Chapter 4: The Visitor's Intentions Are Not Good

The ice couldn't be preserved; the basin of ice Su Yue brought melted into water before evening. Fortunately, it rained after nightfall, and the weather turned cool overnight, officially ushering in autumn in the capital.

The autumn rain lingered, falling incessantly. With no one in the palace, Jiang Ling had no need for morning and evening greetings; aside from eating, he did nothing but sleep.

There's nothing more comfortable than sleeping on a rainy day. Jiang Ling had been sleeping for several days in a row, but this afternoon he couldn't fall asleep. Bored, he half-propped up the window frame and leaned against it to watch the rain.

The annoying chirping of cicadas during hot weather has quietly disappeared, leaving only the patter of rain.

The vast Xiefang Pavilion was quiet and desolate.

Just then, Aruo, holding an umbrella, and Xueyan, carrying a plate of grapes, walked over from the direction of the west courtyard, chatting and laughing.

The wooden clogs clicked, and the door to the side room creaked open. Xueyan grinned and waved the grapes in her hand, and Aruo glanced over as well.

The two walked together toward the side room. After about half an hour, Aruo led Xueyan into the side room.

"Consort Jiang, I have obtained some grapes and asked this servant to bring them to you to try," Xueyan said, curtsying.

Jiang Ling glanced over and saw that of the original two bunches of grapes, only one bunch remained.

The imperial harem certainly had no shortage of fresh fruits in all four seasons, yet the palace maids' rations did not include fruit; at least Jiang Ling had never seen any.

Su Yue was able to obtain grapes either as a gift from Emperor Yuanming or from the Funing Palace.

Jiang Ling didn't eat much fruit before, so she didn't mind that A Ruo Fanghe had eaten half of the grapes first. Besides, Xue Yan usually interacted with A Ruo Fanghe and the others a lot, so it was quite normal for them to try the grapes first.

"Thank you so much, Sister Su," Jiang Ling said, and then asked A'Ruo to accept the grapes.

Xueyan took her leave, and Aruo warmly saw her off. Jiang Ling looked at the snow-white plate with purple grapes, which was quite beautiful.

Beautiful things are dangerous!

Jiang Ling was very vigilant. Food was the easiest way to poison someone, and his mind started racing, thinking of all the ways poisoning people could be found in palace dramas.

A moment later, A'Ruo came back in and said loudly, "Why isn't Cai Ren eating? The grapes are a tribute from the Northwest, very precious, and very sweet."

"Have you eaten?" Jiang Ling asked.

A'Ruo was stunned. According to the rules, Jiang Ling had not yet used it, so it would be presumptuous for her to eat it first.

“Every year, the Northwest sends grapes as tribute. The Northwest is thousands of miles away from the capital, so it is extremely difficult to get them to the capital. There are only a few baskets available, so how could I possibly get to eat any? Consort Su is lucky enough to get a few bunches. Xueyan Mingcui was fortunate enough to taste a few and told me about the taste of the grapes.”

In her haste, A'Ruo gave a flawless reply, deliberately saying sourly, "How could this servant have the good fortune to eat tribute grapes?"

Jiang Ling had only asked casually, but A'Ruo's hasty explanation made him suspicious.

Grapes were just a common fruit before, and Jiang Ling never imagined they were a tribute item. Since they were so rare, Su Yue only received a few bunches, but had Xueyan send over two more.

The missing bunch of grapes could have been either eaten secretly by the three of them, or Su Yue had instructed that Aruo Fanghe also have a share.

Jiang Ling didn't care about their private sharing of grapes. If Su Yue specifically gave them to A Ruo Fang He, it would be to win people's hearts.

The person close to me has been bribed; this is a very bad situation!

Seeing that Jiang Ling remained silent, A'Ruo glanced at her as dull and slow-witted expression as ever, then turned and walked out.

"Stop." Jiang Ling was racking his brains for a solution when he saw A'Ruo about to leave, and he blurted out to stop her.

Aruo stopped, thinking Jiang Ling had something to say, and asked, "What is it, Lady?"

In her nervousness, Jiang Ling blurted out, "I saw Xueyan bring the grapes earlier."

A'Ruo froze, never expecting that Jiang Ling, who was usually so deep in the middle of the night that even thunder couldn't wake him, hadn't fallen asleep at noon! She panicked and asked, trying to cover it up, "What did you see, Consort?"

Jiang Ling was also extremely annoyed. She had originally planned to remain calm and subtly coax A'Ruo into confessing. Who would have thought that she would reveal everything as soon as she opened her mouth?

Since things had come to this, Jiang Ling simply said, "Go and call Fang He here too."

A'Ruo paused for a moment, then hurriedly went to call Fanghe. Jiang Ling waited for quite a while before the two of them entered the room. She didn't need to think too much to know that the two were colluding.

"Did Consort Su send you grapes?" Jiang Ling asked directly.

The two exchanged a glance and stepped forward together to bow and plead for mercy.

Aruo said, "It's all because I'm greedy. When I heard that they were tribute grapes, I secretly tried some first. Who knew that the grapes were so sweet? I told Xueyan about it, and she was also very tempted. She secretly ate some with me."

Fanghe followed up, saying, "I saw Aruo eating grapes, and I wanted some too. There weren't many grapes to begin with, so the three of us shared them, and we finished the bunch quickly. Your Excellency is always so kind; please forgive us this time, and we promise we'll never do it again."

The hastily exchanged statements were full of inconsistencies. However, if Jiang Ling hadn't witnessed it with his own eyes, he probably would have been fooled.

Aruo and Xueyan came from Su Yue's place together, taking advantage of her usual afternoon rest time.

If this matter had nothing to do with Su Yue, she wouldn't have sent Xueyan to do this errand in the afternoon. Su Yue also needed to rest in the afternoon, and A'Ruo wouldn't be visiting at that time.

The only possibility is that Su Yue called A'Ruo over and gave her and Fanghe grapes.

Jiang Ling was angry and really wanted to forcefully order them to slap each other. Unfortunately, the two women were in cahoots, and if she didn't listen, she wouldn't have the presence of a fighter, plus she had never hit anyone before and was clumsy.

Jiang Ling was stumped about how to deal with the two men.

To get rid of the two, Jiang Ling had to go to Consort Lin, who was in charge of palace affairs. Replacing them with new people wouldn't necessarily guarantee their obedience. And things might only get more complicated once Consort Lin found out.

"You're lying!" Jiang Ling exclaimed in frustration, demanding, "What exactly did Consort Su ask you to do?"

"I'm innocent! Consort Su didn't tell me to do anything!" A'Ruo said anxiously.

Fanghe then denied it, saying, "Su Cai is kind-hearted. She felt sorry for the poor living conditions in Xiefang Pavilion and gave the servants some food as a reward."

"You've been in the palace all these years, and you've been bought off with a few small favors. You're so stupid, yet you still dream of getting promoted and making a fortune."

Since she couldn't get any answers from him, Jiang Ling stopped asking and threatened, "You'll only be safe if I'm safe. If anything happens to me, you're my maids, and you'll be the first to suffer. Don't even think about escaping; you'll be silenced!"

The two men's expressions changed drastically, and they stammered, unable to utter a word.

Jiang Ling had a terrible headache and didn't want to see them again. Grapes were especially an eyesore. She waved her hand and said, "Take them away, take them away!"

As for whether they would inform Su Yue, Jiang Ling didn't care; besides, she couldn't control them anyway.

With Su Yue's intelligence, they couldn't even hide it from her; they could see through the slightest deviation in their reactions.

Jiang Ling remained on high alert for more than ten days, but everything turned out fine, and he gradually relaxed.

After the rain, the weather cleared up, and with the Mid-Autumn Festival approaching, the palace began to decorate for the festival, with chrysanthemums displayed everywhere.

The Xiefang Pavilion didn't have any rare chrysanthemums, so the Shangqin Bureau and the Garden Bureau sent over a few pots of common golden chrysanthemums, which were blooming sparsely in the corner.

Fortunately, in the small flowerbed in front of the main house, wild chrysanthemums are blooming vigorously. A cassia tree, as thick as a bowl, will soon fill the garden with fragrance.

The days were incredibly boring, so Jiang Ling avoided the crowded Imperial Garden and often strolled along the flowerbeds to admire the flowers.

"It will bloom in two more days." Jiang Ling pulled down a branch and looked at the flower buds, which were covered with tiny, rice-grain-sized blossoms, feeling delighted.

The osmanthus flowers have a rich fragrance; she will pick some and add them to aged tea to enhance its flavor.

"Sister Jiang." Su Yue came out from the west courtyard and called out with a smile.

Upon hearing the sweet, honey-like shout, Jiang Ling's hand trembled involuntarily, and the branch snapped back.

It had been a while since I last saw Su Yue, and she looked fuller than before. Her skin was so smooth and delicate in the sunlight, and the dimples on her cheeks seemed to be filled with the sun, making her radiant.

It seems that Su Yue is living a good life and has undergone a complete transformation.

"Jiang Meimei is admiring the flowers," Su Yue said with a smile as she walked over.

Judging from Su Yue's expression, it seemed as if nothing had happened. Jiang Ling wasn't sure if she was unaware of the situation or if she was simply too cunning, capable of destroying someone with a few words.

Jiang Ling quickly composed himself, nodded slightly, and said yes.

"The flowers in the Imperial Garden are in full bloom, and all the ladies in the palace like to take a stroll there, but I never see Sister Jiang."

Su Yue's eyes darted back and forth across Jiang Ling's face. She covered her face with her handkerchief and giggled, "I was just telling Consort De that I thought Jiang Ling just liked peace and quiet. But now it seems that Jiang Ling is actually quite wise."

Jiang Ling was at a loss for words when Su Yue's words had a hidden meaning, so he gave a perfunctory reply: "Not at all."

"Look at those pots of chrysanthemums. If they weren't planted in pots, you'd think they were wildflowers that you could see anywhere by the roadside."

Su Yue pointed her slender finger to the corner of the wall, said a few words of disdain, then changed her tone and sighed, "I got a few pots of precious black chrysanthemums, but unfortunately I dare not send them to Sister Jiang again."

"Oops!"

Jiang Ling let out a silent wail. Su Yue already knew about A Ruo Fang He's affair; she was up to no good!