Although a portion of the palace maids in Xihuo Palace were dismissed, a portion remained, all of whom had served Consort Zhen Jiang Xinyue.
Consort Zhen treated people with kindness and never imposed overly strict rules on the maids and servants, able to jest with them as well - she was an excellent mistress.
But this Consort Jiang was overbearing and treated servants like dirt, especially the old servants of Xihuo Palace, tormenting them terribly.
A few maids and eunuchs with connections to the Internal Affairs Department exchanged glances, none of them telling Consort Jiang about Consort Zhen going to the Internal Affairs Department to request items, and getting them.
They wanted to see how ridiculous Consort Jiang would look when she got slapped in the face the next day.
After feeding Concubine Li congee, the Xuanwu Emperor instructed her to rest well.
There was already a pile of memorials awaiting in Chengqian Palace that he had to process swiftly.
After all, she had just woken from a coma, and the Emperor did not wish to stay and make the exhausted Concubine Li expend energy conversing with him.
"Your Ladyship..."
After seeing off the Xuanwu Emperor, Xia He quickly returned to Concubine Li's bedside, reporting their victory: "His Majesty has demoted Consort Zhen Fangyi to Consort Zhen and exiled her to the Palace of Exile."
Concubine Li rose and walked to the bronze mirror, finding the cotton cloth wrapped around her forehead unsightly, and untied it.
The wound on her forehead was not severe at all, merely a small cut that had nearly healed after applying medicine for two days.
The surrounding redness looked frightening, but it was only a superficial injury.
"Your Ladyship!"
Xia He was terrified and quickly re-wrapped Concubine Li's forehead, looking around to ensure no maids were nearby before saying: "Your Ladyship, Imperial physician Xu said that the false wound he made for you would heal at the normal rate, so you cannot remove this bandage for a month, or else His Majesty will find out, and that would be disastrous."
It turned out the horrific wound on her forehead was fake.
Concubine Li gripped her forehead in vexation: "To get rid of that vile woman, I had to mar my face - I will never forgive her so easily."
Her indignant words made Xia He imagine the miserable days awaiting Consort Zhen in the Palace of Exile.
The Jiang Xinyue who would lead a "miserable" life lay on a chaise longue in the sunny grape trellis of the Palace of Exile.
According to the little eunuch Xiao Xuanzi, this grape trellis had been there for a long time and would bear grapes in summer that the surrounding maids and eunuchs knew were sweet, often coming to pick them.
Jiang Xinyue lamented that she had not been exiled earlier, or she could have eaten freshly picked grapes too.
However, back then she had not yet left a deep impression on the Emperor and earned his favor, so if she had been exiled, she might never have been able to leave.
Thinking of this, not eating grapes no longer seemed so regrettable.
The warm autumn sun felt wonderful, and her maid Xi Que was massaging her shoulders - she was so relaxed she could fall asleep.
"Consort Jiang, without an edict from the Empress, you cannot enter."
Consort Jiang had come? She was truly eager to see the joke played on Jiang Xinyue!
Xiao Xuanzi could not stop Consort Jiang, and Jiang Xinyue felt a shadow fall on her, causing her to open her eyes to that hateful face.
She stretched lazily, slowly rising from the chaise longue, limp as a ragdoll, and gave a perfunctory curtsy: "Greetings to Consort Jiang."
Then she sat back down.
Consort Jiang's personal maid Mu Tan glared: "Insolent! You're just a lowly consort, yet you dare rise without our mistress's permission?"
Jiang Xinyue lazily looked up with disdain: "But I am still a consort! When you, a lowly maid, saw me, did you pay your respects?"
Mu Tan fell silent, ashamed, and Jiang Xinyue chuckled: "When you point one finger at me, remember three point back at you. If Consort Jiang wants to flaunt her superiority over a concubine, just say so - no need for excuses."
The spacious Palace of Exile, and Jiang Xinyue occupied the best sunny chambers, the doors open so Consort Jiang could see the furnishings inside - no less lavish than her own quarters.
Consort Jiang stood haughtily: "It seems Consort Zhen is living quite well in the Palace of Exile; I, as the elder sister, worried too much."
She gestured to the maids behind her: "I feared my little sister might not get her favorite horse-hoof cakes here, so I specially instructed the Imperial Kitchen to make some - sister, try them and see if the taste is the same as before?"
What did she mean, "the same as before"? Cakes only had one true flavor. Consort Jiang was just using the cakes to mock her reduced status and imply that in her fallen state, even the Imperial Kitchen no longer put in effort for her, so naturally the taste was inferior to when she was Consort Zhen Fangyi.
Randomly showing up at the Palace of Exile to deliver cakes - the wicked fox was currying favor with the hen. Her intentions were clearly malicious.
"How about it? Sister won't accept my goodwill and won't even try a bite?"
Behind her were two eunuchs rolling up their sleeves in eagerness, as if they would grab Jiang Xinyue's head and force the cakes down her throat if she refused to eat.
That would not be pretty.
Only after watching Jiang Xinyue eat the cakes did Consort Jiang reveal a wicked smile, her mood apparently good as she flounced out of the Palace of Exile with the cake box.
Seeing how appetizing the cakes looked, Xi Que asked her mistress: "Mistress, may this servant have one bite?"
*SLAP!*
Xi Que's outstretched hand was struck as her eyes went wide in shock: "Mistress?"
Jiang Xinyue upended the plate of cakes on the table and closed her eyes.
There were truly many people in this palace seeking her life!
Blood trickled from the corner of her mouth as cramping pain gripped her belly, and beads of sweat formed on her brow. Xi Que screamed in terror: "Mistress! Mistress! Xuan Eunuch, go fetch the Imperial physician, fetch him quickly!"
Jiang Xinyue gripped Xi Que's hand tightly, the agony wracking her body: "No...no Imperial physicians, go...go to the Yikun Palace and find the Empress, quickly!"
She pushed Xi Que away, grimacing as she coughed up another mouthful of blood.
Her mistress must have known the cakes were poisoned, that's why she forbade Xi Que from eating them.
With tears streaming down her face, Xi Que turned and fled from the Palace of Exile. Xiao Xuanzi did not stop her, but instead used Jiang Xinyue's own handkerchief to catch the blood she coughed up, then stuffed the handkerchief into her hand, hoping that whoever came would take pity on Consort Zhen in her pitiful state.
Jiang Xinyue, slumped in the noble chair, had already passed out.
Back in Xihuo Palace, Consort Jiang could not help but laugh at the thought of how the laxative in the horse hoof cake had tormented Jiang Xinyue, leaving her sickly and haggard.
Mu Tan brought her a bowl of warm sheep's milk. "My lady, I have ordered someone to keep watch at the entrance to the Palace of Exile. Soon, the whole palace will know of Consort Zhen's embarrassing diarrhea."
"Hmph!"
Consort Jiang raised her head arrogantly. "If she had not just entered the Palace of Exile, making it inconvenient to take action, I would have rewarded her with Crimson Crest Poison."
