Flowery Hair: A Maidservant

Chapter 287 No one can sleep soundly

After seeing the Emperor and Consort Chun off from Linde Palace, the Empress looked at the newlyweds and comforted them:

"His Majesty has always favored Consort Chun, not because he is dissatisfied with you. After tonight's banquet, there will be plenty of opportunities to get close to His Majesty in the future. It's getting late, so go back to your palaces and rest."

Consort Mei stared coldly at the Empress for a moment, then turned and walked towards Zhaoqing Palace.

The Empress showed no sign of anger. She gazed at Consort Mei's departing figure, then turned to the crowd and said with a wry smile, "Consort Mei has known the Emperor since childhood and is also favored by the Empress Dowager. It's inevitable that she's a bit arrogant and domineering. You all must not offend her in the future."

Consort Rong and the other concubines paled and responded in unison, "Yes."

"Xingyu, you stay here to help Minrong and Aunt Mei settle in," the Empress instructed Xingyu, then turned and walked toward the imperial carriage.

Wu Yunu bowed slightly and left with Song Jieyu and the Empress.

Xie Jieyu gave Wu Yunu a deep look, secretly annoyed.

Only Hua Yan, a former concubine, remained outside the hall, so Yun Baolin dared to step forward and pay her respects—she had been stealing glances at Hua Yan from time to time inside the hall. Facing this concubine who had accompanied her cousin for many years and had risen through the ranks of imperial concubines, her beauty alone was enough to deter anyone from approaching her easily.

Yun Baolin said goodbye softly: "Your Majesty, I live in Ganlu Palace with Consort Rong. Tomorrow, the two of us will go to Your Majesty's palace to pay our respects. It's getting late, so we will take our leave with the nannies."

The palace servants arranged by Min Rong were on their way. Hua Yan nodded and smiled as she instructed, "Go to Renming Hall to pay your respects at Chenshi (7-9 AM) tomorrow. Don't be late."

"Yes."

On the way back to Huining Palace, Ruizhu looked in the direction of Funing Palace and couldn't help but ask worriedly, "What the Empress said before she left, did she think no one could see it? Wasn't she putting our Empress in a difficult position—"

"It's alright, they'll just think that Your Highness is favored and won't dare to have any other thoughts for the time being."

Hua Yan narrowed her eyes slightly, beckoned Rui Zhu over, and whispered in her ear, "I remember that Xiao Nianzi has some connection with Eunuch Dong. Have him go and find out what's going on, mention the events of Her Majesty's birthday last year..."

Ruizhu, not knowing why Huayan was still concerned about last year's events, replied, "Xiao Nianzi is still dealing with the aftermath at Linde Palace. I'll have him take care of it first thing tomorrow morning."

Huining Hall, side hall.

Hua Yan changed into her nightgown, washed up, and left Lv Liu on night duty.

"Tell me, what did you discover just now?"

Green Willow pondered for a moment and said, "If Shu'er hadn't reminded me, I wouldn't have noticed before that Aunt Minrong seemed to have known about Wu Yunu's dance in advance. But that's not surprising. Perhaps Her Majesty the Empress sent someone to inform her beforehand."

"That's all?" Hua Yan asked thoughtfully.

As Green Willow made the bed, she said, "Aside from praising the thoughtful arrangements, Aunt Minrong didn't say anything else. She only instructed a few palace servants to make proper arrangements after the banquet."

"Does Shu'er suspect that Aunt Minrong was behind the hairpin incident?"

Hua Yan pulled Lv Liu down to sit and handed her a glass of water. "You've been working hard all day, let me make the table."

Green Willow smiled and said, "This is not tiring at all. Back when I was working at the brokerage, I traveled all over the surrounding villages with Granny Zhou. That was what I called tiring."

Hua Yan continued from Green Willow's question, saying solemnly, "Lu Sizhen is very skilled in handling matters. He keeps records of everyone who handled the jewelry, from the craftsmen to the warehouse. Granny Kong mentioned that Lord Tong is very adept at interrogating cases and that he can withstand his 'torture and interrogation.' So, the Sizhen department should indeed not have tampered with anything."

(Kong Mama, Kong Lian, as mentioned earlier, was the head maid in Empress Dowager Zhou's palace, and stayed to serve Consort Chun before leaving the palace.)

Green Willow's expression turned serious, and she seemed somewhat incredulous: "In that case, Aunt Minrong is indeed the most suspicious."

"His Majesty has no intention of investigating, so I'm afraid the Imperial Household Department will simply close the case. However, Min Rong has always been discreet and self-protective throughout her years in the palace. I wonder why she was being manipulated by Consort Mei?"

"Shu'er, isn't it too hasty to infer the person behind this based solely on the female stone powder and lacquer sap on the hairpin?" Green Willow believed that the hairpin incident might not necessarily be the work of Consort Mei.

Hua Yan recalled the expression that Granny Yu hadn't had time to hide and said to Lvliu, "Rest first, we have to go to Renming Hall to pay our respects early tomorrow morning."

For the newly arrived concubines, none of them could sleep peacefully tonight.

Consort Rong already knew she was being targeted, and she felt a lot of goodwill towards Consort Chun for being able to discover it in time. It's just a pity that the two come from different camps, and they are destined not to be able to get along sincerely in the future.

Moreover, although her rank upon entering the palace was lower than that of Consort Xie among the other ladies-in-waiting, Consort Xie's background was lower than hers, so there was a very high chance that she would be the one to serve the emperor tonight.

Thinking of this, Consort Rong whispered, "Lianqiao, tomorrow send someone to the manor to tell Father to conduct a thorough self-examination within the clan and to make sure that no one finds any fault with him."

From now on, even if it's just for their daughter's sake in the palace, the clan should at least behave themselves.

Lying on the bed in complete darkness, Yun Baolin sighed, "It's all about timing and fate. Two years ago, my cousin Wan'er was just a merchant's daughter, but now she's a concubine in the palace, enjoying the highest favor among the six palaces. Even the concubines around her have been promoted to the rank of Beauty."

My mother said that the Emperor bestowed upon me this title of Baolin because of my cousin. I didn't believe it at first, but now I see it's indeed thanks to my cousin's kindness.

Her father held no official position and only had the opportunity to participate in the imperial concubine selection because of her grandfather's status as a prefect. Her grandfather was getting old and was preparing to retire and return to his hometown this year. At that time, the family would return to the capital, and Yun Baolin secretly hoped to gain a foothold in the harem as soon as possible.

Following her mistress's words, Jixiang said, "Miss is Consort Chun's cousin, so she will surely make plans for you. Madam has prepared many valuable gifts for this purpose. After paying your respects tomorrow, Miss will go to Huining Palace to pay her respects to the Consort."

Pei Yunu tossed and turned, unable to sleep.

The Pei family was affiliated with the Chen family (the maternal family of Consort Mei's mother) in Jiangzhou. After entering the palace, she was naturally required to attach herself to Consort Mei and fight for that position for Consort Mei. However, Consort Mei's behavior at the banquet made her very uneasy.

How can a fool who doesn't know how to bide his time and conceal his abilities succeed?

Feeling a sense of shared misfortune with Consort Pei, Qu Baolin was even more anxious, as she also had a foolish and oblivious cousin who was still under house arrest.

Funing Palace, the sleeping quarters.

Consort Chun stared blankly at the bright yellow bed curtains beside the bed; this was the first time she had slept in the Emperor's bedroom.

I had been filled with anticipation, but now that I'm actually here, I feel strangely calm.