Chapter 22: A Stormy Night
A cold wind blew, accompanied by a dense drizzle. The candlelight flickered weakly in the deep night, like fireflies on a summer night. Darkness descended, overwhelming everything, pressing down on my heart like a mountain.
"Your Highness, your health is of utmost importance. Let me help you change your clothes first," said Granny Xu, stepping forward with dry clothes in hand, her voice filled with concern.
Returning to Chonghua Palace from Wende Hall, a strong wind blew through the alley, splashing raindrops that soaked Consort Lin's clothes. After returning, she first went to see Xiao Yunrui, then sat down at her desk and began writing rapidly.
Xiuyun stood aside, grinding ink and serving, while secretly giving Xu Mama a wink, signaling her to keep quiet.
Xu Mama and Xiuyun were both serving outside the Wende Hall and were unaware of what had happened. After Consort Lin came out, she remained silent. Xu Mama, thinking about the situation in Lanyue Hall, could not rest easy.
Consort Lin was very focused on her work. Once she was engrossed in something, she seemed oblivious to the commotion outside.
Granny Xu could only suppress her anxiety and stand there uneasily. Unconsciously, she tightened her grip on the brocade robe in her hands, causing it to crumple into a ball.
Consort Lin put down her pen, waited for the ink on the paper to dry, and looked at Granny Xu, "Granny, give me the clothes."
Xu Mama hurriedly stepped forward and only then noticed that the clothes were wrinkled. She quickly blamed herself and said, "This servant deserves to die. This servant will go and get a new set right away."
"Fine, give it to me." Consort Lin said calmly, taking the robe and casually draping it over her shoulders.
She suffered greatly during childbirth with Xiao Yunrui, which severely damaged her health. She hasn't conceived in years. Even now, in early winter, her hands and feet remain cold despite wearing a thick coat.
The ink had dried. Consort Lin picked up a piece of paper, folded it, and said calmly, "Don't mention the word 'death' again. Whether you deserve to die or not, don't mention it. Just watch others die."
"Yes. This servant should..." Granny Xu bowed and apologized. The word "death" was habitually on the tip of her tongue, but realizing it was inappropriate, she hurriedly swallowed it back.
Consort Lin's gaze swept coldly across Xu Mama's face before she said to Xiuyun, "Melt the wax."
Xiuyun took the beeswax, placed it in a dish, and heated it over a fire until it melted, the aroma of honey mingling with the scent of cypress.
This is beeswax made by Consort Lin herself. She liked the scent of cypress and added it to the beeswax.
As the beeswax gradually melted into candle wax, Consort Lin stuffed the paper into an envelope, took a silver spoon, dipped it in wax, sealed it, and handed it to Xiuyun, instructing her, "Take this and deliver it to Father personally."
Xiuyun took the letter and said, "This servant will go right away."
"We'll go after the palace gates open tomorrow morning," said Consort Lin.
Xiuyun stopped holding the letter, her expression hesitant. Xu Mama, who was clearing the remaining wax from the dish, paused upon hearing this and couldn't help but ask, "Your Highness, has something terrible happened?"
Emperor Yuanming didn't say much at the time, only dismissing everyone. Consort Lin guessed he wouldn't let it go so easily and would investigate thoroughly. Since Lady Lin had already handed over the lamp oil, he wouldn't implicate too many people.
Consort Lin paused for a moment, then said, "It's nothing serious. You schemed against me, and I schemed against you. All we need to do is fight back hard."
"Your Highness, is it over there?" Xu Mama hesitated, then pointed in the direction of Fuqing Palace.
Consort Lin gently shook her head. "It wasn't her. The Zhao family was in dire straits, and both sisters were sent to the palace to improve their family's status. The Zhao family's gate was indeed changed, with two stone lions added in front. But a poor family is still a poor family. From the outside, it may look like a grand mansion, but inside it's a pile of rags. They're only concerned with appearances, and they're so desperate for money that their eyes are practically bleeding. In a year, the palace's lamp oil expenses are at most forty or fifty thousand taels. She handed over the lamp and candle supply, but her intention wasn't the lamps; she was eyeing the Lin family's fabrics."
Shu Prefecture is famous for its silkworms and mulberry trees, and its silk and brocade are renowned throughout the world. Apart from lamps and candles, most of the silk and brocade in the palace came from the Lin family of Shu Prefecture.
Apart from Shu Prefecture, many other prefectures in the Great Yin Dynasty raised silkworms, especially Pingjiang Prefecture, whose silk and brocade were no less exquisite than those of Shu Prefecture. However, due to the Lin family, the palace always had the most silk and brocade from Shu Prefecture.
"The palace uses about 300,000 taels of silver a year for silk and brocade alone. Some time ago, the nephew of Madam Gao's maternal family got engaged. The bride, surnamed Sun, comes from a humble background, and her ancestral family runs a cloth trade in Pingjiang Prefecture. I reckon she plans to use the Sun family to establish the reputation of imperial merchants and seize control of the entire cloth trade in Pingjiang Prefecture. The palace only accounts for a small part; the majority of the business is in the border markets and trade with foreign countries."
Xu Mama looked stunned. Xiuyun seemed to understand something and said, "Your Highness, were they caught off guard because they weren't prepared?"
Consort Lin said, "In just a few days, the candles have gone wrong. How can you blame it on Fanying Pavilion? Consort Jiang of Fanying Pavilion is timid and dull. Anyone with eyes can see that she is not up to the task. She wouldn't dare to push the blame onto Lin at this time. If you investigate, when she was in charge of the candles before, there were very few places in the vast harem that used beeswax."
"Your Highness, who exactly is behind this?" Granny Xu asked, puzzled.
"I don't know either." Consort Lin paused for a moment, then said truthfully, "In this harem, there are many who resent Chonghua Palace, whether they have a grudge or not. The winter nights are long and cold, and some people can't bear it and go mad."
*
Consort Zhao smiled, but her eyes were as cold as ice as she stared intently at Consort Zhao: "My mother came to the palace a few days ago and chatted with me for a long time. What my mother fears most is the New Year and other holidays. There are banquets in the capital every day, with people coming and going. Just the drinks alone are a headache, let alone the welcoming and sending off. People in the capital are very particular about appearances and pomp. If a gift from one family is given to another, once people find out, you will be ridiculed for years."
Old Madam Gao spoke these words to express her grievances. Although the palace occasionally bestowed gifts, these imperial gifts were all valuable and she dared not sell them casually. The Zhao brothers held low-ranking official positions and received meager salaries. The shops in the mansion did only so-so business, and the income from the estate was limited. All these expenses combined were insufficient to support their enormous expenditures.
"My sister is the esteemed Consort De, who would dare to ridicule Zhao?" Consort Zhao replied indifferently, her hand clenched tightly beneath her sleeve.
Consort Zhao chuckled, her expression twisted with malice. "Sister, I think you've truly gone mad. Sister, Zhao Wanying, you even share the surname Zhao!"
"Your Majesty's words are truly strange!" Consort Zhao's eyes also flashed with anger as she sneered, "I may be surnamed Zhao, but I'm not insane. Your Majesty is also surnamed Zhao, could it be that Your Majesty has gone mad as well?"
Consort Zhao's chest heaved as she stared intently at Consort Zhao, saying, "Sister, remember this: if the Zhao family prospers, you will prosper as well. If the Zhao family suffers, you will not escape either; do not even think about remaining unscathed!"
"If Lady Zhao is well, it will be for the sake of Consort De. If Lady Zhao is not well, it will indeed be difficult for me, a mere concubine, to remain unscathed."
Consort Zhao spoke with a mocking tone. She smiled slightly and said, "Your Majesty has always been a master strategist. How could you not see this point and not be able to calculate it?"
Consort Zhao remained silent, her eyes sharp as knives, staring directly at Consort Zhao.
The two sisters breathed in each other's ears, and from a distance, they seemed to be intimately whispering secrets among young women.
After a while, Consort Zhao spoke as if nothing had happened, saying, "It's getting late, sister, you should go back and rest early."
Consort Zhao pursed her lips, rose without a word, curtsied, and gracefully walked out.
Granny Huang frowned, stepped forward to clear away the teacups, and said softly, "Your Highness, it's not Consort Zhao."
"It wasn't her. She may hate, but she's not really insane."
Consort Zhao was still furious. She closed her eyes briefly, then opened them again, barely regaining her composure. She said sternly, "The truth will come out eventually, and I will never let her go!"
It was too cold, and when Jiang Ling returned to Fanying Pavilion, her skirt was mostly wet. She didn't care about anything else and quickly changed and washed up.
The blankets were warm and soft, and Jiang Ling wrapped them around himself, letting out a comfortable yawn. Exhausted from the day, he was so sleepy he could barely keep his eyes open, his mind racing with the day's events.
Emperor Yuanming summoned them, asked them a few questions, but ultimately gave no answer.
However, she suspects this matter is not over.
The bedroom was quiet, with the soft patter of raindrops falling on the roof tiles.
Jiang Ling listened absentmindedly, unaware of how many people were having trouble sleeping on this winter night.
How much bloodshed and turmoil will be unleashed in the Ming Dynasty!
A note from the author:
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