Flowery Hair: A Maidservant

Chapter 384 The Embroiderer Hangs Herself

Granny Gui watched Chen Ling's figure disappear outside the vermilion palace gates, a fierce glint in her cloudy old eyes. She stood under the corridor for about the time it takes to brew a cup of tea, until the night dew soaked through her sleeves, before turning back into the palace.

“Your Majesty,” she knelt on the brocade phoenix carpet, her voice extremely low, “the Imperial Workshop was originally foolproof. This old servant not only tampered with one piece of tribute satin, but also made proper arrangements in several other places. But who knew... in just three or five days, all those materials were replaced without anyone noticing.”

Suddenly, the candlelight in the hall flickered, casting half of the Empress's face into shadow.

Granny Gui swallowed hard and continued, "It seems that Consort Chun has been managing the six palaces for a long time, and has probably made every department in the six bureaus as impenetrable as an iron fist. This time, it was my fault for not doing my job well... The best course of action now is for Her Highness to find a way to reclaim the power to manage the six palaces and regain control of the harem..."

"Take back the power of assistant administrator?"

The Empress suddenly let out a cold laugh, her fingernails scratching a thin mark on the table.

She slowly raised her eyes, a hint of sorrow appearing in her phoenix eyes: "When His Majesty entrusted the power to assist in managing the six palaces to Consort Chun, did he ever consider the dignity of me as Empress? Now Consort Chun has her father and brothers supporting her in the court, and is trusted by His Majesty in the harem, while Consort Jin enjoys exclusive imperial favor... What do I have left besides the empty title of Empress? I... I couldn't even protect my child."

Seeing this, Granny Gui quickly crawled two steps on her knees and said urgently, "Your Majesty, please do not grieve. You are the Empress, and your title is your greatest asset. No matter how powerful Consort Chun is, she can never surpass the rank of Consort. Consort Jin is favored only because of her good looks. In the end, the harem belongs to Your Majesty."

Upon hearing this, the Empress chuckled and said, "Heavens?"

She looked up at the deep night outside the window and said, "I think the world in this harem has changed a long time ago."

......

Early in the morning, before the Emperor left, Meng Shu was still asleep.

In her half-awake state, she vaguely sensed that the space beside her was mostly empty. The lingering ambergris scent in the quilt gradually dissipated, and Meng Shu turned over, adopting a more comfortable and relaxed posture, before falling into a deep sleep again.

When I woke up again, the sunlight had already crept obliquely up the window frame.

Meng Shu lazily opened her eyes, only to realize with a start that the time for paying respects at Renming Hall had already passed.

There was a rustling sound from outside. Xia'er and Donggua were keeping watch outside. When they saw that she was awake, Donggua quickly curtsied and said, "Your Highness is awake. This servant will go to the small kitchen to prepare the meal."

Xia'er brought in warm water. "His Majesty specifically instructed that the Empress should not be disturbed before he left, saying that you should get some more sleep. Sister Green Willow went to Renming Palace to ask for leave early this morning, and she should be back soon."

After washing her face with warm water and rinsing her mouth with salt, Meng Shu sat upright in front of the bronze mirror and asked, "Has anyone come to deliver a message, Consort Chun?"

Xia'er was combing her hair, her hands still moving, and replied softly, "Xiao Nianzi didn't come. Sister Donggua went to Huining Palace more than half an hour ago to deliver some freshly made soup dumplings. If it was anything important, she should have informed Her Majesty just now."

Meng Shu felt somewhat uneasy. She was thinking of going to Huining Palace herself later when Green Willow lifted the curtain and came in.

"Your Majesty," Green Willow curtsied, "When I paid my respects at Renming Hall this morning, Her Majesty the Empress said that she would send someone to bring Consort Qing back to the palace in two days. Nothing else has happened."

She took the jade comb from Xia'er and styled Meng Shu's hair into a simple updo. "Consort Chun asked me to convey a message that she will be visiting Consort Yi at Shujing Palace at 9:00 AM. She asked if you would like to come along?"

"Of course I'll go. Go to the storeroom and pick out a few decent gifts."

"How about we get two pieces of soft, warm material, and a jade safety buckle?" Green Willow suggested after a moment's thought.

Meng Shu nodded slightly and said calmly, "It's just a formality anyway, no need to put too much effort into it."

Green Willow adorned her hair with a pearl hairpin and said softly, "Although Consort Yi's foundation has been damaged, with Princess Ling'an by her side, she will have someone to rely on in the palace from now on."

The princess born to Consort Yi Xiu was personally named Ling An by the Emperor.

After a moment, Green Willow hesitated again and said, "This servant noticed that Consort Chun really likes children. Before I came back, I asked Mengzhu, and Consort Chun prepared a pair of longevity gold-embroidered bracelets, which are also inlaid with rubies..."

As soon as Green Willow mentioned it, Meng Shu knew what it was. She had several pairs of such small bracelets, which were given to her by Madam Yun and were originally intended as gifts.

"As long as we don't send any tonics, we can't go wrong. After breakfast, let's go to Wan'er's place first."

......

After Consort Yi Xiu gave birth to the princess, all the concubines of the six palaces went to Shujing Palace to visit her, as was customary. However, Consort Yi Xiu was weak after childbirth, so most of them only stayed for a short while, said a few auspicious words, and then took their leave.

Meng Shu first went to Huining Palace and specifically summoned Xiao Nianzi to inquire about the situation in the embroidery room. Hearing that everything was normal, she felt somewhat relieved, thinking that she had been worrying too much.

Just as Consort Chun and I reached the vicinity of Taiye Pond, before we even stepped into the palace gate of Shujing Palace, we saw Xiao Nianzi stumbling and catching up with us, his forehead covered in cold sweat.

"Your Majesty!" Xiao Nianzi's voice trembled as he whispered, "As Your Majesty instructed, I sent someone to keep an eye on the embroidery room. An Xiu Niang, who was tailoring clothes for Qu Baolin, was working on the clothes this morning, but who knew that she... hanged herself while she was in the outhouse!"

Meng Shu's face turned cold and stern: "Who went to the embroidery room this morning?"

“Eunuch Chen from Renming Palace went there,” Xiao Nianzi said in a low voice. “He said he was sent by Her Majesty the Empress to collect the newly made phoenix embroidery pattern.”

"But he didn't even step into the embroidery room; he only received the embroidery outside the courtyard. The embroidery room has already reported this to the Imperial Household Department, and Lord Tong should have already gone there by now."

Meng Shu and Consort Chun exchanged a glance.

In the end, the game of chess came to a close in the embroidery room.

Consort Chun sighed, "The Empress's eagerness to 'remedy' the situation is exactly as Shu'er predicted. However, this matter is not fundamental to the Empress's palace and only results in an innocent person losing their life in vain."