Chapter 85:

No matter what others say, you must not fall into the trap of being provoked.

Layue understood that this was a reminder about Bai Youran’s pregnancy. She narrowed her eyes and looked carefully at Zhu Yuning, whose face showed only sincerity and no ulterior motive.

Layue’s mind worked quickly. She didn’t understand why Zhu Yuning had always helped her, both in her past life and now, again out of concern that she might act recklessly.

“Sister, there’s something I’ve always wanted to ask you, but I’ve never had the chance. Now that we’ve come this far, I won’t pretend to be reserved anymore. I only ask that you answer me honestly.”

Zhu Yuning had no idea what she was about to ask and looked at her blankly.

“Sister, since I entered the palace, I’ve always felt that you’ve paid special attention to me and have been very kind. I want to know why. I know it’s not because we hit it off—we had never even met before entering the palace, and as fellow concubines of the emperor, how could we possibly have an instant liking for each other?”

Layue had effectively cornered Zhu Yuning, and she fixed her with a steady gaze.

Zhu Yuning hadn’t expected this question and was stunned. After a long pause, she gave a bitter smile and looked out the window, as if gazing into the distance.

Just as Layue thought she wouldn’t answer, Zhu Yuning spoke softly, “I’m merely fulfilling someone else’s request…”

Fulfilling someone else’s request.

Before Layue could ask more, Zhu Yuning stopped her.

“Please don’t ask further. Sometimes not knowing is better for you. Although it was someone else’s request, I have come to genuinely like you through our interactions and am happy to befriend you. I just wonder, do you feel the same way?”

Layue understood that if Zhu Yuning truly didn’t want to say more, pressing her wouldn’t help. Besides, she had already gotten a partial answer.

Nodding, she replied, “Of course I feel the same. I wouldn’t bother pretending with someone I don’t like.”

That was the truth.

Yunin naturally understood that someone favored by the emperor had the luxury to be bold. She smiled.

Sincerely, she said, “You’re already fourteen. Although you’ve had some health issues before, youth is on your side and you recover quickly. Take good care of yourself and get pregnant sooner. In the palace, only having children can secure your position. Relying solely on the emperor’s favor won’t last long. Sooner or later, there will always be younger and fresher women entering the palace.”

Though Zhu Yuning was still young, her tone was unusually mature, suggesting she had experienced much.

Layue naturally understood this principle, but perhaps due to the painful lessons from her previous pregnancy, she had an underlying reluctance toward the idea. Knowing that giving birth too early wasn’t ideal, she used that as an excuse to delay and wanted to recover her health first.

Seeing her expression turn slightly confused, Zhu Yuning sighed, “You should think carefully whether this makes sense. You’re still so young.”

Seeing Zhu Yuning’s genuine concern, Layue smiled again.

“Sister, you don’t need to worry too much. I’ll think it through carefully. Thank you for your advice.”

Zhu Yuning shook her head with a faint smile, “It’s not really advice. I’m sure you’ve thought of all this yourself. But since you’re young, you might easily get stuck in a loop, so I just wanted to give you a little nudge.”

Their conversation had been heartfelt. After Zhu Yuning left, Layue composed her expression and fell into deep thought.

Jinxin, seeing this, did not disturb her and quietly withdrew.

Layue was particularly puzzled—just who had entrusted Zhu Yuning with this task? If it was someone from the Shen family, that was absolutely impossible.

No one in her family even knew Zhu Yuning. This was truly strange.

Thinking of her family, Layue felt a wave of homesickness.

She wondered how everyone was doing at home.

“Jinxin, bring me the guqin.”

Hearing her voice, Jinxin quickly entered the room.

Soon after, melodious guqin music drifted from Tingyu Pavilion. Though not technically superb, it was filled with deep emotion.

***

Meanwhile, as Shen Layue was feeling homesick, Fu Jinyao was dealing with things in a completely different way.

In Zhuxuan,

Inside the room, fragrant incense curled in the air. Upon closer inspection, the scent seemed to have a calming effect, indicating it was more than just for pleasure.

Fu Jinyao’s long hair cascaded over her shoulders. Dressed in a light blue gauze nightgown, her face was pale, and even her usually rosy lips had lost their color.

If not for the light blue clothing, she would have seemed almost lifeless.

She sat cross-legged on the bed, expressionless and silent, her swollen eyes betraying that she had just cried.

Yunxue, the head maid, entered carrying a bowl of dessert and immediately noticed the atmosphere.

Yunlan, standing nearby, was clearly anxious but didn’t know how to comfort her, pacing worriedly.

Seeing Yunxue enter, she gave her a meaningful look. Understanding each other’s intentions, the two had grown up together and shared a deep unspoken understanding.

“Your Highness, the dessert is here. Please try it and see if it meets your taste today.”

Normally at this time, the mistress would not eat anything, especially sweets, to avoid gaining weight. Her sudden change in habit today was unusual. Both Yunxue and Yunlan knew it meant she was troubled.

Indeed, how could she be at peace when they had both attended the same outing, yet the concubine Jing had become pregnant?

Jinyao glanced at the bird’s nest soup but did not reach for it.

“Take it away. I don’t want it anymore.”

Yunxue placed the bird’s nest soup on the table and gently tried to comfort her, “We know you’re upset, but regardless of whether Concubine Jing is pregnant or not, life must go on. Why torture yourself like this?”

Seeing Yunxue speak first, Yunlan joined in, “Your Highness, Yunxue is right. Watching you do this to yourself pains us as servants.” Yunlan wiped away a tear.

Jinyao looked at the two of them.

“Why was it not me who got pregnant?”

Her face showed a hint of fragility and despair.

Then she lowered her head, “Could it be that the child knows what I did and refuses to come back? Is it resenting me for being heartless?”

Yunxue quickly replied, “Your Highness, please don’t blame yourself. It wasn’t your fault. You weren’t heartless. Think about it—even if you had done nothing, that child might not have been born safely. Why do you insist on taking all the blame? So what if Bai Youran is pregnant? Let me say something disrespectful—whether that child survives or not is still uncertain, and you will have more children.”

As if her words had reached Jinyao, she lifted her head.

“Yes… I will have more children. I will.”

Seeing this, Yunlan continued to encourage her, “What is Bai Youran? She wasn’t particularly favored before. It was only during those few days outside the palace that she managed to capture the emperor’s attention. If it really bothers you, perhaps we could…”

She made a subtle gesture. Jinyao understood immediately—it meant eliminating the child.

She deeply disliked Bai Youran. Previously quiet and unassuming, Bai had managed to catch the emperor’s attention during those ten days of temple stay—only two nights were spent with her, and even one of those nights wasn’t completed.

And Bai Youran had become pregnant at that time. How could she not feel resentment?

“Don’t act rashly yet. Let’s wait and see. Others probably don’t want this child either. Compared to those with sons, we actually have less need to act recklessly.”

Jinyao regained some composure and calmly said so.

Yunxue shared the same thought, “Of course. Right now, it’s probably Consort De who hates this most. What do we have to worry about? Besides Consort De, there’s also Noble Consort Chun and Concubine Chen. Noble Consort Chun missed the trip because of Lian Xiuyun, and who knows if it was Bai Youran behind it. As for Concubine Chen, she’s known for her jealousy and ill temper. She recently lost her child, and Bai Xiaodie is Bai Youran’s half-sister. It’s only natural she would suspect her.”

Between Yunlan and Yunxue, clearly Yunxue was more clever and thorough in her thinking.

Jinyao steadied herself and looked at her two head maids, “You two have been with me since I was in the mansion. I know your loyalty. I trust you, but I can’t trust everyone else in the palace. You must keep a close watch and ensure no one does anything and pins it on us.”

“Yes.”

Thinking about matters outside the palace, Jinyao sneered, “What a good brother I have. Look at what he’s done for me. He claimed he had carefully analyzed all the candidates for the selection. But look at the results—none of his judgments were accurate. He said some girls weren’t worth worrying about, yet none of them turned out to be simple. And those he said to watch carefully, well, they showed their sharpness from the very beginning.”

Her tone was full of resentment.

Yunxue immediately understood. Previously, the young master had told the mistress that Chen Yulan, Zhu Yuning, and Lian Xiuyun were the ones to watch, while Shen Layue, Bai Youran, and Bai Xiaodie weren’t worth much attention. But clearly, none of them were easy to deal with.

“Your Highness might be too harsh on the Young Master. He only made those judgments based on the information and reputation from their families. He never met or interacted with them directly, so how could he truly understand them? Besides, within their families, without any conflicts, how could anyone show their true nature? It’s only in the palace, where everyone schemes against each other, that people’s true colors emerge.”

Jinyao continued to sneer, clearly not fond of Fu Jinyu.

“If my brother is so smart, how could he be so wrong? He probably never truly wanted to help me. Ever since we were young, he only favored my sister and never helped me. After my sister passed away, they started treating me better only because of the family’s continued prosperity. Hmph, don’t think I don’t know.”

Seeing their mistress falling into a spiral of bitterness, the two head maids tried to console her. Everyone knew that family status and position were interdependent. Without the Fu family, how could the young lady have risen so quickly?

Even in the future, she would still need to rely heavily on the Fu family. This kind of thinking must never be shown outwardly.