The maid and Ban Qin had no idea when they had fallen asleep. They drifted through a night of scattered, chaotic dreams, struggling until waking left them dazed. The sight of unfamiliar furnishings jolted Ban Qin instantly awake.
“Sister?” she hurriedly rose, nudging the maid beside her.
The maid also awoke. Seeing the faint bluish glow outside, the two quickly got up.
Already, there were stirrings in the room – someone had risen.
“Miss?” the maid whispered outside the door.
A soft hum from inside signaled Cheng Jiao-niang’s acknowledgment.
Yet the maid hesitated to enter. It was only when Ban Qin gave her a gentle push that she finally opened the door.
Cheng Jiao-niang had already loosely tied up her hair and put on a casual skirt, and was now draping a day coat over it.
The maid and Ban Qin instinctively glanced toward the bed.
The curtains were still drawn, and the person inside seemed to still be asleep. Their gazes fell to the side of the bed and were instantly scorched – they hurriedly looked away.
From beneath the bed curtains peeked a corner of pale-green inner garments, clearly fallen to the floor.
These were not what they knew as belonging to their mistress – so they must be…
“Is Madam up?” came a woman’s voice from outside the door.
The maid and Ban Qin startled.
It was the woman sent from the palace to serve, who had rested in one of the side rooms in the courtyard last night. The sound of sweeping footsteps could now be heard in the courtyard as well.
Cheng Jiao-niang reached for the long bow hanging on the wall and stepped outside.
The maid and Ban Qin hurriedly prepared to follow, panic-stricken. Ban Qin suddenly remembered something and quickly tugged at the maidservant’s sleeve, pointing to the corner of clothing beneath the curtains. Blushing crimson, the maid stomped her foot, strode forward, yanked it out, tossed it haphazardly onto a nearby clothes rack, and fled the room as if on wings.
The door opened, and the attending eunuchs and palace maids outside hurriedly bowed at the sight of Cheng Jiao-niang emerging.
“His Highness is awake,” Cheng Jiao-niang said. “You may go in.”
Overjoyed, the eunuch moved to enter, only to see Cheng Jiao-niang step out first. As their eyes fell on the long bow held in her hand, the palace women instinctively drew back.
“Madam, where are you…” the eunuch asked.
“Miss… Madam,” the maid hurriedly corrected, stumbling slightly over the change of address. “Madam goes to the archery range to practice every morning.”
Practice archery?
The eunuchs and palace attendants stared wide-eyed.
This woman was said to possess remarkable archery skills and formidable strength, surely not innate gifts but the result of diligent practice. Yet who could have expected that even on the first morning after her wedding, she would not forgo her training?
“Of course, of course. Someone!” The eunuch hurriedly nodded and gestured for a maid to lead the way. “Prince Qing loved leisurely pursuits, so His Highness had the lake filled to create a large archery range…”
Cheng Jiao-niang smiled faintly.
“Oh, that place. I know it,” she said.
The eunuch also seemed to recall then.
That’s right. His Highness had once taken her on a thorough tour of the estate. The flower beds by the archery range had even been arranged according to her suggestions.
Though the maid also wanted to go, Ban Qin was a step quicker.
“Sister, you stay and prepare for Madam’s washing-up when she returns,” she said, then hurried after Cheng Jiao-niang as if making her escape.
The maid stamped her foot, tempted to follow, but in the end could only stop and offer an awkward smile to the eunuch and palace attendants.
“Miss Ban Qin, since we are unfamiliar with Madam’s tastes, regarding the morning meal…” the eunuch began, struck by a thought.
The maid brightened.
“I know,” she said. “Let me go take a look.”
The eunuch promptly assigned a maid to accompany her. The maid then instructed others to heat water, arranging each task in turn. Only after this did the eunuch and the rest proceed toward the inner chamber. Just then, Doctor Li arrived.
“Your Highness?” the eunuch called softly, lifting the bed curtain.
Morning light spilled onto the bed, and the figure lying there slowly opened his eyes.
The eunuch couldn’t help but wink and raise his brows, a teasing smile touching his lips.
“Did Your Highness sleep well… Ah!” he murmured, but before he could finish, his tone shifted sharply, and a gasp escaped him.
The gasp startled everyone in the room.
“Doctor! Doctor!” the eunuch cried out, his voice trembling as he frantically waved for help from outside.
Doctor Li hurried over and pulled the curtain fully open.
“What is it?” he asked, turning his gaze to the bed. His expression instantly changed to one of shock.
Just then, a maid entered from outside.
“Madam said to have the bed tidied up,” she reported.
Tidy up the bed?
The others in the room couldn’t help but glance over. With the eunuch and Doctor Li drawing the bed curtains apart from either side, the scene on the bed was now clear: Duke Jin’an lay on his back with his upper body exposed, the bedding beneath him in disarray…
Exposed! That wasn’t how he had been when he arrived last night!
Disorder! How could someone too ill to move have tossed the bed into such a state?
It can’t be…
The same thought flashed through everyone’s mind.
A sudden sharp slap from inside made the eunuchs waiting in the corridor flinch.
“You…” Master Gu’s face was livid as he glared at the eunuch standing before him. “You’ve done quite the job!”
The eunuch hung his head in silence.
Master Gu paced back and forth.
“…This is preposterous!” He stopped abruptly, clenching his teeth as he spoke in a low voice. “How could something like this happen?”
The eunuch wore a somewhat sheepish expression.
“Perhaps… perhaps nothing actually occurred…” he murmured.
No sooner had the words left his mouth than a palace attendant emerged from the inner chamber, a peculiar smile on her face as she held up a length of white silk.
“That…” she stammered, her eyes darting around before finally settling on Duke Jin’an, who was seated on a couch nearby, undergoing Doctor Li’s careful examination through observation, listening, inquiry, and pulse-taking. “…Congratulations… congratulations to Your Highness.”
Congratulations?
Everyone’s gaze instinctively fell on the white silk held by the palace attendant. On it were a few scattered crimson spots, like flecks of plum blossoms…
Their minds seemed to go blank.
Both Master Gu and Doctor Li were grandfathers by now and naturally understood what this meant. Though the eunuch was not a complete man, serving in the palace, he had seen his share as well.
What was on this white silk… though the marks were few, they were unmistakably blood.
So it really did… happen…
The pillow slipped from Doctor Li’s hand and landed on the couch.
The soft thud didn’t rouse Duke Jin’an. After briefly regaining consciousness when the curtain was drawn aside earlier, he had sunk back into a deep sleep. His dark-yellow complexion was tinged with pallor, and even though he now wore inner garments, faint patches of bluish-purple bruises were still visible on his neck.
They were clearly left by a human hand…
An eerie silence fell over the room. After a moment, Master Gu spat out two words in fury:
“Beast!”
…
“…That can’t be possible…”
“…Your Highness was in such a state, how could that happen…”
Whispered discussions seemed to seep in from all directions. Inside the washroom, the maid testing the water temperature flushed red with embarrassment.
She had hidden away earlier, not daring to enter the inner chamber, but how long could she stay hidden? Eventually, she had to return.
No sooner had she returned than the palace attendant, wearing an odd expression, handed her a box.
“This belongs to your mistress. Keep it safe,” she said.
The maid nearly fumbled the box in her fluster.
“Why be embarrassed?” the palace attendant remarked, though her own expression was hardly any calmer.
Having served in the palace her whole life, she had handled the first-night rituals of countless noble ladies, yet today, the usual smooth words of congratulation simply wouldn’t come out.
“Prepare a bowl of red date and lotus seed soup for your mistress,” she finally managed to say, seizing on the thought.
After speaking, she couldn’t help but glance toward the inner chamber again. The memory of Duke Jin’an’s pallid face and utterly drained appearance from earlier came to mind…
Or perhaps it should be prepared for His Highness instead?
So it seems what happened last night was real… but was it His Highness who initiated it?
It must have been His Highness – their mistress could never be that kind of person!
Who would have thought His Highness still had the strength for that…
The maid shook her head, trying to clear away her tangled thoughts. She reached out to test the water temperature and signaled for the young attendant to stop.
“Go and have the meal brought,” she said.
The young attendant lowered her head and scurried away.
Steeling herself, the maid stepped out of the washroom.
“…How could it not be? Smell this… there’s a strange fragrance in the room…”
“…Master Gu asked, and Doctor Li said he’d never smelled this kind of scent before – he said it has a medicinal note…”
“…Is it an aphrodisiac?”
The incense! That stick of incense!
The maid’s mind went blank.
So… it was Miss… who took the initiative?
Hearing the maid emerge, the two women making the bed immediately ceased their conversation. They lowered their heads, smoothed out the already neat, freshly replaced bedding, bowed, and withdrew.
Left standing in the room, the maidservant felt a bit dazed. The opened window allowed the cool morning breeze to drift in, bringing a touch of freshness and helping her gather her thoughts.
Since it was her mistress who acted, there must have been a reason for it. Her mistress never did anything wrong!
The maid took a deep breath and straightened her posture.
Outside, a chorus of respectful greetings for the mistress reached her ears.
This set the maid’s mind at ease, and she hurried over to receive her.
Outside, Master Gu stood with a stern expression, watching the eunuchs lift the sedan chair. The eunuch and Doctor Li also wore somber looks. When they saw Cheng Jiao-niang approaching slowly, the long bow in her hand, they halted, their expressions growing complicated.
The lady was dressed in a skirt with a dark-green overcoat, her sleeves still tied up, not yet let down. Her face, free of powder or rouge, glistened with fine beads of sweat under the rising sun.
Truly youthful and vibrant. Then, looking back at Duke Jin’an on the sedan chair, still unconscious – Doctor Li had applied acupuncture twice without rousing him – it was simply…
Beastly!
Master Gu clenched his teeth again in his heart.
“Madam!” he said, forcing down his anger.
Cheng Jiao-niang stopped and glanced at them.
“Are you leaving?” she said. “If there’s anything else, don’t hesitate to ask.”
Don’t hesitate?
Master Gu nearly choked on his anger – did she actually expect them to send him back for her to mistreat again…
What a beast!
“Madam, His Highness… he does not look well,” Doctor Li stepped forward and said quietly.
Cheng Jiao-niang looked at him.
“He was never well to begin with,” she replied, raising a hand to stop him. “I will wash up first. If there’s anything to say, we can talk later.”
Watching Cheng Jiao-niang step into the courtyard, the three men outside were left speechless.
“Li Sishen! If I ever believe your words again, I’ll take your surname!”
Master Gu ground his teeth and glared at Doctor Li as he spoke, waving his hand impatiently.
“Carry His Highness back! Summon another doctor at once!”
…
In the palace, after hearing the report from the returned palace attendants and eunuchs, the Empress Dowager looked astonished.
“Could it really be?” she said, setting down her teacup. “She would do such a thing?”
The eunuch nodded with a hint of exaggeration.
“Indeed, it’s quite unexpected,” he replied. “They hastily called for another doctor, and everyone said he was utterly depleted inside. He can’t even be roused for medicine, let alone wake up. The whole group is in a frantic uproar.”
“Truly, Your Majesty, if you had seen it yourself – His Highness looked barely human, completely drained,” another palace attendant chimed in.
The Empress Dowager frowned deeply.
“In his condition, to be treated like that – no wonder he’s drained!” she said.
“And to think His Highness insisted on attending the wedding ceremony himself, so devoted and earnest, while she… tsk, tsk, tsk…” The palace attendant shook her head, unable to continue, her face full of pity. “What was the rush?”
What was the rush?
The Empress Dowager sneered inwardly.
She was in a hurry to conceive an heir, so that even if Duke Jin’an passed away, her future would be secure.
What a shrewd calculation – and how ruthless.
First, she stirred up the commoners to see her off at the wedding, enhancing her prestige as the Princess Consort. Then she drugged the prince with an aphrodisiac, so that if she became pregnant, she would have ample reason to live comfortably even if Duke Jin’an were no more.
This lady had coldly refused to treat Prince Qing, colluded with the Empress, secretly provided medicine to help Consort An conceive, and then used the celestial omen to frame Prince Ping, sending the Emperor into shock and driving the Imperial Consort to madness… Step by step, she had reached her hand into the imperial family. One could only imagine whose hands the empire would fall into if she herself were gone…
“Your Majesty, the Empress has no real support – her greatest asset is Cheng Jiao-niang.”
“Even Duke Jin’an will have to rely on her in the future. If they plan to commit treason, they will need someone to legitimize their cause. And why has Cheng Jiao-niang worked so hard to build her reputation? As a disciple of the immortals, predicting solar and lunar eclipses, interpreting celestial omens, summoning thunder – these feats are enough to make the people believe in her. In the future, all she would need to do is declare who the true Son of Heaven is, and the people would not doubt her…”
Gao Lingjun’s voice echoed in her ears once more.
“Your Majesty, to pull out this venomous fang without raising suspicion among the people – this is the perfect opportunity. A chance we cannot afford to miss.”
The Empress Dowager exhaled slowly and clenched her fists.
She could wait no longer.
“Summon her to the palace,” she ordered.
