Flowery Hair: A Maidservant

Chapter 534 Serving the Ill (2)

A slight coolness washed over her wrist. Meng Shu looked down and saw that the beaded string looked somewhat familiar. She subconsciously touched it gently with her fingertips.

"The sandalwood beads that Aunt Lu gave you were replaced by the Emperor, so I specially asked my aunt to return to the manor. Aunt Lu was not here; she took my fifth and sixth younger sisters with Father to Lin'an, so Mother asked my aunt to bring her string of beads."

Meng Shu lowered her eyes, her nose tingling slightly.

She knew Wan'er was meticulous, but she always felt that Wan'er had been carefully protected by Madam Yun and the old lady since childhood. Therefore, she always wanted to be like Madam Yun and protect her firmly behind her, so that she would not be exposed to any storms.

Just as she was about to say something, Consort Chun took her arm.

"It's getting late, don't keep that person waiting, or we'll give them something to gossip about." With that, he escorted Meng Shu, and the two of them left the Lingcui Palace hand in hand.

Behind them, Mengzhu, Mingyue, and Lvliu followed closely.

......

Renming Hall.

Zhixue carried a basin of warm water and quietly entered the inner room. She wrung out a handkerchief and carefully placed it on the Empress's forehead. "Your Majesty, I heard from Xingyu that Consort Chun fell ill yesterday and may have to ask for leave and will not be able to come."

The Empress snorted coldly. Though she lay pale-faced on the bed, her tone still carried the unique authority of the Empress, "I am the Empress. Does she dare to feign illness and disobey my imperial decree?"

After saying that, her gaze returned to the booklet she was clutching tightly in her hand.

It is the copy of the account books from the Yuzhou embezzlement case that has been making headlines in the capital recently.

The book details how the Jiang family of Yuzhou amassed wealth for the Marquis of Zhenbei over the past decade. In addition to embezzling nearly 60% of the disaster relief funds, it also lists the numerous businesses under the Jiang family's name, including gambling dens, pawnshops, brothels, and many more.

Even after seeing this, the empress remained unconvinced.

She firmly believed that her father was loyal to the court and would never commit such a corrupt and illegal act. She was convinced that this so-called evidence was a deliberate frame-up orchestrated by the Marquis of Lin'an's mansion.

This time, summoning Consort Chun to attend to her illness is a good opportunity to thoroughly test her and let her know who is the true master who holds the Phoenix Seal and rules the six palaces within these nine-layered palaces.

However, when she turned to the section recording several large sums of money transactions, her gaze suddenly froze.

The huge sums of money all came from the Jiang family pawnshop. In the pawnshop's ledger, the first item recorded was three gold medals with double camel patterns, which were sold for five thousand taels, five thousand four hundred taels, and six thousand three hundred taels respectively.

"A gold medal with double camel stripes?"

The Empress's fingertips trembled suddenly, and a chill ran up her spine.

This item was one of the tributes presented to the court by the Xiongnu tribes after their surrender following the great victory in the Northwest. She vaguely remembered that only six were sent to the palace, and the Emperor had even sent one of them to the Renming Hall...

Could it be that there were nine tributes in total? Could it be that the record in this book is actually true?

"Your Majesty, the Imperial Concubine and Consort Jin have arrived," Xingyu announced as she entered.

The Empress's face was terribly pale, and Zhixue hurriedly instructed the outer room: "Take the two ladies to the side hall first, and tell them that the Empress is currently unconscious."

"Yes." Xingyu glanced worriedly into the inner room, then turned and hurriedly left.

"Your Majesty," Zhixue gently took the account book from the Empress's tightly clutched hand and whispered to comfort her, "Your Majesty, please calm down. Regardless of whether this evidence is true or false, the Emperor has not yet issued an edict to punish us, has he? Everything will be clear once the Marquis returns to the capital."

Seeing that the Empress's expression remained tense, she said, "Besides, although I don't know how this deadly booklet was leaked, don't forget that the Marquis was ordered to go to Yuzhou! Even if... even if everything written in it is true, with the Marquis's ruthless methods and meticulous mind, how could he not have left a backup plan?"

The empress stared blankly at a point in the void, as if she hadn't heard her words. She felt a tightness in her chest and her breathing became labored.

......

Inside the side hall, Meng Shu and Consort Chun sat in the flower hall.

Mingyue looked around, not daring to relax for a moment.

She wrinkled her nose and muttered very softly, "If only Donggua were here... Her nose is sharper than a hunting dog's. If there's any unusual, subtle scent in this hall, she'd be able to smell it and warn us."

Consort Chun glanced at her indifferently, "How could the Empress be so reckless? If Shu'er and I were to suffer even the slightest mishap in her Renming Palace, she would be the first to be implicated. She would never do something so foolish as to give others a handle to use against her and imprison herself."

Hearing this, Green Willow grew increasingly worried and couldn't help but steal a glance at Meng Shu. While Consort Chun was still unaware, Green Willow knew that her mistress had harbored these thoughts all along...

Xingyu entered with two palace maids to serve tea. After a while, Consort Shun and Consort Mu also came to visit the Empress, each bringing some precious tonics.

Meng Shu stood up, exchanged greetings with Consort Shun, and then her gaze fell on Consort Mu, secretly pleased.

With a faint smile on her lips, she walked up to Consort Mu and said a few words to her, "Consort Mu, you look very well lately."

Consort Mu first curtsied to Consort Chun before replying, "Thank you for your concern, Consort Jin. I had a minor illness a few days ago, but I am fully recovered now."

"It's rare to see Consort Mu with the scent of cosmetics on her body," Consort Chun suddenly remarked.

Upon hearing this, Consort Mu looked slightly uncomfortable. "A few days ago, Her Majesty the Empress bestowed upon me a box of newly arrived face powder. I didn't want to disappoint Her Majesty, so I used some. If Your Highness likes it..."

Consort Chun waved her hand and said, "I am just like you in the past, and I have never liked the smell of cosmetics."

Consort Shun blinked, thinking to herself, 'Consort Chun's frankness reveals a genuine nature, much like that of the women from the Northern Frontier. If someone else had said these words, they would have sounded harsh and provocative, but coming from her, they seemed sincere and unpretentious.' Moreover, even she found Consort Mu's recent perfume scent overly sweet, causing her to feel slightly dizzy after a while.

Thinking this, Consort Shun blurted out, "I also think that Sister Xi shouldn't use such perfumed powder. She looked better when she was clean and fresh. Xiaodie loves to tinker with these things and is very skillful. I'll have her specially make a light and suitable one for you another day."

After about half a cup of tea's time, Zhixue came over and first invited Consort Shun and Consort Mu to the Empress's bedchamber.

Mengzhu said softly, "It seems like they're deliberately leaving us hanging."

Meng Shu also felt a little strange.

Another half hour passed before Zhixue came over again, with an apologetic smile on her face. She curtsied and said, "I'm sorry to have kept you waiting, Your Highnesses. The Empress has just recovered a bit. Please come over."

Meng Shu stepped into the bedchamber, looked around, and followed Consort Chun half a step into the inner room.

After the two women curtsied and greeted her, the Empress leaned against the phoenix couch and weakly raised her hand. "I am merely ill. Are you two sisters dressed in plain clothes to curse me?"

Consort Chun frowned slightly: "Your Majesty is too kind. Your Majesty, Consort Jin and I are deeply grateful for the Empress Dowager's kindness during her lifetime. We have been chanting sutras and praying for blessings in the Buddhist hall of Huining Palace, and we are also observing a vegetarian diet and copying sutras. Therefore, we are dressed simply to show our sincerity and respect. We did not expect that Your Majesty would have such a misunderstanding."

As soon as she finished speaking, Xingyu came in carrying a bowl of thick, dark medicine. "Your Majesty, it's time for you to take your medicine according to Physician He's instructions."

This gesture clearly indicated that one of the two women was to serve the medicine. However, this was quite normal, as it was part of the duties of imperial concubines when attending to the sick.

Meng Shu was about to get up when she saw the Empress's gaze lightly sweep over her and land directly on Consort Chun. Xingyu walked up to Consort Chun, bent down, and handed her the medicine cup.

Consort Chun reached out and took it.

The Empress looked at her and slowly said, "I heard that the one who exposed the embezzlement case was the lady of the Jiang family in Yuzhou. And before the Consort Chun was married, Lady Jiang and Consort Chun were close friends?"