"Your Highness, you've thoroughly investigated everyone in the Imperial Household Department, so how come someone still has that thing? And it was even sent to the Fourth Prince's residence?" said Granny De. Consort De has been in charge of the inner palace for over a decade, and several different people have come and gone from the inner palace to the outer palace.
"There will always be some little devils who haven't been dealt with properly," Consort De said.
Consort De promised Lanqin that she would investigate who had handled the batch of mosquito repellent incense sent to the Fourth Prince's residence. Lanqin didn't name names, but she trusted Consort De to figure it out herself—what a clever person!
"Consort, I never imagined that Ulanara's influence could extend to the Imperial Household Department within the palace. Judging from Consort De's words, her good sister, Consort Qi, was the first person to use this kind of bewitching incense. Could it be that you have a relationship with Consort Qi?" Cui Niang asked.
Because Lanqin was pregnant, Consort De specially ordered a sedan chair to take her out. At this moment, Lanqin was sitting in the sedan chair, with Cui Niang following on one side. Aunt An was on the other side, so naturally she couldn't hear the conversation between Lanqin and Cui Niang.
"Let me ask Aunt An." Lanqin lowered the small curtain facing Cui Niang, then turned to the side, lifted the other small curtain, and said to Aunt An, "Aunt An, what happened to Consort Qi, who harmed Mother back then? Mother didn't say anything just now."
Aunt An quickly replied, "Naturally, she was banished to the Cold Palace by the Emperor. She has never had any children, and the reason she can sit in the main seat is entirely because of her noble birth."
Lanqin's heart skipped a beat, and she asked, "Then which family does this Consort Qi come from?"
Aunt An said, "It's the Ulanara family. She's Lord Feiyangu's cousin!"
Lanqin immediately understood. She lowered the curtain and pondered, "Isn't this obvious? Why didn't Consort De point this out just now? No wonder the Fourth Prince's wife has such a thing; it turns out her aunt was the first person to use it. No wonder Consort De doesn't like the Fourth Prince's wife much; could this be one of the reasons?"
Meanwhile, Consort De had been helped back to her side room by Granny De and lay down on a bamboo couch. A palace maid was rolling her calves with a jade mallet.
"Your Highness, that Consort Qi is from the Ulanara family!" Granny De whispered, the meaning of which was self-evident. The only person in the mansion who could use such insidious things on Consort Niu was probably Consort Niu.
“I know. That’s why I’ve never liked the Fourth Prince’s wife. Back then, when the Emperor chose the eldest daughter of the Ulanara family for the Fourth Prince, I didn’t approve. But the Emperor had already made the decision, so I didn’t say anything more. I never imagined that his daughters would like to use such things to harm people,” Consort De said with her eyes closed.
"Alas, the Fourth Prince's wife has already been confined to her quarters, how could she still do such a thing?" said Granny De.
"The confidants she has cultivated in the inner quarters over the years cannot be eliminated overnight. I didn't mention it to Niohuru just now because I didn't have enough evidence. I'll talk to the Fourth Prince when he returns. Consort Qi has been dead for over ten years, and those are all just my speculations. There is no direct evidence to prove that the Fourth Prince's wife obtained that thing from her cousin," said Consort De.
“Yes, Your Highness is absolutely right,” said Granny De.
"Go to the Imperial Household Department and ask which rascal is in charge of that batch of incense. Tell him to come and show his face before me," Consort De said.
To Consort De's disappointment, the Imperial Household Department found nothing amiss.
After returning to her residence, Lanqin eagerly awaited the results of Consort De's investigation, but no news came.
Meanwhile, the Fujin (Consort) also received news of Lanqin's entry into the palace, but she wasn't worried at all, because the incense didn't originate from the Imperial Household Department. The bewitching incense came from the Ulanara residence; it was given to her by Wuge when Lingxiu went out to meet him. Even with her noble status, Consort De couldn't possibly find out.
On this day, a regular visitor appeared in the garden in the northwest corner of the inner courtyard—that was Lady Wuya. She often came to this garden with her maids to enjoy the flowers and cool off, and the servants responsible for sweeping and guarding the gate were all used to her frequent visits.
“Madam, the pears on that tree look quite nice. Shall I pick some for you?” Cuiyun sat with Wuya in the pavilion.
“No need, I don’t like pears either!” said Uya.
"Madam, I just want to climb the tree and see what's outside!" Cuiyun whispered in Wuya's ear when she saw that Wuya did not understand her meaning.
Wuya then came to her senses and said loudly, "Cuiyun, your throat has been a little sore these past few days. Go pick some pears from the pear tree over there and boil some pear water to drink."
Cuiyun exclaimed "Hi!" and immediately went to climb the pear tree to pick pears.
When the cleaning women saw Cuiyun trying to climb the tree, they quickly asked, "Miss, are you really going to climb the tree?"
“Yes, our lady would like some pears to boil in water,” Cuiyun said.
"Does Madam Wuya not even have a few pears?" the old woman standing under the tree thought disdainfully.
Hearing the old woman's tone, Cuiyun knew they looked down on her mistress, so she said, "This pear tree belongs to the Fourth Prince's mansion, not yours, Mother-in-law. Our mistress wants to pick a few pears, is that not allowed?"
It turned out that the fruit trees throughout the Fourth Prince's residence were cared for by designated people. Since these fruit trees were for ornamental purposes, the fruit was harvested annually by the women who were responsible for watering, fertilizing, and sweeping the leaves. They would then take the fruit to be sold to others for silver, which served as their extra income. These women didn't have any other income, so they cared a lot about the fruit.
"These pears aren't snow pears, they're not very tasty. Be careful, young lady, you might twist your ankle," the old woman said, suppressing her disdain.
"Our lady just wants to boil some water, what are you all babbling about!" Cuiyun said angrily. She ignored the old woman and continued climbing the tree.
"Granny Cai, what is she doing? Where did that maid come from?" The gatekeeper in charge of the northwest corner gate often came here to ask Granny Cai for fruit. Since Granny Cai took these fruits out through the northwest corner gate, she naturally treated the gatekeepers with more respect!
"Lady Wuya's maid. Bah, what a thing! She even dared to covet a few of my old woman's fruits!" Granny Cai whispered.
"Does Lady Uya still want to eat this?" the man asked.
"That's right, they came to steal my fruit!" Granny Cai said.
Cuiyun climbed higher and higher, and could already see outside the door. Granny Cai muttered something below, but Cuiyun couldn't hear it clearly.
"Hey, are you going to pick it or not? Be careful not to fall while standing up there!" Granny Cai saw Cuiyun standing motionless on the tree.
Cuiyun looked outside the door and, seeing no one there, made her decision.
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