Chapter 33 Shattered Dreams
Liu Xi had no idea how to seduce the emperor.
She knew He Miaoling's temperament; if she discovered that her maid had climbed into her bed, she would not hesitate to execute her without hesitation.
Liu Xi cannot let Xiao Shi think that she killed her daughter; this hatred must fall entirely on He Miaoling alone.
"I have heard that His Majesty has been frequenting Xingyun Pavilion recently, and Consort He has had the opportunity to serve him almost every night."
"It seems that Her Majesty has a wise advisor by her side who can give her advice. If this wise advisor could also give Wenwen some suggestions, with Wenwen's beauty that is no less than that of noble ladies, she might be able to catch His Majesty's eye."
Xiao Shi stopped talking and finally understood the meaning behind Liu Xi's words.
She thought to herself that Consort Chongyuan's success today was entirely due to her daughter's advice and strategies behind the scenes.
If the same method were used on her own daughter, wouldn't she rise to prominence and become a phoenix?
Thinking of this, Madam Xiao kowtowed again.
"But Wenwen is locked in the woodshed by the Empress, and has no chance to show herself in front of His Majesty."
"In the face of unexpected events, human relationships are always more important than orders."
Looking at Xiao Shi's bewildered expression, Liu Xi thought with some disgust of her own ridiculous past life.
Liu Yan finally ascended the throne, but all he had left by his side was the Xiao family, who had no other merits besides sowing discord, and the greedy Xu Zhaozhao. It seemed that he would soon be kicked off the throne by other virtuous and capable people.
"The weather is getting drier, and places like woodsheds are prone to flooding."
"His Majesty will not show any pity for a nameless maid, but what if His Majesty thought that the one trapped in the fire was Consort Chongyuan?"
Now, Xiao finally showed a look of sudden enlightenment.
"I truly do not know how to repay the princess's kindness."
With a broad smile, she muttered a few useless flattering words before jogging away from Yihuai Pavilion.
Liu Xi was naturally smiling happily; she couldn't wait to see the lively scene at Xingyun Pavilion.
It was worth it to exchange Xiao Wenwen's life for Xiangying's return to He Miaoling's side and for Xiao's family to turn against He Chongyuan.
The struggles among the women in the harem never ceased, and the conflicts in the court were naturally not over either.
Liu Xi casually mentioned Liu Yu's recent situation to the Empress Dowager, saying that the Second Prince seemed to have a lot of dissatisfaction with Liu Yu lately, which successfully made the Empress Dowager frown.
As someone who truly understood the truth behind the scenes, the Empress Dowager was genuinely worried about Liu Yu.
She had many concerns, thinking that if she valued Liu Yu too much, the emperor would disregard the blood ties between him and her sister and order the elimination of Liu Yu, who was a confusement of the royal bloodline.
But now the Empress Dowager has come to a realization: regardless of whether she sides with Liu Yu or not, the Emperor will not tolerate him.
Rather than doing that, it would be better to openly become Liu Yu's patron, so that the emperor would be wary and dare not easily take action against Liu Yu.
"Is the Seventh Prince feeling any better?"
Liu Xi nodded gently, "Grandson visited Seventh Brother this morning. The imperial physician said he is much better. After all, Seventh Brother suffered a lot in the past, and his body has been worn down since childhood. He is deficient in internal organs and needs a long time to recuperate before he can slowly recover."
The Empress Dowager sighed; these words struck her as particularly painful.
"I think that the Fifth Prince is too inexperienced to shoulder the heavy responsibility assigned to him by the Emperor. However, the matter of disaster relief is urgent and other capable people are needed to requisition disaster relief grain to fill the gap in Ningbei."
"I have seen the desire of the princes in the palace, both openly and secretly, for the position of crown prince. I do not want disaster relief, such an important matter concerning the common people, to be affected by any impure struggles."
"Xiao Qi is a thoughtful and innocent child. I am at ease entrusting this matter to him."
"Grandmother's words are well thought out, and I have learned from them." Liu Xi's attitude was indifferent, making it difficult for anyone to discern her true emotions.
She still tended to hold back in front of the Empress Dowager.
In the evening, the Empress Dowager wanted Liu Xi to stay at Shou'an Palace for dinner, but she politely declined.
She said she wanted to go see Liu Yu again, but actually Liu Xi wanted to stay in Yi Huai Pavilion and be ready to hear the news coming from Xing Yun Pavilion as soon as possible.
Inside Xingyun Pavilion, He Miaoling was taking a bath in a tub.
Xiangying lit a drowsy incense in the room to reduce her perception of the noise outside.
The wet nurse, Madam Xiao, stood by the entrance of Xingyun Pavilion, peering out and keeping a close eye on the emperor's movements.
Finally, the sound of the emperor's carriage moving along the palace road reached Xiao Shi's ears. She immediately gave a little maid behind her a look, telling her to go to the woodshed to light a fire. Xiao Shi waited for the emperor to get off the carriage, then hurriedly ran out of the palace gate, pretending to accidentally bump into the eunuch next to the emperor.
"Which palace do you belong to, servant? How dare you disturb His Majesty? Don't you value your life?"
Lady Xiao immediately knelt on the ground, "Your Majesty, Your Majesty, the Xingyun Pavilion is on fire! Her Highness, Her Highness..."
Xiao deliberately didn't make her words clear, and the emperor, thinking that his beloved concubine was trapped in a sea of fire, hurriedly strode into Xingyun Pavilion.
Suddenly, flames erupted in a corner of the side hall of Xingyun Pavilion, and the palace servants screamed and fetched water in an attempt to extinguish the fire.
The emperor stood in the courtyard calling out He Miaoling's nickname. Just as he was getting anxious, Xiao Wenwen rushed out of the nearly collapsed woodshed and crashed straight into the emperor's arms.
The emperor lowered his head in delight, but the face he met was not the one he had expected.
Xiao Wenwen opened her big, watery eyes wide. Her fair face was lightly made up, and although her cheeks were covered in dust, her beauty was still undeniable.
What startled the emperor even more was that Xiao Wenwen's clothes were no longer enough to cover her body; the front of her garment was torn open, revealing a light pink undergarment that accentuated her heavy, almost overflowing figure.
The emperor subconsciously put his arm around Xiao Wenwen's slender waist and unconsciously pinched it, which made Xiao Wenwen let out a soft moan.
After a while, the emperor realized something was wrong. He released Xiao Wenwen and asked seriously.
"Where is Consort He? Where is my beloved concubine?"
A maid immediately responded, "Your Majesty, the Empress is bathing in her bedchamber."
The emperor glanced at Xiao Wenwen, who was now kneeling at his feet, her arms wrapped around him as she sobbed softly.
"Such a big thing happened in the palace, yet Consort Chong is completely oblivious."
The emperor pretended to lose interest and turned to leave. His chief eunuch, observing the emperor's expression, quickly understood his true intentions.
After the emperor returned to the Hall of Mental Cultivation, he came to Xiao Wenwen's side and whispered something in her ear.
"Young lady, shall we come with me?"
In this harem, nothing spreads faster than a joke.
When He Miaoling finished bathing and came out to see a large group of palace maids kneeling in the hall, the entire palace already knew what had happened at Xingyun Pavilion that night.
The next morning, the ladies gathered around Consort Xian, chattering excitedly.
"As expected, the upper class sets the example for the lower class. Their master acts like a licentious and dissolute person every day, which corrupts the maid who serves him closely. How can anyone blame anyone else for this?"
"That's right, Consort He has really shot herself in the foot this time."
The women burst into laughter, and Consort Xian also felt a sense of satisfaction.
"I heard that Consort Chong was kneeling at the entrance of the Hall of Mental Cultivation early this morning, saying that she had not disciplined her properly and had let her lowly maid set fire to the palace and seduce His Majesty. She was begging His Majesty to punish the treacherous maid who had climbed into His Majesty's bed."
Consort Song asked Consort Xian, "Sister, do you think His Majesty would be willing to punish that vixen?"
Consort Xian replied firmly, "Do you want His Majesty to admit that he is absurd and infatuated with beautiful women?"
Consort Song raised her hand to cover the smile on her lips, "It's all thanks to your intelligence, sister."
Inside Xingyun Pavilion, Lady Xiao waited until noon but still did not hear any news from the inner palace about the investiture of Xiao Wenwen, and she gradually became anxious.
She stayed indoors, doing no work, just waiting for Xiao Wenwen to become an empress so she could enjoy wealth and luxury.
They waited and waited until the sun set, when Xiao Wenwen's body was carried out of the Hall of Mental Cultivation.
Following closely behind was an imperial edict.
"The maidservant Xiao set fire to the palace, bewitched the Emperor, and wreaked havoc in the harem. Her crimes are unforgivable. Her face is to be disfigured, she is to be given poisoned wine, and her corpse is to be displayed in the harem as a warning to others!"
The wet nurse, Ms. Xiao, collapsed to the ground, not even having the courage to go forward and look at Xiao Wenwen's body.
She kept muttering "How could this be?" before her eyes rolled back and she collapsed to the ground, unconscious.
Consort Xian finally took this opportunity to return all the grievances she had suffered from the Empress Dowager to He Miaoling, punishing her by making her kneel, confining her to her quarters, and forcing her to study and copy the virtues of women. He Miaoling dared not speak out in anger and could only vent her frustration by beating and scolding the palace servants in Xingyun Pavilion.
Of course, the palace maid who suffered the most was the wet nurse, Xiao.
At best, she was beaten and scolded; at worst, she was subjected to severe torture. The wet nurse, Ms. Xiao, could only cry out that she was innocent and claimed that she knew nothing about what her daughter had done.
Having been reborn, Liu Xi knew quite a bit about the Xiao family's dirty tricks. It would be a pity if she were to be tortured to death by He Miaoling.
Fortunately, after Xiao Wenwen left, He Miaoling transferred Xiangying back to her side, and she took to heart what Xiangying said.
“Your Majesty, after all, Lady Xiao is the Fifth Prince’s wet nurse. If, after the Fifth Prince returns to the capital, Lady Xiao speaks ill of Your Majesty to him, it would be bad if it caused a rift between the Prince and Your Majesty.”
In the blink of an eye, He Miaoling calmed down.
"You're right, now I can only place all my hopes on the Fifth Prince."
She lost the emperor's favor, lost her imperial heir, and even her father, feeling that he was more trouble than he was worth, was unwilling to help her anymore.
He Miaoling clenched her fists tightly and gritted her teeth.
"As long as the Fifth Prince can become the Crown Prince, my current slump is nothing."
"The one who laughs last is the real winner."
Xiangying immediately chimed in, "I believe the princess will be able to persuade the Empress Dowager so that the Fifth Prince can send the disaster relief grain to Ningbei as soon as possible and return to the capital to receive his reward."
"At that time, I might have to change my address and call Your Majesty Empress."
He Miaoling laughed heartily, "Of course."
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