Even if the Xuanwu Emperor had fended off Pei Wu's advances, today was the 15th, and according to palace rules, the Emperor was supposed to visit the Empress's chambers on the 1st and 15th of every month.
Although it wasn't uncommon for the Emperor to break the rules for other concubines, Jiang Xinyue firmly believed that the Empress would not be pleased to see her so triumphant.
It would be difficult for the Emperor to escape tonight.
Nevertheless, she smiled sweetly and went down with Nanny Xiang.
Nanny Li hadn't attended the palace banquet today. She remained in Hexi Palace, watching over the wet nurse, not allowing anyone to approach her or letting her eat anything from outside Hexi Palace.
They didn't know if the Sixth Prince was allergic to fish or shrimp, and he was still so young that the slightest mistake could put him in danger.
Although the wet nurse was reluctant to live such a confined life, the treatment from the Honored Consort was extremely good, and even her family had received favors. Moreover, from the day she was chosen as the Sixth Prince's wet nurse, there was no chance of turning back.
"Nanny Li..." a palace maid came in carrying several sets of clothes. "The Honored Consort had the Imperial Wardrobe make new clothes for us. These are for you and Aunt Cheng."
Aunt Cheng was the Sixth Prince's wet nurse.
Good things had been happening frequently in Hexi Palace lately. The Honored Consort was in a good mood, and the palace maids serving her received many benefits.
Even the Empress's Yikun Palace hadn't yet provided new summer clothes for its servants, but Hexi Palace was already a step ahead.
Everyone in the palace knew how favored the Honored Consort Jiang was, and no one in the Bureau of Palace Affairs dared to say anything.
Aunt Cheng wasn't very old, only in her twenties, and her temperament wasn't very steady yet.
Seeing the beautiful, soft new clothes, she eagerly went forward to examine them closely, then turned back to Nanny Li and said, "The embroidery skills in the palace are really better than those outside. I've never seen such intricate hidden embroidery outside before."
Nanny Li didn't want to restrain her temperament too much, lest it backfire.
After all, once the Sixth Prince was weaned, they wouldn't need a wet nurse anymore.
She also smiled slightly and said, "The palace embroiderers are naturally the best."
"The Honored Consort has returned!"
A palace maid outside gave advance notice, and Aunt Cheng quickly put down the clothes in her hands. Even if she couldn't control her temperament well, she knew that the Honored Consort was her meal ticket and someone she couldn't afford to offend.
Jiang Xinyue directly brought the Sixth Prince to the wet nurse's room. After looking around and finding nothing amiss, she let Nanny Xiang hand the Sixth Prince to the wet nurse.
"Wait!"
In the lamplight, Aunt Cheng's hands reflected tiny fragments of light.
It wasn't something that human skin could naturally emit, only visible under the reflection of candlelight.
"What did you just hold in your hands?"
Just as Nanny Xiang was about to hand the Sixth Prince to Aunt Cheng, Jiang Xinyue grabbed Nanny Xiang's hand, took the Sixth Prince into her own arms, and stepped back.
Aunt Cheng looked at her hands in confusion, not noticing anything wrong.
But Nanny Li, standing to the side, also saw the faint, phosphorescent glow on her hands.
She immediately reacted, pointing to the clothes set aside and said, "In response to the Honored Consort, from the time you left Hexi Palace until now, Nurse Cheng has only touched those clothes over there."
Jiang Xinyue immediately said to Jiang Chuan, "No one is to touch anything. Seal off Hexi Palace and go summon Yan the Imperial Physician."
Jiang Chuan hurriedly complied, while Xiao Xuanzi went to seal the main gate of Hexi Palace.
Aunt Cheng's hands were suspended in the air, her eyes full of fear. "Honored Consort, Honored Consort... Am I... Am I poisoned and going to die?"
Jiang Xinyue handed the Sixth Prince to Nanny Xiang, shielding both of them behind her. "Whether you're poisoned or not can only be determined after Yan the Imperial Physician arrives. For now, stay away from the Sixth Prince."
This attack was aimed at the Sixth Prince, Jiang Xinyue guessed, probably not intended to poison the wet nurse to death.
Aunt Cheng didn't dare get too close to the Sixth Prince either. Although she was greedy, she was extremely timid and also feared implicating her family outside the palace. Even without the Honored Consort saying so, she would have kept her distance.
"Boom—"
"Ah!"
"Protect the Honored Consort and the Sixth Prince!"
Just as Aunt Cheng retreated to one side, the burning candle flame was blown by the wind, and the flickering flame touched her hand. Instantly... a raging fire burst forth, engulfing the wet nurse's entire body in flames within seconds.
"Ahhhhh..."
Piercing screams rang out, and everyone was scared and scattered in all directions. The fire spread so eerily that everyone feared they might catch fire too if they touched it.
"Quickly put out the fire!"
The screams were truly horrific, and Aunt Cheng was still conscious, running towards Jiang Xinyue, seemingly hoping to be saved.
Xi Que and Shuang Jiang protected Jiang Xinyue and Nanny Xiang, retreating quickly.
Xiao Xuanzi had already brought people with buckets of water, rushing over. Seven or eight buckets of water were poured directly onto Aunt Cheng, and only then did the terrifying flames gradually extinguish.
But Aunt Cheng had already been burned beyond recognition, becoming a charred, black skeleton twisting and struggling on the ground.
"Ugh..."
Jiang Xinyue had never seen such a cruel scene before. The smell of burned human flesh in the air made her stomach churn, and she bent over, vomiting acid water.
The Sixth Prince in Nanny Xiang's arms had been frightened into loud crying when Aunt Cheng first screamed, but fortunately, he was no longer present, having been taken back to Jiang Xinyue's chambers by Nanny Xiang earlier.
After the nausea passed, an overwhelming sense of fear enveloped her heart.
Jiang Xinyue didn't dare imagine what would have happened to the Sixth Prince if she had indulged in the admiring gazes of others and stayed at the banquet a bit longer.
He probably would have been burned to charcoal along with Aunt Cheng.
She reminded herself again and again that the palace harem was treacherous and she must never let her guard down, or she would die without a burial place.
Yet she was shocked time and again by the vicious methods of the women in the palace.
What grudge, what hatred could drive them to use such poisonous methods against a month-old infant?
Jiang Xinyue's mind quickly ran through the list of concubines who had grudges against her or had sons of their own...
The Empress was ruled out; although she wasn't a good person, she didn't seem the type to harm children so viciously.
Jiang Yuan was already Consort Gui, and her grudge was with the Empress, so she wouldn't go after the Sixth Prince.
Consort Jin had become a marginal figure in the harem since the Jin family was purged. She herself had no favor, so how could she plot against Jiang Xinyue's child?
There was no need to even mention Consort Zhang; Jiang Xinyue couldn't even remember what she looked like.
In the palace, falling out of favor and being forgotten happened silently and invisibly.
Consort De, Consort Yu, Consort Li...
These three were highly suspicious.
Among the palace consorts, there was also the high-ranking Consort Rong. Although Jiang Xinyue had briefly allied with her to eliminate Consort Shu, she never believed there could be permanent friends in the palace.
Moreover, Consort Rong was the Empress Dowager's niece.
No one could be trusted, everyone was suspect. She would investigate them one by one, and whoever she found to be responsible, she would make them suffer the pain of being burned as well.
