Chapter 309

Chapter 309 "This morning at Fengyi Palace, Talented Lady Wu was so arrogant in front of me, calling me 'Sister Ye' with such a sweet tongue, even telling me to give up my seat for you. Now that something has happened, why are you calling me 'Sister Ye' again?" "Isn't your face changing a bit too fast?" Talented Lady Wu said sorrowfully, "It was I who was insolent. Later, after being reminded by those around me, I specifically sought you out to apologize. Didn't you accept it?" Talented Lady Ye sneered: "How could I not accept it? You kept belittling me, saying I wasn't favored by the Emperor, saying I was dull and foolish... If I hadn't agreed, who knows what else you might have said." "That's right, you also said my skin was as dark as a newly raised wild boar on the estate, that the Emperor would dirty his eyes just by looking at me, so how could he ever favor me?" "I was confused at the time and didn't realize you were deliberately using foul words to provoke me, so you could seize the chance to fall into the water and frame me." Talented Lady Wu immediately retorted: "When did I ever say such things? How can you fabricate lies in front of the Empress..." The Empress asked again: "Then how did your quarrel start?" Talented Lady Ye looked coldly at Talented Lady Wu: "I'd like to see how you spin this further." Talented Lady Wu said pitifully: "It was this concubine's poor choice of words. I mentioned that the Emperor didn't favor Sister Ye, perhaps because her complexion wasn't fair enough, which affected her beauty. I even recommended a few skin-whitening methods to Sister Ye. Who would have thought she'd fly into a rage and try to push me..." Talented Lady Ye: "Recommending skin-whitening methods to me? You were clearly using that as an excuse to humiliate me! I haven't spoken a single lie. I beg the Empress to see clearly!" Talented Lady Ye bowed to the Empress, looking utterly furious. The Empress watched the two of them bicker for quite some time and already had a rough idea of what had happened. "Talented Lady Ye!" Talented Lady Ye immediately straightened up, nervously looking at the Empress with fear in her eyes: "This concubine is here." "Regardless of whether you pushed Talented Lady Wu into the water or not, your quarrel with her makes you responsible for what happened. I sentence you to forfeit one month's stipend and one month of house arrest." Talented Lady Ye was filled with grievance. She opened her mouth several times to explain, but when she met the Empress's cold gaze, she didn't dare speak. The Empress hadn't said she pushed Talented Lady Wu—only that she bore responsibility for the incident—so she had no way to argue. On the other side, Talented Lady Wu, lying in bed, felt secretly pleased but also somewhat dissatisfied. Since the Empress believed that Talented Lady Ye had pushed her and tried to harm her child, why was the punishment so light? Talented Lady Wu wanted to say a few more things, but then she heard the Empress call out again: "Talented Lady Wu!" Talented Lady Wu was startled and quickly responded. Then she heard the Empress say slowly: "You knew you were pregnant, yet you still quarreled with others, nearly endangering the Emperor's offspring. You are likewise fined one month's stipend and placed under house arrest for one month." "This time, both of you have been punished leniently. But if there is a next time..." A hint of emotion finally appeared in the Empress's eyes. She swept a cold glance over the two of them: "Then you will both be demoted together." Both Talented Lady Wu's and Talented Lady Ye's faces turned deathly pale in an instant. Talented Lady Wu hadn't expected that she would be blamed for this too. But the Empress hadn't punished her for anything else—only for failing to protect the Emperor's offspring. Now she was in the same position as Talented Lady Ye, unable to argue. The two of them had caused such a scene, yet neither had gained any advantage. The moment the Empress's order came down, both of them instantly quieted down, neither daring to cause more trouble. Lady Lu finished enjoying the drama and excitedly went to share it with Xie Run. But halfway there, she heard another piece of news and hurried over to Zhaohua Palace without stopping. Xie Run no longer managed affairs and lived a leisurely life. She was watching Chunjuan lead the servants in replacing the flowers and plants in Zhaohua Palace. Zhaohua Palace was originally called Yonghua Palace, where the Retired Emperor's Consort He had lived. After Consort He died of illness, the Retired Emperor was so heartbroken that he closed court for three days and sealed off Yonghua Palace completely. This inevitably brings up the fact that after those three days of closed court, the Retired Emperor came to favor a new beauty. That beauty was none other than the former Noble Consort Rou—the current Empress Dowager. During her time of favor, the Empress Dowager gave birth to Prince Su and Prince Jing. Later she fell out of favor and lived in Rouyi Palace for many years. The Emperor had renamed Yonghua Palace to Zhaohua Palace specifically to match Xie Run's title. Xie Run was worried that Consort He's death might have had other causes, and also feared that this new palace might hide things unknown to others. She deliberately had Chunjuan lead the servants to replace all the flowers and plants, using the opportunity of turning the soil to cleanse the grounds of Zhaohua Palace. And sure enough, the ground beneath Zhaohua Palace was far from clean. Chunjuan had only dug up half of it when she unearthed quite a few things. These items were all wrapped in cloth. Having been buried for a long time, the cloth had rotted away, vaguely revealing what was inside. However, Xie Run uniformly forbade anyone from opening them, only ordering a brazier to be brought so they could be burned on the spot. This matter later reached the Emperor's ears. When the other consorts in the palace heard about it, they too feared that things might be buried beneath their own palaces, and one after another began turning over their grounds under the pretext of planting flowers. Even if they discovered something, they all handled it privately and never brought these things out to cause trouble. After all, since Bright and Pure Consort had done this without the Emperor or Empress raising any objection, it meant they approved as well. After digging about a third of the way, Lady Lu ran over to Xie Run, panting heavily. "Sister Xie, I saw quite a show at Yulan Pavilion today." Xie Run walked over to the stone table and sat down, asking Dantao to serve tea. She smiled and said, "No rush, have a sip of tea first and tell me slowly." Lady Lu waved her hand. "Let me finish talking before I drink!" With a face full of delight, she said, "Talented Lady Wu insists that Talented Lady Ye tried to harm her by deliberately pushing her into the water. Talented Lady Ye, in turn, accuses Talented Lady Wu of trying to frame her using the child in her womb—that she deliberately provoked her into a scuffle, then took the opportunity to fall into the water." "Since there were no other witnesses, the two of them kept accusing each other, crying and cursing—quite the lively scene." "In the end, the Empress gave each of them fifty strokes of the board, fined them one month's stipend, and placed them under house arrest for one month." Xie Run didn't seem surprised to hear this. "I imagine neither of them is satisfied with the outcome?" "Talented Lady Ye is fine, but Talented Lady Wu looks thoroughly displeased and shocked. She probably didn't expect the Empress to punish her as well—and not even for her conflict with Talented Lady Ye, but for failing to protect the Imperial Heir. She had no way to argue against that." Xie Run said, "The Empress has always been this way. With such a punishment, she likely saw through both their schemes clearly, couldn't be bothered to untangle the details, and simply gave each of them fifty strokes." "Exactly." Lady Lu was also a veteran of the Prince's residence and naturally knew the Empress's style of handling matters. She added, "Neither of them was satisfied at first, but the Empress only said one thing—if it happened again, they'd be demoted directly—and both of them turned pale instantly, not daring to say another word." Xie Run could almost picture the scene. The Empress truly handled matters with clean efficiency. But then Lady Lu, who hadn't finished speaking, added with great enthusiasm, "That should have been the end of it, but on my way back, I suddenly heard news that the Empress Dowager had also sent someone to Yulan Pavilion. She gave Talented Lady Ye, who hadn't left yet, a thorough scolding, and then took it upon herself to cancel Talented Lady Wu's punishment, saying that the Imperial Heir in her womb was of utmost importance, and having suffered a fright, she should focus on nurturing her pregnancy." The Empress Dowager's actions were practically a blatant slap in the face to the Empress. The Empress had just administered justice impartially, and then the Empress Dowager canceled Talented Lady Wu's punishment and rebuked Talented Lady Ye—wasn't that implying the Empress hadn't handled it well enough? Xie Run listened and fell silent for a long while. "The Retired Emperor's preferences truly never change." All of them were beauties without a shred of sense. From the Empress Dowager to Noble Consort Chen, their actions had always been impulsive and straightforward—so simple and direct that one couldn't help but believe they truly had no brains. "Originally it was just a small matter. The Empress had already dealt with it, and that should have been the end. But with the Empress Dowager making such a fuss, the Empress certainly won't let this slide. Now it all depends on what the Emperor intends to do." In a contest between mother-in-law and daughter-in-law, the Empress was naturally at a disadvantage from the start. To gain the upper hand in this contest, the Emperor's stance would play a decisive role. Lady Lu asked curiously, "Sister Xie, who do you think the Emperor will side with?" Who would the Emperor side with? Of course, the Empress. After all, what the Emperor wanted was harmony among the Six Palaces, not daily chaos and infighting for favor and power. Xie Run glanced at her. "It depends on what the Emperor wants." Lady Lu immediately understood Xie Run's meaning. Over there, Talented Lady Wu was also somewhat flattered by the Empress Dowager's sudden protection. After the people at Yulan Pavilion dispersed, her maid applied medicine to her wounds. Yushan said, "Mistress, thank goodness the Empress Dowager's decree came, or you would have suffered great injustice today." Talented Lady Wu's expression wasn't pleasant. "What do you know?!" "The Empress Dowager says she helped me, but in truth, she's really harmed me." "She wants to compete with the Empress, and she's using me as her pawn..." Talented Lady Wu felt some regret. "If I'd known, I wouldn't have chosen today to stir up trouble." She had thought the Empress Dowager was planning to elevate Noble Lady Xian to compete with the Empress, and wouldn't bother with low-ranking people like them. Who would have thought this would suddenly happen? She was certainly dissatisfied with the Empress's punishment, but she also couldn't bear the weight of the Empress Dowager's sudden favor. Yushan also said, "That's true. Today, although you avoided a punishment, I'm afraid the Empress will hold a grudge against you." "The Empress holds a noble status and governs the Six Palaces. If she wants to make things difficult for you, it would be an easy matter." At Yushan's words, Talented Lady Wu's expression darkened a few shades. Suddenly she let out a low cry and pulled her hand back. "Be gentle!" It turned out Yushan had accidentally hurt her wound while applying medicine. Yushan said with concern, "Even if you wanted to provoke Talented Lady Ye, you should have been more careful with your limits. Why did you have to hurt yourself so badly?" The scratch on Talented Lady Wu's wrist was long, looking rather alarming against her fair skin. Talented Lady Wu's eyes darkened slightly, and she gritted her teeth. "It's not like I wanted to be hurt that badly... That Talented Lady Ye isn't a good person either!" Yushan was startled. "Mistress, what exactly happened?" The incident of falling into the water today had indeed been instigated by Talented Lady Wu. Framing Talented Lady Ye was one thing, but taking the opportunity to suffer some grievance to win sympathy and see the Emperor was another. If the Emperor saw her being wronged and promoted her rank, that would be the best outcome. Talented Lady Wu had calculated everything, starting from the moment she went to Fengyi Palace, deliberately provoking Talented Lady Ye. Otherwise, how could someone who seemed so gentle and obedient have publicly made Talented Lady Ye give up her seat to her in Fengyi Palace? However, falling into the water was not Talented Lady Wu's intention. She had only planned to fake a conflict with Talented Lady Ye, provoke her with words, have the two of them scuffle, and then deliberately fall to the ground claiming stomach pain. A fall could be controlled and wasn't very dangerous, but falling into the water was another matter entirely. She had worked hard to conceive the Emperor's child, and she didn't want to take that risk. Talented Lady Wu raised a hand to cover her abdomen. "Talented Lady Ye must have seen through my scheme. She deliberately pulled at me and took the opportunity to push me into the water." "It happened so suddenly, and she was so strong—I couldn't struggle free at all." In that instant of falling into the water, Talented Lady Wu had been genuinely terrified. She hadn't expected Talented Lady Ye to actually dare to harm her! Talented Lady Wu's eyes reddened. "That woman is deeply scheming. She's always pretended to be harmless, but she's actually ruthless and vicious. When we fell into the water, she kept pulling me down while kicking at me with her feet—clearly trying to make me miscarry." "If I hadn't clung to her and refused to let go, I would have been killed by her in Wenchang Lake!" Yushan was stunned. "What?!" "How dare Talented Lady Ye be so bold?!" Talented Lady Wu snorted coldly. "I never knew she was so vicious either." "Fortunately, her kicks weren't too forceful, or the child in my belly might not have survived." "The Emperor didn't come, and the Empress didn't believe that she pulled me into the water... I had no choice but to swallow this bitter loss." This was something Talented Lady Wu hadn't anticipated. Because she had been the one to start the conflict, giving Talented Lady Ye the chance to bite back. The Empress probably truly believed she had jumped into the water herself to frame Talented Lady Ye. Talented Lady Wu had tried to catch a chicken only to lose the rice used as bait. While Talented Lady Wu secretly regretted her actions, Talented Lady Ye was greatly relieved. Talented Lady Ye had appeared as pitiful and shivering as a drowned chicken at Yulan Pavilion, but the moment she returned to her own quarters, her expression changed completely. She changed her clothes and smiled. "Go fetch me a jug of wine, and prepare some dishes to go with it." No one knew that Talented Lady Ye loved to drink, and she especially enjoyed sipping wine while nibbling on various small dishes. There was a reason the Emperor didn't favor her. After she entered the prince's residence, she never restrained this habit. Every day after her afternoon nap, she would drink until sunset, occasionally getting completely drunk. It happened once that the Emperor, then still Prince Jing, thought to visit her. Without prior notice, he brought his attendants directly to her courtyard. When he entered, he saw Talented Lady Ye lying in a bamboo chair in the courtyard, her robes half-open, eyes flushed, and reeking of alcohol. When she saw Prince Jing entering with the eunuch, she even flirted with him, showing complete disregard for propriety. Had he been someone who appreciated such wild charm, it might have been seen as a bit of amusement. But Prince Jing did appreciate charm—yet he also valued appearances. Seeing Talented Lady Ye in disarray, he scolded her for being indecent and turned to leave the courtyard with his attendants. From that day on, he never set foot in Talented Lady Ye's courtyard again. Talented Lady Ye only learned of this after sobering up, and she was utterly terrified. Though she never received any punishment from Prince Jing, when he never came to her courtyard again, she had a good idea why. Her maid Zhenzhen advised her, "Mistress, you've just fallen into the water. It's not good to drink cold wine—you might catch a chill." "Why not let me have someone warm it over a small stove before you drink?" Talented Lady Ye was in a good mood today, so she didn't argue. Zhenzhen attended to her nearby and asked worriedly, "Mistress, Talented Lady Wu tried to frame you using her own child, causing you to be punished unjustly—how can you still be smiling?" Zhenzhen had been standing behind Talented Lady Ye at the time and only knew that Talented Lady Wu had suddenly grabbed hold of her mistress, and then the two of them fell into the water together. So in her heart, she was certain that Talented Lady Wu had deliberately thrown herself into the lake to frame her mistress. "What would you understand?" Talented Lady Ye glanced sideways at Zhenzhen.