That year, Hexi Palace was far from peaceful.
As the colorful snake opened its bloody maw to bite the magpie, little Xuanzi bravely rushed over, striking the snake's sharp fangs with a stick.
Jiang Chuan had just received new kitchen knives from the Internal Affairs Department and was heading to the small kitchen when he heard the folding screen fall. Without even putting down the knife, he hurried inside.
At this moment, he and little Xuanzi worked in perfect coordination. With a swift chop, taking advantage of the snake's dazed state after being hit, he severed its head.
Xi Que had just breathed a sigh of relief when she felt another cold touch in her hand. Without thinking, she quickly scrambled up from the ground, pulling Jiang Xinyue and Shuang Jiang as she ran outside.
As she ran, she shouted, "There's another snake! Another snake! There's a snake under the Mistress's bed!"
Nanny Li and Nanny Xiang remained relatively calm, reassuring them, "Don't be afraid, it won't bite the Mistress. Mistress, don't run around, just stay in this open courtyard. You all come and protect the Mistress."
The guards, being men, couldn't easily approach Jiang Xinyue. Nanny Li simply pointed to a few eunuchs who had some martial skills and had them surround her in the middle, instructing, "Keep an eye on the ground for any more snakes!"
Hexi Palace was assigned six guards, all of whom the Xuanwu Emperor had transferred from his personal guard to protect Jiang Xinyue, and they now proved their worth.
Nanny Xiang ran to the storeroom and dug out a box of realgar powder, sprinkling it in a circle around Jiang Xinyue to keep snakes, insects, and rodents away from her.
The snakes that had crawled out from under the bed were quickly dispatched by the six guards. Still not satisfied, they used lanterns to thoroughly inspect under the bed for a long time.
Only after confirming that there were truly no more snakes did the guards come out to report.
In fact, Jiang Xinyue hadn't even seen what the snake looked like before Shuang Jiang had pulled her out.
None of the palace servants were idle; they were all very capable, which greatly increased her safety when faced with danger.
"What should we do? We certainly can't sleep in there now," Xi Que said, still patting her chest in shock. "Mistress, should I... should I go find the Emperor?"
"No, we can't," Jiang Xinyue shook her head. "We've just shown goodwill to the Empress, and if you turn around and call the Emperor from Yikun Palace to Hexi Palace, wouldn't that be a slap in the Empress's face? Would she let me off?"
"But..." Xi Que sighed. "Where will you sleep then, Mistress?"
"Clean up the side hall. Tonight, you'll all rest with me in the side hall."
Hexi Palace had been awarded by the Emperor for Jiang Xinyue to live in alone. Initially, there were no plans for anyone else to live there, and later when he developed feelings for her, it became even less likely for other concubines to stay. So, the side hall had always been empty.
Usually, only palace maids occasionally cleaned it, so it certainly wasn't suitable for Concubine Zhen to stay in as it was.
The bedding and bed curtains all needed to be replaced with new ones.
"Clunk!"
As Shuang Jiang picked up the cotton quilt in the side hall, a small box fell to the ground.
"What's this?" Xi Que curiously picked it up and opened the lid of the small wooden box. Inside were two small cloth dolls, one male and one female. Judging by their attire, they seemed to represent the Emperor and Empress.
The key point was that several long steel needles were stuck into these two small cloth dolls.
Her wide-eyed, speechless expression alerted Shuang Jiang that something was amiss.
Just then, Jiang Xinyue entered, "Is it ready? I..."
Shuang Jiang dropped the quilt in her hands and, while Nanny Li and Nanny Xiang were still outside, snatched the box and stuffed it into Jiang Xinyue's hands. "Mistress, witchcraft..."
Jiang Xinyue looked down briefly, her fingers immediately tightening around the box. As Nanny Li entered, she hid the box in her wide sleeve.
She yawned, and Shuang Jiang, along with Xi Que, quickly made the bed. "The Mistress must be exhausted. Let's not stand on ceremony tonight. Mistress, please rest!"
Nanny Li and Nanny Xiang inspected everything once more, and only after ensuring there were no oversights did they bow and withdraw.
As soon as they left, Jiang Xinyue put on her outer robe and sat on the bed, cradling her belly. "Go to the Imperial Wardrobe and summon Fang Dianyi."
"Yes, Mistress!"
Someone was using witchcraft to frame her. If the mastermind behind this were to report it, even if she pleaded innocence, her life would be over.
During the previous Emperor's reign, there was a concubine who, jealous of the relationship between the Empress Dowager and the Emperor, wrote the Empress Dowager's birth date on a doll and stuck needles in it. When a palace maid discovered this, fearing she would be implicated if the matter came to light, she went to report it to the previous Emperor.
The previous Emperor, without even investigating, immediately had the concubine executed. Moreover, the concubine's family was implicated and hasn't recovered to this day.
Later, the previous Emperor issued a decree expressing his deep hatred for witchcraft. From then on in the Great Yan Dynasty, anyone found practicing such evil acts in the palace would be executed immediately, regardless of the reason.
Even if the current Emperor didn't want to kill her, the court officials and common people would force her to die.
Jiang Xinyue clutched the wooden box tightly. She valued her life greatly, and this time, the person behind this had truly crossed her bottom line.
Many people wanted her dead, but she was still alive and well, and it wasn't just due to luck.
However, this time it was indeed good fortune.
Someone had tried to use poisonous snakes to take both her life and that of her unborn child, but accidentally allowed her to uncover another person's plot against her life.
Her eyes gleamed with a sharp light. Since she had escaped death, those who tried to harm her were in for big trouble.
There were quite a few people in the palace who wanted her dead. This was the price of being favored, wasn't it?
"Emperor! Emperor..."
"Who's making such a racket outside?"
In Yikun Palace, the Emperor was staying up late with the Empress for New Year's Eve. The Fifth Prince, almost a year old, was hiding in Empress Zhu's arms, playing peekaboo with the Emperor.
His eyes were already too tired to stay open, but he refused to go to sleep, insisting on staying up with his father and mother for the New Year.
Those shrill cries startled him. Empress Zhu patted his back, frowning in displeasure, "Knowing the Emperor is here, yet still shouting so loudly. Where have all the rules gone?"
Outside, a young eunuch hurriedly entered and knelt on the ground. "Your Majesty, Your Highness, it's a servant from Consort Liang's palace. They say... they say an unidentified female corpse has appeared in Shunan Palace. The eldest princess is shocked, crying and vomiting nonstop. The imperial physician went but was of no use, so they had to come and ask Your Majesty and Your Highness to go and see."
"An unidentified female corpse?"
The occurrence of such an event on New Year's Eve made the Xuanwu Emperor feel extremely inauspicious. He was very displeased and said, "Are the Investigative Bureau and the Internal Affairs Department all useless?"
What about the patrolling guards? Hadn't they noticed anything unusual?
And where were the servants of Shunan Palace? Were they all dead?
Empress Zhu handed the Fifth Prince to the wet nurse to be taken away, and asked in a low voice, "Where's Fen Yun?"
"Fen Yun seems to have eaten something wrong earlier in the evening and has been suffering from stomach pain. Eunuch Wang brought an imperial physician some time ago. She should have taken medicine and gone to sleep by now."
No wonder.
If Fen Yun had been guarding the door tonight, she wouldn't have let the servants from Shunan Palace come in shouting.
It's just a dead palace maid, isn't it?
The lives of palace maids were cheap. With thousands of palace maids in the palace, it wasn't unusual for a few to die each day.
Couldn't they have waited until after the eighth day of the New Year to report this?
Why did they have to upset the Emperor at this time?
