Consort Shu's pregnancy was only three months along, with seven months still to go before her visit to Dazhaosi Temple. Who knew what could happen in the meantime?
Perhaps fearing that time would bring unexpected changes, Concubine Li moved Consort Rong out of Changxin Palace and had her move into Jingren Palace. She then relocated Consort Shu, who had been comfortably living in Jingren Palace, to her Changxin Palace, under the pretext of "taking care of the child in Consort Shu's womb."
After all, this child would call her "Mother Consort" after birth.
This arrangement also eliminated the possibility of the Xuanwu Emperor summoning Consort Shu to comfort her.
In Jingren Palace—
Consort Rong's delicate hand brushed over the simple yet grand decorations in the hall, a smile appearing at the corner of her mouth.
The palace maid Lianqiao knelt at the bottom of the great hall: "Congratulations, my lady, on escaping Concubine Li's control. After so many years, you've finally seen the end of your suffering."
"What do you mean by the end of suffering? This is what I rightfully deserve. I'm merely reclaiming what belongs to me."
What use were blood sisters?
When she first entered the palace, Concubine Li had arranged for her to be tormented in Changxin Palace. She had begged Consort Shu hundreds of times to speak with the Empress Dowager about moving her to Jingren Palace.
How did Consort Shu respond?
She said: "Yaoyao, the Emperor already feels estranged from our aunt because of our father and brother. The influence of the Pei and Song families at court is so great that even the Emperor must tread carefully. We were sent to the palace relying on that insignificant childhood friendship with the Emperor. Having a place to stay is already fortunate enough. If you ask our aunt to offend the Pei and Song families for our sake now, wouldn't that push the Emperor and our aunt further apart?"
At the time, she didn't find anything wrong with Consort Shu's use of "we." She thought that as sisters, they should stand together and help each other.
Later, she realized there was no "we." It was always only her who suffered and endured hardships. The Emperor wouldn't let Consort Shu experience even the slightest discomfort.
Though they were sisters, Consort Shu held the rank of Consort, while she was merely a Concubine. Consort Shu could live alone in the main hall of Jingren Palace, while she had to squeeze into Concubine Li's Changxin Palace, suffering her abuse and bullying.
Consort Shu could enjoy the Emperor's favor, while she had to scheme and struggle under Concubine Li's thumb just for a bit of attention.
Clearly... with just one word, Consort Shu could have asked the Emperor to arrange for her to move to Jingren Palace, but she was unwilling.
When Consort Shu needed to use her, she showed no hesitation or softness of heart.
Consort Shu repeatedly told her not to trouble the Empress Dowager, but every time Consort Shu was in difficulty, didn't the Empress Dowager always step forward to protect her firmly?
The Empress Dowager... she always listened to Consort Shu and only had Consort Shu in her heart. So why should she continue to place hope in those two?
Concubine Zhen truly surprised her!
Late at night—
The Emperor brought a lamp to Changxin Palace, but not to see Consort Shu. Instead, he went to the main hall to visit Concubine Li.
The lights in Hexi Palace flickered. When Empress Zhu entered carrying the Fifth Prince, Jiang Xinyue was sewing a pair of tiger-head shoes.
Though the embroidery wasn't particularly beautiful, the stitches were dense, and the chubby pattern was interestingly cute, clearly made with care.
"Why are you still embroidering so late? Be careful not to strain your eyes."
"Empress?"
Jiang Xinyue quickly put down the half-finished little shoes and rose to curtsy: "This humble consort pays respects to the Empress..."
Empress Zhu freed one hand to help her up: "There's no need for such formalities between us."
It's only because you need something from me that you're waiving the formalities!
Otherwise, Empress Zhu was known to be the person who cared most about such ceremonial etiquette.
Jiang Xinyue smiled and instructed Xi Que and Shuang Jiang to serve tea. She then reached out to play with the still-awake Fifth Prince: "When I first saw this little one, he was all wrinkled and not very pretty. But in such a short time, he's grown so adorable. It's clear that the Empress has been taking excellent care of the Fifth Prince."
Empress Zhu loved hearing praise about how well she treated her adopted son. Smiling, she handed the Fifth Prince to her: "He sleeps most of the day. The imperial physician says that such a small child should sleep a lot to grow well. I don't know if it's true, but I don't dare wake him even to feed him."
Jiang Xinyue, never having raised a child, seemed unsure how to respond. In reality, she deliberately didn't reply, hoping Empress Zhu would skip the small talk and get to the point.
She was expecting another group of visitors soon!
Empress Zhu, perhaps realizing that Jiang Xinyue was young and uninterested in child-rearing advice, had the wet nurse take the Fifth Prince away. After dismissing everyone else, she said: "Do you know that they've found the guard who held your foot underwater on the day you fell in?"
Jiang Xinyue nodded: "I heard the Emperor mention it briefly, but weren't there two? The Emperor asked me to identify them tomorrow!"
"Yes..."
Empress Zhu paused for a moment, studying her expression before continuing: "To be frank, one of them is my brother. He had returned to our ancestral home recently and, coincidentally, couldn't make it back in time for the Emperor's martial arts competition. He rushed back as soon as he received the summons, but was intercepted on the way and stabbed in the left chest with a golden hairpin. I suspect someone is trying to muddy the waters and pin the blame for the attempt on your life on me. Concubine Zhen, will you believe that I have absolutely no intention of harming you?"
You mean you have no intention for now, right?
Back when she was in the Cold Palace, wasn't it Empress Zhu who replaced the laxative Jiang Yuan had put in the pastries with arsenic?
Afterwards, she even started a big fire that killed two palace maids in Xihuo Palace.
If she hadn't guessed wrong, those two palace maids were the ones who had helped Empress Zhu switch the laxative.
Did she dare to speak so boldly because she thought there were no witnesses left alive?
Jiang Xinyue, feigning ignorance, responded anxiously: "How can the Empress say such things? Since this humble consort entered the palace, I've always remembered your care and kindness. How could you possibly want to harm me? To think that you've come personally to explain this small matter—it's truly my fault for causing you such trouble."
Empress Zhu felt half of the weight lift from her heart: "Do you know who the other person is?"
Tonight, Empress Zhu seemed to be speaking less directly than usual. Jiang Xinyue shook her head: "The Emperor didn't say, and this humble consort doesn't know."
"It's Consort Jin's brother."
Consort Jin? What does she have to do with this?
Jiang Xinyue had originally thought that the other injured person would be either Consort De's brother or one of Concubine Li's cousins!
Could it be that Concubine Li had only schemed against Empress Zhu's people, and Empress Zhu hadn't retaliated?
The confusion on her face was too obvious. Empress Zhu leaned close to her ear and whispered, "Consort Jin's father was once a subordinate to Consort Shu's father. Later, he reported the Wu family's misdeeds, which led to his promotion, taking over the Wu family's position. However, Consort Jin's brother seems to have been romantically involved with Consort Shu in the past."
This was all gossip circulated privately before Consort Shu entered the palace. No one could say for certain whether it was true or false.
Empress Zhu didn't need to verify the truth of it. The ambiguity was perfect—this way, both the Emperor and Concubine Zhen would believe it.
Consort Jin was aligned with Concubine Li, so it would be ideal to implicate Concubine Li as well.
The Empress Dowager would surely not miss this opportunity for revenge either.
