“Thud!”
Nanny Jian dropped to her knees in fright and cried out nervously, “Your Majesty, this old servant is guilty. I failed to protect Princess Shengshi properly, and I am willing to accept punishment.”
“But this old servant was powerless to stop it!”
“When this old servant found Princess Shengshi, she had already gotten into a dispute with the Second Princess and Fourth Princess. Before this old servant could mediate, Princess Shengshi accidentally fell into the water…”
Before Nanny Jian could finish smoothing things over, Xia Mo jumped out furiously.
“That’s nonsense! Princess Shengshi never argued with the Second Princess or Fourth Princess at all. It was clearly the Second Princess leading the Fourth Princess in bullying Princess Shengshi.”
“And Princess Shengshi didn’t accidentally fall into the water—she was pushed in by the Second Princess. This servant saw it clearly with my own eyes.”
Nanny Jian had not expected Xia Mo to be so blunt and tactless, and hurriedly explained, “At the time, it was already getting dark, and this old servant was standing rather far away, so perhaps I did not see clearly…”
“How could you not see clearly? You were only standing this far away!”
Xia Mo gestured to indicate the distance before arriving at a firm conclusion.
“Unless you’re blind.”
“…”
Nanny Jian felt like she was about to die from anger.
Was it really so difficult for her to avoid getting dragged into the infighting among the imperial children?
Because of her former line of work, Lin Anran understood Nanny Jian’s mentality very well.
But understanding did not mean agreeing with her actions.
Especially not when Luo Li was involved.
This matter absolutely could not end peacefully.
“Since Nanny Jian is already advanced in years, I imagine you no longer have the energy to properly care for Little Ah Li. In that case, this palace shall no longer keep you here. Pack your things and return to Cining Palace immediately,” Lin Anran ordered.
Nanny Jian completely panicked.
If she were sent back to Cining Palace because of this matter, the Dowager Empress would never let her off lightly.
“Your Majesty, this old servant was wrong! Earlier, I had not yet recovered from the shock, which is why I failed to recall the situation clearly.”
“It was exactly as Xia Mo said. The Second Princess and Fourth Princess ordered their palace maids to restrain Xia Mo, then forced Princess Shengshi step by step toward the lakeside. In the end, it was the Second Princess who pushed Princess Shengshi into the water.”
“This old servant arrived too late and did not hear clearly what the three princesses were arguing about.”
Nanny Jian had completely thrown caution to the wind.
By saying this, she had thoroughly offended the Second Princess and Fourth Princess.
And since those two were born to Consort Xian, offending them was equivalent to offending Consort Xian herself.
From this moment on, she was completely tied to the Empress’s side.
Listening to this, Lin Anran turned to Xia Mo for confirmation.
Xia Mo nodded and added:
“Your Majesty, after this servant accompanied Princess Shengshi in feeding the fish at the Imperial Garden today, we were preparing to return to find you when we happened to run into the Second Princess and Fourth Princess, who were also playing there.”
“The Second Princess has always been inferior to Princess Shengshi in her studies and often causes trouble for her. Today, seeing that Princess Shengshi only had this servant accompanying her, she became determined to bully her.”
“At first, Princess Shengshi did not want to argue with them. But not only did the Second Princess insult Princess Shengshi verbally, she also insulted Your Majesty. That was why Princess Shengshi finally could not hold back and talked back, which enraged the Second Princess so much that she pushed Princess Shengshi into the water.”
Lin Anran listened calmly, but in her mind the entire scene had already formed clearly.
Given Luo Li’s obedient personality, she had probably intended to avoid the Second and Fourth Princesses from the beginning. No matter how much they provoked her, she likely would not have retaliated—she probably would not even have told Lin Anran afterward.
But the Second Princess had stubbornly dragged Lin Anran into the insults as well.
And for Luo Li, who had only recently begun to experience maternal love, that had touched a nerve.
Luo Li was exceptionally intelligent. The Second Princess already could not compare to her academically, and she was probably no match for Luo Li verbally either. That was likely why she became furious and resorted to violence.
Lin Anran remembered that by the time she arrived at the scene, the Second and Fourth Princesses were already gone.
They had probably realized they had caused trouble and fled together.
As Lin Anran pondered this, Xia Mo indignantly suggested:
“Your Majesty, now that His Majesty the Emperor is here as well, should we tell him about the grievance Princess Shengshi suffered and ask him to seek justice for her?”
“There is no need. All of you will pretend this matter never happened. This palace will handle it personally,” Lin Anran instructed.
At the time, there had not been many people in the Imperial Garden. As long as the Second and Fourth Princesses stubbornly denied everything, even Luo Li’s accusation, together with the testimonies of Nanny Jian and Xia Mo, would be useless.
And even if someone really had witnessed the Second Princess push Luo Li into the water, that person might not dare step forward and tell the truth.
After all, who would willingly offend the highly favored Consort Xian?
When Lin Anran returned to the main hall, the imperial physician had already left.
Guo Yichen did not say much. He merely told Lin Anran to take good care of Luo Li before leaving Fengyi Palace.
Not long afterward, Chunhua reported that after leaving Fengyi Palace, the Emperor had first visited Noble Consort’s Jinghe Palace for a short while, where he played with the one-year-old First Prince and tested the Third Princess on her studies.
Afterward, he went to see Consort Shu’s frail Second Prince.
Only then did he head to Consort Xian’s residence.
However, the Emperor did not spend the night there. In fact, that very evening, he flew into a rage over the excuse that the Second and Fourth Princesses had not completed their lessons. He harshly reprimanded both princesses, and even Consort Xian was scolded for failing to discipline her daughters properly, turning her into the laughingstock of the entire harem.
Every concubine in the palace who had borne children received praise from the Emperor.
Only Consort Xian was criticized.
The humiliation nearly made her explode with rage.
Listening to Chunhua’s report, Lin Anran’s brows lifted ever so slightly.
This Emperor Guo Yichen truly was no simple man.
He had undoubtedly already guessed the truth behind Luo Li’s fall into the water. Only after carefully weighing all sides did he choose to visit Noble Consort and Consort Shu before finally going to Consort Xian’s palace to reprimand Consort Xian and the two princesses.
In a way, this was his indirect method of standing up for Luo Li.
But this was not the justice Lin Anran wanted.
One of Lin Anran’s life principles had always been:
If others do not offend me, I will not offend them.
But if someone offends me, I will definitely return the favor.
…
The next day.
Luo Li had run a high fever throughout the entire night, only beginning to recover in the latter half of the night. Lin Anran stayed by her side the entire time, personally wiping away her sweat and changing her clothes.
At one point, Lin Anran disappeared alone for a while. When she returned, the hem of her skirt was soaked wet.
Though Chunhua and Xia Mo found it strange, neither asked questions.
By the time the two finished helping Lin Anran change into clean clothes and complete her morning grooming, it was already time for the concubines’ daily greetings.
The hall was already filled with consorts.
The moment Lin Anran arrived, all of them stood and bowed respectfully.
Lin Anran swept her gaze across the room before knowingly asking:
“Why has Consort Xian not arrived yet today? Has something delayed her?”
As if she would dare show up today.