Meanwhile, on Consort Zhuang’s side, when she returned to Changxiu Palace that afternoon, the polite smile she had been forcing onto her face vanished the instant she stepped through the palace gates and dismissed those around her. In its place settled a layer of dark, icy gloom.
She went straight to the noble consort’s couch by the window and dropped down heavily. Her fingernails, stained with crimson polish, dug hard into her palm.
“Su Su… Mu Hanyan…” she hissed through clenched teeth, forcing the names out between her teeth.
Her personal senior maid, Yingchun, cautiously presented a cup of freshly brewed Lu’an Guapian tea. Judging from her mistress’s expression, she dared not say a word.
Consort Zhuang took the teacup but did not drink. Instead, she slammed it down hard onto the small side table with a sharp clang, making Yingchun shrink her neck in fright.
“Did you see that, Yingchun?” Consort Zhuang’s chest heaved, her anger clearly far from spent. “That Su Su she’s learned to behave now! I provoked her with such pointed words, yet she endured it all without making a sound, standing there with her head lowered, meek and obedient, so proper that one couldn’t find the slightest fault! If this were the past, she would’ve jumped up long ago and glared at me with cold eyes! She’s getting harder and harder to deal with!”
Thinking of Su Su’s calm, water-like composure made her all the more agitated. An arrogant, domineering opponent was not frightening; what was frightening was an opponent who knew how to endure and had learned to hide her edge.
The current Su Su made her feel as though she were punching cotton powerless and beneath that, she sensed a faint unease.
“And that Consort Wan!” Consort Zhuang’s fury shifted toward Mu Hanyan. “Some medical woman who appeared out of nowhere, relying on having saved His Majesty to be granted the rank of consort, and she dares to put on airs in front of me! She even dared to speak up for that bitch Su Su! ‘Harmony above all else’? Hah! She clearly doesn’t put me in her eyes at all!” The more she thought about it, the angrier she became. Mu Hanyan’s serene, detached air as if nothing in the world could touch her was even more irritating than Su Su’s silence.
One of them was regaining momentum, the other carried the imperial heir and enjoyed the height of imperial favor. If they joined forces or even if they were simply allowed to remain safe and steady either would become a grave threat to her. What stoked her jealousy even more was the emperor’s attention toward them, like a mirror reflecting her own long-standing neglect.
She had been in the palace for so many years, exhausting every scheme yet when had the emperor’s gaze ever truly lingered on her? No. She could not sit and wait for ruin. She had to do something something that would make the emperor see who truly deserved to stand by his side.
A ruthless, resolute glint flashed through Consort Zhuang’s eyes, like a dagger dipped in poison.
“We can’t wait any longer…” she murmured, her voice low and dangerous. “The Plum Appreciation Banquet is the perfect opportunity. This consort will have them die together!”
A vicious plan rapidly took shape in her mind not only to eliminate the child in Mu Hanyan’s womb, but also to use the incident to drag Su Su down into utter, irreversible ruin.
The next day, under the pretext of a casual visit, Consort Zhuang summoned Princess Ning, Zhuang Shuran, into the palace.
When Zhuang Shuran stepped into Changxiu Palace, her face was pale and drawn; the pain of losing her child was clearly still raw. She properly saluted Consort Zhuang. “Elder Sister.”
Consort Zhuang dismissed everyone else, leaving only Yingchun to stand guard at the door. She took Zhuang Shuran’s hand and led her to sit on the couch, her face arranged into an expression of shared grief and righteous indignation. “Sister, have you been any better these days? Whenever I think of my poor, ill-fated nephew, my heart aches beyond bearing!”
Zhuang Shuran’s eyes reddened. She lowered her voice and said, “Thank you for your concern, Elder Sister… but this heart of mine is still empty.”
“I know, I know,” Consort Zhuang said, patting the back of her hand. Her tone suddenly turned cold. “That’s why this vengeance we must have it! We absolutely cannot let the one who killed my nephew roam free!”
Zhuang Shuran lifted her head. Hatred filled her eyes, yet there was also a trace of confusion. “But Consort Su… she has risen again now…”
“That is precisely why we cannot let her go!” Consort Zhuang cut her off, leaning forward slightly and lowering her voice. “Elder Sister already has a flawless plan. At the Plum Appreciation Banquet in a few days this time, she will never be able to turn things around again!”
Seeing the madness and malice flickering in her elder sister’s eyes, Zhuang Shuran’s heart tightened inexplicably. “Elder Sister… what plan is it?”
A cold smile curved at Consort Zhuang’s lips as she laid out her scheme in full. “…When the time comes, you need only wear this item and find a chance to approach that Consort Wan.” As she spoke, she drew from her sleeve an exquisitely crafted hollow gold-filigree scent ball, no bigger than a thumb. It emitted an extremely faint, elusive fragrance.
“This is called Rú Mèng Lìng,” Consort Zhuang said as she placed the cold gold scent ball into Zhuang Shuran’s hand, her tone carrying a cruel sense of triumph. “Inside are several special aromatics. They are colorless and odorless; ordinary people who smell them will only feel calm and refreshed, with no harm at all. But that Consort Wan is pregnant her constitution is special. As long as she comes close and inhales it for a short while, her qi and blood will surge, the fetus will be unsettled, and discomfort will show immediately. All of it will happen without a sound, without a trace no one will ever be able to trace it back to us.”
Clutching the icy gold scent ball, Zhuang Shuran’s hand began to tremble violently. Her face turned deathly pale in an instant. She, too, had once been a mother; she knew well the hardship of pregnancy and the preciousness of the child within.
Even if her hatred for Su Su ran deep, asking her to harm another woman in such a way “…an unborn child…”
She shook her head violently, her voice carrying a note of pleading. “Elder Sister! No… this can’t be done! The child is innocent! We… can we change the method? As long as Consort Su pays the price, anything else”
“Foolish!” Consort Zhuang flung her hand away and sprang to her feet, glaring down at her from above, her gaze sharp as a blade.
“Innocent? Then what about my nephew was he not innocent? How old was he when he died?! Zhuang Shuran, have you forgotten how your son died? Forgotten how you clutched his cold body and cried until you fainted?!”
Every word struck Zhuang Shuran’s heart like a hammer, making her whole body tremble as tears poured forth.
“I… I haven’t forgotten… I haven’t forgotten…” she sobbed as she stood, barely able to form complete sentences.
“Good that you haven’t!” Consort Zhuang bent down, staring hard into her eyes, her tone aggressive and pressing. “Think of your son! Think of how unjustly he died! And now you soften your heart toward the enemy are you worthy of being a mother?!”
Forced back step by step, Zhuang Shuran’s mind fell into chaos. The gold filigree scent ball in her hand felt as heavy as a thousand pounds; that faint, elusive fragrance now seemed tinged with the stench of blood.
Seeing her wavering, Consort Zhuang’s tone softened slightly, yet the threat deepened as she gripped her hand. “Hold on to it! This is the best chance we’ll ever have! You only need to wear it and, at the Plum Appreciation Banquet, casually approach Consort Wan talk to her, or simply stand by her side for a while. The rest will be left to fate! Su Su is now already a consort. If she finds another chance to rise again, or if Consort Wan gives birth to a prince, then you and I and the entire Zhuang family what foothold will we have in the harem or the court? By then, it will be too late for revenge!”
That tiny scent ball now weighed like a mountain in Zhuang Shuran’s hand. Its icy chill and the strange fragrance sent a cold through her entire body. The desire for revenge, fear of Consort Zhuang, and the last remnants of her conscience battled fiercely within her.
She looked into Consort Zhuang’s unquestioning, even threatening gaze. Images of her son’s tragic death flashed before her eyes. At last, the final string of reason snapped.
In a daze, she clenched the gold filigree scent ball as though gripping a red-hot branding iron, her soul seeming to leave her body.
“I… I understand…” she replied hollowly.
“That’s my good sister of the Zhuang family,” Consort Zhuang finally said with a hint of satisfaction on her face though the smile did not reach her eyes. “Go back. Keep it safe. At the Plum Appreciation Banquet, it will all depend on you.”
Like a marionette with its strings cut, Zhuang Shuran bowed stiffly to Consort Zhuang, clutched the scent ball tightly in her palm, and then staggered out of Changxiu Palace, her steps unsteady and her mind adrift.
Watching her shattered figure disappear beyond the palace gates, the smile on Consort Zhuang’s face vanished at once, replaced by icy calculation and ruthless resolve.
“Yingchun,” she called softly.
“This servant is here,” Yingchun answered at once, stepping forward.
Consort Zhuang walked to the window, gazing at the bright spring scenery outside, though her eyes were dark as a deep pool.
“You heard it all. My good sister’s nature is far too soft and indecisive she may not be able to see this through.”
“Your Highness means…?”
“At the Plum Appreciation Banquet, arrange a few clever, reliable people of our own—and have them carry the same ‘incense’ as well.” Consort Zhuang spoke calmly, yet her words carried a chilling murderous intent. “If she hesitates or lacks the courage to approach, you know what to do. Make sure you find a chance to get close to Consort Wan and ensure she ‘inhales’ enough of it.”
“I understand,” Yingchun replied knowingly in a low voice. “But… if it’s done by our people, what if”
Consort Zhuang gave a cold snort, a cruel curve appearing at the corner of her lips. “If something happens, all clues will naturally point to my ‘child-loving,’ ‘grief-stricken’ good sister the Princess Ning who, driven to desperation, carried a strange fragrance to seek revenge and vent her rage. This incense, after all, is a one-of-a-kind ‘token of affection.’”
Yingchun shuddered inwardly and lowered her head. “Your Highness is wise.”
Consort Zhuang said no more, merely gazing out the window. No matter how bright the sunlight outside, it could not penetrate the eyes filled to the brim with ambition and hatred.
The Plum Appreciation Banquet would surely be a blood-stained feast.