Chapter 71

Chapter 71 Concubine Lu said gloomily, "Go and find out how Ju Zi is doing. Give some silver to the pear who lives with her, and tell her to take good care of Ju Zi." "Once the dust settles, send two hundred taels of silver to Ju Zi's family." "Understood." Although Concubine Lu was lying face down on the bed, she couldn't fall asleep. Though she had earned two thousand taels this time, it had only worsened her reputation in the household. Her stolen allowances had been exposed, which had also caused the Princess Consort to lose face. She feared the Princess Consort would severely punish the stewards of the inner court. But as the saying goes, it's easier to avoid the King of Hell than to deal with petty demons. These people feared the Princess Consort's authority and might behave themselves for a time. But once enough time passed, with old grudges and new scores combined, Concubine Lu's days would likely become even harder than they were now. She pondered—should she find someone to align herself with? Concubine Lu ran through everyone in the prince's household in her mind. Her first choice was naturally the Princess Consort. But she didn't think the Princess Consort would necessarily accept her. After all, with such a terrible reputation, and the Princess Consort having never mentioned needing to consolidate favor or borrow a womb to bear a child. Concubine Lu's second thought was Consort Yun. No children, favor greatly diminished, and unlikely to conceive herself—this one... wasn't bad. Nanny Li led her people to Concubine An's courtyard. Though Concubine An was pregnant, she showed no sign of arrogance from her favored status—she even personally rose to greet Nanny Li at the door. Nanny Li got straight to the point: "Ju Zi conspired with Concubine Lu from within to steal Mistress An's belongings, and should have been severely punished. However, Concubine Lu pleaded for her, and my mistress deliberated at length before deciding to grant Mistress An a measure of face." "If Mistress An wishes to keep her, then she can be demoted to a menial servant girl. If not, she can be sent out of the household together with the others." Concubine An was someone without much of a mind of her own. When she heard Nanny Li asking her to make a choice, her gaze unconsciously drifted to Ping'an beside her. Ping'an gave a slight nod, signaling her to agree and have Ju Zi sent out of the prince's household. Ju Zi had betrayed Concubine An, and now was being punished because of her—a deep grudge had already been formed. It would be best for Concubine An if she didn't remain in the household. But Concubine An hesitated. She looked at Nanny Li and asked, "I heard Ju Zi was also punished?" Nanny Li smiled. "She was originally sentenced to thirty strokes of the cane, but Mistress Lu bore ten strokes on her behalf, so she only received twenty." Concubine An asked with some concern, "How is she doing?" "She won't be able to get up for quite some time." Even with the same twenty strokes, Concubine Lu's injuries were lighter than Ju Zi's. Concubine Lu also had someone attending to her personally. If Ju Zi had no one to care for her, her very life might be in danger. The worry in Concubine An's eyes deepened. "Forget it. Since she's already been punished, there's no need to send her out of the household." "Her parents are gravely ill and rely entirely on her monthly allowance to buy medicine. If she's sent out, I fear neither mother nor daughter will survive." Nanny Li took in the interaction between Concubine An and Ping'an, and only smiled, offering Concubine An a compliment: "Mistress An has a bodhisattva's heart." Concubine An lowered her head, somewhat embarrassed. After Nanny Li left, Ping'an let out a sigh. "Mistress, didn't we agree from the start? Ju Zi couldn't be kept, right?" Everyone thought Concubine An was soft-hearted and kind, unwilling to make a fuss even after Concubine Lu had stolen from her. It was only thanks to her maid's loyalty that justice had been served on her behalf. But this had actually been a scheme devised by Concubine An and Ping'an together. No matter how good Concubine An's temperament was, she couldn't withstand things going missing from her courtyard every few days. Especially when she knew exactly who the thief was but couldn't say a word, and had to endure the possibility of her belongings vanishing at any moment. Concubine An could endure it, but her heart was tormented and uneasy, which in turn affected the child in her womb. Ping'an felt for her and came up with a plan. The plan required no action from Concubine An herself—it could easily deal with the traitorous Ju Zi and also have Concubine Lu punished. Ping'an had persuaded her for many days before Concubine An agreed. By a stroke of luck, Ping'an discovered that the maid Li Zi by Concubine An's side was likely a spy planted by some other courtyard. She deliberately leaked the information about Concubine Lu stealing charcoal. Whoever was behind Li Zi, upon hearing such an absurd and ridiculous matter, would surely be eager to expose it immediately. This matter implicated the incompetent Concubine An, the thieving Concubine Lu, and also hung the label of negligence on the Princess Consort. There were plenty of people waiting to watch the show. Ping'an had long since kept evidence of Ju Zi's betrayal, recorded every single account of Concubine Lu's theft, and even thought through how to respond. She only needed to wait for the incident to break out and for the Princess Consort to send someone to investigate. The moment the Princess Consort sent people to look into it, Concubine Lu would surely be punished. And Concubine An's side could completely rid itself of a bloodsucking leech. Everything had been agreed upon perfectly—sending Ju Zi away was something Concubine An had also consented to. Yet now, because of Concubine An's momentary soft-heartedness, she had kept Ju Zi. Ping'an sighed. Concubine An said softly, "One should be lenient wherever leniency is possible." "We schemed this time to expose Ji Xiang, and Ji Xiang has already been punished. She won't dare do such a thing again." The way Concubine An spoke, it was as if Ping'an were the mistress. She was still seeking Ping'an's opinion. Ping'an said helplessly, "...This servant will obey her mistress." Ping'an knew—her mistress was feeling guilty. The mistress felt that she had deliberately schemed against Ji Xiang, and was not innocent—she had harbored ill intentions. Concubine An, who had never harmed anyone in her life. Now that she saw Ji Xiang punished, she felt satisfied, yet also uneasy, as if she had wronged someone, and wished to stop while she was ahead. But wasn't this originally without fault? They hadn't deliberately harmed anyone—they had merely ensured that those who did wrong received their due punishment! Fei Xu returned to Qingzhu Pavilion and, full of grievance, told Concubine Li about what had happened at Qingsong Courtyard. Concubine Li listened with an expressionless face. Fei Xu was puzzled. "Mistress, aren't you angry?" "Since the people around Concubine Xie smelled musk on Concubine Lu, then she must have been carrying that harmful thing." "Now, simply because no evidence of guilt can be found, it's turned into us making false accusations?!" At the thought that her mistress would have three months' allowance deducted, Fei Xu was so angry that tears streamed down her face. "You don't know how infuriating she was at the Principal Consort's courtyard—she's always putting on a pitiful act, as if we were the ones trying to harm her!" Fei Shuang brought over the freshly brewed medicine. Concubine Li raised her hand to take it, her every movement graceful and composed, her brows and eyes calm. She stirred it with the spoon before speaking. "It's as expected." Fei Xu's torrent of words came to an abrupt halt. She asked weakly, "What does mistress mean by that?" Fei Shuang glanced at her and took the initiative to explain. "No matter how we argue, we have no evidence in hand." "Regardless of who instigated Concubine Lu, the fact that she dared to carry musk and come to Qingzhu Pavilion every day suggests she was confident no one would find out." "If nothing incriminating is found in her Qingfeng Courtyard, and we can't produce evidence either, then naturally there's nothing we can do to her." Fei Xu said in disbelief, "So all our efforts were for nothing?!" "And we've even dragged down mistress's reputation and money." She had argued so earnestly back then, too. "How is it for nothing?" Concubine Li drank the medicine in one gulp, the bitterness causing her delicate brows to furrow tightly. Fei Shuang immediately offered candied dates. Concubine Li casually placed the bowl into the tray, eating the candied date to suppress the bitter taste. Concubine Li said, "At least Concubine Lu won't be coming to our door anymore—that alone means it wasn't for nothing." Fei Xu suddenly understood. What was the purpose of all their scheming? Wasn't it because Concubine Lu came calling every single day, an endless nuisance, and they were always worried she might harm Concubine Li's pregnancy? Now, although the accusation hadn't succeeded, at least the hidden threat had been removed. Fei Xu was about to say something when Concubine Li suddenly retched. The two exclaimed in alarm, "Mistress?!"