Chapter 70

Chapter 70 Concubine Lu took twenty strokes of the rod and was carried back to Qingfeng Courtyard. Once the courtyard gate was shut, her two serving maids, Cuiniao and Ying'er, wept profusely. "Mistress, you scared us half to death!" Concubine Lu's face was pale from pain, but her mood was light. "What are you crying about? Both threats have been dealt with—you should be happy for me." Cuiniao and Ying'er wiped their tears, momentarily at a loss for words. These two were friends Concubine Lu had made when she was still a serving maid. As soon as she rose in status, she promoted them to be her senior maids. Because of this, the three of them didn't observe such strict formalities in their speech. Cuiniao was quick-tempered and rather indignant: "You're still happy? Seems the rod didn't hit hard enough!" Ying'er said softly, "Mistress, you don't know. When Nanny Li brought people to search the room, I was scared to death!" Concubine Lu was still in pain, groaning and moaning, occasionally replying. "I didn't harm anyone. What's there to be afraid of?" Cuiniao gritted her teeth. "Well, you're not afraid now—after all, you've already taken the beating." Concubine Lu shot her a glare. "You're quite bold. Daring to say that to me?" Cuiniao snorted, and tears suddenly spilled from her eyes. She patted Concubine Lu. "If you'd said earlier you were going to take a beating, the two of us would have gone with you—at least taken a few strokes in your place." Ying'er nodded along, looking at her and saying, "Your poor bottom, beaten to such a state. Never mind the Prince—even we maids find it hard to look at." Concubine Lu and Cuiniao: "..." After sending off the somewhat naive and sweet Ying'er, Concubine Lu finally had time to speak heart-to-heart with Cuiniao. Cuiniao sighed. "As for the theft—it's good that you were caught. Otherwise I'd have been on tenterhooks every day, worrying that the truth might come out one day, and you'd meet disaster and drag me down with you." Concubine Lu rolled her eyes at her and didn't want to speak. Cuiniao said with disdain, "I told you back then not to do such a wicked thing. If you'd stolen from anyone else, you wouldn't have been punished so heavily." "A serving maid who climbs into the master's bed, then turns around and steals from her own mistress. Just listen to how ugly that sounds when told to others?!" Concubine Lu closed her eyes and pretended to sleep, refusing to answer. Cuiniao suddenly leaned in. "By the way, why did you have to get involved in the business between Concubine Li and Concubine Han?" Concubine Lu was silent for a long while before saying, "She gave me two thousand taels." Cuiniao viciously poked her between the eyebrows. "You worthless thing!" "Since she could fork out two thousand taels, you should have jacked up the price and asked her for four thousand, no?!" Concubine Lu: "..." Xie Run and Concubine Li had made several guesses as to why Concubine Lu helped Concubine Han. Actually, it was very simple. Concubine Lu was greedy for money, and Concubine Han happened to have no shortage of it. The two sides had reached an agreement quite readily. "That thing—how did you dispose of it?" Cuiniao said. "Today I was terrified, afraid you'd left traces behind. I nearly died of fright." Concubine Lu continued rolling her eyes. "I never harmed her in the first place! How could they find evidence of a crime?" Cuiniao's eyes widened in surprise. "But didn't you take Concubine Han's two thousand taels?" "I did take her money. She never asked me to harm Concubine Li—she only asked me to wear a sachet with the scent of musk and go sit at Qingzhu Courtyard every day." "Isn't that exactly what I did?" Concubine Lu said with righteous conviction, "And now I've even been falsely accused by Concubine Li. Those two thousand taels are rightfully mine." She knew that because she frequently visited Qingzhu Courtyard, those people secretly cursed her for being shameless. So what if she was shameless? At least she had to survive first! Being shameless could earn her money, and with money she could eat well, dress well, sleep well, and never lack charcoal for warmth. So why shouldn't she be shameless?! She called to Cuiniao, "Take down that sachet hanging at the head of my bed for me." Cuiniao was sharp-tongued but soft-hearted, always saying disparaging things about Concubine Lu, yet she worked very efficiently. She immediately fetched the sachet, and upon smelling its scent, was instantly terrified. "Are you trying to get yourself killed?! You still haven't thrown this thing away?!" Realizing that the item in her hands could affect a woman's fertility, Cuiniao nearly dropped it. After a moment, she suddenly said, "Wait, that's not right! This sachet of yours is hung so conspicuously—how did Nanny Li not find it?" Concubine Lu said with great composure, "Because it can't harm anyone!" "The sachet Concubine Han gave me was disposed of long ago. I had someone mix fragrances to create a sachet with a similar scent and hung it on myself." "I only wanted to make money. If I'd actually harmed the Prince's offspring, I wouldn't even be able to keep my own life." She was greedy for wealth, not reckless with her life. After all, Concubine Han only required her to wear the sachet daily and visit Concubine Li—she never asked her to cause Concubine Li to miscarry, did she? Concubine Lu had exploited a loophole in Concubine Han's words. She had completed Concubine Han's task, gotten the money, and didn't have to bear any responsibility. Concubine Han had no idea either. After all, who said that smelling musk would definitely disturb a pregnancy or cause a miscarriage? Cuiniao breathed a sigh of relief after hearing this. "My dear ancestor, why didn't you let me in on this?" Concubine Lu said, "You can't act." "If I'd told you, how would Concubine Li and her maids have seen the guilt written all over your face, and then suspected me?" Concubine Lu had no idea that it was someone from Xie Run's side who had smelled the scent of musk on her. She simply assumed that Concubine Li had capable people around her and had found out on her own. Cuiniao, caught off guard by her retort, was momentarily at a loss for words. "That's not right!" Cuiniao spotted the inconsistency. "Didn't Concubine Li say that every time we left, she would feel terribly nauseous?" Concubine Lu gave a light snort. "Who knows if that's just her own mind playing tricks on her?" After a moment, she added, "You don't naively think Concubine Han relies entirely on me to deal with Concubine Li, do you?" Cuiniao: "..." Concubine Lu mocked her. "You really are dense!" "Her and I are strangers. We only reached an agreement based on two thousand taels of silver. If I took the money and didn't deliver, or even turned around and bit her back, what do you think she'd do?" Cuiniao: "What would she do?" Concubine Lu: "..." "She naturally kept a trump card!" "If I so much as harbored the thought of betraying her, she could immediately pin all the blame on me. Do you believe that?" Cuiniao nodded. "Of course I believe you!" Concubine Lu gave another light snort. "I suspect that the two thousand taels she spent was just a smokescreen. What truly makes Concubine Li uncomfortable must be something else entirely." Cuiniao shuddered violently. "This rear courtyard is truly treacherous." Concubine Lu sighed, said no more, and instructed Cuiniao, "Throw the sachet into the brazier later and burn it." "This thing that invites disaster must not be kept." Leaning back on the bed, Concubine Lu slowly closed her eyes. "Enough. This sinful deed, I'll only do this once." Cuiniao tucked the blanket around her and smiled. "Earning two thousand taels in one go is enough to last you half a lifetime."