“Cairen, Cairen!” Ming Cui lifted her skirt and rushed into the room in a panic.
Su Yue had just returned from Fu Ning Palace and was taking a sip of tea when Ming Cui’s sudden entrance startled her, causing tea to spill. She set the bowl down on the low table with a stern expression. “Why are you so flustered? What’s happened?”
Ming Cui, who had been tasked with watching the main room, shrank her neck nervously. “Cairen, Xiang Li from Consort De’s palace went to the main room, and Jiang Cairen left with Xiang Li.”
Su Yue’s expression changed instantly. “Who else is in the main room?”
Ming Cui froze in place. Xue Yan shot her a disdainful glance and quickly interjected, “Cairen, this servant will go to the main room to see whether it’s A Ruo or Fang He who remained behind.”
Su Yue nodded and instructed, “Take two taels of silver with you. Whoever is there, just give them the money.”
Ming Cui seemed only partially comprehending. As she was in charge of Su Yue’s dressing case and personal savings, she unfastened the key from her waist and retrieved a two-tael silver ingot from the box.
Just as Xue Yan took the silver and prepared to leave, Ming Cui grabbed her. “You haven’t signed for it yet.”
“My current task is urgent. Can’t you wait?” Xue Yan was thoroughly annoyed by Ming Cui’s single-mindedness. Unable to free herself, she looked to Su Yue for help.
Su Yue sat there with a grave expression. With no other choice, Xue Yan hastily made her mark.
“Wait a moment.” Su Yue took a deep breath and instructed Xue Yan to bring the Ink Chrysanthemum flowers as well. After giving a few more directions, she said, “Deliver these together.”
Xue Yan wrapped the Ink Chrysanthemum carefully and proceeded to the main room. A Ruo was attending to Jiang Ling, while Fang He sat in the side room, staring blankly at her needlework.
“Sister He, you’re here.” Xue Yan greeted her warmly, casually glancing around. “Oh, where’s A Ruo?”
Fang He had been feeling uneasy ever since Consort Zhao summoned Jiang Ling. Seeing Xue Yan arrive made her even more flustered. She forced a smile and asked, “A Ruo is attending to Cairen. Did you need her for something?”
“I originally came to see you all earlier, but Jiang Cairen’s commotion delayed matters.”
Xue Yan shook her head helplessly and placed the silver ingot in Fang He’s hand, smiling warmly. “Cairen said that with the festival approaching, you should use this to commission someone to buy some rouge and powder.”
Aside from those serving in the Six Bureaus and Twenty Departments, palace maids in the inner court were generally not permitted to leave the palace. For cosmetics, hair ribbons, and other personal items, they could use silver to purchase them from the female officials in the Six Bureaus and Twenty Departments who had the privilege of leaving the palace.
Fang He clutched the silver ingot, momentarily stunned. Her monthly allowance, like A Ruo’s, was only two taels. Since Jiang Ling wasn’t favored, they received no extra rewards and even had to pay for additional dishes. No matter how frugal they were, they could save very little each month.
Although Su Yue held the rank of Cairen, aside from allocations of cloth, ice, and charcoal, her monthly stipend was only ten taels. Previously, when she was out of favor, her allotted meals, ice, and charcoal would be withheld, and she too had to spend money to secure better treatment.
Now she was casually giving away two taels. Fang He recalled what Jiang Ling had once said and found herself at a loss.
“Sister He, don’t overthink it. Our Cairen is magnanimous. Though she had words with Jiang Cairen, she would never take it out on us servants.”
Xue Yan opened the box she had brought, revealing two precious Ink Chrysanthemum flowers inside. “See? These are the Ink Chrysanthemums that Jiang Cairen likes. Our Cairen asked me to bring them for her to wear.”
She stood up and said, “I’ll go deliver them to Jiang Cairen.”
“The Cairen is not here.” Fang He hurriedly said.
“Oh? Usually Jiang Cairen hardly ever goes out. Where has she gone?” Xue Yan asked with feigned surprise.
Fang He, clutching the silver, hesitated for a moment before saying, “Sister Xiang Li from Consort De’s palace came looking for the Cairen, and A Ruo is accompanying her there.”
“Why would Consort De be looking for Jiang Cairen?” Xue Yan asked curiously.
Fang He replied, “I’m not sure either. Sister Xiang Li only said Consort De has invited the Cairen for tea.”
Xue Yan didn’t press further, leaving the Ink Chrysanthemum behind as she said, “When Jiang Cairen returns, please help deliver this Ink Chrysanthemum to her. I’ll come back later to chat with Sister He when I have time.”
Returning to the West Side Courtyard, Xue Yan reported carefully to Su Yue, “Cairen, this servant noticed Fang He looked quite troubled – she clearly liked the silver but didn’t dare accept it. I don’t think she’s reliable.”
Su Yue sat sideways on the daybed, her eyes fixed on the window lattice ahead. The usual smile was absent from her face, replaced by a gloomy expression that carried a hint of ferocity.
Xue Yan couldn’t help but feel a chill watching her. Since Su Yue remained silent, she didn’t dare say more.
After a moment, Su Yue spoke softly, “Whether she’s reliable or not doesn’t matter. Send the Ink Chrysanthemum over and place it in the main room. If anyone comes to investigate, we’ll have evidence. As for how the Ink Chrysanthemum ended up in the main room, whose testimony is credible, the truth isn’t important. What matters is who people choose to believe, who proves useful.”
Xue Yan was stunned, asking anxiously, “Does the Cairen think Consort De won’t believe your words?”
Su Yue slowly turned to look at Xue Yan, letting out a cold laugh. Her voice carried a bleak tone as she said, “Xue Yan, in this palace, no one is a fool. When Fu Ning Palace summons someone, there are only two possible outcomes. Either they don’t trust me and decide to promote Jiang instead, which would be a slap in my face. Or they interrogate Jiang to teach her a lesson.”
Xue Yan didn’t understand – since Su Yue was clearly aware that using Consort Zhao to punish Jiang Ling was quite risky, why would she still do it?
Struggling with her thoughts, Xue Yan haltingly asked, “Does the Cairen think Consort De will side with you or with the main room?”
Su Yue turned to look out the window, saying, “It’s not yet time for the final verdict. How could I possibly know?”
Xue Yan felt uneasy, following Su Yue’s gaze out the window as they waited.
Jiang Ling followed Xiang Li to Fu Ning Palace, feeling as nervous as when she used to skip classes to play games during her school days and got called to the head teacher’s office.
Though Xiang Li said Consort Zhao had invited her for tea, she certainly didn’t believe it.
After all, Su Yue had aligned herself with Consort Zhao, and right after their argument, she was summoned by Consort Zhao.
Jiang Ling guessed Consort Zhao intended to stand up for Su Yue and teach her a lesson, though the harem wasn’t entirely under Consort Zhao’s control. In the original story, Consort Zhao and others were all experts in palace intrigue, and they wouldn’t resort to direct confrontation openly.
As for what Consort Zhao planned to do, Jiang Ling had no idea, though she secretly prepared herself.
If things looked bad, she would deploy her ultimate move: throwing herself to her knees and begging for mercy!
When she arrived at the warm chamber where Consort Zhao resided, she found the consort dressed in a moon-white, gold-woven casual gown with half-sleeves. Her hair was loosely tied, with light makeup applied, wearing only a pair of round pearl earrings as she reclined on the luohan daybed, exuding an air of graceful nobility.
Jiang Ling curtsied, her legs as stiff as wooden sticks as she forced them to bend. Her voice tightened as she said, “Consort De.”
“Jiang Cairen, you’re here. Please sit.” Consort Zhao nodded, sitting up and gesturing for Jiang Ling to sit beside her.
Huang Momo brought the tea, and Zhao Defei took a sip, saying, “This is newly stored tea from this year, said to have the fragrance of lotus leaves. I can’t taste it myself, but Jiang Cairen, why don’t you try it and see if you can detect the lotus leaf aroma?”
Jiang Ling picked up the teacup and took a small sip. In her anxious state, she couldn’t discern any flavor at all and honestly replied, “I can’t taste any lotus leaf fragrance either.”
Zhao Defei studied Jiang Ling, chuckled lightly, and idly played with the teacup lid as she remarked, “Earlier, Su Cai Ren came by and mentioned that when Jiang Cairen learned I had given her the tribute grapes, you threw them away. As for the Ink Chrysanthemum I gifted, Jiang Cairen assumed she was being petty and deliberately destroyed the Ink Chrysanthemum out of spite. It seems Jiang Cairen holds numerous grievances against me and envies my favor.”
Jiang Ling stood there stunned. Su Yue was truly speaking pure falsehoods—she had indeed discarded the grapes, but she had never even laid eyes on the Ink Chrysanthemum!
As for the accusation of jealousy toward Zhao Defei, she was left speechless and unable to defend herself. After all, spoken words leave no trace; all that’s needed is a witness.
A Ruo and Fang He had received many favors from Su Yue. If they were to testify, it would confirm the allegation of her jealousy toward Zhao Defei.
“Consort De, I didn’t, truly I didn’t…” Jiang Ling’s palms grew sweaty, and her words became stammered. Though she was denying it, she appeared as if she had genuinely done something wrong.
“Jiang Cairen, don’t fret. If you say you didn’t, then you didn’t.”
Zhao Defei laughed softly and didn’t press the matter further, merely gesturing to the tea and saying, “Drink your tea, drink your tea.”
Jiang Ling uttered an “oh,” picked up the teacup, and gulped down several mouthfuls. As the tea settled in her stomach, she finally relaxed slightly, though a chill crept up her spine.
What if the tea was poisoned?
Zhao Defei said, “Jiang Cairen, you usually don’t enjoy socializing much. Take advantage of the rare autumn weather in the capital—if you have free time, come visit Fu Ning Palace more often. We can have tea and admire the flowers together. The servants below can be quite mixed; sometimes they inevitably flatter those in favor and belittle others. If anyone tries to deceive you, just come and tell me directly.”
Faced with Zhao Defei’s kindness, Jiang Ling’s mind was completely overwhelmed. She nodded blankly and murmured, “Alright.”
Zhao Defei shifted to casual topics like the weather, and Jiang Ling occasionally responded out of habit before lowering her head and drinking more tea.
Jiang Ling’s teacup was soon empty. Zhao Defei set down her own cup, still more than half full, and smiled, “It’s getting late. A Jue will be finishing his studies soon—he’s quite mischievous. Since you prefer quiet, I won’t keep you unnecessarily. Huang Momo, fetch a jar of the newly delivered Dragon Phoenix Tea Cake for Jiang Cairen to take back and enjoy.”
Hearing that she could leave, Jiang Ling secretly breathed a sigh of relief, quickly stood up to express her thanks, accepted the tea from A Ruo, and departed from Fu Ning Palace.
The sun hung low on the horizon, and the cool evening breeze of autumn dispelled some of her tension, yet she remained utterly bewildered.
Zhao Defei had openly stated what Su Yue had said, which sounded like an accusation, but in the end, all she offered was her own unconvincing denial, and the matter was dropped. Nor did Zhao Defei inquire about the conflict between them or why Su Yue would act that way.
This visit to Fu Ning Palace seemed as if Zhao Defei had genuinely only invited her for tea.
But in the original story, she was merely a background character. At Zhao Defei’s birthday banquet, they hadn’t even spoken privately—there was no tea-sharing friendship between them.
Zhao Defei was a master of palace intrigue, and Jiang Ling firmly believed she wouldn’t act without purpose.
Unfortunately, with Jiang Ling’s mind, she truly couldn’t grasp even a hint of Zhao Defei’s intentions.
Returning to Xie Fang Pavilion, Jiang Ling collapsed onto the couch in exhaustion. Fang He entered carrying a box and said, “Su Cai Ren mentioned that Cai Ren enjoys Ink Chrysanthemums, so she sent this Ink Chrysanthemum for you.”
At the mention of Ink Chrysanthemum, Jiang Ling immediately sprang upright. Her eyes widened at the sight of the deep purple Ink Chrysanthemum, as large as a bowl, nestled inside the box.
When had she ever said she liked Ink Chrysanthemums?
Moreover, Ink Chrysanthemums were typically cultivated in pots for appreciation. What kind of scheme was Su Yue playing by plucking the flower and sending it to her?