Chapter 206

Chapter 206 Prince Jing glanced at Consort Hua, finally understanding what her brother meant when he said she was naive and inarticulate. In short, she was slow-witted and even slower of tongue. Prince Jing did not care for foolish people. Once he confirmed that Xie Run was unharmed, he followed her back to Chunshan Courtyard. Before he left, Consort Hua gazed at Prince Jing with reluctant attachment. She held back for a long while, but ultimately could not restrain herself: "My Lord, I've recently acquired some fine ink. Would you care to—" Before she could finish, Prince Jing waved his hand. "If you have nothing to do, go listen to the Princess Consort's instruction. If that won't do, then focus on recovering from your illness. Stop fussing over trivial matters." Consort Hua's eyes reddened instantly, tears threatening to fall but not quite spilling, as though she had suffered some tremendous grievance. Xie Run stood nearby, watching with a smile—warm as a spring breeze, showing not a trace of mockery, nor any hint of smugness or pity. Yet Hua Yu, under her gaze, suddenly felt deeply ashamed. On the way back, they passed a grove of red plum blossoms. Prince Jing took the initiative to pull Xie Run along to admire them. "You usually stay cooped up in your courtyard. I imagine you've never seen the crimson plum grove in the estate." "Since we're both free today, let's take a proper stroll." Xie Run genuinely did enjoy it. A vast expanse of white—heaven and earth alike covered in snow—with only clusters of winter plums adding splashes of color, instantly brightening the entire courtyard. She smiled. "There are only green plums at the entrance of Chunshan Courtyard. Having seen them so often, they no longer seem special." Dantao chimed in from the side: "Mistress, why not cut a few branches of winter plum to put in vases? They'd look lovely by the window." "And the young master would surely adore them too." Xie Run nodded. "Alright. Have someone find scissors—I'll cut them myself." "I'll go at once." Dantao said with a cheerful smile. Before long, mistress and maid were in the plum grove, trimming branches. Prince Jing thought to himself that he rarely saw Xie Run so lively. Clearly, she shouldn't be kept cooped up in her courtyard all the time. Just as he was thinking this, Eunuch Shian approached and lowered his voice to report, "My Lord, the guards just caught a panicked young maid. She said she saw someone fall into the pond at Xiachi Courtyard and was on her way to deliver the news to the Princess Consort's residence." Prince Jing's gaze sharpened. "Have Jing Wu look into what happened." Eunuch Shian nodded repeatedly. "This servant was puzzled as well. When she saw someone in trouble at Xiachi Courtyard, she didn't head straight to Qingsong Courtyard—instead she took a roundabout path and came to Qiufeng Courtyard first..." Though Qiufeng Courtyard was close to the Princess Consort's Qingsong Courtyard, Xiachi Courtyard wasn't far from it either. Who would take a detour when something urgent happened? Prince Jing's gaze fell on Xie Run, who was trimming plum branches. He said in a low voice, "Have someone inform the Princess Consort first, and see what can be uncovered." "Keep the servants' mouths shut. Don't spoil her mood." Eunuch Shian paused for a moment before realizing that the "her" Prince Jing referred to was Consort Xie. He quickly nodded. "His Lordship truly dotes on Consort Xie." Prince Jing gave a light snort. She was the only one in the entire estate who didn't cause him trouble. If he didn't dote on her, was he supposed to dote on those scheming day and night? Xie Run cut a few branches of winter plum, then, frozen stiff, hugged them and went to find Prince Jing. "My Lord, let's go back." Prince Jing produced a hand warmer from somewhere and handed it to Xie Run. "Have your maid carry the flowers. You take the hand warmer to warm your hands first." Xie Run was pleasantly surprised. In the year she had served Prince Jing, this was the first time he had shown her such consideration. She smiled softly, accepted the hand warmer, and felt her hands gradually grow warm. "It's getting late. We really should head back." By the time they returned to Chunshan Courtyard, the sky had darkened. Xie Run sent a maid to fetch the meal. When she returned, Yueya'er's expression was rather pale, as if she had been frightened. Dantao noticed and quietly sent her to the side chamber to brew tea, keeping her from coming out again. After the meal, Xie Run went to see her while changing clothes. Yueya'er said with a pale face, "Mistress, when I went to fetch the meal today, I took the path by Xiachi Courtyard. On the way back, I ran into people fishing a corpse out of Guanyuechi..." "The body seemed frozen stiff, arms wrapped around itself, face whiter than plaster powder..." Xiaoshu chided lightly, "What nonsense are you spouting in front of the mistress!" Yueya'er was startled, then came to her senses. "This servant knows her mistake. I was just frightened..." Xie Run asked, "Did you find out what happened?" Yueya'er nodded. "They say it was the gatekeeper maid of Xiachi Courtyard. She must not have been watching her step, slipped into the pond, and since there was no one around, she drowned..." Ever since Fang Yuan'er had been elevated to Side Consort and moved to Songya Courtyard, Xiachi Courtyard had been left vacant. For such masterless courtyards, it was customary to assign one or two servants to guard the gate and another one or two elderly servants to sweep and maintain the grounds. So the situation Yueya'er described was entirely plausible. Xie Run thought for a moment. "Did you see who led the recovery effort?" "It was Mama Li from the Princess Consort's side." "Since the Princess Consort has sent people to handle it, news should circulate by tomorrow." Having a Princess Consort who didn't conceal information certainly had its advantages. Beside her, Dantao suddenly thought of something: "Mistress, these past days, Concubine Lian and Consort Hua have been making quite a fuss over that talk of clashing fates. Now that someone's died, if this person's name also contains 'flower'..." Xie Run's expression turned somewhat grave. "Concubine Lian's pregnancy—it's eight and a half months along now, isn't it?" Xiaoshu and Dantao both looked alarmed. "Someone's making a move again?" The children in the household had all been born under uneasy circumstances; Xiaoshu and Dantao had grown accustomed to this pattern. Xie Run shook her head. "That's not necessarily the case." "I thought today's main event would be at Qiufeng Court, so I braved the snow to make a trip there. Who would have thought..." So the real scheme had been at Xiachi Court all along. Xie Run thought of Consort Hua, still caught up in jealousy and self-pity, and could only hope she would come through unscathed. Early the next morning, Prince Jing finished breakfast with Xie Run and then left to keep an appointment outside. Tinghe from the Princess Consort's courtyard came to deliver news. "Yesterday, a maid named Xiaju slipped on the ice and fell into Guanyuechi, drowning." "Though the matter has been handled, given the earlier rumors of clashing fates circulating in the household, the Princess Consort specifically instructed me to reassure you, Consort Xie." "Xiaju fell into Guanyuechi because the servant woman responsible for sweeping the snow was negligent and failed to clear the path in time." "The Princess Consort has now ordered all maids and servant women to diligently clear the snow from the paths, with Nanny Li personally overseeing the work. Should anyone be found slacking again, they will be severely punished without mercy." The prince's residence was vast, with countless main roads and side paths. Though many maids and servant women had been assigned to sweep the snow, there would always be those who shirked their duties. And some would act according to one's status and degree of favor in the household.