Chapter 136:

Speaking of Xiaoru, she could indeed be considered a woman of sentiment and loyalty. When she first entered the palace, she was often bullied due to her timid nature. It was only with the help of Noble Consort De that she was able to live peacefully. Thanks to Noble Consort De’s assistance to her family, her parents were also able to live a better life.

Because of all this, Xiaoru remained utterly devoted to Noble Consort De. She was simple-minded—she clearly recognized who had been kind to her.

Now that Noble Consort De had fallen from grace, Xiaoru was still willing to act on her behalf.

“Your Highness,” Xiaoru said, “today the Emperor announced that Noble Consort Shen would accompany him to the Heaven Sacrifice. I thought that Consort Hui would certainly be furious, so I secretly sent someone to watch her tonight. Since I dared not get too close, I only overheard bits and pieces. However, I clearly heard them mention something about a child, and Consort Hui even struck Yunlan. Later, when Yunlan went out, I hid in the shadows and saw her looking extremely distressed and somewhat resentful. I thought this matter was quite significant, so I hurried back to report it to Your Highness.”

Upon hearing this, Noble Consort De furrowed her brows.

“A child!”

In the palace, whenever the mention of a child arose, it was always a serious matter.

But whose child? And why would Consort Hui strike Yunlan over it?

Without the distractions of wealth and power, Noble Consort De had become much calmer.

Suddenly, a thought struck her.

A child?

Could it possibly be about Fu Jinyao’s own child?

There weren’t many children in the palace. Bai Youran and Qi Consort had lost theirs because of her. Shen Layue, however, had already given birth safely.

Now there were only two possibilities. Either it was Fu Jinyao’s previous child, the one she had deliberately gotten rid of to frame Noble Consort De. After all, Yunlan had indeed been close to her at that time. The other possibility was that Fu Jinyao had done something to Shen Layue’s child when she left the palace.

If it was the second scenario, Noble Consort De would be delighted.

But if it was the first scenario, thinking of Fu Jinyao’s ruthlessness, Noble Consort De’s fingernails dug into her flesh. If that were truly the case, then Fu Jinyao was indeed heartless.

“For now, do not act rashly. Continue to observe, but be cautious and do not let her discover you. Unless it is something extremely important, do not come to me unnecessarily, to avoid being noticed by others.”

Upon hearing this, Xiaoru nodded quickly: “I understand, Your Highness.”

After Xiaoru left, Noble Consort De bit her lip tightly.

Although she did not yet know how things would develop and her power had been almost completely eliminated, at least Xiaoru remained loyal.

The information she brought was indeed useful. It had been wise to place her in Zhuxuan in the beginning. At that time, she had placed several people, but in the end, only Xiaoru had successfully remained hidden.

Although she currently had no opportunity to leave the cold palace, if she could discover Fu Jinyao’s weakness, that would be enough.

Smiling with her head raised, Noble Consort De felt a sense of joy.

It had been a long time in the cold palace, but now she finally saw a glimmer of hope.

She would leave.

She would definitely leave.

***

Only three days remained before her departure from the palace. Layue met with the Empress Dowager and informed her of the child’s habits.

She had already noticed this before—when it came to children, even if she overstepped slightly, the Empress Dowager did not mind, and the Emperor was the same.

At first, she had not understood why this was the case, but now she had some idea.

In the late Emperor’s time, the palace had been filled with fierce struggles, especially over the imperial heirs.

In the end, only the Empress Dowager’s two sons had survived, while other princes had perished for various reasons. Layue did not believe all of them had died from illness or accidents.

Perhaps because of those past experiences, the Empress Dowager now placed great importance on children, and the more she did, the more she felt Layue was a suitable mother.

Busy preparing for her departure, Layue did not receive any visiting consorts. In her opinion, they were not necessarily there to offer care or flattery—they were probably thinking of ways to harm her.

Those who were truly wise and considerate, understanding her busyness, did not come.

However, even though she did not receive them, it did not stop others from coming.

Indeed, just after returning to her quarters from Xuanning Hall, she saw Taor standing there with a solemn expression.

Upon seeing her mistress return, Taor quickly followed her into the inner chamber.

After Layue washed her hands, Taor took out a small, delicate box of rouge.

Layue glanced at it—just a box of cosmetics.

“Report,” Layue said as she took the child from Madam Zhou’s arms. The little girl cooed and playfully patted her mother’s face, laughing happily.

“What is it?” Layue asked.

Taor’s expression was serious: “This afternoon, I went to the Department of Household to collect supplies. On my way back, I encountered Concubine Fang. Although she seemed indifferent, I felt she was deliberately waiting for me. When she saw me, she acted very affectionately, chatting with me for a while and giving me this box of rouge.”

Layue did not even look at the rouge: “Just a box of cosmetics. It’s nothing.”

Taor insisted: “But I feel it’s not that simple.”

Jinxin thought for a moment before speaking: “Logically, she wouldn’t dare to do anything. You’re just accompanying the mistress on outings. Even if you couldn’t go, it wouldn’t benefit her. And such an obvious trap wouldn’t fool even the most foolish person. We would certainly be on guard. If any problem was detected, wouldn’t she be unable to defend herself?”

Xing’er agreed with this view.

At this time, all the senior maids were present except Qiaoning.

Layue turned to Cuiwen.

“Cuiwen, help me check this.”

Since following Noble Consort Shen, her books had been managed by Cuiwen.

This was also intentional on Layue’s part. This way, Cuiwen could gradually display her medical knowledge without drawing too much attention, and they wouldn’t need to be overly vigilant. After all, there were people from the Emperor and the Empress Dowager everywhere in the palace.

Cuiwen managed the medical books, reading a little each day and showing great comprehension, so others had nothing to say.

Cuiwen did not refuse and took the rouge.

In the palace, aside from Layue and Jinxin, others thought Cuiwen had only recently taken up medicine and could hardly understand it after such a short time. However, whenever a physician came to take Layue’s pulse, Cuiwen always asked questions with great seriousness.

Even the physicians had said that Cuiwen had a natural talent for medicine, showing great insight.

Layue inwardly mused that Cuiwen’s medical skills had already surpassed many physicians, but she deliberately revealed them gradually.

Cuiwen carefully smelled the rouge and shook her head: “There’s nothing wrong with this rouge.”

Madam Zhou was still somewhat uneasy and asked: “Shouldn’t we have a physician check it again?”

She had witnessed Cuiwen’s gradual learning of medicine, so she still preferred to be cautious.

“There’s no need to consult a physician over a box of rouge—it would only invite ridicule. If you’re worried, just don’t use it,” Layue said with a smile as she glanced at the rouge.

Cuiwen seemed to be thinking and suddenly looked up: “Mistress, I have a thought.”

“Oh?”

Actually, as long as it wasn’t used, there wouldn’t be a problem. Still, discussing the matter thoroughly was a good idea.

It was better to leave no room for suspicion.

Cuiwen smelled the rouge again.

She asked: “Sister Jinxin, did the mistress have any seafood for dinner today?”

Actually, Cuiwen was older than Jinxin, but because of Jinxin’s status, everyone in Qing’an Palace addressed her as “Sister Jinxin.”

Jinxin was momentarily startled before replying: “Indeed. It’s autumn now, and the crabs are at their best. Qiaoning made crab porridge. Is there something wrong with that?”

It was well known that Noble Consort Shen had a particular fondness for seafood.

Cuiwen nodded: “That’s exactly it. This rouge is harmless by itself, but it must not be used when eating seafood, or it would cause poisoning.”

Tao’er was puzzled: “But she gave it to me. I wouldn’t use it on the mistress.”

Cuiwen smiled: “Actually, this isn’t a particularly sophisticated method. As the books say, the Su flower is most suitable for making rouge—it has a soft, elegant color and a pleasant fragrance. Yet, despite its suitability, it is rarely used for this purpose because of its properties. The Su flower is incompatible with seafood. This box of rouge has a particularly distinctive scent, which indicates that Su flower is its main ingredient. Tao’er doesn’t need to apply this rouge on the mistress. As long as she is in the same room as the mistress, the mistress will smell the fragrance of Su flower on her. Then, if she eats some seafood porridge, wouldn’t an incident be inevitable?”

Although Cuiwen said it was not a particularly sophisticated method, Layue understood clearly that this was actually a scheme with no obvious flaws.

If not for Cuiwen’s insight, how would they have known? Even if they avoided this trap this time, they might still fall into a similar one in the future.

“What a malicious plot,” even Madam Zhou exclaimed in shock.

“It’s well known in the palace that the mistress loves seafood. Now is the season for crabs. Even if she doesn’t eat it today, she might tomorrow or the day after. It really is a clever plan,” Jinxin said coldly.

Xing’er, however, did not understand: “But even if the mistress can’t go, it doesn’t necessarily benefit her.”

Everyone fell silent for a moment.

Layue thought for a moment and smiled: “Perhaps, if the original target cannot go, a similar substitute might have a better chance.”

Her expression darkened. To scheme against her with such methods—did they really think she was easy to bully?

“Taor, go see Concubine Fang and tell her that the mistress has specially prepared a bowl of seafood porridge for her, as a thank-you for the rouge. Such a wonderful gift should certainly be used by her herself.”

Layue rarely acted so directly against someone, but this time, she was not acting like her usual self.

She pinched the little girl’s adorable cheek, and the child giggled happily.

“In the past, I repeatedly forgave Chen Yulan because she was my cousin. But what is Fang Ci to me? Besides, once bitten, twice shy. It was precisely because I repeatedly ignored her in the past that Chen Yulan thought she could harm me. Now, no one else should even think about it,” Layue said casually, her underlying meaning clear.

Taor understood—this message was meant to be spread around.

Layue smiled gently. If that was the case, she would make sure everyone understood clearly that she was not someone to be trifled with.