Ru Naren and Concubine He came to the outside of Tong's room together. They peered inside and saw that it was pitch dark with no lights on. Ru Naren first knocked hard on the door several times, but there was no response.
Concubine He said, "Isn't it still before the hour of Hai? How could she be resting already?"
"I'm a concubine and she's an imperial concubine. I'm going to make her get up, she can't be sleeping!" Ru Naren was really arrogant.
The imperial decree conferring her title had not even come down yet, but she was already referring to herself as "I, the concubine". After saying this, she pushed the door open even harder and barged in with Concubine He.
Once inside, they looked around, but surprisingly did not see Tong or any of her servants.
"Strange, where did she and her people go in the middle of the night?"
As the two of them were puzzled, they suddenly caught a glimpse of a palace maid not far away, sneaking around while looking back apprehensively as she walked toward the palace gate.
Ru Naren took a close look. Although she could only see the back, the palace maid was walking with a limp, and her height and figure were quite similar to Tong's. Ru Naren whispered to Concubine He,
"Doesn't that palace maid look a lot like Tong?"
The two hid behind a pillar in the corridor to peek. Concubine He also said, "It's not just looking alike, in the entire Crimson Snow Pavilion there's only her who limps. If it's not her, who else could it be?"
"Good! The emperor ordered that the new beauty was not to leave the Crimson Snow Pavilion tonight. Where does she think she's going in disguise?"
Ru Naren flicked her sleeve about to catch up, but Concubine He stopped her,
"Sister, don't go. Let's see what she's up to."
The two stealthily followed behind Tong. To their surprise, they truly saw her sneak out of the Crimson Snow Pavilion when no one else was around.
"How dare she! She really dared to go out?"
Ru Naren was impulsive. She wanted to chase her again, but Concubine He quickly said,
"Sister, aren't you confused? The new beauty is not allowed to leave the palace today. If you go after her, won't you be punished together with her?"
Ru Naren was startled. "Then what should we do? Just let her act recklessly?"
Concubine He had a clever look and chuckled, "Sister, don't worry. She's bringing this on herself and giving you a good opportunity."
Seeing Ru Naren's puzzled look, Concubine He slowly explained,
"The new beauty is praying and purifying herself tonight, so there's a curfew in the Crimson Snow Pavilion. The eunuch on duty clearly said that none of the masters can go out, but Tong disguised herself as a palace maid and sneaked out. Isn't this a perfect chance for you to get rid of her?"
She moved closer to Ru Naren and lowered her voice even more,
"Moreover, Tong's father is the Navy Commander. I guess you wouldn't know since you were in Mongolia, but he has always been at odds with Consort Chen's father, the Viceroy of Sichuan and Shaanxi. If you tell Consort Chen about this, wouldn't you be giving her a favor?"
Ru Naren carefully considered it and felt that what Concubine He said made some sense.
Although she has obtained the concubine title, she had offended Consort Chen on her very first day in the palace, so the road ahead will surely not be easy.
If she curries favor with Consort Chen this time, then she can not only get rid of Tong, but also get on Consort Chen's good side to show goodwill. This win-win situation, why not do it?
However, she was only happy for a moment before having doubts again,
"But as you said, there's a curfew now. How can I notify Consort Chen about this?"
Concubine He said, "The curfew only applies to the masters, it doesn't say the servants can't go out. Sister, have your personal maid go find Consort Chen to tell her about this and ask her to come over now. It would be perfect to catch Tong red-handed, wouldn't it?"
Ru Naren thought about it briefly and suddenly laughed, "That's not a bad idea! We'll just stand guard at the door. Even if Tong wants to come back later, we won't let her in!"
After saying this, she called over her personal maid Saiji and began to instruct her.
And what about Concubine He?
She watched from the side, praising Ru Naren's intelligence while secretly ridiculing her in her heart.
After Saiji left to find Consort Chen, Ru Naren and Concubine He stood guard at the palace gate to prevent Tong from suddenly coming back.
Fortunately, Consort Chen arrived very quickly.
Ru Naren immediately went up to greet her, "Consort Chen! That shrew still hasn't returned!"
Consort Chen first yawned wearily, then impatiently rolled her eyes at her and said,
"Now that you've entered the palace, speak properly!"
Ru Naren ate her words and quickly said in a low voice, "I mean...she hasn't come back yet."
She led Consort Chen to Tong’s room. The result was, as soon as they entered, Ru Naren was dumbfounded!
Everyone could clearly see that at this moment Tong was lying quietly on the couch, fast asleep.
Ru Naren’s expression changed drastically. “How...how is this possible?”
She yelled noisily and woke Tong up.
"What's going on?" Tong rubbed her sleepy eyes, opened them, and saw a crowd of people surrounding her room, even Consort Chen was among them.
She immediately got out of bed, paid her respects to Consort Chen with utmost courtesy,
"Ten thousand blessings to Consort Chen. Why have you come so late into the night?"
Consort Chen ignored her and cast her sharp eyes on Ru Naren instead,
"Didn't you say she went out?"
Ru Naren stammered, "This...it's impossible! How could this be?"
She elbowed Concubine He, but Concubine He just kept silent with her head down like a wooden chicken.
Later, when Consort Chen sent people to investigate, Cai Ying was resting in the side room.
When she came out, she said to Consort Chen, "Replying to Consort Chen, after my young lady finished praying, she went to young master Kang's room to talk, then returned to rest."
"Tonight there is a curfew in the Crimson Snow Pavilion. Who would dare to secretly go out and violate the major taboo?"
The commotion grew bigger and all the beauties living in the Crimson Snow Pavilion rushed over, not just themselves but also the maids who were serving them.
Ru Naren anxiously looked around at everyone present.
Whether it was the masters or the servants living in the Crimson Snow Pavilion tonight, not a single one was missing!
But she clearly saw a limping palace maid sneak out of the Crimson Snow Pavilion!
Moreover, she and Concubine He had been standing guard at the door, firmly believing that the person who went out would not have come back...
"How...how could this be? I clearly saw it! Consort Chen, you have to believe me!"
"It looks to me like you’re too full and have nothing to do, so you want to stir up some drama to feel at ease!" Consort Chen scolded angrily, frightening Ru Naren so much her knees turned soft.
She knelt on the ground, murmuring hesitantly, "Or perhaps...I saw wrongly?"
"You saw wrongly?" Consort Chen looked at her with narrowed eyes and said,
"Tonight is when the new beauty prays, purifies herself and observes the curfew. Not only did you make such a big fuss and disturb my sleep, you even damaged the royal luck! What now? Do you think you can get away with it by simply saying you saw wrongly?"
Ru Naren kowtowed repeatedly to Consort Chen, pleading again and again, "Consort Chen, please forgive my crime! I really didn't know about it, I didn't mean to..."
"Insolence!" Liu Yue, who stood beside Consort Chen, sternly said,
"On the night when the new beauty prays and purifies herself, the entire Crimson Snow Pavilion is under curfew. None of the new masters and servants who live inside can go out! And you still dare to quibble in front of Consort Chen?"
Everyone in the palace knew about this old custom stated by Liu Yue.
Perhaps only Ru Naren, as a Mongolian woman, was ignorant about it. She believed whatever Concubine He told her.
Only then did Ru Naren realize that she had caused great trouble.
She kept kowtowing to Consort Chen, repeatedly pleading, "Consort Chen, please forgive my crime! I really didn't know..."
"Hmph." Consort Chen stroked her hair and sneered,
"I'm a concubine? One has to be conferred as a palace mistress before one can refer to themselves as 'I, the concubine'. You damaged the royal luck and made such a huge mistake. Do you still naively think you can be conferred as one of the six concubines?"
"Kang Yubin, go report this to His Majesty immediately and let him know exactly what ‘good things’ this Mongolian noble lady has done tonight!"
