Chapter 130: Demotion

Chapter 130: Demotion

Yan Ran made a simple and unadorned journey to a villa on the outskirts of the city. The steward received her and said, "The master hasn't given any instructions on how to settle the girl he brought back. I really don't know how to make a decision."

"I came here for her sake. Let's wait until I've seen her to make a decision," Yan Ran said calmly.

Li Si had told Yan Ran that this girl, named Hongyu, was petite, delicate, and lovely. At a young age, she was already clever and charming. Yan Ran had a goal that required a suitable girl to marry into a certain family. If Hongyu had good potential, she could be trained for this purpose. As soon as she heard about it, she rushed over to see for herself.

As she was about to become an Imperial Noble Consort, it was time to promote more capable people among the noble ladies.

Upon entering the backyard, Yan Ran saw a thirteen or fourteen-year-old girl in the main room. Despite her youth, her simple attire and natural beauty were captivating. No wonder she was valued at two hundred taels of silver.

Seeing a richly dressed young woman approach, Hongyu, feeling uneasy, cautiously inquired who she was.

Yan Ran sized her up. Though Hongyu was a courtesan, she did not carry the usual vulgarity associated with such girls. Indeed, her husband had mentioned that Hongyu's father, a gambling addict, had sold her for fifty taels to settle his debts. After a year and a half of training, she was about to be sold when Li Si bought her just in time.

Not having been completely corrupted by the trade, Hongyu was still pure in body and spirit.

Yan Ran stayed at the villa for several days, spending time with Hongyu both day and night. Out of gratitude for being saved from a life of degradation, Hongyu served Yan Ran like a maid, without a trace of resentment.

Satisfied with her temperament and character, Yan Ran decided to cultivate her as a trusted aide.

Over the past two years, Yan Ran had trained many people, teaching them poetry, the rules of official families, marital relationships, household management, and more. There were people to teach Hongyu these skills. Hongyu studied diligently, knowing that the better she learned, the more useful she could be, which would benefit both herself and her benefactors.

While guiding Hongyu, Yan Ran also exchanged information with Fan Xueyao, working together to arrange Hongyu's background and lineage. Given Hongyu's exceptional qualities, a commoner background would be a waste. However, an official background was not easily attainable, so Fan Xueyao had to use her network of connections.

The more Yan Ran taught Hongyu, the more she regretted the situation. Hongyu was extremely intelligent, particularly skilled in abacus calculations and handling affairs. If she had been born into a better family, her future could have been bright.

After some time of guidance and training, Hongyu was no longer as shy as before.

She smiled and said, "I was unfortunate before, but maybe I've used up all my bad luck, and the good luck is reserved for the latter part of my life." If not for her benefactors, she would never have been able to leave the brothel with dignity, let alone become a legitimate wife. And to be the wife of an official? That would have been unthinkable.

Even if her father hadn't sold her into the brothel, when she grew older, he would have sold her to the highest bidder as a concubine. Her birth parents gave her life, but her benefactors gave her a new lease on life.

Yan Ran sighed. Why were there so many unkind and foolish parents in the world? Like her, she had been sold by her parents. At that time, she had an older brother, but her parents chose to sell her to make money. She had almost ended up in a brothel, but fortunately, the lady needed a maid, and the broker brought her to the Fan family first. Otherwise, who knows what her fate would be now?

It was a narrow escape, a world apart.

After becoming pregnant, Fan Xueyao began to reduce the frequency of her outings. She had rarely gone out before, and now it was even rarer. Although she found staying in the palace stuffy, it was dangerous both inside and outside.

Whether in the palace or outside, there were many who saw her as a thorn in their side. If someone was truly intent on harming her, it would be impossible to guard against it.

In this era, righteousness, wealth, family, and gratitude were all reasons for people to sacrifice their lives. If the attacker was willing to die to harm her, no matter how many people were around her, there would always be a way.

So, for safety reasons, she decided to go out less. Now that she was pregnant, there was no need to go out and invite jealousy. Observing the women in the palace, though they appeared harmonious on the surface, some secretly wished for her demise. Those with kinder hearts hoped she would fall out of favor.

One morning, Hua Ping went to the kitchen to fetch the breakfast. After breakfast, she served Fan Xueyao as she washed up again and said, "Just now, when I went to the kitchen, they were trying to catch a rat, causing quite a commotion, but failed to catch it."

Fan Xueyao was surprised, "Are there rats in the palace?"

"Yes, lately, with the abundance of food prepared in the palace for the lady's needs, the rats have been attracted by the smell and started digging tunnels to get in," Hua Ping said, shaking her head. In the civilian world, one could buy rat poison to deal with rats, but in the palace, such poisons were not allowed.

Fan Xueyao nodded, not too concerned, and said, "Then go to the animal house and get a cat to catch the mice." They couldn't use poison in the palace, which she knew. But a rat infestation was also troublesome. After all, rats didn't just damage food and clothes; they also spread many bacteria and diseases.

Keeping cats was very popular at the time, and most people adored them. Upon hearing that the lady wanted to keep a cat to catch mice, Hua Ping happily smiled.

"Then what kind of cat should we get? Female cats are gentle, but they become very restless in spring, and their cries are quite frightening. Male cats are fierce and might not be friendly to people." She hoped to get a gentle and friendly cat if she were to keep one.

The maids chattered excitedly around Fan Xueyao, discussing the details of getting a cat. Fan Xueyao reluctantly agreed to let them decide, as long as the cat could catch mice. Two days later, the Animal House brought several cages to Spreading Fragrance Hall, bringing some of their best cats for them to choose from.

The cages contained cats with various different coats and appearances. Some were adorably chubby, some were lively and naive, and some looked majestic. A pure white cat won everyone's affection. Although Fan Xueyao thought the white cat was too conspicuous and might not be good at catching mice, she didn’t have the heart to disappoint everyone and decided to keep it.

They named the white cat 'Xue'er,' and it made its home in Spreading Fragrance Hall.

Although Xue'er was a mouser, it had been raised by the palace servants in the Animal House and was unafraid of people. As soon as it arrived at Spreading Fragrance Hall, it became familiar with all the girls. Whoever offered it food would get its attention.

The girls were delighted and praised the cat, saying, 'What a well-behaved cat!'

Fan Xueyao had Chun Die and the others sew a cotton cushion onto a large winnowing basket to make a cat bed. Cats loved anything that resembled a nest, and Xue'er slept very peacefully curled up inside. Every day when the sun was strongest, Xue'er would sleep soundly on the railing, by the green bamboo, or on the stool by the door.

After a good nap, it would stretch and go beg for food from Hua Ping and the others who adored it.

Chu Xu was very fond of Xue'er. Every day, he and Xue'er chased each other around the courtyard, running through the flowers and chasing bees and butterflies. When Xue'er nibbled on grass, Chu Xu would try to imitate it, much to the alarm of his wet nurse who quickly stopped him.

The boy and the cat ran around all day, never settling down.

"Xue'er hasn’t caught many mice since it arrived, but it has ruined quite a few flowers," Fan Xueyao said with a sigh, picking up a broken azalea branch from the floor and adjusting her hair ornament.

Hua Ping covered her mouth and giggled, "My lady, you can’t bear to see it go hungry. Every night before bed, you feed it a bowl of fish and chicken rice. Once it’s full, how can you expect it to think about catching mice?"

Having been called out for spoiling Xue'er herself, Fan Xueyao smiled. It was just that Xue'er was very good at begging for food. It would squat in front of people with an eager look, and as soon as it made eye contact, it would pitifully meow. Unless you had a heart of stone, you really couldn’t resist its charm offensive.

Shaking her head, she instructed, "Make sure to keep an eye on the parrots, thrushes, and golden orioles in the corridor. I’ve noticed Xue'er has been eyeing them lately. Don’t let it kill any of those birds."

Hua Ping quickly nodded, "I understand. This cat is quite cunning. The day before yesterday, it even stole a dried fish from the corridor of the kitchen. I don’t know how it managed to jump so high."

Although Xue'er was supposed to be a mouser, it acted more like a pet. Still, with it around, the mice in the kitchen had indeed disappeared. On the other hand, they now had to watch out for the greedy cat.

After waking up, Fan Xueyao scooped water to wet her face and said to Hua Ping, "Today, when I go to the Empress Dowager’s palace, just have the kitchen prepare breakfast as usual."

Every time she went to pay her respects to the Empress Dowager, she only lightly filled her stomach. Recently, it had been drizzling, and because she was pregnant, the Empress Dowager told her not to come for visits. Now that the weather had cleared, she should go. Every morning when she went to pay her respects, the Empress Dowager would offer her some of her own breakfast. If she ate too much, she wouldn’t be able to eat her own meals later.

While the weather was still cool and her belly hadn’t grown too big to hinder her movements, she should visit the Empress Dowager more frequently. In a couple of months, when her belly grew larger, she would visit less. That way, no one could complain.

However, to her surprise, instead of agreeing, Hua Ping said, "My lady, perhaps you shouldn’t go to pay respects to the Empress Dowager today."

Rubbing the finely ground facial paste on her cheeks, Fan Xueyao asked with a muffled voice, "Why?"

"It seems that the prince in Fanyue Palace is not doing well. They called for the Imperial Physician yesterday. It seems both the child and the adults had a restless night. Zhang Meiren lost her temper and the palace maids seemed to have been beaten and were quietly crying. Even the head of the three pavilions in Fanyue Palace didn’t dare to come out this morning, fearing they might attract Zhang Meiren’s attention."

With sympathy in her voice, Hua Ping explained how innocent the maids were. Everyone knew how the prince in Fanyue Palace had fallen ill. Wasn’t it because Zhang Meiren, despite the prince being only a few months old, insisted on taking him to the Empress Dowager’s palace daily against all reason? Especially during these rainy days, when the lady should be resting, Zhang Meiren still took the prince to the Empress Dowager’s palace, using the little prince as an excuse to pay her respects. But a child that young wouldn’t understand anything about filial piety. This kind of behavior can only be described as a desperate bid for favor.

"My lady, it might be better to wait a couple of days until the prince in Fanyue Palace has recovered before going to pay your respects. If Zhang Meiren finds out, she might not have anything nice to say. In her desperation, she might even act rashly and blame you for the prince’s illness."

Zhang Meiren’s actions were unsightly, and Hua Ping was worried that if Fan Xueyao went to pay her respects now, Zhang Meiren might cause trouble.

After all, the prince was sick, and the emperor would surely inquire about it. If it became known how the prince had fallen ill, Zhang Meiren would likely be blamed to some extent. In order to protect herself, Zhang Meiren might try to shift the blame onto Fan Xueyao.

After a moment of careful thought, Fan Xueyao nodded, "Then I won’t go to the Empress Dowager’s palace for the next two days. Just have the kitchen prepare breakfast as usual." It really wasn’t a good time for her to visit the Empress Dowager’s palace. Usually, she would bring Chu Xu along, but if she went now, it might give people the wrong impression, as if she was provoking Zhang Meiren by showing off her and Chu Xu’s harmony compared to Zhang Meiren’s troubled situation.

Moreover, it would put the Empress Dowager in an awkward position. Since the little prince had fallen ill because Zhang Meiren took him for visits, it wouldn’t be appropriate to show too much affection for her and Chu Xu at this time.

But if she went alone without Chu Xu, it would be a less elegant option, and that wouldn’t be ideal. It would be better to wait a few days until the situation calmed down before visiting again.

After scrapping her plan to pay respects at the Empress Dowager's palace, Fan Xueyao proceeded with her morning ablutions and then went to see her son. She helped him wash his face and carefully selected his attire for the day. Once he was dressed, they went to the outer hall to have breakfast together.

Unlike Fan Xueyao's serenity, Zhang Yiyun's side of the palace was buzzing with activity like ants on a hot pan. Her infant prince was only a few months old and wailed incessantly due to his discomfort. His tiny nose was red and raw from constant wiping, and his hoarse cries were unbearable to hear. The medicine prescribed by the Imperial Physician was prepared perfectly, but the little prince refused to take it.

Instead of acknowledging the difficulty—whether the child was too young, the medicine too bitter, or his throat too sore—Zhang Yiyun placed the blame on the wet nurses for their poor care of the prince. It would have been bad enough if she had voiced these complaints privately, but when Emperor Chu Nan made a rare visit to Fanyue Palace upon hearing of the prince's illness, she, fearing his blame, shifted the responsibility onto the wet nurses.

The wet nurses, who were already unhappy with Zhang Yiyun, knew that shouldering this blame might not only result in punishment but also dismissal from the palace. Serving as the prince's wet nurses was a great honor for women of common birth, and none of them were willing to give that up.

Fearing that if they did not defend themselves quickly, the emperor might believe Zhang Yiyun's words, the wet nurses immediately knelt and pleaded, “It is not proper for us to contradict the imperial consort, but this concerns the prince's health, and we cannot bear the consequences should anything go wrong.”

Although Chu Nan favored Chu Xu the most, the prince born to Zhang Yiyun was still his child, and he cared deeply about him. So, despite his general dislike for Zhang Yiyun, he rushed over as soon as he heard the child was ill.

Seeing the sickly child with a flushed face, his tiny nose red and raw from constant wiping, Chu Nan's heart ached. The little prince's hoarse cries only deepened his sympathy. However, when he heard Zhang Yiyun’s persistent complaints about the wet nurses’ poor care causing the prince's illness, his sympathy turned into dissatisfaction.

“What responsibility do you claim you cannot bear?” Chu Nan asked. “You are the ones assigned to care for the prince. Now that he is ill, isn’t this your negligence?”

Just as the wet nurses were preparing to respond, Zhang Yiyun interrupted them with a stern question of her own, her usually well-composed face now filled with authority as she tried to use her status to suppress them. “What can you not bear? As palace attendants, it is your duty to care for the prince. If something goes wrong, you are the ones responsible.”

Caught off guard by Zhang Yiyun’s rebuttal, the wet nurses hesitated for a moment. However, the wet nurse with the coiled bun, known for her quick wit, immediately responded respectfully, “It is true that it is our duty to care for the prince, and we do bear some responsibility for his illness. However, Your Majesty should know that this was not due to our negligence. The root cause of the prince's illness is that, despite the rainy weather a few days ago, the imperial consort insisted on taking the prince to pay his respects to the Empress Dowager every day. We tried to dissuade her, saying that the prince was too young and weak to withstand the cold, but she insisted that as the prince's mother, she would not harm him and that the rain was not a concern. We, being of low status, could not persuade her otherwise, and as a result, the prince caught a cold. We dare to argue that if the imperial consort had not taken the prince out in the rain, he would not have fallen ill. Now that he is sick, she blames us for not taking proper care of him, leaving us with much grievance and no way to defend ourselves…”

As soon as the wet nurse began speaking, Zhang Yiyun, flustered, scolded, “Tongue-tied old woman, who taught you to distort the truth like this? You dare to shift the blame for not taking care of the prince onto me, the prince’s own mother? Do you think I would harm him?”

After scolding the wet nurse, Zhang Yiyun turned to Chu Nan with a tearful, wronged expression, hoping to gain his sympathy. “Your Majesty, please understand that I brought the prince to pay his respects to the Empress Dowager out of a filial heart. The Empress Dowager has not been feeling well, and I was worried that she might be feeling distressed. Given that Zhaoyi is pregnant and unable to visit, I took the prince to see her. Although the weather was not ideal a few days ago, I made sure the prince was properly dressed and warm. I would never let him catch a cold.”

Zhang Yiyun stared intently at Chu Nan, hoping to gauge whether her words had convinced him. However, she was disappointed to find his expression inscrutable. His eyes seemed gentle yet calm, and she could not discern any hint of his thoughts.

Feeling uneasy but knowing she had to continue defending herself, Zhang Yiyun let more tears fall, portraying herself as a loving mother who had been wrongfully accused. “I carried the prince for ten months and bore him. How could I possibly neglect his well-being? On the morning of the seventh day, I checked on him as soon as I got up, and although he was a little fussy and had a runny nose, he had been fine the night before. How did he become so ill in just one night? It must be that the wet nurses did not care for him properly during the night, and he caught a cold while washing.”

The wet nurses immediately began to defend themselves again, and soon Zhang Yiyun and the wet nurses were engaged in a heated argument. Chu Nan listened silently, his frustration growing as the argument escalated. The little prince on the bed cried intermittently, his sobs so labored it was as if he could not catch his breath. Seeing that Zhang Yiyun was too engrossed in the argument to notice the prince's distress, Chu Nan felt both disappointed and angry.

“Enough!” he shouted, startling Zhang Yiyun, who turned around in shock to see his anger etched clearly on his face. The coldness in his gaze terrified her, and in her panic, she blurted out, “Your Majesty, please believe me. I would never harm the prince or let him catch a cold. After all, Zhaoyi used to take the first prince to pay his respects to the Empress Dowager, and nothing happened, didn’t she?”

Hearing this only enraged Chu Nan further. “How dare you compare yourself to Yao Niang? The care and love she gives her child is ten times more than what you could ever give!”

Zhang Yiyun felt deeply wronged, thinking to herself, What’s so special about her? We’re both first-time mothers; does she think I don’t love my child as much? I treat my son like the apple of my eye. If I were not concerned about his future, why would I go through the trouble of taking him to see the Empress Dowager every day, rain or shine?

Chu Nan took a deep breath to calm his mounting anger and questioned Zhang Yiyun, “If he showed signs of illness on the seventh, why didn’t you call for a physician until the ninth?”

Zhang Yiyun defended herself, saying, “I thought it was just a slight cold. My younger siblings at home also catch colds sometimes, and we don’t call a doctor for such minor symptoms. We just keep them warm and let them sweat it out. Besides, the prince is so young; aggressive medication might not be good for him.”

Chu Nan took another deep breath, feeling as though his lungs might explode.

Zhang Yiyun continued, her voice filled with grievance, “I had no idea he would become so severely ill… It must be that the wet nurses weren’t attentive enough. In the past, I thought they were experienced and trusted them to take care of the prince, but who would have thought they would be so negligent? After all, the child is not their own flesh and blood; how much could they really care?”

Chu Nan had no patience for her excuses. By now, he understood Zhang Yiyun’s true intentions all too well. She was envious of the attention and favor Fan Xueyao and her son received, and in her desperation to secure more favor for herself, she had used her own infant to compete for attention. If it were just a matter of seeking favor, he might have turned a blind eye, as it was common for concubines in the palace to seek the emperor’s attention. However, neglecting the child's health was a different matter entirely.

In a cold tone, he declared, “Since you are incapable of caring for the prince, I will find someone who can.”

Upon hearing this, Zhang Yiyun felt as though her soul had left her body. Was he planning to take her son away from her? She immediately knelt and begged, “Your Majesty, I know I was wrong. I will never be so foolish again. Please, have mercy on me for being a first-time mother and not knowing better.”

Chu Nan had long since grown impatient, and after uttering those words, he flicked his sleeves and departed. Upon returning to Hongning Palace, he issued two imperial decrees. The first was to have the wet nurses serving the Prince of Fanyue Palace taken away for questioning to determine whether they had failed in their duties. If they were found not guilty, they could continue serving; if guilty, they would be punished and expelled from the palace. New wet nurses should be selected for the Prince of Fanyue Palace.

The second decree called for a senior consort with experience to be selected to raise the Prince of Fanyue Palace. Interested consorts should volunteer.

An edict was also issued: Consort Zhang of Fanyue Palace was demoted to the rank of Lady, effective immediately, as a warning.

The rank of Lady was the lowest among the consorts, only above a palace maid in status. Typically, a consort of this rank would have a title, such as "Lady of Qin State." However, due to Zhang Yiyun’s greed and selfish desires, and her showing no remorse, as well as her false accusations against Fan Xueyao, Chu Nan detested her so much that he did not grant her any title.

Zhang Yiyun’s demotion from the esteemed position of Consort to the lowly rank of Lady was a blow, and unsurprisingly, she was devastated.

Overcome by regret and jealousy, she could not help but complain bitterly, saying that the emperor favored others. Fan Xueyao had frequently taken the first prince to pay respects to the Empress Dowager, but it was merely her bad luck that her little prince had fallen ill, and now she was deemed unfit and incompetent in raising her son.

The palace maids, who had long resented her, spread her comments. When Chu Nan heard that she harbored bitter resentment and showed no sign of remorse, his disgust for her increased. He ordered her to immediately vacate her position in the main residence of Fanyue Palace.