Flowery Hair: A Maidservant

Chapter 460 The Scheme Fails

After the morning audience, Consort Qu returned to Chunxi Palace in silence.

The wind under the eaves lifted the hem of her skirt, as if dragging along a clump of lingering melancholy.

With the new emperor's ascension to the throne, there weren't many concubines in the harem, and she was among the first batch of women selected for the imperial harem. She had lived here since she was a concubine in the Imperial Concubine Palace. Although this palace couldn't compare to the Lingcui Palace, it was much more lively.

The Xie and Qu families, who once lived here, are now struggling to survive in the Yeting Palace. Only she, in a short period of time, rose from Baolin to Jieyu, from a cramped side hall where she could not see the sunlight, to the position of the main concubine.

She walked along the bluestone path, vaguely recalling the day she first entered the palace.

The young ladies, summoned by imperial decree, gathered at the Qunfang Pavilion. Half of them were secretly mocking Yang and Pei for their humble origins: one was the daughter of a seventh-rank military officer from Shu Prefecture, and the other was the daughter of a prefectural judge from Jiang Prefecture.

In the eyes of those noble ladies, the daughters of local minor officials were naturally inferior in terms of manners and upbringing.

But what they didn't know was that she, standing in the corner, was the lowest of the low.

Her father didn't even hold a proper official position; he was just an idle man who relied on his family's wealth and his elder brother to make a living in the Hanlin Academy. Yet, he still tried to emulate others by taking two concubines, creating a drama of favoring concubines over his wife—how ridiculous! Her mother was weak and unable to manage the household, and her own brother repeatedly failed the imperial examinations, but he had perfectly emulated the pedantry of a pedantic scholar.

She was raised by her uncle's family since childhood, and it was common for her cousin to push and bully her, but she could only grit her teeth and endure it. The grievances accumulated over the years were like thorns buried in her heart, and they would hurt at the slightest touch.

She realized that she might be pregnant, which happened to be the same month that Consort Jin gave birth, and she was overjoyed.

Having children means having someone to rely on.

Status, power, and the bitterness and resentment that she had suppressed since childhood seemed to find an outlet in an instant, growing wildly in her heart.

The day after she was promoted to the rank of Jieyu, she had Ruixue send a letter home to her eldest uncle. She had only one request: that he preside over the sale of all of her father's two concubines and send her two half-brothers far away to the old residence in Caizhou.

Within two days, my uncle had taken care of everything perfectly.

When she heard the news, she only regretted being inside the palace walls and unable to witness her father's suffering.

As for the palace... exactly when did they decide to take action?

Was it when they learned that Consort Jin had given birth to a prince?

No, it's not.

She had witnessed firsthand how much the Emperor loved this child, such a healthy and strong eldest son, whom the Emperor had personally named and on whom he had placed high hopes from an early age. Who could bear to watch him grow up so smoothly?

Yes, we should have acted sooner.

It's not like we're going to kill him. A newborn's skin is so delicate; a few red spots would solve a lot of problems, wouldn't it? Besides, if this succeeds, the Empress, who presided over the full moon celebration, will also be held responsible, and the favored concubine and the Empress will inevitably become enemies...

pity.

The plan failed, and instead, Ruixue, who had been by his side since childhood, was lost.

Her pleading guilty to Consort Jin at Renming Palace today was also a carefully planned move.

She predicted that Consort Jin, having recently assumed the power of assistant administrator and out of consideration for the Emperor, would act prudently in front of everyone. If Consort Jin relented and let the matter drop, she could then legitimately request that she take care of her pregnancy. This way, she could avoid being watched by others, and Consort Jin would be forced to find a way to ensure a smooth delivery...

But Consort Jin refused to fall for it. With a simple "I am not worthy of being called elder sister," she effortlessly distanced herself from the situation, thwarting all her scheming hidden beneath her humility.

"Your Majesty, Imperial Physician Sun will come to take your pulse at the end of Chenshi (around 7-9 AM). You must be tired after returning from Renming Palace. Perhaps this servant can help Your Majesty to rest in your bedchamber for a while?"

The newly transferred palace maid, Cuiping, was sent by the Empress. She seemed like a suitable person, but calling her "Your Majesty" didn't make her feel as at ease as calling her "Master."

Qu Jieyu spoke softly, "I seem to remember seeing you before. In which year did Cuiping enter the palace?"

Cuiping helped her into the bedchamber and knelt on the ground to reply: "Your Majesty, I entered the palace five years ago and initially worked in the Shangyi Bureau. During the month Your Majesty was training at the Qunfang Pavilion when you entered the palace, I accompanied Aunt Minrong to deliver a reward once."

Qu Jieyu sat on the soft couch and said, "Get up quickly. Now that you are taking care of me personally, there are no need for so many rules."

"This servant is clumsy and awkward; it is my honor to serve Her Highness in the Chunxi Palace," Cuiping replied, still kneeling with her head bowed.

"Yesterday was so rushed that I didn't have time to look at your register carefully. Do you have any family members? Why did you enter the palace as a maid? Besides the Shangyi Bureau, how did you end up serving under Aunt Min Rong, the Shangyi of the Imperial Household? In all these years in the palace, have you made any acquaintances among the palace servants and eunuchs, and what are your relationships with them...?"

The barrage of questions made Cuiping's heart skip a beat. Her lowered eyes flickered before she began to answer each question carefully, not daring to hide anything.

......

Meanwhile, Green Willow had arrived at the Changchun Garden Palace.

Following Meng Shu's instructions, she first went to the main hall of Yichun Palace to pay her respects to Empress Dowager Zhou.

The Empress Dowager was worshipping Buddha in the small Buddhist hall, so she naturally wouldn't condescend to see a palace maid. However, Rongxiu, who was by the Empress Dowager's side, was very enthusiastic and personally went forward to help her to the tea room to talk.

"Just now, Consort Chun threw a tantrum." Rongxiu said with a smile as she led the way. "The Empress Dowager told me that Consort Jin would definitely send someone to appease her. I didn't believe it at first, but I didn't expect you to arrive so quickly."

Upon arriving at the tea room, Rongxiu personally poured her a cup of warm tea and instructed the palace servants to bring two plates of exquisite pastries.

Green Willow hurriedly stood up to stop her, flattered and surprised, saying, "I dare not trouble you, Aunt. My mistress came here because she was afraid that Consort Chun would be angered by what Granny Gui said, so she specially sent me to check on her."

“Consort Chun is a calm and collected person, but she always has Consort Jin on her mind.” Rong Xiu took a sip of tea and said in a light tone, “In my opinion, Consort Jin is very meticulous and now that she has the power to assist in managing the six palaces, she can handle even the biggest matters.”

Green Willow replied carefully, "Our Empress also misses Consort Chun very much. Fortunately, it won't be long before we can welcome Consort Chun back to the palace when the time is right. Otherwise, the Emperor might feel estranged after giving birth, since he hasn't seen the Empress for so long."

Upon hearing this, Rongxiu smiled. Just then, seeing Ruizhu approaching, she jokingly said, "Go quickly, Consort Chun has sent someone to look for you."

Ruizhu stepped over the threshold, placed the tea bag in her hand on the table, and replied with a smile, "Auntie is too kind. The manor has just sent some Biluochun tea, and Her Majesty asked me to bring some for you to try."

Green Willow followed Ruizhu to the side hall. As soon as she stepped across the threshold, she knelt down and bowed deeply to Consort Chun: "This servant, Green Willow, greets Consort Chun."

"Get up quickly, you must be tired from the journey." Consort Chun hurriedly raised her hand and said.

Green Willow thanked the Emperor and rose, taking out a letter written in Meng Shu's own handwriting from her sleeve. There was also a sandalwood scroll containing a small portrait of Yu Nu'er.

Consort Chun was overjoyed. Before she could even read the letter, she unfurled the scroll. The baby in the painting was wrapped in a brocade swaddle, with curved eyebrows and a wide grin, looking utterly adorable.

Sunlight streamed through the window and fell on the painting, making the baby's features even more vivid. She couldn't help but reach out and gently stroke Yu Nu'er's rosy cheeks in the painting, her voice full of joy: "Yu Nu'er's features are five or six parts similar to Shu'er's. Mengzhu, you should come and take a look too."

Mengzhu quickly stepped forward, smiling and nodding: "Especially those eyes, they look more like Consort Jin's. She'll definitely be a handsome young man when she grows up."

Ruizhu said, "Consort Jin is already beautiful. If she gives birth to a princess in the future, she will surely be a beauty that can topple kingdoms."

Upon hearing this, Consort Chun smiled so broadly her eyes crinkled. She instructed Mengzhu to carefully put away the portrait before opening Meng Shu's letter and reading it closely.

The letter rustled through her fingers. After a short while, Consort Chun sighed softly, "Shu'er guessed that I planned to return to the palace and wrote a letter to persuade me."