Flowery Hair: A Maidservant

Chapter 393 Yang Baolin's Thoughts

Seven or eight days later, news of the previous dynasty gradually reached the inner palace.

There have been constant skirmishes on the northern border lately. Although they haven't reached the point of armed conflict, the Emperor has had to devote most of his energy to military affairs these days, and has been visiting the inner palace less often.

He would occasionally set foot there, either to visit Meng Shu at Lingcui Palace or to dine at Renming Palace.

After that heart palpitation, Consort Qing never caused any further trouble. Empress Dowager Jiang often sent people to visit her, and when Consort Chun was assisting in managing the six palaces, all the allowances for Zhaoqing Palace were distributed on time, without any intention of making things difficult.

The Empress's behavior was quite unexpected. She sent leather, charcoal, and rare medicinal herbs to Zhaoqing Palace in a continuous stream, making a good impression of being a kind and generous empress, which earned her praise from the Emperor.

However, through Granny Yu, Xia'er learned that Consort Qing's heart palpitations were flaring up frequently, and the Qing State Duke's Mansion was secretly searching for renowned doctors...

"That's strange. It's not like the illness is new. Why are you only now thinking about seeking medical help?"

Consort Chun has been frequently visiting Cuiyu Hall to talk with Meng Shu these past two days, and her brows furrowed slightly when Meng Shu mentioned Consort Qing.

After pondering for a moment, Meng Shu told Consort Chun about her earlier speculation at the imperial palace.

Consort Chun's expression changed upon hearing this. Then, recalling the Empress's recent obsequious behavior, she said with disgust, "Starting with spices? That's more like her style. Using such insidious methods while pretending to be virtuous is truly nauseating."

"Consort Qing has been feigning illness for over a decade. Now that it has truly become a chronic condition, the Duke's mansion is bound to panic," Meng Shu said calmly.

"A meticulously woven lie ultimately backfires; it's ironic," Consort Chun sighed, then sneered, "Our Emperor is blind to both sight and thought. Shu'er can see through it, but he might not..."

"Your Majesty, please be careful what you say, for walls have ears."

These words startled Aunt Mei. She glanced nervously at the palace door, even though there were no outsiders inside at the moment.

Green Willow whispered, "The Emperor always comes without a sound, and we servants are all afraid."

Looking at Consort Chun's flushed cheeks from anger, Meng Shu suddenly smiled—compared to her previous habit of swallowing her words, this vibrant demeanor was more like how she should be now.

"The weather is getting colder every day. Yesterday, the Bureau of Accounting of the Ministry of Works sent over a list of charcoal supplies. I told them to distribute them in full and ahead of schedule according to the regulations for each palace. Several lower-ranking concubines are having a hard time. Wu, the Imperial Concubine, used this as an excuse to start a lawsuit with Yang Baolin."

Consort Chun put down her teacup, a look of weariness on her brow.

Meng Shu poured tea for her, asking, "What happened?"

Yang Baolin was of the lowest rank among the imperial concubines. Her father was a minor official of the seventh rank, serving as the Registrar of Shu Prefecture. Previously, Consort Wu, relying on her seniority and having come from the Empress Dowager's palace, often acted arrogantly in front of her. However, after Yang Baolin gained favor and was promoted to Baolin, she finally quieted down.

Meng Shu had some doubts at first. How could someone of Yang Baolin's humble origins and mediocre appearance be selected to enter the palace? After seeing her a few times, she noticed that Yang Baolin's words and actions were ordinary and timid. So she simply asked Ruizhu to keep a close eye on her.

As a result, in the few months since entering the palace, this Consort Yang had almost no presence after serving the emperor once, and she rarely went out. If Consort Chun hadn't mentioned her just now, even Meng Shu would have almost forgotten that there was such a person in the harem.

“They lived in the Magnolia Pavilion together. According to custom, the imperial concubines could only use black charcoal, but Baolin could get a small amount of silver frost charcoal. When Imperial Concubine Wu saw that the charcoal brought back by Yang Baolin was better than hers, she made sarcastic remarks in the corridor.”

Mengzhu picked up where she left off, continuing, "Consort Yang, being gentle by nature, offered her some silver frost charcoal. Who knew that Consort Wu not only didn't appreciate it, but felt humiliated..." She pursed her lips, "The palace maids around Consort Yang then went to the Empress, tearfully complaining that Consort Wu often bullied her, and this time not only smashed the charcoal brazier but also physically assaulted her..."

"How dare she hurt someone?" Green Willow frowned, feeling that Lady Wu had probably lost her mind.

Meng Shu tapped the table lightly with her fingertip: "How did Wan'er solve the case?"

According to palace rules, Lady Wu was fined three months' salary and confined to her quarters for one month.

Consort Chun sighed, "It was Consort Yang who suffered injustice. I originally wanted to report to the Empress and have her move to Qianying Pavilion. Consort Qu just moved to Chunxi Palace, so that place is currently empty."

"Since Wan'er says so, Yang Baolin must be rejecting Wan'er's kindness."

Consort Chun nodded helplessly.

Mengzhu couldn't help but say angrily, "If she's willing to suffer, then let her suffer. It's a waste of Your Majesty's good intentions!"

Meng Shu seemed to be deep in thought, and after a while she slowly said, "...It's not that I'm willing to accept it. Qianying Pavilion is in a remote location and no one else lives there. It's quiet, but I'm afraid that if I live there, I'll never have another chance to get ahead."

Consort Chun asked in surprise, "She's not usually the type to stand out and compete for favor..."

"—I'm afraid they've already thought of a better place to go." Meng Shu's words were somewhat meaningful.

Wouldn't this be a perfect opportunity to climb up to Consort Chun?

If she were truly a person who didn't care about worldly affairs, why would she specifically send someone to the Huining Palace to cry and complain?

Meng Shu was not one to assume malicious intent towards others; she simply suddenly recalled an old incident.

Back when they were still in the imperial palace, Wu and Yang had a lawsuit in the palace. At that time, Consort Xie, who was in charge of the six palaces, gave each of them a 50/50 lashes.

These farces, in retrospect, seem almost like they were deliberately staged.

After Meng Shu's reminder, Aunt Mei also noticed something amiss. "In that case, it is indeed a bit strange. Wu Yunu was chosen by the Empress Dowager to be a concubine in the Prince's mansion. She is not someone who causes trouble... Now that Consort Yang's rank is higher than hers, how could she be so ungrateful?"

Consort Chun said, "Consort Yang did come to Huining Palace to express her gratitude afterward, but I was too lazy to see her, so I had Ruizhu send her away."

“I didn’t even allow my cousin Lianyun to move to Huining Palace. If Consort Yang has such thoughts, she should give up now.”

Meng Shu couldn't help but chuckle, and got up to take Chunfei's arm and walk towards the study. "I can't guess whether she has such thoughts, but I do know that our Wan'er is the most impatient to deal with people with this kind of personality."

The emperor was too busy with state affairs to attend to the harem, which suited their wishes.

After a day of idle chatter, they would play chess, play the zither, or practice calligraphy and painting. Meng Shu was an undefeated champion at chess, but when it came to playing the zither, she was far inferior to Consort Chun! Not only inferior, but Consort Chun stopped her after just one performance; it was simply torture for the ears...

Occasionally, she would enjoy various soups made with winter melon. Since Consort Chun loved spicy food, Donggua (the winter melon) would try different methods to develop a chili sauce. A few days ago, she even came up with a chili sauce.

After tasting it, Consort Chun was amazed and her appetite improved considerably. Mengzhu and Aunt Mei were overjoyed and kept praising Donggua. Donggua, feeling elated, became even more enthusiastic and made more than twenty jars overnight, sending them to the Marquis of Lin'an's residence and Yangzhou. He also asked Meng Shu to include the recipe for making chili sauce.

Donggua's original words were: "Madam is kind enough to let me accept half of the profit from Yongxing Restaurant, so I have to do my best to make sure I feel at ease."

After hearing this, Meng Shu teased her, "Our Donggua's wealth is more than that of more than half of the concubines in the palace. After we leave the palace, we'll buy an estate, and you can all go to her estate to retire."

......

Winter had already arrived in the capital, and the people in the palace had all put on thick winter clothes, while Yangzhou, thousands of miles away, was still lush and green, as if they were two completely different seasons.

Ever since Xiuyun arrived, Zhou Bai felt like he was being led by a thread every time he finished his shift. On this day, he returned from outside and had just turned through the hanging flower gate when he saw Xiuyun sitting by the window, writing a letter.