This monster really was good at guessing.
But she had no intention of doing what the monster said.
Yixiu picked up her brush and crossed out Chengqian Palace, which she had just written, then wrote Xianfu Palace beside it.
There was nothing particularly special about the residences assigned to the newly arrived Mistresses. Consort Hua had lost interest in making further changes, so she simply let the Empress have her way.
On the fifteenth day of the ninth month, the Mistresses entered the palace.
The viewers hadn’t thought much of it at first. After all, everyone knew Zhen Huan would live in Broken Jade Pavilion. But then the plot caught everyone completely off guard.
Three sedan chairs came to a stop in front of the side gate of Shunzhen Gate.
Zhen Huan, An Lingrong, and Shen Meizhuang stepped out of the sedan chairs in turn. When Zhen Huan saw Shen Meizhuang, she smiled and called, “Sister Mei.”
Shen Meizhuang smiled gracefully and walked over to Zhen Huan. She took Zhen Huan’s hand and gestured for her to listen to the eunuch first; they could catch up later.
Zhen Huan nodded with a faint smile.
Aunt Fangruo spoke at just the right moment. “Mistresses, now is not the time to talk. The eunuch will take each of you to your respective Palace Chambers shortly.”
Shen Meizhuang nodded slightly to Aunt Fangruo, then gave Zhen Huan’s hand a squeeze.
“Nanny is right. Once we’ve each settled in, we can have tea together.”
The eunuch waiting by the side gate of Shunzhen Gate bowed. “It’s getting late. I ask all the Mistresses to enter the palace at once.”
Aunt Fangruo asked with a smile, “Which palace is Attendant Wan assigned to?”
“Xianfu Palace.”
The mistress of Xianfu Palace was Consort Jing. She was gentle and easy to get along with, and Xianfu Palace was in a good location, too. It was a fine place to live.
So Aunt Fangruo smiled at Zhen Huan and said, “Mistress, you can go there without worry.”
Zhen Huan let go of Shen Meizhuang’s hand and was just about to leave when the eunuch added,
“Noble Lady Shen is also at Xianfu Palace. The two Mistresses can go together.”
Zhen Huan turned around in delight, and Shen Meizhuang took her hand.
The two exchanged smiles; everything was understood without a word.
Onscreen, the sisters smiled at each other. Offscreen, the audience stared wide-eyed.
They couldn’t even spare a thought for the Sister Mei–Huan sisterly bond, because the plot had already veered in an uncontrollable direction.
Zhen Huan had moved into Xianfu Palace!
The bullet comments froze for two seconds, then went completely wild.
【Wait, am I seeing things? How could Huanhuan end up in Xianfu Palace? Isn’t she supposed to live in Broken Jade Pavilion? Does this really make sense?】
【Did Director Zheng recut the entire show? Why are there so many changes?】
【I think I need to log in again. This is too ridiculous.】
The bullet comments were howling, and things weren’t any quieter on Yixiu’s end.
She rubbed her forehead, her usually composed smile starting to falter.
Seeing this, Jianqiu hurriedly handed what she was holding to Huichun, then stepped forward to massage Yixiu.
“Are you feeling any better, Your Highness?”
Yixiu felt a little more relaxed, but the bullet comments hadn’t stopped for even a moment, and she still felt unwell.
Seeing that Yixiu still looked unwell, Jianqiu said worriedly, “Your Highness, your servant will send someone to fetch an Imperial Physician.”
Yixiu waved her hand.
“I’m fine.”
Jianqiu sighed and could only continue massaging Yixiu.
After a while, Yixiu got used to it and felt less uncomfortable, so she had the leisure to listen to the bullet comments.
The bullet comments were still arguing nonstop about Zhen Huan moving into Xianfu Palace, as if something momentous had happened.
【If Huanhuan can’t get into Broken Jade Pavilion, the whole plot from here on will change. The musk beneath the osmanthus tree is an important reason Zhen Huan avoids favor. Besides, she isn’t the mistress of a palace, so there’s no way she could sneak out on New Year’s Eve without anyone noticing. Then Lady Yu won’t be able to appear, either.】
【Broken Jade Pavilion is a really important plot point. Setting aside Lady Yu, who swooped in to benefit from the situation, how are they going to handle Chun’s favor and Qi Noble Lady becoming close to Zhen Huan, then betraying her, without Broken Jade Pavilion? Are they going to pack all of that into Consort Jing’s Xianfu Palace? There won’t be enough room there, will there?】
【And you’ve all forgotten another really important plot point: Consort Hua burning down Broken Jade Pavilion. Huanhuan used that opportunity to completely bring Consort Hua down. Now that Huanhuan is in Xianfu Palace, is Consort Hua going to burn down Xianfu Palace instead? Otherwise, how will Consort Hua be written out?】