Chapter 74: Life Cheaper than Grass

Chapter 74: Life Cheaper than Grass

Seeing Song Zhao's troubled expression, Yunsong suggested,

"My mistress must be shocked by today’s events and still hasn’t recovered. I have a soothing soup simmering in the small kitchen; would you like a bowl?"

Song Zhao nodded faintly, then instructed her, "Also send some to Consort Yao, she was frightened too."

Yunsong readily agreed and left. As soon as she was out the door, Xiao Fuzi whispered to Song Zhao,

"Mistress, it seems there’s more to this incident than meets the eye."

"The Empress..." Song Zhao murmured, gazing blankly out the window, her slender fingers tapping the table, making a 'thud thud' sound.

Xiao Fuzi said, "The Empress and Consort Chen have been at odds for a long time. Since Consort Chen regained favor, she has been increasingly dismissive of the Empress. It’s possible that the Empress wanted to use Xiao Chang’s hand to eliminate Consort Chen. I didn’t expect the Empress, who usually seems so calm and composed, to harbor such intentions behind her peaceful facade..."

Xiao Fuzi grew more enthusiastic as he spoke, gradually losing his restraint.

Song Zhao raised her eyebrows and glanced at him, cutting him off, and said solemnly:

"The Empress, as the central consort, is not someone we should speculate about. And with just the matter of the realgar wine, what can you accuse her of? She suffers from cold and heart ailments; realgar wine warms the body and promotes blood circulation. The Empress using it in her warming flask is not a matter to be scrutinized."

"I misspoke, my mistress, please don't be offended." Xiao Fuzi gestured as if slapping his mouth, not daring to speculate further.

Song Zhao didn't continue to blame him but changed the subject, "Go and prepare some realgar wine for me. With the snake incident in the palace, I'd be lying if I said I wasn't afraid."

She closed her eyes slightly, inhaling deeply the scent of the realgar wine that had been sprinkled around the chamber,

"I think Yunsong's method is quite good."

It was indeed peculiar about Song Zhao,

On one hand, she praised Yunsong's method and asked Xiao Fuzi to prepare realgar wine,

Yet in a blink, she ordered Zhihua and Xiyin to open all doors and windows of the sleeping chamber, complaining she couldn't stand the smell and wanted it dispersed.

After drinking the soothing soup, the scent in the room had mostly dissipated.

Just as she was thinking of taking a short rest, a palace servant reported that Xiao Jingxuan had arrived.

Before Song Zhao could rise to greet him, Xiao Jingxuan had already entered the western side hall.

Song Zhao met him at the door and quickly knelt to greet him, "Peace to Your Majesty."

Xiao Jingxuan, as usual, took her hand to help her up, "Haven't I said that when we are in private, there's no need for so much formality?"

Song Zhao naturally intertwined her fingers with Xiao Jingxuan's, looking up at him with joy in her eyes, she asked,

"What brings Your Majesty here at this time?"

"Were you frightened today?" Xiao Jingxuan tightened his grip on Song Zhao's hand, his eyes warm and tender.

Song Zhao pursed her lips, nodding with a hint of fear, "Seeing the venomous snake so fierce, and Baoxia's death was truly tragic..."

Xiao Jingxuan comforted her, "The most important thing is that you are safe."

Song Zhao had anticipated Xiao Jingxuan’s visit early on, which is why she had dispersed the scent of the realgar wine from the inner chamber in advance.

The fragrance emanating from the warming flask held by the Empress today was definitely not only noticed by Song Zhao.

If any indiscreet consort also suspected the Empress and rashly informed Xiao Jingxuan, he would naturally recall having smelled the same scent in Song Zhao’s palace earlier.

With the Emperor’s inscrutable mind, who knows if he would think Song Zhao was indirectly hinting at a problem with the Empress?

Song Zhao did not want to ruin the innocent and pure image she had carefully cultivated in front of Xiao Jingxuan.

However, the fact that the Empress's warming flask contained realgar wine was definitely something Song Zhao intended to spread.

But certainly not to Xiao Jingxuan.

As the two sat together on the warm seat, Xiao Jingxuan explained,

"When Jiang Deshun reported this matter to me, he was rather unclear. He only mentioned that a snake was found in the Mei Garden and had bitten a palace maid to death. I initially thought it was negligence on the part of the Floral and Faunal Service. The ministers were discussing matters with me, so I dismissed him to handle the situation. I didn't expect that both you and Consort Chen were involved."

As Xiao Jingxuan spoke, Song Zhao pondered silently,

"Who is Jiang Deshun?"

He is the chief eunuch serving by Xiao Jingxuan's side, the most experienced servant in the entire palace.

Now that Song Zhao is highly favored by the Emperor, and Consort Chen traditionally enjoys supreme favor in the palace,

If Jiang Deshun knew that these two, who were so dear to Xiao Jingxuan's heart, had nearly encountered danger, how could he have kept it a secret?

The only possibility then is that even he was not aware of the full situation.

Most likely, Shuangruo, from the Empress's side, downplayed the situation when reporting to the Emperor, mentioning only the death of a palace maid and omitting other details.

The Empress had her reasons for doing so,

At that time, although Consort Chen saw Jiang Deshun arrive, she didn’t see Xiao Jingxuan, and her expression revealed an unmistakable sense of disappointment.

This was precisely the Empress’s intention,

She wanted Consort Chen to feel that Xiao Jingxuan no longer regarded her with the same importance as before,

To make her start feeling insecure again.

Although Song Zhao saw through this, she still had to play the fool in front of Xiao Jingxuan,

She asked Xiao Jingxuan, “Did Your Majesty visit Consort Chen?”

Xiao Jingxuan didn't directly answer her question, merely nodding noncommittally before quickly changing the subject,

"Xiao's actions this time were indeed too malicious. I have consoled her many times regarding her disfigurement, but I didn't expect her to commit such a foolish act."

Song Zhao then asked, “How does Your Majesty plan to deal with her?”

Xiao Jingxuan replied, “Initially, I considered the same fate as Lady Li, but considering her father, Xiao Bin, is also of royal descent and has been diligent and faultless in his service,

Plus, the Empress interceded on her behalf, asking me to consider her troubled state of mind as a momentary lapse leading to this grave error, and to be lenient. Therefore, I have decided to show mercy, sparing her life but confining her to the Cold Palace as a lesson.”

Implicitly, Xiao Jingxuan had not only seen Consort Chen but also the Empress.

In terms of his priorities, Song Zhao was at best third in his heart.

Nevertheless, she felt quite content,

After all, having only been in the palace for just over three months, compared to the Empress and Consort Chen who had been there for nearly four years, she didn't feel she was at a disadvantage.

More importantly than these rankings, Song Zhao realized something crucial about Xiao Jingxuan,

It seems that in the palace, as long as one gains Xiao Jingxuan's favor, it’s like having a 'get out of jail free' card.

Xiao Jingxuan believed that Consort Chen was responsible for the incident with the broken pipa strings, which not only disfigured Xiao Chang but also damaged the Empress Dowager’s relic, a grave crime.

Yet, because it was Consort Chen, Xiao Jingxuan merely ignored her for a month, without any symbolic punishment.

In contrast, for Xiao Chang's mistake, he could so lightly decide to send her to the Cold Palace?

Recall the days when Xiao Chang captured the Emperor’s heart with her Kunqu opera skills, she too was once favored and treated differently by Xiao Jingxuan.

Now, having lost her singing voice and disfigured,

Even though she was once a favored beauty, she could be cast aside in an instant, her life deemed more worthless than grass...