Chapter 30 (None)

If Consort Lin and Consort Zhao were both framed, the harem would fall into the hands of Consort Liu, who would be the biggest beneficiary.

However, Jiang Ling wavered and soon overturned his previous idea.

After all, both Consort Lin and Consort Zhao had sons, who were Emperor Yuanming's only two sons.

The prince born to Consort Liu died young, and she raised Princess Xiao Yutang, whose birth mother had also passed away. Her family was ordinary. She usually lived a secluded life and was taciturn. Jiang Ling had met her a few times; she was as quiet as a shadow, almost invisible.

Jiang Ling vaguely remembered that in the unfinished book, Consort Liu was always there, mainly in the struggle between Consort Lin and Consort Zhao.

Both Su Yue and she were background characters; Gao Cairen suddenly appeared, and the original story didn't involve any candlelight incident. The story's direction has long since deviated from the original, so it can no longer be used as evidence.

Even if corruption is discovered and there are problems with the candles and lamps, Consort Lin and Consort Zhao will not be completely brought down because of it. Moreover, they are both intelligent, and Jiang Ling sensed that they were planning to join forces when they were in the Wende Hall.

Judging from the situation, neither Consort Lin nor Consort Zhao suspected Consort Liu; otherwise, they would have already launched a counterattack.

If Consort Liu is the mastermind behind it all, capable of stirring up such a huge storm silently, she must have been far more thoughtful than Jiang Ling.

Consort Liu's ambitions surely extend beyond mere power within the harem. Once Consort Lin's or Consort Zhao's son ascends the throne, even the Empress Dowager will be unable to protect her.

As for the other concubines, Consort Zhao and Consort Zhao were at odds. Although they were sisters, they knew each other best, and Consort Zhao was no match for Consort Zhao. Consort Zhao suffered heavy losses as a result, and the Zhao family was implicated. Consort Zhao could not escape the Zhao family's control; her actions were ultimately counterproductive.

Li Jieyu and others are not described in much detail in the original book. In Jiang Ling's view, they have no power, no influence, and no favor; even if they wanted to, they were powerless to do so.

Jiang Ling racked her brains, but her thoughts were ultimately a jumbled mess. She threw down the accounts, collapsed onto the bed, and wailed in despair.

Wen Juan was used to it. She smiled, took the brocade quilt and draped it around Jiang Ling's waist, then picked up the charcoal basket and went out.

Jiang Ling lay there for a while, embracing the gilded incense ball. A'Ruo peeked her head in from behind the curtain and, seeing that she wasn't asleep, asked, "Is the beauty free?"

"What is it?" Jiang Ling noticed Fang He following behind her, the two of them coming to find her together, so she sat up.

Aruo and Fanghe walked in together, exchanging glances, both looking like they were urging the other to speak first. Jiang Ling was speechless and said, "Just say what you have to say, or I don't have time."

"My lady." Aruo was anxious upon hearing this and immediately said, "My lady, Fanghe and I are both free. We can help Qingwen go to the storeroom to keep an eye on things."

Fanghe nodded and said, "Qingwen can't keep an eye on everything by himself. If something goes wrong, the beauty will be worried. This servant and A'ruo are thinking of helping the beauty share the burden."

Jiang Ling was amused. She wasn't angry; the satisfaction of outsmarting him intellectually made her feel refreshed.

A'Ruo aspires to become a female official, while Fanghe wants to earn more money to leave the palace.

"If you can't become a female official, you won't make any money either." Jiang Ling slowly and mercilessly exposed their little schemes.

A'Ruo lowered her head and weakly protested, "This servant never thought about being promoted to a female official, I only wanted..."

Jiang Ling raised her hand, interrupting her and Fang He, who was eager to explain, and said seriously, "Hongye and Lüzhi were sent to Willow Lane half-dead."

Willow Lane was renowned, known to every palace maid and eunuch. A'Ruo Fanghe's eyes widened, her face gradually turning pale.

Jiang Ling looked at them and suddenly realized that Consort Lin and Consort Zhao probably thought the same way about her, and she felt extremely bored: "Don't overthink it, just do your jobs honestly. If you really think there's a better place elsewhere, I'll grant your wish."

Aruo Fanghe was greatly alarmed and quickly said, "My beauty, this servant dares not." "This servant doesn't want to leave, my beauty, please don't send us away!"

"Go out." Jiang Ling felt weak all over and didn't want to say anything more to them.

The two quickly curtsied and left the room. Jiang Ling opened his eyes and looked up at the sky. Suddenly, he understood.

She did nothing wrong, so she shouldn't be the one who's worried; her anxiety is just needless worry.

Qingwen is intelligent and capable; with her watching over the warehouse, everything is safe and sound.

After a few days of calm, Tian Juan brought a food box into the house. Jiang Ling noticed the water droplets on her shoulders and couldn't help but ask, "Did it rain?"

"It rains intermittently, but it's not heavy. I didn't bring an umbrella." Wenjuan looked outside while carrying the food. A'ruo, who was helping out, interjected, "Although the rain isn't heavy, the dampness seeps into your bones. It's colder than snow. Are you cold, my beauty?"

The room was warm and cozy, with incense burning inside. Jiang Ling shook his head and said it wasn't cold, then sat down to eat. "Since it's cold, you should all go and eat too, or it'll get cold."

A'Ruo hurried out, while Wen Juan stood there without moving. Seeing that she had gone far away, she whispered, "My lady, when I went to the kitchen to get food earlier, I heard that the two people from the Market Bureau who were in charge of purchasing rice and flour were summoned by Huang Liang the day before yesterday, and I haven't seen them since."

Jiang Ling was taken aback. The beeswax that had been extinguished in Lan Yue Palace finally burned into the inner treasury.

"The inner treasury is managed by Cai Wanfeng. Is he busy?" Jiang Ling asked hurriedly.

Wenjuan said, "Cai Daban is in charge of the huge Imperial Treasury. He is usually very busy and we rarely see him. His subordinates would never dare to talk about him casually, and I know nothing about him."

So far, they've only investigated two low-level clerks in the Municipal Affairs Bureau; it shouldn't have reached Cai Wanfeng yet. Given that he controls the inner treasury, a veritable gold mine, Cai Wanfeng must be starting to get suspicious.

Whether Emperor Yuanming was stirring up trouble or making a show of force, Jiang Ling had no way of knowing.

Jiang Ling finished his meal with a heavy heart. After resting for a while at noon, he got up and found that it was raining lightly outside, and the room was dimly lit.

"Is my beauty heading to the storeroom?" Wenjuan asked, noticing Jiang Ling looking out the window and busily tidying up the bedding on the bed with A'ruo.

Despite the cold weather and the dampness from the rain, Jiang Ling remained uneasy and said, "I'd better go."

"This servant will accompany you, my beauty." Wenjuan handed the bedding to A'ruo, placed charcoal into the incense burner, and took out a hood, umbrella, and wooden clogs to help Jiang Ling leave.

Upon arriving at the storeroom, Qingwen was talking to Lan Yun and Qiaoxin. When she saw Jiang Ling, she immediately went up to her and said, "My beauty has arrived. I was just about to come back to find you."

Seeing Qingwen's unusually anxious expression, Jiang Ling's heart skipped a beat, and she asked, "What happened?"

Qingwen, holding the accounts, said, "My beauty, Shen Yi is still nowhere to be seen today. The candles in the storeroom are running low, enough for at most one day. The storeroom will be empty tomorrow."

Qiaoxin and Lanyun stood to the side and chimed in, "The storeroom is prone to fires, so according to the rules, we can only prepare enough candles for one day at most. In winter, it gets dark early and the nights are long, so we need about 20% more candles than in other seasons."

“This servant went to find Zhong Shanggong this morning to report this matter, but Zhong Shanggong was not there. He said he was summoned by Song Gongzheng. This servant decided to wait a little longer, and perhaps the Shenkujian will send it over this afternoon.”

The Market Administration would deliver candles to the warehouse every day; missing one day wouldn't matter, but missing two days would be disastrous. In the vast palace, it would be pitch black at night.

"Let me see the accounts," Jiang Ling said.

Qiaoxin quickly presented the accounts, and Jiang Ling took them and saw that the candles and lamps in various places had been distributed as usual over the past two days. Palaces such as Chonghua Palace and Fuqing Palace received nearly 10% more than usual.

Jiang Ling said to Qing Wenqiao, "Go together to the Inner Materials Bureau to find Shen Yi. If he's not there, find the supervisor of the Inner Materials Bureau. Tell him that the warehouse is out of candles and ask them to send some over as soon as possible."

She then said to Lan Yun, "You stay here and arrange for the lamps and candles to be collected."

The group went off to do their work separately. Jiang Ling went into the warehouse and saw that half of the boxes were empty. He sighed.

Wen Juan followed Jiang Ling and whispered, "My beauty, I think something must have happened to Shen Yi."

Jiang Ling hummed in agreement and said, "And Zhong Shang Palace."

Wen Juan was taken aback: "Zhong Shang Palace?"

Jiang Ling looked grave and said, "Although I am in charge of the Candle and Lamp Office, the Candle-Keeping Office belongs to the Imperial Bedchamber Bureau. Qiaoxin said she had already gone to see Zhong Shanggong, but she wasn't there. How could the Imperial Bedchamber Bureau be so busy? If Zhong Shanggong isn't there, something must have happened."

Wen Juan asked with surprise and doubt, "Could Fang Si Deng's death be related to Zhong Shang Gong?"

"After Fang Sideng died, Zhong Shanggong was already investigated. The fact that she was unharmed means that nothing was found. If she was really taken away by Gong Zhengsi's people, it must be for something else."

As Jiang Ling spoke, she grew increasingly uneasy and called to a palace maid, "Go and find Zhong Shanggong and tell her I'm waiting for her in the storeroom."

The young palace maid went off to do her work, while Jiang Ling waited in the storeroom. People gradually arrived to collect the candles, and the storeroom's candles dwindled.

Qingwen Qiaoxin, her clothes soaked, hurriedly ran back. Jiang Ling could roughly tell what was going on from their expressions.

Sure enough, Qingwen said, "My lady, Shen Yi and the supervisor of the Inner Materials Bureau are not here. The person on duty dares not make a decision, saying that there are rules and we must wait for them to return."

Jiang Ling wasn't angry; she was mentally prepared for this. She used to be naive, believing that everything would turn out well if planned well. But after working as a corporate slave, she realized it wasn't that simple. The success of a project depends not on the plan, but on the execution.

As for whether Huang Liang took away the people from the Inner Materials Bureau and Shen Yi without making prior arrangements, or whether someone was interfering, Jiang Ling didn't know. She was determined to find out. She would never get involved in something that even Emperor Yuanming and Huang Liang couldn't handle.

Then, the young palace maid ran back, panting, and said, "My lady, I didn't see Zhong Shanggong. They said she went to the Palace Administration Office and hasn't come back."

Jiang Ling nodded and said, "Thank you for your hard work. You can go ahead and get back to work."

The young palace maid hurriedly said she dared not, and retreated in a panic. Qiaoxin looked towards the eaves and anxiously asked, "My lady, what should we do next?"

Jiang Ling said, "Although the lamps and candles are not in the storeroom, they are in the Internal Supplies Bureau. What's the rush?"

Qiaoxin was taken aback and said urgently, "My lady, the people in the Imperial Materials Bureau won't give it to us, and the warehouse can't get it out either. Once the palace gates are closed, opening them will alert the Imperial City Guard, and then I'm afraid it will be another trouble."

The lamp and candle storeroom of the Imperial Materials Bureau was located outside the palace, and the candles were delivered to the palace daily by a special person. The imperial palace had several gates: the city gates of the capital and the outer city gates were guarded by the Imperial City Guard. The inner palace and the Chuigong Hall area, which involved female relatives, were guarded by the Inner Palace Attendants.

Seeing the widespread panic, Jiang Ling had no choice but to bite the bullet and go to Emperor Yuanming.

The rain kept falling, and the water droplets kicked up by my wooden clogs splashed onto my skirt. The rain, carried by the wind, lashed against my body and face.

The charcoal used to smoke the ball had long since cooled, and Jiang Ling's mood was comparable to that of someone visiting a grave, as he thought about seeing Emperor Yuanming. Dragging his heavy steps, he finally arrived at the entrance of the Chuigong Hall, and looking at the plaque, he wished he could turn back immediately.

"Is there anything wrong, Consort Jiang?" The eunuch guarding the door saw Jiang Ling pacing back and forth in front of the door and stepped forward to greet her.

Jiang Ling's stiff face barely moved as he said, "I'm going to see the Emperor."

The eunuch stepped aside in confusion, allowing someone to go in and report.

In the imperial study in the main hall, Emperor Yuanming sat behind his desk, his expression grim as he listened to Huang Liang's reply. After a long while, he gritted his teeth and said, "You bastard! I will not spare him; I will skin him alive!"

Seeing Emperor Yuanming's anger, Huang Liang was secretly pleased that Cai Wanfeng was in trouble, but he still couldn't help feeling afraid and didn't dare to breathe loudly.

At this moment, Zhang Shan quietly peeked out from the doorway. Seeing that the atmosphere inside was not right, he hurriedly tried to leave.

Emperor Yuanming was furious and shouted angrily, "What are you doing sneaking around like that! Get in here!"

Zhang Shan inwardly groaned. She was just a beauty; he regretted coming to announce her arrival. Trembling, he stepped forward and reported, "Your Majesty, Consort Jiang requests an audience."

Emperor Yuanming thought he had misheard. "What?"

Zhang Shan, confused, quickly repeated himself. Emperor Yuanming remained motionless for a while, then abruptly stood up and walked outside, asking, "Where is she?"

“Your Majesty, according to the rules, Consort Jiang is not allowed to go to the main hall. She is waiting in the side hall of the imperial bedchamber,” Zhang Shan hurriedly said.

Huang Liang hurriedly followed. Emperor Yuanming walked to the door, paused, and said, "Go and prepare some snacks and food, make sure there are plenty."

She always thought he was stingy, as if he was mistreating her and leaving her hungry. Prepare more food to shut her up!

Zhang Shan hurriedly ran off to deliver the message. Emperor Yuanming took a couple of steps, then suddenly stopped: "Go to Qionghua Pavilion and light several more incense burners; it needs to be warm!"

If he sees her in his bedchamber, she might think he wants to sleep with her!

She complained of being cold early on, pretending to be weak, thinking she could feign illness and avoid work. Just light a few more incense burners, and she'll have nothing to say!

Huang Liang bowed and agreed, his expression impassive, but he was secretly astonished.

Judging from Emperor Yuanming's entourage, it was as if he were going to the palace of his concubines and they were welcoming him!

Emperor Yuanming raised his sleeves, cleared his throat, put his hands behind his back, and walked leisurely toward Qionghua Pavilion.

Even Xie En was nowhere to be seen; she usually slept all day and stayed secluded in Fanying Pavilion. It was truly strange that she had taken the initiative to come to Chuigong Hall!

What did she come here for? Did she finally come to express her gratitude? I haven't heard her voice for many days, and thinking back, I really miss her.

Unable to contain his excitement and anticipation, Emperor Yuanming quickened his pace and strode into the room.

In an instant, Emperor Yuanming's face turned as black as the bottom of a pot.

Her long-forgotten inner voice buzzed in her ears: "Oh dear, Huang Liang isn't busy at all. I was so confused. I should have just gone directly to him, then I wouldn't have had to see Niu Fen!"