When Song Zhao returned to her chambers, Cheng Yu was peacefully asleep, showing no signs of crying or fussing.
She spent some time with the child, and about half an hour later, Xiao Fuzi returned from his errand outside. Song Zhao then went to the main hall to hear his report.
Xiao Fuzi said, "Reporting to Your Majesty, I followed Consort Yao the whole way, and she did indeed go to Lady Wei's place."
Song Zhao sneered, "That's to be expected. Without any backing, she must find a way to curry favor with Consort Hui, who is currently in power. Did you overhear their conversation?"
Xiao Fuzi nodded and replied, "Once we're out of the palace, even the largest estates are not as heavily guarded as within the palace. I eavesdropped on a few sentences by hugging the wall. Lady Wei told Consort Yao that Consort Hui's favorite snack is almond cookies."
"Almond cookies?" Song Zhao pondered for a moment, then motioned for Xiao Fuzi to come closer.
"Come here, there's something I want you to do for me."
*
The next day, after accompanying the Empress Dowager to offer prayers at the temple, Song Zhao took the opportunity to visit Consort Hui's palace. She wanted to express her gratitude for the valuable gifts she had received and also because Consort Hui had expressed her desire to chat with Song Zhao and alleviate her boredom.
As they were discussing the beautiful scenery of Suzhou and engaging in casual conversation, a servant announced that Consort Yao had arrived.
Consort Hui quickly called for someone to bring Consort Yao in.
Consort Yao entered the room carrying a food box in her hand. Upon seeing Song Zhao, her eyes flickered briefly, clearly showing some uneasiness.
However, Song Zhao didn't make things difficult for her. Instead, she smiled and said, "Consort Yao, you've come too? What a coincidence."
Consort Hui approached and linked arms with Consort Yao, smiling as she said, "Dai sister just arrived! I was just telling Song sister that I wanted to invite you both to go sightseeing at the lake tomorrow."
Consort Yao sat down somewhat awkwardly across from Song Zhao, placing the food box behind her and intentionally hiding it.
But Consort Hui, with keen eyes, had already noticed it. She leaned over Consort Yao's shoulder and picked up the food box, asking, "What's this? Did sister bring me some delicious treats?"
Consort Yao forced a smile and said, "I was thinking of returning the favor for the gift sister gave me. I thought that since sister already has all the precious jewelry and fine things she needs, I... I personally made some pastries to bring to sister."
As she spoke, she occasionally stole glances at Song Zhao's expression. Seeing that Song Zhao maintained a warm smile all along, Consort Yao felt slightly relieved.
Consort Hui happily opened the food box and saw a plate of beautifully crafted almond cookies inside. Her eyes instantly brightened.
"Wow! These almond cookies are my favorite!" She picked up one and stuffed it into her mouth, chewing happily while saying, "They're only delicious when they taste like this. We can't have such treats in the palace. Thank you, Dai sister!"
Consort Yao also smiled and said, "If you like them, please have more."
She took another almond cookie and offered it to Song Zhao, but Song Zhao politely declined, still smiling.
"Sister's culinary skills are truly remarkable. However, when Consort Hui and I were chatting earlier, she generously persuaded me to try many pastries from her palace. I'm afraid I'll be too full now, and it would be a waste of sister's kind gesture."
With that, Consort Yao awkwardly retracted her hand.
After the two of them left Consort Hui's chamber together, Consort Yao immediately explained to Song Zhao:
"Noble Consort Yi, I didn't intentionally do everything before you. It's just..."
"What are you saying, sister?" Song Zhao continued to smile brightly, showing no annoyance. "It was all for the sake of making Consort Hui happy. What's the difference between what you did and what I did?"
Consort Yao finally breathed a sigh of relief and reassured, "As long as you don't mind, Your Highness. I was afraid that this small matter would damage our sisterly bond."
Song Zhao shook her head with a smile, thinking to herself:
She should thank Consort Yao for testing Consort Hui on her behalf.
If she had asked Lady Wei herself, Consort Hui would have been suspicious of her motives.
With suspicion comes wariness, and it wouldn't be so easy to take advantage of Consort Hui in the future.
After returning to her own chamber, Yun Shan closed the doors and windows tightly, then finally let out the words she had been holding in all along,
"Your Highness, who exactly is Consort Hui? Lady Wei said that Consort Hui's favorite food is almond cake, but yesterday, you clearly had Xiao Fuzi secretly replace the almonds that Consort Yao was going to use for the pastries with peach kernels. Yet Consort Hui enjoyed them today without noticing anything?"
The more Yun Shan thought about it, the more suspicious it seemed. She continued,
"Although we replaced them with sweet peach kernels that look similar in color and size to almonds, peach kernels still have a slight bitter taste. Most people may not be able to tell the difference, but Consort Hui has been eating them since she was young. How could she not taste the difference?"
[Because they were peach kernels, Song Zhao is allergic, so Consort Hui didn't touch them in advance.]
"Because she is not Consort Hui at all."
Song Zhao's words reverberated loudly, causing Yun Shan's face to slightly pale.
"Your Highness, do you mean..."
"Perhaps I should put it this way. Consort Hui is Consort Hui, but she is not Wei Ying's only daughter, Wei Linlan."
Song Zhao casually played with the newly painted nails on her fingers and said in a calm tone,
"If I'm not mistaken, the real Consort Hui might have died before entering the palace. In the past few days, the people under Xiao Fuzi disguised themselves and gathered some information about the Wei family from the city.
The Wei family is prominent and well-known, and even the smallest matters become widely known. People say that Wei Linlan is weak and sickly, a frail child. Think about it, she was well taken care of in her family, yet she had a weak and sickly constitution. How could she become plump and healthy once she entered the palace?"
She paused for a moment, and her gaze gradually darkened.
"I suspect that the real Wei Linlan is already dead, and the current Consort Hui was originally arranged by the Emperor to specifically listen to his orders and take care of the harem. Otherwise, with Consort Hui's background, how could the Emperor dare to trust her?"
After hearing Song Zhao's analysis, Yun Shan couldn't help but feel a shiver down her spine.
"But... if she is obedient to the Emperor's orders, and Your Highness suspects that the incident in the Plum Garden involving the Crown Prince is related to her, does that mean the Emperor cannot tolerate the Crown Prince? But that shouldn't be the case..."
Song Zhao said, "She may obey the Emperor's orders, but that doesn't mean she lacks ambition herself. Let's be frank, she is the Emperor's woman, and if anything were to happen to our precious child, she is the one the Emperor trusts the most. Sooner or later, she will reap the benefits of this trust."
Yun Shan exclaimed in surprise, "Are you saying that she has already developed feelings of disloyalty towards the Emperor? She isn't solely acting on his behalf but also has her own sinister motives?"
The more Yun Shan thought about it, the more terrified she became. She hastily said, "This woman is so malicious and cunning. Your Majesty, we must find a way to deal with her as soon as possible!"
"It's not that easy," Song Zhao sighed deeply, shaking his head in helplessness.
"Whether it's the Empress or the Noble Consort, they both have their own families and conflicting interests. The Emperor is cautious of them. But we know next to nothing about Consort Hui's background. If we try to scheme against her, we might inadvertently fall into her trap. This matter... is difficult to handle."
Since the moment Song Zhao entered the imperial harem, she was well aware that it was a treacherous place, filled with unpredictable situations. Who could emerge from the muddy waters unstained?
Little did she expect that the hidden currents beneath the murky waters were even more treacherous than she had anticipated.
After a long silence, she finally instructed Yun Shan, "From now on, we must remain vigilant and act as if we know nothing. If Consort Hui truly has disloyal intentions, then at the very least, the Empress will also be her enemy. After all, during the incident with Cheng Yu, she tried to shift the blame onto the Empress, didn't she?
In that case, why not use her as a pawn to bring down the Empress? Once she becomes complacent, her ambitions won't remain hidden. And when the time comes, the first person who won't tolerate her will be the Emperor."
[These two chapters are a bit complicated, so if you don't understand, read them a couple of times. The upcoming plot will be tightly woven together as well. I know there are many novels in the tomato genre, but each chapter in this book serves a purpose, so please try not to skip any chapters. If you've developed a habit of skipping chapters in other books, don't ask me in the comments section later if you can't understand the plot. Even if you ask, I won't answer. I'll take the opportunity to tease you, hehe~]
[Today, I was a bit busy, and I wasn't satisfied with the new plot, so I deleted everything because it's a crucial plot point, and I don't want to water it down. I'll rewrite it tomorrow. The update from 27th May is now scheduled for the early hours of 28th May. Four updates on 28th May.]
