Nanny Chang couldn’t help but envy Song Jiyun, saying as she brought her food, "In the palace, you’re the only one who can stay out of trouble!"
With a bitter smile, Song Jiyun said, "All I wish for now is for this turmoil to subside quickly, so I can clear up my case soon and restore my, and our Song Family’s, innocence."
Nanny Chang chuckled, "Don’t worry, you’ve helped the Noble Consort, and she is very clear about favors and grudges. You’ll certainly be fine."
"But that’s not what I want," Song Jiyun said with distress, "Good deeds don’t go beyond the gate, while bad news spreads a thousand miles. With Prince Ning’s temperament, my case must have already been made known. If the emperor gives me a chance to prove my innocence, that would be great. If he simply exonerates me of my crime, I’m afraid it’ll be even harder to clear my name. That’s not my intention at all."
Nanny Chang suddenly understood her difficult position.
Power can’t block the mouths of the masses.
If the emperor really did exonerate Song Jiyun like that, indeed she would never be able to clear her name.
She comforted Song Jiyun, "Don’t you still have Young Master Yuan? He will surely help you."
"You actually believed what I told the Noble Consort!" Song Jiyun propped her elbow and sat by the window, looking at the splendid flowers in the flowerbed, and laughed, "That was just me comforting her, hoping she wouldn’t argue with the emperor anymore."
Otherwise, they would all suffer the consequences.
Watching her more beautiful than the flowers, Nanny Chang was momentarily stunned before she smiled and said, "We couldn’t think of all that. You calming the Consort down is like being our good sister."
Song Jiyun didn’t want to talk about these upsetting matters anymore and said teasingly with a smile, "If you really feel grateful, you might as well give me some of the Biluochun tea treasured by the Noble Consort. I haven’t had such delicious Biluochun tea yet!"
That, of course, was a joke.
Nanny Chang knew it and smiled, playing along with Song Jiyun, "I would have to say something about that. The sisters in the tea room don’t know how grateful they are to you. Without you, the Consort wouldn’t be as vibrant every day and wouldn’t have the luxury to complain about the tea or food being bad. Not just the tea, but you could even be particular about the food you eat now."
"So I’m popular now?" Song Jiyun joked with her for a while until Nanny Chang took her leave.
After seeing her out, Song Jiyun didn’t return to her room immediately as usual. Instead, she sat on the outside stairs for a while, resting her cheek in her hand, pondering how to extricate herself from this turmoil.
Since entering the palace, she hadn’t had the chance to send a safe message to Zheng Quan or Zhou Zheng outside. She wondered how they were doing?
Would Prince Ning incite the Government Office to seal off the workshop on Diagonal Street No. 2 Alley?
And those craftsmen she had brought with her, would they be implicated and thrown into prison because of her?
Each and every one was a problem.
She had to find a way to send a message out.
As Song Jiyun was lost in thought, suddenly a child’s delicate and weak voice came from nearby, "Are, are you also watching the ants move house?"
She looked in the direction of the voice. A little boy around four or five years old, wearing an ordinary but bright blue silk fabric garment, squatted in front of her, twisting his head and looking at her with an obedient expression. His large eyes blinked, incredibly cute.
Song Jiyun’s voice became involuntarily softer, "Who are you? How did you get here?"
The little boy stopped talking, hung his head, and his fine white fingers dug at the ground with a small stick, his figure exuding loneliness, which reminded her of the out-of-school children she had seen during her charity work.
Song Jiyun suspected he might be a palace eunuch.
Her voice became even gentler, "In which palace do you serve? Do you want me to take you back?"
The child shook his head and fell silent again.
Song Jiyun felt it wasn’t right to leave the child there, so she stood up, took a piece of mung bean cake that Nanny Chang had given her as a snack, and offered it to him, "Have some sweets."
The child raised his head, his clear large eyes stared at her for a good while. Just when she thought he might reject her offer, the child took the snack.
Song Jiyun waited for the child to thank her.
Not only did the child not thank her, he simply pinched the green bean cake in his hand, neither eating it nor throwing it away; the cake was almost melting from his grip.
How much like an uneducated child.
Song Jiyun didn’t quite enjoy dealing with such children.
Because they usually lacked a sense of propriety.
She smiled and said, "Then you play here for a while, I still have things to do. You should go back early too, so as not to upset your master."
The child squatted down to watch the ants and ignored her.
She sighed and returned to her chamber.
However, she was still a bit worried, and stealthily glanced at him several times through the window bars. The first two times, he was still squatting there, but when she looked the third time, the child was gone and didn’t appear again after that.
Song Jiyun didn’t take this matter to heart, but a few days later, a palace maid from the Empress Dowager’s side came to find her quietly and said, "In a few days, the Eldest Imperial Son will join the Emperor and the Noble Consort for lunch at Anxi Palace. We request that Miss Song takes extra care of the Eldest Imperial Son. Our Empress Dowager will reward you for it."
Song Jiyun was greatly surprised and said, "What virtue or ability do I have that I dare to take care of the Eldest Imperial Son?"
The palace maid just smiled and didn’t speak, then left.
That evening, she went to visit Nanny Chang, who told her, "The Empress Dowager still couldn’t refuse the Emperor’s wish, although she didn’t agree to have the Eldest Imperial Son raised under the Noble Consort’s name, she did agree to let him stay with the Noble Consort for a few days. The Noble Consort specifically ordered the Imperial Kitchen to prepare a large table of dishes for tomorrow, and I’m afraid I will be too busy to look after you. I’ve instructed a young palace maid to bring you your meal. You need to remember this, and if she doesn’t come at the time, you should send someone to remind her."
Song Jiyun took note of this.
But when the Emperor came over, how could it be her turn to get close?
During her long time in the palace, she still didn’t know whether the Emperor was tall or short, round or flat.
And since she wasn’t a court lady, it was impossible for the Emperor to see her even for the sake of avoiding suspicion.
Was it because the few comforting words she said to Noble Consort Wan reached the Empress Dowager’s ears, and she wanted her to speak well of the Eldest Prince in front of Noble Consort Wan?
But this was too difficult for her.
After all, the more she said, the more mistakes she could make.
It was one thing to say a few comforting words to ease people’s hearts when she had no other choice for her own comfort, but to get involved in the grudges of the palace nobility, did she think her life was too long?
Song Jiyun had a sleepless night, pondering the palace maid’s words.
No matter what, she couldn’t figure out how she might "take care" of the Eldest Prince the next day.
Until the next day at noon, when the Emperor came down from court with the Eldest Prince to Anxi Palace, she was still wildly guessing. Unexpectedly, a commotion arose in the side hall of Anxi Palace.
Song Jiyun, cautious and self-preserving, closed her door and hid inside her chamber, not coming out.
"Miss Song, Miss Song!" The thing you fear most is precisely what happens; soon after, someone knocked on her door, "Hurry and open the door, I’ve come with the Eldest Imperial Son."
Come for what?
Everyone in Anxi Palace knew she hadn’t left her room, and with such a small chamber, even if she pretended not to hear, it wouldn’t stop the other party from giving up; they kept knocking on the door.
Song Jiyun went to open the door.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
