Yuan Mingdi scanned the hall. Everyone was performing their ceremonial greetings, and nothing seemed amiss.
As the Emperor of Da Yin, no one would dare speak recklessly in his presence. Thinking he must have been distracted, Yuan Mingdi chuckled softly and continued forward, taking his seat at the head of the table.
The banquet officially began. Ding Shanggong of the Shang Shi Bureau led the palace maids and eunuchs from the Si Shan Si to serve wine, mooncakes essential for the Mid-Autumn Festival, various fresh fruits, crabs, and more. The low tables were laden with food.
Yuan Mingdi raised his wine cup, offered a few auspicious words, and everyone stood to drink together. After that, they were free to eat and drink as they pleased.
Musicians from the Si Yue Si of the Shang Yi Bureau entered with zithers, followed gracefully by dancers. As the zithers played in harmony, the dancers began their elegant movements.
Despite the fine wine and delicacies, Jiang Ling had no appetite. She kept her eyes fixed on the palace maids and eunuchs serving the food. She noticed that aside from Yuan Mingdi and the young princes and princesses, all the imperial concubines were served identical dishes.
Seating arrangements were managed by the Shang Yi Bureau, while meals were overseen by the Shang Shi Bureau. Jiang Ling discreetly observed that the dishes on the low tables before Su Yue and Noble Lady Xu were exactly the same as hers.
It seemed that the Shang Yi and Shang Shi Bureaus were controlled by different factions.
Since it was impossible to determine who was aligned with whom, Jiang Ling decided to enjoy the rare treat of crab. She selected a female crab and cracked it open. Mid-Autumn crabs were not yet fully grown, so the roe was sparse, leaving the shell filled with watery insides.
Noble Lady Xu glanced at Jiang Ling. Though her tone was light, her eyes held mockery. She leaned away, carefully pulling at her skirt to avoid any mess.
“Oh, Jiang Cairen, you’re splattering crab juice everywhere. Crabs are so pungent and hard to clean. Be careful not to stain your dress.”
Jiang Ling was an expert at eating crab. Even cracking it open by hand, she could enjoy the roe and meat and still reassemble the shell perfectly.
Moreover, her fingers were clean, and there was enough space between them for someone to pass through. Noble Lady Xu was clearly picking a fight.
In the hall, the strings and zithers played melodiously, and the dancers swirled in their feathered robes. Yuan Mingdi, eyes half-closed, supported his head with one hand and tapped to the rhythm with the other, lost in the music and dance.
Zhao Defei chatted cheerfully with Li Jieyu, while Lin Guifei sat upright and proper. Xiao Yunrui mirrored her posture, sitting straight-backed. Xiao Yunjue nibbled on a mooncake, crumbs scattering around his mouth as his nursemaid and palace maids knelt nearby, frequently wiping and tending to him. Others either enjoyed the performances or gathered to play drinking games.
Noble Lady Xu’s remarks caused no stir. Only Su Yue, seated to the right, turned to glance at Jiang Ling with a look of disdain.
Adhering to her principle of avoiding conflict, Jiang Ling apologized and handed over a cloth from her table. “Here, use this to wipe up.”
For some reason, Noble Lady Xu’s face happened to be close to Jiang Ling’s hand. She leaned back abruptly and snatched the cloth away.
Suddenly, Noble Lady Xu screamed, dropping the cloth and raising her hand. A bead of blood welled on her fingertip.
“Su Cai Ren, you… you…” Tears streamed down Noble Lady Xu’s face as she recoiled in fear.
A dish clattered to the floor from her table, shattering with a crisp sound that drew the attention of those nearby.
A palace maid rushed forward anxiously. “What happened, Noble Lady Xu? Oh no, you’re bleeding!” Unsure what to do, she hurried off to find Chen Shanggong.
The commotion reached Yuan Mingdi’s ears. He opened his eyes and raised his hand to signal the music to stop. The dancers hurriedly bowed and retreated to the side.
“What has happened?” Yuan Mingdi’s voice was deep and grave.
Chen Shanggong whispered her report before Lin Guifei and the others. Hearing the emperor’s query, Lin Guifei rose and made a slight curtsey, saying, “Your Majesty, Noble Lady Xu has injured her finger. This humble consort was just going to check on her.”
Lin Guifei, along with Consort Zhao and Consort Liu, walked over together. Chen Shanggong quietly instructed the palace maids to have all unrelated persons step aside and not approach.
Su Yue had somehow made her way to Noble Lady Xu’s side and said with concern, “Sister Xu, don’t move. Stopping the bleeding is most important.”
“What is going on here?” Lin Guifei asked sternly, her expression severe as her gaze swept over the women present, her voice carrying an inexplicable authority.
“Your Highness.” Noble Lady Xu hurriedly paid her respects, seemingly enduring pain as she bit her lip and choked out, “Earlier, Jiang Cairen was eating crab and accidentally splattered some juice on my clothes. I merely joked about it, reminding Jiang Cairen to be careful not to stain her dress. It was all my careless tongue—I suppose Jiang Cairen thought I was mocking her. She thrust a handkerchief toward me, saying she wanted to wipe the stain. Since I had offended her, yet it was such a small matter, I moved aside and took the handkerchief to return it to Su Cairen. But then…”
She sobbed, her eyes widening with terror, “There was a needle hidden in the handkerchief! If I hadn’t moved aside, it would have struck my face!”
Consort Zhao wore a faint smile as she subtly examined Noble Lady Xu, her gaze briefly passing over Su Yue. She asked, “How could such a thing happen? In broad daylight, before His Majesty and everyone present—attempted murder?”
Consort Liu stood there silently. Lin Guifei frowned and glanced at Jiang Ling, demanding, “Where is the needle?”
Su Yue hurriedly presented the needle wrapped in the handkerchief with both hands, saying, “I picked it up earlier. Please examine it, Your Highness.”
The needle, resting on the white silk handkerchief, still bore traces of blood on its tip.
Lin Guifei’s expression turned stern as she looked at Jiang Ling and asked, “Jiang Cairen, do you have anything to say for yourself?”
The incident had unfolded too quickly. Jiang Ling remained dazed, her mind buzzing and her heart racing wildly.
Caught in this predicament and being interrogated by Lin Guifei before everyone, Jiang Ling was so tense she saw black spots before her eyes, barely managing to keep from fainting.
“Your Highness, I didn’t do it. I don’t know how to use a needle, I’ve never even seen one… I truly had no intention of harming her face. She’s not even as pretty as I am…”
Jiang Ling’s thoughts were in disarray, and her words came out just as chaotic. She didn’t know what she was saying; her mouth seemed completely disconnected from her brain.
Noble Lady Xu gritted her teeth secretly, forcing herself to endure. She wept pitifully, saying, “I may not be beautiful, Jiang Cairen, but why must you target me and vent your anger on me? How have I offended you…”
“This lowly one is at fault.” Chen Shanggong stepped forward and said, “This lowly one may have been somewhat negligent. Earlier, when the attendants arranged the seating, Su Cairen was placed above Jiang Cairen.”
Having said this, she bowed deeply to Jiang Ling and said humbly, “This lowly one has offended and slighted Jiang Cairen. I beg for your punishment.”
“Your fault can wait.”
Lin Guifei dismissed Chen Shanggong and said sharply to Jiang Ling, “The attendants are all busy. It was merely a matter of seating order—if it was wrong, you should have pointed it out. Was it worth trying to ruin someone’s face over it?”
Jiang Ling’s mind went blank. Though more wronged than Dou E, her attempts at defense had only been interpreted as sarcastic discontent. She appeared exactly like someone caught in misdeeds, hastily retracting her words in panic.
Consort Zhao’s face brimmed with a smile as she said, “Imperial Concubine, Noble Lady Xu is fortunate to have only suffered a scratched finger without serious injury. Since it’s the festive season and His Majesty is present, perhaps we could investigate thoroughly after the banquet concludes. Does Imperial Concubine find this acceptable?”
Imperial Concubine Lin pondered momentarily and was about to nod when Yuan Mingdi approached. Furious that someone would dare cause trouble during the joyous Mid-Autumn celebrations, the emperor flicked his sleeve and declared sternly, “How audacious! Investigate this thoroughly at once – I shall not be lenient!”
Consort Zhao fell silent while Imperial Concubine Lin curtseyed in acknowledgment. She proceeded to question Su Yue and the attending palace maids for testimony.
Su Yue stated, “I saw Jiang Cairen cracking crabs. Though I didn’t catch what Noble Lady Xu said to her, I witnessed Jiang Cairen handing a handkerchief to Noble Lady Xu, who then cried out with blood on her finger.”
The cracked crabs remained on the low table before Jiang Ling, while Noble Lady Xu’s lotus-colored court dress bore several stains.
The attending maid testified, “This humble servant heard Noble Lady Xu smilingly tell Jiang Cairen that crab juice had splashed on her dress and would be hard to clean. Jiang Cairen brought a handkerchief before Noble Lady Xu, who leaned back while accepting it. Then Noble Lady Xu’s finger started bleeding.”
Jiang Ling’s face turned ashen. Even with ten or a hundred mouths, she couldn’t clear herself now.
Firstly, though her seating arrangement had been mistaken, Chen Shang Gong hadn’t made excuses but voluntarily stepped forward to admit the error and offer sincere apologies.
Yet Chen Shang Gong’s mistake was almost negligible. Since Jiang Ling and Su Yue had been conferred their titles merely two or three months apart, with Su Yue having just received the emperor’s favor last month while Jiang Ling had long been in cold storage, the seating error served as both trigger and justification for Jiang Ling’s alleged resentment.
As Imperial Concubine Lin put it, seating order was trivial. By not raising the issue directly yet bearing grudges, Jiang Ling had supposedly vented her anger on innocent Noble Lady Xu.
Neither Su Yue nor the maid had directly accused Jiang Ling, merely stating what they witnessed. Combined with the cracked crabs, Noble Lady Xu’s injured finger, and the bloodstained needle, the facts appeared indisputable.
Given Jiang Ling’s existing enmity with Su Yue, even if she hadn’t directly orchestrated this, she was deemed involved. Yet Jiang Ling couldn’t mention prior incidents like the Ink Chrysanthemum dispute.
The rights and wrongs remained unclear, only proving her history of conflict with Su Yue.
The seating issue, compounded by old grievances, had allegedly driven her to take out her anger on an unrelated party.
Jiang Ling was now branded as a madwoman who dared commit violence openly at the Mid-Autumn palace banquet!
With the emperor, princes, princesses, and all imperial concubines present, imagine the consequences had Jiang Ling injured the emperor himself!
Seeing death inevitable, Jiang Ling’s nearly-snapped nerves suddenly relaxed.
That such elaborate efforts were deployed against her – what an honor!
Yet Jiang Ling failed to comprehend: what purpose could eliminating a mere Cairen like her serve?
Why would Noble Lady Xu frame her?
Facing death, Jiang Ling still hadn’t figured out whether Su Yue’s backing came from Imperial Concubine Lin, Consort Zhao, or Consort Liu!
Jiang Ling’s heart screamed with frantic complaints: “I’m neither favored nor interested in competing for cow dung with you all, why must you torment me so!” Think fast, think fast, could I possibly seek help from the cow dung…”
Upon hearing the familiar term “cow dung,” Yuan Mingdi flew into a rage. Interpreting the implied meaning, he immediately concluded it must have come from Jiang Ling.
But when he turned his murderous gaze toward her, ready to order her arrest, Yuan Mingdi froze on the spot.
Unaware of the turmoil around them, Jiang Ling stood pale-faced with vacant eyes, rooted like a fool—clearly, she hadn’t uttered a single word!