Chapter 466

Chapter 466 If she could serve the Prince and become a concubine in the Prince's household, her monthly allowance would increase, and she could find an opportunity to transfer Ju Zi to her side, allowing Ju Zi to frequently return home to care for her mother. But this matter was quite difficult to arrange. Yet by sheer luck, an opportunity presented itself. The Prince came to visit Concubine An, but Concubine An was with child and could not serve the Prince. Seizing the moment, she had a flash of inspiration and deliberately brought two jugs of wine when the Prince was having his evening meal. Of course, she didn't have the courage to do anything like drugging the wine—she only hoped that when the Prince was drunk and dazed, there might be a slight chance. The heavens above did show her some mercy. Climbing into his bed went almost too smoothly. For some reason, the Prince was especially fond of drinking that night. He drained both jugs of wine and was somewhat inebriated. She seized the opportunity to approach, claiming that Concubine An had arranged for her to attend to him, and thus successfully climbed into the Prince's bed. But a maidservant who had served the Prince wouldn't necessarily become a concubine. She wasn't afraid, though, because she knew Concubine An all too well. As long as she knelt and wept, begging Concubine An with desperate pleas of life and death, Concubine An would surely soften. In the past, Concubine An would never have dared to make any request of the Prince. But as luck would have it, she had recently discovered she was pregnant with twins, and was being fawned over throughout the household, her status rising day by day, giving her some courage. Between causing her death and showing her kindness, Concubine An would definitely choose the latter. After all, Concubine An was a soft-hearted, compassionate person. Sure enough, Concubine An truly couldn't withstand her pleas. In the midst of heavy snowfall, she waddled with her big belly to beg the Princess Consort. In the end, she successfully became Concubine Lu of the Prince's household. But she felt not a shred of gratitude. The day she jumped into Guanyuechi, the snow had been far heavier and deeper than today's. Her mother tossed and turned on her sickbed, her heart full of worry for her daughter, longing to see her Da Ya—those days were even harder to bear. But because of this matter, she had completely fallen out with Sister Ping'an. Concubine An had no principles or backbone, but Sister Ping'an was someone with an exceptionally strong temper and principles. She investigated the whole affair of the bed-climbing that very day and told Concubine An that she couldn't be indulged—she should be sent out of the Prince's household. But no matter how stubborn Sister Ping'an was, she couldn't overcome Concubine An's weak-willed nature. A person without spirit is spiritless wherever they go. One moment she was begging the Princess Consort, the next she was trembling in fear in her own room. Ping'an didn't even have time to comfort her, so how could she bear to force her mistress to punish anyone? After fuming for a while, Sister Ping'an did another thing that has made her resentful to this day. After becoming a concubine, her first thought was to transfer Ju Zi to her side. Concubine An said nothing, but Ping'an had already refused on Concubine An's behalf. She refused to budge, no matter what. Because she had left Concubine An's courtyard, Ping'an directly sent people to guard the gate, forbidding her from entering again, leaving her no way to repeat her old tricks and plead with Concubine An. This matter had to be shelved. But Ju Zi's mother's illness couldn't wait, and her monthly allowance wasn't enough to cover the expenses. Furious beyond measure, she came up with a malicious scheme to spite Concubine An and Ping'an. Working in collusion with Ju Zi from within, she stole Concubine An's belongings! At first, she was quite pleased with herself, as if she had finally done something truly wicked and vented the anger in her chest. She knew such deeds couldn't be hidden for long—sooner or later, the truth would come out. After all, Concubine An could endure, but Ping'an could not. But she wanted to do it anyway, to vent this anger in her heart, and she desperately needed silver, charcoal, and medicine... To hell with it—she had to survive the present first, and worry about the future later. At worst, if it was exposed, the Princess Consort would give her a cup of poisoned wine and execute this lowly bed-climbing wench. But who would have thought—before the Princess Consort even discovered it, the newly arrived Concubine Han found out and secretly sent someone to make contact with her. Perhaps it was because her character was base, her virtue lacking, truly unfit for refined company. This led Concubine Han to think she had found a kindred spirit, or perhaps she thought she had a handle on her, a leverage to make her join in on harmful schemes. Concubine Han and Concubine Li had entered the household together. Back then, the Prince had declared that whoever became pregnant first would be promoted to Side Consort first. For some reason, Concubine Li hadn't revealed her pregnancy, and Concubine Han grew anxious, secretly making underhanded moves. Wait, no—what she herself had done were the underhanded moves; Concubine Han's were outright poison schemes. Concubine Han had originally wanted to pay her two thousand taels of silver to drug Concubine Li. She naturally refused. She might not earn much silver, but she also felt her life was worth far more than two thousand taels. So the two of them ended up in a bargaining session. Perhaps her haggling, penny-pinching, mercenary demeanor was too unsightly, and Concubine Han stormed off in anger. Thinking of losing those two thousand taels, she couldn't sleep for days, clutching her chest in misery every day. This wouldn't do! If she actually took the money and it was discovered, those two thousand taels would be dirty money—even if she used it to buy medicine for Ju Zi's mother, she'd have to spit it back out. It might even implicate Ju Zi and her mother! But then, just when things seemed hopeless, Concubine Han changed her mind for some reason. Instead of having her harm someone, she had her carry a sachet filled with musk and parade herself before Concubine Li every day. Just for that, she could earn two thousand taels. She was truly tempted. But wasn't this still harming someone?! Cuiniao had tried to stop her several times, forbidding her from doing such a wicked thing—afraid of being implicated by her later, and also afraid that she would suffer retribution. Then suddenly, a flash of inspiration struck her. She could simply agree to Concubine Han's request, go hover around Concubine Li every day, but secretly embroider an identical pouch and swap out the contents inside. That way, she'd get her two thousand taels, and what she did wouldn't be quite so wicked... it was just that she was desperately short of money. She needed money, Cuiniao needed money, and Ju Zi's mother and daughter needed money too... so she agreed. Concubine Li truly could endure—she was nearly as bad as Concubine An. Though one couldn't swallow her pride, and the other had no backbone—neither could refuse anyone. She went to hover around Concubine Li every day, her own heart trembling with fear, hoping that Concubine Li would sooner or later have a falling out with her and kick her out. Perhaps her skill at pestering relentlessly was just too formidable, for she managed to cling to Concubine Li for over half a month. It wasn't until news spread that Concubine Li's pregnancy was unstable that she too began to panic. Just as she was about to give up, the matter of her and Ju Zi conspiring to steal Concubine An's belongings was exposed, and the accusation of her using musk to harm others was also revealed at the same time. Heavens be praised—finally someone with eyes to see! She hadn't wanted to do this wicked, conscience-defying deed either! The sooner it was discovered, the sooner she'd take her punishment, and then she could feel at ease touching her two thousand taels of banknotes. This time around, she took a beating with the plank, but earned two thousand taels. Concubine Shen hadn't even had time to rejoice when she suddenly heard that Ju Zi was dead. It was said that when investigating the matter of the broken kite string at Zhishui Pavilion, the inquiry somehow led to Ju Zi. Ju Zi insisted to the death that she had been instigated by Concubine An, and before she could even be tortured, she slammed her head against something and died. She was frantic and utterly bewildered, not understanding how Ju Zi had become connected to harming others. She believed that Concubine An didn't have the guts to instigate harm, and she also believed that Ju Zi couldn't possibly have harmed anyone. But that no longer mattered—Ju Zi was dead! It wasn't until later, when she saw Ju Zi's suicide note at Concubine Xie's place, that she finally understood the truth. It turned out that Concubine Han had not only used two hundred taels to bribe Ju Zi, but had also threatened Ju Zi with the theft matter and Ju Zi's mother.