Fuca Langhua had initially been somewhat wary of Gao Xiyue gaining the eldest prince as her adopted son.
But after the Empress Dowager’s remarks earlier, she no longer had the luxury of worrying about Gao Xiyue.
Her heart was filled with panic.
Had the Empress Dowager become dissatisfied with her?
If the Empress Dowager began to dislike her from now on—or worse, sided with Concubine Xian instead—what would she do?
No, that couldn’t be right.
Even if the Empress Dowager no longer favored her, Concubine Xian had angered the Empress Dowager repeatedly. The Empress Dowager would never like her.
As for Suolian, her original intention had been to deepen the empress’s wariness toward both Consort Gao and Concubine Xian.
But now that the Empress Dowager had taken custody of all the servants involved, Suolian could think only of finding an opportunity to silence them.
Yet this was the Empress Dowager they were dealing with.
A woman who had returned to the palace under a new identity after being cast out as a disgraced consort, and who had defeated an empress backed by her own empress dowager aunt.
Could Suolian really make her move under the Empress Dowager’s watchful eye?
For the first time, Suolian found herself distracted.
The empress called her name twice before she finally responded.
Fuca Langhua frowned at her absent-minded expression.
“Suolian, what’s wrong with you today?”
Snapping back to attention, Suolian clenched her hands tightly but kept her expression calm.
“This servant is merely worried that this matter will implicate Your Majesty.”
The empress accepted the explanation without suspicion and sighed.
“Now that the Empress Dowager has personally intervened, being implicated is unavoidable.”
As she spoke, anger rose within her.
“It’s all because of those wretched servants. How dare they cause such trouble?
“My conscience is clear, yet I’ve been dragged into this through no fault of my own.”
Suolian hesitated before asking,
“Will Your Majesty truly leave the entire matter in the Empress Dowager’s hands?”
“This is the Empress Dowager’s decision. How could I object?”
Fuca Langhua paused, then added,
“Besides, it’s better this way. If the Empress Dowager investigates personally, it will prove my innocence.
“If I conducted the investigation myself, there would always be people gossiping behind my back.”
“What if someone uses this opportunity to muddy the waters and harm Your Majesty?”
“I have nothing to hide. If anyone falsely accuses me, I will confront them directly.
“The Empress Dowager is fair. She won’t wrong me.”
Seeing that further persuasion would be useless, Suolian lowered her head and quietly searched for another solution.
She didn’t dare look at the empress, afraid she might confess everything.
There had to be another way.
She couldn’t give up.
Because Suolian kept her head lowered, she didn’t notice the empress’s gaze resting thoughtfully upon her.
Watching Suolian’s distracted behavior, Fuca Langhua suddenly recalled something.
Hadn’t this new group of servants assigned to the First Prince been chosen by Suolian herself?
At Changchun Palace, mistress and servant each harbored their own concerns.
Meanwhile, at the Palace of Compassion and Tranquility, Zhen Huan was making arrangements.
As the champion of the previous generation’s palace struggles, she still had considerable influence within the harem.
She instructed her people to keep a close watch on the servants involved—especially for anyone attempting to silence them.
Because the matter concerned the empress of the Great Qing, she selected only those she trusted completely.
No matter what the servants said, it was not to be shared with anyone else. Everything would be reported directly to her.
As for Nanny Li, who had previously been removed from the First Prince’s service, she too was sent to the Office of Punishments.
Zhen Huan believed it would only be a matter of days before someone talked.
Whoever was behind this had dared to target an eight-year-old prince.
If they failed to uncover the culprit, wouldn’t the harem eventually return to the blood-soaked intrigues of Empress Yixiu’s era?
She had done everything she could.
Now all she could do was wait.
At Yanxi Palace, Ruyi returned with a pout and a gloomy expression.
Seeing her face, A’ruo hurried forward.
“What happened, Your Ladyship?”
Ruixin glanced cautiously at Ruyi. Seeing that she had no intention of stopping her, she spoke.
“His Majesty summoned our mistress because of the matter of adopting the First Prince.
“He asked the prince to choose an adoptive mother from among our mistress, Consort Gao, and the empress.
“The First Prince chose Consort Gao.”
A’ruo understood her mistress’s disappointment.
Ruyi had always wanted a child. The chance to adopt the First Prince had been so close, only to be snatched away by Consort Gao.
“Your Ladyship, if the First Prince didn’t choose you, it’s because he lacks judgment.
“You’ll have children of your own one day.
“Who cares about an adopted child anyway? Only Consort Gao, who’s too sickly to bear children herself, would treasure him so much.”
A’ruo’s words eased Ruyi’s mood somewhat.
Still, she couldn’t help feeling that all her kindness toward the First Prince had been wasted.
But she had instructed Ruixin to keep those matters secret from A’ruo.
Naturally, A’ruo couldn’t understand why she was truly upset.
Ruyi glanced at Ruixin.
Always perceptive, Ruixin immediately understood.
She looked uneasily at A’ruo, knowing she wouldn’t be happy to learn they had hidden things from her.
But it had been her mistress’s order.
After a moment’s hesitation, she said,
“When our mistress discovered that the First Prince was being neglected by his servants and often didn’t have enough to eat, she frequently sent me to deliver pastries to him in secret.
“And yet today, he still chose Consort Gao.”
A’ruo was momentarily speechless.
She looked from Ruixin to Ruyi.
The two of them had kept this from her.
She couldn’t help feeling hurt.
Even so, she said,
“Then Your Ladyship has even less reason to be sad.
“He’s so ungrateful. Do you think Consort Gao will receive any gratitude from him in the future?”
A’ruo continued speaking, offering various words of comfort.
As Ruyi listened, the corners of her lips gradually curved into a smile.
Only then did she finally speak.
“A’ruo, the First Prince is still a prince. Don’t speak so carelessly in the future.
“What if someone overhears you?”
A’ruo immediately promised she would never say such things outside Yanxi Palace.
At last, the atmosphere in the palace lightened somewhat.
Later, Hailan arrived and wholeheartedly agreed with A’ruo.
She even remarked that Ruyi was simply too kind-hearted and had wasted her goodwill on someone undeserving.
At last, Ruyi’s mood improved.
As for Ruixin, who would inevitably endure A’ruo’s cold remarks and resentment for keeping secrets alongside Ruyi—
Well, that wasn’t something Ruyi considered at all.
Two days later, Fuga personally brought several people from the Office of Punishments to see Zhen Huan.
“Kneeling before Your Majesty,” Fuga reported, “Nanny Li and Nanny Zhao, who replaced her later, have both confessed.”
She paused.
“The person who bribed them to mistreat the First Prince was Suolian, the empress’s personal maid.”