The one being scolded was Consort Xiao from a side hall of Shunan Palace. Previously, she was an unnoticeable nobody, but after Consort Yu received the Empress's golden seal, she suddenly started to make herself known.
Consort Yu was the main occupant of Shunan Palace, and Consort Xiao's actions were merely to curry favor with her mistress.
It seemed that someone else was dissatisfied with Lady Xian!
"All of you, be quiet!"
Consort Yu knelt in front of everyone and turned back to reprimand them: "Are you all tired of living, making such a commotion in front of the Empress's coffin?"
Though she was addressing two people, her eyes were fixed solely on Consort Jiang, as if warning her alone.
"The Emperor arrives—"
The concubines, who had been kneeling neatly in front of the mourning hall, automatically parted into two sides to make way for the Emperor.
Consort Yu looked up and saw Jiang Xinyue following behind the Emperor, which made her seethe with anger.
Logically, she and Jiang Xinyue—one holding the phoenix seal and the other the golden seal—should both be able to handle palace affairs.
However, while she could make decisions on trivial matters in the palace, anything of significance required the phoenix seal's stamp. She felt like she had become Jiang Xinyue's managing maid, solely responsible for doing her odd jobs.
Even for the Empress's funeral arrangements, when Jiang Xinyue didn't want to preside over them, she could have handed the task to her. She would have been more than happy to use this opportunity to show everyone who truly cared about the Empress and was suitable to be her successor.
But Jiang Xinyue had said: "Consort Yu's rank is too low; she doesn't seem qualified to preside over the Empress's funeral rites."
With that, the Emperor had entrusted the matter to the Internal Affairs Department, arranging for a respected elder from the royal clan to oversee it.
That vixen Jiang Xinyue had not only caused the Empress's death but also couldn't bear to see her do well. The Emperor's eyes had been completely blinded by that enchantress.
Now that Jiang Xinyue had arrived, the prime position where Consort Yu had been kneeling should be given to her. After all, she was the head of the four consorts, the rightful Lady Xian!
No matter how unwilling Consort Yu was, she had to quickly retreat to the back when Jiang Xinyue looked over.
Jiang Xinyue didn't even spare her an extra glance. She lifted her skirts and knelt properly in the first position.
The atmosphere in the mourning hall was solemn. Not long after, the Empress Dowager also arrived.
She and the Emperor stood on the left and right, clearly divided, not even willing to maintain the facade of a loving mother and filial son.
After the concubines paid their respects, there were still officials who hadn't finished paying their respects in the past few days who needed to come to the mourning hall to offer incense. The concubines then retreated to rest.
Before leaving, Jiang Xinyue glanced at the Empress Dowager and the Emperor, intuitively feeling that something must have happened between them.
The Empress Dowager's eyes frequently looked towards the Emperor, seemingly wanting to reconcile, but the Emperor didn't even give her a sideways glance.
When the Empress Dowager's resentful gaze turned towards her, Jiang Xinyue skillfully seized the moment, lowering her eyes, pretending not to notice the estrangement between mother and son.
Among this group of women, the Empress Dowager was the most noble, yet Jiang Xinyue subtly held the highest respect.
The concubines present had all been in the palace for no less than two years. They knew a little of what they should and shouldn't know.
The discord between the Empress Dowager and the Emperor had long been an open secret in the back palace.
The rear hall of Taihe Hall had already been prepared, with pastries, fruits, and tea set out for the noble masters to enjoy.
The nearby Longjing tea emitted a faint fragrance, and several concubines, as well as the Empress Dowager, had taken a few sips to quench their thirst.
Jiang Xinyue stared at the white smoke drifting from the qilin incense burner, showing no intention of drinking tea.
The Empress Dowager suddenly lashed out: "Someone come, go and chop off the hands of the palace maid who brewed tea for Lady Xian. Useless thing, can't even do a small task like brewing tea properly. If the tea doesn't suit Lady Xian's taste, what use is she?"
"Thud!"
The little palace maid standing behind Jiang Xinyue trembled all over, her body falling to her knees on the ground, pleading in terror: "Empress Dowager, please spare my life!"
The old maid beside the Empress Dowager immediately moved to grab the little palace maid. Jiang Xinyue knew this was directed at her, but she didn't immediately plead for the little palace maid. Instead, she looked towards Pei Wu standing behind the Empress Dowager.
The young woman dressed in simple and elegant attire pointed at the teacup, then at the incense burner, and shook her head.
Jiang Xinyue immediately understood. The tea was fine when drunk alone, and the incense in the burner was fine when smelled alone, but when the two were mixed together, problems would arise.
And the ones closest to the incense burner were Consort Yu and Consort Xiao from her palace.
"Stop!"
"Bang!"
Just as several old maids were dragging the little palace maid in front of Consort Yu, Jiang Xinyue heavily smashed her teacup against the incense burner.
The teacup shattered, accompanied by the startled cries of the surrounding concubines. The tea in the cup mixed with the fragrance from the incense burner, emitting a faint, strong tea scent.
Consort Jiang sniffed, feeling the smell was a bit strange, and covered her nose, stepping back.
Consort Yu, however, let out a startled cry. Instead of retreating, she took a few steps closer to the incense burner, pulling at her skirts and loudly questioning: "Lady Xian, you were already late to the Empress's funeral, and now you're causing a commotion in her mourning hall. Aren't you taking the Empress too lightly? Someone like you... uh... uh..."
Consort Yu's eyes grew wider and wider, pointing at Jiang Xinyue in horror: "You..."
She tried hard to speak, but her throat couldn't produce a complete sentence. Her face turned completely red from the effort, blue veins bulging, her expression terrifyingly distorted.
"Slap!"
"Crash!"
Following this, several other concubines near the incense burner began showing varying degrees of dizziness, headaches, and inability to speak.
Jiang Xinyue's action caught everyone off guard. Even the Empress Dowager hadn't expected her to suddenly become angry. She covered her nose and retreated in fright.
Consort Jiang quickly walked to Jiang Xinyue's side, pulling her back as well: "This is Western Region's bewildering incense. It can drive people mad."
Consort Yu grabbed a vase and hurled it at Jiang Xinyue.
Jiang Xinyue, with the Empress Dowager behind her, grabbed Consort Jiang and fell to the side. The vase shattered with a "crash" at the Empress Dowager's feet, its sharp fragments cutting her cheek. She cried out in pain: "Someone come! Are you all dead? Quickly seize them for this Dowager, they've gone mad!"
At the front, the Xuanwu Emperor was also feeling tired and was preparing to return to Qianqing Palace to rest. Just as he stood up, a small eunuch came running in a panic, whispering something in Wang Dequan's ear.
Wang Dequan's mouth opened in shock, and he quickly stepped up to the Emperor, whispering a few words in his ear.
The Emperor suddenly stood up with a "Huo!" and headed towards the rear hall.
The remaining ministers looked at each other in bewilderment, all wondering in their hearts if something major had happened in the back palace again.
The rear hall of Taihe Hall was in complete disarray. Consort Yu, Consort Xiao, and the other poisoned concubines had all regained consciousness under the imperial physicians' treatment.
Only Consort Yu, whose anger had allowed the poison to penetrate deeper, still had some lingering symptoms of vomiting.
She pointed at Jiang Xinyue: "Your Majesty, it must be Lady Xian. She poisoned us. Please, Your Majesty, you must punish her severely."
