Chapter 63

Chapter 63

Fang Yuaner's been craving sour foods lately, so they sent up over forty kinds of dried fruit for her to snack on.

Someone even got their hands on some fresh wild berries from who knows where, sweet and tangy, really hit the spot.

She just finished a plate, and Qiu Xiang brought in another plate of sliced fruit.

She said, smiling warmly, "Never mind the mistress and Shufei Xie, Shiqie An still has a child in her belly. No matter how you look at it, there's no way Shiqie Han's kid should be the 'child of fortune.'"

Fang Yuaner sneered coldly, "I think her belly's gotten big, and so has her ego."

"Such a big blessing—wonder if she can handle it!"

Clearly, the "child of fortune" in Shiqie Han's womb has pissed off quite a few people.

Fang Yuaner smirked, "You guys heard what went down at Qingsong Courtyard today, right?"

Qiu Kui whispered, "You mean Shiqie Li asking for rewards after getting diagnosed pregnant?"

"Asking for rewards?" Fang Yuaner shook her head with a laugh, "Shiqie Li came from the palace, she's not that shallow."

"I'm talking about her ratting out Shiqie Lu."

Qiu Xiang: "True. Shiqie Lu's been heading to Qingzhu Courtyard every day, like clockwork. The back courtyard's been gossiping, saying she's probably up to something."

"But what's in it for her to hurt Shiqie Li?"

Fang Yuaner laughed softly, "Depends on what Shiqie Han promised her."

Qiu Xiang paused, then it clicked, "Shiqie Lu's teamed up with Shiqie Han? Makes sense—Shiqie Han's got family connections, and now she's pregnant."

Once she's promoted to Shu Fei, she'll probably have the best family background of all the concubines.

"But... she's got guts, messing with the fight for the Shu Fei spot."

"Right?" Fang Yuaner snorted lightly, "The Princess Consort's probably gonna send someone to look into Shiqie Lu. We might as well give her a hand."

Qiu Kui and Qiu Xiang looked confused.

Fang Yuaner prompted them, "The tip from Shiqie An's side two days ago—you forgot already?"

Qiu Kui and Qiu Xiang, now reminded, made faces of disgust.

What a coincidence.

Fang Yuaner had a mole near Shiqie An, and two days ago, word came about something pretty funny.

Since Shiqie Lu's rise was shady and she wasn't favored by Prince Jing, the servants in the back courtyard had been shorting her on supplies.

The big one was charcoal.

In the dead of winter, how's anyone supposed to survive without charcoal?

Normally, if someone's rations got cut, they'd either suck it up or go complain to the boss.

But Shiqie Lu did neither; she went a different route—she stole Shiqie An's charcoal!

Yeah, stealing!

That's what Fang Yuaner thought was so funny.

When Qiu Xiang and Qiu Kui first heard this, they almost thought they heard wrong.

After making sure they hadn't, they were totally grossed out.

A concubine, stooping so low!

Qiu Xiang said, "Shiqie Lu's a bully. She only picks on Shiqie An."

"She dared to steal her charcoal 'cause she knew Shiqie An's too nice to make a scene. Same way she dared to climb into the Prince's bed—she figured Shiqie An would beg for her."

"And it's probably not just charcoal. No thief in their right mind would only steal coal and not eye the gold and silver lying around."

Qiu Kui added, "It's also 'cause Shiqie An's too soft."

"Her own maid betrayed her and climbed into the Prince's bed, and she still begged for her while pregnant. How's that not gonna breed someone as bold as Shiqie Lu?"

Qiu Xiang sighed, "The Princess Consort prides herself on being easy on her staff. If Shiqie Lu's charcoal theft ever gets out, it'll be a huge slap in the face."

Fang Yuaner glanced at the ruby ring on her hand.

Her jade-like fingers, adorned with a fine ruby ring, instantly took on an air of wealth and elegance.

She said lazily, "Find someone to send a message to the Princess Consort."

"Since she's gonna investigate Shiqie Lu, she might as well look into this matter too."

Qiu Kui asked in confusion, "Why is the mistress helping the Princess Consort?"

Qiu Kui naturally knew that her mistress and the Princess Consort didn't get along.

Fang Yuaner smiled charmingly, "I'm not helping the Princess Consort—I'm just doing her a favor, and in the process, keeping Han Shi in check."

Shiqie Lu is Shiqie Han's ally. Suppressing Shiqie Lu is also a slap to Shiqie Han's face.

That's Fang Yuaner's main goal.

She doesn't want to see Shiqie Han's arrogant demeanor before she's even promoted.

As for helping the Princess Consort...

As long as the Princess Consort's people investigate Shiqie Lu, the charcoal theft can't be hidden—it's only a matter of time.

Fang Yuaner alerting the Princess Consort first is just a convenient favor.

Whether the Princess Consort investigates the charcoal theft specifically or it comes out through other means makes a huge difference.

The former is a self-investigation—embarrassing, but it doesn't damage the Princess Consort's authority.

The latter would be like slapping the Princess Consort in the face in front of all the back courtyard concubines.

The two maids understood Fang Yuaner's meaning and immediately went to carry out the task.

At lunch, Prince Jing also gave Shiqie Li many rewards, far exceeding the usual allowance for a concubine's pregnancy.

Everyone guessed that this was the Prince's compensation and consolation for Shiqie Li missing out on the Shu Fei position.

Shiqie Li accepted them happily, and Prince Jing was quite satisfied.

Since the winter solstice called for a sacrificial ceremony at the palace, Prince Jing and the Princess prepared to enter the palace after lunch.

Right before they left, the Princess got a message sent by Fang Yuaner, and her expression immediately darkened.

Prince Jing glanced at her casually. "What's wrong? Another incident in the courtyard?"

The Princess did not hide anything, but her expression turned sour. "It's not a big deal. It's just that after running the household for years, I'm afraid I'll lose face this time."

Prince Jing was pretty curious. "How will you lose face?"

His Princess was absolutely impeccable in her handling of affairs.

If she wasn't being set up, she would never suffer such a loss of face.

But from the way she talked, it sounded like she had slipped up herself.

The Princess didn't want to give Prince Jing a chance to laugh at her, so she only said, "You will know tomorrow, Your Highness."

Prince Jing was indeed intrigued by her words.

But soon, they entered the palace, and their good mood disappeared.