Upon returning to the Prince's residence, Song Yaozhu began planning how to expel the Song family from the capital. If Yuwen Wuji were to realize this, the Xie family would be in grave danger.
When Xie Liwei returned from his shift, he saw Song Yaozhu had written a pile of scraps of paper in the study. He bent down, picked up a piece of scrap paper, unfolded it, and saw that it was all about the Song family.
"What's wrong?" Xie Liwei asked in confusion. Didn't they say before that they would take the Song family down slowly? Like a cat playing with a mouse it has caught, slowly toying with the other party to death, so as not to arouse suspicion.
Song Yaozhu told him about her conversation with Song Wenyue in the palace that day, "I'm feeling panicked. What if Yuwen Wuji also thought of this?"
Xie Liwei stepped forward and patted her hair, reassuring her, "Don't worry, he hasn't thought of that yet, and we have time to make our move. We'll just find a small reason to drive the Song family out of the capital. Don't take it too seriously."
Song Yaozhu rested her head on his shoulder. His warmth seemed to bring her peace of mind, and the unease slowly faded away. She took a few deep breaths and said, "We should also send the Thousand-Faced Jade Gentleman into the palace."
Xie Liwei gently stroked the tip of her nose with his index finger and said, "Indeed, it's been dragging on for too long. But it's all going well now; everything is progressing according to our plan."
Song Yaozhu nodded, still feeling uneasy. She felt that things were going too smoothly, as if someone was helping them.
After Song Yaozhu left, Gyeongbokgung Palace was deathly silent.
Song Wenyue summoned all the palace servants to her presence, scrutinizing each of them and reviewing their performance in her mind, but she still couldn't find out who the spy was.
Well, being watched by Song Yaozhu is better than being watched by Consort Shu, that two-faced person.
"This year, the Emperor didn't even mention going to the Summer Palace to escape the heat. In this sweltering weather, the ice rations for each palace are half of what they usually are. It's unbearably hot!"
The concubines in the harem couldn't help but complain that even under the shade of the trees, it wasn't comfortable, since there were many mosquitoes.
"Ever since Consort Shu took over the management of the harem, although we no longer have to pay our respects every day, we still feel that Consort Shu is even harder to fool than that Lu fellow."
"Some people may appear white on the surface, but their hearts are actually black."
"Huh? What do you mean by that?"
The concubines, who were chatting together, were intrigued by these words and craned their necks. However, the concubine who had started the conversation shut her mouth and covered it with her fan.
"I value my life, so I dare not say anything carelessly. However, I have heard that Consort Shu was a lady-in-waiting personally trained by Empress Jingxian, so she must be very organized in managing the harem."
Seeing how disappointing she was, everyone lost interest as well. They figured it made sense; while gossip was important, their lives were more important.
"If that's the case, then Consort Shu and Empress Jingxian should have a very good relationship, right? How come it seems that Consort Shu wasn't involved at all in the Empress's wrongful conviction case before?"
"Yes, yes, we haven't seen her show up. She used to be Empress Jingxian's lady-in-waiting, so she must have been highly trusted by the Empress. Logically speaking, they should have a good relationship!"
"Wait a minute, don't you guys think this is outrageous? If she had a good relationship with the Empress, why would she become the Emperor's woman? The Empress is already the Empress. Even if she wanted to find a woman to secure the Emperor's favor, she wouldn't send her own female official, would she? Isn't that ruining someone's future?"
The crowd, who had been chattering amongst themselves, suddenly fell silent. One of the more timid among them immediately stood up and said, "I suddenly remembered I had the maid hang the clothes out to dry. The fabric can't be left out in the sun for long, so I'll head back now!"
The others made excuses to leave in twos and threes, not daring to discuss the topic any further.
Having achieved her goal, the concubine who had started the conversation left gracefully.
July is the time when the sun is at its strongest. Lu Yujie stood under the corridor of Qiankun Palace with a food box in her hand. Even though there were tiles on the roof, she still felt her head buzzing and felt very uncomfortable after standing there for a long time.
The maid supported her, seeing that her mistress's face was pale and she felt that she was about to faint. She pleaded with the young eunuch guarding the door, "Sir, please, please help me pass this on!"
"It's not that this servant is unwilling to help, but that I am powerless to do so!" The little eunuch dared not respond. The Emperor's attitude towards the Imperial Noble Consort was clear, so why should they, as servants, provoke such a reaction?
"Father-in-law, our young lady really can't hold on any longer, please!"
The young eunuch thought to himself, "Even if your young lady dies in front of the Qiankun Palace, it's none of my business. Besides, what's the use of your young lady's self-inflicted injury? The emperor inside probably doesn't even know who your young lady is."
He was lost in thought when he saw the Crown Prince approaching from a distance, and he quickly and eagerly went to greet him.
"Your Highness, the Emperor is taking a nap inside. Please allow me to inform him!" As he spoke, he brought a chair over to the Crown Prince.
The Crown Prince grunted in acknowledgment and then sat down to await the announcement from inside. His gaze fell upon Lu Yujie, who, as a daughter meticulously raised by the Lu family, possessed impeccable beauty, grace, and poise. She stood ramrod straight, even though her face was pale and she was beginning to sway, she still insisted on keeping her back perfectly upright.
The crown prince couldn't help but glance at her a few more times. Although he wasn't very interested in women now, he couldn't help but look at a beautiful woman a few more times.
In her dazed state, Lu Yujie felt a pair of eyes staring at her without restraint. She forced herself to look up and met the Crown Prince's gaze.
Her heart skipped a beat as she was stared at by the Crown Prince's undisguised gaze. Startled, her throat bobbed involuntarily, and she shrank back in fear.
She really wanted to leave, but she had already stood there for so long, and if she left now, all her efforts would have been in vain.
Seeing her so stubborn, the Crown Prince couldn't help but feel a little amused.
I don't really have a woman like that in my own backyard.
With that in mind, he decided to take the person into his backyard.
Lu Yujie was stunned by that gaze, a wave of shame washing over her. Suddenly, her ears rang, her vision went black, and she fell backward.
The maid was startled and immediately went to pick her up. But she had been standing all morning and had no strength left. In addition, the weight of the person who had fainted was even heavier, and she couldn't support her.
Just as the person was about to fall to the ground and tumble down the stone steps, a splash of crimson quickly caught them.
The maid looked at the other woman with tears of gratitude, "Thank you so much, Grand Princess! Thank you so much, Grand Princess!"
Yuwen Xian noticed that the person in his arms was pale, but had flushed cheeks, so he figured the person was about to suffer from heatstroke.
"Hurry and summon the imperial physician! Carry Miss Lu back to Yikun Palace!"
The young eunuch quickly stepped forward to lend a hand; the Grand Princess's influence remained undiminished.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com