The only thing that was hard to explain was the relationship between Mute Slave and Luyin.
Why was he so agitated when Luyin died?
Consort Wen, holding a snow-white puppy in her arms, played with it for a while and said, "Your Highness, don't worry. I'm keeping an eye on that one in the side hall! That Imperial Physician Hu, I think he's suspicious and doesn't seem like a good person. I've had eunuchs guard the door of the side hall, so even if Consort De wakes up, I won't let her roam freely in Hexi Palace."
How did she drive Consort De to madness?
The day after Jiang Xinyue moved to Chengqian Palace, Consort De "woke up." After all, she had gone to such lengths to move in, and there was important work to be done, so she couldn't just stay in bed forever.
Unexpectedly, as soon as she opened the door, she saw Consort Wen sitting in a large armchair right outside her door. When she saw Consort De come out, she smiled and greeted her, immediately standing up from the chair: "This concubine greets Consort De."
Consort De frowned. Who did this mere Noble Consort think she was, calling her "sister"?
Was Jiang Yuan crazy?
Her disdain was too obvious. Consort Wen chuckled and rolled her eyes: "Consort De, you don't know, do you? The Emperor said that Xihuo Palace keeps having accidents and deaths, and he thinks the place has bad feng shui, so he's decided to rename and rebuild it. My Imperial Noble Consort suggested that I move to Jingren Palace, so the Emperor granted me the title of Consort Wen!"
Though not one of the Four Consorts, she had been given the character "Wen," which elevated her status above ordinary consorts.
Why couldn't she call Consort De "sister"?
Her smug, self-satisfied expression made Consort De feel utterly speechless.
She tried to walk around this obstacle and head elsewhere.
"How dare you!"
Consort De's maid, who was supporting her, was shoved hard, and then Consort Wen's loud voice rang out: "You despicable servants! Consort De is still recovering from her injuries, yet you don't stop her and let her get out of bed the day after being stabbed? And not just a few steps inside the room, but insisting on going out! What are you plotting?"
The maid was almost knocked down by Consort Wen's push. If she hadn't quickly grabbed the doorframe, she would have fallen hard.
Consort De lost her support and, as the maid fell, was pulled by her wrist, causing the wound on her abdomen to ache fiercely, turning her face pale.
But she couldn't show it. She relaxed her tightly furrowed brow: "What are you doing, Consort Wen? Do you dare to hit my maid?"
Consort Wen, as if unaware of her anger, acted as if she were genuinely concerned: "Your Highness, you're just too kind and gentle, which is why these servants take advantage of you. You've just been stabbed; how can you get out of bed? Mu Tan, quickly help Consort De back to bed."
Without waiting for Consort De's consent, Mu Tan and a few other maids stepped forward to support her and carried her back to the room, pressing her back onto the bed and carefully covering her with a blanket before leaving.
For the next few days, every time Consort De tried to leave her room, Consort Wen would interfere and disrupt her plans.
This restricted Consort De's movements to just the room in the side hall.
Even at night, when she tried to sneak out while Consort Wen was asleep, she hadn't taken ten steps before Consort Wen would stick her head out the window: "Consort De, this is Hexi Palace. You shouldn't wander around. It's kind of the Imperial Noble Consort to let you stay here, so you should be considerate, right? The Imperial Noble Consort has many valuable things here. If you keep sneaking around like a thief at night, I'll have to report it to the Imperial Noble Consort to see if anything is missing."
Jiang Xinyue, listening to Noble Consort Ye's words, laughed until her stomach hurt.
Consort De meeting Consort Wen was like a scholar encountering a soldier—there was no reasoning with her.
Noble Consort Ye also laughed: "She can already walk, yet that Imperial Physician Hu still says she shouldn't be moved. Who is he fooling?"
"She went to such lengths to move in; of course, she doesn't want to leave easily," Jiang Xinyue replied.
Low Level Consort Yu pouted: "I used to think Consort De was a good person. The Empress and I trusted her so much. I never expected she would be…"
Thinking of the a dozen or so corpses found in Yanqing Palace, Low Level Consort Yu felt a chill run down her spine.
She considered herself no saint, but compared to Consort De, she was practically the Bodhisattva Guanyin.
Mute Slave was just a servant, appearing simple and honest. Once, when she and Consort De were close, the eldest princess had fallen in the lotus garden and scraped her hand. It was Mute Slave who had cleaned the wound with water and applied medicine.
She simply couldn't understand why Mute Slave would help Consort De dispose of corpses.
Was there some unavoidable hardship?
Jiang Xinyue thought: If you knew that Consort De had killed the two princes of the previous Empress, you'd probably grab a knife and go avenge the previous Empress.
Low Level Consort Yu had been protected by the Empress for most of her life. Although she occasionally played small tricks, they were always seen through. She seemed shrewd but was actually the most naive.
Of course, naive people were also foolish, and foolish people's schemes were straightforward. She couldn't be called a good person.
But there were no truly good people in this palace—everyone was a villain.
If Consort De had killed the Empress's two princes, Low Level Consort Yu would undoubtedly want to avenge them.
But this woman couldn't keep a secret, so Jiang Xinyue wouldn't tell her.
Consort De had committed so many unforgivable crimes that when they all came to light at once, even the greatest deity couldn't save her.
Noble Consort Ye and Low Level Consort Yu wandered around Chengqian Palace, looking up and down, touching this and knocking on that, finding it quite interesting: "With Consort Wen guarding Consort De, she can't come over, which lets me and Low Level Consort Yu see the Emperor's sleeping quarters for the first time. What a sight!"
Where they lived was nothing compared to even the front hall of the Emperor's sleeping chamber.
Low Level Consort Yu sat at a small table, enjoying the chilled purple jade grapes, her eyes narrowing in delight.
Trying to understand the Imperial Noble Consort, she realized how knowledgeable she was. No wonder the Emperor was so fond of her. If things continued like this, her life would be too comfortable.
It was just her father's situation… Sigh…
Jiang Yanxi had already taken office as the Governor of Guangdong and Guangxi. According to the letter from Ming Yu, her father was trying to pave the way for the new Governor before his downfall. Jiang Yanxi, upon arriving in Guangdong and Guangxi, didn't force her father out of the Governor's mansion but had his guards bring him into the carriage and escort him to the capital to confess his crimes.
This had given her father enough face.
Jiang Yanxi also benefited, as her father pointed out the honest officials who had been suppressed before, ensuring that Jiang Yanxi wouldn't be left without capable people after all the corrupt officials were removed.
Whether her father could survive depended on the evidence Concubine Cheng's father had handed over to the Emperor. If it was substantial and angered the Emperor, her father's fate would be sealed.
Sigh…
Her own life had been saved by the Imperial Noble Consort, so she really couldn't bring herself to ask for more.
"Giddy-up, giddy-up, giddy-up..."
A swift horse galloped into the imperial city: "Urgent military affairs, make way for me!"
