Yukun Palace.
About half a tea-break later, Xuduo was once again peeking through the entrance of the inner bedchamber.
“Xuduo, have you eaten your fill?”
Fu Lingxi’s five senses were extremely sharp. She could distinguish the distinct scents of her three personal maids; smelling the fragrance from afar, she could tell exactly who had entered. Thus, even with her eyes closed, she accurately called out the girl’s name.
“In response to Master, your servant has eaten her fill! May your servant enter the hall to serve Master?”
“Heh~ come in.”
“Understood.”
The sound of light, brisk footsteps made Fu Lingxi’s mood improve for no reason. Indeed, a lively young girl could make one feel cheerful. Xuduo, in particular, had clearly been well-protected by Suran; her round, chubby face was exceptionally comical and endearing!
Xuduo naturally accepted her role, calling out softly and joyfully, “Master~”
Like an innocent cub, her instinctive acting spoiled was most adorable.
“Huichun, Xiuxia, you both served well. You may withdraw for now.”
“Yes, your servants take their leave.”
The two second-class maids appeared quite honest and straightforward. Upon receiving their master’s satisfied look of approval, joy appeared on their faces. After bowing according to orders, they nodded to Sister Xuduo and silently exited.
“Alright, there are no outsiders left. You little sparrow, what else did you want to say?”
Fu Lingxi opened her eyes slightly and playfully pinched the young girl’s fleshy face, asking casually.
“Master, I previously asked Little Yezi for some details about Eunuch Lin returning the dowry chests to the manor. It was quite amusing. Should I tell you so Master can hear it and have a bit of fun?”
“Oh? Then speak.”
Fu Lingxi smiled and pinched a piece of pastry, handing it to the lively girl. “Master will reward you with a piece of White Jade Cake first. If you tell it well, this Concubine will reward you again.”
Inwardly, she was sorting out the interpersonal relationships of the servants in Yukun Palace.
Little Yezi and Eunuch Fang were the only two eunuchs from Yukun Palace who had gone out of the palace to return the dowry chests this time. Naturally, Little Yezi being able to whisper to Xuduo was surely permitted by Eunuch Fang, or perhaps even specially authorized by him.
After all, Eunuch Fang was Little Yezi’s formal master! How could an apprentice not listen to his master?
In ancient times, heritage and hierarchy were of great importance. Furthermore, the master-apprentice relationship was often comparable to that of father and son, possessing even more cohesion than ordinary family ties. Fu Lingxi had to take this connection into serious consideration. Therefore, what Xuduo was about to say was likely something Eunuch Fang intentionally wanted her to know.
“Thank you, Master!”
Xuduo’s eyes lit up instantly. She leaned in close to act out the gossip, kneeling at her master’s feet and speaking in a low voice:
“Your servant heard that when the Duke saw the true contents of the thirty-six dowry chests sent back from the palace, he was so angry on the spot that he nearly vomited blood! Right then and there, the Duke glared at Madam Qi several times with eyes like daggers!”
In reality, the Duke of Jingwei did not erupt on the spot. It was only because the incident took place in front of the manor gates; he couldn’t easily use family discipline in public, as it would wound the dignity of his primary wife.
Men of this era generally respected the dignity of their primary wives in public. The wife’s face represented not only the husband’s own dignity but also the dignity of her father’s clan—especially since Madam Qi’s paternal and maternal families were both quite powerful.
Husband and wife were like birds of the same forest; they shared in both glory and ruin. Thus, the Duke of Jingwei would not easily damage this intricate web of matrimonial alliances in a public setting.
However, on the spot, Madam Qi was stripped of her household management authority—after all, this was the Imperial Will!
“That’s it? Xuduo, such a small matter won’t make your master laugh!”
If the Duke of Jingwei had actually suffered internal injuries and vomited blood, Fu Lingxi might have chuckled a bit. But he was only “nearly” vomiting blood, which wasn’t much fun at all.
As for Madam Qi being stripped of her authority, it was indeed good news for Fu Lingxi. But it wasn’t particularly laugh-worthy. Given the background of the legal mother, Madam Qi, her own birth mother’s family had no power or wealth—merely a scholarly lineage. At most, they could manage the Duke’s household for a few days as a symbolic gesture.
“There’s more, there’s more! Your servant heard from Little Yezi that the Duke of Jingwei directly drove Madam Qi away so she wouldn’t continue to lose face in front of the manor! Moreover, before that Madam Qi even reached the main courtyard, she was so angry that she vomited blood and fell into a coma, yet they didn’t dare invite an Imperial Physician to the manor!”
“Oh? She really vomited blood from anger? That’s more interesting. Continue.”
“Also, that evil nanny who entered the palace and offended Master was whipped on the spot by the Duke’s lieutenant. She was struck thirty times…” and died.
At this point, Xuduo, being a servant herself, felt a bit downcast. She swallowed the final outcome, not wanting to say it aloud lest it soil her master’s ears.
“Helping a tyrant in her villainy; such an end can be considered the cycle of Karma.”
Fu Lingxi gave Xuduo a playful flick on the forehead and scolded, “Little girl, Nanny Wu being whipped—even being whipped to death—is not a loss worth mourning!”
“Mmm, Master is right~”
“Naturally! Be a good girl, Little Xuduo, don’t be sad. As long as you all serve this master with sincere loyalty, I will surely secure a good future for you. It’s simply not worth feeling sorrowful for a wicked servant like Nanny Wu!”
“Master, your servant, Sister Suran, and Sister Ziluan will definitely work for Master with unwavering loyalty. We won’t be traitors!”
“Good, good, I shall believe you. Go on, are there any more jokes left?”
Xuduo wanted to argue more, but being interrupted by her master’s question, she forgot what she was going to insist on and instead spoke excitedly about the gossip:
“In response to Master, of course there are!”
“Oh?”
“Master’s act of returning the dowry chests is the very first instance in our Shangyi Kingdom in nearly a hundred years! And with Eunuch Lin Pingzhi from His Majesty’s side leading the Eastern Depot to handle the matter, no matter how angry the Duke of Jingwei was, he could only keep it bottled up!”
Indeed, no matter how powerful the Duke of Jingwei was, in front of Lin Pingzhi, he could only suppress his hidden fury and maintain a forced smile. He led the newly appointed Second Madam, Madam Chu, to the Duke’s ancestral public treasury. There, he personally selected thirty-six carrying-chests worth of dowry, stuffing them to the brim.
There were gold cakes, silver cakes, gold and silver ingots, gold and silver nuggets, as well as various gold, silver, diamond, jade, and gemstone jewelry. The variety of diamond, jade, and gemstone jewelry was the most extensive.
There were also decorative items and ornaments made of emerald, cat’s eye, lapis lazuli, green feldspar, garnet, malachite, warm jade, cold jade, green jade, white jade, ink jade, topaz, agate, crystal, amber, and so on.
Only after confirming that every nanmu chest contained legitimate dowry items was Lin Pingzhi satisfied. He then led the Eastern Depot eunuchs and the thirty-six chests of dowry back to the Imperial Palace.
After all, the beneficiary was her own biological daughter, so Madam Chu was naturally very savvy! If the good items remained in the Duke’s manor, they were still considered public property. However, once they entered the inner palace, they could at least be categorized as her own Xi’er’s private property. Why wouldn’t she do it?
If Xi’er had a son or daughter in the future, she could even protect her and Hui’er…
With this realization, Madam Chu almost emptied the Duke’s public treasury!
As for whether the Duke would be angry or if the First Madam would be fuming to death, Madam Chu decided not to care. The most important thing was for her Xi’er to live a comfortable and easy life in the harem; that was what truly mattered.
The head steward following behind the newly promoted Madam Chu was drenched in sweat but didn’t dare stop her. After all, the Duke had personally said: the selection of the Sixth Young Lady’s thirty-six chests of dowry must be entirely handled by Concubine Yi’s birth mother, Madam Chu. This was done precisely to satisfy the Emperor and soothe the imperial wrath!
Since he already knew it would be a massive “bloodletting,” the Duke of Jingwei simply adopted the strategy of “what the eye doesn’t see, the heart doesn’t grieve over.”