Concubine Li’s eyes flickered slightly as she said, “I’m only worried about delaying my service to the Prince. Concubine Shen, you entered the mansion at the same time as Lady Hai. Do you really think Lady Hai’s mistake was serious enough to warrant house arrest?”
For a moment, both of their gazes fell on Shen Lingshu. She looked up, seemingly oblivious to the tension between them, and replied, “Concubine Hai tried to harm others but failed, then attempted to shift the blame onto the Concubine. The Concubine has been magnanimous.”
“Concubine Hai is covered in rashes, so naturally, she cannot serve the Prince,” Shen Lingshu added.
“Concubine Li, did you hear that? If I weren’t so magnanimous, I would have sent her straight to the estate,” Side Consort Fang said, her lips curling slightly. “Instead of worrying about such matters, why not focus your attention on the Prince? Why is there still no movement in your belly? Should I call a physician for you?”
At the mention of children, Concubine Li’s face darkened. Was it that she didn’t want to conceive? The Prince only visited her once or twice a month—how could she possibly get pregnant?
“Greetings to the Concubine. Please forgive me for arriving late today… cough…”
Before Concubine Lin even entered the hall, her voice, accompanied by coughing, echoed through the room as she apologized.
Shen Lingshu straightened her posture. This was a remarkable woman!
In the early days, she feigned illness to avoid serving the Prince for the sake of her beloved. Later, she employed various tactics to compete for favor. After giving birth to a daughter, she retreated into obscurity, but her skill in perfumery, even more refined than Side Consort Fang’s, was a formidable weapon in palace intrigue.
Concubine Lin wore a light green gown, her face pale and her figure as delicate as a willow swaying in the wind, as if she might collapse at any moment. Truly, she resembled the frail Lin sister.
“Concubine Lin, if you’re unwell, didn’t I say you needn’t come to pay your respects?” Side Consort Fang frowned, eyeing Concubine Lin’s fragile form. With such a frail body, it was hard to say whether she could even survive, let alone conceive.
“The Concubine is too kind. I thought that since I was feeling slightly better, I should come to pay my respects,” Concubine Lin replied, each word seeming to require great effort. She turned and said, “Xiuhua, bring the sutras I copied for the Concubine.”
Xiuhua stepped forward and presented the neatly copied sutras. Side Consort Fang examined them—the characters were tidy and flawless, a testament to the sincerity of the one who had copied them.
Side Consort Fang beamed with delight.
Concubine Li muttered a few sour remarks but did not trouble Concubine Lin further.
Shen Lingshu’s gaze lingered on Concubine Lin. If she hadn’t known from the script that Concubine Lin was feigning illness, she would never have suspected it, given her appearance.
After some pleasantries, Side Consort Fang got down to business, clearly arranging the schedule for each concubine to serve the Prince.
Apart from the first and fifteenth days of the month, the Prince would visit Side Consort Fang’s Autumn Crabapple Courtyard twice.
For the remaining days, the Prince would enter the rear courtyard every other day. Shen Lingshu would serve four times, Concubine Lin three times, and Concubine Li three times.
“Concubine, why do I only get to serve the Prince three times a month?” Concubine Li was the first to protest. How could a newly arrived concubine serve the Prince four times?
“What good does it do if the Prince visits you more often? Are you pregnant?” Side Consort Fang glanced at her sideways, her words striking right at Concubine Li’s heart.
“…”
Concubine Li’s face darkened with anger. She turned to Concubine Lin and demanded, “Why does she get three times? She isn’t pregnant either, is she?”
“Cough…”
Concubine Lin, who had been singled out, guiltily covered her face and coughed. Seeing her poor health, the Prince never demanded her to serve him intimately. Every time he visited her, they simply chatted under the covers.
“Concubine Lin is merely frail, not incapable of serving?”
Side Consort Fang put on an impartial air and said, “I value rules above all and will ensure the Prince’s favor is evenly distributed.”
“Side Consort hasn’t conceived either, so why does she get four turns?” Concubine Li asked indignantly!
“If you have the ability to bear a child and earn the title of Side Consort from the Prince, I can add one turn for you too.” Side Consort Fang took a sip of tea, suppressing the smile at the corner of her lips.
Concubine Li stormed off in a huff.
Watching her retreating figure, Side Consort Fang was inwardly overjoyed. She said, “Concubine Lin, Concubine Shen, serve the Prince well and bear him heirs as soon as possible.”
“Yes,” Concubine Lin and Shen Lingshu replied in unison. Concubine Lin excused herself, citing poor health, and left. Side Consort Fang kept Shen Lingshu behind.
“Matron Gui, move that pot of double-petaled jasmine to Concubine Shen’s room.”
Side Consort Fang gave the order, and Shen Lingshu immediately rose to express her gratitude. As soon as she performed the courtesy, Side Consort Fang deliberately refrained from telling her to rise, leaving Shen Lingshu holding a half-squatting posture.
Side Consort Fang leisurely sipped her tea.
“Side Consort must have forgotten to tell me to rise, so I’ll get up on my own.”
Shen Lingshu secretly rubbed her numb legs. Was this the only trick Side Consort Fang knew?
Side Consort Fang: “…”
She had intended to put her in her place. Was Shen Lingshu truly ignorant, or just pretending?
“Look at me, I’ve been talking so much I forgot to offer tea to Concubine Shen.”
Side Consort Fang shot a glance at Caolv and said, “Hurry up and serve tea to Concubine Shen.”
Caolv approached with a tray and said, “Concubine Shen, please have some tea.”
As soon as Shen Lingshu picked up the teacup, Caolv swiftly withdrew the tray.
“It’s scalding me!”
Shen Lingshu directly threw the teacup in her hand toward Side Consort Fang. The scalding tea splashed onto Side Consort Fang’s dress.
Shen Lingshu seized the initiative, pointing at Caolv and saying, “You servant, serving such hot tea! It’s fortunate it scalded me. What if it had scalded Side Consort or the Prince? What would we do then!”
“Side Consort.”
Matron Gui helped Side Consort Fang stand aside and coldly rebuked, “Side Consort kindly offered you tea, yet you intended to harm her?”
If it were the original paper-thin character, she would likely have been frightened into kneeling and begging for mercy. But Shen Lingshu was a triple-crown actress. She had no intention of enduring the hardships and suffering the original character went through in the early stages!
She was determined to establish a fearless persona. Otherwise, the schemes of the inner courtyard might not kill her, but they could make her wish she were dead!
“What a grave injustice!”
Shen Lingshu took a step back, wearing an innocent and bewildered expression as she asked, “The tea served by this maid was too hot, and I couldn’t hold it steady. How could I be foolish enough to harm Side Consort?”
“Speak! Are you jealous of my beauty? Did you deliberately serve such hot tea to scald my hand?”
Shen Lingshu grabbed Caolv’s collar and demanded. Caolv was stunned. Up close, Shen Lingshu’s face was indeed beautiful—so beautiful it inspired envy.
Faced with Shen Lingshu’s aggressive questioning, she instinctively looked toward Side Consort Fang.
Shen Lingshu exclaimed in surprise, “You wouldn’t say that Side Consort deliberately told you to serve such hot tea to scald my hand, would you?”
Side Consort Fang’s face instantly darkened.
“Impossible!”
Shen Lingshu denied it swiftly and launched into a flattering mode: “The Concubine is both beautiful and kind-hearted, fair and just—how could she ever do something so bullying?”
Shen Lingshu piled one lofty compliment after another onto Side Consort Fang, then added: “It must be you, this clumsy maid, who messed up and now blames others!”
Side Consort Fang: “…”