The Job of an Imperial Concubine

Chapter 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.

“Word has it that after Chongyi Zhao was pushed into the lotus pond, she swallowed a lot of water.” Consort Rou used the word “pushed” whereas Consort Xian used the word “fell.” Their positions were different. “That lotus pond is really deep. I was frightened once I had heard about this matter.”

“It indeed is very deep.” Consort Xian did not dispute with her on how Chongyi Zhao ended up in the water. Although she was in the same clique as the empress, Ronghua Sun’s action truly made others look down on her. She did not want to take on a mountain of problems due to such a brainless person. However, she did not want to say such hard-to-listen words out loud.

Feng Jin had been reading the memorials and proposals when he learned that Zhuang Laoyan had fallen into the pond. At that time, he did not reveal any special reaction. However, after the eunuch said she had been unconscious ever since, he set down his brush and frowned. “Just how did this happen?”

The eunuch that came to send the message belonged to Xihe Palace. But he did not embellish the report, and only said what had occurred without leaving anything out.

“Chongyi Zhao still had not woken?” Feng Jin’s brows were still furrowed.

“Reporting to Your Majesty, the imperial physician said that after master fell into the lotus pond, she swallowed too much water, and does not know when she would awake.” The eunuch was someone belonging to Xihe Palace, and of course was afraid that the master he relied on was in trouble. His tone carried anxiety.

“We understand. Make for Xihe Palace.”

The imperial palanquin set off, and naturally would appear majestic. But once it arrived at Xihe Palace, Feng Jin’s entire majestic presence vanished. He rushed to Chongyi Zhao’s inner chamber. And he saw the pale woman on the bed.

The originally lively and beautiful woman seemed to have become wan and frail in the blink of an eye. Even those lips that he liked to kiss so much had grown pale.

He ignored the kneeling palace maids, eunuchs, and imperial physicians in the room. Feng Jin sat at the side of the bed. Reached out to smooth out a corner of her blankets. As everyone in the room trembled with fear, he said, “Rise.”

Gao Dezhong sneaked a peek up. Then lowered his head even more.

“When will Chongyi Zhao wake?” Feng Jin turned to look at the quaking imperial physicians. Tone still very serene, he said, “We do not want to support a group of useless things. You should all understand Our intention.”

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Sometimes, words that were spoken in a very calm manner caused greater fear in others. The few imperial physicians in the room shared a helpless look. One of them said with great care, “Reporting to Your Majesty, Chongyi Zhao remained underwater for somewhat of a long period. Luckily, her life was not harmed. If no accidents occur, she will wake in four hours.”

“At present, Chongyi Zhao has already been unconscious for one hour,” said Feng Jin, his gaze remaining on the person lying on the bed. “Continue watching.”

“Yes,” said the group of imperial physicians, cold sweat covering their backs.

“Gao Dezhong.” Feng Jin reached out to touch Zhuang Laoyan’s still-damp hair. “Summon Ronghua Sun.”

“Understood.” Then Gao Dezhong bowed and left.

“Bring a dry towel over.” Feng Jin stretched out a hand and Tingzhu handed him a pure white towel. He wiped Zhuang Laoyan’s damp hair. “In the future, attend to your master well. What’s the use of servants who cannot protect their master?”

The moment the servants who took care of Zhuang Laoyan heard those words, they fell to their knees in a bang from fear. They did not even have the courage to beg for forgiveness.

Feng Jin did mention wanting to punish them. But he didn’t mention showing them mercy either. He left the servants kneeling, immersed in gently wiping those soft locks. For a while, the room was silent.

“Her Highness Noble Consort Shu has arrived. Her Highness Xiuyi Su has arrived.”

His hand stilled. He threw aside the towel and watched as Noble Consort Shu and Xiuyi Su entered the room. Indifferently, Feng Jin said, “Have the two beloved concubines come to pay Chongyi Zhao a visit?”

Xiuyi Su knew she wasn’t good with words and as such did not dare to rashly open her mouth. After Noble Consort Shu paid respects, she said, “Reporting to Your Majesty, this concubine heard that Chongyi Zhao fell into the water and came to take a look. However, this concubine did not know it was this serious.”

Feng Jin nodded. Not a word escaped his lips.

Once Noble Consort Shu noticed the crowd of servants kneeling in the room, she knew that the emperor was not in a good mood. She quietly moved to stand at the side, and in order to avoid the emperor’s ire, did not say any words of pretense,

“Her Highness Consort Xian has arrived. Her Highness Consort Rou has arrived.”

“Her Highness Consort Ning has arrived. Zhaorong  Xu has arrived.”

“Shurong Ye has arrived. Imperial Concubine Lin has arrived. Ronghua Ye has arrived.”

“Noble Imperial Concubine Yan has arrived. Virtuous Imperial Concubine Jiang has arrived. Imperial Concubine Wang has arrived. Jieyu Zhuang has arrived.”

In a short while, many imperial concubines came to visit Zhuang Laoyan. Although there were many visitors, it was very quiet. Even the favored Noble Consort Shu did not speak as she pleased. So how could they say anything?

Feng Jin looked at the women in the room.  All of a sudden, he said, “The empress must be tired managing the imperial harem.”

As soon as those imperial concubines heard this, they lowered their heads one after the other. Consort Xian, who was often close with the empress, felt scared. Looked like what Ronghua Sun had done this time implicated the empress.

“Her Majesty the empress has arrived.”

Speak of the devil and he should arrive. The empress was dressed in a proper manner, walking neither too fast nor too slow.

“Greetings to Your Majesty.” The empress paid respects steadily, as if she did not notice the strange atmosphere in the room. 

“Rise,” Feng Jin said in a mild manner. He turned to look at the kneeling servants. “Why are you still kneeling? Find a seat for the masters.”

“Yes.” Tingzhu and the rest rose after kowtowing, swiftly doing as they had been told.

The imperial concubines sat down very carefully. Once in a while, someone would sneak a peek at Zhuang Laoyan, who was lying on the bed. When they caught sight of her pale face, they lowered their heads in a hurry.

“Does the empress know what happened in the imperial harem?” Feng Jin faced the empress, not a trace of anger in his gaze. It were as if he were truly inquiring in a calm manner.

“Before this concubine had arrived, this concubine already heard the news. However, there were some things that could not be cleared up.” The empress also looked at Zhuang Laoyan’s miserable appearance, and she was even angrier at Ronghua Sun’s stupidity. In this world, fierce enemies weren’t the most terrifying thing. Rather, it was pig-headed allies. 

“Your Majesty, Ronghua Sun has been brought over.”

These words Gao Dezhong said as he had entered the room made the empress feel as if all the gazes of the imperial concubines converged on her.

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This is the calm before the storm. Ronghua Sun’s punishment will be in the next chapter.

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