Chapter 63
In the imperial harem, it wasn’t a big deal for a palace maid to be caned to death . And it was even less of a deal if that palace maid had been someone who dared to break this taboo: of using a master’s name . The sole unusual aspect was that the emperor had been the one to give the order .
“And I was just wondering what kind of plaything she was . So it turns out she’s an idiot,” said Noble Consort Shu with a tone of ridicule, lying on a chaise lounge after she had returned to her palace . “A lowly cairen actually named her personal maidservant that name . And even called it out in front of so many people . Who knows if she truly is an idiot or if she just didn’t place Zhuang Laoyan in her eyes?”
Lingsha massaged her shoulders, saying in a soft voice, “She’s merely a plaything . Your Highness should pay her no mind . ”
“She’s skilled in dance and making tea . ” Noble Consort Shu laughed in ridicule . She removed the jade bracelet from her wrist and threw it aside . Closed her eyes . “That Zhuang Laoyan truly is someone who could keep composure . Able to keep a normal expression even after a palace maid broke the taboo of using her name . No wonder she could recover the emperor’s favor after he had forgotten her . ”
“Who knows her intention? Maybe she’s trying to pretend to be virtuous and magnanimous,” said Lingsha . “This slave thinks this Xianrong Zhao isn’t a simple woman . ”
“If she were simple, Jieyu Ma wouldn’t have gotten that outcome back then . And the emperor wouldn’t have directly removed Jieyu Zhuang’s name tag from the selection either . ” Noble Consort Shu sighed . Her tone carried contempt as she said, “But her schemes cannot compare to those of the empress at all . Furthermore, how long could the emperor favor her?”
Lingsha noticed that Noble Consort Shu was tired and no longer talked . She merely grew more careful in her service . Although she had the faint impression that that Xianrong Zhao wasn’t so simple, when she recalled her master’s measures, she no longer let her mind wander .
One would fear that Zhuang Laoyan, whose name a palace made had broken taboo by using, was having the most complicated thoughts . She reclined on a soft chair holding a handheld brazier, carefully taking in the luxurious and fine decorations in the room . A light sigh left her lips .
“Yunxi . ” She set down the handheld brazier . Sat up straight . And her expression grew serious .
Yunxi rushed into the room . Noticing her master’s serious expression, she asked, concerned, “Your Highness, what’s wrong?”
“Find out how that palace maid Lao’er, who had just been caned to death, was arranged for and given to Cairen Zhen . ” Zhuang Laoyan rose to her feet . “Also, have people find Lao’er’s family members and give them some money . After all, she was an innocent slave . ”
Yunxi sounded her compliance . Seeing Zhuang Laoyan stand before the window, she couldn’t refrain from saying, “Master, it’s still cold outside . One must not stand in front of the window for too long . ”
“Alright . You’re dismissed . ” Zhuang Laoyan waved, watching the fluttering snowflakes in their tumble . And she sighed again . Closed her eyes .
“Your Highness, the interior supervision eunuchs have come to announce His Majesty’s verbal decree: tonight, His Majesty has flipped your honored self’s name tag,” said Fu Bao, face full of smiles as he entered the room . He saluted to Zhuang Laoyan . “His Majesty also specially sent out another verbal decree; that because of the cold weather, and the fact that Master’s body is weak due to a miscarriage, Master needs not receive the imperial procession . ”
Zhuang Laoyan nodded . “Alright . ”
In this imperial harem, there were no normal people . As such, if she wanted to survive, and above all, live comfortably, then she needed to be abnormal like the others . If she followed the three views¹ of her previous life, one would fear she would not even know how she died .
Everyone feared death . She was the same . For this reason, she must maintain the emperor’s favor . At the very least, she must have some of his heart . She didn’t want to be suppressed by others her whole life, never having a glorious day even until death .
Even if the women of the imperial harem were skilled at something, so what? The emperor’s taste would change . And women would age . During the Han dynasty, Zhao Feiyan², who was the only person who could dance on someone’s palm, and whose dance could topple nations, lost to Zhao Hede in the end . After losing, her days took a drastic change . And the person who had made Zhao Feiyan lose favor had been her own younger sister . Much less, Zhuang Laoyan’s own situation .
It was not easy to be a woman of the imperial harem . That’s why she would not sympathize with anyone . She could only think of ways so that she could live well .
Fu Bao noticed that his master’s expression changed . But he dared not inquire too much . He only stood at the side in silence . Moreover, he did not know what his master was thinking, to the point where her expression grew especially serious . And he couldn’t help but straighten his back .
“I want to bathe and change clothes . Have people prepare,” said Zhuang Laoyan, a smile on her lips as she faced Fu Bao . After turning, she sat back down on the chair .
When Feng Jin had finished attending to government matters, it was already the period of Hai³ . Somewhat exhausted, he leaned against the back of his imperial sedan . Closed his eyes and listened to the rustle of snowflakes hitting the imperial canopy⁴ . For some reason, he recalled that sight during the Laba Festival⁵ Banquet: the bright red upon Xianrong Zhao’s white fox cloak .
Perhaps it was because the red had been too conspicuous that he remembered it so vividly . Slowly opening his eyes, Feng Jin said, “Gao Dezhong, how much farther are we from Xihe Palace?”
“Reporting to Your Majesty, past that lotus pond is Xihe Palace,” replied Gao Dezhong in a low voice . In the blink of an eye, he discovered a strange blue light by the side of the lotus pond . It flickered, and under the dark cover of night, seemed especially terrifying .
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Two timid palace maids by his side had already let out a scream . With a dark expression, Gao Dezhong said, “Be quiet! What’s this racket all about?!”
Expression serene, Feng Jing looked at the flickering blue light . “Gao Dezhong, lead some people there for a look . ” Then he watched a crowd of people with palace lanterns approach his way . The person leading the crowd was Zhuang Laoyan, who held a palace maid’s hand as she rushed over .
Feng Jin noticed that once Zhuang Laoyan had caught sight of him, she let out a breath of relief . And he furrowed his brows . He disembarked from his sedan, making his way to her in large strides . “It’s so cold outside . Why has beloved concubine come out?”
Once she was close, Feng Jin noticed that there were light beads of sweat on her forehead . Her hair pins were in disarray, and she did not even have a fox-fur cloak on . And he knew she had rushed out of her residence . He removed his own cloak and draped it over Zhuang Laoyan . “We are fine . You need not worry . ”
“This concubine heard a scream by the front doors, and as such, came out for a look . ” Zhuang Laoyan did not say she was worried for the emperor, hiding her face that was full of embarrassment from the emperor’s line of sight . “This concubine has let Your Majesty witness a joke . ”
At the front doors? So she had waited for him again . No wonder she had arrived so quickly . Holding her ice-cold hand, Feng Jin revealed a smile . “We understand your intention . ”
Zhuang Laoyan lowered her head even more .
After Gao Dezhong led a few eunuchs to lotus pond’s side, his expression slightly changed . For a palace maid was floating close to shore . She seemed to already be deceased, her body engulfed in strange blue flames . However, there were no burnt marks on her body .
Such an abnormal sight caused the faces of the eunuchs behind Gao Dezhong to pale . However, Gao Dezhong’s expression was very calm . He did not touch the corpse, turning around to head to the emperor . After he noticed that Xianrong Zhao had also arrived, he saluted the both of them before saying, “Your Majesty, this slave found dirty things by the pond . May Your Majesty not remain here . ”
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Many people had witnessed that abnormal sight . One would fear that before tomorrow, the news would spread like wildfire throughout the imperial palace .
Feng Jin reached out . Covered Zhuang Laoyans eyes . In a tranquil tone, he said, “Clean it up well . ”
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“Yes, Your Majesty . ” Gao Dezhong looked at the Xianrong Zhao whose eyes were covered by the emperor, expression not changing as he retreated .
After coming across such an inauspicious affair, the emperor did not seem the slightest bit discontent with Xianrong Zhao . She must not be underestimated .
Following the emperor back to Xihe Palace, Zhuang Laoyan could not hide the worry in her gaze . “Your Majesty, what has happened?”
Feng Jin patted the back of her hand . “It’s not a big deal . Gao Dezhong will handle it . It’s late . Time to retire . ”
Once the two lay in bed, Zhuang Laoyan leaned against Feng Jin’s chest . A good while later, she suddenly heard Feng Jin ask her, “Can’t fall asleep?”
“Your Majesty is also awake . ” Zhuang Laoyan shifted around . Maintaining the same position for so long while awake was tough .
Feng Jin grunted in acknowledgment . “Court will resume the day after tomorrow . Those envoys will also have to start returning to their countries . Every time those distant small countries came to pay a visit, the bestowment we gave them eclipsed their tribute . What does beloved concubine think of this?” asked Feng Jin out of the blue .
“Is this matter causing Your Highness vexation?” Zhuang Laoyan fell into a daze for a moment, before asking, “A few days ago, this concubine’s servants said that the crown prince of Changfeng Country sent this concubine gifts . If Your Majesty had not mentioned this, this concubine would have forgotten . ”
“Oh . ” Feng Jin said more loudly, “We did not know the crown prince of Changfeng Country was this discreet . What did he send?”
“This concubine did not look, but heard it was a few boxes of rubies . It can’t be considered anything special . ” Zhuang Laoyan curled her lips, not the least bit concerned . “And they asked this concubine to say a few good words . But this concubine does not know what they mean . Good words about what?”
A low chuckle escaped Feng Jin’s lips . Perhaps because he did not treat Changfeng Country as enthusiastically as the previous emperor had, they tried currying favor with the imperial concubines out of worry . One would fear that they did not only try to fawn over Zhuang Laoyan . However, only this foolish woman would openly say this aloud to him .
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“Rubies can be considered rare items . Only you would treat them like broken stones . ” Smiling, Feng Jin pulled her closer to his embrace . “Looks like We pamper you too much . ”
“This concubine has Your Majesty . So why would this concubine need anything else?” Zhuang Laoyan gave off a light “hmph!” before saying, “In any case, this concubine has Your Majesty . What kind of rare items would this concubine lack?”
After he had heard such words, Feng Jin’s interest was slightly aroused . In the end, he only patted her back and slowly said, “You naturally have Us . ”
Zhuang Laoyan wiggled in the emperor’s embrace . The two did not see the other party’s expression, but their actions were nevertheless incomparably intimate, resembling two people who loved each other deeply .
After who knew how long, Zhuang Laoyan was already half asleep . And she seemed to have heard a light sigh by her side . By the time she had opened her eyes, she felt like she had imagined it .
Standing by the side of Xihe Palace’s lotus pond, Gao Dezhong looked at the palace maid that had been fished out, expression serene . “Are you sure? This is a palace maid from Consort Rou’s palace?”
“Reporting to Gonggong⁶, this slave is absolutely sure,” replied a low-ranking eunuch . “This slave knows that palace maid . ”
Gao Dezhong once again shifted his gaze to that palace maid . “Since that’s the case, let’s have the people from Consort Rou’s place confirm if the corpse belongs to one of them .
“Carry it away and have people investigate properly . ” Gao Dezhong fanned the air in front of his nose . Once the palace maid had been carried away, he laughed grimly twice . “The people of this imperial harem are growing bolder and bolder . ”
In this imperial harem, what strange occurrences had he not seen before? Just how many people could something this actually scare?
It seemed that this scheme was either to target Consort Rou or Xianrong Zhao . No matter who it was, one would fear this matter would not implicate Xianrong Zhao .
After all, the emperor’s actions this night had already expressed in a clear-cut manner that this matter had nothing to do with her .