Chapter 97

Chapter 97 At that moment, Ping'an stumbled and rushed in. Seeing the chaos in the room, she said coldly: "No need to ask any further—I know!" Silence fell over the room instantly. Ping'an stepped forward calmly. "No one was targeting her specifically." "It was just Ju Zi—a thieving servant who betrayed her mistress—and she made a spectacle of it that the entire Prince's household knew about. Who could think well of her?" "Your pleading for her to stay in the Prince's household back then was the final straw that killed her." Ping'an's coldness was like knives, stabbing into Concubine Lu's heart one after another. "You promised to take her away—but did you ever say when?" Ping'an pressed question after question. "Her mother's illness was, frankly, a disease of poverty. This world has always been about helping in emergencies, not helping the poor. Could she really have relied on you for the rest of her life?" "What you promised her was all intangible and unseen. Concubine Han waved her hand and gave her a thousand taels of silver, and hired the best physician for her mother. Why wouldn't she be tempted?" Ping'an walked up to Concubine Lu and said coldly, "Even if she were sold, she wouldn't fetch a hundred taels." "A life for a thousand taels of silver—she came out ahead." "Slap!" The sound of a sharp slap rang out. A bright red mark instantly appeared on Ping'an's face. Concubine Lu's hand was trembling. She was nearly bursting with fury. "Your worthless, cheap life is worth a hundred taels!" "If you want to debase yourself, that's your business. Don't drag others into it!" After the outburst, Concubine Lu regained her composure. She shoved Ping'an aside and sneered, "So you're admitting that everyone in this courtyard has been bullying her?!" With that, she turned and rushed before Concubine An, her face full of sarcasm. "I know—you must have known nothing about this again, or if you did know, you didn't dare say anything." Concubine An said tremblingly, "I—I truly didn't know." "If I had known, I would have spoken up against them." Concubine Lu looked down at Concubine An from above, full of disdain and contempt. "You useless piece of trash!" "You've lived your whole life so spineless and weak!" "Back then, we all followed you through cold and hunger, being humiliated by others, and you didn't dare let out a single fart!" "Now you took pity and kept Ju Zi, and everyone bullies her. Even if you knew, you deceive yourself by saying you didn't—and you probably think you're being kind by keeping her in the household." "Incompetent, hypocritical, and stupid!" "Ju Zi was cursed with eight generations of bad luck to have a mistress like you!" These were words Concubine Lu had long wanted to hurl at Concubine An. Concubine Lu's eyes were red from cursing. "Now that you're pregnant, I don't dare touch you!" "But just wait—we'll see what the future holds!" Concubine Lu flicked her sleeves and turned to leave. She paused as she passed Ping'an, a mocking smile on her lips. "Her incompetence ruined my whole life, and now it's cost Ju Zi her life!" "I'll be watching to see who's next in this courtyard!" "You're grateful to her for past kindness and loyal to her—I'm curious whether you'll come to a good end." Ping'an said coldly, "That is a matter between this servant and my mistress—no need for Concubine Lu to worry." "This servant only knows that no matter what, I would never betray my mistress!" Concubine Lu found Ping'an's loyalty laughable. She gave a light snort and left the courtyard. Concubine An looked at Ping'an with vacant eyes, her voice weak. "Ping'an, Ji Xiang, she..." Ping'an had always been gentle and respectful toward Concubine An, but now she suddenly interrupted her. "Mistress, she is not Ji Xiang. She is the Prince's Concubine Lu!" Concubine An said awkwardly, "Will Concubine Lu be angry with me? I truly didn't know." Ping'an tucked the blanket around her. "That doesn't matter. Your priority right now is to take care of the pregnancy and safely deliver the child in your womb." With Ping'an's reassurance, Concubine An's heart finally settled. Concubine Lu was supported back to Qingfeng Courtyard by two maidservants. Cuiniao scolded, "What a way to court death!" "Already weak as she is, she had to go make a scene at Concubine An's place—the other one's fine, but she's half dead from her own anger!" She kept scolding nonstop, but her hands never stopped tending to Concubine Lu. Concubine Lu lay numbly on the bed, and her fever began to rise again. The person sent by the Princess Consort arrived a step too late—by the time they reached Concubine An's courtyard, Concubine Lu had already left. Seeing that Concubine An was fine, they hurried over to check on Concubine Lu. Only after confirming both were well did they return to report everything to the Princess Consort. Although Concubine Lu had rendered meritorious service, her outburst today was rather presumptuous, so the Princess Consort sent someone to reprimand her a few words according to the rules. But reprimands like that—for someone with a thick skin, they couldn't even scratch the surface. Since both women were ill, the farce showed no sign of escalating, and it was quickly suppressed. That evening, Cuiniao fetched the meal from the kitchen and hurriedly rushed into the bedchamber to find Concubine Lu. In her hand, she held a letter and a jade pendant. Cuiniao said, "This was given to me by Ju Zi's cousin. She said Ju Zi entrusted it to her before she died, telling her not to make a fuss but to find a chance to pass it to you quietly." "Hurry and look—did Ju Zi write down the reason she was bought off by Concubine Han?" Concubine Lu was still running a fever, her whole body alternating between chills and heat. When she heard Ju Zi's suicide note, her spirits lifted, and she forced herself to climb back up. But when she saw the jade pendant in Cuiniao's hands, her face grew even paler. She said in a faint voice, "Quick, check if there are characters carved on the back of that jade pendant." Cuiniao hastily turned the pendant over. "There are two characters carved here. It looks like... something 'sui.' I don't recognize the first character." Concubine Lu snatched it to look, and when she saw the characters "Suisui," her breathing turned rapid. "This jade pendant is exactly the one Concubine Xie lost!" Cuiniao was startled. "You mean the jade that Concubine Xie made a fuss over, so that the entire courtyard knew about it, right before the banquet?" "How could this jade be in Ju Zi's hands?!" As she asked this question, a hint of dread rose in both mistress and maid's hearts. Ever since Princess Ruyi's birthday banquet, the entire rear courtyard of the prince's residence had fallen quiet. Xie Run had thus managed to enjoy a few days of peace. Now Concubine An and Concubine Li had both been threatened with miscarriage, Wan Linlang had suffered a miscarriage, and on top of that, Concubine Han had faked a pregnancy. Of the six who had been pregnant, only two were still well. And Fang Yuan'er had to thank Prince Jing's earlier house arrest order for that. Only Xie Run, standing at the very center of the storm, had come through without a scratch. Because of this, Xie Run had secured her leading position and gained even more favor from Prince Jing, so much so that even Fang Yuan'er had to step back a pace. Fortunately, Prince Jing had been busy with official matters lately and rarely entered the rear courtyard. He only occasionally came to visit Xie Run and seldom stayed the night. Otherwise, Xie Run truly might not have been able to hold on. Taking advantage of this time, Xie Run quietly had people search the entire Spring Mountain Courtyard inside and out, not even sparing a single inch of the low hill. Only after ensuring that nothing extra had appeared in Spring Mountain Courtyard, and nothing had gone missing, did she truly feel at ease. As for the matter of Zhishui Pavilion, only the rabbit's madness remained unsolved—no culprit had been found—and only the maid who had been walking the dog was punished. All other matters had solid evidence and were pinned on Concubine Han. Concubine Han was demoted to commoner, given forty strokes of the cane, and confined to Pearl Pavilion for life, never to leave. But on the third day after receiving her caning, Concubine Han had already stopped breathing. Xie Run knew that Prince Jing had no intention of letting her live, and had instructed the executioners to make sure of it. From the moment Xie Run exposed Concubine Han's pregnancy, Concubine Han had lost any chance of survival. Because of this affair, Noble Consort Rou had lost face and had made trouble for the Princess Consort for several days afterward.