Chapter 227

Chapter 227 Just as she stepped out of the main hall, she heard a scream like a pig being slaughtered, and couldn't help but furrow her brows. Immediately after came Consort Jiang's voice calling for the Prince. Xie Run was startled and asked the maidservant beside her, "Does Consort Jiang know that the Prince just added five more strokes of the cane for her?" The maid standing guard at the door nodded: "To answer Consort Xie, Consort Jiang knows. The five strokes ordered by the Princess Consort have already been carried out, and they are now administering the five strokes ordered by the Prince." Even after all this, she still dared to wail in the Green Pine Courtyard? The next second, she heard Prince Jing's voice laced with anger: "Next time, drag her to the outer quarters to be beaten. With all this howling and crying here, what if she frightens my daughter?!" Eunuch Shian hastily said, "This servant will find a way to silence Consort Jiang right away!" Jiang Baobao had been pampered and spoiled her whole life—how could she possibly not cry out after being beaten now? The only way was to gag her. When Xie Run went out, the young eunuchs had already swiftly stuffed something into Jiang Baobao's mouth to silence her. She only cast a casual glance before walking away. Only when they were outside did Dantao dare to speak: "This servant has seen quite a few people in the manor, but someone like Consort Jiang... this is truly a first for this servant." Xie Run smiled: "A first for you? It's a first for me too." Dantao: "The Princess Consort reminded her that she had evidence in hand, but she pretended not to hear, her mind entirely occupied with shifting blame. When the evidence was conclusive, she refused to admit it no matter what, treating everyone else like fools... She's probably still resenting the Princess Consort for being biased right now, thinking it was Concubine Fang who was disrespectful to her, so why was she the one being punished." Jiang Baobao's way of thinking was truly hard for ordinary people to understand. Xie Run said in a calm voice: "The Princess Consort knows this well in her heart, which is why she punished her with House Arrest in the small Buddhist hall." Dantao asked softly: "This servant has heard that the small Buddhist hall was where the late Consort Dowager used to fast and chant sutras. It has been left abandoned ever since our Prince moved in." "The old nuns guarding the small Buddhist hall are stubborn—they only eat plain tea and simple meals every day, and don't exchange a single word with the outside world... If the Princess Consort has Consort Jiang confined there under House Arrest, she's bound to suffer greatly." Xie Run: "Indeed." "With that temperament of hers, she'll never learn her lesson without suffering." If she was confined to her own courtyard, she could still sneak out—so how could anyone possibly keep Consort Jiang under control? And that wasn't even the worst part—when she was seen, she even dared to arrogantly strike someone! The Princess Consort probably realized that confining Consort Jiang to her own courtyard was useless, which was why she thought of the small Buddhist hall. Xie Run returned to her own courtyard after enjoying quite a show, spending the rest of the day at leisure. The next day, the Princess Consort sent someone to summon her again. Xie Run was full of confusion: "The Princess Consort seems rather anxious." "But although the manor has no shortage of small troubles, there's nothing major happening either—what is the Princess Consort anxious about?" Dantao didn't understand either, but Xiaoshu muttered on the side: "Mistress, have you forgotten? A Consort Sun will soon be entering our manor." Xiaoshu hadn't originally thought of this either—it was her mother who kept nagging in her ear every day, worrying that this Consort Sun's arrival would affect Consort Xie's favor. Xie Run was enlightened the moment Xiaoshu pointed it out. "I knew it... It's not that the Princess Consort has no capable people at her disposal. If she cultivated Consort Li, she wouldn't need me and Fang Yuan'er to intervene in manor affairs at all." From what Xie Run knew, the Princess Consort had actually already been having Consort Li learn to handle some of the household chores, but she just hadn't made it public. Xie Run: "Consort Sun comes from the Duke of Yingguo's household—she has family background, and she's young and beautiful... The Princess Consort is worried." Just as Prince Jing had teased. When he took concubines, the Princess Consort not only didn't object, she even helped him take them. But if he wanted to marry a Side Consort of noble birth, the Princess Consort was deeply unwilling. Although there were currently two Side Consorts in Prince Jing's manor, neither Xie Run nor Fang Yuan'er had backgrounds worth mentioning—they simply didn't measure up. To put it bluntly, the two posed no threat whatsoever to the Princess Consort, and they still had to answer to her authority. Now that a legitimate daughter of the Duke of Yingguo, excellent in every way, was suddenly arriving, the Princess Consort naturally had to make early preparations. As soon as she arrived at the Green Pine Courtyard, Xie Run heard Jing Wu reporting matters to the Princess Consort. "Back then, the flower house knew full well that Concubine Lian was allergic to lilies, yet still sent lilies over. This matter was later investigated and found to be connected to Consort Hua." "When the embroidery room was sewing the bedding and pillowcases for Concubine Lian's childbirth, Consort Hua's maidservant Tuantuan also visited several times—highly suspicious." Consort Hua, who had been summoned early in the morning, heard these words and her mind went completely blank. Without a second thought, she knelt on the ground: "I beg the Princess Consort to see clearly—this concubine absolutely never harmed Concubine Lian!" "It was because Concubine Lian kept using the talk of conflicting horoscopes to pressure this concubine into moving out of the courtyard. This concubine was so furious that she secretly spent silver to have them send lilies to Concubine Lian's room." "This concubine only wanted to make her suffer from allergies so she would stop staring at this concubine all day, and also teach her a lesson." "But that was the only time. Afterwards, when Concubine Wan went to the flower house to make a scene on Concubine Lian's behalf, this concubine was frightened too, afraid of the Prince's punishment, and never did anything else again." As she spoke, she tugged at Tuantuan: "Hurry and explain to the Princess Consort—you did nothing when you went to the embroidery room!" Consort Hua and Consort Jiang were two extremes. One was timid to the bone, the other stubborn to the bone. When Xie Run appeared, the Princess Consort only gestured for her to sit down without saying much. Xie Run quietly took her seat and heard Tinghe ask: "Tuanzi, during those few times you went to the embroidery room, did you do anything? Was there anyone with you? Or is there anyone who can prove you didn't have time to tamper with anything?" Tuanzi knelt on the ground with a bewildered look. "This servant... this servant cannot recall clearly." "It was too long ago. This servant truly doesn't know if there was anyone else around when going to the embroidery room, but this servant absolutely never did anything to harm Concubine Lian." "She was carrying the Prince's child. This servant would avoid her at all costs—how would this servant dare to collide with her..." The Princess Consort looked at Xie Run. "Sister Xie, what do you make of this?" Consort Hua looked at Xie Run with tearful, hazy eyes, her gaze filled with confusion, not knowing what this had to do with Xie Run. Xie Run pondered for a moment, then said softly: "This matter is one of suspicion, simply because Consort Hua once sent lilies to Concubine Lian. However, while Tuanzi is certainly suspect, there is no solid evidence proving that the lilies in Concubine Lian's bedding were connected to her." Xie Run added: "The lilies stuffed into Sister Lian's bedding and pillow were dried petals. Making dried lily petals also takes time, so this could actually be a lead to investigate." Jing Wu clasped his fists in salute. "As Mistress Xie says, this subordinate did check the places in the residence where dried lily petals were kept, and none were missing." Xie Run: "Then that means these came from outside the residence?" Jing Wu fell silent. Both Xie Run and the Princess Consort understood the situation well. As for Concubine Lian's death, it was still unknown what role Wan Linlang had played in it, but the direct culprit was Prince An from outside the residence. This matter was likely over. Unless Prince Jing could one day overpower Prince An—only then could the true truth be uncovered.