She let out a soft “hmph.”
Fu Lingxi felt her anger settle somewhat. Raising her brows, she cast a clear, sharp glance at the three of them and ordered, “Huichun, go call Xuduo into the inner chamber.”
“Yes.”
A hint of joy appeared on Huichun’s face as she curtsied and withdrew.
Although she did not know what mistake Sister Xuduo had made, after serving closely by the new mistress these past few days, Huichun could tell that her new master had a very good temper.
Moreover, among the palace servants working in Yikun Palace, there were already whispers spreading:
Lady Yi was beautiful and kind-hearted, preferring peace over conflict.
Outwardly, she was strict, cautious, and observant of etiquette, but inwardly she was gentle, tolerant, and mild-tempered. As long as no mistakes were made, she treated her subordinates generously. Much of this reputation came from Xuduo’s eloquent tongue…
Now that the mistress was angry on the spot and had punished Sister Xuduo—
It must be that Xuduo had done or said something wrong, provoking the mistress’s displeasure and resulting in a small disciplinary warning.
Sure enough, as soon as Xuduo entered the inner chamber with difficulty, she immediately performed a full kneeling bow before her mistress, prostrating herself on the ground as she admitted her fault:
“Mistress, Xuduo was wrong. This servant will never again speak carelessly or recklessly.”
Seeing that just an hour ago she had been a lively and clever girl, but now her face was pale, her eyes lost, and she staggered forward to kneel before her, crying bitterly…
Fu Lingxi’s heart softened.
“Xuduo, considering this is your first offense,”
Her sternness eased, though her expression remained severe as she reprimanded the girl, “I will not subject you to corporal punishment this time. Remember today’s mistake. No matter where you are in the future, you must be cautious in both speech and conduct. Do you understand?”
“This servant understands! From now on, I will be extremely careful and will not fail your teaching.”
“Get up.”
Seeing that the girl was truly frightened, Fu Lingxi was satisfied and ordered,
“Huichun, help Xuduo out.”
“Thank you, Mistress, for your leniency.”
With Huichun’s support, Xuduo managed to stand up, though her knees throbbed with pain. Still, she did not want to leave and looked at her mistress cautiously as she pleaded:
“Mistress, this servant is not in pain. May I stay and continue on duty?”
“Nonsense. Just because you’re young and recover quickly doesn’t mean you can neglect your body. I am not in the habit of being harsh toward palace servants. Go and rest.”
“Yes.”
Seeing the mistress’s displeasure rise again, Xuduo shrank her shoulders and did not dare to argue further.
Quiet and obedient, she allowed Huichun to escort her out of the inner chamber, turning her head back at every step, clearly reluctant to leave and eager to continue serving.
“That girl.”
Fu Lingxi muttered with a helpless, amused smile.
At this moment,
Surang suddenly moved back on her knees, prostrated herself, and kowtowed as she pleaded for punishment:
“Mistress, please punish this servant as well.”
Before the mistress could respond, Surang continued gently, “It is this servant’s failure to properly supervise the palace maids, which caused the mistress to become angry. I am also at fault.”
Surang was not threatening her mistress by asking for punishment; she truly bore responsibility for negligence.
At the beginning, Yikun Palace had not been assigned a chief matron.
Lady Yi had directly entrusted the responsibility of managing palace affairs to Surang. Now that Xuduo had made a mistake, Surang naturally shared the blame and punishment.
Ziluan did not dare to speak. She only worked more carefully as she wrung out the mistress’s damp hair, her gaze focused.
It was not that she did not want to plead for Surang and Xuduo.
But in the palace, the greatest taboo was servants forming cliques and deceiving their superiors.
Xuduo could be excused for being young and lively by nature, but the two of them were older and knew well that before their mistress, there must be no objections—only loyal obedience to orders.
“I see~”
Fu Lingxi accepted Surang’s reasoning and nodded, delivering her punishment: “Then you shall make sleeping garments for me. No bright reds or greens—keep them plain. Make three sets.”
As senior maids, their needlework had to be refined—this was a basic requirement.
Besides, the seven sets of sleepwear distributed by the Imperial Household Department were too gaudy and offensive to the eyes, so she casually assigned this task as punishment.
“Yes. This servant thanks Mistress for her kindness.”
Gazing at her mistress’s slender, jade-like hands, Surang accepted the punishment with a smile.
Even Ziluan felt a surge of joy, her movements growing even more careful and attentive.
“Once my hair is mostly dry, that will do. Set the meal. I’ll eat early and retire soon.”
After a tiring day, coupled with menstrual discomfort causing a dull ache in her abdomen, Fu Lingxi did not wish to move.
Her mood was average, and the evening meal was vegetarian, which dampened her appetite further. She only ate about thirty percent of her fill before rewarding the dishes to the palace maids to share.
That night, Yikun Palace was locked up early.
The next day was the fifth day of the fifth month—the Dragon Boat Festival.
Fu Lingxi only instructed Surang and the others to follow the usual palace customs: tie calamus leaves and mugwort together and hang them under the eaves to pray for blessings and ward off evil. Then she distributed the reward silver and zongzi she had received upon becoming a concubine among the palace servants to share.
Because the First Princess and Second Princess had previously fallen into the water and fallen ill—being young and weak, their fevers came and went—the experienced palace mistresses quietly canceled even the festive activities in the imperial garden.
Of course, more importantly, war had broken out again in the court.
Fu Lingxi did not concern herself with what happened in court or the harem, as long as it did not involve her.
For the next few days, she stayed quietly within Yikun Palace to recuperate, waiting for the spirit core crystal to strengthen her body.
Now that she had money, Fu Lingxi naturally would not wrong herself. She simply ordered Xuduo to collect the monthly food supplies from the Imperial Household Department and prepare meals in her own palace kitchen.
Safe and clean.
Lady Yi’s cautious and reclusive behavior caused the low-ranking concubines to exchange puzzled glances, thinking:
Could it be that, as the imperial physician said, after falling into the lake and being invaded by cold, Lady Yi would be unable to bear children in the future, and had thus given up entirely—even abandoning any desire to compete for favor?
After all, according to the diagnosis given by the imperial physician:
On the eve of her menstruation, Lady Yi had jumped into Yilian Lake to save the First Princess, causing a large amount of cold energy to accumulate in her abdomen. In the future, during her monthly cycle, she would suffer greatly, and her chances of bearing imperial heirs would be slim…
After all, her original body had indeed been frail.
And her menstruation had indeed come abruptly after exposure to cold.
The imperial physicians were known for being cautious and conservative, often exaggerating conditions somewhat when speaking publicly.
Thus, the gossip about “Lady Yi” became increasingly distorted:
“My heavens, Lady Yi can no longer bear children!”
After being deliberately spread by interested parties, palace maids and low-ranking concubines frequently “passed by” outside Yikun Palace.
It seemed that Fu Lingxi’s promotion to concubine had offended both new and old members of the harem…
Especially those who had seen Lady Yi’s true appearance wished for her to fade away within Yikun Palace and never come out to offend others again.
Among them,
Consort Jin and Consort Jing were the most delighted and excited, openly cursing that the Fu woman deserved it.
In their eyes, Lady Yi had traded infertility for the rank of imperial concubine—
How foolish.
However, they still cared about their status and did not want to damage their own reputations. So they granted benefits to the lower-ranking concubines, sending them to Yikun Palace to “visit” Lady Yi and see her true condition.
Yet Yikun Palace—
Remained tightly shut.
Anyone who came to inquire was turned away with the excuse that Lady Yi was bedridden and unable to receive guests.
That was right—Fu Lingxi had decided to lie low for now.
Her original body had been controlled by her legal mother, Madam Qi, since childhood, often going hungry. At such a young age, she had also worried excessively about her birth mother’s situation, leaving her body extremely weak and frail.
Later, after Fu Lingxi took over this body through rebirth, she even used it to feign illness and fever to dispel the emperor’s suspicion. If not for her cheat-like advantage constantly strengthening this body, she might have become a sickly beauty.
For the sake of living more comfortably in the future, Fu Lingxi simply stayed within Yikun Palace and avoided trouble altogether.