Shuangyu swiftly packed the item and hurried off to find Feng Yuan. Handing him the box, she urged, “You must be extremely careful. This must reach The Emperor’s hands exactly as it is.” Such an object would only bring disaster if left in their possession.
Although their mistress had previously harbored ambitions, with the Successor Empress having just passed away not long ago, such aspirations would be highly detrimental to her. So soon after the Successor Empress’s demise, if their mistress appeared overly eager for that position, others might perceive it as disrespect toward the late empress, tarnishing her reputation.
Now that their mistress had finally come to her senses, someone had inexplicably emerged, attempting to “frame” her and cast her in an unjust light.
Feng Yuan was the chief eunuch of Chengqian Palace. Seeing Shuangyu’s anxious expression, he guessed that the contents of the box were problematic. Without delay or questioning, he took the box and headed straight for Qianqing Palace.
After handling this matter, Shuangyu grew concerned about other items delivered by the Neiwufu. She called Feiyu and Aunt Fang, who were organizing the storeroom in the back, and explained the situation to them, emphasizing, “We must double-check everything thoroughly. If it weren’t for our mistress wanting to inspect them, we wouldn’t have known such an item had been mixed in. We must be extra vigilant.” Had their mistress not counted them, they would have never noticed that the seven-tailed phoenix hairpin was adorned with nine Eastern Pearls, each the size of a thumb.
Feiyu and Aunt Fang wore solemn expressions. They were determined to safeguard Chengqian Palace. Now that their mistress had abandoned her ambitions, this palace had become the best possible refuge. Their mistress was lenient, straightforward, never struck palace maids in private, and generously bestowed gifts during festivals—truly a kind and benevolent mistress.
“You go attend to our mistress first,” Aunt Fang said, her eyebrows raised sternly. “Feiyu and I will thoroughly reorganize everything in the storeroom. Such items will never appear again.” Their mistress had fallen ill, and these people dared to scheme against her—they had truly miscalculated.
Shuangyu nodded and returned to the room, reporting the matter to Tong Jiaying. Tong Jiaying nodded in approval. “You’ve handled this well.” It was excellent that they could manage such matters on their own. After all, if she had to give instructions for everything, she would surely be exhausted.
Wasn’t it said that “a boss who can’t lead a team isn’t a good boss”? Shuangyu and the others worked in Chengqian Palace, while she worked for Kangxi, The Emperor. She hoped her own boss would be a bit better too.
Hearing the praise, Shuangyu’s complexion improved slightly, no longer as pale as before. She looked at Tong Jiaying and said, “As long as our mistress doesn’t blame us for our carelessness.” Ideally, such matters should have been checked and verified when the Neiwufu delivered the items. However, this time, due to their mistress’s illness and the fact that the Neiwufu had never made mistakes before, they had skipped this step.
From now on, they must never take things for granted again.
Tong Jiaying replied, “It’s not your fault. If anyone is to blame, it’s those with ulterior motives.” This incident couldn’t be pinned on them. She had been ill recently, and everyone in Chengqian Palace had taken turns watching over her. Shuangyu, in particular, had insisted on night shifts until she recovered somewhat, after which she no longer took them daily.
Even a senior palace maid like Shuangyu was in such a state, so the junior maids and eunuchs below were also on edge. If their ‘boss’ were to fall into trouble, where would these people go? They, too, had been taking turns keeping watch day and night like Shuangyu and the others. None of them had slept well during this period, and their spirits were undoubtedly affected.
“You’ve all worked hard these past few days. Once Aunt Fang finishes her tasks, tell her to distribute an extra two months’ wages to everyone as compensation for their efforts. As for Feiyu, Aunt Fang, and Feng Yuan, give them three months’ wages.” After learning from the Original Host that all her assets were now hers, Tong Jiying checked the Original Host’s account books and discovered that the Original Host was quite wealthy.
In addition to the annual stipend sent by the Neiwufu for her rank as Noble Consort, Kangxi also provided her with an additional annual compensation of one hundred taels of gold, specifically for her as someone who had ‘lost the position of Empress’ and ‘could no longer hold the title of Empress.’
It was worth noting that, from the Original Host’s memories, the Empress Dowager’s stipend included only twenty taels of gold. Yet, she now received an extra one hundred taels annually from Kangxi!
Converted to silver, this amounted to over a thousand taels, meaning Kangxi had granted her an additional allowance.
Delighted by this unexpected boon, Shuangyu immediately expressed her gratitude, “This servant thanks the mistress for the reward.”
Tong Jiying still hadn’t grown accustomed to such formalities. She turned away and gazed at the pear blossoms, which were nearly gone. The flowering period of pear blossoms was far too short—within just a few days, they would vanish entirely. The tree had already sprouted lush green leaves, and soon, it would become a flourishing pear tree, offering shade beneath its branches.
In the Qianqing Palace, Kangxi was deeply troubled by the news from the front lines. The Grand Empress Dowager had advised him not to be too hasty, urging patience in such matters. Yet, after several years, there was still no sign of improvement in the war.
In early March, when Wu Sangui declared himself emperor, Kangxi was filled with anger and frustration. To make matters worse, the Successor Empress had just passed away at that time, adding to his sorrow. Just as he had begun to move past the mourning period for the Successor Empress, the Grand Empress Dowager brought up the matter of his cousin. He understood her intentions, but he was displeased that she harbored such thoughts while the Successor Empress’s remains had barely grown cold.
A few days ago, when his cousin admitted her mistake, he felt a sense of relief. But within two days, she suddenly fell into a high fever and nearly suffered convulsions. In just over ten days, she had experienced two severe fevers, each nearly claiming her life.
Kangxi found this series of events deeply suspicious.
However, none of these matters were as pressing as the affairs of the court. Kangxi set them aside for the time being, instructing Gu Wenxing only to keep an eye on the situation. But now, the box sent by his cousin contained a phoenix hairpin adorned with seven tails and nine pearls.
With a sweep of his hand, Kangxi angrily knocked the black lacquer box inlaid with mother-of-pearl to the ground. The court was already overwhelmed with political affairs, and now someone in the Imperial Harem was scheming against his cousin.
Gu Wenxing immediately knelt and begged for forgiveness. He had no idea what was inside the box and hadn’t expected the Emperor to react with such fury.
“Investigate!” Kangxi’s voice was calm, yet it carried an undercurrent of rage.
Gu Wenxing hastily picked up the fallen box and scrambled out of the room. He wondered which of the consorts would dare to frame the Noble Consort in such a manner.
The Emperor had always felt that the Noble Consort’s illness was both sudden and suspicious. Two consecutive bouts of high fever—had it not been for the Noble Consort’s great fortune and strong constitution, she would have perished from the fever long ago. The imperial physicians sent by the Emperor had examined the Noble Consort several times, all concluding there were signs of human intervention, yet no one could find any evidence.
The Emperor did not wish to alarm the Noble Consort, fearing it might alert the culprit. But with such incidents happening again and again, the Emperor simply had no time to spare at the moment. Once he did, he dared not imagine how miserable the perpetrator would be.
For ten consecutive days, no one in the palace organized visits to pay respects to the Grand Empress Dowager. Although the Grand Empress Dowager had already issued an order exempting everyone from paying respects recently, staying cooped up in their own palaces, unable to see the Emperor or the Grand Empress Dowager, left everyone feeling uneasy.
In Chongcui Palace, Consort Wu waited for a long time but received no reply from Tong Jiaying. Fearing that Tong Jiaying might have changed her mind, she went to the rear hall to inform Rong Pin, the Primary Consort of Chongcui Palace, that she intended to pay respects to the Noble Consort.