The next morning, news spread from the Judicial Department as expected.
Yin Zhi couldn't withstand the punishment and died suddenly late last night.
The following day, the body of a judicial officer from the Judicial Department was found in the Thousand Carp Pond.
The death of a servant was an insignificant matter within the palace, and the people of the Judicial Department didn't want to make a fuss about it. They didn't even report it to the Palace Affairs Department and privately took care of the corpse themselves.
As a result, the incident of Mei Yuan encountering a snake became an unsolved mystery.
Noble Consort Xiao was destined to be unable to prove her innocence.
However, relying on her precious pregnancy, she could enjoy the favor of Xiao Jingheng for quite some time.
In the following days, she would become the most prominent figure in the harem.
Xiao Jingheng showered her with lavish gifts, sending everything to her palace first.
The Empress also knew how to handle things. Seeing that the weather was getting colder and the other palaces had started to burn charcoal, she replaced the silver charcoal that Noble Consort Xiao was entitled to with the red silk charcoal reserved for the position of a consort, making her winter accommodations warmer.
Both Xiao Jingheng and the Empress made their intentions clear, so gradually, no one mentioned the incident of Mei Yuan encountering a snake anymore.
However, as a result of this incident, the Empress and Consort Chen completely fell out.
Although Consort Chen had been arrogant and domineering in the past, she still had some regard for the Empress's status in the imperial harem. Even when she skipped her daily greetings, she always had a reasonable excuse.
But lately, her excuses for skipping have become increasingly absurd.
Just yesterday, she had the audacity to tell the Empress through Ying Xiang that her pet cat had died, and because she was in a bad mood, she wouldn't come to pay her respects to the Empress.
Upon hearing this excuse, the Empress's face darkened, but she didn't reprimand Consort Chen. She let it slide.
This morning, when Song Zhao went to pay respects to the Empress, Consort Chen surprisingly didn't arrive late.
However, she appeared melancholy and sighed continuously after taking her seat.
Perhaps the Empress felt that their current standoff was not good, so she smiled and extended an olive branch to Consort Chen:
"I heard that your snowball died. It's truly a pity. I know how much you liked it. So, I had someone find a white cat that looks just like Snowball to give it to you. Take a look and see if you like it."
She raised her eyebrows and looked at Frost Ruo. Frost Ruo immediately went into the inner palace and brought out a snow-white cat, presenting it to Consort Chen.
Consort Chen forced a smile upon seeing the white cat, giving the Empress face. After receiving it from Frost Ruo, she politely said, "Thank you, Empress."
Later, when the palace ladies gossiped, the Empress made a remark, "Seeing that the weather has been getting colder these past two days, I thought that once the first snow falls, we should suspend the greetings, so everyone can stay in their own chambers and avoid accidents. It wouldn't be good to slip or get injured."
Everyone expressed their thanks to the Empress for her consideration.
Consort Chen also said, "Empress, do you know how my Snowball died?"
The Empress shook her head.
While stroking the soft white fur of the cat in her arms, Consort Chen sighed and said,
"It's said that the little fellow had an unlucky fate. It would always stay motionless, lazily lounging around and showing no interest in anything. The servants from the Bureau of Flowers and Birds were called to examine it, and they said its heart rate was slower than other cats', as if it had a congenital condition that couldn't be treated. Now, in this winter, it couldn't withstand the cold and died."
The hall was originally harmonious, but as soon as Consort Chen spoke, the smiles on everyone's faces froze, and they began to use drinking tea to conceal their embarrassment.
Her remark about her cat having a heart condition and not surviving this winter carried a strong undertone of mockery.
Except for Consort Huiping, who only knew how to eat, everyone else could tell that Consort Chen was using the death of her cat as a metaphor for the Empress.
The Empress's expression became extremely unpleasant.
But Consort Chen turned a blind eye to it,
She played with the cat in her arms for a moment, and continued nonchalantly:
"The Empress's palace is very warm. Besides the Emperor's Chaoyang Palace and the Empress Dowager's Xianshou Palace, only your Fengluan Palace is warmed by underground heating. It's much better than where I reside. I can only use some red charcoal to keep warm in my palace, and can't even keep a weak cat alive."
As she spoke, she casually threw the white cat to the ground, allowing it to startle and vanish.
"This cat should stay in the Empress's palace. When the day comes that I am fortunate enough, and my palace is as warm as the Empress's, then it will be a good time to raise it."
She got up, covered her face with a handkerchief, and yawned lazily, saying:
"The Empress's palace is very warm. I feel tired after just a while. I'll take my leave first."
Consort Chen was always like this,
Once she had shown her power, infuriating the Empress to half-death, she would then proudly swing her sleeves and leave.
But Emperor Song Zhao loved watching this play.
After enjoying the show that day, Song Zhao sat on the warm seat in the palace and continued studying the music score.
The Palace Affairs Department had just delivered the charcoal, and Yun Shan was adding it to the charcoal basin next to the warm seat.
"The Emperor always thinks of the Young Master. Look, they sent you red charcoal that only consorts can use. In the entire harem, only Noble Consort Xiao is treated like this. But that's because she has a pregnancy. If we ignore that and only consider the favor, it still can't compare to the Young Master's."
Her voice lowered as she said, "Young Master, Consort Yao still uses silver charcoal. Shall I choose some to send to her? We can say that the Palace Affairs Department specially sent them to our Yaohua Palace."
"Do as you said." Song Zhao glanced at the red charcoal in the charcoal holder, then smiled at Yun Shan.
"Hmm, I feel like you've become quite clever recently. In the past, even if we were to send them to Consort Yao, you would have recklessly said that the red charcoal was personally bestowed upon me by the Emperor, and I kindly shared it with her. It would sound as if she had gained some advantage."
Yun Shan felt a little embarrassed and stuck out her tongue. "I learned this from Xiao Fuzi. He said that being in the palace is different from being in a mansion, and I should be cautious in everything. So as not to say the wrong thing and offend someone, causing them to hold a grudge against the Young Master. That wouldn't be good."
Song Zhao nodded with some satisfaction. "Xiao Fuzi, it's good for you to listen to what he has to say. It won't do you any harm."
"Ah!" Yun Shan smiled and agreed, skillfully selecting a basket of good charcoal and taking it to Consort Yao, who resided in the main hall.
Before long, when she returned, even before entering the hall, Song Zhao heard her joyful voice from afar:
"Young Master, come out and see! It's snowing!"
Upon hearing this, Song Zhao opened the diamond-shaped window just a narrow crack.
Outside the window, large snowflakes were falling like feathers, transforming the red walls and green tiles into a picturesque scene.
She pushed the window wider and reached out to catch a snowflake in her hand.
Watching it gradually melt into colorless water in the palm of her hand, for some reason, her heart also felt a chill.
She always remembered that her mother closed her eyes forever on a day with such heavy snowfall...
