The Job Of An Imperial Concubine

39

TJOAIC 39 – ANGER? SERENITY? (愤怒? 平静?)

In the imperial harem, there simply wasn’t a difference between clean and dirty. The largest disparity was among intelligence. Sometimes, only possessing intelligence wasn’t enough. Luck was a mysterious thing. Even if you calculated for everything, fate could still play a joke on you.　　

The empress knew that the matter of Ronghua Sun shoving Zhuang Laoyan into the lotus pond wasn’t simple. The pond was right outside Xihe Palace. Zhuang Laoyan also did not invite Ronghua Sun over. Why was Ronghua Sun there out of the blue? The servants who had been present all testified that Ronghua Sun blocked Zhuang Laoyan’s path. Judging by this, it was even more likely that Ronghua Sun had pushed Zhuang Laoyan into the water.　　

The empress summoned a maidservant that attended to Ronghua Sun personally. Noticing her panicked expression, she impatiently said, “Tell me what happened back then.” 　　

This palace maid was assigned to Ronghua Sun once the latter had entered the palace. Because she was apprehensive of being implicated with Ronghua Sun, now that the empress questioned her, she reported what had occured in complete detail.

“That day, after master had finished paying respects to Your Majesty, she said that the lotuses by Xihe Palace bloomed the most brilliantly, and that she must take a look. Then, a moment after we had arrived at Xihe Palace, Chongyi Zhao approached. Master went forward to pay respects, and said she disturbed Chongyi Zhao’s mood. Chongyi Zhao stepped down the sedan and said that anyone can enjoy the scenery in the palace. Because the two masters were conversing, this slave dared not to stare, and only lowered the head. Then this slave saw master’s feet move first. After that… this slave heard the scream of Chongyi Zhao. Once this slave raised the head, the two masters were already in the water.”　　

Once the palace maid had finished speaking, the empress’s expression became unsightly. Ronghua Sun, this stupid thing! With just a droplet of means, she wanted to scheme against others? Not to mention, she wanted to scheme against Chongyi Zhao? Then wasn’t that just showing others than she was making problems for the empress? At present, the imperial concubines were deferential to the empress on the surface. Unfortunately, she did not have a son and wasn’t as favored as Noble Consort Shu. This Chongyi Zhao had a noble background and did not have a relationship with Ronghua Sun. Now, with this maneuver of Ronghua Sun, wasn’t that just making the Zhuang family hate the Zhao family? 　　　　

“Your Majesty.” He Yu rushed inside. She normally wore a steady expression, but now her face carried traces of alarm. “Your Majesty, the emperor has already arrived at Xihe Palace. Word has it that Chongyi Zhao has yet to regain consciousness. His Majesty is furious and wants to personally interrogate Ronghua Sun.”　　

The moment the empress heard those words, her expression changed. He Yu approached her. After a moment of hesitation, she said, “What if we go to Xihe Palace for a look? This slave has heard that Noble Consort Shu already arrived.”　　

“Go! Why wouldn’t we go?!” The empress rose to her feet with the help of He Yu’s support. She glanced at the palace maid who was still kneeling. And her expression darkened to the point of terrifying.　　　　　　

 En route to Xihe Palace, Consort Rou encountered Consort Xian. The two were both of the consort rank. As such, after they shared a smile, they went off together.

Consort Rou sat in a relaxed position on her sedan. A smile graced her lips. “Elder Sister Consort Xian is also visiting Chongyi Zhao?”　　

“Chongyi Zhao fell into the lotus pond and has yet to wake. We are all sisters, and as such would naturally pay a visit,” replied Consort Xian in a composed manner.