Little Palace Maid Desires a Higher Seat of Honor - Chapter 114

Chapter 114: A Joint Plot

Yun Si learned from Qiu Yuan’s mouth all the details of what had happened the night she lost consciousness.

She had developed a psychological shadow toward the so-called incense. The incense burners in the hall had been completely removed, and all the sachets were shelved away.

Early winter was chill and biting, the wind carrying cold as it howled unceasingly. Inside Chu’an Palace, the floor dragons were lit, filling the place with warmth, making one involuntarily drowsy in such an environment.

As soon as Qiu Yuan finished speaking, Yun Si’s delicate brows knitted together.

Seeing this, Qiu Yuan’s voice faltered, and she hesitantly asked,

“Your Ladyship, was there some oversight on my part?”

In the hall, apart from Qiu Yuan and Yun Si, only Song Fu was present. Hearing this, Song Fu also couldn’t help raising his head to look at Her Ladyship.

Yun Si shook her head and, without stinting on praise, said, “You did very well.”

The opportunity to bring down Consort De and the Eldest Prince was rare. By comparison, sometimes the truth was not so important.

Even so, Yun Si’s tightly furrowed brows did not ease.

Qiu Yuan and Song Fu exchanged a glance, quietly waiting for what she would say next.

Before speaking, Yun Si lifted her eyes and made a slight signal toward Song Fu.
Song Fu immediately walked to the pillar-window, glanced at the lanterns hanging high outside Chu’an Palace, the lanterns still hung there, at just the right angle, without the slightest shadow falling on the window lattice.

Song Fu returned and gave Yun Si a nod.

Only then did Yun Si speak in a low voice, “Consort De has always done things without leaving a single leak. How could she have left so many traces this time?”

By rights, Consort De had already been demoted to commoner status. She should have been at ease, with no need to care about a dead person anymore, but Yun Si couldn’t shake a faint unease.

Yun Si frowned.

“Safflowers all over Yihe Palace, aimed directly at me. But how could she be sure I would definitely go to Yihe Palace?”

She was carrying the imperial heir, Consort De was not the Empress, and her cause of death was difficult to speak of. If Yun Si had used illness as an excuse, she would not have needed to go to Yihe Palace that night to see Consort De off on her last journey, and Tan Yuanchu would not have blamed her for it.

Consort De’s plan had flaws from the very start. It was as if she was merely making a gamble, not caring in the least whether the result would succeed.

This was not Consort De’s usual style.

Far too abnormal.

Moreover, Yun Si always sensed something unusual in all this, an indescribable feeling.

Consort De would not let her be at peace even in death, which showed how much she cared about the imperial heir in her belly.
Or rather, Consort De feared her.

Since she feared her, she would foresee the consequences once things were exposed. If Yun Si bore the blame, she would inevitably implicate the Eldest Prince.
How could Consort De possibly do such a thing?

It was very strange.

Hearing this, Qiu Yuan also knitted her brows tightly. “This servant also thought at the time that Consort De would have a backup plan. But in the end, all it amounted to was one death with no proof, the death of a single maid that made no difference to the overall situation. This servant could not understand Consort De’s intention either. But since the opportunity was rare, this servant could only seize the moment to ask His Majesty to strip Consort De of her title.”

The Safflowers had appeared in Yihe Palace; Consort De could not possibly escape being implicated.

The hall fell silent for a moment. The mistress and her two servants exchanged a glance. Song Fu, too, understood the meaning in their words. He raised a brow and said in a low voice,

“Consort De should have had a backup plan, but it seems that backup plan is somewhat unwilling to dance to her tune.”

While the mistress and servants of Chu’an Palace were discussing this matter, there were also others who were angered by it to the core.

Pan Qiu paced back and forth in the princes’ quarters, her face dark with rage, wishing she could flay Su Jieyu alive.

The safflowers on the sachet were Her Ladyship’s doing, and even the basin of blood carried by the palace maid Su Hong contained medicine to induce miscarriage, subtle and easy to dispose of.

But the peonies in Yihe Palace, and the scattering of safflowers all over the place, should never have been there!

The palace maid Su Hong had hanged herself.

That someone in Yihe Palace would die was not unnoticed, but if there was to be a death, it ought at least to be worth something.

Few people in this world are truly alone.

Even though Her Ladyship was gone, the Song family had not fallen. Naturally, they were happy to help relieve a bit of trouble for the imperial grandson.

Her Ladyship had said before that Xi Xiurong was a cautious and prudent person. No matter how much they did, it would be difficult to truly make Xi Xiurong miscarry this time.

After all, no matter how much stimulation, it was not as though they could just pour a whole bowl of safflower decoction down Xi Xiurong’s throat.

What they wanted was for Xi Xiurong to believe it was simply Her Ladyship’s dying counterattack, but that it had failed, thereby letting down her guard and forgetting about Her Ladyship altogether.

Perhaps it was precisely because of this that Su Jieyu felt unwilling to accept it and went to make her own moves in Yihe Palace.

In the end, even if the truth came out, the one to bear the blame would still be Her Ladyship, what would it have to do with Su Jieyu?!

Pan Qiu cursed Su Jieyu as a fool in her heart.

Such crude, rash methods were nothing like Her Ladyship’s handiwork.
It would be strange if Xi Xiurong didn’t become suspicious!

No wonder such a good hand of cards had been played into a mess. For such an idiot to rise to the rank of Jieyu, before entering the palace, she must have prayed to every Buddha under heaven!

Pan Qiu took a deep breath to steady herself, then summoned a palace maid and whispered a few words to her.

After the maid left, Pan Qiu still felt stifled with anger, hating Su Jieyu so much that her teeth itched.

Things had come to this, there was no turning back. She could only make Su Jieyu quickly follow Her Ladyship’s instructions and stop creating new trouble!

Qingyu Courtyard.

Su Jieyu’s complexion was also unpleasant. After the incident at Yihe Palace, seeing that Su Hong had been disposed of cleanly, with only the matter of the peonies exposed, she naturally knew she had ruined things.

She clutched her handkerchief, unable to conceal the restlessness in her brows and eyes.

Bai Shao sighed inwardly and asked in a low voice, “Mistress, what should we do next?”

Although they now had the list of people sent by Consort De, it was still uncertain whether those people would obey her Mistress.

After all, Consort De had fallen, but the Eldest Prince remained.

Su Jieyu heard the concern in her voice and, irritated, replied, “Who can I blame? With such a good opportunity, if she hadn’t been so overly cautious, it wouldn’t have turned out like this!”

Since they had already acted, they should have gone further and made Yun Si miscarry outright.

Bai Shao was momentarily speechless. She had always known her mistress to be one who would not listen to advice.
Back in her family home, her mistress had been deeply doted on by the Master and Madam, and was stubborn by nature, appearing cool and aloof outwardly, but in truth very spoiled.

After a long silence, Su Jieyu muttered in a muffled voice,

“In any case, she still has a backup plan. At worst, I’ll just follow her plan later.”

Bai Shao sighed inwardly. She actually wished her mistress would stop, but she knew her mistress would not listen.

Just then, the two received Pan Qiu’s message. Su Jieyu furrowed her brows, and only said coolly,

“Go back and tell her I know what to do.”

When Pan Qiu received the reply, she laughed coldly again and again.
If Su Jieyu really knew what to do, so many problems would never have happened.

Su Jieyu had no idea what Pan Qiu was thinking, she did not believe she had done anything wrong.

It was only that she was vexed at not having struck her target in a single blow.

As for Consort De?

They were merely collaborators. Whether Consort De and the Eldest Prince suffered misfortune, what had that to do with her?

Looking after the Eldest Prince?
That was nothing more than an excuse to gain access to the network of connections in Consort De’s hands. She did not even have a child of her own, how could she possibly take care of someone else’s child?

On the contrary, she wished everyone could be as unfortunate as she was.

Since she was so unlucky, there was no reason the rest should live in happiness and harmony.

The next day at morning greetings.

Yun Si kept her doors closed and did not go out. In the entire palace, apart from the Empress and Meng Xiurong, only Su Jieyu held the highest rank. Her procession waited in the Imperial Garden for a while, and before long, the person she had been waiting for appeared.

Qi Guipin was also riding in a procession, her expression far from pleasant.

Su Jieyu sneered inwardly, how could it possibly be pleasant?

After the greetings, Qi Guipin told Meng Xiurong she wished to visit the little princess at Zhongcui Palace, but Meng Xiurong blocked her with the excuse that the little princess had not been feeling well lately.

A joke.

Meng Xiurong had finally obtained an imperial heir, and knowing her own status, naturally did not wish the little princess to get too close to her birth mother.

Rejected, Qi Guipin’s mood turned cold. Spotting Su Jieyu’s procession, she immediately ordered Tong Yun to take a detour.

She did not want to deal with Su Jieyu.

After all that had happened, Su Jieyu was still so ostentatious and sharp-edged, Qi Guipin felt she had not improved in the slightest.

She had no desire to be dragged down by such a person.

But Qi Guipin never expected that Su Jieyu had actually been waiting for her. Seeing the palace servants in the lead of the procession, Qi Guipin frowned almost imperceptibly, suppressed her emotions, and stepped down from her sedan.

Su Jieyu was also standing outside waiting for her. Qi Guipin pressed down her inner doubts and stepped forward to give a curtsey.

She performed the curtsey with deep reluctance, but did not let it show on her face.

Su Jieyu accepted the curtsey without softening in the least.
Supported by Bai Shao, she said coolly, “I have lately been learning flower-cutting from the palace maids. I have heard that Qi Guipin has quite the expertise in this art. I wonder if Qi Guipin might be willing to teach me?”

Qi Guipin narrowed her eyes slightly. Su Jieyu truly made no effort to conceal her intentions, but Qi Guipin could not understand what Su Jieyu wanted with her.

Just as Qi Guipin was about to refuse, she noticed Su Jieyu’s gaze shift. Following her line of sight, she saw Meng Xiurong’s procession receding into the distance. Immediately afterward, she heard Su Jieyu say slowly,

“I have heard that Meng Xiurong is very fond of the little princess, and that every night she personally soothes her to sleep before resting herself.”

“If this goes on long enough, I fear the little princess will remember only that one mother-consort.”

Qi Guipin’s face abruptly darkened.

She understood the meaning behind Su Jieyu’s words and did not refuse her proposal again. Although she did not know what medicine Su Jieyu was selling in her gourd, since it concerned the little princess, she would listen, no matter how much she wished to avoid involvement with Su Jieyu.

When they arrived at Qingyu Courtyard, Qi Guipin discovered that Su Jieyu’s so-called flower-cutting was, in fact, nothing but a pretext.

She found it rather hard to put into words.

Not bothering to waste more breath on Su Jieyu, once she saw the palace doors close, Qi Guipin went straight to the point.

“Why has Su Jieyu called this concubine here?”

Su Jieyu lifted her eyes to look at her, unconcerned by her inconsistent attitude in public and in private. Narrowing her eyes slightly, she said, “If you want the little princess back by your side, only I can help you.”

Qi Guipin’s lips curled faintly. She felt she was truly wasting her time and almost wanted to turn and leave.

If these words had been spoken today by the Empress, or even by Yun Si, she might have hesitated.
But coming from Su Jieyu?

Perhaps sensing her lack of interest, Su Jieyu lowered her voice and spoke a few words. Qi Guipin’s eyes flew wide open, and she blurted out,

“You’re working with her? Are you Insane?!”

Qi Guipin immediately thought of the incident in Chu’an Palace two days earlier, Consort De being convicted. She had originally been puzzled, thinking Consort De had simply gone mad before her death, but who would have guessed Su Jieyu was also involved?

When she came back to herself, Qi Guipin gave Su Jieyu a long, deep look.

Could this woman really still not know who had caused her miscarriage?

Qi Guipin felt doubtful, it seemed impossible. The near-miscarriage of Xi Xiurong had been so glaringly obvious that anyone should have sensed something amiss.

Unless she was truly foolish beyond saving.

Qi Guipin glanced at Su Jieyu and saw that when she mentioned Consort De, there was no trace of resentment in her expression. For a moment, she couldn’t even say what she was feeling.

Shaking her head, she coldly refused,

“Those whose paths differ cannot work together. Su Jieyu, find someone else.”

Su Jieyu’s expression changed. She had not expected Qi Guipin to be so utterly unmoved. She blocked her way, unable to keep the irritation from her voice.

“Can it be that you’re willing to just stand by and watch the little princess call someone else ‘Mother Consort’?”

Qi Guipin halted in her steps and said coldly, “I am not willing, but I also know that working with Consort De is nothing but seeking skin from a tiger. In the end, you wouldn’t even know how you died!”

Hearing this, Su Jieyu frowned.

Consort De was already dead, was Qi Guipin really still so wary of her?

Su Jieyu felt a bit dismissive in her heart, but said directly, “As long as Yun Si remains in the palace, neither you nor I will have our day in the sun. Surely Qi Guipin will not be content with things as they are.”

“And besides me, who else in this palace would help you?”

Qi Guipin’s steps came to a halt.

Tong Yun glanced at her mistress and frowned. She knew the little princess was her mistress’s sore spot, if it involved the little princess, her mistress would act even if there was risk.

The way she was acting now was nothing more than a show for Su Jieyu.

Sure enough, Qi Guipin stood there for a long time, seemingly hesitating. After a while, she lifted her eyes to Su Jieyu.

“You and I can work together, but not Consort De.”

Su Jieyu agreed without the slightest hesitation. “Fine.”

After all, Consort De was dead, and what she needed was only the network of contacts in Consort De’s hands. Her cooperation with Consort De had been solely to remove the imperial heir in Yun Si’s belly.

Seeing her agree so readily, Qi Guipin quietly grew more wary of her. After a moment, when the two had sat down calmly, Qi Guipin asked,

“What is your plan?”

Su Jieyu. “Naturally, to get rid of Yun Si.”

What she wanted had never been the same as Consort De’s, she had always aimed to get rid of far more than just the imperial heir in Yun Si’s belly.

Wasn’t that obvious nonsense?
What she was asking for was the plan.

Qi Guipin swallowed her irritation.

“How will you get rid of her?”

She added, “And once Yun Si is gone, what can you bring me?”

Who would have thought that after she spoke, Su Jieyu would only reply with a trace of sarcasm.

“Of course, I’ll help you get rid of Meng Xiurong. Without her adoptive mother, the little princess should return to her birth mother’s side. As for the rest, must I teach you how to compete for favor?”

Qi Guipin’s face darkened slightly. She couldn’t be bothered to respond to that remark. With Yun Si gone from above her, how to vie for favor would indeed be her own concern.

Once they had settled on their cooperation, Qi Guipin asked again,

“You cooperated with Consort De, there’s no way she gave you no instructions at all. What was her plan?”

She deliberately emphasized the latter part. She had never been asking about Su Jieyu. Once she knew it was Consort De who had sent Su Jieyu to her, many thoughts had crossed Qi Guipin’s mind.

Consort De knew full well that after they had torn their faces with each other, there was no way Qi Guipin would trust her again.

So, through Su Jieyu’s mouth, Consort De had told her many things, the most important being this: the person before her was the perfect scapegoat.

Qi Guipin gave Su Jieyu a long, deep look. The words she had blurted out at the start were not wrong.

Su Jieyu’s cooperation with Consort De, and her delusion of using Consort De, was nothing but a path to her own destruction.

As for her display of resistance toward Consort De, that was merely to put Su Jieyu at ease. After all, in Su Jieyu’s eyes, only if her two partners were at odds with each other could she maintain balance between them and reap the benefits from both sides.

Su Jieyu lowered her voice and laid out Consort De’s entire plan in full detail.

After listening, Qi Guipin could not help but feel a chill in her heart. Consort De was truly ruthless, she had never intended for Su Jieyu to survive from the very beginning.

Lowering her gaze slightly, she frowned and said,

“I understand. I will cooperate with you.”

With that, Qi Guipin did not linger long in Qingyu Courtyard and soon returned to Changchun Palace.

When Qi Guipin was leaving Qingyu Courtyard, the main doors of Yongning Palace were wide open. Liu Gui peeked her head out, and upon clearly seeing Qi Guipin, she was a little surprised.

She turned and hurried back into the inner hall, almost tripping over her own feet, and before she had even caught her breath, she pointed outside and said,

“Your Ladyship, this servant just saw Qi Guipin coming out of Qingyu Courtyard!”

With the look of someone who had just uncovered a great secret, she could not resist gossiping.
“Your Ladyship, do you think they might be plotting something in secret?”

Consort Jing paused her needlework, her gaze darkening as she asked,

“Are you certain you did not see wrong?”

Liu Gui was a bit indignant. “How could this servant possibly be mistaken?”

Consort Jing frowned.
What good could possibly come from those two getting together?

She took a deep breath, then suddenly broke into a coughing fit, startling Liu Gui into quickly patting her back to help her catch her breath.
After a long while, Consort Jing rasped in a hoarse voice, “Send the news to Chu’an Palace.”

Liu Gui hesitated a little. “Will she be unhappy about it?”

Xi Xiurong had made it clear she did not want too much entanglement with her lady.

Consort Jing closed her eyes briefly and said softly,

“She knows what she’s doing.”