Chapter 38

Chapter 38 Sui Jin went to the main courtyard. As it happened, Prince Jing was having dinner at the Princess Consort's courtyard that very evening. The Princess Consort brought up Concubine Wan. "She rendered meritorious service back then, and Your Highness personally brought her into the residence. Now half a month has passed, and Your Highness has yet to visit Embroidery Moon Pavilion. There has been some talk in the rear courtyard." Prince Jing heard this, but his brow didn't even twitch. "I see." Yet there was no follow-up. But the Princess Consort had been married to Prince Jing for many years and knew his temperament best. She knew Prince Jing had agreed, so she said no more. The next day, Prince Jing finished court and first had his meal in the front courtyard. As the sun was about to set, Eunuch Shian asked, "Where will Your Highness rest tonight?" Prince Jing lowered his gaze in thought, and where his eyes landed happened to be a small, exquisite jade seal. Eunuch Shian glanced at it. "Your Highness hasn't been to Linxuan Pavilion for half a month now. Would you like to go take a look?" Prince Jing shot him a sidelong glance. "I haven't been to Linxuan Pavilion for half a month, and I haven't seen her send any word out either. It seems whether she sees me or not makes no difference to her." Prince Jing cursed Xie Run inwardly for being ungrateful. He had played along with her act and protected her, yet she didn't spare a single thought for his kindness. In the past half month, apart from this seal after returning to the residence, Xie Run truly hadn't sent over so much as a single word. Prince Jing felt inexplicably irritated. At first, he had been in a state of watching the show and playing along, but now he was deliberately ignoring Xie Run, waiting for her to come to him on her own. Hearing this, Eunuch Shian dared not advise further. Prince Jing suddenly recalled the Princess Consort's words from yesterday and said indifferently, "Then I'll go to Lady Wan's." A smile appeared on Eunuch Shian's face. "Then this servant will send someone to Embroidery Moon Pavilion." Prince Jing said lazily, "Go ahead." Prince Jing knew the Princess Consort never spoke idle words and never meddled in trivial matters. If the Princess Consort brought up the matter of Concubine Wan, then it meant Wan had taken the initiative to approach the Princess Consort. Wan Linlang had already been marked as someone who didn't follow the rules in Prince Jing's eyes, and now she had added the impression of being restless. Prince Jing was annoyed that Xie Run wasn't proactive and resented her lack of gratitude. But now that Concubine Wan was being proactive, he was even more disgusted. He then thought back to when Xie Run first entered the residence—she too had gone a month without serving him, yet she hadn't gone running to the Princess Consort to arrange her nights of attendance. With that comparison, his displeasure became even more pronounced. Along the way, Prince Jing was thinking about Xie Run the entire time, not even realizing something was off about himself. Just as he was about to pass through Guanyuechi and take the small path to Embroidery Moon Pavilion, he suddenly saw two young maids carrying lanterns emerge from the side. Seeing Prince Jing, they hurriedly bowed. Eunuch Shian asked, "Which courtyard are you two from?" Qiukui bowed and said, "This servant is Qiukui from Xiachi Courtyard." "Where are you off to?" "Consort Fang is feeling unwell today, so she sent us to inform the Princess Consort that she may not be able to pay her respects tomorrow." Prince Jing also suddenly remembered that tomorrow was the fifteenth, when the concubine consorts would pay their respects to the Princess Consort. This time, he didn't suspect Fang Yuan'er of deliberately blocking his path to curry favor. He asked casually, "What's wrong with your mistress this time?" Qiukui's face turned pale at the question, taking it as Prince Jing being displeased with Consort Fang's repeated threats to her pregnancy. She quickly said, "She suddenly started vomiting." Eunuch Shian also said, "They say pregnant women only vomit during the first three months, and it gets better after that. Hasn't Mistress Fang's pregnancy already stabilized?" "Exactly," Qiukui said with a worried expression. "My mistress didn't vomit at all during the first three months. Now that the pregnancy has stabilized, she's started vomiting. We servants dare not take it lightly." Prince Jing lowered his gaze in thought for a moment. "I'll go take a look." After all, Fang Yuan'er was carrying his child. As for Wan Linlang—just a concubine. Whether he went or not was entirely at Prince Jing's whim. Once he went, naturally he didn't come back. Embroidery Moon Pavilion had received word that Prince Jing would be coming tonight and had prepared everything well in advance. Wan Linlang had even spent a considerable sum of silver to bribe the main kitchen staff, putting together a fine spread of dishes. But she waited and waited—until the sky grew dark and the food went cold—and still no sign of Prince Jing. Sui Jin and the other maids saw her dark expression and dared not approach to provoke her. After a long while, Wan Linlang finally said, "Sui Jin, go find out why His Highness hasn't come yet. Did he encounter something on the way?" Sui Jin acknowledged, "This servant will go at once." Before long, Sui Jin returned, grinding her teeth. "His Highness went to Xiachi Courtyard. It looks like he won't be coming to Embroidery Moon Pavilion after all." Wan Linlang shot to her feet, raised her hand, and smashed a teacup on the table, cursing furiously, "That bitch!" It must be Fang Yuan'er using her seductive tricks to deliberately lure His Highness away. In her previous life, Fang Yuan'er had loved using such tactics, but His Highness had respected the concubine consort and rarely made things difficult for her. In this life, on her very first night of attendance, she had suffered such humiliation. Sui Jin trembled at her cursing and couldn't help saying, "Do be careful! If these words reach Consort Fang's ears, all our lives in Embroidery Moon Pavilion won't be enough to pay for it." If she wanted to court death, she'd drag them down with her—how unlucky was she to have ended up with such a mistress? Wan Linlang's face turned green with rage. "Get out!" Now even a mere maid dared to be insolent before her! Sui Jin gave a light snort and actually turned and walked away. Wan Linlang clenched her fists, barely restraining herself from overturning the entire table of food. The reason she hadn't lifted the lid was that this meal had cost her half a month's allowance. After a moment, Wan Linlang suppressed the rage surging in her chest and sat down calmly to eat. The food had already gone cold and was greasy. But it was still better than anything she'd eaten in the half month since entering the household. As a newcomer, her pavilion had no small kitchen built in—she couldn't even reheat the dishes. Wan Linlang ate mechanically, her hatred piling up as she conjured countless ways to put Fang Yuan'er to death. Fang Yuan'er's move to snatch the opportunity was far more clever than how she'd dealt with Concubine An before—even the Princess Consort couldn't find fault with her. The next day, she deliberately had people spread word of what had happened the night before. Wan Linlang became a laughingstock in the Prince Jing household's inner quarters. If you never got the chance to serve the Prince, that was one thing. But to finally get an opportunity, only to have it snatched away. Clearly, Concubine Wan truly held no weight in the Prince's eyes. Fang Yuan'er had succeeded in snatching the opportunity, but before she could even revel in it, she suddenly began vomiting from morning sickness. When she'd sent Qiukui to report her indisposition last night, it wasn't a fabricated excuse—she genuinely felt unwell. Otherwise, if the Prince had come over and seen her not vomiting, wouldn't he know she was deceiving him? The excuse of feeling unwell could be used once, but not twice or three times. It was just like the story of the boy who cried wolf. Once Fang Yuan'er started vomiting, it became relentless—as if she were expelling all the vomiting she hadn't done in the first three months. After Fang Yuan'er vomited, the household's Eldest Young Master suddenly started vomiting too. Naturally, it wasn't morning sickness. The Eldest Young Master's wet nurse had come early to report to the Princess Consort that he'd caught a chill last night and was vomiting badly. The Princess Consort hastily sent someone to notify Prince Jing and also called for the imperial physician. The household bustled into orderly activity. Linxuan Pavilion remained as tightly shut as ever, quiet beyond words. Xie Run hadn't actually forgotten about Prince Jing—it was just that she'd recently been prone to drowsiness. Even sleeping seven or eight hours a day, she still felt she hadn't had enough. The imperial physician had taken her pulse and only said it was a normal occurrence, advising her to let nature take its course.