Perhaps he was truly busy, for Jin Wang did not visit the rear courtyard again that month.
After two months of getting to know her, she discovered that Ziyu was exceptionally skilled at gathering gossip. If she were to transmigrate to the modern world, the title of top entertainment paparazzi would undoubtedly be hers.
And just like that, at the end of the month, Ziyu returned from an outing with a piece of news: during the morning court session, the Emperor had furiously reprimanded the Third Prince, Prince Heng, in the middle of the throne room and sentenced him to half a year of confinement to reflect on his misdeeds.
Speaking of outings, Bai Fei Wan had been quite surprised when Ziyu requested leave, and then she was filled with deep envy.
The servants in the Prince’s mansion were allowed one day off each month to visit their families, but they had to apply with the managing matron in advance and were subject to strict inspections upon leaving and returning.
Bai Fei Wan remembered reading about the news Ziyu brought back; this was the beginning of the Emperor’s move against Prince Heng and the Shen family.
The previous year, the Xirong had suddenly dispatched troops and seized a border city of Da Jin. Shen Hong had volunteered to lead an army to fight back.
By the end of this year, Shen Hong was expected to return in great victory. With the Shen family commanding a powerful army and acting with autonomy, none of the other princes would be able to contend with Prince Heng.
Therefore, the Emperor was using this opportunity to place Prince Heng under house arrest, slowly weakening his faction at court before Shen Hong’s return.
The female lead, Lin Wanrou, knew from her rebirth that around April of next year, Prince Heng and the Shen family would stage a rebellion to seize power. The Emperor would use this opportunity to completely eradicate the Shen family and imprison Prince Heng.
With the Shen family’s downfall, the Emperor would need someone unaffiliated with any princely faction to take over Shen Hong’s command of the Northwest Army.
So, she had Prince Rui prepare a replacement for Shen Hong in advance: Wei Ju. The Emperor would never have imagined that someone had already prepared a successor before he had even made his move against the Shen family.
Wei Ju did indeed successfully take control of the Northwest Army, which became a major asset in Prince Rui’s future ascension to the throne.
Moreover, it was precisely this that later made it convenient for Prince Rui, after becoming emperor, to collude with the Xirong, send Jin Wang on a military campaign, and have him killed in a coordinated attack.
Therefore, Wei Ju must be stopped from taking power. That way, Prince Rui and the Xirong would have no connection.
But how could she stop Wei Ju from taking over the Northwest Army? Ugh, so frustrating. How could a commoner like her possibly challenge the imperial clan? It was like an ant trying to shake an elephant.
Sigh, Bai Fei Wan thought. If only Jin Wang would listen to whatever I say.
Wait, she was just daydreaming. She hadn’t even met Jin Wang yet, and here she was, wishing he would listen to her.
A moment later, Bai Fei Wan saw Xiaoqin returning with a food container.
Oh well, overthinking was pointless. She would wait until she met Jin Wang and see if she could drop some subtle hints. For now, eating was the priority.
Watching Xiaoqin place the dishes on the table with somewhat rough movements, Bai Fei Wan didn’t pay it much mind. She was currently just a minor concubine who had never even met the prince. It was best to keep a low profile for now; the time to deal with her wasn’t right.
The meal on the table was still three dishes and a soup. All three dishes were vegetarian, a vibrant green, and the soup also had a few green leaves floating on top. Was this implying that she was just one of the prince’s many wives and concubines, destined to have a “green top”?
Suddenly, Bai Fei Wan felt that eating wasn’t so important anymore.
This was the meal she got even after bribing the kitchen staff daily. In the two months she had been here, the food had only been decent for the first two days after entering the mansion and during the few days when the new concubines were taking turns to serve in bed. Every day since had been worse than the last.
Sigh. Oh well. When you live under someone else’s roof, you have to bow your head. She would just think of it as a diet. With that thought, Bai Fei Wan tearfully finished half a bowl of rice before she couldn’t eat anymore.
She thought, if this continues, by the time her eldest and third brothers come to Jing Cheng next March, she’ll probably be as thin as a bamboo pole. Would her two brothers even recognize her?
Zi Zhu stood beside her, looking at the dishes on the table, tears streaming down her face. Her lady had never eaten such things at home. They were truly bullying them too much.
Seeing Zi Zhu cry, Bai Fei Wan quickly went to comfort her. “Oh my, why is our Zi Zhu crying? Did someone bully you? I’ll go get revenge for you.”
Through her sobs, Zi Zhu said, “My lady, the people in this mansion are too much! This food is simply not fit for human consumption.”
That sounded a bit odd. Why did it feel like she was scolding her?
Seeing Zi Zhu’s tears flow even more freely, Bai Fei Wan stopped overthinking and quickly consoled her. “Hey, Zi Zhu, it’s alright. Your lady doesn’t eat much anyway, so this is passable. It’s good enough that they didn’t give us spoiled food.”
“What? They might give us spoiled food?” And then she cried even harder.
Sigh. Why was she crying even more? Bai Fei Wan quickly said, “No, no spoiled food! I was just making a comparison. Looked at this way, it’s actually not so bad. Just think of it as a diet.
“Besides, it won’t always be like this. Once the prince comes to our courtyard, things will get better.
“When that time comes, I’ll have him build a small kitchen in our courtyard, and you can make desserts for me again. Then we can eat whatever we want.” She was getting a little carried away, setting up such a flag.
Zi Zhu slowly stopped crying. “Mhm, okay. When that time comes, I’ll make lots and lots of delicious food for you, my lady, to help you regain your health.”
Bai Fei Wan nodded repeatedly. “Mhm, mhm. Then I thank you, Zi Zhu. You’ve cried yourself into a little mess. Go wash up and eat.”
When Zi Zhu returned, her eyes were red. Ziyu asked, “Zi Zhu, what’s wrong? Your eyes are so red.”
Hearing Ziyu’s words, Xiaoqin and Xiaqiu glanced up before lowering their heads and continuing to eat their own meals.
“It’s nothing, just some dust in my eye. Let’s eat,” she said, and started eating.
“Oh, okay,” Ziyu replied, not pressing further, and began to eat as well.
Meanwhile, after finishing her meal, Bai Fei Wan went to the small garden in her courtyard. She looked at the spot she had designated in the middle of the garden for a swing. She had asked Ziyu to speak to the manager about it mid-month, but the manager’s side had been dragging their feet and hadn’t come to set it up.
Sigh. A tiger stranded in the lowlands is bullied by dogs. Forget it. She might as well go back to her room, do some yoga, and go to bed.
In the blink of an eye, it was the first day of the new month again. In the evening, the prince went to the Wangfei’s courtyard.
Seeing the prince enter the rear courtyard again, the women there became active once more. They all dressed themselves meticulously, eagerly awaiting the prince’s arrival.
Bai Fei Wan was the exception. After so much time had passed, she felt that the prince had already forgotten he had a concubine he had yet to favor.
And indeed, the prince had forgotten. The Emperor had tasked him with the follow-up handling of the personnel involved in the recent corruption case. As there were too many people involved, he had been busy for half a month straight. Only now was he finished. How could he possibly remember whether a minor concubine had served him in bed or not?
So, Bai Fei Wan continued her routine as before: waking up at eight in the morning, and after breakfast, heading back to the study to practice calligraphy and play chess.
Seeing her lady about to return to the study again, Zi Zhu hurried forward and took Bai Fei Wan’s arm. “Master, look, the weather is so nice today. Why don’t we go for a walk in the large garden of the rear courtyard?”
Go to the large garden? The novel said the garden was a high-risk zone for incidents. She quickly waved her hand. “Forget it. That garden is too far, I don’t feel like walking.”
Zi Zhu sounded like she was disappointed in her for not trying harder. “Master, your meals are so poor right now. You need to vie for favor! If you don’t go out, how will the prince see you? Are you expecting the prince to fall from the sky into our courtyard? I heard many of the women in the rear courtyard have gone to the garden hoping for a chance encounter with the prince.”
Hearing that all the prince’s women had gone, she was even more determined not to go. “Zi Zhu, there are so many of the prince’s women in the large garden. Right now, I’m the only one who hasn’t served in bed. If I go, they will definitely pick on me. I can’t go.”
After hearing Bai Fei Wan’s words, Zi Zhu fell silent. That was true. They would definitely bully her lady. They couldn’t go.
Seeing Zi Zhu suddenly wilt like a frost-bitten eggplant, Bai Fei Wan said, “We don’t have to go to the large garden. We can go to the small garden behind our courtyard. It just so happens that I haven’t sketched in a long time. The weather is nice today, so let’s go there. Quick, go get my painting tools. We’ll leave now.”
Looking at her lady’s hair, casually held up with a single hairpin, and her loose, flowing clothes, Zi Zhu said, “My lady, shouldn’t we freshen up before we go?”
Bai Fei Wan waved her hand. “No need. This is more comfortable. When you go out to have fun, you should be relaxed and at ease. Besides, there’s no one in the small garden. It’s fine.”
Hearing her master say so, Zi Zhu agreed. “Alright, then please wait a moment. I’ll go get the tools.”
Watching Zi Zhu go into the house to get the tools, Bai Fei Wan turned to Ziyu and said, “Zi Zhu and I are going to the small garden next door for a look. We might be back around noon. You watch the house while we’re gone. If anything happens, come find me there.”
“Yes, Master.”