Chapter 68

Chapter 68 Seeing Fei Xu leave, Concubine Lu showed no hint of joy. Because she had spotted Ping'an, the senior maidservant beside Concubine An. Concubine An had little education. When she was first given two maidservants, she named one Ping'an and the other Ji Xiang. Concubine Lu was that very Ji Xiang, who had later climbed into the master's bed and risen from maidservant to concubine. Ping'an was steady and reliable, long trusted by Concubine An, who had even entrusted the affairs of the courtyard to Ping'an's management. Moreover, Ping'an had always disapproved of Concubine Lu's sly and lazy ways, constantly keeping her in check. Concubine Lu did not flinch at the sight of Concubine An, but she felt somewhat uneasy at the sight of Ping'an. Ping'an stepped forward, unfolding a sheet of paper, and said softly, "Reporting to the Princess Consort, everyone in this courtyard knows my mistress has a gentle disposition." "When things go missing or are lost in the courtyard, she never makes a fuss, nor does she let this servant manage it too strictly. She only says that unless driven to desperation, no one would resort to theft." "It's just that this servant has a petty mind. Every time something goes missing, I make a note of it, so at least there's evidence, lest someone try to bite back later." Ping'an's indifferent gaze fell upon Concubine Lu. Concubine Lu's heart began to flutter with unease, a foreboding feeling creeping over her. The matter of the stolen charcoal had been secretly reported to the Princess Consort by someone Fang Yuan'er had sent. The news had not yet spread, catching Concubine Lu completely off guard. Ping'an unfolded the paper and began reading the words written on it: "On the twenty-ninth day of the tenth month, half a catty of silver-thread charcoal and ten catties of black charcoal went missing." "On the third day of the eleventh month, one white fox fur, one pair of Cloisonné red coral earrings, and ten catties of black charcoal went missing." "On the eighth day of the eleventh month, twenty taels of silver, one pair of silver-wire twisted double-button bracelets, and three catties of silver-thread charcoal went missing." ... With every word Ping'an read, Concubine Lu's face grew paler. She frantically racked her mind for a way to respond. Of course, she hadn't committed the theft with her own hands. Concubine Lu had enlisted the help of a sister still serving at Concubine An's side, moving things out bit by bit like ants carrying away crumbs. She had banked on Concubine An's temperament, stealing only items that were unimportant yet somewhat valuable. Things that would nick a piece of Concubine An's flesh without making her cry out in pain, so she would continue to endure in silence. What she had never calculated was that Ping'an had witnessed it all and recorded every single missing item. Now that the matter had come to light, with each item being accounted for one by one, Concubine Lu had nowhere to hide. She had been cautious, after all. The stolen gold and silver jewelry, Concubine Lu had sent someone to melt down outside. The silver had also been exchanged for banknotes elsewhere and buried in a hidden corner. As for items like the fox fur, she had found a way to send them home to be disposed of. Only the silver-thread charcoal remained, used daily and impossible to conceal. This item was not something a concubine was entitled to use. Concubine An had some only because the Princess Consort, out of consideration for her pregnancy, had specially bestowed it upon her. Ping'an truly was the one who knew Concubine Lu best. She said, "Concubine Lu acts with considerable caution. I imagine the stolen goods have all been disposed of, so even with Ju Zi's confession, it wouldn't implicate her." Ju Zi was the maidservant who had colluded with Concubine Lu from within to steal Concubine An's belongings. At the sound of that name, Concubine Lu's heart turned cold. Ping'an continued slowly, "There is only one thing that should still be findable." Nanny Li asked curiously, "What is it?" "Silver-thread charcoal." Ping'an said, "This item should still be searchable in Concubine Lu's room right now. My mistress's silver-thread charcoal was bestowed by the Princess Consort out of compassion; Concubine Lu has no right to use it." "She stole this silver-thread charcoal and wouldn't bear to use it all up at once, so there must surely be some left." Ping'an's flat tone carried a hint of mockery. "After all, if she used it all up, she'd have to send a maidservant to fetch more from my mistress's room." Nanny Li immediately said, "When this servant was searching for musk, I did indeed see silver-thread charcoal in Concubine Lu's courtyard, roughly half a catty remaining." "At the time, I assumed it had been bestowed upon her by some Concubine Consort, so I paid it no mind." "This servant will send someone to retrieve it at once." Nanny Li's words were, of course, a cover. The Princess Consort had received word long ago, and when she went to search the courtyard, she had deliberately observed the charcoal supply, which was why she reacted so quickly. The Princess Consort asked Concubine Lu, "Do you have anything more to say in your defense?" Concubine Lu's throat moved, and suddenly she prostrated herself on the ground. "This servant confesses her guilt!" "These items were indeed taken on this servant's orders. If the Princess Consort wishes to punish this servant, this servant will have not a single word of complaint." "I only beg the Princess Consort to allow this servant two more words of explanation." Her swift confession surprised everyone in the Green Pine Courtyard. They had expected that much more evidence would need to be presented and the matter argued back and forth for a while. Only Ping'an remained unmoved, as if she had anticipated this all along. Concubine Lu had a thick skin, was ambitious, and thoroughly selfish, yet she had always known which way the wind blew and could discern what was to her advantage. She knew there was no escaping the crime of theft. Rather than struggle desperately and provoke the Princess Consort's wrath, it was better to confess honestly. Then, with a few tearful pleas of being left with no choice, she could shift half the blame onto the Princess Consort, hoping to receive a lighter punishment. It was a tactic she habitually used against Concubine An, and it had never failed her. The Princess Consort asked lazily, "And what more do you wish to explain?" Concubine Lu said, "This servant knows that taking without asking is stealing, but this servant truly has no other choice!" Tears glistened in Concubine Lu's eyes, her expression one of utter misery. "The people in the rear courtyard—even the maids and servants look down on this servant." "If I don't distribute some silver, I can't even get the maids in my own courtyard to do as I say. And on top of that, the stewards above deduct from my allowance at every level. With a monthly stipend of five taels of silver, I live worse than I did as a maidservant." "If it were just a matter of shorted meals, that would be one thing, but in winter, without coal, this servant cannot survive!" The Princess Consort was not like Concubine An, who would soften and start reflecting on herself after hearing a few words from Concubine Lu. She only asked in a calm voice, "So you went to steal from Concubine An?" Even as thick-skinned as Concubine Lu was, being called a thief in front of everyone by the Princess Consort made her face flush red. She gritted her teeth and lowered her head, casting aside all dignity as she bowed it even lower. "This servant's heart was blinded by greed, which is why I committed such a foolish act!" The Princess Consort said, "The Prince's residence has its own rules. If someone was deducting from your silver and grain, why did you not send someone to inform me?" "If everyone were like you—stealing from others whenever you lacked something—then wouldn't this Prince Jing's residence become a den of thieves?" Concubine Lu raised her head, her misty eyes gazing at the Princess Consort. "But... but this servant did not dare." Why did she not dare? Was it not because these stewards were all entangled in a web of connections, each with their own backers? And the greatest backer of all was the Princess Consort herself. Her words "did not dare" could be understood as not daring to report the matter, or as not daring to offend the Princess Consort. The Princess Consort's expression darkened slightly. This was precisely why she had told Prince Jing yesterday that she would have to lose face once. No matter how the case of Concubine Lu stealing coal was adjudicated, the Princess Consort bore some fault—there was no escaping that.