yun raised the medicine bowl and drank it all in one go. Some time later, a serving maid entered and saw Consort Yun lying on the bed with blood seeping from all seven orifices. She could not help but shriek, "Mistress... something has happened to the mistress!" Consort Yun's death was silent and unnoticed. The news was sealed off the moment it left Qiufeng Courtyard. The Princess Consort seemed to have received word in advance. She directly ordered the body to be encoffined and had a small mourning hall set up within Qiufeng Courtyard. Only Concubine Fang was permitted to lead Princess Ruyi in wailing for the deceased; no one from the other courtyards was allowed to attend. At this time, the imperial court was embroiled in heated debate over the candidates and locations for disaster relief, so naturally no one paid any attention to the death of a Concubine Consort in Prince Jing's household. Prince Jing did, after all, preserve Consort Yun's dignity, refusing to let her die with a tarnished name. To the outside world, it was simply announced that she had died of illness.