Chapter 919 A Common Trick
Gao Qingtong had already investigated. "Your Majesty, I have secretly investigated. The people who are talking the most are from Consort Song's palace. I think she is the one who spread these words. In the end, she managed to clear her name and stood up to scold the palace maids, pretending to be a righteous person."
Jiang Fenghua understood; this was a trick Song Qing often used.
“During the half-year that Her Majesty was away from the palace, Consort Song bribed many people in the palace.” Gao Qingtong continued, “I don’t mean to speak ill of Song Qing, but I really can’t stand her. Back then, Her Majesty treated her so well. She was able to give birth to the Second Prince safely thanks to Her Majesty’s help. Otherwise, she and her child would have been killed long ago. Now she’s still scheming at every turn and has long forgotten Her Majesty’s kindness. She’s a true ingrate in the entire harem.”
"Qingtong really dislikes her that much?" Jiang Fenghua teased, "What did she do to make the aloof Consort Gao so angry? You are a Consort, and she is a Noble Consort. You can punish her if you want."
"I wouldn't dare," Gao Qingtong said self-deprecatingly. "I just feel sorry for Your Majesty."
Song Qing gave birth to a prince, and her actions were clearly paving the way for the second prince. The crown prince could only be the eldest prince or the fourth prince. What else could this be but ingratitude?
Gao Qingtong recounted some of the things that happened when they worked together, such as how Consort Song, in order to win over the stewards of various palaces, openly and secretly ostracized and slandered her, and how she eventually pretended to be a good person to smooth things over.
"You're so smart, how come you can't think of a way to fight back?" Jiang Fenghua said.
"My family is in the civil service, while her family has an uncle who is favored by the Emperor and is in the military. If anyone is to blame, it's myself for not having a general uncle who is both a scholar and a warrior." Gao Qingtong joked about herself again, "It's better to avoid trouble!"
Jiang Fenghua said calmly, "Since you know, why get angry? What loss would it cause you to let her be in the limelight for a while?"
Gao Qingtong shook her head in a daze, "No."
Jiang Fenghua poured Gao Qingtong a cup of tea and handed it to her, smiling slightly, "The affairs of the inner palace are complicated, and I am grateful that Your Highness is able to share my burdens."
"To share Your Majesty's burdens is a joy for Qing Tong," she said with a sweet smile.
Jiang Fenghua will only choose to remain silent now. She can't touch someone that even the Emperor wouldn't want to touch, because Song Qing still has value.
For example, even if Shang Hong had an affair with a concubine in the harem and became pregnant, the emperor could personally arrange to cover it up.
She would never get bogged down in such trivial matters; let the women in the harem do as they please.
Looking deeper, the Song family's circle can never compare to the Gao family's circle. That's why Gao Qingtong became a Noble Consort, while Song Qing, even if she gave birth to a prince, could only be a Noble Consort. It's the same principle.
Xie Shang wasn't stupid. He had been weighing the pros and cons, cultivating the Jiang family to become his right-hand men and solidifying her position as empress. They could clearly help each other, so why would anyone be a fool to disrupt the current balance?
Love is the most unreliable thing, so she never placed her hopes for the Empress's position on Xie Shang's feelings for her.
Love was merely an aid to securing her position as empress, not a necessity.
-
Jiang Fenghua ran into Lady Helan as soon as she arrived at Chaoyang Palace.
Lady Helan pretended that nothing had happened and respectfully bowed to the Empress, saying, "This humble woman greets Your Majesty the Empress. May Your Majesty enjoy boundless blessings."
Jiang Fenghua stared at her coldly, looking her up and down. "Madam, you just came from outside the palace. You really come and go from the palace so casually."
Feeling guilty, Lady Helan quickly replied, "Yesterday I went back to my residence to get a few changes of clothes and also brought some of Consort Lan's favorite snacks. I only rushed back to the palace this morning to take care of Consort Lan. It was Commander Shangguan who brought me into the palace."
"The newly appointed commander of the Imperial Guards, Shangguan Li," Jiang Fenghua said in a deep voice.
Lady Helan didn't understand what the Empress meant, but nodded: "Yes!"
Jiang Fenghua moved closer to her. "Has the Helan family not learned their lesson from the previous commander of the Imperial Guard? Now they're bothering the newly appointed commander. Could it be that the things Madam took out of the palace were also taken with Lord Shangguan's permission?"
Lady Helan trembled with fear, her body stiffened, and she couldn't utter a single word: "I..."
She didn't notice the things delivered to the Shang residence yesterday, so how did Her Majesty the Empress know it was her?
Jiang Fenghua didn't want to say much to Madam Helan. A foolish person would get themselves killed sooner or later. Did she think that taking a stillborn baby to the Shang family's wedding banquet would make her feel better? If she couldn't defeat the enemy, her actions would only alert them.
"Your Majesty, I pay my respects." Helan Yanran looked much better after resting for a few days.
"Get up! I've come to see Consort Lan. I heard you didn't eat anything all day yesterday." Jiang Fenghua said meaningfully.
The palace of Consort Lan was full of new faces; even the trusted confidants of the Helan family who had accompanied her as part of her dowry had been quietly executed.
She said to Lady Helan, "My mouth feels a little bitter. Mother, please make me some sweets! I want to have a word with Her Majesty the Empress."
She dismissed Lady Helan and the servants, then suddenly knelt before Jiang Fenghua, saying, "Yanran thanks Your Majesty the Empress for saving my life."
Jiang Fenghua didn't know what she was going to do, or what she wanted to do.
She sat in the main seat, staring at Helan Yanran's face, and said in a deep voice, "Are you apologizing for the stupid things you and your mother did?"
"What did my mother do?" Helan Yanran was still unaware of what Madam Helan had done when she left the palace yesterday.
Jiang Fenghua asked in confusion, "You don't know what happened at the Shang residence yesterday?"
Helan Yanran shook her head. "My mother left the palace yesterday saying she was going home to get a change of clothes. Yesterday was Shang Hong's wedding day, and I was indeed in a bad mood. I even lost my temper. At that time, Consort Gao happened to be visiting me, and I took my anger out on her. When I felt better, I went to apologize to her. I was impolite."
She was deceived by a man and trusted the wrong man, which is why she is like this now.
She spoke calmly and slowly, completely devoid of the hostility she had displayed that day.
Jiang Fenghua looked her over carefully. Had she figured it out so quickly?
Immediately afterwards, Helan Yanran added, "The Marquis of Changping's mansion and General Shang's mansion are both the Emperor's right-hand men. The Shang family and the Helan family are both loyal to His Majesty. The turmoil in the country must not be affected by some trivial personal feelings of children, so as not to affect the overall situation of the Great Zhou."
"Your Majesty, I have come to realize that he is nothing but an irresponsible and unfaithful man. However, compared to the stability of the Great Zhou Dynasty, the grievances I have suffered are nothing. I understand this very well. It is Your Majesty and His Majesty's mercy that spared my life. If I had remained outside the palace, I fear I would not have survived long ago. I remember everything Your Majesty said."
She knew all too well what would happen if she really went to the merchant's house to become a concubine; how could the merchant's people possibly let her live?
Jiang Fenghua never expected that He Lan Yanran, who seemed so weak, would suddenly become so quick-witted.
She said, "Now that you've figured it out, just live a peaceful life in the palace!"
Jiang Fenghua didn't say anything more, only told her to take good care of herself before leaving.
Hongxiu asked softly, "Does Your Highness truly believe that Consort Lan has come to her senses?"
Jiang Fenghua remained nonchalant, a cold smile playing on her lips. "I hope she's truly come to her senses."
Perhaps all that Helan Yanran suffered was her own fate! When her affair with Shang Hong was discovered, she had just lost her memory, and out of compassion, they let her leave the palace. What she experienced afterward taught her to see a man for who he truly was, and she paid a heavy price for it.
Hongxiu thought to herself: Is Her Majesty trying to comfort herself by thinking that Consort Lan has come to her senses? Or is Her Majesty being sarcastic?
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
