The moon hung high above the palace, and snowflakes drifted down.
This is the first snowfall of the winter.
Lotus walked in front, with Aunt Zhang following behind her.
As if to break the silence, the lotus flower casually asked:
"Aunt Zhang, it's getting cold. Is Consort Gu feeling any better?"
Aunt Zhang nodded: "Much better now. She was able to get out of bed and walk a few days ago. The empresses in the harem are indeed different. The charcoal in the palace is the best."
"Ru'er's injury cannot be exposed to the cold. Fortunately, His Majesty cherishes her and has kept the room warm, which is why her injury has healed so quickly."
Lotus rolled her eyes and pouted.
She even thought that Consort Gu's injuries were healing too quickly!
But he still said:
"Really? That's wonderful."
She glanced back casually and said, "I see you're dressed quite elegantly today. Why don't you wear the jewelry that the young mistress gave you? If Consort Gu sees you dressed so simply, won't she think you're not doing well in Guangming Palace?"
Aunt Zhang coughed twice and stammered, "No, Ru'er wouldn't think that way... If Ru'er saw me dressed in gold and silver to visit her, she would think that I didn't put any effort into taking care of her sister."
"That's right, Consort Gu and the young mistress seem to have a pretty good relationship."
Aunt Zhang chuckled awkwardly, "Yes, we're family after all."
"Yes, Your Highness has been having a poor appetite and is not feeling well lately. Knowing your nature, Your Highness must be praying for you in private."
Aunt Zhang's lips twitched. "Of course..."
She dared not say that Ru'er was very nervous when she heard the news, worried that if Gu Jiangli had any problems, he would push all the blame onto her, his aunt.
But when he heard that the imperial physicians couldn't find the cause, he almost laughed himself silly.
Ru'er kept repeating phrases like "This is all retribution" and "Gu Jiangli deserves it."
She was terrified; she could tell that Ru'er harbored deep hatred for Gu Jiangli.
Therefore, she never mentioned to Ru'er how much reward she received from Gu Jiangli or what she did for Gu Jiangli.
They only dared to talk about Gu Jiangli's health condition during their conversations, and didn't say anything else.
In her heart, she thought that Gu Jiangli was not as terrifying as Ru'er had described, and was even a bit stupid.
Once the money is in hand, nothing else matters.
Once Gu Jiangli's child is born and she leaves the palace, she can then tell Ru'er about the clothes. Ru'er will then understand her good intentions and will be able to use Gu Jiangli's weakness against her in a logical way.
Why not kill two birds with one stone?
Lotus secretly glanced at Aunt Zhang's thoughtful expression behind her, then shut her mouth and began to enjoy the silence.
She led Aunt Zhang back to her room in Guangming Palace. Xiao Lan and Xiao Tao were already waiting outside the door, glancing out anxiously from time to time.
Upon seeing Hehua and Aunt Zhang, they quickly came to greet them.
"Miss Lotus, did you escort Aunt Zhang to Lanfang Palace on our behalf?"
Lotus smiled, her face radiant, and said in a gentle tone, "Yes, Auntie still wants to go to Lanfang Palace to see Consort Gu. Since you are not feeling well, I will take Auntie there for you."
The two women breathed a sigh of relief. "Thank you, Miss Lotus! We are grateful for your help in taking over our work."
"It's nothing. If you haven't rested well yet, you can rest tomorrow."
"No, no, no, our bodies are perfectly fine!"
After a few trips to the toilet, I felt better.
Neither of them expected that the Lotus Girl would personally come to take over their work.
After all, she was the mistress's personal maid, so her status was still a notch higher than theirs.
It seems that the people around you have the same personality as you, all of them are approachable and down-to-earth.
The two tacitly led Aunt Zhang into the room, closed the door, and then turned to Lotus and said:
“Miss Lotus, Xiao Lan and I just came out of the... latrine and saw you, Your Highness. When Your Highness saw that we were still in Guangming Hall, you assumed that Aunt Zhang hadn’t gone to Lanfang Hall tonight, so you wanted to come to Aunt Zhang’s room to chat with her.”
Xiao Lan continued, "We also thought that Consort Zhang had not left Guangming Palace, so we brought the weak young mistress here. But to our surprise, we knocked on the door for a long time and no one answered. We all thought that Consort Zhang had fallen asleep, and the young mistress wanted to go back then."
"But this servant saw that Your Highness's complexion was not very good, and it was snowing outside. I was worried that Your Highness would get cold, so I could only push open the door and let Your Highness come in and sit down."
"When I opened the door, there was no one in the room. We were all startled, thinking that Consort Zhang had run off to Lanfang Palace by herself. So we quickly split up and asked several eunuchs and maids. Fortunately, someone saw that it was you who took Consort Zhang out."
After listening to their explanations, Lotus knew that the plan was developing in a way that was similar to what her mistress had imagined, and she was immediately relieved.
She comforted you, saying, "It's also my fault for not telling you, which made you so worried."
The two women lowered their heads and said somewhat shyly, "It's not Lotus's fault. It's our poor health. We don't know what we ate that caused this stomach upset and delayed things."
"Yes, it's fortunate that you helped take Auntie there. If Auntie had gone alone, she might have encountered some unfamiliar ladies on the way, and since she doesn't know proper etiquette, it would have inevitably caused trouble for you, my lady."
The lotus flower smiled inwardly.
It was no accident that the two of them got sick from eating something bad; it was a deliberate act.
However, the two palace maids were clearly unaware that all of this was arranged by the mistress.
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