Flowery Hair: A Maidservant

Chapter 368 The Fate of Lady Xie

Green Willow immediately understood, glanced at the sky, curtsied and said, "Eunuch Jing, it's almost 7 PM. The Emperor needs someone to serve him. Lingcui Palace is just ahead. I will protect Your Highness, so you can go back to your duties with peace of mind."

Jingming hesitated for a moment, then nodded: "In that case, I'll trouble Miss Green Willow."

Upon returning to Lingcui Palace, Green Willow breathed a sigh of relief when she saw Donggua and Xia'er greeting her. She then turned around and distributed the prepared reward money to the palace servants who were accompanying her.

As soon as Meng Shu stepped into the palace, she asked urgently, "Is Wan'er here? I think I saw Mengzhu's figure in the distance just now..."

Before she could finish speaking, Consort Chun hurried over and scolded, "Going out so late, aren't you afraid of catching a cold? You're pregnant now, even if you go to express your gratitude tomorrow, does anyone dare to say anything against you?"

The two walked hand in hand into the bedroom, while Mengzhu and the others stood guard outside the door in tacit agreement.

Seeing the lingering worry on Consort Chun's brow, Meng Shu took her hand and noticed her fingertips were icy cold. She gently held it, saying, "It's just a title; the discussion will stop in a few days..."

Consort Chun shook her head and said in a low voice, "People always say that women's minds are hard to fathom, but the Emperor's mind is truly unfathomable."

"If it's true... then why make such a commotion right when you're pregnant? It's hard for people not to notice."

The word "sincere" hovered between her lips, but Consort Chun ultimately didn't utter it. She felt both saddened for Meng Shu and subtly worried about her.

Having just exerted herself, Meng Shu felt slightly tired. After catching her breath, she said, "In the harem, which pregnant woman wouldn't be the target of everyone's criticism? Even without an official title, peace is hard to come by."

Right now, Consort Xie is no longer an option, and Consort Rong and Consort Qu pose no threat to us. Consort Qing is still under house arrest in Changchun Garden, so this will be a rare period of peace and quiet.

Wan'er should take this opportunity to recuperate properly and avoid overthinking.

Meng Shu then told Consort Chun about what had happened in the Funing Palace. When she heard the key part, Consort Chun's eyes lit up: "Brilliant! Shu'er used the excuse of giving a gift of thanks to the Emperor to express her feelings and also to make sure that the Emperor would always remember her."

Meng Shu smiled faintly, "It's just an act; it's always good to be thorough in everything."

Upon hearing this, Consort Chun hesitated for a moment, but still asked bluntly, "Actually... I can tell that His Majesty treats Shu'er differently from others. Has Shu'er truly never been moved even once?"

Are you tempted?

Meng Shu paused slightly, her dazed expression reflected in the tea.

She asked herself honestly. During the last nightmare, the Emperor stayed by her side day and night, and she was indeed moved, but it seemed that was all.

She will probably never be like Xiu Yun, entrusting her whole heart to a man. Nor will she be foolish enough to be like those characters in storybooks, giving herself entirely to someone for so-called love...

"Wan'er is joking."

Meng Shu lowered her eyes and looked at the tea leaves floating in the teacup. "In this deep palace, everything is shrouded in calculation. Even if there is a little bit of affection, it is just like this cup of tea, which looks hot, but cools down faster than anything else."

Consort Chun's heart suddenly clenched. These words were exactly what she had once said; she had once been a lovesick fool who had fallen deeply in love.

"I was confused. People like us shouldn't be thinking about these things."

Consort Chun shook her head with a wry smile, her slender white fingertips unconsciously stroking the edge of the teacup. Finally, she added, "I still have a lot to learn from you."

Upon hearing this, Meng Shu couldn't help but chuckle and said, "What Wan'er should learn from me is not the art of playing along."

She lowered her voice slightly, "Just think of the Emperor as a highly respected steward, and us as mere servants under him. We should flatter him when we should, and fawn over him when we should. Anyone who puts their heart into it would be foolish. Madam has reminded and advised me of this more than once before..."

The two chatted intimately for a while, and as they parted, Consort Chun said with a smile, "I came so late to comfort you, but I never expected that I would end up asking you for advice."

Mengzhu and the others were completely confused, but seeing that their masters were in a good mood, their worries subsided.

Meng Shu asked Green Willow to fetch some "Three Friends of Winter" tea and deliver it to Consort Chun. This time, Green Willow was especially careful, wrapping it meticulously in fine dark blue paper, and then asked Xia'er to help escort Consort Chun back to the palace.

......

Three days after Meng Shu was promoted to Empress, the Empress sent Xingyu with nourishing medicinal herbs to visit her first. After that, the concubines who came to Lingcui Palace to offer their congratulations arrived in droves.

Lady Qu carried a pair of mutton-fat jade bracelets, while Lady Yang presented a red satin embroidered curtain with a hundred children design—both carefully selected gifts. After exchanging auspicious words, they tactfully took their leave before finishing their tea.

Consort Qi was still in the middle of the month, and Consort Song, being considerate, sent her personal maids to deliver congratulatory gifts, without even showing her face.

Consort Shen had a miscarriage last time and was scolded by Consort Chun. She has been staying in Shujing Palace for the past few days, but she did send Yuehuan to deliver a set of official kiln tea set.

Those like Consort Rong and Consort Yun, who claimed to be on good terms with Meng Shu, would stay for most of the day once they arrived. They would always find some excuse to stay a little longer when the Emperor was about to finish his court session, so that they could have a few more words with the Emperor before they would leave.

After two or three such incidents, even Consort Chun felt exhausted just dealing with Meng Shu.

As soon as she stepped into the palace, she said, "His Majesty specially exempted you from paying your respects at Renming Hall, originally wanting you to rest and recuperate during your pregnancy. Who knew you would have to deal with these tactless people instead."

Donggua was carrying in a freshly brewed bowl of bird's nest soup when she heard this and immediately complained to Consort Chun: "Your Highness! It's Consort Wu who's infuriating. Because of the little bit of friendship we had when we were in the Prince's Mansion, she comes to bother us every day. She's drunk who knows how many bowls of soup that we specially brewed for Shushu. She's really shameless."

Xia'er, having spent a long time with Green Willow and Winter Melon, had become more lively. She said indignantly, "And then there's Consort Qu. She's been asking to see the Empress for two days in a row, and the Empress has refused her both times. But this morning she came all the way here again."

Meng Shu calmly set up the white jade chessboard, then stepped forward and pulled Consort Chun to sit down. "Let them do as they please. It will be peaceful in a couple of days."

In fact, less than two days later, the Emperor issued an imperial edict: During Consort Jin's pregnancy, no unauthorized persons are allowed to disturb her.

Now it's really peaceful.

Another day later, Lord Tong of the Imperial Household Department personally went to Huining Palace to report to Consort Chun.

The palace maids Zhihe and Lianrui, who were lowly servants of Lingcui Palace, were beaten to death in the Yeting Palace for the crimes of "spying on secrets and being disrespectful to superiors".

As for Consort Xie, despite the overwhelming evidence, she stubbornly refused to admit it. The Emperor was truly disappointed and immediately issued an edict demoting her to the rank of Consort Baolin and banishing her to the Cold Palace.

This outcome was entirely expected.

Consort Chun came specifically to inform Meng Shu, and at the end sighed, "Entering a place like the Cold Palace, where one can be trampled and humiliated by others, is worse than dying and ending it all."

Upon hearing this, Meng Shu said calmly, "Girls from scholarly families have probably never truly harmed anyone, so they don't know how to leave themselves a way out when they make a move."

Consort Chun was momentarily stunned. Meng Shu explained, "If only Curcuma zedoaria and Ligusticum chuanxiong are used, without any safflower, it would just be an ordinary medicine comb. Even if it were discovered, at most it would be considered 'improper conduct,' and there would still be room for maneuver. But she insisted on going to extremes, thus cutting off all avenues of retreat."

"To be honest, I've been thinking about this repeatedly these past two days, and something seems amiss. If we trace the events back to the beginning, after Xie fell from power, what happened to Consort Qu, who was in the same palace as her..."