Chapter 373

Chapter 373 Just after finishing the midday meal, Xie Run received a task assigned by the Empress—she was to go to the Princes' Residence and help settle the Seventh Prince in. It was because she had handled the Sixth Prince's matter last time that the Empress, not wanting to trouble a second person with the same task, had placed the Seventh Prince in Xie Run's hands as well. But today Taotao was especially clingy, following Xie Run around like a shadow, calling out "Mother" nonstop. Xie Run knew the boy loved going out to play, so she simply brought him along to the Princes' Residence. When Taotao heard he could see his newly born younger brother, he was beside himself with excitement. When Xie Run arrived at the Princes' Residence and gave out her instructions, all the maids and eunuchs hastened to comply, afraid she might lose her temper again. After the Sixth Prince's incident last time, the entire staff of the Princes' Residence had been replaced. All the newly arrived attendants had heard of Consort Zhaode's fearsome reputation. Taotao was curious about his new younger brother and pestered Xie Run to stay longer at the Princes' Residence. Xie Run had only just finished a cup of tea when someone came bearing news. "Your Ladyship, the Emperor has just issued an edict, promoting Wu Baolin to Beauty Wu, and also restoring Consort Sun's title." Xiaoshu's eyes widened. "Beauty Wu was rewarded for giving birth, so a promotion of two ranks is only natural. But Consort Sun... why did she suddenly receive favor as well?" Xie Run's mind turned for a moment, then she smiled. "On New Year's Eve, Beauty Wu was able to deliver the prince safely—Consort Sun deserves much credit for that. The Emperor is rewarding merit today." Xie Run thought for a moment. "Didn't the Emperor bestow upon me a pair of auspicious cloud-patterned gold hairpins last Mid-Autumn Festival? Send them to Consort Sun on my behalf, and say they are a congratulatory gift." Dantao bowed. "This servant will arrange it at once." Xiaoshu asked softly, "Your Ladyship, Consort Sun had her title stripped because she offended you. Now that the Emperor has restored her title, why are you still sending her gifts?" Xiaoshu always felt her mistress was too kind-natured—why did she keep enduring grievances? Xie Run smiled. "You said it yourself—Consort Sun had her title stripped for offending me, which means she was punished for her wrongdoing. Now that she can have her title restored, it means she has merit deserving of reward." "She came to my door not long ago bearing thorns to apologize, and I am willing to let bygones be bygones. To bring up old matters again would make me seem too petty." "She calls me 'elder sister,' so naturally I should send her some congratulatory gifts to show that I hold no grudges." Xiaoshu listened and was silent for a long moment. "This servant feels that Your Ladyship has changed." "Oh? Changed how?" Xie Run listened with interest. Dantao said, "Your Ladyship's heart is broader than before, and you handle matters with greater composure and ease." Xie Run's smile faded slightly. "In this position, one must attend to this position's duties. I am no longer the Side Consort of the prince's residence I once was, so naturally I cannot conduct myself in the same manner as before." In the old days, playing the fool and throwing the occasional tantrum was harmless. But not anymore. The Empress's health was growing worse by the day—who knew how much longer she could hold on. If the Empress were to pass one day, she would be the most conspicuous figure in the entire harem. If she didn't broaden her mindset and handle matters more thoroughly, difficult days would lie ahead. Xie Run said, "The Emperor suddenly rewarding Consort Jing—there must be more to it. Go and find out what you can." After arranging matters, Xie Run took the opportunity to drag her son back to Zhaohua Palace. She had barely sat down when Lady Lu came calling—bringing her latest gossip with her. The moment Lady Lu sat down, before she could even take a sip of tea, she began: "Who would have thought—Consort Jing turns out to be someone who does great things in silence." "On New Year's Eve, when Wu Baolin suddenly went into labor, everyone suspected Consort Jing was involved. Even though Wu Baolin delivered safely afterward and Consort Jing gained no benefit from it, she still attracted a heap of criticism." "But she refused to come out and defend herself, simply staying quietly in her own palace. I even told Cuiniao that day that Consort Jing's temperament had changed—but today I finally saw Consort Jing's methods." Xie Run listened for a good while before asking, "What did Consort Jing do?" Lady Lu's eyes were bright, and if one looked closely, one could almost see two dancing flames within them. "This afternoon, Consort Sun went to the Imperial Study on her own initiative to confess her faults to the Emperor." "She said she had two wrongs. The first was that she had absented herself from the New Year's Eve banquet without permission, nearly ruining the Emperor's and Empress's enjoyment. The second was that she should not have recklessly interfered in Wu Baolin's delivery." "She said that since her reputation was already poor, she should not have taken the initiative to involve herself in Wu Baolin's affairs—standing in a melon field without adjusting her shoes, she had only invited suspicion upon herself and disturbed the peace of the Six Palaces. She therefore begged the Emperor to punish her." Xie Run smiled. "Consort Jing rendered meritorious service in Wu Baolin's delivery—how could the Emperor punish her? He would be too busy rewarding her." At first, the Emperor may not have been so inclined to reward Consort Jing, which was why he had delayed and pretended not to know. Now that Consort Jing had brought her 'grievance' before the Emperor, he had to respond in some way. Lady Lu slapped her thigh. "Exactly!" "Only after hearing this news today did I realize just how calculating Consort Jing is!" Xie Run thought for a moment, then said with a smile, "This is an open scheme." "When one does a good deed, one should still seek some benefit for oneself—there's no point in being a virtuous person for nothing." "At any rate, the Emperor doesn't dislike it, and both Wu Baolin and Consort Jing gained benefits—a perfectly satisfactory outcome for all." Xie Run felt she could still learn quite a bit from Consort Jing. Lady Lu had initially thought she was just watching a show, but upon hearing Xie Run's analysis, she found it made sense: "Looking at it that way, Consort Jing really is formidable." "If she had displayed this kind of ability before, instead of putting all her energy into bullying the concubines of the Six Palaces, she probably would have become a Second-Rank Fei long ago." Xie Run smiled and shook her head, somewhat helpless: "She suffered too great a blow back then, which is why she went down that dead-end path." The more Xie Run pondered it, the more she found Consort Jing's handling of this matter intriguing. Lady Lu thought for a moment: "That's true. How important is a woman's beauty? To have it destroyed like that, and to lose the Emperor's favor on top of it—anyone would have twisted thoughts." No sooner had Lady Lu finished speaking than she saw Xie Run staring at her with wide eyes, quietly watching her. She was somewhat startled: "Sister Xie, why are you looking at me like that?" Xie Run: "...I just think what you said makes a lot of sense." Lady Lu: "..." Xie Run smiled: "Now it's not just you in this harem who thinks that way—I'm afraid even the Emperor and the other consorts think the same." Although Consort Jing was not favored, she truly had a bit of a grasp on the Emperor's temperament. After the New Year celebrations ended, the bustle in the palace finally subsided somewhat. Xie Run had been so busy that she had lost several pounds. Xie Run took time out to visit Beauty Wu, having arranged to go together with Consort Wen. But just as they reached the main courtyard, they saw Beauty Wu's palace maid rushing out in a panic. Seeing Xie Run and Consort Wen, her face changed slightly in fright, and she hastily performed a bow: "This servant greets Consort Zhaode and Consort Wen." Xie Run: "Running so urgently—has something happened to your mistress?" In the harem, one was not allowed to run without cause; if caught, punishment was certain. The palace maid lowered her head and answered cautiously: "My mistress is feeling unwell and sent this servant to summon the imperial physician." Consort Wen asked worriedly: "What's the matter?" Xie Run: "If she's unwell, then hurry and go fetch the physician." They were already right in Beauty Wu's courtyard, so there was no rush to get answers. Consort Wen seemed to just realize this and smiled: "Sister, I was so worried that I lost my composure." She waved her hand: "Go quickly and summon the physician—don't let your mistress suffer." The palace maid hastily bowed and left. Just as they reached the corridor, Xie Run could faintly hear Beauty Wu's cries of pain. She felt some doubt inwardly but did not show it on her face. Entering the room, she saw palace attendants bustling back and forth. Upon asking, she learned that Beauty Wu had been invaded by cold air while chasing the Seventh Prince in the snow that day, and now frequently suffered from headaches and leg pain. When Xie Run and Consort Wen saw Beauty Wu, she was clutching her head, curled up under the covers crying out in pain. The people around her had filled hot water bottles and were stuffing them one by one into her bedding. Beauty Wu shouted in a trembling voice: "Cold!" "Add another brazier of fire!" The old nannies and palace maids beside her looked as if they wanted to speak but held back, ultimately obediently going to do as she said. Xie Run took a glance—there were already three braziers of fire in the room. Adding another would make four. On a day like this, two braziers in a room would normally be enough to keep it warm. In the entire palace, only Beauty Duan, whose body had been severely damaged, might have four braziers in her room. The moment she entered the room, Xie Run felt a wave of heat rush at her face, mixed with various smells from recent childbirth, somewhat unpleasant. Consort Wen fanned her nose with her handkerchief and frowned: "What is that smell in this room?" "Beauty Wu just gave birth—how can she stay in an environment like this?" Consort Wen had never given birth, so she didn't know the details. The palace maids and nannies in the room all tensed up, and Beauty Wu, who had been crying out in pain, also flushed red with embarrassment. Beauty Wu: "I didn't know the two ladies were coming; please forgive me for not being able to perform proper bows." Consort Wen was a considerate person and quickly said: "You're still in your confinement period—why bother with so many formalities?" "Are your attendants serving you well enough?" "I happened to run into a palace maid rushing out in a fluster, saying you were unwell—where exactly are you feeling discomfort?" Beauty Wu was in pain and had to endure the discomfort to answer Consort Wen: "In reply to Consort Wen, this concubine aches all over. It feels like cold air is drilling through my whole body—it's terribly uncomfortable." "How did it get so serious?" Consort Wen sat down beside Beauty Wu with concern and offered a great deal of comforting words. Someone brought a chair over, and Xie Run quietly sat to the side, listening. After listening for a while, she couldn't help but feel some doubt. Among the things Beauty Wu mentioned, some were matters that her attendants or old nannies should have reminded her about. But from what she was saying, it seemed no one had reminded her, causing her to commit many taboos and bring on her confinement illness. Xie Run's gaze swept over the palace maids and old nannies who stood with lowered heads to the side. She asked casually: "With all this discomfort you're feeling, have you consulted your old nannies? They have much experience and might have some good remedies." Beauty Wu answered without thinking: "They're all a bunch of brainless things. The moment something happens, they all clam up like gourd stoppers, unable to say anything useful." "Asking them for ideas is worse than just summoning the physician." Xie Run immediately knew who the brainless one was and simply stopped speaking. Under normal circumstances, one's palace maids and nannies all wished for their mistress's well-being. Especially since Beauty Wu had just given birth to a prince and received a promotion, everyone was eager to curry favor with her, hoping to win her approval. But judging by the palace maids and matrons throughout her quarters who were shrinking back with their heads lowered, not daring to make a sound, it was clear that Beauty Wu was someone who wouldn't listen to advice and had very strong opinions of her own. That was precisely why every maid and matron in her palace was too frightened to say a single word. Xie Run had only ever seen such behavior before around Beauty Duan. Although Consort Wen had never given birth herself, she could tell that Beauty Wu's words were dripping with contempt for her own palace attendants, and she kindly offered a few words of advice. But whether Beauty Wu was too pained to take it in, or simply hadn't paid Consort Wen's words any heed at all, her attitude did not change in the slightest. Once the imperial physician arrived to take Wu Baolin's pulse, Xie Run found an excuse to take her leave. After the evening meal, Lady Lu invited her for a stroll and brought up the matter of Beauty Wu having been plagued by one ailment after another in the half month since giving birth to the Seventh Prince. "It's only been half a month, and she's already summoned the imperial physician six times. Word has somehow spread that since Beauty Wu gave birth to the Seventh Prince, she's grown delicate and precious." Lady Lu wasn't gloating this time; she only said in puzzlement: "There's no reason for anyone to court trouble for no cause. Even when she was pregnant, she didn't summon the physician this often. I actually think she's genuinely unwell." "Later, I sent Cuiniao to ask the attendants serving Beauty Wu, and only then did I learn that since her childbirth, Beauty Wu has had a terrible temper. She can't bear to hear a single word of well-meaning advice, and she loves to scold people, so no one in her palace dares to say anything." "The old matron specially assigned to serve her is also extremely lazy. Seeing that Beauty Wu didn't want to listen, she simply stopped saying anything at all. With no one to offer guidance, Wu Baolin ended up with a body full of ailments." "The day the Seventh Prince was taken to the Princes' Residence, she insisted on chasing after him without a care..." Lady Lu sighed with some emotion: "It's still the first month of the year, and the snow on the ground hasn't even melted yet." "Ever since the Seventh Prince went to the Princes' Residence, she cries every day and goes through several handkerchiefs daily. It's manageable for now, but as time goes on, I fear her eyes will develop problems too." These attendants in the palace were the most inconspicuous of people. But no matter how inconspicuous, one should never treat them with contempt. If you slight others today, you can be sure they'll remember the grudge and seize any opportunity to repay it. That was exactly the situation Beauty Wu now found herself in. Xie Run mused: "That woman truly never remembers kindness done to her. She's been done in by her own selfishness and arrogance." Back when Beauty Wu had first become pregnant, she had immediately come to Xie Run for help. The two had agreed that, for the sake of the child in her womb, they would not announce her pregnancy right away. But no sooner had she agreed than she came up with her own scheme, deliberately orchestrating the announcement of her pregnancy, stabbing Xie Run in the back. Thinking on it carefully, Wu Baolin's nature had been exactly this way from the very beginning. It was fortunate she had never risen to a high position, or she would have become a second Beauty Duan. Lady Lu nodded repeatedly: "Thankfully, she gave birth to the Seventh Prince and was promoted to Lady of Beauty, with much better treatment. Otherwise, she'd have had a hard time of it." Xie Run thought of the four braziers of fire she had seen in Beauty Wu's courtyard that day. If Beauty Wu hadn't been promoted, she wouldn't have been able to afford such usage at all. If this confinement illness followed her for life, then once her days of glory faded, she still wouldn't be able to afford it. Every winter thereafter, she would suffer untold torment. Lady Lu brought up: "Actually, the most curious one is still Consort Jing." Ever since Consort Jing had earned everyone's newfound respect, Lady Lu had kept an eye on her, occasionally sending people to probe for news from her palace. "Consort Jing has been remarkably quiet these past days. Everyone originally suspected that her scheming was all for the sake of the Seventh Prince."