Chapter 9: The Play

Chapter 9: The Play

The first month of the first year of Jianzhao passed in a flash. The court was busy preparing for the imperial examinations, scheduled for April for the provincial exams, September for the metropolitan, and October for the palace exams. Before this, the Ministry of Revenue and Rites had to organize the Grand Selection in March – the Empress, in her wisdom, had requested the Emperor to select new consorts to enrich the royal lineage.

Setting aside the bustling selection preparations in various states and prefectures, back in Yaohua Palace, Jiang Hui finally completed her confinement and was organizing Nian'er’s one-month celebration.

The Emperor, busy with state affairs and Nian'er's frail health, kept the celebration modest, arranging only a feast in the flower hall of Yaohua Palace.

After Nian'er's hair-shaving ceremony, the Empress Dowager and the Emperor left in succession. The weather still being cold, the nanny took Nian'er back to the warm pavilion for care, leaving the other consorts chatting in the hall.

A red sandalwood incense table was placed to one side of the hall, with incense sticks, an incense spoon, and a small green-glazed Suanni incense burner on it. Inside the burner, incense coals were lit, separated from the flame by mica, silver leaves, and sand, with a small piece of agarwood placed in. The gentle, serene, and sweet fragrance of the agarwood smoke slowly rose from the intricately carved top of the burner.

Consort Jia held the second princess, nearly half a year old, in her arms. The infant was awake, babbling curiously, her clear black eyes reflecting the objects in the hall. Suddenly, for some reason, she began to cry.

“Why is she crying?” the Empress asked. “Is she hungry or did she wet her diaper?”

“Perhaps she's hungry,” Consort Jia replied softly, patting the swaddled baby in her arms and handing her to the wet nurse following behind, “Nanny Zhou, take Yan'er down for feeding.”

The Empress, more experienced than anyone else in the room, chuckled, “Children are so precious, crying and laughing in turns, growing up in the blink of an eye.”

The others echoed in agreement.

Consort Jia took a sip of tea from her delicate blue-and-white porcelain cup and smiled, “The tea here at Sister Jiang's place is wonderful, and the fragrance is so refreshing. I don’t know much about these things, what kind of incense is this?”

Jiang Hui, while sipping her tea, subtly scanned the room, then set down her cup and smiled faintly, “It's been a long time since I burned incense. The girls here have become unpracticed; it’s not as good as you say.”

After a pause, she added, “Today's incense is agarwood. Sister Hu, if you like it, I’ll send some with you later.”

"Then I shall accept it with gratitude," Consort Jia said with a smile.

However, Xu Xiuyuan commented, “This agarwood is a treasure offered from the south. The Emperor specially bestowed it to Sister Noble Consort. Consort Jia, you shouldn’t ask for it.”

The room fell silent for a moment, with the Empress sitting at the head, showing no intention to join the conversation.

Consort Jia turned her head with an unchanged smile but her tone was cold, “If Sister Xiuyuan likes it, she can also ask the Emperor for some.”

Just as Xu Xiuyuan was about to respond, the laughter of a young girl echoed from the doorway –

“Mother! Look at the flower!” The eldest princess, dressed in bright red, ran in excitedly holding a magnolia branch, followed by a string of palace maids cautioning, “Be careful, Princess!”

The Empress immediately broke into a smile, embracing the child who bumped into her arms, tenderly asking, “Where did Wuan pick this from?”

The eldest princess lifted her head from the Empress’s embrace, seemingly remembering she hadn’t yet greeted the room. She quickly paid her respects to everyone before sweetly saying to Jiang Hui, “I picked it from your garden, Noble Consort. I only took one branch, not too many.”

“If the Princess wishes, she can pick as many as she likes,” Jiang Hui replied with a smile. The garden in Yaohua Palace was beautifully maintained. Besides the peach grove near the Lock Moon Pond outside the palace gate, there was a separate garden inside, which was especially pleasing to the eye now in spring.

After some playful interaction with the eldest princess, the charming young girl suddenly remembered something and asked Consort Jia, “I saw my brother today, but why didn’t I see my sister?”

“Your sister was hungry and is being fed,” Consort Jia replied with a smile.

Time was indeed getting late. After a few more words, everyone gradually took their leave. The Empress, however, was pulled by the eldest princess to the warm pavilion to see her brother and stayed a little longer before finally returning to Fengyi Palace in her phoenix carriage.

Jiang Hui sat pensively by the window.

The mastermind behind this must have some knowledge about her, knowing her fondness for fragrances. However, they likely didn't anticipate that she would stop burning incense during her pregnancy. Thus, they resorted to using the incense burner. Now that she had successfully given birth, they should realize that the cinnabar in the incense had been ineffective.

If she were this mastermind, she would have already started to suspect whether her scheme had been exposed. Seeing the incense burner today, there are only two possibilities:

One is that Jiang Hui hasn’t yet noticed the trickery involved and will resume using incense as usual after her confinement. Considering the dosage of cinnabar in the incense burner, it wouldn’t cause immediate harm, so there’s no need for panic.

The other is that Jiang Hui has already discovered the ploy, and blatantly using this incense burner now is merely a test for everyone.

Therefore, regardless of the outcome, the person behind this will surely act as if nothing is amiss.

Reflecting on the day’s events, only Xu Xiuyuan's expression seemed slightly unusual. Based on Jiang Hui’s years of understanding her, it’s more likely due to irritation and displeasure towards Consort Jia of Fuyang Palace, rather than knowledge about the incense burner.

Stone Beauty remained impassive, silently drinking tea the whole time, eventually leaving with Xu Xiuyuan to return to Guangyang Palace.

The Empress behaved as usual, showing no urgency even when the eldest princess lingered for a long time, as if truly unaware of anything.

If the news hadn't leaked from Yao Hua Palace about her asking her mother to commission a duplicate incense burner, then the most likely suspect would be...

Jiang Hui's eyes sharpened, whispering softly, "Consort Jia, Hu Shi."

Hu Shi was granted to Emperor Xiao by the previous emperor, just like her, but one as a side consort and the other as Cheng Hui.

Jiang Hui had the backing of royal relatives and Ning Yuan Marquis, while Hu Shi was the daughter of a Hanlin scholar, her father not prominent in rank but renowned for his respect for learning and virtue.

Both entered the Eastern Palace together and, facing the well-established Crown Princess Wang Shi and Lady Xu, naturally grew closer. Although not particularly intimate, their tacit understanding in cooperation was evident.

However, it seems that this understanding had already vanished during the time they both became pregnant, one after the other.

After sitting silently for a while, Jiang Hui quietly called Qiu Qiu to whisper a few instructions. With a grave expression, Qiu Qiu nodded earnestly and left immediately for Jian Zhang Palace.

About half an hour later, she said to Wan Meng, "Go invite Physician Liu. Tell him I'm feeling unwell."

*

Upon entering the hall, Physician Liu's gaze instantly fell on the elegantly seated Consort Jiang on the soft couch, and then to the familiar-looking green-glazed Suanni incense burner on the side table, which was intact.

His eyelids twitched as he stepped forward to greet her and begin his consultation.

It was the same old rhetoric about needing gradual recuperation due to depleted vitality. Jiang Hui listened quietly until he finished, her eyes fixed on the incense burner, then asked, "Physician Liu, if I inadvertently inhaled something I shouldn't have, what symptoms would I exhibit?"

Following her gaze, Physician Liu looked towards the incense burner, paused, then bowed deeply and said:

"Based on the dosage in this incense burner, if used for a short period, there usually are no symptoms; for a longer duration, symptoms like headache, fatigue, nausea, abdominal pain, drowsiness, and fever may appear; if more severe, it could lead to fainting, hysteria, and even life-threatening conditions."

"I happen to have a headache, feel weak, and nauseous today. Please prescribe something, Physician Liu."

Physician Liu bowed even lower and complied with a yes.

After the physician left, Wan Meng cautiously asked, "Madam, should we extinguish the incense?"

"No, let it burn. For the next few days, we'll use this incense burner to burn incense daily."

Although Wan Meng understood Jiang Hui's intentions, she curiously asked, "Madam, why not directly inform His Majesty and let him punish the culprit?"

"His Majesty?" Jiang Hui added a small piece of agarwood to the incense burner, casually remarking, "Apart from this incense burner in our hands, all other evidence is lost. If we directly report to His Majesty, I'm afraid the ones to suffer would be Xiaolin Zi from the Imperial Household Department and Shi Meiren."

In Guangyang Palace's Huazhen Hall, Xu Xiu Yuan laughed, clapping her hands. Her beauty was second only to Jiang Hui in the palace. Her eyes narrowed into crescents when she smiled, exuding charm.

The chief maid Haitang commented, "With so few mistresses in the palace, we thought once the Consort left confinement, she would share much favor, but unexpectedly—"

"—Unexpectedly, she's so unimpressive," said Xu Xiu Yuan, sitting in front of a dressing case, gazing at her own lovely reflection in the bronze mirror, murmuring, "Even if she received His Majesty's visits during her confinement, she's still unable to truly serve him."

The blunt statement made Haitang lower her head.

"It's just a pity that since I entered Prince Cheng's mansion in Qian Ning year twenty-seven, it's been four or five years without any good news," lamented Xu Xiu Yuan, gently stroking her abdomen, her tone melancholic.

"Madam, the physicians have examined you and said you're in good health. It's just a matter of fate," comforted Haitang.

“Why does everyone else have opportunities but not me?” Xu Xiuyuan complained irritably. “Why do the Empress, Jiang, and even Hu have them, but I don’t?”

She was proud of her appearance and always looked down on Consort Jia for her merely attractive looks, disregarding Jiang Hui for the time being.

Moreover, Consort Hu, who used to be inferior to her in the Eastern Palace, was now a second-rank consort, while she herself was just a third-rank Xiuyuan, not even the chief of the nine concubines.

Before Haitang could respond, Xu Xiuyuan had already composed herself, changing her tone, “Go call Peony to do my makeup. The evening scenery by Taiye Pond is pleasant; let’s go have a look.”

Haitang knew this meant they were going to 'coincidentally' meet the Emperor and hurriedly agreed.