The climate at Hot Spring Mountain Villa was warm all year round, like an eternal spring, making it a good place that gathered the aura between heaven and earth.
On this day, as Song Zhao was casually sewing fragrance bags for Xiao Jingheng in her residence, Yun Shan suddenly came bouncing in, her face full of joy, and said, “Young Miss, look what this is!”
She had hidden her hands behind her back, and now suddenly presented a bunch of spring dendrobium flowers in front of Song Zhao.
Song Zhao took the flowers and brought them close to her nose to smell. Smiling, she said, “It’s only the beginning of December, yet the spring dendrobium at Hot Spring Mountain Villa have already bloomed?”
Yun Shan said, “I happened to run into Ying Xiang on my way back from the kitchen just now. She said the aura was warmest in Sanyuan Garden, so the spring dendrobium had bloomed. She wanted to pick some to bring back for Consort Chen. I thought that the Young Miss also liked these flowers, so I picked some to bring back too.”
Song Zhao clutched the flowers tightly for a moment, pondering, then said, “Now that the flowers have bloomed, it would be a waste for no one to appreciate their beauty. Anyway, we’re free today, why don’t you accompany me for a walk?”
Chatting and laughing, mistress and servant went to Sanyuan Garden. Seeing the bright red spring dendrobium, they couldn’t resist following the flower beds further inside.
After walking forty to fifty yards deeper inside, Song Zhao saw two palace maids dressed in brown clothes whispering about something in a corner.
The rules were the same at Hot Spring Mountain Villa as within the palace - only palace maids who attended the emperor and empress could wear brown attire.
Song Zhao slowed her footsteps and hid behind a cypress tree to eavesdrop on their discussion:
“Have you heard? His Majesty was furious today! Earlier at Bitong Academy, in front of Minister Gu, Minister Liu, and Director Qi, he severely reprimanded the wife of Duke Huguo, and said he would deal with this matter harshly!”
“With the uproar, who doesn’t know about it? I just didn’t expect that while Duke Huguo himself is innocent, his wife would be so greedy! It’s obvious His Majesty will also be displeased with Duke Huguo because of this. I heard this matter was investigated by Tianji from the retinue of the Empress Dowager. The Empress Dowager values propriety the most. Now that something like this has happened, she will surely pursue the matter.”
“What do you guess will happen to the wife of Duke Huguo this time?”
“In order to rectify this kind of corrupt influence, she will likely suffer some harsh punishment. It would be lucky for her to keep her life.”
Hearing this, Song Zhao could no longer restrain herself. She immediately rushed out to face the two palace maids.
She ran very quickly without watching her step, and nearly tripped over a dead branch.
Yun Shan hurried to catch up and supported her to stand firmly, “Careful, Young Miss, don’t fall.”
But Song Zhao had no time for anything else.
Somewhat rudely, she asked the maids, “What are you talking about? Speak clearly!”
The maids did not dare to answer her. Panicking, they mumbled an apology and hurried away.
Song Zhao was anxious as an ant on a hot pan. She kept fiddling with her handkerchief as she paced back and forth on the spot.
Yun Shan also became nervous. “Young Miss, it seems your mother is in trouble. What should we do?”
“This won’t do. Mother caused disaster, it will definitely implicate Father too! As a daughter of the Song family, if my family suffers misfortune yet I just watch without helping, misfortune will soon fall upon me too!”
“The Young Miss must think of something, you have to save Madam!”
“At this time I can’t directly approach His Majesty... I’ll go beg Consort Chen, she should be able to persuade His Majesty.”
In her hasty decision-making, Song Zhao was visibly in a panic.
By the time she staggered away, the eavesdropping Ying Xiang finally emerged from the shadows.
Sending Yun Shan to pick flowers today was Consort Chen deliberately arranging for her to encounter Song Zhao by chance. They anticipated that Song Zhao would come to see the novel sight, so they had arranged the two “inner palace maids” early on, deliberately to let them tell Jiang’s misfortune within Song Zhao’s hearing.
Seeing how Song Zhao had been fooled, Ying Xiang couldn’t help but sneer to herself, thinking inwardly:
This kind of fool also competes with my mistress for favor? She is truly useless.
When Song Zhao hurried to Consort Chen’s residence, the palace maid said that Consort Chen was resting and blocked her outside the door.
Anxious, Song Zhao disregarded all propriety and knelt directly outside Consort Chen’s bedchamber, tearfully pleading:
“Consort Chen, my maternal family is in trouble. Have mercy and save my mother!”
As she spoke, she continued to kowtow.
After a while, the bedchamber door opened.
Wearing a bright red night robe even more vibrant than the spring flowers, Consort Chen stood lazily at the door, casting an frivolous gaze looking Song Zhao up and down. Only then did she slowly yawn and say:
“It’s not that I don’t want to help you, but your mother’s crimes were exposed by the Empress Dowager. Now it’s the Empress Dowager who wants to punish her harshly. What can I do?”
As she spoke, she walked over in pretense to help Song Zhao stand up from the ground, one hand wiping her tears while persuading her:
“Don’t cry now. Since it has already happened, you have to think of a way to resolve it, right? I see that the Empress Dowager dotes on you very much. After all, it was the Empress Dowager who was angry first about this matter. Why don’t you go beg the Empress Dowager?”
Song Zhao sobbed, “But...will the Empress Dowager help me?”
“There is always some leftover affection from past ties when meeting face-to-face. If you don’t try, how will you know? But you must hurry if you want to go. The imperial edict has not been issued yet, so everything can still be salvaged. If you wait until after the edict comes down before going, then it really will be too late.”
Hearing this, Song Zhao bid Consort Chen a hasty farewell. In her hurry she was so frantic that she dropped her handkerchief on the ground without even picking it up.
Seeing her lost appearance, Consort Chen laughed even more smugly.
Ying Xiang, who had just hurried back, casually kicked Song Zhao’s fallen handkerchief to the side. Laughing, she sidled up to Consort Chen and said:
“Mistress, Song Zhao must be panicking senseless right now. If she goes to the Empress Dowager like this and loses composure again in front of her, I’m afraid the Empress Dowager’s impression of her will also greatly diminish.”
Consort Chen raised her silken kerchief to cover her face, laughing unrestrainedly.
“She overestimates herself. What does it matter to her if Jiang didn’t give birth to her? Yet she still affectionately calls Jiang ‘mother’.”
Ying Xiang giggled. “Can’t blame her for panicking. After all, with Jiang convicted, she will become the daughter of a criminal woman in the future. With no prospects for herself, how could she not panic?”
Indeed, Song Zhao really was in a panic.
All the way jogging through Hot Spring Mountain Villa, glimpsed by many palace maids in such a rude manner.
Yet this panicked woman suddenly slowed her pace when nearing the Empress Dowager’s residence.
The Empress Dowager valued self-cultivation and tranquility. There was a bamboo grove on the west side of Hot Spring Mountain Villa where she lived in the Bamboo Hall behind it.
Now Song Zhao warily looked all around and, seeing no passing palace maids, pulled Yun Shan to hide in the depth of the bamboo grove.
“Give it to me.”
Her tone had suddenly become extremely calm, without a trace of the previous panic on her face.
Yun Shan took out a box of powder from her bosom and handed it to Song Zhao.
Song Zhao wet her lips and dabbed a little of the powder onto her originally pink lips.
As soon as the powder color covered over it, her complexion immediately looked much poorer, resembling someone who had suffered calamity and been frightened pale.
Holding up a small bronze mirror, she calmly touched up her appearance - even portraying despair, she still had to first ensure that she looked to be a beauty in despair.
While she added this “sick makeup” for herself, Yun Shan was not idle either.
She quickly dug a hole in the soft soil with her handkerchief padded hand.
By the time she finished digging the hole, Song Zhao had also completed her preparations.
She glanced at Yun Shan and asked weakly, feigning frailty:
“How is it?”
“The Young Miss looks as if she really is sick! Bright eyes brimming with tears, bloodless lips, anyone seeing this would feel heartbroken!”
Song Zhao smiled calmly, then casually threw the powder box into the newly dug hole.
After Yun Shan filled in the soil to flatten it, mistress and servant emerged from the bamboo grove.
Song Zhao cleared her throat, and the calm expression on her face instantly turned to numb panic.
Then she hurried to the Empress Dowager’s bedchamber entrance in just a few quick steps and fell to her knees on the ground.
As she wept, she desperately suppressed her sobs, using only a slightly hoarse voice to choke out:
“This commoner Song Zhao requests an audience with the Empress Dowager...”
