Chapter 4: The Legend of Zhen Huan, An Lingrong
“You…”
Consort Fucha clenched her teeth in anger, glaring at the person before her, unsure of what to say.
“Xia Changzai, the Empress is the Empress, and you are you.”
Li Siqi rolled her eyes and said irritably, “Please, use some brains. The Empress can protect you for a moment, but she can’t protect you forever. Any consort with palace authority can deal with you—and Consort Hua definitely has that authority. If you break palace rules, Consort Hua can punish you directly. And when that happens, our ‘impartial’ Empress won’t cover for you.”
If it weren’t for boredom and wanting to keep a couple of entertaining people around, while also stirring up some trouble for the rest of the harem, Li Siqi wouldn’t bother guiding this foolish girl.
“If I were the Empress’s person,” Xia Dongchun said confidently, “even if Consort Hua has palace authority, she still has to show the Empress some respect.”
“Who do you think you are?” Li Siqi looked at her disdainfully. “It’s easier for Consort Hua to deal with you than to crush an ant. Consort Hua’s family is of the highest rank; if she wants to punish the daughter of a low-ranking official like you, does she need to pick a special day? She can beat you to death or cripple you, and nothing will happen to her. If you don’t believe me, you can try it.”
“I…” Xia Dongchun nearly spat blood in frustration. “You…”
She opened her mouth but found no words to retort and could only storm off in a huff.
“Definitely an idiot.”
Consort Fucha could no longer hold back her annoyance. “You don’t understand any etiquette at all. From now on, don’t care if she lives or dies.”
“It’s fine, being a bit stupid is fine.”
Li Siqi didn’t care. “We don’t need to be too smart. There are plenty of clever people in the palace. It’s normal for a few fools to appear.”
Consort Fucha looked at her speechlessly.
Returning from the main hall, the Empress’s gifts arrived.
As expected, it was Jian Qiu, the senior palace maid of Jingren Palace and the Empress’s personal servant.
After giving some advice, she handed over a light fragrant sachet and left.
She delivered the gifts to everyone in Yanxi Palace before departing.
Consort Hua’s chief eunuch, Zhou Ninghai, arrived ostentatiously with gifts.
This time, Xia Dongchun said nothing reckless.
No one knew if she would survive the coming greetings.
“Miss, these items…”
He Xiang looked at the gifts, unsure how to handle them.
Given her rank, they naturally weren’t of good quality.
Of course, Consort Hua was wealthy and generous, so her gifts were more and grander than the Empress’s.
“Log them into storage.”
Li Siqi glanced over and said, “We’ll give them out when we need to present gifts.”
“Yes.”
He Xiang responded and carried the items away.
“Master, the things the Empress sent are soaked in musk. If you give them out, you’ll definitely take the blame later.”
Xiao Huzi’s voice rang in her mind.
Li Siqi didn’t answer but asked, “How many things here are soaked in musk?”
“Quite a few. Bed curtains, bed boards, pillows, quilts, the boards on the couch, the writing desk…”
“Truly worthy of being called the ‘Abortion Squad’ leader.”
Li Siqi laughed bitterly. “It seems like they want to marinate me in musk. Consort Fucha and Xia Dongchun’s side must have just as many musk items.”
“Yes, just like on your side. Actually, every palace has quite a few.”
“The more the Empress wants to prevent others from having children, the more I’ll do the opposite.”
Li Siqi smiled brightly. “Xiao Huzi, work hard tonight and absorb all the musk from every palace, including the musk on Consort Hua. If we don’t cause them some trouble, how will I enjoy the drama?”
“Master, didn’t the original owner say she wanted to take revenge on Consort Hua? Why are you helping her?”
“Who said I’m helping her?”
Li Siqi grinned. “Her pregnancy might not be a good thing. I want to see if our Empress Dowager, the Empress, and that dog Emperor will resort to poisoning again when they find out Nian Shilan has a child. Imagine if Nian Shilan gets pregnant again and her fetus is aborted again—do you think she’ll go mad? That’ll be very interesting.”
“Hehe, master, you’re truly one of a kind.”
“Remember to do the job tonight.”
“No problem, master. Rest assured, I’ll make sure there’s not a trace of musk left in the palace.”
“Also, drain the safflower from Consort Jing’s body and feed her a Jian Yuan pill. Once her body recovers, everyone will get pregnant together and get their fetuses aborted together. So, our harem must be ‘harmonious and joyous.’”
…
Three days later.
She got up at the start of the Mao hour to wash up.
Li Siqi ate a few pieces of cake to settle her stomach.
Walking out with Lv He, she saw Xia Dongchun approaching with palace maids.
She bowed slightly. “Xia Changzai!”
Xia Dongchun looked a bit awkward. “Why so many bows?”
“Better to be polite than rude.”
Li Siqi glanced at her and said as she walked, “Low status doesn’t mean you can’t stand out. High status means you have the right to punish lower-ranked consorts. If you don’t want to suffer or be punished, it’s better to observe more etiquette.”
“You…”
Xia Dongchun vaguely sensed kindness in her words and, for once, didn’t foolishly retort.
They arrived in front of the main hall just as Consort Fucha was coming out.
Seeing the two bow and greet her, she nodded. “Let’s go, don’t be late.”
Under her lead, the three walked toward the Empress’s Jingren Palace.
Entering the side hall of Jingren Palace, all the newcomers were gathered there.
The dazzling Zhen Huan and Shen Meizhuang were chatting.
Compared to the others quietly standing, these two always stood out.
After a moment,
A young palace maid appeared.
She said, “Please, ladies, enter the hall!”
Li Siqi and Xia Dongchun stood together.
Behind them were two other nameless, transparent attendants.
Sure enough, Shen Meizhuang and Zhen Huan stood in the front row, clearly disregarding Consort Borjigit and Consort Fucha.
The Empress was already seated in the main position.
She seemed unaware of anything amiss.
Consort Hua naturally arrived late and had yet to appear.
Li Siqi glanced around, then raised her hand high and said, “Your Majesty, this humble one has something to say.”
All eyes immediately turned to Li Siqi.
Their expressions varied.
Li Siqi looked innocent, seeming hesitant to speak.
The Empress regarded her with a strange gaze and smiled, asking, “Are you Xin Danying?”
Li Siqi obediently bowed. “This humble one, An Lingrong, greets Your Majesty.”
“Does Xin Danying have something to say?”
The Empress nodded kindly. “If it’s nothing important, perhaps you could say it later?”
“It’s important.”
Li Siqi pointed directly at the two in the front row. “Your Majesty, they are Han Banner like me. How can they stand in front of Consort Fucha and Consort Borjigit, who are Manchu-Mongol banners? Isn’t it said that Han and Mongol banners…”
She stopped mid-sentence, closing her mouth.
The Empress’s smile stiffened.
Others suddenly realized this and seemed to notice it for the first time.
Consort Qi, worthy of her nickname ‘Second Fool,’ didn’t hesitate to reprimand them, “Where did you learn your rules? Han banners standing before Manchu-Mongol banners? How shameless you are.”
Her words caused those present to chuckle quietly.
Originally happy, Zhen Huan and Shen Meizhuang’s faces instantly turned pale as snow.
They were proud and arrogant, never expecting to make such a grave mistake publicly.
“What’s going on?”
A voice inquired.
The graceful Consort Hua strode in.
Arrogant, she rolled her eyes and swept a disdainful glance at the newcomers.
Her gaze settled on Zhen Huan and Shen Meizhuang with a mocking smile.
“The newcomers have big ambitions. Planning to trample over Consort Fucha and Consort Borjigit to climb up? Ridiculous. Take a look at your status and background.”