Sixteen, Carp in the Pond

  Chang'an Palace and Tongli Palace are not far apart. Along the way, Xuan Ling rode a sedan chair to hurry there. From afar, he saw that the entire Chang'an Palace was brightly lit, like daylight. The host of Chang'an Palace, Feng Shuyi, had already received the news and brought the palace's concubines and eunuchs to wait outside the ceremonial gate. When she saw the imperial carriage, she quickly knelt down to pay her respects. Xuan Ling said, "Get up," then asked, "How is it?"

  "Feng Shuyi replied: 'The imperial physician has already rushed in to treat her, and Consort Hui is still unconscious.' After a pause, she continued: 'I have sent someone to inform the Empress Dowager.'"

  "All right. At this time, the queen should go to bed, and then send someone to tell the queen that she doesn't need to come over."

  "Yes." Feng Shuyi responded immediately, and a small eunuch quietly retreated to report back.

  Xuan Ling said to the concubines, "Now that the imperial physician has arrived, it's not good for so many people to go in at once. You all go rest first. Shu Yi and Guan Pin will enter with me."

  Chang'an Palace's main hall was where Feng Shuyi resided, and Mei Zhuang's Cunju Hall was to the west of the main hall. The imperial physicians saw the emperor arrive and hastily knelt down in a row. Xuan Ling waved his hand for them to rise, I couldn't hold back anymore, and anxiously asked: "How is Consort Hui's condition?"

  The imperial physician, Jiang, replied: "To report to Your Majesty and the Crown Princess, Concubine Hui has no major issues, she just choked on water and was startled, so for now, she hasn't woken up yet." Upon hearing the physician's words, I finally felt a sense of relief, and my fists, which had been clenched tightly all along, finally relaxed, having been gripped so tightly that my fingertips were slightly pale.

  Jiang Taizhong saw Xuan Ling and hummed, then continued: "We have already prepared the prescription, and according to it, Princess Hui should recover quickly. However..." Jiang Taizhong hesitated for a moment.

  "What's...?" The Emperor said: "Speak without hesitation."

  "Indeed, indeed. However, Young Master was quite frightened and will likely need to rest and recover for a period of time before his spirit can fully recover."

  "So you must be more careful and attentive, and cannot be careless."

  The many imperial physicians all nodded and agreed, seeing that Xuan Ling had nothing more to say, they finally retreated.

  Inside the inner hall, Mei Zhuang's personal maidservants Cai Yue and Bai Lin still had tears on their faces, half-kneeling beside the bed busily helping Mei Zhuang change out of her wet clothes and wiping her forehead with hot water. Seeing us enter, they hastily paid their respects.

  Three people stood by the bed. Xuan Ling and Feng Shuyi were still tolerable, but I couldn't help leaning forward to take a closer look at Mei Zhuang.

  Meizhuang had already changed her clothes, but her hair was still wet, and the fragrance of the soft pillow on her neck had left a faint, disheveled water stain. Her complexion was pale and bloodless, set off by the purple-red rice bead curtain and brocade quilt, which gave her an eerie, wan appearance. Because she was in a coma, even that pallor seemed insubstantial, like a layer of gauze floating on her face, wavering uncertainly. A drop of water slid down from her forehead, past her temples, and onto the gold pendant at the end of her earring, where it quivered without falling off, trembling again and again, making Meizhuang seem like a withered leaf stiff among the luxurious bedding, devoid of vitality.

  Her nose turned sour, and her eyes were already wet. Feng Shuyi had always been dignified and self-controlled, but seeing Mei Zhuang in such a state also moved her heart, and she picked up a handkerchief to gently wipe away her tears. Xuan Ling didn't say anything, he just coldly looked at the palace maids serving inside, scanning them one by one. Wherever his gaze fell, the palace maids' expressions were involuntarily startled, and they hastily lowered their heads.

  Xuan Ling withdrew his gaze and stopped looking at them, saying: "How do you serve the young master?" His tone was as calm and flat as usual, without any harsh words or severe expression, but the palace people were so frightened that they knelt on the ground.

  Feng Shuyi feared that Xuan Ling had moved his liver fire, and hastily turned her head to the palace people on the ground: "Don't you quickly say what's going on? How could Concubine Hui drown in the water?"

  Cai Yue and a eunuch named Xiao Shi were so frightened that they hastily kneeled before Xuan Ling, crying: "We servants are also unclear."

  Feng Shuyi replied inappropriately, and couldn't help but glance at Xuan Ling. Seeing Xuan Ling slightly nodding his head to signal her to continue questioning, his words already contained a hint of anger: "This is absurd! The young master has encountered such a huge incident, yet there are personal servants who don't understand the reason!"

  Feng Shuyi had always been lenient with the palace maids, but now seeing her angry and with the emperor present, Xiaojie was immediately intimidated and hastily knocked her head on the ground saying: "I'm wronged. I really didn't know. At night, I accompanied Xiaoyue to Huafeng's Shu Palace to chat with the young master, and when we were coming back, we passed by Qianli Pond. Because the young master always feeds the fish whenever he passes by Qianli Pond, I went to get some fish food. Who knew that as soon as I walked halfway, I heard people shouting that the young master had fallen into the water."

  "What about Cai Yue?"

  Xiao Yue answered in tears: "The Xia'er in the palace of Queen Hua said that there were a few good ink cakes available for the young master to use, but she just forgot to give them away. Let me go get them."

  "So, when Hui Bin fell into the water, neither of you were by her side?" Feng Shuyi asked, and quietly raised her head to glance at Xuan Ling. Xuan Ling's eyes narrowed, and Feng Shuyi hastily lowered her head.

  Just as she was about to continue questioning, a voice outside the hall announced that Empress Hua had arrived. It was no wonder, really - the Thousand Carp Pond where Mei Zhuang had fallen in was only a hundred or so paces from her own palace of Huan Xiu, still within the grounds of her own residence. As the empress's deputy and the most senior of all the imperial consorts, she naturally hastened to pay her respects.

  The Empress Hua saw Xuan Ling and smiled warmly as she curtsied to greet him. Xuan Ling said, "It's late at night outside, why have you come?"

  The Empress's face was filled with worry, and she said: "I heard that Concubine Hui's sister drowned in the water, I was so anxious that I didn't know what to do, so I rushed over. Is Concubine Hui a bit better now?"

  Xuan Ling pointed to the couch and said, "You go take a look."

  The Empress approached and wept: "How can this be? A beauty like a flower has suffered such injustice."

  "Feng Shuyi consoled her: 'Sister Hua, don't be too sad. The imperial physician said that as long as she wakes up, it'll be fine.'"

  The Empress Hua wiped her nose with a handkerchief and turned to Cai Yue and Xiao Shi, saying: "You fools! How did you serve your young master, causing such a great disaster that worries the Emperor?"

  Xuan Ling coldly glanced at Cai Yue and Xiao Shi, slowly spitting out a few words: "Not useful."

  Conservancy heard this, hurriedly said: "Such a slave staying by the side of Huisheng can't serve well, and I'm afraid that in the future there will be no lack of three disasters and eight difficulties. The minister thought, it's better to send him to the 'Violent Room' to make up for it." Silently taking a breath, the palace people who entered the "Violent Room" suffered all kinds of hardships, living worse than death, not out of three or five months either being tortured to death or seeking their own death, rarely alive. Again, Huafei spoke, and Caiyue and Xiaoshi had no reason to survive.

  Cai Yue and Xiao Shi's words made me feel a confused knot in my heart. Xiao Shi was still okay, but Cai Yue was the eldest daughter of Mei Zhuang, who had been brought into the palace since childhood, like a confidante. If she were to lose her, it would be a significant loss. Now that Empress Hua spoke thus, I felt something was not quite right, and before I could think carefully, I spoke out to stop her: "It's not possible."

  Xuan Ling, Hua Fei and Feng Shu Yi all stared at me. For a moment, I had to rack my brains for an excuse to respond, "Although Cai Yue and Xiao Shi served Sister Hui poorly, it was unexpected. Rather than punishing them, why not let them make amends by serving Sister well when she wakes up?"

  The Empress Hua looked at me with a faint smile and said, "Why does Concubine Yun think that the crime is not deserving of punishment, and the merit is not worthy of reward? If we let these two slaves off lightly, it's inevitable that there will be idle chatter in the palace, thinking that there was fault but only demotion as punishment, no need to receive punishment."

  I slowly said: "Reward and punishment should be appropriate. It's just that my sister thinks, Cai Yue and Xiao Shi have been serving Hui Jie, and Cai Yue is also someone Hui Jie brought into the palace from the manor. If they are punished to the 'Violent Room' at this time, I'm afraid there won't be anyone capable of taking care of sister for a while, and it's not clear how to take good care of sister, which would be detrimental to sister's recovery."

  The imperial concubine sneered: "Such a servant can't even take care of Hui Bin properly, how can they be allowed to continue serving? Guan Bin is too careless." She said coldly: "Besides, Qian Li Pool is only a hundred steps away from my palace, and the incident happened within the palace walls. How can I let it pass lightly?"

  The more she listened, the more unacceptable it became. In her heart, she began to deliberate, "Rewarding and punishing is only natural, but if Your Majesty kills them, those who don't know the truth will think that the incident occurred because of the disturbance near Shaoxiu Palace, which affected Your Majesty's dignity, not just because of Huisheng Concubine's drowning. Taking the lives of two slaves is a small matter, but damaging Your Majesty's reputation is a big deal. I hope Your Majesty will reconsider." The Empress Dowager's eyes sparkled with intelligence as she bit her teeth and sank into deep thought.

  After finishing, I only looked at Xuan Ling. If he didn't speak up, this conversation would be in vain. Sure enough, he said: "Guanpin's words also make sense. Let them off for now, and if Hui Bin doesn't wake up, send them to the 'Penalty Room' later."

  Xuan Ling spoke, and Empress Hua could no longer argue. Cai Yue and Xiao Shi were so frightened by my argument with Empress Hua that they were stunned. Feng Shu Yi urged them twice before they came back to their senses and thanked me. I let out a gentle sigh of relief, it's okay.

  I saw that the Empress's face still had a resentful expression. After some thought, I realized that the Empress wasn't the one who wanted to kill us, so why not use her own method against her? I walked closer to Xuan Ling and whispered: "Your servant has something to say, but doesn't know if it should be said."

  "You said."

  "Although the reason for Concubine Hui's fall into the water is still unclear, it must be that the guards were not able to rescue her in time, causing her to choke on too much water and lose consciousness. In my humble opinion, it would be better to replace the guards at Rongxiang Palace with a new batch. Otherwise, this time it was Concubine Hui, but if next time something careless happens and hurts the Empress, what then?"

  Huafei heard me say this, immediately said: "Guan Bin just now didn't you say that you want to turn merit into demerit? Why do you want to change the guards of my palace now, isn't it too biased in reward and punishment? There is a suspicion of favoring oneself."

  I smiled and said, "Consort Hua is worrying too much. I am also thinking of Consort Hua's well-being. The Emperor has always loved and respected you, how can he let such a careless and lazy servant guard the palace and put you in danger? Besides, just changing the guards doesn't count as punishment." Then turning to Xuan Ling, "Your Majesty should not laugh at my shallow understanding."

  Xuan Ling Dao said: "What you said is extremely true. I almost overlooked this layer. Let Li Chang send a batch of elite guards to garrison the Mengxiu Palace tomorrow."

  The Empress's face didn't look good, she was forcing herself to endure and not look at me again. She knew that things couldn't be turned around, her attendants would definitely have to be replaced. So she stopped arguing. She changed her expression and smiled at Emperor Xuanling: "Thank you, Your Majesty, for your concern about my humble wife." Then she said: "I brought two of the best ginsengs with me, they are perfect for calming the nerves and nourishing the body. Have someone make a good stew for Concubine Hui to nourish herself well."

  Xuan Ling nodded slightly, "Hua Yi, you've been preoccupied with the affairs of the six palaces all day. It's so late now, and yet you're still exerting yourself. Why not go back and rest early?"

  "Your Majesty has an early court session tomorrow, it's not suitable to overexert yourself. I ordered someone to stew a pot of ginseng and wild chicken when I came out, it should be done soon. Your Majesty can go take some rest after having some."

  Xuan Ling smiled and said, "Still, you're being considerate. I'm also a bit hungry." He turned his head to look at me, "Guan Ying, why don't you go with him and have some food too? The dishes in Hua Ying Palace are the best in this palace."

  The Empress Hua smiled lightly: "Your Majesty says so, it really makes Shi Lan feel ashamed. Sister will go too."

  Where is the true intention to let me go, but it's just a superficial courtesy. Xuan Ling will probably stay in the Huafei Palace for a rest, how can I be so unrecognizable? Moreover, I am really not at ease with Mei Zhuang here, and must accompany her. So she smiled and said: "I don't have such good fortune, why not let His Majesty use my share as well, only then can he relieve his longing?"

  The Empress Hua smiled and said: "Look at how the Emperor has spoiled Concubine Guan, she can say such things without even blushing."

  "I dare not spoil her, she has always been like this. If I indulge her further, it would be too much."

  I smiled and said, "As I said, it seems that Your Majesty has been displeased with me for a long time. Please hurry up and leave, the wild chicken will not be good if it's overcooked. I want to take care of Concubine Hui here, but I really can't go."

  "Alright. You'd better take care of yourself too, don't overexert."

  The Empress Hua smiled and said: "Then I'll have to trouble Imperial Concubine Xian and Imperial Concubine Shu." After speaking, she followed behind Xu Ling's back and left with a swish of her skirt.

  The night was already deep. I saw that Feng Shuyi's face had a tired look, and knew she was also exhausted, so I advised her to return to the palace to rest. Alone, I kept watch over Mei Zhuang's bedside through the night.

  A faint bitterness rose in my heart. Just now, the concubines were getting along so harmoniously, enjoying the same treatment like rain and dew, as if I had never quarreled with Empress Hua before. The corners of her mouth curved into a shallow arc, and she even brought wild chicken and purple ginseng soup, Empress Hua was indeed well-prepared.

  Meizhuang's forehead was constantly sweating, and I took a handkerchief to wipe it for her. Meizhuang, this thing came suddenly, and there was no time to think clearly in my heart. Now that the night is deep and people are quiet, it's just right to think slowly and clearly.

  Meizhuang hasn't woken up, so naturally she can't ask anything. If Meizhuang doesn't wake up for a long time, the Empress will punish Caiyue and Xiaoshi again, and there will be no reason to stop her.

  I summoned Cai Yue in and asked: "Cai Yue, you've been following your young mistress for so many years, you should know that my relationship with your mistress is not ordinary."

  Cai Yue had not yet calmed down from the shock, and upon hearing me say this, she hastily wanted to kneel down. I quickly pulled her back up. She sobbed: "I know. If it weren't for this, Young Master Gao wouldn't have competed with Master Hua for my sake. If it weren't for Young Master, I would have lost even my life."

  I let out a sigh and said, "Do you know why the Empress wants to punish you so severely? In fact, neither of you nor Xiaoshi deserves to die. Why must she send you to the 'Violent Room', clearly intending for you to walk towards death?"

  I slowly shook my head and said, "In the palace, even if you want to kill someone, there must be a reason. Where is it that you can take someone's life without cause? If you really want to kill, it's probably to silence them." I looked at her, intentionally taking a sip of tea, creating a moment of inner fear in this brief silence, before continuing: "Think carefully, when your mistress fell into the water, did you see something you shouldn't have seen, forcing someone to want to kill you?" This was just my speculation, without basis or evidence. How could Mei Zhuang, who didn't know how to swim, be so careless as to fall into the water? There must be some hidden reason behind this.

  Cai Yue's face turned whiter and whiter, as if she was desperately trying to recall something. I didn't look at her, lightly wiping the cold sweat from my brow, "Now that you've become like this, Young Master, what if you missed something and didn't say it? Not even I can protect you then. We'll both end up as confused ghosts, not even knowing who killed us." After speaking, she sighed and wiped away her tears.

  Cai Yue saw that I was heartbroken, and hastily grasped my sleeve, saying: "I know it's a serious matter. Moreover... moreover, I didn't see it clearly, so I don't dare to speak nonsense."

  "I just want to have a rough idea in mind. You tell me and I'll listen."

  "When I, a slave, brought back the ink, it seemed...it seemed that I saw a shadow of an imperial guard sneaking past Qian Li from afar. But since it was dark, I'm afraid it might have been just my own eyes playing tricks on me."

  I nodded, "Does anyone else know about this?"

  "The slave really doesn't dare mention it to anyone else."

  "I said: 'That's good, you must remember not to tell anyone else. Otherwise, I'm afraid your life won't be spared either, do you understand?' Cai Yue was both shocked and frightened, hastily nodding her head."

  I said to Yan Yuese: "You're also scared half to death today, go take a rest. Call Bai Lian to come and keep me company while watching over Miss, that's all." Cai Yue nodded and retreated. I gazed at Mei Zhuang's solemn and melancholy face under the candlelight, softly saying: "Originally thought the mountain rain was coming, didn't expect this mountain rain arrived so quickly. Mei Zhuang, you absolutely can't have anything happen to you, or else, how can I single-handedly withstand this mountain rain?"

  The night outside the Chrysanthemum Hall was so dark, like ink that made it hard to breathe. Even the big red palace lanterns hanging outside seemed to flicker like phosphorescent fire, like the eyes of ghosts that refused to close. I silently watched Mei Zhuang, how long did time seem, before the sky gradually turned a pale white like a fish's belly.

  Ling Rong came over early in the morning to see Mei Zhuang, and saw that she was just sleeping, so he stayed with her for half a day before I persuaded him to leave.

  It wasn't until after noon that Mei Zhuang gradually came to. Her spirit was not very good, and she only ate a few mouthfuls of the plain bird's nest congee before pushing it away.

  As she slowly calmed down, with only the two of us left in the room, I finally asked her: "What's going on?"

  Meizhuang's face was flushed with an unhealthy redness, her hands clenched tightly on the quilt as she struggled to hold back tears: "Huan'er, quickly tell the Emperor, someone wants my life!"

  As expected, I said: "Cai Yue said that when you were drowning, she saw a small eunuch's figure slipping away in the distance. At first, I thought it was just an illusion, but since you say so, it seems that someone really wanted you to drown in the Thousand Carp Pool." I gently patted her back and asked: "Did you see who it was?"

  She hesitated, shook her head, "He pushed me into the water from behind, I didn't get a clear look at his face." It was also useless to ask, since he had intended to kill Mei Zhuang all along, he would naturally have made arrangements and wouldn't have left any clues.

  I grasped Mei Zhuang's icy hand and stared at her, "Since you want to tell the Emperor, you have to tell me first, who did it?"

  She furrowed her brow, sank into thought for a moment, and slowly said: "I rarely offend people, you also know. The one who is most at odds with me is the deposed Yu Gengyi, but she's now in a situation where she can barely take care of herself, how could she still come after me?" She thought for a bit, "Zhen Guiren, Qin Fangyi and others may have some discord between their faces and hearts, but they wouldn't be so vicious as to want my life. Really... I just can't think of anyone."

  "So, the one you get along with the least is..." I didn't continue, Mei Zhuang's hand trembled slightly, and I knew she understood what I meant.

  Meizhuang Qiang calmed down, grasped my sleeve and said, "Qianli Pond is not far from her Miaoxiu Palace. If she wants to deal with me, she won't do it in her own place. She should avoid suspicion, why would she invite trouble?!"

  I hummed softly, "Inviting trouble? I think there's no trouble at all. The Emperor was still resting in her place last night." Mei Zhuang's face turned increasingly ugly, almost to the point of fainting. I comforted him, "She didn't take full advantage either. Even if it wasn't her intention to harm you, when you were drowning and unconscious, it's inevitable that there would be a connection with the palace guards who rescued you. Therefore, the Emperor has already ordered the replacement of the guards stationed at Miao Xiu Palace. Those people have been following her for a long time, and some are her trusted confidants. Being dismissed all at once is enough to give her a headache."

  Meizhuang finally relaxed a bit. I let out a light sigh, and once again scooped up the swallow's nest congee to feed her spoonful by spoonful, "You should eat something first, then you'll have the energy to slowly tell me."

  I told the Empress about Consort Hua's visit to Mei Zhuang and her intention to punish Cai Yue and Xiao Shi in detail, then said: "You had just left the Hao Xiu Palace, not even a hundred steps away, when you fell into the Qi Li Pond. Looking around the palace now, who would dare to be so reckless on her own territory? Only one person dares - it's herself. Moreover, others wouldn't easily think that she would set fire to herself and invite trouble, and even if they did, who would believe that the Empress would be so foolish?"

  "She's not stupid at all, that's why others won't suspect her." A cold smile floated on Mei Zhuang's face, "I just didn't speak to her liking, and she was so ruthless!"

  "Nowadays, outsiders would think that even if the Empress wanted to deal with someone, it would be me, not you. It's precisely because of this blind spot that the Empress dared to make such a ruthless move. In fact, you and I...” I hesitated: "It's Huan'er who owes an apology to her sister, dragging her into this." I couldn't bear the guilt in my heart anymore, tears streaming down, dripping onto the back of my hand. "The city gate is on fire, and the fish in the moat are also affected. Sister, you're completely being dragged down by me. The Empress is afraid that as our wings grow stronger day by day, it will be hard to control us, so she wants to get rid of you and make me isolated and alone, like a severed arm, unable to contend with her."

  Meizhuang stood there, motionless, and only after a long while did tears slowly fall. Her expression was actually much calmer than before. She spoke slowly: "It has nothing to do with you. From the very beginning when I first received imperial favor, she had regarded me as a thorn in her throat, wanting to get rid of me to feel at ease. However, because of the emperor's fondness for me and my constant tolerance and avoidance towards her, she didn't take action. Now..." Meizhu gently lifted the hair that was stuck to my tear-stained eyes. "It's just that seeing I'm not as obedient and tolerant towards her as before, and the emperor has no time to care about me, so she took advantage of it to avenge old grievances... really has nothing to do with you..."

  I knew Mei Zhuang was just comforting me. After crying for a while, I forced myself to stop tears and asked: "So, sister, what are you going to say to the emperor?"

  Meizhuang said calmly, "What else can be said? Without evidence, how can we falsely accuse the master of the inner court and stir up trouble. I will tell the emperor that it was my own carelessness that caused me to fall into the water."

  I nodded, and for now, there was no other choice but to do so. "Also, we must seal up Cai Yue's mouth tightly, not allowing her to mention a single word about last night to anyone else."

  Bai Lian happened to bring in the ginseng sent by Empress Hua, and exclaimed: "The young master is awake! I'll go call the imperial physician. This was sent by Empress Hua for the young master's health, Empress Hua really cares about the young master... this good ginseng is truly hard to come by..." Mei Zhuang coldly said: "Get out."

  Bai Lian didn't understand, so I hastily said: "The young mistress is unwell and needs to rest quietly, quickly stop disturbing her." Bai Lian hurriedly retreated.

  Mei Zhuang looked at the box of ginseng with disgust: "Nourishing the body?! It's more like hastening one's death. Xuan Er, help me throw it away."

  "No need to make it so obvious."

  Shen Mei Zhuang's eyes were cold and terrifying, and she said hatefully: "I, Shen Mei Zhuang, may not be able to deal with her now, but I won't necessarily not be able to deal with her in this life. Since you spared my life and didn't kill me, let's slowly settle this account!"

  Meizhuang has always been calm and gentle, but now that she's spoken such words, it seems she already hates Huafeng deeply. When lips are gone, teeth feel the cold; how can I not hate when Meizhuang is as close to me as a sibling? How can I not hate when my life hangs in the balance of others' hands - now it's Meizhuang, but who knows when it will be me? For now, I can still rely on Xuanling's favor, but from last night, it seems Xuanling's affection for Huafeng, his old love, may not necessarily be less than mine, this new favorite. After all, Huafeng has been by his side for a long time, and our daily interactions are no match. As I gaze out the window at the bright spring light, I vaguely sense that after this radiant spring, a gloomy, bloody aura is rolling in towards me...