The accident happened very quickly, so quickly that Concubine Xiao didn't even have time to react to figure out what was going on.
She saw that everyone was looking at her with either horrified or astonished eyes, and she also saw that the Phoenix Head Lute had been smashed on the ground by her, broken beyond repair. Only then did she realize that she had caused terrible trouble.
She was so frightened that her legs went soft and she slid off the wooden chair onto the ground. Following her momentum, she knelt down and knocked her head on the floor, stammering:
"Your Majesty, please forgive this lowly concubine's offense... Your Majesty the Empress, please forgive this lowly concubine's offense... This lowly concubine did it unintentionally..."
However, she had just pleaded for forgiveness halfway when Concubine Xiao caught a glimpse of the dripping blood on her left hand out of the corner of her eye.
She couldn't help but shiver, and froze in place.
Song Zhao and Concubine Liu were the closest to her. The two walked over at the same time and helped pull her up from the cold marble floor.
Song Zhao happened to stand on Concubine Xiao's left side, and could see the wound on her face most clearly.
The scar was long and deep, running diagonally up from her chin to her cheekbone.
If it had been just a little more off-center, it was likely that even her eye would have been injured.
The rest of the consorts had also stood up by now, tiptoeing to see Concubine Xiao's condition.
Only Xiao Jingheng remained seated steadily high above on the dais, an impassive expression on his face as he lightly ordered for the imperial physician to be summoned.
The Empress then walked to Concubine Xiao's side. Seeing her raise her hand as if to wipe her face, the Empress quickly stopped her and said with concern showing all over her face:
"Don't move around. Let the imperial physician take a look first."
Concubine Xiao, having regained her senses, now felt a fiery pain on the left side of her face.
She asked in panic, "Is my face...? Your Majesty the Empress, is my face injured?"
Everyone kept silence for a long time, soundlessly giving Concubine Xiao an affirmative answer.
Her emotions were suddenly stirred up. She struggled free of the Empress's hand and covered her wounded cheek, suffering immense pain.
For palace women, their face was their second life.
No matter how well you could sing, dance, or exhibit literary talent and thoughtfulness,
once there was something wrong with your face, you could basically say goodbye to enjoying imperial favor.
When the imperial physician came to treat Concubine Xiao's wound, she still hadn't been able to calm down emotionally, and her weeping grew ever more mournful.
Left without recourse, the Empress could only have Concubine Xiao moved to a side palace for the physician to properly treat her injuries.
After Concubine Xiao left, the rest of the consorts returned to their own seats.
They had assumed Xiao Jingheng would investigate into this matter, but after a period of silence in the hall, they heard him say indifferently, as if nothing had happened:
"The imperial physician is caring for Concubine Xiao so her injury should be fine. It's made all of you look so gloomy just because of this one accident. Brother Five, Brother Six, time to refill your wine cups?"
Xiao Jingheng had labeled what happened as an accident, and his attitude was now very clear - he didn't want to pursue this matter.
Now that he had spoken, no one else would investigate further.
The singing and dancing in the hall continued.
Amidst the clinking wine cups, Concubine Liu whispered to Song Zhao, "It was just playing a lute. How could something so dangerous have happened? I saw Concubine Xiao's facial wound is very deep, it will probably scar. "
Song Zhao was preoccupied with her own thoughts and temporarily lost in a daze, failing to respond.
Concubine Liu took a sip of tea to wet her throat, then continued murmuring to herself,
"In my view, do you think the lute strings broke on their own for no reason? That was the Phoenix Head Lute, one of the few remaining possessions left in this world by the Holy Mother Empress Dowager, and there are special caretakers responsible for its regular maintenance. How could the strings snap before Concubine Xiao had even finished one song?"
She moved next to Song Zhao's ear and added softly, "I see that His Majesty doesn't have any intention of looking into this matter, he only feels sympathy for Concubine Xiao... Don't you think someone must have tampered with things behind the scenes in this matter?"
Song Zhao sighed and shook her head. "Concubine Xiao met with bad luck due to her fate. But sister, you can't make such speculation. His Majesty isn't pursuing things further. If someone heard you say this, you would inevitably be criticized for stirring up trouble and make things difficult for yourself."
Concubine Liu silently nodded, and didn't continue speaking.
Song Zhao maintained her composure, casually eating the delicacies before her while occasionally using her peripheral vision to glance at Xiao Jingheng high above on the dais.
He was drinking and chatting merrily with the Prince of An and the others, not displaying anything amiss.
But Song Zhao knew that Xiao Jingheng was only pretending.
He was definitely going to look into this matter, just not right now, in front of his brothers where he couldn't lose his imperial dignity and allow others to see the malignance hidden in his harem.
As for Song Zhao, she also had lingering fears about what had just happened.
If this matter was merely an accident, that would be easy to explain.
But if it wasn't an accident, then the real target of the schemer was none other than herself, not Concubine Xiao.
Because Concubine Xiao had kept secret the fact that she would play the lute at Xiao Jingheng's birthday celebration, while it was public knowledge that Song Zhao would perform.
In fact, from the very start when Song Zhao told the other consorts that she would play the lute to celebrate Xiao Jingheng's birthday,
the entire thing was just a front.
When Song Zhao lived in the household of the Duke of Protecting the Nation, her days were miserable as Lady Jiang made her life hellish and treated her like a slave. So how could Lady Jiang have possibly allowed her to learn musical instruments?
Even for reading and writing, it was only because Song Zhao took the initiative and secretly learned by hiding in a corner when her older sister Song Yue had lessons.
Since she knew nothing about musical instruments, rushed practicing was not a solution. Bungled playing in front of Xiao Jingheng would only embarrass her, it'd be better not to perform at all.
Moreover, her purpose for entering the palace was to gain status. She hadn't come to serve and entertain like some singing girl from the musical academy.
Why should she have to use such lowly methods like the dancing girls to fawn over Xiao Jingheng's favor?
Song Zhao thought it over clearly. Actually, what the performance consisted of wasn't important. After all, no matter how well she played, it wasn't like she could bring a lute with her into Xiao Jingheng's bedchambers.
As long as she could make him feel sympathy and know how much effort she had put in, that was enough.
Therefore, today when toasting with Concubine Liu, Song Zhao deliberately spilled the tea onto her own hand. And the minor cuts on her fingertips were etched the night before by her using the lute strings on herself.
She had achieved her goal as Xiao Jingheng was fooled by her act and moved by her supposed suffering.
Yet even someone as clever as her couldn't figure out who had sabotaged the Phoenix Head Lute.
If she hadn't premeditated her plan of strategic retreat, the one disfigured today would have been her instead of Concubine Xiao.
Song Zhao's eyes slowly swept past the twittering swallows and orioles around her.
They were dressed in the most luxurious clothing and made up with utmost care,
outwardly glamorous and dazzling, yet inwardly full of dirty schemes, guarded against.
The more Song Zhao thought about this matter, the more a chill went down her spine.
She had already been so careful yet had still nearly fallen to another's plot.
It seemed the hearts of the people in this palace were not as easy to fathom and manipulate as she had imagined.
