Chapter 6 What exactly do they mean?

"Talented lady, talented lady!" Mingcui lifted her skirt and rushed into the room in a panic.

Su Yue returned from Funing Palace and had just taken a sip of tea when Mingcui startled her so much that she spilled the tea. She slammed the teacup down on the low table and said with a stern face, "Why are you being so reckless? What serious incident has occurred?"

Mingcui, under orders, kept an eye on the main room and shrank her neck as she said, "Lady, Xiangli from Consort De's palace has gone to the main room, and Lady Jiang has left with Xiangli."

Su Yue's expression changed, and she asked, "Who else is in the main house?"

Mingcui froze for a moment. Xueyan glanced at her with disdain and quickly said, "Lady, I'll go to the main house and see if it's A'Ruo or Fanghe who stayed behind."

Su Yue nodded and instructed, "Take two taels of silver and give it to whoever is there."

Mingcui seemed to understand but not quite. She was in charge of Su Yue's dressing case. Hearing the sound, she took the key from her waist and took out two taels of silver ingots from the box.

Xueyan took the silver and prepared to leave, but Mingcui grabbed her, saying, "You haven't signed the document yet."

"My job is important, can't you wait a bit?" Xueyan complained, but Mingcui was stubborn and she couldn't break free, so she looked to Suyue for help.

Su Yue sat there with a solemn expression, and Xue Yan had no choice but to scribble her signature haphazardly.

"Wait a moment." Su Yue took a deep breath, had Xueyan bring the black chrysanthemum along, and gave a few instructions: "Send them together."

Xueyan wrapped the black chrysanthemum and went to the main house. Aruo served Jiang Ling, while Fanghe sat in the side room, holding needle and thread, lost in thought.

"Sister He is here," Xueyan called out affectionately, then casually turned her head to look around, "Huh, where's Aruo?"

Consort Zhao summoned Jiang Ling. Fang He was already feeling uneasy, and when she saw Xue Yan arrive, she became even more flustered. She forced a smile and greeted her, "Aruo is serving the Lady. Do you need to see her?"

"I was going to come to see you earlier, but Jiang Cairen's commotion delayed things."

Xueyan shook her head helplessly, took out a silver ingot and placed it in Fanghe's hand, smiling as she said, "The lady said the festival is coming soon, take this and ask someone to buy some rouge and face powder."

Apart from those working in the Six Departments and Twenty Divisions, the palace maids serving in the inner palace were not allowed to leave the palace under normal circumstances. They could purchase items such as face powder and hair ties from the eunuchs who worked in the Six Departments and Twenty-Four Divisions and were allowed to leave the palace, using silver.

Fanghe held the silver ingot, stunned. She and A'ruo only received two taels of silver a month. Jiang Ling was not favored and not only did he not receive any reward money, but he also had to spend money to add dishes. Even if they were frugal, they could not save much silver a month.

Although Su Yue was a talented woman, after deducting expenses such as cloth and ice, she only earned ten taels of silver a month. In the past, she was not favored by the emperor, and her meals and ice were regularly cut back. If she wanted to live a better life, she also had to spend money to bribe officials.

Now that she was spending two taels of silver at a time, Fanghe remembered what Jiang Ling had once said and didn't know what to do.

"Sister He, don't overthink it. Our Lady is very magnanimous. Although she had a few words with Lady Jiang, she would never hold a grudge against us servants."

Xueyan opened the box she had brought, and inside were two precious black chrysanthemums. "Here, these are the black chrysanthemums that Consort Jiang likes. She asked me to send them to her to wear."

She stood up and said, "I'll go deliver this to Consort Jiang."

"The lady is not here," Fanghe hurriedly said.

"Oh, Consort Jiang rarely goes out. Where has she gone?" Xueyan asked, feigning surprise.

Fanghe held the silver, hesitated for a moment, and said, "Sister Xiangli from Consort De's palace is looking for a concubine, and A'ruo has gone to serve her."

"What does Consort De want with Consort Jiang?" Xueyan asked curiously.

Fanghe said, "I don't know either. When Sister Xiangli came, she only said that Consort De invited me to have tea."

Xueyan didn't ask any more questions, and left Moju behind, saying, "After Consort Jiang returns, please help me give Moju to her. I'll come and talk to Sister He when I have time later."

Back in the west courtyard, Xueyan carefully reported to Su Yue, "Lady, I noticed that Fanghe looked troubled. She likes the money, but she doesn't dare to accept it. I feel that she is unreliable."

Su Yue sat sideways on the couch, her eyes fixed on the window in front of her. Her usual smile was gone; her face was gloomy, with a hint of ferocity.

Xueyan felt a chill run down her spine. Su Yue remained silent, and Xueyan dared not say anything more.

After a moment, Su Yue spoke softly, "Whether she is reliable or not is irrelevant. Send Mo Ju there and leave her in the main house. If anyone comes to investigate, we will have evidence. As for how Mo Ju got to the main house, whose words are credible, the truth is not important. It all depends on who is favored and who is useful."

Xueyan was stunned, and said nervously, "Does Your Highness Consort De not believe what I say?"

Su Yue slowly turned her head to look at Xue Yan, sneered, and said in a desolate voice, "Xue Yan, no one in this palace is a fool. There are only two possible outcomes if Fu Ning Palace summons someone. One is that they don't trust me and simply elevate Jiang Shi, which is tantamount to slapping me in the face. The other is that they question Jiang Shi and let her learn her lesson."

Xueyan was puzzled. Since Su Yue knew that it was very risky to use Consort Zhao to punish Jiang Ling, why did she still do it?

After struggling for a moment, Xueyan asked hesitantly, "Does Consort De think she will favor me, or the main household?"

Su Yue turned to look out the window and said, "How can I know before the final verdict is reached?"

Xueyan felt uneasy and looked out the window with Su Yue, waiting.

*

Jiang Ling followed Xiang Li to Funing Palace, feeling as nervous as when she skipped class to play games and was called to the homeroom teacher's office.

Xiangli said that Consort Zhao had invited her for tea, but of course she didn't believe it.

After all, Su Yue had sided with Consort Zhao, and the two had just started arguing when Consort Zhao summoned her.

Jiang Ling guessed that Consort Zhao wanted to stand up for Su Yue and teach her a lesson, and that Consort Zhao was not the only one in the harem. In the original book, Consort Zhao and her ilk were all experts in palace intrigue, and they would not openly fight each other.

As for what Consort Zhao would do, Jiang Ling had no idea, but he secretly made his own plans.

If things go wrong, she'll use her trump card: sliding to her knees and begging for mercy!

When they arrived at the warm pavilion where Consort Zhao lived, she was dressed in a moon-white half-sleeved robe with gold embroidery, her hair was loosely tied up, she was lightly made up, and she wore only two round pearl earrings. She was reclining on the couch, exuding an air of elegance and nobility.

Jiang Ling curtsied, her legs stiff as wooden sticks, and forced them down, her voice tight as she said, "Your Highness, Consort De."

"Consort Jiang has arrived, please sit down." Consort Zhao nodded, sat up, and gestured for Jiang Ling to sit beside her.

Granny Huang brought up the tea. Consort Zhao took a sip and said, "This is new tea from the new cellar this year. They say it has the aroma of lotus leaves, but I can't taste it. Consort Jiang, you should try it. Maybe you can taste the lotus leaf aroma."

Jiang Ling picked up the teacup and took a sip. In her anxiety, she couldn't taste anything at all and honestly replied, "I can't taste any lotus leaf fragrance either."

Consort Zhao sized up Jiang Ling, chuckled, and casually said while holding the lid of her teacup, "When Consort Su came earlier, she said that Consort Jiang threw away the grapes, which were tributes from me, when she heard that I had given them to her. As for the chrysanthemums I gave her, Consort Jiang thought she was shallow and deliberately pinched the chrysanthemums to vent her anger. Consort Jiang is extremely dissatisfied with me and jealous of my favor with the emperor."

Jiang Ling stood there dumbfounded. Su Yue was really lying through her teeth. She did throw grapes, but she had never seen Mo Ju at all!

As for the accusation that she was jealous of Consort Zhao, she was utterly speechless. After all, words spoken leave no trace; as long as there are witnesses, that's enough.

Aruo and Fanghe have received many benefits from Su Yue. If they were to come forward as witnesses, it would confirm that she was jealous of Consort Zhao.

"Your Highness, I didn't, I really didn't..." Jiang Ling's palms were sweating, and she stammered as she spoke. Although she was denying it, she looked as if she had really done something wrong.

"Jiang Cairen, don't be anxious. Since you say there is no such thing, then there is no such thing."

Consort Zhao chuckled and didn't bring up the matter again, only pointing to the tea ceremony: "Have some tea, have some tea."

Jiang Ling gave an "oh," picked up the teacup, and gulped down a few mouthfuls. After drinking the tea, she finally relaxed a little, but a chill began to run down her back again.

What if the tea is poisonous?

Consort Zhao said, "Consort Jiang doesn't usually like to go out. If you have nothing to do during this rare autumn day in the capital, you should come to Funing Palace more often to sit, have tea, and admire the flowers. The people below are a mixed bunch, and sometimes they may flatter the powerful and bully the weak. If anyone tries to fool you, just come and tell me."

Faced with Consort Zhao's kindness, Jiang Ling was completely bewildered and nodded blankly, saying "okay."

Consort Zhao started chatting about the weather and other trivial matters, and Jiang Ling would occasionally chime in with a comment before lowering his head to continue drinking his tea.

Jiang Ling finished her bowl of tea quickly. Consort Zhao put down the remaining half-bowl of tea and said with a smile, "It's getting late. A-Jue needs to finish his schoolwork. He's very naughty. You prefer quiet, so I won't keep you any longer. Granny Huang, please get a jar of the newly delivered Dragon and Phoenix Tea and have Consort Jiang take it back to drink."

Hearing that he could leave, Jiang Ling secretly breathed a sigh of relief, quickly got up to thank her, and A'Ruo took the tea and left Funing Palace.

The sun sank below the horizon, and the cool autumn breeze of the evening dispelled the tension, but she remained bewildered.

Consort Zhao frankly addressed Su Yue's words, sounding like an interrogation, but in the end, she only received a weak denial and didn't elaborate further. She didn't even inquire about the nature of their conflict or why Su Yue had acted that way.

When Consort Zhao visited Funing Palace, it was as if she were merely invited to have tea.

However, she was just a background character in the original book. At Consort Zhao's birthday banquet, they didn't even speak to each other alone, and the two didn't have any tea-drinking relationship.

Consort Zhao was a master of palace intrigue, and Jiang Ling was convinced that she wouldn't speak without reason.

Unfortunately, Jiang Ling, with his limited intelligence, couldn't fathom Zhao Defei's intentions at all.

Back at Xiefang Pavilion, Jiang Ling collapsed onto the couch, exhausted. Fanghe came in carrying a box: "Consort Su said that you like ink chrysanthemums, so she brought them to you."

Upon hearing the name "Ink Chrysanthemum," Jiang Ling instantly sat up and stared wide-eyed at the sight of the deep purple ink chrysanthemum, about the size of a bowl, in the box.

When did she ever say she liked black chrysanthemums?

Moreover, the black chrysanthemum was originally planted in a flowerpot for appreciation. What kind of trick did Su Yue use to pick the black chrysanthemum and give it to her?