No one had expected things to escalate like this.
Old Woman Feng was slapped a full hundred times. At first she wailed loudly, then her mouth was gagged, after which she made hardly a sound, and then she was dragged away.
Concubine Chen was placed under confinement. In front of all the maids and servants, the door of her courtyard, Fangting Yuan, was nailed shut with iron nails, leaving only a small door one had to bend down to pass through, for delivering daily meals.
Concubine Chen was also ordered to write a written confession of her wrongdoing in her own hand, admitting her fault. It was to be copied out and read aloud by the steward's office and displayed to the maids and servants of every household, as a warning to others, so that no one would ever again violate the manor's rules.
Gu Youning and Lin Bingzhong's Wife stood there nervously, listening to Prince Duan's verdict.
Only after Prince Duan finally departed did Old Woman Hu from the night patrol, having heard the news, send someone to fetch them. The two of them tremblingly followed back to the inner changing room.
By this time, in the inner changing room, every night-patrol woman still in the manor had gathered there, waiting anxiously. Seeing them return, they eagerly asked what had happened.
Such a huge incident had occurred—everyone was terrified!
But Old Woman Hu would not let them question the two in detail. She called Gu Youning and Lin Bingzhong's Wife aside alone and questioned them carefully about what had happened. Naturally, the two dared not hide anything and recounted everything truthfully.
Old Woman Hu frowned and stayed silent for a good while before saying: "That Concubine Chen is not one to be trifled with—she's always been arrogant. And Old Woman Feng was overbearing in everything, never looking anyone in the eye. If you two had run into her, you'd surely have suffered greatly. Who could have guessed you'd be so lucky as to have His Highness witness the whole thing and lay down the law so severely?"
Lin Bingzhong's Wife sighed repeatedly: "At the start, I was terribly frightened. I thought we were the ones who'd be punished—who knew Concubine Chen would plead for mercy, and His Highness wouldn't grant her the slightest face."
She was even locked up! What a ruthless hand!
Old Woman Hu asked again: "Did His Highness mention you two at all?"
Huh?
Gu Youning and Lin Bingzhong's Wife looked at each other, then shook their heads.
Prince Duan seemed to have ignored them from beginning to end—neither reward nor punishment. He had only severely punished Concubine Chen and her servants to make an example.
Old Woman Hu questioned them carefully, then said: "It seems His Highness's meaning is that he still holds some dislike for you, so merits and faults canceled out. Well, that's fine too. From now on, you two must act carefully and never stir up trouble again."
Gu Youning and Lin Bingzhong's Wife naturally nodded their assent. Old Woman Hu gave them a few more instructions, then told them to rest in the inner changing room for the time being, while she herself hurried out to inform the other women and servants.
The inner changing room quieted down. On the stove hung a thin clay pot simmering with leftover tea, the tea bubbling away, steam swirling.
Gu Youning and Lin Bingzhong's Wife looked at each other. Both were somewhat exhausted, and within the exhaustion, perhaps, a trace of excitement and lingering fear.
Right now they badly needed to say something to ease the tension, but for a moment neither knew how to begin.
After a long while, Lin Bingzhong's Wife sighed: "Today I've truly seen something new."
Gu Youning let out a long breath as well.
She walked to the stove, picked up a tea cup, and Gu Youning rose and poured a bowl of tea each for herself and Lin Bingzhong's Wife. The two sat down, cradling their bowls, blowing on the steam, slowly taking small sips.
As the hot tea settled in their stomachs, it was as if something came back to life, and the two found their words at last.
Lin Bingzhong's Wife: "Serves her right! That Old Woman Feng, always throwing her weight around because of her masters, bullying the weak and fearing the strong—well, look at her now, running right onto the blade's edge. Talk about bad luck!"
Gu Youning: "Yes, this time even Concubine Chen was punished along with her."
Concubine Chen had been terribly arrogant that day too, relying on her beauty and the fact that she was bestowed by the Empress Dowager. From her words, she clearly didn't hold Madam Jiang in much regard—and now she had taken a hard fall.
Lin Bingzhong's Wife had evidently thought of this as well. She leaned in closer and lowered her voice: "Concubine Chen is such a beauty. We all assumed she was the most favored in His Highness's eyes. Who would have thought His Highness wouldn't spare her a shred of face today!"
Curious and excited, she asked: "Tell me, does His Highness actually favor her or not?"
Gu Youning let out a surprised "ah"—she had never considered the question.
Lin Bingzhong's Wife: "They say His Highness has been in mourning for his parent all this time. Doesn't that mean the concubines in our household are widows in all but name? I don't believe it! I bet they've secretly—"
She suddenly stopped, a knowing gleam flickering slyly in her eyes.
Gu Youning didn't really want to continue this topic: "That's our masters' private business. How would we ever know?"
But Lin Bingzhong's Wife was full of enthusiasm: "We can speculate! For instance, why would His Highness go over to Concubine Chen's place today? He must be sharing her bed, surely. Otherwise, why would he go to a concubine's room for no reason at all?"
Gu Youning paused, suddenly feeling that Lin Bingzhong's Wife's words made a great deal of sense.
He couldn't possibly go to Concubine Chen's courtyard at night for no reason—there had to be a cause. It couldn't be that her soups were especially fragrant, could it?
She even found herself recalling Concubine Chen's alluring appearance, that soft, honeyed voice—truly the kind that made anyone who saw her want to take pity. Could it be that Prince Duan felt not the slightest tenderness for her?
She even thought of that night, of Prince Duan's force upon her—that somewhat lean frame of his actually had plenty of strength. How could such a man possibly resist being teased—
Gu Youning's face flushed crimson.
Seeing her like this, Lin Bingzhong's Wife slapped her thigh: "See? Didn't I make sense? A man in the prime of his vigor—how could he truly hold back? It's all just for show to outsiders. As long as they don't leave any evidence, who's to know what goes on in the privacy of their own rooms!"
Gu Youning's heart pounded: "But if… if they're that intimate, then why would His Highness show her no mercy at all? That doesn't quite add up…"
Lin Bingzhong's Wife curled her lip: "You're still young, that's why. What do you know of men? In bed they whisper sweet nothings and cherish you like a treasure, but the moment they're off the bed, they turn their faces away and act like strangers. Besides, for His Highness, beautiful women are a dime a dozen. What he's slept with, he's slept with—why would he keep it in his heart?"
Hearing this, Gu Youning felt the words struck right at her own situation!
If, before this, she had inevitably harbored the thought that "he punished Old Woman Feng so harshly because of me," now she had no such notion whatsoever.
They had only slept together once, and at the time she had been muddleheaded—it had long been forgotten. Who would still remember?
Forget it, forget it, try to forget!
Just as they were talking, there was suddenly movement outside. It was the night patrol women, and following behind them was a female physician. Her round bun was barely held together by a hair net, and over it she wore a simple blue-gray cross-collared padded jacket—clearly she had rushed over in the middle of the night.
When the old woman saw Gu Youning, she pointed her out to the female physician and said, "This is the daughter-in-law who was struck. Please examine her, Physician."
Gu Youning was surprised—so was Lin Bingzhong's wife.
In truth, Gu Youning had only been grazed by that blow; it was more humiliating than painful, and she had never thought of having a doctor look at it. Yet now a female physician had actually come?
The female physician, carrying a brown rattan medical case, stepped forward to examine Gu Youning.
Gu Youning was overwhelmed by the honor. She knew that the female physicians of the prince's residence were all graduates of the Imperial Medical Academy, holding official ranks, assigned specifically to attend to the titled ladies of the household—the Grand Consort, the Princess Consort, the Secondary Consort, and the like. Even the concubines had to request special approval to use their services. She never imagined one would come to see her in the middle of the night.
She hurriedly said, "It's nothing serious, just a slight swelling. It hardly hurts anymore."
The physician said nothing, only asked her to sit down and carefully examined the injury. It was indeed nothing serious—resting a day or two would suffice. Still, she took out a white porcelain bottle, poured some medicinal powder onto oiled paper, mixed it with honey water into a paste, and applied it to the wound with a swab. The ointment was golden and fine, cool and refreshing on the face, with a faint medicinal fragrance.
The physician left the white porcelain bottle with her, saying it was frankincense and myrrh ointment, which invigorated the blood and dispersed stasis. Applied three times a day for three days, it would heal completely. (Note: Frankincense and myrrh are two commonly used Chinese medicinal herbs.)
Gu Youning was naturally grateful. She knew this ointment was quite precious, and being allowed to use it was truly elevating her far beyond her station.
The physician then took her pulse as a formality, reaching out casually at first—but after a brief feel, her expression grew grave, and she ended up examining her pulse carefully for quite a while.
The old woman and Lin Bingzhong's wife, watching from the side, could not help but feel puzzled.
Gu Youning herself grew anxious. She was still young and knew she had no ailments. But some days ago she had taken that medicinal decoction, and her monthly flow had lasted several days before stopping. She didn't know whether the physician might detect this—if she did, it would be terribly awkward.
Or worse—what if the decoction hadn't worked at all, and she was somehow still with child? Wouldn't that bring down disaster upon her?
After a long while, the physician carefully questioned her about her usual monthly cycles. Gu Youning answered cautiously, concealing the bleeding caused by that decoction. The physician pondered for a moment before saying, "From your pulse, it is deep, slow, and weak—both qi and blood are deficient. I fear your womb is cold and deficient. You must warm the meridians and the womb, boost qi and nourish blood, and slowly restore your health."
With that, she took up her brush and wrote out a prescription, instructing her to have the medicine filled according to the formula and to brew and take it on schedule.
Gu Youning thanked her repeatedly, but inwardly felt it was entirely unnecessary. She was merely a servant, not to be compared with those pampered noble ladies. Even if her body felt a little off, she was young enough to endure it. If she actually took the prescription home and earnestly brewed and drank the medicine, it would only invite more trouble—who knew what looks her in-laws and sister-in-law would give her?
So after seeing the physician off, she merely looked over the prescription carefully and put it away.
She thought it was a good prescription, worth keeping—perhaps it would prove useful someday.
Lin Bingzhong's wife, however, was terribly curious and leaned in to look. She couldn't read, but seeing that the prescription was written on red eight-column stationery, she clicked her tongue in amazement: "We've basked in reflected glory today—to actually get our hands on something like this!"
One must know that the eight-line letter paper came in colors—red, green, orange, and yellow—with red being the most prized. It was hardly something servant women like them could casually lay hands on.
Listening to this, Gu Youning paused in her movements, her feelings rather mixed.
In the latter half of the night, the two made another round of patrol. By then the residence had quieted down, the lights extinguished everywhere. The patrol passed without incident, and upon returning to the inner guard room, they checked off the ledger and dozed off where they sat.
After the fifth watch, newly arrived matrons and wives came to take over the shift. Gu Youning and Lin Bingzhong's Wife could finally rest. They hurriedly handed over their duties and each headed home.
It had been Gu Youning's first night shift, and after the fright of the previous evening, she was utterly exhausted, longing only to get home and bury herself in her blankets to sleep. She quickened her pace on the way back.
But who could have known—when she passed through the passageway beyond the second gate, she suddenly saw a figure standing by the flowering plants at the base of the wall. It was none other than Prince Duan.
He wore a pale blue cloth robe, standing quietly at the foot of the wall, a cluster of flowering trees in full bloom behind him.
The morning breeze stirred the hem of his robe. He neither spoke nor moved, his eyes gazing at her in silence.
Gu Youning clenched her hands helplessly, at a loss for what to say.
She had thought that once her shift ended she could go home, and her whole being had relaxed—only to see Prince Duan.
Her mind went blank for a moment before slowly coming back to her senses, and she stepped forward to pay her respects.
Prince Duan's gaze rested lightly on Gu Youning, like a feather, like a breeze brushing her face.
He said nothing, his gaze focused and calm.
The surroundings were too quiet—so quiet she could almost hear the soft rustle of the wind through the flowering trees. Under such scrutiny, Gu Youning grew flustered, not knowing where to put her hands or feet.
What was she supposed to do now?