Without the incident in which Bai Ruiji was slapped by Gao Xiyue’s servants, the matter of the white trumpet flower (Brugmansia) simply faded away without consequences.
But perhaps fate had already decided that Ruyi was destined to “warm Li Yu’s heart.”
She still happened to discover Li Yu being punished with kneeling and then summoned him to Yanxi Palace to personally apply medicine to his wounds.
If Zhen Huan had known, she would definitely have called her insane.
Even Ruixin knew enough to avoid suspicion.
Yet Ruyi, an imperial consort, was personally applying medicine to a eunuch?
Would Zhen Huan ever personally treat Su Peisheng’s injuries?
Did she understand the concept of avoiding impropriety at all?
The harem remained relatively peaceful for a while afterward.
Then New Year’s Day arrived.
All the consorts came to pay their respects to the Empress Dowager, and Zhen Huan finally saw the women of the harem again.
Along with them came her grandchildren.
Honestly…
Before transmigrating, she had been a young college student.
Now she somehow had grandchildren.
Life really was absurd.
Most of the children crowded around her.
Only Yonghuang and Jingse stayed back.
Zhen Huan didn’t think much of it.
Children were different.
Some were lively, others shy.
She only saw them a handful of times each year.
It wasn’t strange that some didn’t feel close to her.
But after taking a closer look, she noticed that Yonghuang seemed considerably thinner than she remembered.
So she asked why he had lost so much weight.
Before Yonghuang could answer, a nanny stepped forward.
“Reporting to Your Majesty, the First Prince has had little appetite since before the New Year. He’s also rather playful. A moment of inattention and he ran into the snow. He caught cold twice because of it.”
The moment she heard that tone, Zhen Huan frowned.
This woman’s job was to care for the First Prince.
Yet she had somehow allowed an imperial prince to catch cold twice before winter was even halfway over.
And her response was to blame a child?
What exactly was she being paid for?
Did she think the Emperor couldn’t wield a sword?
“How many servants are assigned to the First Prince?
How is it possible that there was a moment when nobody was watching him?
In such a short time he has fallen ill twice. Are all of you merely drawing salaries for nothing?”
The nanny immediately knelt and begged forgiveness.
Zhen Huan did not pursue the matter further in public.
Only after everyone had dispersed and she was speaking privately with the Emperor and Empress did she bring it up again.
“After returning, investigate the servants attending the First Prince.
Is there truly not a single careful person among them?
All the other children are healthy, yet he alone keeps falling ill.”
Fuca Langhua immediately agreed.
Privately, she couldn’t help feeling grateful that the Empress Dowager had previously stopped her from reducing staff at Xiefang Hall.
Otherwise she might have gone from merely negligent to directly responsible.
“Especially that nanny who answered today.
Every word out of her mouth was an attempt to shift blame.
I dislike her.
Send her elsewhere. She is not to remain near the princes and princesses.”
Afterward, Zhen Huan praised the Empress’s diligence and virtue for a while.
Then she presented her with a phoenix hairpin she had prepared in advance.
Only then did she allow the Emperor and Empress to leave.
Zhen Huan’s internal assessment:
Human relationships. Perfectly managed.
Without the white trumpet flower incident, there was no furious confrontation in which the Empress questioned Consort Xian.
Nor was there any scene of the Empress Dowager rebuking the Empress before the Emperor.
So when Fuca Langhua invited him back to Changchun Palace, Hongli accepted happily.
The two returned together.
A few days later, Fuca had Sulian investigate the First Prince’s situation thoroughly.
Two days afterward, Sulian reported:
“It was the nanny who accompanied the First Prince that day, along with several people under her.
They were constantly shirking duties and cutting corners.
She relied on her seniority and the fact that she used to be the First Prince’s wet nurse, so no one dared challenge her.
That is why the First Prince fell ill.
This servant has already carried out Your Majesty’s instructions and sent her far away.”
Naturally, Fuca Langhua did not doubt Sulian’s report.
She nodded.
“In that case, select a few suitable replacements from the Imperial Household Department.
We cannot allow something like this to happen again.”
Sulian immediately assured her that everything had already been arranged.
But inwardly, she was thinking something entirely different.
The remaining people would need to be instructed to act more carefully.
Allowing the prince to become sick twice in a row had attracted too much attention.
That sort of mistake could not happen again.
Some time later, Zhen Huan suddenly remembered that Gao Xiyue’s confinement was about to end.
She immediately summoned Gao Xiyue to Cining Palace.
Back then, with only a few words, the Empress Dowager had stripped her of her honorary title, demoted her from Noble Consort, and confined her for three months.
As a result, Gao Xiyue felt genuinely afraid whenever she faced the Empress Dowager.
Zhen Huan thought that was actually a good thing.
Having someone to fear meant having limits.
“I summoned you today only because I wish to say a few things.
Men who seek advancement can study and take the imperial examinations.
Women of the harem can only rely upon the Emperor’s favor.
Therefore, competing for affection is perfectly normal.
If you succeed, then that is your own ability.
I have no intention of interfering.
But there is one rule.
Do not resort to despicable methods again.
Especially those that cost lives.
If such things happen, I will never forgive them.”
Gao Xiyue quickly agreed.
“The two of us both know what really happened that day.
I treated it as a first offense and showed mercy.
Next time, if something similar occurs, I would not mind locking you away for the rest of your life.
Or perhaps you believe that if I ordered your execution, the Emperor would turn against me for your sake?”
Gao Xiyue swallowed nervously.
She knew perfectly well.
Of course he wouldn’t.
Seeing her too frightened to make a sound, Zhen Huan shook her head.
“What I truly don’t understand is this.
The Emperor’s feelings toward Consort Xian are merely average.
Her residence is inferior to yours.
Her rank is inferior to yours.
The Emperor favors her less than he favors you.
Even her family lacks any influential figures.
As for Lady Hai, there’s even less to discuss.
Why are you constantly picking fights with them?
Not only are you in the wrong, but you only make yourself look cheap.”
Gao Xiyue initially wanted to say:
Because Consort Xian is different in the Emperor’s heart.
But after considering the Empress Dowager’s words, she realized something strange.
Consort Xian really did seem inferior to her in every measurable way.
The notion that Consort Xian was somehow special appeared to be something everyone kept saying.
Yet in reality, she received no particularly special treatment.
“Look at how timid you are.
A few words from me and you’re already frightened half to death.
Aren’t you afraid that if you truly caused someone’s death, she’d return as a vengeful ghost to seek repayment?
The Forbidden City is already filled with enough yin energy as it is.”
Of course, Zhen Huan was deliberately trying to scare her.
But Gao Xiyue genuinely seemed susceptible to that sort of superstition.
She immediately shook her head repeatedly.
“This servant would never dare again.”
“Good.
Then go back and be a proper consort.
Remember what I’ve said today.
I won’t interfere in your competition for favor.
But you must understand where my bottom line lies.”
Gao Xiyue obediently bowed.
“Yes, Your Majesty.”
She still disliked Consort Xian.
But perhaps that was all it was now.
After all, losing her title and rank over someone who seemed inferior to her in every way really wasn’t worth it.
And besides…
What if vengeful ghosts really did exist?
At the thought, Gao Xiyue shivered.
Suddenly, the entire Forbidden City seemed a great deal darker and more ominous than before.