Chapter 388

Chapter 388 Upon hearing this, Xie Run asked in confusion, "Who asked Consort Wen to handle this matter? Because Consort Wen had the imperial kitchen restrain Hua Yu's meals, the two had long since formed a grudge." "How could Hua Yu possibly accept a lecture from Consort Wen now?" The Empress had not only given Consort Wen the Management of the Six Palaces—there was also Consort Jingshu, who held a higher rank. Concubine Shen spoke quickly, "Consort Jingshu must have avoided it, so Consort Wen had no choice but to steel herself and go. After all, she has no backbone and never learned to complain to the Empress." "If you ask me, Consort Wen lives far too meekly. If the Empress were my own sister, I'd be strutting through the harem on her authority." Xie Run glanced at her sideways. "What a pity, then." Concubine Shen: "..." The serving maid continued, "Consort Wen was rebuffed by Consort Hua, but she didn't dare make a fuss—she simply went to the Empress's palace to report the matter." "Unexpectedly, the Emperor happened to be visiting the Empress. When he heard of this, he flew into a rage and sent someone to reprimand Consort Hua, saying she was jealous and vicious, and that if it happened again, she would no longer be allowed to raise the Ninth Prince, lest she lead him astray." Xie Run asked in surprise, "The Emperor truly said that?" The maid nodded. Xie Run was somewhat puzzled. The Emperor's attitude toward Hua Yu had changed far too quickly, hadn't it? She had assumed this time would bring another light scolding, or perhaps no scolding at all. But instead, the Emperor had directly called Hua Yu jealous and vicious—such words were extremely serious in the harem. Concubine Shen was also confused. "The Emperor just promoted General Hua to Second-Rank Cavalry General. Logically speaking, even if he were dissatisfied with Consort Hua, he wouldn't be this angry." And truthfully, Hua Yu's fault wasn't that great. Today's incident had been started by Lady of Beauty Ming in the first place. Xie Run said, "General Hua has been promoted to Second-Rank Cavalry General? That truly is great news." Xie Run's tone was flat, but she had a sense of the situation now. The Emperor had already given the Hua siblings enough favor and honor, allowing them to establish a firm foothold. If Hua Yu remained too discontented, he was no longer willing to continue his favor. Now that Hua Yu had rank and a child, she was already a standout in the harem—there was no need to climb higher. Hua Yu's good days were likely coming to an end. Concubine Shen asked, "So this matter just ends here?" "What else would happen?" Concubine Shen said, "I thought that since Consort Wen had been wronged, the Empress would step in." Xie Run said, "The Empress... I wonder how she's faring." Why did the Emperor happen to arrive at just the right moment to encounter the wronged Consort Wen? The journey from Fanghua Palace to Fengyi Palace took Consort Wen some time—enough for the Empress to react. Consort Wen was the Empress's own sister. If the Empress directly intervened to handle the matter, it would easily stir up trouble and would not be good for her health. The Emperor stepping in to reprimand was the best way to settle this affair. That evening, the Emperor selected Talented Lady Sun's name plate. When Xie Run heard the news, she was reading a book. She paused only briefly, then continued turning the pages. Beside her, Dantao and Xiaoshu were both perfectly calm, merely reminding Xie Run, "Milady, don't read too long—be careful with your eyes." Xie Run was absorbed in her book. "Just two more pages and I'll stop!" Dantao and Xiaoshu exchanged helpless looks. The variety of miscellaneous books in ancient times was vast, but some had wildly imaginative ideas and extremely sharp, biting prose. Reading them occasionally was quite novel. Xie Run lived deep in the palace where life was dull, and when she came across an interesting book, she could become quite engrossed. Over the next half month, the Emperor successively selected the name plates of several new concubines. During the day, when he had free time, he would come to see Xie Run and the Fifth Prince, but he never once went to Fanghua Palace to visit Hua Yu and the newly born Ninth Prince. Xie Run secretly mused to herself. The Emperor had so many sons now that he'd stopped cherishing them. In the past, if a mother made a mistake, the Emperor would at most punish the mother—he wouldn't implicate the son. Before giving birth, Hua Yu had been quite favored, and with her brother becoming a Second-Rank Cavalry General at such a young age, she still held some standing in the harem. When the Emperor first began ignoring her, no one dared to step on her—they all thought Hua Yu would rise again. But after two consecutive reprimands, and the Emperor deliberately selecting the name plates of the several people she had bullied, everyone seemed to catch the wind and changed their faces. Within just a few days, the quality of food, clothing, housing, and transportation at Fanghua Palace quietly began to decline. At her core, Hua Yu was still a coward. When the Emperor elevated her, she naturally enjoyed boundless glory, and her courage grew along with it. She'd clash with one person today, another tomorrow. But once the Emperor stopped favoring her, she lost the nerve to stir up trouble. A Zhaoyi of her rank, suffering grievances from servants, didn't dare speak up—afraid that complaining would annoy the Emperor and make him think she was troublesome. Xie Run had long seen through Hua Yu's personality, so none of this surprised her in the least. But if Hua Yu didn't hold herself up now, she would likely have plenty more suffering ahead. When Xie Run was four months pregnant, her figure began to show. Although all the new concubines in the harem had been summoned to the imperial bed, the Emperor didn't seem to favor any of them particularly—his treatment of all was lukewarm. In the past few days, he had instead been visiting the older concubines' palaces more often. The Empress's health deteriorated day by day. Yesterday, she merely caught a gust of wind, and by morning she reported feeling unwell, even summoning the imperial physician to prescribe medicine. Xie Run, finding herself with nothing better to do, invited Concubine Shen and Lady Fang to the Imperial Garden to admire the peonies. This was also her first time going out in over five months of pregnancy. She had thought that with people surrounding her on all sides, nothing could possibly happen to her. Little did she know that even with her precautions in place, trouble would still come knocking on her door. Dantao said in a low voice, "Your Ladyship, Lady Ming requests an audience." Among the new consorts who had served the Emperor, Talented Lady Sun and Baolin Xue had both received promotions—one becoming a Lady of Beauty, the other a Cairen. This Lady Ming was the last of the group to serve the Emperor. It was clear the Emperor disliked her tendency to stir up trouble, but considering harmony among the Six Palaces, he still summoned her. Any sensible person would avoid trouble at a time like this—why would anyone rush headlong into it? But Lady Ming had the audacity to do just that. Concubine Shen had just picked a peony and was about to ask Xie Run about its color when she heard this and grew somewhat annoyed: "Doesn't she know that Noble Consort Zhao prefers peace and quiet? Requesting an audience at this time—does she have some earth-shattering matter that absolutely must disturb Noble Consort Zhao's enjoyment?" Dantao smiled and said, "Lady Ming claims she has been wronged and has come to lodge a complaint." Xie Run: "..." Concubine Shen's face was full of astonishment. "She's come to lodge a complaint with Noble Consort Zhao?" Concubine Shen said angrily, "How greatly wronged must she be that she must come disturb Noble Consort Zhao?" "In the palace, the Empress currently holds authority, with Consort Jingshu and Consort Wen assisting in the Management of the Six Palaces. She doesn't go to them, but instead comes to bother Noble Consort Zhao—if she disturbs Noble Consort Zhao and the prince in her womb, how many heads does she have to pay for it?!" Concubine Shen seemed to feel she hadn't scolded enough, rolling up her sleeves as if to go berate Lady Ming. Lady Fang tugged at her robes and gently advised, "She acts without wisdom—why let her provoke your anger, sister? It would only lower your standing for nothing, and if word reached the Emperor's ears, he might think you're fond of stirring up trouble."