Seeing Zhang Ye stop and slightly turn his head, seemingly willing to listen to her for a few more words, Xie Lanyan calmed her breathing and walked up to him. She was a full head shorter than Prince Ning, so she had to look up at him, but she smiled. Prince Ning looked down at her, and his eyes reflected a familiar face that could express both joy and anger, but his expression grew increasingly serious.
"You told me last time that there was nothing between His Majesty and Aunt Song. But what happened in Xuanzhi Hall today? Tell me what happened?"
Although less than half a day had passed, and all that was known was that Aunt Xue had angered His Majesty the Emperor and been punished, the matter had already quietly spread throughout the palace. Those with better connections had all heard about it.
"It's nothing." Prince Ning genuinely didn't think anything was a big deal, so he responded casually, without any intention of being evasive. Xie Lanyan didn't believe him and pressed further, "If nothing, how could Aunt Xue have been... by His Majesty..."
"Aunt Xue accidentally knocked over the teacup and burned His Majesty."
Prince Ning stared at Xie Lanyan without blinking, not missing the moment when she tensed up upon hearing those words. His heart ached, and he felt even more disgusted with his presence there.
A sense of irritation welled up within him, and he didn't want to stay any longer. When Xie Lanyan pressed him for details about his elder brother, he simply replied that he was fine. Zhang Ye then said, "I have other matters to attend to, so I'll be leaving now."
Xie Lanyan had other things on her mind, and seeing that he was about to leave again, she reached out and grabbed his arm, "Tell me again about Aunt Song, what exactly happened?"
Prince Ning glanced sideways at the pair of delicate hands that were gripping his arm, then subtly pulled his arm back, reminding her in a deep voice, "Don't forget your place." He didn't answer her question.
After thinking for a moment, he felt it necessary to clear Song Shuhao's name, so he said again, "There's nothing between my brother and Ahao, so stop focusing on Ahao."
Zhang Ye's words, which were somewhat in defense of Song Shuhao, made Xie Lanyan feel uneasy, and a hint of disappointment flashed in her eyes, seemingly due to the coldness of his tone. She lowered her eyes and nodded, but when she looked up again, she saw Zhang Ye staring at a dry well in the corner of the courtyard with a strange expression.
She wanted to ask a question, but the other person's lip movements indicated that someone was there and that she should leave first. Xie Lanyan was immediately startled, not expecting that there were other people in the courtyard. She did not dare to linger, so she put on her cloak and hood to cover herself, reminded Zhang Ye to be careful, and quickly left Changchun Palace.
·
Prince Ning stared at the dry well for a moment, and only when he was sure Xie Lanyan was far away and had not returned did he sternly say, "Come out." His tone was even more threatening. After he said those two words, a while later, sure enough, a figure emerged from behind the dry well.
The dry well was about two feet high, and the person was crouching behind it, almost completely concealing their figure. Zhang Ye noticed a strange muffled thud, which sounded like something hitting the well wall, and then realized something was wrong.
Before long, a woman dressed as a physician appeared in Zhang Ye's sight. She walked up to him, knelt down with a thud, and said, "This servant didn't hear anything." But this was merely an attempt to cover up the truth.
Seeing that she seemed unaware of her own status, Prince Ning ignored her unconvincing arguments and simply said, "Raise your head." The person kneeling before him hesitated and raised her head, the look of fear on her face still lingering from being discovered.
She looked to be around ten years old. To be able to enter the Imperial Hospital as a female physician, she must have considerable medical skills. While not possessing stunning beauty, she was certainly pretty. Although her expression was fearful, there was a hint of stubbornness in her eyes, and her gaze was resolute. To come to a place like this, she must have quite the courage.
"What's your name?" Zhang Ye asked after looking you over.
The female physician answered honestly, "My name is Ling Xiao, and I am a female physician in the Imperial Hospital." Before Zhang Ye could even ask any questions, she gave her own explanation.
"I just went to treat Aunt Xue's injury. I was originally on my way back to the Imperial Hospital, but on the way I met a young palace maid who was crying and kneeling, begging me to come with her to treat her mistress. I softened and came along. I haven't been at the Imperial Hospital for long and I'm not familiar with the palace. The young palace maid was busy taking care of her mistress, and I was too embarrassed to ask her to escort me, which is why I accidentally got lost."
"I stumbled upon this place by accident, hoping to find a palace servant to help me find my way. Who would have thought... But I swear I didn't hear or see anything, and I will not reveal a single word. I only beg you to spare my life and let me live."
At first glance, her words seemed reasonable, but upon closer inspection, it became clear that she was hiding something. Zhang Ye looked at her silently, lost in thought.
Seeing that he seemed difficult to fool, Ling Xiao immediately felt nervous, afraid of being pressed further. But Zhang Ye didn't ask any more questions, instead asking her, "Do you know my identity?"
Ling Xiao pondered for a moment, then guessed, "Your Highness Prince Ning?"
"Okay, I've got it. If even a single word of what happened today leaks out, I'll hold you responsible."
Ling Xiao was surprised that he was willing to let him go, but when he thought that he was really the Prince of Ning and had ties with the concubines in the harem, he felt that his luck was very bad.
Why would she run into anything but His Majesty? Maybe he'd been planted in someone's hair? But thinking about the rumors she'd heard about His Majesty and the things she'd heard, she couldn't help but wonder if His Majesty actually knew...?
"Please rest assured, Your Highness, I will pretend to be blind, deaf, and mute, and I will not utter a single word." Ling Xiao quickly made another promise and swore repeatedly, hoping that Zhang Ye would feel at ease.
Zhang Ye did indeed let her go, allowing Ling Xiao to leave Changchun Palace without any punishment. However, after she left, he summoned his attendants and quietly instructed them to investigate Ling Xiao's background.
Chapter 14 Fallacies
When An Qiutong heard about the Xuanzhi Hall incident, she was drinking tea in Consort Shu's Jinse Palace. If it were anyone else, she might not have cared, but since it involved Song Shuhao, she couldn't help but sneer and feel jealous.
She put down her teacup and said to Consort Shu, whose expression remained unreadable, "Sister, you don't know, but this Aunt Song is truly remarkable. I've been in the palace for a while now, and there's nothing I don't know, but I certainly understand His Majesty's temperament."
Having suffered at the hands of Consort De, An Qiutong was determined to get her revenge. However, compared to Consort De, Nie Shaoguang, her status was far inferior, so she naturally turned to Consort Shu, Feng Hui, who was said to have had many disagreements with Consort De in the past.
Feng Hui was from Empress Dowager Feng's maternal family, with Empress Dowager Feng and the Feng family as her backers. Moreover, she held the status of Consort Shu, which was almost on par with Consort De. In An Qiutong's eyes, she was the best candidate to curry favor with her. Most importantly, Consort Shu was actually willing to pay attention to her flattery and fawning, which might be because she knew Consort De's attitude towards her.
Avoiding anything that wouldn't benefit her, An Qiutong angrily recounted her two previous conflicts with Song Shuhao to Feng Hui. However, after speaking for a long time, she saw no reaction from Feng Hui. An Qiutong then hardened her heart and said, "I'm fine with everything else, but I'm particularly bothered by His Majesty's actions back then… If His Majesty thought I was wrong, he didn't punish me; if he thought I was right, he didn't say anything, but simply let it go. Sister, could you perhaps offer me a word of advice on what I should think?"
Feng Hui seemed to finally become interested, and without dwelling on other things, she simply pointed to this passage and said to An Qiutong, "You are, after all, His Majesty's concubine, and do you really need His Majesty to bother with such a small matter between you? If you stop provoking her, there will naturally be no more trouble in the future."
"But His Majesty also said... that my sister is not qualified to touch her... I thought that, no matter what, she was only slightly better than an ordinary palace maid."
These words elicited a soft chuckle from Feng Hui. An Qiutong looked at her, and she straightened up, saying slowly, "It's fine if you look down on her, but even when you beat a dog, you have to consider its owner. What else do you think?"
An Qiutong looked enlightened upon hearing Feng Hui's words and said repeatedly, "Sister is so clever and thoughtful, thank you for your guidance!" She made sure to flatter her. Feng Hui didn't know whether she appreciated it or not, she just smiled and slowly sipped her tea.
·
The next day, news of His Majesty's punishment of Xue Liangyue spread throughout the palace. Although Song Shuhao was involved, not everyone had any ill intentions towards her. Most of the palace servants were concerned that even Xue Liangyue had been punished, and that her family might have an even harder time in the future.
Song Shuhao noticed the strange looks from many people. As long as the Empress Dowager didn't say anything special about this matter, she didn't really care. However, when the eunuch Xiaodouzi swaggered in front of her with a smug look and said some nonsense, it made her quite unhappy.
"You know so much? You understand everything? I didn't know I had such good fortune. Are you a god or a Taoist priest from some temple? You can calculate the secrets of heaven with just a few strokes of your fingers. Little Bean, you're amazing. I was blind and only realized it today."
Ah Hao frowned and said, seeing that he had changed to a flattering and fawning manner, but instead of stopping, he sneered twice and said, "You dare to say such nonsense to my face, and who knows how you make fun of me behind my back, or how you treat me badly. Who else have you said these things to?"
"Auntie, what you're saying... it's like my heart has been pierced! Do you think I, Xiaodouzi, am heartless?" The little eunuch looked wronged. "How could I dare to say something like this to you, Auntie? Heaven and earth are my witnesses, the sun and moon are my proof, I truly care about you, Auntie."
Xiao Douzi looked around and, seeing no one else, leaned closer to Ahao and whispered, "Yesterday, before Auntie returned from Xuanzhi Hall, Prince Ning came to pay his respects to the Empress Dowager. This servant and Eunuch Xiao Dezi, who serves Prince Ning, secretly eavesdropped and overheard this."
“Xiao Dezi said that this time Aunt will either be with His Majesty… or with Prince Zhao…” He pointed his finger in the air, then chuckled meaningfully, “Aunt is the same age as me. What’s meant to happen will happen, won’t it? No matter who it is, Aunt will still have a good life.”
Aunt Song will surely remember his kindness. If she has a good life, how far can his good life be? Xiao Douzi felt that his ten taels of silver were well spent.
He thought this news would make Song Shuhao happy, but to his surprise, her brows furrowed so deeply that they looked like they were about to burst. He quickly added, "Auntie knows that Xiao Dezi is nothing special, just a bit greedy, but he's not clueless. He only revealed a little because of our friendship; he's definitely not the kind of person who would blab. It's better for Auntie to know in advance so she can be prepared, isn't it?"