In the Princess’s residence, Lu Qiuci and his servant were not the only ones who had spent the night awake.
The West Wing housed all the young men whom the Princess had taken into her harem but who had not yet been granted official status.
Among them, two were particularly favoured—Xia Ling of the Qiyun Pavilion, and Bai Chuyin of the Fushu Pavilion. Clang, clang
In the West Courtyard, countless men had been favoured by the Crown Princess only to be cast aside; yet these two alone had enjoyed unwavering favour for several years, having become the evergreen pillars of the Crown Princess’s harem.
Even without formal titles, the servants still treated them as masters. It was common knowledge that as soon as the official consort entered the door, the Princess would bestow titles upon these two young gentlemen; the only question was whether they would be named secondary consorts or concubines.
If one were to be named a secondary consort—second only to the official consort—would that person be Xia Ling or Bai Chuyin?
Or might both be named secondary consorts?
It was truly impossible to predict, and as a result, undercurrents were swirling in the inner quarters of the Crown Princess’s residence.
Within the Qiyun Courtyard, Xia Ling had been restless all night. Logically speaking, the Crown Princess should not have taken a fancy to the son of this fifth-rank minor official whom the Emperor had forced upon her—it was nothing short of an insult.
Consider the imperial princesses who have already taken consorts—whose consorts do not come from distinguished backgrounds? Sons of duchies and marquisates, or the offspring of high-ranking officials—these are merely the minimum qualifications.
By comparison, the Crown Princess’s consort offers her no advantage whatsoever; rather, he seems to be an outlet for His Majesty’s dissatisfaction with her. It would be a disgrace even to be seen in his company—how could the Crown Princess possibly be satisfied?
Yet the Crown Princess has, of all places, had him lodged in the East Wing—that very place which neither Xia Ling nor Bai Chuyin have ever been permitted to enter.
How could he not be anxious?
The palace walls are thick; from the rear courtyard, not a sound from the front can be heard. He has no way of knowing when the banquet will end, or whether the Crown Princess has already made her way to the rear.
Xia Ling has no choice but to station men to keep a close watch on the East Wing, to see when the Crown Princess might arrive.
If the Crown Princess took a fancy to this Consort, she would certainly not be late in coming to the East Wing; conversely, she would show no haste, and might not even rest there at all, returning directly to the Chenghua Hall in the front courtyard to retire after her favour.
Yet, whatever the case, Xia Ling had never dared to imagine—that the Crown Princess would not come at all that night.
On their wedding night, the Crown Princess left the Consort alone in the bridal chamber, leaving him to keep vigil all night.
What a display of contempt!
Xia Ling was roused by a young servant and sat bolt upright in bed, flinging the bed curtains aside with a sharp tug.
“Have you found out? When did the Crown Princess go to the East Wing last night? Is she still there now?”
“My Lord! Our men kept watch at the East Wing from dusk till dawn last night; the Crown Princess never went there at all!”
Xia Ling: “What? The Crown Princess didn’t go to the East Wing?”
The corners of his mouth curled upwards involuntarily; he could scarcely believe it. Yet upon reflection, he realised this was precisely the sort of thing the Crown Princess was capable of.
The Crown Princess had always been capricious by nature; she loved those close to her to the point of wishing them life, and detested others to the point of wishing them death.Look no further than her treatment of Ying Chi.
Though she achieved little in the imperial court and was frequently reprimanded by the Emperor and the ministers, the moment she returned to the Eastern Palace, no one dared to disobey her. Even Xia Ling, however favoured he might be, had to serve her with the utmost caution.
If the Crown Princess took a dislike to Lu Qiuci, what difference would it make that he was the rightful consort? He would still be cast aside like a worn-out shoe.
Seen in this light, the arrangement for Lu Qiuci to reside in the East Wing might simply be a misunderstanding; perhaps the servants were merely following protocol.
The Crown Princess harboured not the slightest affection for him; on the contrary, she detested him with a passion.
Having realised this, Xia Ling could no longer conceal the smile on her charming face. Since that was the case, she had nothing to fear.
What did it matter if he were the official consort? Within these Eastern Palace walls, relying on the Crown Princess’s favour, he could still walk about with impunity.
Suddenly, a thought struck Xia Ling; his expression changed, and he seized the young attendant’s hand, asking urgently, “Did the Crown Princess not go to the East Wing last night? Then where did she go? Could it be that she went to that wretch Bai Chuyin?”
“My lord, do not worry! The Crown Princess did not go to the East Wing last night, nor did she go to Fushu Pavilion; she did not enter the inner quarters at all!”
Only then did Xia Ling relax. As long as she hadn’t gone to Bai Chuyin’s, all was well. If the Crown Princess had indeed gone to Fushu Pavilion, wouldn’t that mean he had lost out to Bai Chuyin?
“Help me wash and dress. Now that Lord Lu has entered the estate, as Your Highness’s people, we must not be discourteous; we must go and pay our respects to this Lord Lu.”
Xia Ling was in high spirits. He ordered his attendants to fetch his finest attire and was dressed and ready in half the time it usually took. Accompanied by his personal attendant and two servants, the party proceeded with great fanfare towards the East Courtyard.
With the Crown Princess’s wedding now settled, the next battle would be for the position of Consort. He could not afford to fall behind; he must seize the initiative!
Xia Ling soon arrived at the East Courtyard. As one of the Princess’s most favoured young gentlemen, none of the guards along the way dared to stop him; they could only watch helplessly as he entered the East Wing.
At that moment, Lu Qiuci had just finished his preparations. He had taken even longer to get ready, as he had to carefully conceal the dark circles under his eyes—he could not risk displeasing the Princess, nor could he afford to appear weak in front of the others in the Princess’s residence.
“Tap, tap—”
The young attendant from the Jade Lotus Courtyard knocked on the door and announced softly, “My Lord, Lord Xia from the mansion has arrived. He says he has come to pay his respects to you.”
According to protocol, Xia Ling, lacking any formal title, had no right whatsoever to pay his respects to Lu Qiuci.
But then again, he was one of the two most favoured young gentlemen in the Princess’s residence.
Everyone understood that as soon as the Lord Consort gave his consent, the Princess would immediately bestow a title upon the young gentleman of her choice.
And Xia Ling would, without a doubt, be the one of the highest standing.
Lu Qiuci’s hand paused abruptly. He set down the hairpin he was holding—without inserting it into his headdress—and rose to say to Dongyi, “Help me out. I wish to meet this young gentleman whom the Crown Princess favours most.”
With a creak, the door swung open, and Lu Qiuci stepped out.
Stepping into the main hall, a handsome young man was already standing there. Hearing the footsteps, Xia Ling turned to look at Lu Qiuci, his gaze sweeping over him from head to toe.
Lu Qiuci immediately felt a wave of embarrassment. The man below was clad in fine silk and brocade, adorned with gold and jade, looking exceedingly opulent.
In contrast, the clothes and accessories he had brought from home—worn garments and an old hairpin—were dull and lacklustre.
Those who knew him would recognise him as the Crown Princess’s Consort, but those who did not might well mistake him for some beggar come to seek handouts, whilst the man below was the true master of the Eastern Palace’s inner chambers.
Lu Qiuci lowered his gaze to hide his sense of shame, straightened his back, and walked towards Xia Ling.
He must stand tall; otherwise, without the Princess’s favour in the Eastern Palace, if he did not pull himself together, he feared he would be bullied to death.
At that moment, Xia Ling’s gaze upon Lu Qiuci was filled with contempt, his disdain utterly unmasked.
It was not until Lu Qiuci stood before him that he offered a perfunctory greeting: “Greetings, Lord Lu. I am Xia Ling, a man taken into the Princess’s mansion in the fourteenth year of the Yongji era.”
“This is my young attendant, Xuegui. Should you wish to send a message in future, he will convey it. Now that we have met, Your Highness must take care not to mistake me for another.”
Lu Qiuci’s heart skipped a beat; he instantly realised the man meant no good.
This year was the sixteenth year of the Yongji era, which meant this man had been in the Princess’s favour for two years already, his standing far more secure than his own.
If the man intended to make things difficult for him, the days ahead would likely be very hard indeed.
Lu Qiuci did not wish to be made a laughing stock; he simply wanted to send the man away as quickly as possible.
Unfortunately, the man was no easy man to deal with. Whilst he kept repeating, “I am overjoyed that the mansion now has a proper lord,” every word he uttered was designed to force Lu Qiuci to recognise his place and not presume to compete with him for the Crown Princess’s favour.
He would soon become the Crown Princess’s consort; a favoured consort was infinitely superior to a so-called lord who held no favour.
Once Lu Qiuci had been thoroughly cast aside, he would become the main consort; for now, Lu Qiuci was merely holding the position of main consort on his behalf.
Dongyi stood behind his master, so distraught he was on the verge of tears, glaring at the other man like a little beast puffed up with anger.
Xia Ling sensed Dong Yi’s gaze; his expression turned icy in an instant. He signalled to the young attendant at his side to approach Dong Yi, raising his hand as if to strike.
Lu Qiuci had not anticipated Xia Ling’s sudden outburst at all; he sprang to his feet and seized the wrist of the attendant as he swung his hand down.
“Young Master Xia, what is the meaning of this?”
Xia Ling sneered coldly, “If the Consort cannot discipline his servants, he ought not to bring them out to make a spectacle of himself.”
“Even if I hold no official rank, I am still a member of the Princess’s inner household. How dare a lowly servant offend me?”
“It is understandable that the Consort, hailing from a humble background, lacks propriety. But having entered the Princess’s residence, one must abide by its rules.”
“For those who know not the rules, let alone a slap across the face, even losing one’s life in an instant would be no great surprise.”
Xia Ling’s young attendant lashed out fiercely, still intent on disciplining Dong Yi.
Lu Qiuci’s heart pounded wildly; he could not stand by and watch Dong Yi being beaten.
“How dare you! I’ll see if you dare!”
“Dongyi is my personal attendant; it is not your place to discipline him!”
Xia Ling snorted derisively and replied arrogantly, “Your Highness, please do not get so worked up. Every word I have spoken is true. His Highness detests servants who lack manners and do not know their place. I am only looking out for your best interests, lest you incur further disdain from His Highness because of an ill-mannered servant.”
Lu Qiuci looked around for help, only to see the servants all bowing their heads; none dared meet his gaze.
They all knew that the Crown Princess had not attended the wedding at the Yuhua Pavilion the previous night, whilst Xia Ling was one of the most favoured young masters in the estate. Which side was more important, and which side they ought to take—these servants knew full well.
Xia Ling grew even more smug and immediately addressed the other two servants: “What are you staring at? Hurry up and help! What are you waiting for?”
“Hurry up and pull the Lord away! If you accidentally injure him, do you want to keep your heads?”
Lu Qiuci gritted his teeth, just as he was about to throw caution to the wind—
At that very moment, a young maidservant hurried in from outside.
“Oh dear, young master, why are you still here!”
Xia Ling immediately frowned. “What’s all the commotion? What’s going on?”
The young maid exclaimed urgently, “Young master, something terrible has happened!”
“The Crown Princess was attacked last night, and the assassin hasn’t been caught yet. I hear she’s been injured and needs tending to right now. If you don’t hurry, I’m afraid Young Master Bai will beat you to it.”
Hearing this, Xia Ling had no time to intimidate Lu Qiuci any further; he hurried out of the Courtyard.
“Hurry up and show me the way! If that wretch Bai Chuyin beats me to it, I’ll make you pay!”
Watching Xia Ling and his men rush off in a clamour, Dong Yi looked at Lu Qiuci in bewilderment.
Lu Qiuci’s heartbeat had not yet settled; on the contrary, it was growing ever more frantic. Only two words remained in his mind: assassination.
If that were the case, perhaps the Crown Princess had not deliberately avoided coming to the East Courtyard last night, but had instead encountered an assassin.
Perhaps… the Crown Princess did not detest him quite so much after all?
With no time to dwell on it, Lu Qiuci strode straight out—he too was heading for the front courtyard!