Song Heting looked down at her and listened to her say it once more.
“I’m still a little scared…”
She seemed to recall the incident from a few days ago when the Emperor bathed Xiaoxiang Garden in blood. Song Heting understood perfectly well, but things had come too far to back out now. He comforted her, “Noble Lady, just view him as a butcher slaughtering chickens and ducks. There is no need to be afraid.”
Such a description struck Lü Yanghua as somewhat incredible. Her expression was a weird mix of fear and an urge to laugh. “Then what if he takes me for a chicken or duck and slaughters me too?”
The Emperor had never been known to show such blatant disregard for human life in broad daylight. As long as she behaved herself, her life would remain safe. Seeing that she was still hesitating, Song Heting played his trump card. “How about we head back?”
Sure enough, as soon as those words were spoken, Lü Yanghua immediately shook her head. “No.”
She released her grip on Song Heting’s sleeve and pushed him away. “You go. I’m fine.”
She then watched Song Heting’s departing back with reluctance.
Just as she was lost in thought, a voice came from behind her.
“Who is standing up ahead?” The deep voice overlapped with her memories of that night in Xiaoxiang Garden. Lü Yanghua froze like a mouse sighting a cat. She turned around slowly, sneaked just a single glance upward before immediately dropping her gaze, and knelt down to salute according to protocol, answering truthfully: “Concubine Lü Yanghua pays respects to Your Majesty.”
As she knelt on the ground, listening to the prolonged silence above her head, her heart sank inch by inch. Oh no, oh no. She must have been so visibly terrified that he saw right through her.
Tingyuan, come out quickly and save me…
The Emperor could not hear the silent plea in her heart. The reason he had not called for Lü Yanghua to rise was actually that he was savoring her every action just now.
The woman before him had a slender and graceful figure from behind. When she turned around, her features were even more strikingly beautiful. Her eyes contained a mixture of affection and bashfulness, which Zhao Qianji found very satisfying.
He took a step forward, grasped Lü Yanghua’s arm, and lifted her up. “Rise.” He then asked, “Why are you trembling all over?”
Lü Yanghua subconsciously grabbed Zhao Qianji’s hand, terrified that his whim might spark a desire to draw his blade and kill someone. “This concubine has lost her decorum. Please forgive me, Your Majesty!”
Before she could finish the latter half of her sentence, Zhao Qianji gripped her hand in return and said, “It is the dead of winter, so it is no wonder you are frozen like this. Since that is the case, why come out?”
Lü Yanghua thought inappropriately: *They all say the Emperor is the True Dragon Son of Heaven, yet his hands aren’t even as warm as those of Tingyuan, a eunuch.* Aloud, she said, “The winter plum blossoms Your Majesty picked for Concubine Shu are truly beautiful. This concubine was captivated for a moment.”
This drew a booming laugh from Zhao Qianji. The matter had finally been glossed over.
Lü Yanghua let out a breath of relief, intending to perform further in front of him to win some favor, but he guided her along the path toward the hall. “Still, you must take care of your body. Let us head inside. Since you like them, I will have two trees sent to your quarters to raise.”
This blocked every single plan she had prepared in her head.
Only after Song Heting saw the two figures enter the hall did he unhurriedly step out from the corner. The creases on his sleeve had long been smoothed out, leaving no trace of where Lü Yanghua had held on to him.
The announcement arrived before the people did. By the time Lü Yanghua stepped through the door, a whole crowd inside had already dropped to their knees with a rustle. She had never experienced such grand pomp before—especially given that Concubine Shu, who usually stood above her, was now bowing down so respectfully as if worshipping her.
Zhao Qianji walked up to the main seat and took his place. “All of you may rise. There is no need for restraint.”
“Yes.”
The various concubines returned to their respective seats, and Lü Yanghua also sat back down in her inconspicuous spot by the door.
The servant serving tea entered at this moment, bringing in a gust of wind. Lü Yanghua looked toward him and let out a couple of light coughs.
This drew Zhao Qianji’s gaze across the crowd toward her. “Noble Lady Lü’s seat is not very good.”
Concubine Shu caught on instantly. Smiling, she bowed slightly and said, “It was this concubine’s oversight. There is much wind and snow passing through there as people come and go.” She turned around and called to the maid beside her, “Ruoqi, go swap Little Sister’s seat. Her body is delicate; how can she bear the draft?”
“Yes.”
In truth, there was no other place for Lü Yanghua to sit, so they merely moved her chair a bit forward. But even this was enough.
Looking at Concubine Shu secretly glaring at her, Lü Yanghua could barely suppress the corners of her mouth from curving upward. She paid her respects to both the Emperor on the main seat and Concubine Shu. “Thank you, Your Majesty and Elder Sister, for your consideration.”
Once the Emperor arrived, the concubines who had been chatting harmoniously gathered around him like butterflies, vying for his attention with every word. However, the manager eunuch came over and whispered a few words into his ear, and the Emperor they were longing for prepared to leave.
Before departing, Zhao Qianji walked over to Lü Yanghua’s side, patted her shoulder, and said in a voice audible to everyone: “Go to the Imperial Garden and pick a winter plum tree you like, then have the Imperial Household Department transplant it for you. It is freezing cold out; do not stand outside foolishly again.”
Bearing the jealous or spectacle-seeking gazes of a room full of concubines, Lü Yanghua finally held her head high in triumph. Her whole complexion turned increasingly radiant, with no trace left of the weak, helpless posture she had displayed just moments ago.
Yesterday, Concubine Shu received a gift of plum blossoms, and today she could get one too. What did this mean? Another favorite was about to rise in the palace!
On the way back, Lü Yanghua could not suppress her joyous mood, the corners of her mouth curving to reveal her dimples.
“Tingyuan, did I perform well just now!” She called out, only then realizing that Tingyuan was half a step behind her. She intentionally paused for a moment so they could walk side by side.
Tingyuan stopped his footsteps at the right moment, lowering his head to look at Lü Yanghua’s beautiful and expressive face.
Truth be told, Lü Yanghua was not suited for such understated colors. Her beauty was striking and ostentatious, naturally meant for opulent attire like a peony. However, the Emperor favored plain and simple things, so everything had to revolve around him.
Displeased by his intentional lagging behind, Lü Yanghua asked him, “There is no one around right now, so who are you keeping those rules for?” In her view, even if someone were present now, they would not dare laugh at her anymore. Recalling past events, her mood darkened slightly, and she lowered her head, leaving only a stretch of her fair nape visible to Song Heting.
Song Heting walked beside her without speaking, and the two returned to Ningzhu Court in silence.
Seeing Lü Yanghua stand at the doorway for a brief moment before putting back on her bright, expressive smile as if nothing had happened, Song Heting was not surprised. He stepped forward two paces to open the door for her, then supported her arm to guide her inside.
Lanzhi, who had been waiting inside for a long time, immediately came forward to greet them. Her gaze passed over Lü Yanghua and met Song Heting’s behind her. Seeing him give an imperceptible nod, she knew in her heart that the matter had been accomplished.
A bit more genuine warmth appeared in her smile as she offered auspicious words to Lü Yanghua, “Noble Lady is radiant with happiness. It seems good news is around the corner!”
Lü Yanghua walked into the room briskly, warmed her hands over the brazier, and then said, “How did you know?”
Lanzhi shrugged her shoulders quite playfully and said to Lü Yanghua, “With Your Ladyship’s looks, it would be difficult not to win favor.”
“You are always the cleverest one.” Lü Yanghua did not notice anything amiss, smiled, and instructed her to prepare flower petals for a bath.
Today, Lü Yanghua had indeed shown her face before the Emperor, making him remember that there was still such a person in the imperial harem. If there was no other reason tonight, her name tablet should have been flipped for imperial favor.
Yet full of joy, she waited and waited—even keeping her dinner extraordinarily light for this night of attendance—only to see Lanzhi return with a downcast face.
She already knew without asking from such an expression, but she insisted on asking anyway.
“Who is it?”
Lanzhi lowered her head. “It is Concubine Shu.”
…
The sound of shattering porcelain broke the silence. Lanzhi knelt on the ground.
Lü Yanghua’s hand, raised to throw a second cup, paused. She lifted her chin. “Get up. When did I ever blame you?”
Lanzhi looked silently at the freshly shattered porcelain fragments before her, thinking to herself: *Great, another set ruined.*
This noble lady really loved smashing things. Today’s was already the fifth set of teaware this month, and the month was only half over. Every time she spoke with Song Heting to ask him to persuade her, he would say it was no big deal, treating it like some trivial minor hobby.
Because of this, Lanzhi even had to take a portion out of the silver given to her by Song Heting and Lü Yanghua specifically to purchase new furnishings for Lü Yanghua.
“Noble Lady, do not hurt your health out of anger. There will always be opportunities in the future,” Lanzhi comforted her with a few token words.
“Concubine Shu, Concubine Shu, it is Concubine Shu again! Is she deliberately opposing me at every turn!” Lü Yanghua was so furious that a thin layer of red flush rose to her cheeks.
Seeing that the situation was getting out of hand, Lanzhi quickly went to fetch Song Heting.
Accompanied by the sounds of crashing items inside the room, the two exchanged a few brief words outside the door.
“Concubine Shu cannot be kept any longer.”
“You plan to move against her?” Lanzhi looked at him in confusion.
“It is time.” Song Heting handed Lanzhi the message that had arrived from outside the palace today, then pushed the door open to clear up another heap of a mess.
He leaned aside to dodge a flying vase, closing the door behind him as he did so. Only the master and servant remained in the room.
Lü Yanghua stood in place watching him, her chest heaving violently with agitation.
Fearing she might work herself into a state of distress from anger, Song Heting stepped forward to support her into a chair, then said, “Why must Your Ladyship lower yourself to care about a loser?”
“And on what grounds do you say that! With just two simple gestures she hooked the Emperor over to her side. How am I supposed to win like this?” Lü Yanghua turned around abruptly to look at him, her words carrying not just anger, but a sense of helplessness and fear regarding the future.
“A temporary victory or defeat does not count.” Song Heting simply crouched down, unclasped her hands that were tightly gripping the armrests, carefully pried open her fingers, and gently rubbed her palms where red finger marks had been pressed, saying, “I have a way.”
Lü Yanghua turned her hand and gripped his tightly. “What is it?”
“The key lies with Concubine Jia.”
Hearing this name, Lü Yanghua snorted coldly. “Concubine Shu’s dear sister, Jia Baohe? If Concubine Shu did not have her, how could she have acted so tyrannically in this palace until now?”
“How could I not know the benefit of driving them apart? But their bond is as solid as iron and stone. How could I possibly sow discord between them!”
“Your Ladyship thinks so because you arrived late and do not know the underlying details.” Song Heting continued, “In the past, Concubine Jia enjoyed no less favor than Concubine Shu.”
Song Heting began to recount the events of the past.
“You are saying… Concubine Jia originally had more than just this one daughter?” Lü Yanghua was deeply shocked. She had never known that Concubine Jia had suffered a miscarriage. But Song Heting would not mention these things for no reason. Her mind turned slightly, and a thought flashed through her head, becoming clearer and clearer. She lowered her voice and said, “And Concubine Shu was the one behind it.”
Regardless of whether it was true or false, so much time had passed that clearing oneself of involvement or dragging someone into the water was all too simple. This blame would simply have to be pinned onto Concubine Shu now.
Seeing that Tingyuan before her did not deny it, Lü Yanghua opened her mouth and finally found her voice to ask him, “If I go to her abruptly, Concubine Jia certainly will not believe me. What should I do?”