Chapter 50:

Zhuxuan.

Inside the room, the air was fragrant with incense. Fu Jinyao sat upright, her expression blank.

A woman dressed as a palace maid entered, bowed, and approached Fu Jinyao. “My lady, she refuses to speak.”

“Hmph, she refuses to speak? She’s loyal indeed, but unfortunately, her loyalty is misplaced. Investigate who else is in her family. If she won’t talk even after such torture, it’s either extreme loyalty or she’s holding something valuable for them.”

“Yes, my lady. Also, the people watching Chen An’s quarters report that aside from Bai Wujian, she rarely interacts with others.”

Fu Jinyao sneered, “Such underhanded matters, even if she colludes, she won’t do it openly. I won’t let any of those who want to harm my child escape.”

The maid hesitated before finally speaking, “My lady, the eldest young master has entered the palace. Should we find an opportunity to meet him? If he could help with this matter…”

Fu Jinyao smiled sweetly, but her eyes were filled with malice, “Yunlan, since when have you started making decisions on your own?”

Yunlan was startled and quickly knelt down, “Forgive me, my lady, forgive me…” she kept kowtowing.

Only when her forehead was already bleeding did Fu Jinyao finally speak, “Alright, get up.”

Yunlan slowly rose to her feet.

“Some matters we can handle ourselves, no need to trouble the estate.”

“Yes.”

After Yunlan left, Fu Jinyao angrily tore apart a potted plant beside her.

If anyone had seen Fu Jinyao at this moment, they would have been terrified. The gentle and refined beauty of the past was now like a man-eating plant, her face filled with sinister thoughts.

“Yunxue…”

Yunlan and Yunxue were two senior maids Fu Jinyao had brought from the Fu family, and they were her trusted confidantes.

“Your servant is here,” as if she hadn’t seen the broken flowers scattered on the ground.

Yunxue naturally knew her mistress had been in a bad mood recently. After seeing Yunlan punished, she understood even more clearly.

“Secretly arrange someone to go to the cold palace and send the Virtuous Consort on her way.”

Though she didn’t lift her head, Yunxue was inwardly surprised. Despite the risk of displeasing her mistress, she still spoke, “My lady, please reconsider. The palace is under strict control, even the disappearance of a single eunuch or maid would raise questions. Though the Virtuous Consort has been demoted to the cold palace, she was once the mistress of a palace. If we act so rashly, we might give others an excuse to accuse us.”

Fu Jinyao naturally understood this principle that even palace maids knew, but she still couldn’t calm down.

Though the Virtuous Consort might not be the mastermind, the incense indeed came from her palace.

After calming down slightly, she waved her hand, “Leave.”

She composed herself and took a sip of tea.

These days, she had been particularly anxious and often suffered from insomnia. Even though she knew this was not good for the child, she still couldn’t find a solution. She had consulted imperial physicians, but after examinations, they found no signs of poisoning and attributed it to excessive worry.

She naturally trusted the physicians, but despite her efforts to relax, she couldn’t find relief.

There had been too many things happening recently. She was busy finding the mole, seeking out those who wanted to harm her, and managing palace affairs. All of this had left her exhausted.

She was well aware that none of these matters were beneficial to maintaining her pregnancy, yet how could she find peace without resolving them? As for the affairs of the palace, if she let this opportunity slip, she might not get another one so soon. The Empress Dowager did not favor her, and this time, had it not been for her pregnancy and the grievances she had endured, she likely wouldn’t have been entrusted with this responsibility.

Taking a deep breath, Fu Jinyao irritably opened the window. Outside, snowflakes were falling heavily, but her mood couldn’t calm down.

Was everything really alright?

As Fu Jinyao was plagued by worries and anxiety, Consort De remained perfectly calm and composed on the other side.

Practicing calligraphy with Xuan paper on the table, she seemed quite at ease.

“The emperor is still in Tingyu Pavilion?” she asked casually.

“Yes, my lady,” the palace maid Sulan replied.

Smiling slightly, she continued her calligraphy, “It seems I underestimated her.”

“My lady, this Chunpin doesn’t seem particularly clever outwardly, but we can’t be sure of her true abilities. Look at how she always resolves problems. A mere concubine rose so quickly to the rank of pin, she must have some skills.”

“I’m not afraid of her having skills, I’m afraid she has help.”

Sulan understood and asked cautiously, “Do you mean the Empress Dowager?”

Dei let out a cold snort.

“I don’t know what good fortune this Chunpin has encountered, but the Empress Dowager seems to favor her greatly,” Sulan said, puzzled.

Putting down her brush, Consort De picked up the paper to examine her calligraphy.

“If I were the Empress Dowager, I would favor her too. Without a prominent family background, her little cleverness is obvious, and her temper is somewhat impetuous. Such a person is easy to control. If she weren’t naive, how could she have been harmed by that incense before? The Empress Dowager values imperial heirs, and since Chunpin was harmed and can’t get pregnant for now, she’s pitiable. Now the Empress Dowager is second only to the emperor himself. Chunpin doesn’t threaten her at all. When people reach high positions, they tend to sympathize with the weak. Look at all these advantages, how could she not like her? Would she rather support someone like Fu Jinyao?”

Consort De analyzed thoroughly, “As for Shen Layue, the emperor keeps her for amusement, and the Empress Dowager is happy to elevate her. What does it matter how high she’s raised?”

Sulan didn’t understand, “Since Chunpin isn’t a strong enemy, why did we go to such lengths to use her to frame Fu Guipin? Now, she accidentally found the incense.”

Consort De continued to scrutinize her calligraphy, “Though not a formidable opponent, her favor runs too deep. Currently in the palace, aside from Fu Jinyao, she is the one who spends the most nights with the emperor. Should I simply watch as she steadily ascends? Moreover, among all the favored consorts in the palace, who is more easily manipulated than her? Even if Shen Layue manages to evade this rare Western Regions incense, we can conveniently push Consort Qi forward. Very few in the palace possess this incense. What a pity—such a well-laid plan was thwarted by Chen Yulan.”

“This Chen An is also unreliable, she couldn’t even handle such a small matter,” Sulan said, frustrated.

After studying the calligraphy for a while, De tore up the paper and said, “Chunpin isn’t unintelligent, nor is Chen Yulan untrustworthy—it’s simply that I misjudged the situation. I assumed Chunpin would forgive her cousin, but the opposite occurred. Just because Chen Yulan extended a friendly gesture, she grew suspicious. Could there be any flaw in Chen Yulan’s actions?”

Sulan shook her head, “My lady, rest assured. The person I arranged initially claimed to be the Virtuous Consort’s confidante. Even if she’s caught by Fu Guipin, the clue will only lead to the Virtuous Consort, and won’t implicate us. The problem is that Die’er from Fu Guipin’s palace has been discovered by Fu Guipin. Although I have control over her weakness, she would rather die than speak, but as time passes, things might change. Nothing is completely safe.”

“Now Fu Jinyao would love us to kill someone to cover our tracks, otherwise how would she find clues? The more chaotic the water, the better it is for us to handle matters.”

After thinking for a moment, she continued, “Yesterday, the Fu family impeached Minister Zhou in court. Now Minister Zhou has been imprisoned for corruption, but Zhou An is unaware of this matter. As her elder sister, how could I not inform her about such an important matter?”

Sulan understood and smiled as she accepted the order and left.

Difei took out a new sheet of Xuan paper and continued practicing calligraphy.

Though she was practicing calligraphy, she was calculating in her heart that this time she had suffered a loss. However, this was somewhat foreseeable. The Empress Dowager didn’t like one person controlling the harem. After the Virtuous Consort fell, naturally someone else would rise. None of them would be happy to see her alone dominating the harem, but why did this day come so quickly?

She hadn’t yet arranged her people properly, and already reached this point.

Fu Guipin, merely a Guipin, was assisting in managing the harem. Others might see it as being elevated, but she saw it differently. It seemed Fu Guipin was about to rise further.

This Fu family woman was truly her nemesis.

Since childhood, she had loved Emperor Jing and finally married him. At that time, however, he only favored Fu Jinxiu, being attentive and obedient to her. She often wept silently. Finally, after Fu Jinxiu died, came Fu Jinyao. Don’t think she didn’t notice; Fu Jinyao imitated Fu Jinxiu’s mannerisms everywhere.

A cold snort, outwardly similar but inwardly different.

And that Chunpin, even at a young age, was a fox-like seductress.

Resentment filled Dufei’s heart, and it was somewhat reflected in her calligraphy.

“Mother…” came a crisp voice, and Defei quickly put down her brush.

Her expression was no longer fierce as before. Instead, a warm and sincere smile bloomed on her face.

“Jia’er has come?”

A young child dashed in recklessly, and Defei quickly stepped forward to brush the snow off his body.

“Why did you bring the second prince here on such a cold day?” Her tone carried slight reprimand.

The nursemaid beside the second prince quickly explained, “The second prince said this morning that he dreamed of Your Majesty last night and wanted to see you. After class, he dragged old me here, insisting on seeing you. This is the deep bond between mother and child.”

Indeed, a skilled speaker.

De Fei’s expression softened.

“Sulan, quickly bring some snacks.” She hugged the second prince to the couch and hurriedly gave orders.

“Mother is so good. I’m hungry. The teacher talked for a long time today. I was eager to see mother and felt quite annoyed.” He playfully stuck out his tongue.

He was just a three-year-old child after all.

Hearing this, Concubine De shook her head and said, “Jia’er, don’t speak nonsense. The teacher is here to educate you, and you must not treat him lightly or disrespectfully.”

The second prince nodded, “I understand, mother. I was very obedient today. Even though it was so cold, I went to class, but my elder brother didn’t.”

The child looked at his mother with hope, longing for praise.

Concubine De nodded, “Yes, my Jia’er is the most obedient. Your elder brother isn’t feeling well, so it’s understandable that he didn’t go. Our Jia’er is as strong as a little ox and must never skip class. Only then will the teacher like you more, isn’t that right?”

“Right.”

When the snacks arrived, his attention was drawn away.

Seeing her son’s adorable and lively demeanor, De Fei smiled warmly from the heart.

Even if they one by one gained favor, who had such a healthy and beloved prince as hers?