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Facing a Palace Intrigue incident for the first time was far more stimulating than the quickly skipped-over text in a game. Yun Jiao, still shaken, devoured three portions of pastries before she heard her roommate, Consort Xin, tell her palace maid to go fetch her dried bedding later. The palace maid was currently mending clothes for her, so she merely acknowledged the order.
Logically, as long as she went later, the blame wouldn’t fall on her.
But she was already armed with the Rewind Cheat. How could she let a villain get away with a baseless accusation?!
Yun Jiao thought to herself, there’s a saying about being a thief for a thousand days, but none about guarding against one for a thousand days. Today, she, Sherlock Jiao, was going to bring this wicked person—who could afford Foreign Glazed Porcelain and still stooped to such schemes—to justice! So rich, yet so cruel!
“I’ll go get mine first, then.”
Yun Jiao got up and went to the room where the dried bedding was kept. Beside each lady’s bedding rack was a nameplate; as long as one wasn’t completely blind, they wouldn’t take the wrong one. After grabbing her own bedding, she walked straight to Consort Ji’s room and knocked. “I am Yun Daying.”
“Yun Daying? Come in.”
Consort Ji’s voice was tinged with indifference.
She was about to soar to great heights. Why waste effort on a minor Daying who was merely a bit prettier? She was probably here to curry favor.
So, after Yun Daying entered, Consort Ji, maintaining a cool and aloof expression, first tried to put her in her place. “My elder sister may have some favor, but not just anyone can get an audience with the Emperor.”
Yun Jiao: “The Emperor? That’s not important.”
Consort Ji was slightly taken aback.
Yun Jiao: “What’s important is that when I was getting my bedding just now, I took a sniff of your quilt.”
Consort Ji’s expression changed drastically. Her cheeks flushed red, a mix of shame and anger. “You… why were you sniffing my quilt?”
She never thought Yun Daying’s designs were on her!
“My sense of smell is more sensitive than most. I smelled a very strong scent of Tulip on your quilt. A freshly washed and dried quilt shouldn’t have such a floral fragrance—mine doesn’t.”
Yun Jiao didn’t want to take the fall, nor did she want anyone else to.
She was just a pitiful soul who had to fetch her own dried bedding. The task of deducing the real culprit was best left to the powerful victim!
This was risk outsourcing.
“I’m allergic to Tulip pollen. I get a rash as soon as I touch it.”
This time, Consort Ji’s face wasn’t red, but her pretty features turned grim. “I should thank you for warning me, but… Tulips have no scent. How did you smell a strong fragrance?”
“You don’t believe me? Why don’t you go roll around in your bedding later?”
“It’s not that I don’t believe you,” Consort Ji composed herself. “I will verify it. But don’t spread this matter around, lest we alert the culprit.”
Consort Ji didn’t ask why Yun Jiao was helping her.
She must be here to pledge allegiance and show goodwill. Seeing that Yun Jiao was still sitting there, not daring to leave, she said magnanimously, “You may go back now.”
“No,”
Yun Jiao leaned forward, rubbing her thumb and index finger together lightly. “Consort Ji, you wouldn’t want word of your Tulip pollen allergy to get out, would you?”
She wouldn’t use the information to scheme in the dark.
She was going to use information asymmetry to rob the rich and help the poor, right to their face.
…
Consort Ji’s eyes widened so much they nearly popped out of their sockets, her cool demeanor shattered. She asked in disbelief, “You’re actually extorting me for silver?”
“Extortion is such an ugly word. It’s just that I have an illness. I can’t help but talk in my sleep while walking. If you could spare some money for me to get some medicine, Consort Ji, my illness will go away.”
“What medicine do you need? I’ll have Qingmei fetch it for you.”
“Easy. Fifty taels of silver will brew for one hour.”
When Qingmei returned with the bedding, her mistress told her in a cold voice to put the bedding down far away, then added, “Bring out that small chest… no need for the large one.”
Then, Consort Ji gave Yun Daying fifty taels.
Yun Jiao had gone empty-handed and returned fully-laden.
As expected, Consort Ji did not make a fuss. Meanwhile, Yun Jiao carefully inspected her room every day, waiting for the Foreign Glazed Porcelain vase to appear.
The new ladies had to attend lessons on etiquette; they weren’t in their rooms all day.
If a villain was determined to do harm, there were plenty of opportunities. Sure enough, on the afternoon of the second day, Yun Jiao found the Foreign Glazed Porcelain vase under her bed. She disguised it slightly and knocked on Consort Ji’s door again.
This time, too, she left with fifty taels.
Because Consort Ji was on guard, she didn’t have large-scale contact with the allergen. She only had a few red dots on her wrist, which didn’t affect her appointment with Shufei, though unfortunately, she didn’t get to see the Emperor. Consort Ji returned in disappointment, immediately apprehended Consort Xin, and investigated the matter until the truth came to light.
It turned out that Consort Xin and Consort Ji had an old grudge from before entering the palace, and she knew about her old rival’s weakness. She hadn’t planned on using it so readily, but Shufei’s invitation had thoroughly ignited her jealousy, leading her to harbor malicious thoughts.
By the time Yun Jiao got to enjoy this fresh piece of gossip, Consort Xin had already been expelled from the palace.
Bad news: The excellent roommate she had worked so hard to get in her perfect starting scenario turned out to be a major villain.
Good news: For the remaining half of the month, she would enjoy a luxury single room all to herself.
“Consort Xin was always so quiet and proper. I never thought she’d be such a ruthless character,” Attendant He lamented, then stared suspiciously at Yun Jiao’s face. “Why do I feel like your face has gotten a bit rounder? Right, you’ve been getting extra meals these past few days. It seems the iron rooster has finally been willing to spend some Kitchen Warming Money.”
Kitchen Warming Money was a tip for the imperial kitchen staff.
Without paying it, one could only eat cold leftovers. It wasn’t that Yun Jiao had been stingy before; she was genuinely broke and could only rely on constantly reloading to get better dishes. “It’s not easy trying to eat something good!”
And in Weiyang Palace, the wearer of the dragon-embroidered underpants had to take them off and put them back on again because she was dissatisfied with her late-night snack, forcefully shutting down the Dragon Vein.
Over and over, back and forth, several times.
Now, the Emperor truly had no interest in the harem.
Several days later, the harem was filled with grievances. The Empress Dowager couldn’t bear to watch any longer. Thinking the Emperor was tired of the old faces, she decided to conduct a surprise assessment of the new ladies in Chu Xiu Palace—as long as their etiquette was generally acceptable, they would all be brought into the harem first! Anyone who could win the Emperor’s favor and keep him around would be handsomely rewarded!