CHAPTER 245: CHAPTER 244: CONSPIRACY AND TRIUMPH

Zhao Junyao returned to Zhaochen Palace. The time for the evening meal had already passed, so Li Shengan asked cautiously, "Emperor, you... haven’t had your evening meal yet!"

Zhao Junyao glanced at him and, without losing his temper, said indifferently, "Serve the meal!"

Li Shengan felt a surge of joy inside. He responded with an affirmative and headed to the Small Imperial Kitchen.

As soon as he entered, several Little Eunuchs crowded around, calling out, "Grandpa Li!"

Li Shengan was annoyed. "Scram, you little monkeys!"

He shooed away a few, but then more came. The Little Eunuchs kept approaching, all grinning and jesting.

"Grandpa Li, we’ve passed the mealtime now. What does the Emperor want to eat?"

"Grandpa Li, it’s so cold today. Why not just suggest a hot pot? Something warm to drink would be nice!"

Li Shengan glared at them. "Go on, get! Since when do you get to decide what the Emperor eats?"

The Little Eunuchs chuckled and scattered.

Li Shengan went over to the chefs and looked around. "What have we got?"

The chefs came forward, also eager and smiling. One by one, they lifted the lids of pots, showing off steamed, boiled, fried, and stir-fried dishes—all prepared according to the rules.

Li Shengan thought for a moment, then lowered his voice to instruct, "The Emperor is in a bad mood today. Serve two dishes that Xia Jieyu likes; perhaps the Emperor will eat more!"

The chefs, being extremely astute, immediately smiled.

"Thank you for the reminder, Eunuch Li!"

"Don’t worry, Eunuch Li, we know what to do!"

Only then did Li Shengan leave, reassured.

That evening, Zhao Junyao was indeed very satisfied with the meal. He was not in a great mood but still ate a bit.

After finishing the meal, Zhao Junyao casually flipped through a few books, ultimately tossing them aside in annoyance and agitation. "Li Shengan, go investigate! Who did this!"

Li Shengan felt a shock in his heart. Which consort would be so desperate to frame Lady Xia, ignoring even her own life and fortune? He bowed his head in affirmation and withdrew.

Zhao Junyao stood before the window, hands behind his back. After pondering for quite some time, he finally recalled saying a few words at Lady Xia’s place—something about having several children and making the Great Chu Dynasty thrive and prosper.

He could say such things casually, and it was true he entertained such thoughts. But this was nothing compared to appointing a Crown Prince. How could he casually promise something as significant as a matter of state while in bed?!

This revealed just how malicious the intent of the person spreading these rumors was!

「」

That night, very few in the Harem could sleep soundly.

Xia Ruqing was also sleepless. Tossing and turning, she thought, The Emperor doesn’t think I spread the rumors, does he? Then she reconsidered. Probably not. This rumor did me no good whatsoever. Yet, she still felt uneasy.

Her mind was in disarray. She hardly slept all night and only dozed off lightly as dawn approached.

「」

The next day, she went to Jiaofang Hall to pay her respects.

Before the Empress could speak, Noble Concubine Shih sneered, "Oh, the Crown Prince’s mother has arrived! Aren’t you all going to get up and pay your respects?"

With that, she herself stood up, mockingly bending her knees.

Xia Ruqing was so frightened that she quickly stepped aside. "This consort dares not!"

"Dares not??" Noble Concubine Shih’s phoenix eyes flickered. "You dare not now? HA! What a joke! When you were bewitching the Emperor to make your son the Crown Prince, how courageous you were then!"

No one dared to speak, and Noble Concubine Shih continued, "You’re not even sure if you can bear a son, yet you’re already bewitching the Emperor to name him Crown Prince! If you really give birth to a Prince in the future, are you planning to assassinate the Emperor and seize the throne?"

As soon as these words were spoken, everyone was in an uproar. The room fell eerily silent; no one dared to even breathe.

Seated high above them all, the Empress looked on leisurely, with no intention of speaking. Come to the rescue? No such thing. If she came to the rescue, who would save her? If Lady Xia harbored such ambition, if she bore a Prince, if the Crown Prince was established, would there still be a path to survival for her? Lady Xia wouldn’t offer her a path to survival. So why should she care about her fate, right?

With a THUD, Xia Ruqing knelt down. "Empress, this consort has never uttered such words, and the Emperor has never promised me anything! These rumors target me with malicious slander! They are utterly baseless! I beg the Empress to discern the truth!"

The Emperor never said it. She must deny it to her dying breath. Even though the ones framing her were sitting right in their midst, she still couldn’t just sit and wait for death. If she had to cry injustice, then cry she must. Without evidence, who could truly take her life without any proof? In the dangerous depths of the Harem, if you want to harm someone, you at least need to fabricate some evidence.

The Empress smiled coolly and said, "Xia Jieyu, please rise. I’ve heard you’ve been attending to your health lately, that you’ve caught a cold? The floor is cold; if you keep kneeling, won’t you get even colder? If that delays you from bearing children or becoming the Empress Dowager, that would be my fault, wouldn’t it?"

The Empress smiled with ill intent.

Hearing this, Xia Ruqing bit her lip and indeed stood up. Don’t want me to kneel? Fine by me! Who’d want to kneel to you anyway!

Noble Concubine Shih made a few more sarcastic remarks, but Xia Ruqing simply ignored her. Eventually finding no pleasure in it, Noble Concubine Shih let the matter rest.

With a wave of her hand, the Empress signaled it was time to disperse.

The crowd streamed out of Jiaofang Hall en masse.

Noble Concubine Shih sent a venomous glance her way, huffed coldly, and left in her warm palanquin.

Consort Ning and Consort Hui Pin generally stayed out of trouble and left as well.

After losing her influence, Consort Yun Pin didn’t dare to say much, merely shooting Xia Ruqing a fierce glare before departing.

But Consort Zheng Pin looked at her with a mocking smile. "Who would have thought Xia Jieyu harbors such grand ambitions! No wonder we mere mortals cannot catch your esteemed eye!"

Previously, Consort Zheng Pin had pretended to borrow some charcoal and taken the initiative to butter her up, but Xia Ruqing hadn’t given her the time of day. Consort Zheng Pin had been annoyed about it ever since, just unable to find an outlet for her frustration, nor daring to vent it. And now, isn’t this an opportunity?

"They say, in this Harem, fortunes can reverse every thirty years; I never believed it! But now it seems, that’s how it is!"

Having said her piece, looking quite pleased, Consort Zheng Pin took Hong Yun’s hand and left in her warm palanquin.

The warm palanquin wasn’t lavish, but it was still a warm palanquin. Having status really is good; even if one is out of favor, they won’t end up too miserable. After all, Heaven still has mercy on me. Thank goodness I didn’t board her sinking ship; otherwise, I’d be finished this time!

Hong Yun, walking alongside the palanquin, chuckled and agreed. "Indeed, Your Highness, you are truly fortunate! It seems Lady Xia may not survive this time! Even if the Empress spares her, Noble Concubine Shih surely won’t let her live. Just wait and see!"

「」

Xia Ruqing walked back to her Qingya Residence along the Imperial Garden.

All the while, she kept her head down, not out of sadness. She was trying to pick out clues from the words spoken earlier, trying to discern who was really after her. But after thinking for a while, she came up empty. It seemed like no one was wishing her well. It couldn’t possibly be a conspiracy among all of them, could it?

Zi Yue was clearly anxious. "Mistress, don’t take it to heart!"

Xia Ruqing snapped back to reality and looked at her in surprise. "What do you mean, don’t take it to heart?"

Zi Yue asked softly, "Was it about what those consorts were saying?"