Chapter 099: The Butterfly Effect

The Puxiang Hall and Consort Wen.

Jiang Xuening knew about the Puxiang Hall, but she had no impression of Consort Wen. Judging by her rank, she wasn’t very high in the harem, so what trouble could she cause?

Thinking in this direction led to no clues.

On her way back to Yangzhi Zhai, she felt that this matter was of great importance and racked her brains, forcing herself to think in another direction: What major event happened around this time in her previous life?

The biggest event was the confiscation of the Yongyi Marquis’s estate.

At that time, after returning from the marquis’s estate, she was so frightened that she fell seriously ill and was bedridden for several days. During this period, only Prince Linzi, Shen Jie, occasionally remembered her and sent someone to check on her.

When she recovered, she heard that someone had broken into the imperial prison in the capital, and the emperor was furious, punishing many officials in the capital, and many ministers met their deaths.

Was there anything else?

For example, why did Shen Lang suddenly become furious after several days had passed? It had snowed a few days ago, and the weather had already turned cold. The palace paths were silent.

Only her light footsteps echoed.

As her thoughts turned, a flash of lightning crossed her mind, and Jiang Xuening, who had been walking forward, suddenly stopped, her eyes widening: Besides the rebels breaking into the imperial prison, during her illness, there seemed to be another incident in the palace that, while not significant in other dynasties, was certainly not small during Shen Lang’s reign…

*

Back at Yangzhi Zhai, everyone was already preparing for the afternoon’s plum blossom and snow viewing.

This time, Jiang Xuening wasn’t ill, so she couldn’t use illness as an excuse not to go.

So she had to dress in plain clothes, tie on a pink and blue cloak, and blend in with the crowd, neither too conspicuous nor too shabby.

Her expression was the same as usual.

Those who had not been under the same roof with her for long couldn’t tell anything was amiss.

But Jiang Xuehui, being her sister, had some understanding of her despite their usual conflicts. Somehow, she felt that Jiang Xuening’s face was shrouded in a shadow. On the way to the plum garden, she turned to look at her three times, her brows slightly furrowed, but considering their relationship, she ultimately didn’t ask.

Jiang Xuening was happy to be left alone.

The plum garden was planted with various plum blossoms, which were now in full bloom.

The snow from a few days ago had not yet melted, piled under the plum trees, creating a beautiful scene of blue sky, white snow, and red plums.

Led by Empress Dowager Xiao, most of the people in the harem had arrived.

In the Snow Viewing Pavilion at the southeast corner of the plum garden, most of the companions from Yangzhi Zhai, after being in the palace for so long, finally saw the emperor’s harem and the emperor’s concubines for the first time.

At the head sat Empress Dowager Xiao.

Below was Empress Zheng, who had dressed up meticulously, and below her were the concubines, each more exquisitely beautiful than the last. They were all stunning beauties, some cold and charming, others lazy and graceful, with various postures. Some spoke in low, soft voices, while others were cheerful and straightforward.

At first glance, it was truly enviable.

The emperor’s harem, with its numerous concubines, could indeed be said to enjoy the blessings of many.

When Jiang Xuening looked up, she couldn’t help but frown slightly, feeling a bit disdainful. Prince Linzi, Shen Jie, was not a man of indulgence, but his elder brother Shen Lang, when he was in power, was quite the hedonist. A minister once couldn’t stand it and submitted a memorial advising him to “restrain from indulgence,” but Shen Lang, instead of listening, became angry and soon found an excuse to transfer the minister out of the capital.

No wonder it was difficult for him to have offspring.

Fortunately, he had a younger brother, Shen Jie, with whom he had a good relationship since childhood, almost like a father figure. Shen Jie was also obedient, so the rumors in the court had always been that if the emperor had no offspring, his younger brother would be made the heir to silence the public.

Jiang Xuening didn’t recognize many of these concubines.

Based on her limited interactions in her previous life, she only knew that the one sitting to the right of the empress, wearing a luxurious headpiece and looking somewhat lazy, was the favored Consort Qin. Below her were Consort Shu and Consort Xian, but she didn’t recognize those of lower rank.

Let alone Consort Wen.

Remembering Zheng Bao’s warning, she intentionally fell behind when entering to pay respects with the others, and after the ceremony, she naturally took a seat at the end, keeping her distance from the concubines.

Xiao Shu glanced at her discreetly.

Jiang Xuening pretended not to notice.

After the companions entered, the concubines looked at these young girls with varying expressions. Empress Zheng, who was not very favored, was the most natural and kind, having seen many newcomers replace old ones in the palace. Moreover, these young girls were not entering the harem but were companions, so she was the most approachable and even brought up another matter: “Recently, His Majesty mentioned to me about selecting a consort for Prince Linzi. He said the prince is still young and it’s time for him to settle down and become more stable. Both the prince and His Majesty are sons of the Empress Dowager, so this time it seems we need to carefully consider this matter.”

Today, Empress Dowager Xiao no longer had the gloomy expression she had in recent days. After all, the recent events in the court had all gone her way, so she was in high spirits and looked much younger.

Empress Zheng’s words were meant to please her.

The selection of a consort for Prince Linzi meant he would settle down, which was naturally good news for Empress Dowager Xiao as a mother. So, she didn’t criticize Empress Zheng but smiled and said, “Although the Ministry of Rites is in charge of the selection, how can men understand marriage better than women? The empress manages the harem and interacts with the noblewomen, so you should also keep an eye out for the prince.”

Empress Zheng was somewhat flattered and quickly said, “I will do my best and hope the prince finds a suitable consort.”

Consort Qin, holding a delicate hand warmer, lazily glanced at the companions in the corner and teased, “Why go to so much trouble? Aren’t the most talented and beautiful girls in the capital sitting right there? I think the selection of companions by the princess was a wise move, saving the trouble of another selection. Perhaps our future Princess Linzi is among them.”

Such words could only be spoken by someone favored.

After she spoke, Empress Dowager Xiao’s gaze fell on her and then on the companions, but she remained expressionless: “Who can say for sure? As elders, we can only guide, but the important thing is that he likes her. Alright, don’t just talk with this old woman. Take advantage of the first snow of winter and go enjoy yourselves.”

The topic of selecting a consort for Prince Linzi was thus lightly passed over.

Naturally, no one dared to say more, and they rose in groups to go to the plum garden.

The plum blossoms were in full bloom, making the people among them look even more charming.

Consort Qin, holding a palace maid’s hand, gracefully walked out. A concubine with an oval face in a light purple palace dress, sitting slightly to the side, also stood up and followed her.

Consort Qin then stopped in front of Yao Xi.

She rarely smiled so kindly: “Since you entered the palace, I’ve wanted to talk to you. After all, my mother often mentioned your mother. How is your aunt?”

Yao Xi’s mother and Consort Qin’s mother were cousins. When she first entered the palace, her father had mentioned it, but as the saying goes, “a distant relative is like a stranger,” Yao Xi never dared to be as high-profile as Xiao Shu, given the tenuous family connection.

She never expected that today, for the first time, the most favored consort in the harem would come to her and mention this. She felt a warmth in her heart and quickly bowed, “I recently visited her outside the palace. My mother is in good health, thank you for your concern, Consort Qin.”

At this point, she paused.

Yao Xi looked up and saw the concubine standing next to Consort Qin. After a moment of recollection, her expression turned cold, but she still bowed according to etiquette, “Greetings, Consort Wen.”

Jiang Xuening, who was about to get up and think about where to avoid trouble, heard these three words and her heart skipped a beat. Without thinking, she pulled Fang Miao beside her and said, “Let’s go down and take a look together.”

Fang Miao was stunned.

Jiang Xuening had already pulled Fang Miao out of the Snow Viewing Pavilion without looking back.

Consort Qin, who had just pulled Yao Xi along, glanced around as if she was about to call someone else, but when she turned her head, the seats at the end were already empty, and only two distant figures could be seen descending the steps.

Calling someone now would seem deliberate.

Consort Qin raised her finely drawn eyebrows slightly and glanced at Xiao Shu, who hadn’t left, giving her a helpless look. Then, without missing a beat, she led the slightly timid and silent Consort Wen and Yao Xi out.

Fang Miao, who had been pulled along by Jiang Xuening for a while, hadn’t fully recovered and couldn’t help but look back. Her eyes showed some thought, and she leaned closer to Jiang Xuening and asked, “Are you afraid someone will harm you?”

Jiang Xuening paused, her pupils shrinking.

Fang Miao played with an old copper coin in her fingers, smiled proudly, and said, “Isn’t that how things are in the palace? You offended the Empress Dowager badly when they searched Yangzhi Zhai, and now it’s a bunch of women in the harem. If I were you, I’d stay far away too.”

So she didn’t know.

Jiang Xuening relaxed, pushed aside a drooping plum branch, and smiled, “You know my situation hasn’t been good lately. Better safe than sorry.”

Fang Miao nodded in agreement, “That’s true.”

Fang Miao had also put in some effort to be selected as a companion in the palace, but it was to compete with her sisters at home, to gain some prestige, and to be able to say she had been a companion to the princess when she got married, which would be impressive.

But she never intended to stay in the palace.

In occasions like this with the harem concubines, she, like Jiang Xuening, didn’t want to stand out and preferred to stay away from trouble. So she was happy to walk around with Jiang Xuening and not join the concubines.

After more than half an hour, the plum garden was filled with laughter, and nothing had happened.

Jiang Xuening thought she might have been overthinking.

How could such things happen in broad daylight? That would be too obvious.

However, just as this thought crossed her mind, a series of exclamations suddenly came from the southwest corner of the plum garden, followed by someone shouting—

“Mouse, mouse!!!”

“Your Highness, are you alright?”

“Miss Yao, how could you be so careless…”

The palace maids’ screams were clear, and everyone in the plum garden heard them, looking towards the source of the sound in confusion.

Jiang Xuening exchanged a glance with Fang Miao.

They followed the crowd from a distance and saw that it was Consort Qin, Consort Wen, and Yao Xi. They had probably seen a mouse while admiring the plum blossoms and were quite frightened. The slender Consort Wen had even fallen into the snow, and the palace maids were helping her up. Consort Qin frowned and lightly scolded Yao Xi.

Yao Xi opened her mouth, looking surprised and wanting to explain, but seeing Consort Qin, she didn’t say anything and stood aside, looking a bit flustered.

Seeing the palace maids helping Consort Wen, she also wanted to help.

Consort Wen, who wasn’t of high rank in the harem, saw that Consort Qin treated Yao Xi well and smiled, “Miss Yao, don’t blame yourself. Everyone gets scared sometimes. I’m fine.”

Hearing this, Yao Xi breathed a sigh of relief.

However, just as Consort Wen stood up, her face turned pale, and she seemed to feel some discomfort in her abdomen, clutching her stomach.

The palace maids were startled, “What’s wrong, Consort Wen?”

Consort Wen looked confused, “My abdomen feels a bit uncomfortable…”

She hadn’t realized it yet, but the surrounding concubines’ expressions had already changed.

Everyone looked at each other, but no one spoke.

Consort Wen held the maid’s hand a bit tighter, and the discomfort seemed to lessen. She smiled again, “It’s nothing serious. Let’s continue admiring the plum blossoms.”

Jiang Xuehui, walking with Zhou Baoying and others, saw this and couldn’t help but say, “Consort Wen fell and her clothes are wet and muddy. It’s cold and windy, even a strong person can’t withstand it. You should go back to the palace, change into warm clothes, and have the imperial physician check you and drink some hot soup before continuing to admire the snow.” She looked at Consort Wen seriously.

Consort Wen seemed to realize something, shivered slightly, and shrank back, looking at Consort Qin, “This lady is right. I forgot. I’ll go back to the palace to change and come back. Excuse me.”

Everyone quickly expressed their concern and urged her to go back.

Jiang Xuening watched Consort Wen’s departing figure, feeling a chill in her heart.

Sure enough, not long after Consort Wen left, a young eunuch hurriedly ran into the plum garden, wiping the cold sweat from his forehead, and reported, “Something terrible has happened! Reporting to the Empress Dowager and the Empress, Consort Wen has seen blood, and the imperial physician has diagnosed that she is pregnant!”

The entire Snow Viewing Pavilion was filled with the sound of gasps.

Yao Xi turned pale and accidentally knocked over the cups on the table.

However, no one noticed her loss of composure.

*

The events of the previous life and this life had indeed matched up again.

However, the feeling of hearing about it and experiencing it firsthand was completely different.

In her previous life, Jiang Xuening had only heard by chance that a low-ranking concubine in the harem had a miscarriage after she fell ill. Shen Lang was furious when he found out and took his anger out on many people in the court, dismissing officials at the slightest provocation, which caused much criticism among the ministers.

But she didn’t know who this concubine was.

In this life, she had almost witnessed it firsthand. Thinking back to Consort Qin bringing Consort Wen to call on Yao Xi earlier, she felt a chill run down her spine.

With such an incident, the plum blossom and snow viewing was naturally canceled.

When everyone returned to Yangzhi Zhai, no one spoke.

Yao Xi, who had been cold and sarcastic towards Jiang Xuening for days, now sat dazed as if her soul had been taken away, not speaking for a long time. Chen Shuyi came to comfort her gently, and she covered her face with her hands and cried in fear, saying, “I don’t know, it wasn’t me who bumped into her, someone bumped into me from behind… It’s not my fault…”

Who didn’t know that the current emperor, Shen Lang, had few offspring?

He was almost thirty and had no children.

There wasn’t even a prince in the harem. The concubines were all trying their best to give birth to the emperor’s firstborn son, hoping that if the emperor was in a good mood, he might make the child the heir, and they would rise in status and power.

But there was no movement in their bellies.

Now there were indeed rumors in the court about making Prince Linzi the crown prince, but nothing was finalized. If a prince were born, things would definitely change.

And now this happened with Consort Wen!

If the emperor found out…

Yao Xi trembled at the thought and cried even louder.

Xiao Shu frowned and said, “How could you be so careless?”

Someone else comforted, “Let’s wait for news and see if Consort Wen is alright.”

Jiang Xuening remained silent, knowing the answer from her previous life: eventually, Shen Jie ascended the throne, and she had indeed heard rumors in the harem that Consort Wen’s child was not saved.

Jiang Xuehui seemed somewhat sympathetic and sighed softly.

No one spoke after that.

The only sound in Yangzhi Zhai was Yao Xi’s sorrowful and fearful crying, which made everyone uneasy.

As dusk approached, a palace maid who had gone to inquire about the news finally returned.

Xiao Shu immediately stood up and asked, “How is it?”

Jiang Xuening also looked over.

The palace maid, panting and with a look of excitement and relief, said, “The baby is safe! The imperial physician said it was discovered early, and the cold wasn’t severe. Fortunately, nothing serious happened, but she needs to be very careful from now on!”

What?!

The baby is safe…

Jiang Xuening’s mind buzzed, and she felt an indescribable sensation. She turned to look at Jiang Xuehui—

It wasn’t that she didn’t sympathize with Consort Wen.

But the shock at this moment far exceeded her expectations. She hadn’t even considered that Consort Wen’s child could be saved!

It was only then that she realized: this life and the previous life were vastly different. In her previous life, after entering the palace as a companion, she didn’t know she had Xiao Shu as a potential rival, didn’t fit in, and didn’t become friends with Shen Zhiyi, so Jiang Xuehui never entered the palace! In her previous life, during the plum blossom viewing, Jiang Xuehui wasn’t there; but in this life, she was, and she suggested that Consort Wen return early to see the imperial physician…

Everything was different, completely different!

If Consort Wen’s child was saved, if the child was born safely, and if it was a boy, then everything that happened from now on would be drastically different from the previous life!

Previous

Next